Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake city, on Sunday, Dec. 18, 1864.

I feel thankful, my brethren and sisters, for the privilege of once more meeting with you in this tabernacle. I feel thankful that so many of us are spared to meet together.

I need not reiterate in your hearing, that we are living in a most important day and age of the world—equally important to the Saints of the Most High as to the rest of mankind; for the present is fraught with events that should admonish us to live near to the Lord and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We have been tried in adversity. Many of us know what it is to be in the very depths of poverty and privation; and we now seem to have advanced into a measurable prosperity, in order that we may be proven and tried in another manner, and let it be known in the heavens and to the just on the earth whether we are able to abide prosperity as well as adversity.

There are so many things before me and in my mind that I hardly know what to speak upon and call your attention to. I do not know that it matters much, for the Saints are interested in everything that is good, comforting and cheering to the heart. I will say, however, that what was written beforetime was written for our profit and instruction, that we, through an understanding thereof, might have patience and hope. A great enterprise was determined upon by our Heavenly Father, and for this purpose he seemed to have inspired a certain individual with the manifestations of his will in dreams, and visions of the day, perhaps, also, of the night, and that individual was Joseph of old. It appears that in this son of the Patriarch Jacob the germs of greatness and power were manifest, not only to himself in his own reflections and thoughts, and by reason of the manifestations he received of the Divine will, but, also, to the satisfaction of his brethren that he was likely to aspire to, or be elevated to, dominion and government over them. This roused their envy and jealousy until they could not endure his presence. They sought to rid themselves of him, and contrived various plans and means to accomplish it, especially after he had told them his dream, that their sheaves had made obeisance to his sheaf as they were binding in the harvest field. And then, to cap the climax, he told them he had had another dream, in which the sun and the moon and the eleven stars had made obeisance to him. Not only was he to have dominion and power over his brethren, but his father and mother, as well, were to recognize his power.

This created a jealousy that was satisfied only in his separation from them, and they sold him to certain Ishmaelitish merchants, who bore him away, a slave, into Egypt. Little did they think, as they saw him take his departure, with the camels of those merchants, that he was but a pioneer to open a way before them, and that they would actually have to follow on his track and seek succor at his hands. But in process of time it proved to be true, for the country from which he had been expelled, sold as a bondman and thrust away by force, was visited by famine, and he, by the interposition of Providence, was elevated to power in the land to which he had been banished. He had become a prince in that land; and its revenue and riches were under his control. His brethren were forced by famine to go down there; so were his father and their little ones. When they came to him and found him occupying a princely state it was overwhelming to them. They bowed down to him. He was a prince! The Almighty had blessed him and made him strong in the land to which they had banished him. Their very jealousy and envy had placed him on the road to greatness and power, and they were, themselves, compelled to seek succor from the brother they had hated and banished.

I have adverted to but few circumstances connected with the history of these individuals, for it would consume too much time to enter further into them. But enough has been said to show you the analogy that follows: We have been expelled from a certain country because our enemies discovered in us germs of power and greatness which aroused their jealousy and hatred, and they were determined to be rid of us. When they saw us leaving, to cross the vast plains that stretched before us, as we turned our backs upon the homes we had made with much labor and toil, they flattered themselves that they were rid of any dominion of ours, either real or imaginary. But little did they think, when they were doing so, that they were forcing us on a track they would have eventually to travel themselves. This was hid from their eyes.

The Saints did cross the plains to leave that country, and here we are; and who better than ourselves can appreciate the circumstances that now attend us. The Almighty has blessed us in this country; he has poured his blessings bounteously upon us, for which every heart here should beat with gratitude to the Most High. While war is desolating the country from which we came, we are here in peace, for which we should be thankful now that we are here. That element, that drove us away, not, perhaps, the first, but that very element is beginning to follow in our track. What is its policy? The policy no doubt, is to cease to invade as by force of arms. But another is adopted, more easily accomplished. What is it? Why, “We will oil our lips, and smooth our tongues, and ingratiate ourselves into your favor; we will mingle and comingle with you as brothers, and lead you away; we will contaminate you, and by pouring wealth into your laps, we will make you indifferent to your God, your faith and your covenants.” The object is to destroy those germs of greatness which Heaven has planted in our souls, at which they feel alarmed—germs of greatness which, if cultivated, will lead us to wield a power to which the nations will have to bow, as the nations had to bow to that Joseph who was sold into Egypt.

Another circumstance I will call your attention to. In the first place, every great enterprise is attended with its difficulties, its hardships and oppositions, for there must needs be opposition in all things. We are told that in the year 1492 this American continent was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Look at the exertions made by him to obtain the necessary means to effect the discovery. It required ships, means, and men to enable him to make his way across the trackless deep to find a country which, to him, seemed necessary to balance the earth. The Spirit of God came upon him, and he had no rest day nor night until he accomplished what the Spirit wrought upon him to do. He went first to one place and then to another to procure help. He applied to different crowned heads, and received rebuffs and discouragements. He was poor; the plans of Jehovah are mostly carried out by humble and poor individuals. So it was with Columbus; he was poor, but daring and persevering, and with a soul formed within his bosom to undertake and prosecute the great enterprise that was to bring to light a vast continent reserved in the providence of God as the theater of great events in a period that was then in the future. By the aid of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, he obtained three small vessels, old and almost rotten, poorly manned and badly provisioned. It was not because they believed he would be successful, but like the unjust judge with the poor widow, they desired to get rid of his importunities. The unjust judge had no very strong feelings in favor of the widow, but that he might be rid of her importunings he hearkened to her prayer. So did they serve Columbus. They said they would fit him out and send him away, and he might go on his explorations for the imaginary country he fancied lay towards the west. If they had had any faith that he would be successful they would have fitted him out with the best ships that any navies of the time could have afforded, manned with sufficient men and supplied with all the necessary equipments; and then they would have said, Go and prosper and the God of the seas pioneer your course. But they had no faith in the enterprise; they wanted to stop his importunings and get rid of him.

When we look back at our history, we find a certain analogy in it to that of this man. Our enemies wanted to get rid of us. We applied to the powers that be, for aid and succor. What did we receive in response to our applications? Silence in some cases; contempt in others. And when we had to sell out, it was not with old rotten ships that they paid us, but with old rotten wagons, old spavined horses, and other things equally worthless. Then they said—Go and do the best you can. They thought they had given us an outfit that would last us until our destruction would be consummated: they imagined it would last us until we got beyond what they pleased to call civilization; but thinking that, perhaps, we might live through all, they demanded five hundred of our best men, while in camp in the wilderness, leaving our camp to the care of cripples and old men and women, in the midst of an Indian country. But we lived.

Little did Ferdinand and Isabella think that Columbus was leading the way that all Europe would have to follow. If they had so thought, they would have given him better ships, and a better outfit. But when they found he had opened a new country, rich and bountifully productive, behold the surface of the ocean was whitened with the sails of vessels, bearing their living freights crowding to seek fortune in the new continent that spread itself invitingly before them. All Europe, figuratively speaking, followed in his track, and spread themselves over the face of the land. But see what these adventures have come to. This country discovered by him, is enveloped in war; and if you live a few years longer you will see much of the land that has been blessed with unequaled prosperity from the east to the west, a wilderness and a desolation; and this will be in consequence of the abuse of the blessings bestowed upon it by those who enjoyed them. If I mistake not, a certain Senator said to a Senator from Louisiana, “What are you going to do with Louisiana?” “Why,” was the reply, “Louisiana was a wilderness when we bought her from France, and if she secede we will make her a wilderness again.” If the land does not become a wilderness and a desolation, we do not see correctly—we do not understand correctly the revelations which the Almighty has given us. The scripture says, that in the last days His people will go forth and build up the waste places of Zion. But they must first be made desolate, before they can be called “the waste places of Zion.” Then the hands of the Saints will be required to build them up.

Compare the coming of the Saints here with the banishment of Joseph into Egypt, and the manner in which Columbus was sent off on his perilous exploration, and note the conclusion that follows. The world dreaded the germs of greatness which they saw in the Saints. They dreaded the power that seemed to attend them. They were almost at war with us because we were united. They disliked the idea of our being politically one, they wanted us to be of different parties. But when they saw we were united, they said, “There is a power that is destined to make them great, to exalt them.” And let me say here to the Saints, be you united and be one with your leader and you will as surely ascend to power and elevation in the earth as Joseph of old did in the land of Egypt. We are here, and in unity. We are not destroyed. When I look at our condition at the present time, I cannot but feel that we should be thankful to the Lord, every day of our lives.

I was once in business, in the East, in the mercantile line, and we used to sell our common unbleached factory at 16 and 2/3 cents a yard. A yard of factory brought a bushel of oats. When I see that the Saints can now get three yards of factory for a bushel of oats—three times as much for their produce, “in this Godforsaken country,” so-called by some, as we could get when we were in the east, I have said, what but the hand of God could have done it. I feel that the hand of God is over this people. Then why, in the day of prosperity, should we permit our hearts to run after the things of this world, and not permit our feelings and affections to be centered in this Kingdom, and use the riches of this world as we use the waters of the ocean—not enter into them to be engulfed by them, but glide over them to power and greatness as the ship moves onward to her destined port.

Brethren and sisters, be faithful—be true to the Lord our God. Though you should not get so much of this world’s goods, be sure your hearts are in unison with the God of heaven. May the peace of Israel be and abide with you, and with those who guide the destinies of Israel from this time henceforth and forever: Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Elder George Q. Cannon, and President Heber C. Kimball, made November 29, 1864 at the funeral of J. S. Kimball, Son of President H. C. Kimball, who departed this life on 27 Nov. 1864.

After singing, prayer was offered up by Elder G. Q. CANNON, when President B. YOUNG arose and said: When we are called upon, to pay our last respects to the remains of our friends, and to consign to the tomb that which belongs to it, and to condole with the relations of the departed loved ones, we are brought face to face with one of the stern realities of our existence, and the moans and sorrows of the bereaved lacerate our feelings with anguish. To part with our children is very grievous; it overwhelms us with pain and sorrow; but we have this ordeal to meet and pass through. It might appear that we should become passive and unconcerned, when so common an occurrence as death overtakes our children and friends; that it would cease to excite gloomy and mournful feelings within us; this, however, is not the case, although the Saints are more moderate in their lamentations for the dead than the rest of the world. This moderation in their grief, arises from their superior knowledge of principles, which pertain to the inner life, and the immortality of the soul. “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them!” Again, it is written. “Thou shalt live together in love, in– somuch as thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection. And it shall come to pass that those who die in me, shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them; And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is bitter.”

While the sympathies of our hearts, are drawn out for those who mourn the loss of dear ones, at the same time it gives us comfort, and happiness, and rejoicing to see that the departed have made themselves so loved and respected as to call from their friends, such manifestations of love and respect. These displays of tenderness are more marked in those who live the nearest to the Lord, not so much by wild, ungovernable bursts of anguishes in cries and tears, as by a grief that is chaste and subdued, by the knowledge of the future state of the spirits of the departed, and the hope of the resurrection from the dead. We are not ignorant concerning them which are asleep, nor sorrow as others which have no hope: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” If we mortals are so sensitive at the loss of our friends, what must be the sensations of those who have passed from mortality to immortality—who are made holy, and drink at the fountain of all intelligence, and are filled with the glory and power of God in the heavens—who are sanctified and glorified—and who can see and understand the awful consequences of sin, and disobedience to the commandments of God—when their friends wander from the path of truth, until they are forever separated, both in this world and in the next? Their grief must be very intense, yet they no doubt possess corresponding in– telligence, power, and ability to overcome their sensations, and to submit patiently to all the dispensations that affect this and that existence with which they and we are so intimately connected. What must be the feelings of our Father in heaven, at the disobedience of his children! And what must be the feelings of our fathers, who are behind the veil, when their children despise the counsels of the Lord, and neglect their duties to themselves, and to the Kingdom of God upon the earth, for such a course will lead to their everlasting separation! The Lord says of Israel of old, “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” What love and sorrow is conveyed in this quotation!

We have hope, that when we are called to separate with our friends here, it is only for a short season, for we shall soon go to them. This hope, which is blooming with immortality and eternal life, is not enjoyed by the wicked world; hence, we do not mourn as they do, at the loss of our friends. It is very grievous to be robbed of our children by death; still it is right, and such afflictions are pregnant with good to the faithful. When we, as the people of God, perform our duties according to the best of our abilities, and are united therein, there is no circumstance that can transpire in this life, that will not be overruled for our best possible good. This we shall see by-and-by. When the Lord suffers children of all ages to be taken from us, it is for our good, and for theirs. Let us learn to receive the providences of God cheerfully, and with a kind submission, relying upon him, for our confidence, our hope and our all is in him, and all things shall work together for our good. I am well satisfied of this.

Questions are often asked, why our children die, why they are not permitted to live, to fill their earthly destiny, and become fathers and mothers of their race. Many are the physical causes, which lead to the death of our children and friends, before they have lived out the days allotted to them, that, in consequence of our ignorance of the laws of life and health, we are not yet able to overcome; neither have we yet attained to faith sufficient to overcome disease and death entirely in our families. But the Lord has not left us without consoling words for our comfort, when we lose our children, for it is written: “But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me; For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.”

It is hard for the mother of the deceased boy before us, to part with her son. It wrings from her heart bitter anguish, to see him committed to an untimely grave; but we ought not to allow any great sorrow, to wear upon our mortal tabernacles so as to waste them away, and cut us off from performing that good, which we otherwise might live to perform. Though we cannot altogether avoid grief under sore trials, yet we can overcome excessive sorrow, through faith in the Lord Jesus, and by calling upon the Father in his name—and that is all we can do. I can sympathize with brother Heber C. Kimball and his wives, in their bereavements, for they have lost many children, as well as others of our brethren and sisters. But, it is consoling to think, that when our children are taken from the earth in their infancy, they are safe, for they are redeemed, and of such is the Kingdom of heaven: they have the promise of a glorious resurrection, to share in glory with those, who are brought forth, to enjoy the blessings of the sanctified. This is a matter of rejoicing to us; and the reflection ought to comfort the mourners, on the present occasion. It gives me no less joy to think, that the inhabitants of the earth, will not have to suffer and endure, the wrath of an angry God to all eternity. It gives me exceedingly great joy to understand, that every child that has been taken from this mortality to the spiritual world, from the day that mother Eve bore her first child to this time, is an heir to the celestial Kingdom and glory of God; and to understand also that the inhabitants of the earth who have been deprived of the fullness of the Gospel—who have been deprived of the privileges which we enioy—will be judged, in equity and truth, according to the deeds done in the body, and that every person will receive, according to his merits or demerits. But when members of the Kingdom of God—we who have received an unction from the Holy One—are froward in our ways, and will not abide the laws He has given unto us, but will violate our covenants with our Heavenly Father, and with one another, we are the ones that will suffer in the next existence, if we do not repent, and retrace our steps before it is too late; it is not those who have lived and died without law.

As a general thing, yea, almost without exception, the children of parents who are members of this Church, are good, true, and faithful, and full of integrity. It is true, that, when they grow up to manhood, some of them turn away, and wander away from their parents; but, I do not think an instance can be pointed out, where a child has left his parents or parent, who has been trained according to the laws of the Gospel, with proper parental indulgence and restriction. If parents understood how to conduct themselves properly, towards their children, they would bind the affections of their children to them as firmly, speaking comparatively according to the intelligence they enjoy, as the affections of angels are bound to the Gods of eternity. The children of this people are good children. They have the same temptations to endure as others have, yet, almost without an exception, I can assure you that they are good, faithful and true. How important it is, that we should teach our children the way of life and salvation, preserve them in the truth and in their integrity! These noble, Godlike principles should be instilled in them in their youthful days, that when they grow up, they may never feel a disposition to deceive, or to commit iniquity, or turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord, but have power to control and govern themselves, subduing every inclination to evil, and every ungovernable temper, that they may secure to themselves eternal life. It is right to mourn over our dead. It is pleasing to the heavens when strong parental affection is manifested; it is justifiable before the heavens, for they are full of the affections and love that we only have in part, for ours is mixed with sin and impurity.

I can say to brother Heber C. Kimball and to his family, no matter whether your children exist in this life, or in the spirit world, they that put their trust in the Lord will never be destroyed; for the Lord will preserve his own, and the Psalmist has written, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” The seed of the righteous will never be found begging bread; for the Lord will provide for his people in the latter days. He has defended us so far, and has fought our battles, has led us to victory, and blessed us with houses and lands, with friends, and with an abundance of the comforts of life. We are filled with peace, joy and consolation. We mingle with those who love the truth, and this is one of the greatest boons that can be enjoyed by those who love the truth, and delight in it. We are not under the necessity of mingling with the ungodly; we may see them in our streets, and in our houses occasionally; but we are not obliged to fellowship their wickedness; we can keep ourselves perfectly aloof, from their wicked influences. We are not under the necessity, of hearing the name of the God we love and serve blasphemed, or of hearing good men spoken evil of and reviled; for, if we try to avoid witnessing such evils, we can do so for ourselves and for our children, and lead the latter forth in the knowledge of God. I say to this family, and to the brethren and sisters, who have met here to condole with them, may God bless you all. Do not be cast down, sister Ellen; but bear up as well as you can under this bereavement. To part with our children wrings our hearts. Then let us never conduct ourselves in that way towards them, that will cause us mourning when they are laid upon the bier; but let our treatment of our children be such, that, if they should be laid a lifeless corpse before us, we may feel happy and satisfied on that account.

Elder George Q. Cannon was then invited to speak, who said—

I do not know that I can add anything that will be any more consolatory to the mourners, than what has already been spoken. While listening to brother Brigham’s remarks there were some reflections that passed through my mind, which to me were consolatory and edifying. We are in reality, while in this mortality, aliens and strangers. We are far distant from our father’s house, living in a cold world far removed from those affections which we doubtless have experienced in the spirit world, and which we will again enjoy, if we are faithful to the trust reposed in us on the earth. In one of the revelations given to Enoch it is said: “And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shall you and all your city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we shall fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; And there shall be my abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years shall the earth rest.” This quotation describes how happy will be the meeting of the faithful with their Father in heaven. Our old affections, of which we know but little at this time, will be revived, and we shall enjoy ourselves, with a joy that to us is inexpressible now. It is right that the ties should be strengthened between us and the spirit world. Everyone who departs from this mortal state of existence only adds another link to the chain of connection—another tie to draw us nearer to our Father and God, and to those intelligences which dwell in his presence. I have seen this illustrated by the Saints in foreign countries, sending their friends and relatives from Babylon to Zion. When they have sent their friends to Zion, they feel a greater interest in Zion than they ever did; for they have somebody there to meet, probably a son, a daughter, a father, a mother, or some friend who has preceded them to Zion, and it is astonishing the effect the departure of such a relative or friend has had on them; they feel more stimulated and encouraged, and look forward to going to Zion with feelings they did not have before. It is somewhat similar with us in this mortal condition. Those of us who have lost children, brothers and sisters and parents, feel an increased interest in the spirit world; the ties between such and the spirit world, have become binding, and we can contemplate, if not with delight, at least with no great sorrow, our removal from this state of existence to the next. In the providence of God it is right that these earthly ties should be weakened, to convince us that we are not in the condition the Lord wishes us to remain in. We are here in a state of temptation, sin, and sorrow, and he desires us to look forward to a better world—to a state of happiness far beyond that which we at present enjoy. As our friends continue to pass from this state to that better world, we who remain, feel an increased interest therein, and feel stimulated to look forward with increased joy to the time when we shall be united. I recollect that when I lost my mother in boyhood, I could contemplate death with pleasure. I reflected upon the idea of leaving this existence with feelings that were the opposite of dread; but, since I have grown up to manhood, and have taken upon me its duties and cares, and am surrounded with other ties and associations, those feelings of indifference to life are considerably weakened; yet, when I reflect upon my children, which I have yielded up to death, and my many friends who have gone behind the veil, I can think of death with different feelings than if I had no friends gone to that land, where the wicked cease to trouble. The Latter-day Saints have hopes and anticipations, which none besides them can indulge in; because we have a knowledge of the Gospel which buoys us up under these earthly afflictions, and assures us that we shall be united with our friends again. It is not a matter of doubt or speculation with us, but it is with us a matter of knowledge. God has given us the testimony of his Spirit, which bears witness to our spirits that we shall again be united with our departed friends after death. Our mortal tabernacles may sleep, but our spirits are eternal, and, if faithful here, we shall enjoy an immortality in the presence of God that will amply reward us for all that we may suffer on earth. May God bless and comfort brother Heber and sister Ellen, and his whole family, and all that pertains unto him, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Heber C. Kimball made the following remarks:

I will try to say a few words which I can do today better than I could yesterday, so intense was my sorrow for the loss of Joseph. This is the nineteenth child which I have buried, and if I continue to be faithful, as I have been thus far, I shall as sure be their eternal father as I am now their natural father.

It might be supposed that I should become used to the presence of the grim messenger, death, in my family, and not heed it so much; but the contrary is the case. My heart becomes more tender, the oftener it is wrung with sorrow and grief, for the loss of my children; and if I am getting used to it at all, it is in that way. Every child that I bury seems to be the best child I have got; but, when I think of it, I have concluded that, if it had been any other child but the one that is taken, I should have thought the same of that one. We are very apt not to appreciate the good in the living, and to magnify their faults; but, when dead, we forget their faults, and their virtue and goodness alone stand prominent. I should think this is more particularly so in the case of parents and children. I find that the older the child when taken away by death, the harder it is to part; for like the severing of a large limb from the trunk of a tree, the wound is larger, and mutilates the tree more than the severing of a smaller limb.

The longer our children live with us, the stronger grow the ties which bind us together. And I find that the more light and intelligence I get from heaven the more sensitive are my feelings; because light is sensitive, and if there were no light, there could be no sense. And the more I become like my Father in heaven, and like his son Jesus Christ, the more I love my children. I tried with all the power I had, to withstand the destroyer, which took possession of that boy; but I could not, and it had nearly overcome me with sorrow and affliction, until this morning, when I felt better. It does appear that when I place any reliance on a child, that child is taken from me. Sister Ellen’s hope was in that boy, to be a stay to her in her declining years, or perhaps when I was gone.

Joseph was a kindhearted, obedient, good boy. He was fourteen years of age the third day of last April, and was an excellent scholar; I took pride in having him carefully educated. When our boys have been educated, and go to foreign parts to preach the Gospel, they are then exceedingly happy that they had improved themselves and gained useful information. It is so when persons leave this state of existence to go into the spirit world; for it is the spirit that becomes informed; it is the spirit that receives the truth, and the teachings of the Holy Ghost which showeth it things to come. It is not this house which I am now instructing, but it is the persons who dwell in it; so it is not the earthly house of this tabernacle that is instructed, so much as it is the spirit that dwells within it. When we are instructed by the gifts and power of the Holy Ghost, that knowledge is conveyed to us from heaven, and we are being informed in this world by knowledge which pertains to the next existence, that we may become exalted and glorified, the same as a man rises from one degree of knowledge and learning to another in an earthly seminary of education. Then the education and training we give our children in this world are not lost; but they are so far fitted and prepared for advancement in the next. Some of my children are good scholars; I keep them at school, and I try to lead them in the path of truth; and I also instruct their mothers to teach their children to come unto God. If any of my wives place their reliance and hope upon a child, that child is sure to be taken away from them. The Lord designs that I shall be the head and leader of my family, to guide them into His presence; and he will take away every prop in order to place everything where it should be. That remark is just as good for every other family as it is for mine. The Lord will take away every prop that I put my trust in outside of himself. When I was baptized into Him I put Him on, and should live in him, and should not rely upon any other but him; I should cleave unto him, and my family should cleave unto me, that we may be all one in Him.

I have no love for this world, and if it were not for the cause of God which I have espoused, and my family, and the Church and Kingdom of God, I would not turn my hand over whether I lived or died. The bereavements I have suffered affect me in this way; nevertheless, Thy will be done, O Lord. Ellen has now lost three children; they are in heaven, and when she goes there, she will find them there, as sure as we shall find the Prophets and Apostles and Patriarchs of this Church, who have gone there, and are seated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There is a little army of my children gone before me, and will be there to welcome me when I go hence; and then look at the train that will follow after me! I believe that children behind the veil have more sympathy, care, and interest in the welfare of their friends in mortality than when they are here; and do they pray for father? Yes; just as much as I do. Can they approach the Lord more near than I can? Yes, and they no doubt pray, “O Lord God, I ask thee in the name of Jesus, to remember my good father, and my good brothers and sisters, who are still in mortality.”

Nineteen of my children are in the spirit world, and the parting with them has not given me as much sorrow, nor brought as many white hairs on my head, as those have done who now live. I have experienced this; others have experienced it, and will experience it in time to come; for they must have an experience in this as well as brother Heber. Am I an offcast because I am thus called to suffer? No; “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” I know this day that I have favor with God; and I would not do anything that would deprive me of this for the world and all that is in it. I would rather leave the world this moment, than live to sin against God. I say to my family take care of your children. Ellen, take care of the two you have living, and be satisfied with them. Be contented, and never complain against the providences of God. So I say unto all my family. Never be cross with one another. Joseph was never cross, he was always pleasant to all persons. Eight years ago he came near dying; I was impressed to ordain him a High Priest. I ordained him, and I do know that that had a saving effect upon the boy, and God has had respect to him. He now lives in the spirit; and I have joy in all these things. I stood near him until he breathed his last; but I could not prevail. This proved to me that I was a poor, weak, frail creature, that I was nothing more than the grass, or as a flower of the field; for the wind passeth over it, and it is gone. I have not one particle of power on this earth, only as God gives it to me. It is the power of Almighty God. I cannot stay his hand, and I am in his hand. I never was more sensible of this in my life than I now am. And I never saw my weakness to the extent that I do now. And I never saw the day when I felt the necessity of living faithful to God more than I do now—that my eyes should be opened and I be filled with the Almighty power of God.

I can see before and behind, and all around. It is my privilege to see the head, the feet, and every member there is in the Church of God, and feel as they feel; if we all could do this what a heavenly people we should be. God would defend us. He will do it now, for the sake of the righteous that dwell in our midst. The Church of God will triumph, while those who are rebellious and disobedient will see sorrow. This is my testimony. Brother Brigham, I say with all my heart, God bless you and yours, that you may live, and that the great power of God may be in you and increase upon you; and so I say unto all the Elders of Israel, that we may be one. And may the peace of God be upon this congregation that has come to condole with us. I am comforted. Death is swallowed up in life.

May God bless you all for evermore. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Nov. 6, 1864.

I do not wish to draw away the minds of the people in the least, from the excellent instruction and testimonies they have heard today; but I arise to say a few comforting words to the Latter-day Saints, and to strengthen the faith of those, who desire to believe, and obey the truth, all the days of their lives.

You have heard the testimonies of some of our returned missionaries today, from which you can judge that their hearts are greatly comforted. Some of them have expressed their delight, at having the privilege of beholding this congregation of Saints in Zion. It is a great satisfaction, to look upon those who love the Lord with an undivided affection; it is a great satisfaction to speak to them, and to hear them speak; and, were I to have my choice, I would rather hear men testify to the truth by the spirit of truth, than to speak myself. In my reflections I foresee a time, when we shall be able to communicate with each other easier and with much more pleasure and satisfaction than we now do; but we will then use a different language. Although the language we now speak is as good as any language that has yet come to our knowledge, still it is very meager, and limited in its range and power, and though it is a good medium at ordinary times, yet it comes very far short of being such a medium, as man needs to convey thoughts, when he is inspired by the power of God, through the gift of the Holy Ghost, and is full of the revelations of Jesus. It is written, “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.” When a man rises up to speak in the name of the Lord, and is filled with the light, and the intelligence and power which cometh from God, his countenance alone will convey more, to those who are inspired by the same spirit, than can possibly be conveyed, by the words of any language now used by mankind.

The brethren have testified today to what they believe, and to what they know. They have traveled, preached, and labored diligently to do good, and have returned home again to their families and friends; and now they wish to hear, to see, and to learn, and enjoy the society of the Saints here at the gathering place; and, as a general thing, they have no desire to say a great deal, while a few like to preach among the Saints at home.

There is one thing I wish to say to the Elders, who have returned from their fields of labor, do not for your own sakes, lay aside the garments of the Priesthood, and think your missions at an end; for have we not enlisted, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, and establish truth and righteousness, and is not this the work of a lifetime? It is little matter how successful the Elders are, in bringing the spirit and understanding of the people, to the knowledge of the truth, or how successful they are, in gathering the people of God from the nations, for, there is not one man in all the ranks of Israel, that will ever be able to justly boast, of having done one deed more than his duty. When we have labored faithfully and diligently all our lives, until we have accomplished the full measure of our labor on the earth, not one will be found that has done one act to build up the Kingdom of God, more than his duty required of him; while on the other hand, it will very likely be found in the end, that thousands have come short of performing all their duty; and I think I am safe in saying that there will be but few, if any, who have performed all their duty. I do not know of a man, within the circle of my acquaintance, who has performed every good he has had power, ability and opportunity to perform. If he has not been guilty of sins of commission, he has committed wrongs, through the omission of duties. Then, let not my brethren consider their mission is at an end, if they wish to continue to increase in influence, power, judgment, and truth, in righteousness, and in the knowledge of God, which he may please to constantly reveal unto them through their faithfulness; but let every man be faithful in spirit, striving continually to conquer every passion, and to subdue every wrong feeling, and bring into subjection every unholy aspiration of his being, and be willing for the spirit of truth—the spirit of the Gospel—to lead and guide him from day to day, from hour to hour, and from moment to moment. If we all do this, we shall constantly have in our possession, words of comfort for each other, and be in readiness to act at all times, in the performance of every duty: but let a man neglect his duty in his earthly tabernacle, and he will find, in the end, that he has committed many a wrong, through the sin of omission. Good, and opportunity to do good, is presented to man; but, because of his ignorance, he neglects to do the good he might, and is, in consequence, full of darkness.

There is a peculiar trait in the character of the Kingdom of God, that is diverse from all other kingdoms that have, do, or will exist; and the king we have enlisted to serve is different from all other kings; for he wishes all those over whom he reigns, to share with him the glory of his Kingdom. He is our elder brother, and we are children of the same Great Father. “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together,” when “he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” The king whom we serve, has promised to make all who overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, kings like unto himself. What king, besides the Lord of glory, has made such a promise to his subjects? Not only will the faithful and worthy subjects of the Kingdom of God, become kings: but more; each one will become a king of kings, and lord of lords.

A few words in explanation of this may not be amiss. When the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, is upon the earth, and its organizations, ordinances, gospel, powers, authorities, and blessings, are enjoyed by the children of men; then by means of sealing powers and keys, and an everlasting covenant, the sons of men become the sons of God by regeneration, and are entitled, every man in his order, to the privileges, exaltations, principalities and powers, kingdoms and thrones, which are held and enjoyed, by the Great Father of our race; and all these are obtained through the law of natural increase, and the saving of that which the Father puts in our power.

“Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel. And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him: I have set thee to be at the head; a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever.” So, in like manner, every faithful son of God, becomes, as it were, Adam to the race that springs from his loins, when they are embraced in the covenants and blessings of the Holy Priesthood; and in the lapse of eternity, and in the progress of eternal lives, every true son of God becomes a king of kings, and a lord of lords, and it may also be said of him, as it was written of Jesus Christ, “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.”

When death ends the reign of an earthly King, he is stripped of his regal power, which gives place to the habiliments of the tomb; and another wears the crown he wore, sits upon the throne he occupied, and rules over the kingdom he ruled. Not so with the sons of God, when they are crowned and receive their kingdoms; for they have embraced the everlasting Gospel, and have been regenerated, and sanctified through its institutions, purified through the grave, and raised again by the power of the resurrection, to newness of life, as it is written, “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” We have not yet received our kingdoms, neither will we, until we have finished our work on the earth, passed through the ordeals, are brought up by the power of the resurrection, and are crowned with glory and eternal lives. Then he that has overcome and is found worthy, will be made a king of kings, and lord of lords over his own posterity, or in other words: A father of fathers. This latter rendering, is more strictly in accordance with the original text.

While brother Halliday was speaking, in regard to testifying to the truth, I thought of a circumstance that transpired with me in Canada, some thirty-two years ago. Five brothers had embraced the Gospel. Soon one of them lost the spirit, and came to our meetings, to oppose the truth. We always gave him an opportunity to speak in our meetings. When he arose to speak, I would pray that the Lord would give him His Spirit. The result was, that instead of his proclaiming against the truth, he would bear testimony to it, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Lord, and that the Book of Mormon was an inspired record. It is no trouble for any man to bear testimony to the truth, when he is inspired by the spirit of truth. As has been stated here to day, the bands are being made stronger around the lower classes, in the nations of Europe, and there is no doubt a great many honest people would embrace the Gospel, were it not for fear of losing their situations, and their means of getting bread, for themselves and their families. Were it in our power to offer gold and silver to such, to sustain them when they are thrown out of employment, I have no doubt that thousands would join the Church, that now are bound to their old traditions and institutions, for fear of losing their means of subsistence. We cannot do this, and it is perfectly right that we have not power to do it.

Some of the brethren are fearful, that we shall be tried by riches. I speak for myself, when I say, that it is too degrading and too low for men, who are made in the image of God, who understand God and Godliness, to descend to the spirit of the world so far, as to ever become entangled by it. I say to all the Elders of Israel, that we shall possess the riches of the world, for the Kingdom of God will be ours, and the earth, and all things which pertain to it, or else we are not the people of God. I do not say, but what some few individuals will go out of the Church, and others will come into this Kingdom, which the Lord Almighty has established in the latter day. It is established expressly to glorify man, that he may possess all things—all the gold and silver, and every precious metal, and every precious stone, and to own the earth and its fulness, and establish everlasting righteousness and peace, and gather up the House of Israel, and all that will believe the Gospel among the Gentiles, and save and redeem the world of mankind, and redeem the earth and prepare it to return into the presence of God; or else we are not the kingdom of God. We have already explored the very depths of poverty; and you, who have not had poverty enough, hand over what you have, and send it down to the Cotton country, and go to days’ work for a living. We have had poverty enough. I know of brethren and sisters in this community who have not got a wagon, an ox, or a cow, a house, or suitable clothing, to cover them in the cold winter, and they have no stock of provisions and fuel on hand; are not these poor enough? How poor would you have us to be? I do not know but that the people are poor enough now.

The world is before us, Jesus Christ has redeemed it, and it is our business to purify, and remove the curse therefrom, that it may be brought back into his presence. As for riches, I have told these gold-seekers here, that I know where there is plenty of gold in these mountains, and they have run over it, and stubbed their toes against it, fallen down among it, and run their noses into it for aught that I know, and yet could not see it, and I am not going to tell them where it is, and they may help themselves. Our business is not to hunt gold, but to build up the Kingdom of God. If I had the power, and I do not know but that I have, I would have cities without whiskey and gambling saloons. I would not have them in any of the cities of the Saints. But we have wise men and statesmen among us, who believe that it is policy to allow such institutions in our cities; and the Lord yields to such inconsistencies, because of our ignorance and weakness. I do not delight in beholding an intoxicated person, nor do I delight to hear the name of the God I serve blasphemed; although I have not heard an oath for years from the mouth of any man; for, if they know that I am present, I believe they respect me enough to refrain from so low and vile a habit in my presence. It may be policy to have drinking saloons in our cities; but I have failed to see any good in it. Our returned missionaries say they do not like to see such institutions. You like to see them, no less than the Saints here do. We submit to this, some say through policy. When men come with ropes in their hands ready to noose our necks, we give them rope enough to hang themselves. I wish the returned Elders to understand, that they cannot hate wickedness anymore than the Saints at home do. Hear it, ye Elders of Israel, and ye mothers in Israel, and ye daughters of Israel, there is nothing but death, and hell, and the grave, outside of this Kingdom; but, inside the Kingdom of God, all things are for the faithful to inherit and enjoy, and for this purpose has he organized his Kingdom in the latter days, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.”

Men will continue to seek for, find, and dig gold and silver. I thank them for these services. They are getting out the ore in abundance, and casting it into cannon and mis– siles of death, and their fine steel into weapons of destruction. This is all right. For, the Lord will have use for all this metal by and by; as the Prophet hath said, “And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” That time is not yet; but now, when looking to the East, the religionists on the right hand are praying: “O Lord God, we pray thee to direct the bullets, and the arrows, and the spears, and bayonets to the hearts of those infernal Yankees.” Those on the left hand, while looking in the same direction, are praying: “O Lord, direct the lead, and cast iron, and steel, and every missile of death, direct to the hearts of those infernal slave owners.” I know that we are but a handful of people—Jacob is small, but who can contend with the God of Jacob? He is “a man of war,” and “the prince of peace,” “I am that I am,” no matter who, “I am fully able, to handle the nations of men just as I please.” The Lord whom we serve, exalts and debases men and nations at his pleasure, making one great, and another small, bringing some into note, and burying others in the oblivion of forgetfulness, to subserve his purposes, and consummate his great designs.

May the Lord bless you, Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Nov. 6, 1864.

It is the business of the Latter-day Saints to build up the Kingdom of God upon the earth, and by doing this they will be built up, as individuals and as a community. It is good to love and serve our God with an undivided heart and with a pure affection, making it the business of our lives to work righteousness, and to introduce everywhere in all the earth the Gospel of glad tidings and everlasting peace, to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of man to receive his bride. To hold communion with our Father and God, and to carry out his great designs in this last dispensation, ought to be sought after through every transaction of our lives, for no man, or community of men, can possibly serve God acceptably a portion of their time only, and themselves the remainder. If we are the servants and handmaidens of the Almighty at all, we are so every moment of our lives. It should be our constant desire and wish to know how to build up the Kingdom of God, and of necessity this Work calls forth an almost endless variety of talent, skill and labor.

In building the great and notable cities of the world, it required the genius of the architect, and the skill and labor of the artisan, in all their variety. In building up the cities of Zion, and an earthly kingdom unto God, it will require all the wisdom and skill and cunning workmanship that are displayed in the arts and sciences now known to man, and revelation from heaven for still further advancement in the knowledge of every handicraft and means of adornment, to beautify the cities and temples that will be built by the people of God in these last days. We expect to see the time when we shall not be at all inferior to any of the nations of the earth, in the production of works of art and in scientific skill and knowledge; even now there is incorporated within the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mechanical ingenuity that is equal to any to be found among the civilized nations of the world; and as our community grows in wealth and importance, and raw material sufficient is accumulated, and our necessities and wants increase, all this artistic skill and genius, which at present lies dormant, will be called into active use, for the bone, sinew and knowledge are here. Our first great object in life is to build up the Kingdom of God. If it is to sow wheat to sustain the people, be it so; our families want bread, as do also the families of the Elders who have gone abroad to preach the Gospel, and our mechanics; we are also under the necessity of producing many other articles of food, besides bread, to supply that variety of diet, which, in a great measure through our traditions, our nature craves. If it is to build cities and temples or to do the other labors which belong to the building up of the Kingdom of God, be it so; all this is right, everything in its time and season.

Brother Taylor has given us a very correct history and statement, with regard to the line of demarcation between the savage and the civilized. Civilization is simply the spirit of improvement, in learning and civil manners. The world may be said to have advanced in this so far as the arts and sciences are concerned; but, with these, they have mingled wicked ideas and practices, of which the heathen and barbarian would be ashamed, and of which they are entirely ignorant. We now live in the midst of the latter; they do not believe in making any improvements that will better their condition in the least. Their forefathers were once enlightened, and their knowledge was in advance of the knowledge of the present age. These natives belong to the house of Israel, and are embraced in the promises and covenants made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but through their forefathers transgressing the law of God, and breaking their covenants made with God, he hid his face from them, and they were left alone to follow the devices of their own evil hearts, until the whole race has sunk deep into barbarism. It is written in the Book of Mormon: “And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.” The Lord has taken from this race any disposition for improvement even to this day; the best of them consider it a disgrace to work. Whatever drudgery is per– formed is done by their squaws, or by slaves captured from neighboring tribes or bands. Ask any of them to work; the reply is, “me big Indian, me no work.” This is their idea touching greatness. But their ancient Prophets have spoken good concerning them. It is prophesied by Nephi as follows: “For after the book [Book of Mormon] of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed [the present American Indians.] And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored to the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers. And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people.” The laboring man, the ingenious, industrious, and prudent man, the man who lays himself out to advance the human family in every saving principle for happiness, for beauty, and excellency, for wisdom, power, greatness, and glory is the true benefactor of his race; he is the gentleman, the honorable, high-minded citizen of the world, and is worthy the society and admiration of the great and wise among all nations, though he may be destitute of wealth and title; he is a civilized man.

I wish to say a few words to our young men. My friends, it would give me great pleasure if you would mark my words well. As quick as you are old enough, learn to think for yourselves, and to look life’s stern realities fairly in the face, and learn to know yourselves, and your power and opportunities for doing good. When I was sixteen years of age, my father said to me, “You can now have your time; go and provide for yourself;” and a year had not passed away before I stopped running, jumping, wrestling and the laying out of my strength for naught; but when I was seventeen years of age, I laid out my strength in planing a board, or in cultivating the ground to raise something from it to benefit myself. I applied myself to those studies and pursuits of life that would commend me to every good person who should become acquainted with me although, like other young men, I was full of weakness, sin, darkness, and ignorance, and labored under disadvantages which the young men of this community have not to meet. I sought to use language on all occasions, that would be commendable, and to carry myself in society, in a way to gain for myself the respect of the moral and good among my neighbors. When I was invited to drink liquor, I said, as I would now say, “I am much obliged to you, but I do not use ardent spirits.” When young men pursue this course, they beget for themselves unbounded confidence in their friends and acquaintances; they can be trusted when money or property is committed to their care, because they are honest, economical, and prudent, and will do right; wherever or whenever you meet them, you will find them bearing the deportment of gentlemen, towards every person with whom they come in contact, whether old or young. We, of all people upon the earth, should know, as a community, the best how to regulate our morals, feelings, and passions. We should know how to train up our children in the ways of the Lord, that they may be a credit to us, as parents, and as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

It is a shame to a man, who is made after the image of God, not to have control over his tongue, in the moments of passion or rage; let him first overcome and govern his passion, and then trust himself to speak, whether he be in the presence of his family or alone. “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” When we speak, let us speak good words; when we think, think good thoughts; and when we act, perform good acts; until it shall become the delight of every man and woman to do good instead of evil, and to teach righteousness by example, and precept rather than unrighteousness. The men and women who pursue this course are entitled to all the blessings of heaven, both temporal and spiritual, and such blessings will be bestowed upon them as fast as they are prepared to properly apply, use, and enjoy them.

I will here say to parents, that kind words and loving actions towards children, will subdue their uneducated natures a great deal better than the rod, or, in other words, than physical punishment. Although it is written that, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame,” and, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes;” these quotations refer to wise and prudent corrections. Children who have lived in the sunbeams of parental kindness and affection, when made aware of a parent’s displeasure, and receive a kind reproof from parental lips, are more thoroughly chastened, than by any physical punishment that could be applied to their persons. It is written, that the Lord “shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.” And again it is written, “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.” The rod of a parent’s mouth, when used in correction of a beloved child, is more potent in its effects, than the rod which is used on the fool’s back. When children are reared under the rod, which is for the fool’s back, it not infrequently occurs that they become so stupefied and lost to every high-toned feeling and sentiment, that though you bray them in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not their foolishness depart from them. Kind looks, kind actions, kind words, and a lovely, holy deportment towards them will bind our children to us with bands that cannot easily be broken; while abuse and unkindness will drive them from us, and break assunder every holy tie, that should bind them to us, and to the everlasting covenant in which we are all embraced. If my family, and my brethren and sisters, will not be obedient to me on the basis of kindness, and a commendable life before all men, and before the heavens, then farewell to all influence. Earthly kings and potentates obtain influence and power by terrorism, and maintain it by the same means. Had I to obtain power and influence in that way, I should never possess it in this world nor in the next.

Fathers who send their little boys and girls on the plains and ranges, to herd their cattle and sheep, and drag them out of bed very early in the morning, to go out in the cold and wet, perhaps without shoes and but scantily clad otherwise, are cruel to their offspring, and when their children arrive at years of maturity, they will leave the roof under which they have received such oppression, and free themselves from the control of parents, who have acted towards them, more like taskmasters than natural protectors. It is in this unnatural school that our thieves have their origin, and where they receive their first lessons in dishonesty and wild recklessness. Mark the path in which a number of our boys have traveled, from the time they were eight or ten years of age, to sixteen, eighteen and twenty. Have they been caressed and kindly treated by their parents, sent to school, and when at home taught to read good books, taught to pray themselves, and to hear their parents pray? Have they been accustomed to live and breathe in a peaceful, quiet, heavenly influence when at home? No. Then can you wonder that your children are wild, reckless and ungovernable? They care not for a name, or standing in society. Every noble aspiration is blunted; for they are made to go here or there, like mere machines, at the beck and call of tyrant parents, and are uncultivated and uncivilized. This picture will apply to a few of our young men. Let parents treat their children as they themselves would wish to be treated, and set an example before them that is worthy of you as Saints of God. Parents are responsible before the Lord, for the way in which they educate and train their children, for “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

We are here chiefly for the purpose of encouraging the people of this Ward, to take out a portion of the waters of Weber, to irrigate the thousands of acres of excellent land, that is now lying waste around them. Counting the cost was a practice among the Jews, for, says Jesus, “which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” But, counting the cost may possibly be done in such a way, that a man would not allow himself to perform the least duty of a public character, without first stopping to enquire whether it will pay, or how much it will cost him; and if he fails to see an immediate return of an immense interest for present outlays, he clutches his money or his property, and covets that which belongs to the Lord, and over which he is only a steward. It seldom happens, however, that the very excellent practice of counting the cost—excellent when employed at the proper time and on proper occasions—is called into requisition when human pride has to be pampered and satisfied, and thousands, in consequence of not foreseeing the result of present unwise expenditures, have found themselves in a state of insolvency, and while in this state they are robbed of their peace, and have bitterness and gall in the stead thereof. I would not have the Saints count the cost in the way the wicked, avaricious world do; for true Saints always have a fund of faith, to join with their labor and means, which should be taken into account, and no true Saint will be contented to be curtailed, within the limited bounda– ries which dollars and cents give. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” It is also written, that, “By faith Noah, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” That, “through faith,” the ancients, “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens,” etc.

Should the brethren say that they cannot bring out the waters of Weber, I cannot believe them, until they have applied their faith, their means, and their labor, and then fail in the accomplishment of the work. I might inquire how much it will cost me and my company to make the present visit to Kaysville and Ogden City. Nobody will think of this expenditure; I shall not think of it; my brethren, who accompany me, will not think of it; it never comes into our minds what it costs us, but how much good we can do our brethren and sisters, in encouraging them to faithfully perform every duty of a public and private character; so, when the Saints are required to embark in any public enterprise, the word should not be, “can I do it,” or “am I able to do it? What will it cost, and will it pay, etc.?” but, “it is a work for the public good, and we can do it, by going at it with a will and determination, that will make every obstacle, imaginary and real, vanish away.”

When we say we cannot do a work, which is embraced within the limits of possibility, it will generally be found that we cannot do it, because we are unwilling to do it. If you bring out the Weber, at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars (I think however, that the work will not cost that), and you do not cultivate one acre more than is now under cultivation, and have all the water you need, you will probably get back the amount of your outlay in two years, and it may be in the first year. I have not made estimates on this; however, I am safe in saying that the increase of wealth to this ward will be immense. You can open a ditch large enough to supply your present wants, and afterwards you can enlarge it to carry sufficient water, to give water privileges to new land, on the route of the canal, that will more than pay for it three times over. We have the choice of two things: either to supply our farms and city lots with more water, by bringing out the large streams, or to contract our cultivated land. I say to the people of this neighborhood, and every other neighborhood in the Territory, that we cannot keep the grass on our ranges; it is eaten off; and the roots are died out, and weeds spring up in stead; let us bring out the waters of our large streams, and fence in our meadows and ranges, and produce abundance of rich and nutritious grasses, by watering the land, and judiciously grazing it, and keep our cattle within our own fields; and in this way people will gain wealth faster, than by having their cattle running wild, in the valleys and on the hills; we will also become richer in grain, fruit and vegetables, and we can better handle that which we have got; but, at present much of our wealth is out of our reach. I have hundreds of head of cattle, which I have raised in my barn yard, and cannot use this means to benefit myself, because it is out of my reach; then we have between twelve and fifteen hundred head of horses, worth over a hundred thousand dollars, and yet that property is in such a condition, that we could not realize one thousand dollars of available means from that whole band, and we are continually losing animals.

The Lord puts wealth into our hands, and we suffer it to waste, instead of laying it out to usury, and I have often said to the Latter-day Saints: let us see to it, how we use the mercies of the Lord, lest he should give us cursings, instead of blessings. God bless you Amen.

Sunday, Nov. 13, 1864. This people, the Latter-day Saints, are of one heart and mind respecting the spiritual things of the Kingdom of God; in temporal things they have not yet become so well united. Brother George Q. Cannon this morning referred to affairs that took place in Kirtland. Some of the leading men in Kirtland were much opposed to Joseph the Prophet meddling with temporal affairs; they did not believe that he was capable of dictating to the people upon temporal matters, thinking that his duty embraced spiritual things alone, and that the people should be left to attend to their temporal affairs, without any interference whatever from Prophets or Apostles. Men in authority there would contend with Joseph on this point; not openly, but in their little Councils. After a while the matter culminated into a public question; it became so public that it was in the mouth of almost every one. In a public meeting of the Saints, I said, “Ye Elders of Israel, Father Smith is present, the Prophet is present, and here are his counselors, here are also High Priests and Elders of Israel, now, will some of you draw the line of demarcation, between the spiritual and the temporal in the Kingdom of God, so that I may understand it?” Not one of them could do it. When I saw a man stand in the path before the Prophet to dictate him, I felt like hurling him out of the way, and branding him as a fool. I finally requested them either to draw the line of demarcation between spiritual and temporal things, or forever afterwards hold their peace on that subject.

I do not believe it is my prerogative to preach a doctrine I do not practice myself; neither is it the privilege of any other Elder of this Church; still we do it. I have frequently requested Legislators, Councilors, and other public men, never to oppose a principle or measure, they cannot improve. This is a general rule; but there may be exceptions.

I defy any man on earth to point out the path a Prophet of God should walk in, or point out his duty, and just how far he must go, in dictating temporal or spiritual things. Temporal and spiritual things are inseparably connected, and ever will be. The first act that Joseph Smith was called to do by the angel of God, was, to get the plates from the hill Cumorah, and then translate them, and he got Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery to write for him. He would read the plates, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, and they would write. They had to either raise their bread from the ground, or buy it, and they had to eat and drink, and sleep, and toil, and rest, while they were engaged in bringing forth the great Work of the last days. All these were temporal acts, directed by the spirit of revelation.

With regard to Joseph the Prophet being a financier, I will say this for his credit: if the Saints had gone forth with their whole heart, mind, and strength, as individuals and as a community, to perform the labor and the duties Joseph dictated, God would have blessed such to the people, they having done the best they could. I believe that, as much as I know that the sun shines. Joseph Smith never tolerated in the least, indolence, idleness, slothfulness, drunkenness, or anything of the kind wherein exists sin. There are brethren here who were personally acquainted with Joseph, and who have known him probably as long as I have. If ever Joseph got wrong, it was before the public, in the face and eyes of the people; but he never did a wrong in private that I ever knew of. In his private instructions to the Saints, the Angel Gabriel could not have given better instructions than he gave, and which he continued to do until his death. He gave as good counsel as the Savior did according to his knowledge; but as to his being as exemplary as Jesus was, I cannot say, for we know but little of the life of the Savior. When he entered on the ministry, he was thirty years of age, and he labored three years. We have only a few items of the life of the Savior, and of the Apostles; and we have but very little of the doings and sayings which transpired in the lives of the ancient Prophets. As to the character of the Savior, I have nothing to say, only that he is the Savior of the world, and was the best man that ever lived on this earth, and my firm conviction is, that Joseph Smith was as good a man, as any Prophet or Apostle that ever lived upon this earth, the Savior excepted. I wanted to say so much for brother Joseph.

I care not who plants and who waters, who trades here, or goes to that city, to trade and do business, who buys goods in the States, or sells them in these valleys, it is the Lord who gives to every man, that which he possesses on the earth; it is the free gift of God, whether we be Saints or sinners. “I returned, and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” “Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” Men are successful when the Lord blesses them, and strews their path with success to make them wealthy, this cometh to pass, not by the wisdom of man, but through the providences of the Almighty.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, Oct. 30, 1864.

It is so uncomfortable outside today that there are but few here, with us, in the Tabernacle. We have reflections with regard to the faith of the people, and the fervency of the Saints in their faith in the Gospel when our meetings are thinly attended, as they are today. Some may think the brethren and sisters are backsliding and growing cold, when they do not attend meeting. It may sometimes be just as good and profitable to stay at home as to come to meeting.

One thing is certain, that where people make a practice of attending meetings frequently, it creates an increased desire to do so. And many who do not attend to the worship of God here may be just as fervent, and humble in their spirits, and trying to live as uprightly before God at home as those who attend religious meetings. I do not think the people are forgetful of God and of their obligations to him because they tarry at home.

I like to come to meeting; I am in the habit of doing so. I was fond of going to meeting when I cared but little about religion, for I was anxious to learn; having a thirst for knowledge I was always gratified in attending meetings to listen to public addresses, to gain instruction and add to my stock of information. The Lord has instructed us to meet together often and hold our sacraments and offer up our oblations before him, confess our faults, and speak words of comfort to each other. Viewing it in this light, we regard it is a duty, and it should be a pleasing one; it is to me. It gives me great pleasure to see the faces of those who delight to serve God assembled together to worship him, and often my feelings have been such that I could have enjoyed a meeting after the Quaker style, without a single word being spoken, or even the ceremony of shaking hands; for I delight to look upon the Saints who keep the commandments of our Father and God. I do not believe that those who stay at home are, in many instances, any worse than those who come to meeting, nor that those who come to meeting are particularly better than those who stay at home; but it is a consolation to me to meet with the Saints, to see them and talk to them, in a way to comfort and instruct them. This is always my object in speaking to the Saints; yet, I consider the best preaching is example; for, as I have often said, it is not my privilege to preach and not practice what I preach. If I preach a truth for others to observe, I am under obligation to observe that truth myself. I do not believe that it is the privilege of any man to preach and not practice. Still, we see it done by many. They preach more than they practice; but this does not diminish the obligations they are under to practice all they preach and live the religion they profess.

I hear my brethren, Sabbath after Sabbath, testify of what they believe, what joy they have in the Gospel, how firm they are in it, and that they desire never to turn away from it, and then they will pray the Lord to let them be faithful! Who hinders them from being faithful? There is nothing that is good, not a truth in heaven, nor in hell, in the earth nor under the earth, but what is in our religion. What can you get outside of the Kingdom of God? Death and destruction, pain, anguish and sorrow, misery and woe, and grief of every description. Some say, “I hope I will be faithful; Lord, let me be faithful!” Who will interfere with you? The Devil will interfere, as far as he has power; but his power is limited, while the Lord possesses unlimited power; and, to use a common phrase, we would like to be on the strongest side; we would like to fight on the side of right, for that will win. We would not knowingly invest capital in an insolvent firm. Then, let us invest in the firm whose stock consists in the riches of eternity; for all the light there is in heaven and on the earth is incorporated in our religion. Is there joy in heaven? That is incorporated in our religion. Is these joy on earth? That, also, is in our religion. Is there intelligence? Yes, an eternity of it, and it is in our religion. Is there glory? Yes, and that is in our religion. Is there immortality? Yes; and that is in our religion. Everlasting lives? That is ours. Friends? They are ours. Wealth? That is ours. Peace? Yes; and that is ours. Every blessing, and infinitely more than we can imagine, is in our religion and for us to enjoy, while, outside of it, there is nothing but death and hell.

We can understand a few of the first principles of our religion, and enjoy a few of its blessings; but can we understand the whole of it? No; not yet. We can understand some of the ordinances of the House of God; but do we understand them all? We shall, if we are faithful. We have had revealed to us some of the ordinances and laws pertaining to the celestial Kingdom of God, but are they all revealed? No. Could we understand them, if they were revealed? We could not. There is a little given, as we can receive it, as the Prophet of old said, the Lord gives a little here and a little there, “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” Why did he not give more to his people in past times? Because they could not understand it. Why does he not give more to this people now? Because they are incapable of understanding it. But, in the sequel, we will find there is nothing that can be desired by us in righteousness, that is not incorporated in our religion. We see glory and honor and wealth in the world. They belong to the Kingdom of God. But, it may be asked, why does the Lord permit the world to have them? He gives every blessing to both Saint and sinner, just as far as they can receive his blessings. He is bountiful of His mercies and kind to all his children, bestowing blessings upon them abundantly; but they often abuse his bounties. The Lord has given to all men every power and blessing they possess; and he would give them more, if they could receive it. It is a pleasure to me to meet with the Saints, to worship God and to offer up my oblations to him; and it is a pleasure to the Saints generally.

We preach a good deal to the Latter-day Saints, yet they know but little; they can receive but little. We teach them the little things, the first principles of the Gospel, and we talk to them of the goodness of God and of his kind providences, and so on; but, if we could understand the truth with regard to the fulness of the Kingdom of God, our hearts would be full of joy unutterable. These words are as idle tales to the Christian portions of the world, and to those who do not believe in God and in his Son Jesus Christ, and also to many of the Saints. But I know the darkness that is among the people. Go to the Christian world—to say nothing about those who do not believe in God, in Jesus, nor in revealed religion—go to those who make long prayers and attend meetings—to those who pay the priests and wear long faces, and these words are idle tales to them; and so they are almost to the Latter-day Saints. Yet there is a degree of light and intelligence that has come to us and has caused us to do what we have done, and be what we are. The proof of the virtue of a people is in the life they lead.

We talk of the oneness of the people, yet we lack much of that oneness we must yet arrive at. If we could see things as they are, we need never preach this sermon again so long as we live. But we have to talk to the people, and keep talking to them; we have to bear with them, and teach them. We can tell them but little, for we know but little, and they are not prepared to receive more than they get. When any man lifts himself up in his philosophy, and wonders why we do not talk about this, and that, and the other thing that we do not wish to talk about, what does he know of the results that would follow from communicating principles to this people which they are not prepared to receive? I do not know that it would not be as Joseph once remarked—Said he, “If I were to tell the people what I knew of the kingdom of God, there is not a man nor woman that would stay with me.” Said I, “Do not reveal anything to me then, I do not wish to apostatize.” If the Lord were to reveal many things to this people now, which will be made known in the future, they could not abide them—they have not capacity at the present to receive them. Many people look at the wisdom and intelligence there is in the world, concerning many things, and marvel—“What great knowledge! What wonderful skill!” Is there wisdom and mechanism in the world? Yes, and some people will say, “It is wonderful, almost beyond the knowledge of an angel.” They will talk of steam power, the power of the air, of electricity, and other things, and say it is almost beyond the knowledge of an angel. An angel from heaven knows more about the sciences and arts, of which you and I have a little smattering, than all the men on the earth. When they have gone to the extent of their knowledge and ability and understanding in science and art, they are far behind an angel. Does a knowledge of the sciences belong to our religion, too? Yes. There is nothing, only death and hell, but what belongs to it. We are not sanctified yet to receive many things that the Lord will reveal by-and-by. We are not prepared to receive the fulness of the Kingdom of God. If we were, we would stop preaching a great many sermons we now have to preach. But we are here living and improving; and many of the people really love and delight in their religion.

You hear the brethren say, at times, that they never saw the time they were ashamed of their religion. That is true. Who is there on the face of the earth, that knows God or his Son Jesus Christ, that is not proud of it? Not vain, understand me—not proud, like a frivolous young person vain of some fancied superiority, but really thankful to God for the knowledge, and, if the term may be used, proud of it. Who would not be proud to know our elder Brother and Redeemer! Who would not be proud to understand the plan revealed by our Father and God to bestow upon us eternal life! To live, not merely next day and next year, but to live forever and ever, basking in the smiles of God and of angels, and enjoying the happiness and blessings of eternal life! Go to the great men of the earth, and talk to them about Joseph Smith, and many of them would spurn you from them. Go to members of the religious sects, to a Presbyterian, a Methodist, or a Baptist, and speak to them about Joseph and the Kingdom of God established on the earth, and most likely they would order you out of their houses. This causes feelings that are unpleasant. Yet why should it do so? What is there in such actions that should prevent us from rejoicing and feeling thankful that we know God and Jesus Christ. If I had all the young Elders and mission– aries here, I might say to them, when strangers reject your testimony, you have no cause to fail of heart and be downcast in your spirits. If all the kings of the earth were in one man, and all their grandeur and excellency were comprehended in his person, and he were to reject your testimony, instead of feeling ashamed you should be full of pity for him. Your feelings should be like those of a father to a child; “My son, I am sorry for you, and my heart is moved with pity; you have no knowledge of your true position; you are in possession of a certain greatness and knowledge, but your true greatness, knowledge and power you know nothing of. Poor child, I pity you.” These should be the feelings of every Elder that goes forth to preach the Gospel to the nations.

Put it down in your memories, let it be written on the tablets of your hearts that, outside of the religion we have embraced, there is nothing but death, hell and the grave. Every excellency, blessing, comfort, happiness, and light, and everything that can be enjoyed by an intelligent being, is for us, if we live for it.

May the Lord help us to do so. Amen.

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 23, 1864.

In standing up to address you this morning, I trust I shall have the assistance of your faith and prayers, that my mind may be led to dwell upon those points of doctrine that may be interesting and strengthening to us under the present circumstances. It is with very peculiar feelings that I stand before my brethren and sisters at home. While I was abroad, preaching the Gospel, and mingling with my brother missionaries from this land, and among the Saints in other countries, I felt a degree of freedom and ease in trying to instruct them, in consequence, no doubt, of knowing that it was my calling, which had been laid upon me by the servants of God, to impart to the people such instructions as I might be led to give by the Spirit of God. I have a different feeling when I am at home among my brethren and sisters in Zion. I feel as though there was some need of my sitting still to listen; still I do not feel to shrink in the least degree from the duties and responsibilities God has seen fit to place upon me.

I rejoice exceedingly in the knowledge God has given to me that this is his Work—that he has established it never more to be thrown down, and that it is his mind and will it should roll forth and increase until it fills the whole earth. I know there are a great many views entertained upon this point by the people abroad, and they indulge in a great variety of opinion respecting the Latter-day Saints in the valleys of Utah. A great many opinions have been hazarded in bygone days respecting our future fate. Some have imagined that it needed but a short time to elapse, and a few changes to take place, and all that would remain of this work would be found on the records of the historian: that is, it would fall to pieces, and pass away forever, and there would not be even a remnant left of it. Many of the Saints doubtless recollect what views that were entertained relating to the Prophet Joseph. It was supposed that the whole Kingdom and the stability of it depended upon his life, and that if he could be removed, and his influence destroyed, or his life taken from him, that the system called “Mormonism,” “that gross delusion” as they termed it, would tumble to pieces, and the adherents of the system would scatter abroad throughout the nations no more to trouble them. Acting upon this view they sought his life for years, and at last they were successful in destroying his mortal tabernacle; but they were disappointed, for they soon discovered that it did not accomplish the end they designed; still, the spirit that prompted them to seek his life stirred them up to endeavor to seek the lives of those who had stepped forward and taken his place, and who were seeking with the same diligence which he had manifested to establish the Work of which he had laid the foundation. You know with what perseverance they have striven from the beginning to the present time to do this. It is unnecessary for me to reiterate in your hearing this morning the various attempts that have been made from the days of the Prophet Joseph until now—how unceasingly they have endeavored, and with what ingenuity and craft they have sought to bring their wicked plans and bitter malice to bear against the work of God to sap its foundation that it might cease to increase in the earth. Not only have we had these things to contend with from those who never were associated with us and who knew nothing about our principles, only as they could gain a knowledge of them from casual observation, but we have had to contend with apostates—those who have been numbered with us, who professed to have received a knowledge of the truth as we have received it, who had received and officiated in the Holy Priesthood, who had borne testimony hundreds of times to the great Work which our Father and God has established in the earth. Yes, added to the efforts of those who have never been numbered with us, we have had the efforts of apostates to contend with, we have had their malice to encounter, we have had their deep laid schemes to counteract; and, if there has been anything that has been disagreeable connected with our history from the beginning to the present, it has been more especially found in the opposition that we have had to meet from the hands, mouths, and pens of those who have been once numbered with us. This has been bitter, and most disagreeable to our feelings; at least, I can speak individually for myself in this matter; it has been something that has been exceedingly painful to me to see those who formerly called themselves our brethren opposing the Work of God with all the envenomed hatred that you could imagine an evil spirit to be possessed of, seeking the lives of those men whom they formerly called brethren and associated with on terms of friendship. Every species of slander has been circulated by them, and they not only have sought to lay plans for the overthrow of the Work of God, but they have sought to disseminate erroneous views to destroy in the minds of the people confidence in the authority of those whom God has called to stand at the head of his Church. This list of enemies is a very long one, and they have not been idle; they have arisen one by one, time after time, and have sought with all the ability they possessed to destroy the Work of God. But there is an assurance which those who are living their religion have, and which they ever have had from the beginning until the present time—an assurance of which men cannot deprive us, that God our heavenly Father has decreed that his Work shall stand, and that those who have received his Holy Priesthood, and are endeavoring to magnify the same shall be borne off triumphantly over every opposing obstacle. This is a glorious consolation for those who are living faithfully in Christ Jesus; it is something that is calculated to cheer the feelings of the Saints, and make them feel happy in the midst of the various afflictions and trials and adversities they may have, from time to time, to pass through.

It is interesting for us to contemplate the history of the people of God in the days in which we live. To my mind this subject is full of matter; it is fruitful with suggestions, and with happy thoughts. I love to look back upon the history of our people; I love to contemplate the path that we have trod; I love to reflect upon the many difficulties and the many trials that we have overcome in the past, through the power of our God. I see on every hand a disposition manifested by the enemies of the Kingdom of God to lay snares for the feet of his servants; but it will be as it has been, their efforts will be overthrown. The recollection of the history of the past and the many scenes and trials and difficulties we have had to pass through as a people, and from which we have been delivered by the Almighty arm of our Father and God inspires us with confidence on this point, and encourages us to look forward with renewed assurance to that day, which God has promised, when we shall be delivered entirely from the power of our enemies, when they shall not trouble us; when the glory of the Lord, and the terror also of the Lord, shall be manifested in Zion, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it. The contemplation of these things causes me to look forward with renewed assurance to this glorious day that I know, as well as I know that I stand here, will dawn upon us as a people, and that too before very long.

I have heard, at various times, a great many talk about the difference between the Church now and the days of the Prophet Joseph. There is a class of people who seem to delight continually in dwelling upon the glory and happiness of the past. While I love to dwell upon the past, to reflect upon past scenes and associations and past teachings, and draw lessons therefrom, there is, nevertheless, to my mind, as much happiness to be enjoyed now in the contemplation of the Kingdom of God, in the contemplation of the glorious principles, that are taught unto us from time to time, as there is in the contemplation of the past teachings that we have received from the Servants of God in the days of Joseph. I can see that this people have progressed, and that the Authorities of this Church have progressed from that time until the present. I can see that there has been no standstill with them, nor with the Work of God with which they are identified. Every time I have returned from missions I have seen this growth in my brethren, in President Young, President Kimball, and other brethren who have been associated with them; I have seen it as visible as I have seen the growth of my children when I have been absent and returned. There has been a mental and spiritual growth that has given me an assurance that they are continually advancing in the direction of the celestial Kingdom of God our Father, and I know there is a greater degree of faith in the midst of this people today than in the days of Joseph. I can see it when I visit the Wards. I see a spirit of obedience manifested by the people to the Bishops that was not manifested in the days of Joseph even to him, himself, as the Prophet of God. These things cause my heart to rejoice, because I know that, notwithstanding our numerous frailties and weaknesses, and, notwithstanding our disobedience and hardness of heart, there is nevertheless a growth and development going on in the midst of this people; there is a portion of the people, at any rate, who are diligently striving to keep the commandments of God, and are successfully overcoming the weaknesses of their nature and that want of confidence and faith which exists in consequence of the traditions that have been instilled into our minds by our early education. I recollect upon one occasion, previous to the death of the Prophet Joseph, hearing him make a remark from the stand which made a deep impression upon my mind at the time. He said that if he were to reveal unto the people the principles and the doctrines which God had revealed unto him, there were men upon the stand that would go around the streets of the city seeking to shed his blood. I do not give his exact words; but the idea. I was young at the time, and I immediately began investigating my own feelings to know what doctrines brother Joseph could possibly teach that would have that effect upon my mind. Although I did not fully comprehend his remark, I believed it; for I believed everything he said. Yet not many months elapsed before I comprehended his words; for, soon afterwards one of the men who sat on the stand and heard that declaration, and whose name he mentioned, went about the city plotting to shed his blood. I do not believe it would be necessary for President Young today to be so cautious in advancing doctrines to this people as brother Joseph was at that time; not but what there are principles and doctrines today which he has to be as careful in advancing to this people, in consequence of our unbelief and hardness of heart, as brother Joseph was; but the same doctrines that brother Joseph asserted that if he advanced would lead to the spilling of his blood, can be advanced today, with the most perfect freedom, by the servants of God. The people have advanced sufficiently in faith and in the knowledge of God to be prepared to receive such things from the servants of God; but there is still a necessity for us to exert and arouse ourselves that we may have that faith with God which is necessary to prepare us for the things yet to be revealed to us.

My brethren and sisters, the Lord has not yet revealed to us all that is to be revealed. There are many great and glorious principles and truths pertaining to exaltation in the celestial Kingdom of God which we are not yet prepared to receive. We need only reflect for a few moments upon the doctrine which President Young has advanced already to assure us that there is a necessity for us to arouse on this point, and be diligent and faithful, in order that our faith may increase with God, that the veil of darkness may be rent asunder and that the light of truth in its purity and brilliancy, as it exists in the presence of God, may shine upon us, that we may be prepared to receive the truths God has in store for us. From the day that God established this Church to the present the stream of revelation has continued to flow uninterruptedly. It flows pure for us to drink at until we are filled to repletion; and if we do not drink, it is our own fault. The servants of God are not to blame, for they have been laboring by day and by night, from the beginning, with us, as a people, to prepare us for the great things that are at our very doors, and that God intends to perform in this generation. I feel the importance of this, probably not as much as I ought, and wish to do; nevertheless, when I see the great events that are taking place at this time among the nations—when I view the destiny that awaits us as a people, and the great things God has in store for us, I almost feel as though I was a laggard on the path, and too slow entirely for the great events that are coming upon the earth. The day is near when a Temple shall be reared in the Center Stake of Zion, and the Lord has said his glory shall rest on that House in this generation, that is in the generation in which the revelation was given, which is upwards of thirty years ago. How much are we prepared for this? We talk about it, sing about it, and delight to dwell upon it; but are we prepared for this great manifestation of glory in our midst? I doubt it very much, and it seems to me that we will have to become more diligent, more zealous, and more faithful, humble, and prayerful, than we ever have been to be fully prepared for these great events. I have said that the servants of God are not to blame; they will not be to blame, if we are not prepared for these events. It is not because we have not been taught; it is not because we have not been plead with—not because we have not had good examples set before us by our leaders; the contrary has been the case. The voice of God, through his servants, has been pleading with us from the beginning until now. It still pleads with us; the servants of God still entreat us; their bowels of compassion yearn over us as does those of the Lord; they are filled with great desire to see this people walk up and obey all the laws of God, and nothing grieves them so much as to see the people negligent, careless, and indifferent in the performance of their duties, disobedient to counsel, and disregarding the duties and requirements of their holy religion. Men talk about revelation—I said a few moments ago that men compared the present day with the past, and compare it unfavorably. When I look at what God has done for us up to the present, instead of there being room for unfavorable comparisons between the past and the present, I am pleasingly astonished at what has been and is being done. It has been one constant stream of revelation from that day to this. Read the discourses of the first Presidency and the Twelve, and you will see that they are filled with revelation, with light, with knowledge, with wisdom, and with good counsel unto this people. Have this people ever seen the day when the counsel of God’s servants has not been sufficient to guide them in the midst of difficulties? No; we never have. There has not been a single minute that this people has been left without the voice of God; there has not been a single minute since this Church was founded to this time that the power of God has not been plainly manifested in our midst. I rejoice in this—I rejoice in it exceedingly; because I know that God is still laboring with his people, and that his power has been manifested in the earth for the accomplishment of his great and glorious purposes.

When I look back, and think upon the condition we were in at the time we left Nauvoo and were driven into the wilderness, at the point almost of our enemies’ bayonets, and then notice the path we have trod from that day to this my wonder and astonishment are great, and as I grow older these feelings increase. When I contemplate how we have been led, how the revelations of God have rested upon his servant Brigham, and how he has been enabled to guide this people safely through the difficulties which laid in their path up to this time, I am filled with gratitude to God our Father for raising up Prophets in this our day. Posterity will look with wonder upon the Work which has been accomplished in this day—they will be lost in astonishment in contemplating the mighty Work of God, and will be exceedingly surpri– sed that it could be possible for this generation to witness such mighty works and not have respect to the testimony of the servants of God who led this people. We wonder now how it was possible for the Egyptians to reject the testimony of Moses and Aaron. But, to my mind, the great Work in which we are engaged is far greater than the work that was performed by Moses. I reverence the work Moses performed, I look upon it as a great work. But this Work of the last days is a far greater work—the gathering of the Saints together from the various nations, is a far more stupendous work, to my mind, than the gathering of Israel from Egypt to the land of Canaan. I would not be guilty of undervaluing the work Moses performed, or of attaching to it a light importance, for I value it highly; but with Moses it was different to what it has been with the leaders of Israel in these days. The children of Israel had been taught by their fathers that God would raise up a Prophet that should lead them from the land of bondage, and Joseph left a charge with his descendants that when God visited them they should take his bones with them to bury in the land of his fathers. They had been looking for this for some time; and when Moses came, he came in direct fulfilment of their traditions and the predictions of their fathers. He found the people almost in the condition of a single family—strangers in a strange land, looking upon their place of sojourn as a place of bondage, from which they would be gladly delivered. He had, therefore, only to raise the standard and declare that God had called him to be the deliverer—the messenger of which their fathers had spoken. This is all he had to do, and he led them forth. It was a great Work. But how has it been with the Work of God in the days in which we live? What traditions have we had handed down to prepare us for this Work? What traditions have the people of America, England, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, or France had to prepare them for this great gathering which is being accomplished? All their traditions have tended to fasten them to the homes of their fathers, have bound them to the graves of their ancestors; and the Gospel, which has been preached to them by the servants of God, has come in contact with all their prepossessed notions. Yet God has wrought mightily in the midst of the nations; he has poured out his Spirit upon the American, Englishman, Scotchman, Frenchman, German, Scandinavian, Italian, and Swiss, and they have been led by that Spirit to leave the land of their fathers to gather with the people of God to the place God has appointed. Is it not, therefore, a greater work than that performed in the days of Moses? Does it not appear so? As I have said, it appears a far greater work than has ever been performed upon the face of the earth since the beginning until now. We may think light of it; we may think that we are an insignificant and small people, yet this movement of ours is one of the greatest events that has ever occurred, since our race had a being on the earth. This is my view, and I do not begin to grasp its importance; I can only see glimpses of it as my mind is opened by the spirit of faith. Then I can see it, as it will be developed, grow and increase until it regenerates the earth and its inhabitants, and makes it a fit place for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. How thankful, then, we ought to be that God has again restored His Holy Priesthood, and sent Prophets again upon the earth, and has given them unto us, as a people, to lead and guide us.

I look upon this present time as one of the most critical days that has ever dawned upon us, and hope that in the midst of the temptations which now surround us we will keep our eye upon the mark, that we will continually have before us the object God designed we should accomplish, that we will not allow ourselves to be diverted to the right or to the left, but that we will continually go forth, putting our trust in God, being determined with all the strength and knowledge of God to serve him to the end of our lives. Our Prophets have predicted, that when the time should arrive for this people to be tried with prosperity, than they would be in great danger. I have heard this prediction uttered hundreds of times, until it has almost become like an old story with us. I heard the Prophet Joseph say, when he was living, that the time would come that this people would be tried with abundance; but he warned them to be careful of these things. The Lord has told us, through the revelations which he gave to Joseph, that it must needs be that the riches of the earth were his to give to his people; “but,” he said, “beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” This was the warning God gave to us years ago, and it has been repeated in our ears from that time until the present, and still there is a great necessity that we should treasure it up in our hearts, and often reflect upon it. Now that the day of prosperity has dawned upon us, and that we are increasing in material wealth, we should be more and more faithful to our covenants, remembering the promises of the Lord to his people, and keeping humble and meek before him. We have been tried by difficulties; we have been tried by mobs; we have seen the day when we have been compelled to leave our homes; but that banded the Saints together and caused them to be united, and their hearts to be strongly set to serve the Lord. How different it is today! Here we are, and the world are seeking to mingle with us, and they are becoming uncommonly gracious unto us, as a people; they can smile upon us and be kind unto us. They would have us believe that they welcome us warmly to their smiles and friendship. There is danger in this; this is the danger that the Prophets have dreaded. It is an insidious danger that comes creeping like a snake through the grass, and pounces upon us before we are aware of its proximity. But stir us up, as a people, by persecution and abuse, and there is no power on earth we would not unitedly stand against. Through the help of God we have successfully resisted every power that has been arrayed against us. Let the enemy come out against us as an open antagonist, and he finds us an impenetrable phalanx that cannot be moved. Our danger is not in this; but it lies in our being found asleep, and off our watchtower, unsuspecting and unprepared for the enemies’ most subtle attacks. It is in scenes like these that we are required to be the more watchful, and in times like these that we are required the more to have the power of God upon us and the revelations of Jesus Christ in our hearts, or we are sure to be overcome. Probably the danger of which I speak is more apparent to me, through being absent for some time; but there is danger, and there is a necessity for us to be up and have our eyes open to the signs of the times and the danger that menaces us today, and that threaten to ensnare our feet. I have no fears if we will only obey the counsel of God’s servants, if we will only listen diligently to those things which they impart unto us, and honor their teachings and be attentive to our duties. But when I see Saints indifferent about their meetings, passing their Sundays without caring whether they hear instructions or not, and their religion becomes a secondary consideration with them, then I am afraid of such individuals; because they are not in a position to resist the attacks of that tempter, who is continually watching to destroy us and the Work of God from off the face of the earth. The Lord our God is working with us; he is trying us, probably with trials of a new sort that he may approve of us in every respect. If we have set out to obtain Celestial glory, the precious and inestimable gift of eternal lives, there is no trial necessary for our purification and perfection as Saints of God that we will not have to meet, contend with and overcome. Such trials will come in various shapes, on the right hand and on the left, whether they be in having everything move on prosperously, or in adversity, hardship and the laying down of our lives for the truth, until the design is fully accomplished and the dross of our natures is purified and these earthly tabernacles are redeemed from everything that is groveling and low and brought into entire subjection to the mind and will of God.

The Lord has sent us here for a wise purpose. He has given us these glorious tabernacles, complete in all their parts, and given unto us laws which are necessary that we should obey to redeem these bodies and pass safely into his presence, to dwell there in the midst of eternal burnings. This is the mission he has given unto us to perform on the earth, and a more glorious mission could not be given to the sons and daughters of God. The possession of prosperity, boundless wealth in gold and silver, fine raiment, magnificent dwellings, horses and carriages, and all these things attainable on the earth, are but secondary matters compared with it. They are merely auxiliaries to aid us in accomplishing our destiny and are not given unto us to set our hearts upon, or for us to consider our time well spent in looking after them and nothing else. We ought to value riches no more than we do the earth on which we tread, the air we breathe, or the water we drink. The man who seeks after the perishable things of this life and allows his mind to dwell upon them, to the exclusion of the things of God which pertain to his eternal salvation, has failed to comprehend the mission God has assigned him. Let us be taught on these points, and be wise in our day, seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, having our eyes on the mark, being determined that we will build up the Kingdom of God and serve him in spite of hell and every opposing obstacle. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the happiness men and women enjoy in doing the will of God. This the Saints understand. There was no happier people lived than the Saints when in the midst of poverty and destitution and persecution by their enemies; because they knew they were doing the will of God, and their songs of praise and thanksgiving ascended continually to God and the Lamb for the kindness God had manifested to them. My prayer is that we as a people may be obedient to the servants of God, honor and uphold the Priesthood under all circumstances, and cling to the rod of iron which leadeth to the tree of life, that, finally, we may be found at the right hand of our Father and God, and be counted worthy to sit down with Jesus, the holy Prophets and Apostles, having fought the good fight of faith and overcome. This is my prayer for you this morning and for all the people of God throughout the earth, in the name of Jesus Christ: Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1864.

The brethren who have spoken have been disposed to speak concerning the testimony they have within themselves of the truth of this Work. It made me think of a circumstance in the history of Joseph Smith, in which I was an actor, relating to a few men in Nauvoo who sought to make it appear that the printed word was all in all, and immensely superior to the living testimony of the Holy Ghost in the believer, and to the power of the living Priesthood. I attended one of their meetings, which was held in Joseph’s house, arose to speak, and took for my text, “ye Saints of Latter days, I would not give you the ashes of a rye straw for every word that is contained in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants, so far as their efficacy is concerned to save any man, independent of the living Priesthood of the Son of God, and the testimony of the Holy Ghost in the heart of the believer.”

I have never particularly desired any man to testify publicly that I am a Prophet; nevertheless, if any man feels joy in doing this, he shall be blest in it. I have never said that I am not a Prophet; but, if I am not, one thing is certain, I have been very profitable to this people. In the providence of God he has placed me to take charge of his flock, and they have been abundantly blessed under my administration. I did not desire to be their shepherd; but the great Shepherd of all the sheep placed me in this position, and there is no man on earth can truthfully say aught against the dealings of the leaders of this people with the Latter-day Saints. We have blessed them with the blessings of life and salvation—the blessings of this life, and of that life which is to come, for the Kingdom and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heavens must, sooner or later pass into the hands of God’s people. We are trying to prepare the minds of the Saints for the reception of this great power, that they may prove themselves competent and worthy to hold it. There is not a faithful Elder who does not daily pray earnestly for the redemption of the Center Stake of Zion; but how seldom we inquire of ourselves if we are prepared to enter upon that work. The Lord is very merciful to us, and more willing to bestow his bounties upon us than we are to receive them, or prepared to appreciate them; for if we were now prepared to receive the fulness of his Kingdom, we would be far advanced in the knowledge of God to what we are. I have often remarked that in spiritual things we are one; and we have also got to become one in temporal things as we are one in spiritual things. Brother Kimball has told you that the Lord does not mean that we shall be one in property, in the height of our persons, color of our hair and eyes, in the size and expression of our features, or in the acuteness and vigor of our senses. Being thus physically one would not make us one as the Lord wishes us to be one. He wishes us to be one in our efforts to advance his Kingdom. He wishes every man, every woman, and every child that has attained to years of discretion to be one in putting forth their hands, their means and their influence to bring about this desired object. I could give you, thus saith the Lord; but the faith we have embraced is so reasonable, rational, and consistent, and so easily proved, that I am not under the necessity of saying, thus saith the Lord. If I wanted you to believe a mass of folly and nonsense, such as others wish you to believe, then it would be necessary to say, thus saith the Lord, to operate upon the fears of the more ignorant and superstitious of mankind. The truth always stands upon its own foundation, and speaks for itself; for, at this time, every Elder and Saint should so live, that the Spirit of the Lord will witness unto them the truth of my words, and the words of the Apostles, without my being under the necessity of saying, thus saith the Lord to enforce it. I now say to the brethren and sisters, be ye blessed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 31, 1864.

In my remarks this afternoon I wish to address strangers, as well as the Saints; and I desire, with all my heart, that I may have the words of truth to give them, to each one as he may need, that all may be profited.

I present myself before this congregation as a teacher of the way of life and salvation, and I seek unto the Lord day by day for strength and wisdom to enable me to magnify my high and holy calling, to the end that those who believe my testimony may be saved in the presence of the Father and the Son; and that those who cannot abide the law which prepares mankind to enter into the celestial kingdom, may be prepared for just as high a kingdom and glory as they can abide.

There exist in the minds of men throughout the world a great variety of ideas and notions in regard to the character of the Supreme Being, yet all believe in a Supreme ruling power which is invisible to them, which does not speak to them, whose dwelling place, as some suppose, is beyond the most distant stars, and, as others suppose, is everywhere; having, as some suppose, a corporeal form, and, as others suppose, being without form.

All people have their national and individual capacities, desires, faith, pursuits, habits, manners, customs, etc. We, like others, think that our religion is the best religion upon the earth. All have the privilege of worshipping the sun, moon, or stars, if they please; to imagine to themselves a Supreme Being existing in any form their imaginations may create, or in no form at all. Others are as enthusiastic in their faith and religious doctrine, as we are. I doubt not that those we call heathen are as sincere in their heathenish worship as we are in ours. The Christian world of the 19th century acknowledge the Old and New Testaments as the standard of their religion, yet it would be difficult to imagine a greater variety of views, notions, and beliefs, in regard to the Supreme Being, than exist among the Christians of the present day.

The foundation of the religion we have embraced, and are trying to practice, is based upon new revelation. To learn the true religion is to learn and understand its Author.

The Latter-day Saints differ from their Christian brethren who do not belong to the Latter-day Church, and we have, we consider, as good a right to differ from them as they have to differ from us. They say that our religion is not orthodox, is of short standing, and unpopular; that makes no difference with us. We are one in our belief of a Supreme Being, while they widely differ upon this vital point; and after ages of controversy upon it, still making more uncertain the possibility of their becoming united, they are content to say, “great is the mystery of godliness: God made manifest in the flesh,” and there they leave it.

Moses represents God as saying, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Are we willing, in our faith to subscribe to those statements? Are we willing to let the truth of heaven speak in plainness, and have its full influence over our minds? A few more quotations of Scripture upon this point will answer my present purpose. “Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” “Who being the brightness of the glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” From these Scriptures you can at once understand there is a strong resemblance between the Father and the Son in the person of the Savior, who possessed all the qualifications of a perfect man.

We Latter-day Saints believe that God is our Father, according to the declaration of the Prophets and Apostles; and we are his offspring and that He has made of one flesh and blood all the inhabitants of the earth, no matter whether they be white, black, red, yellow, or copper-colored. We believe in a God who has eyes to see, ears to hear, indeed every member and sense of his body well developed as a perfect man. Is there any harm in believing this? If we do not take this view of the Great Author of our existence, what view shall we take of him? Shall we try to view Him as a shapeless, passionless, measureless entity? Shall we consider the Being in whose image we were made, an unorganized element of some kind, floating in the immensity of space, without mind, plan, or purpose?

God is considered to be everywhere present at the same moment; and the Psalmist says, “Whither shall I flee from thy presence?” He is present with all his creations through his influence, through his government, spirit and power, but he himself is a personage of tabernacle, and we are made after his likeness.

It was said here this morning that the Gospel maketh those who receive it of one heart and of one mind; they become of one heart and of one mind as to the principles of the Gospel so far as they are revealed, but when men speculate upon principles or doctrines, and undertake to develop what they have no knowledge of, then they may differ widely, the Latter-day Saints as well as others. The principles which have been revealed to us from the heavens bring this people to the standard of truth; it is that which makes them one. The proof of this is before us—Latter-day Saints, you are my witnesses.

In regard to the character of the Deity, our faith is different from that of our former religious associates; but we leave the world to judge, every man for himself, whether we are right or whether they are right, at the same time pleading with them to lay aside their prejudices, and weigh matters in the scale of justice, that they may correctly judge of right and wrong and know the difference between truth and error.

Our religion is founded upon the Priesthood of the Son of God—it is incorporated within this Priesthood. We frequently hear people inquire what the Priesthood is; it is a pure and holy system of government. It is the law that governs and controls all things, and will eventually govern and control the earth and the inhabitants that dwell upon it and all things pertaining to it. The enemy and opposer of Jesus—the accuser of the brethren—called Satan, never owned the earth; he never made a particle of it; his labor is not to create, but to destroy; while, on the other hand, the labor of the Son of God is to create, preserve, purify, build up, and exalt all things—the earth and its fulness—to his standard of greatness and perfection; to restore all things to their paradisiacal state and make them glorious. The work of the one is to preserve and sanctify, the work of the other is to waste away, deface, and destroy; and the time will come when it will be manifest to all that the Evil One is an usurper, also that all governments, nations, kingdoms, and people upon the face of this earth, that are opposed to the Government of the Son of God, are usurpations and usurpers of the rights and possessions of Him whose right it is to reign.

Thinking men, inquiring minds, ask whether it is really necessary for the Government of God to be on the earth at the present day; I answer, most assuredly; there never was a time when it was more needed than it is now. Why? Because men do not know how to govern themselves without it. Would it be considered treason of any Christian government in our day to profess to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the efficacy of his death and resurrection for the salvation of man, and to profess and declare that it is his inalienable, indisputable right and prerogative to reign over men, the earth, and all things upon it?

In November, 1838, Joseph Smith and others were arraigned before Judge Austin A. King, in Ray County, Missouri. In course of the examination our Church organization was converted into a temporal kingdom, which was to fill the whole earth and subdue all other kingdoms. Much was inquired by the Judge (who by the way, was a Methodist), concerning the prophecy of Daniel—“In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall break in pieces all other kingdoms, and stand forever,” etc. “And the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the saints of the most High,” etc., when lawyer Doniphan said—“Judge, you had better make the Bible treason.” The Lord has suffered the earth to lie under sin for thousands of years—“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

The system of Church government that we have differs from others, but we take the Bible for our standard, which you can all read at your leisure. Jesus said to his disciples: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Do we believe this important saying, or do we not? Is this true, or is it not true? I am answered—“It was so in the days of Christ and the Apostles, but it is not exactly so now, for God is merciful to all, is no respecter of persons, but giveth to all men liberally that asketh, whether they are baptized or not. We believe in the light of the Spirit, but we do not believe that baptism is either here or there to effect salvation.” Another one says: “You can be baptized, if you wish to be, for it is right for every person to answer his own conscience, for if you can only answer a good conscience before God, it is enough.” Then another one feels that his conscience is answered without being baptized. Another one’s conscience is answered by kneeling down in the water, and having water poured upon him. Another’s conscience is not answered, without being buried with Christ in baptism. Another one, to answer his conscience, must be buried in the water face downward, that he may come up back first to the spectators. And another, to answer his conscience, must be sprinkled from a bowl of water on the forehead, making the sign of the cross, and he sees no reason why all his household should not he baptized in the same way, and so he has them all baptized by sprinkling, even the infant in its mother’s arms; and the consciences of the parents are answered by choosing sponsors, or godfathers and godmothers. But tell me how the conscience of the unconscious infant can be answered? “O, as to that its conscience is all right, it is made by the mother and the priest.” Now, I ask, should the consciences of the people regulate the ordinances of the Gospel of the Son of God, or should those ordinances regulate and direct the consciences of the people? I decide that the Gospel of life and salvation should form, direct, guide, and dictate the consciences of all. In this light the Latter-day Saints take the Scriptures, the ordinances of the Gospel, and the Holy Priesthood, and act accordingly.

When it was said to Peter and his brethren, anciently, “Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Jesus Christ taught his disciples to lay their hands upon baptized believers, for the gift of the Holy Ghost. “Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” The gift of the Holy Ghost was so visibly manifest that a certain man called Simon, a sorcerer, who bewitched the people of Samaria, when he “saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.” Again we read of certain ones, who had been baptized to John’s baptism, who were baptized again by Paul, “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” This is the Gospel we believe in and practice, now judge ye for yourselves whether we have the Bible to sustain us in this practice of the ordinances of the Gospel. I say let God be true, if it makes every man a liar.

Now the inquirer asks, “is not the Holy Ghost given to others, as well as to members of your Church?” I would answer yes, in some instances; but in such cases they receive it through grace, not through obedience to the ordinances. We have a striking example of this in the case of Cornelius and his household. Cornelius was a Gentile, and Gentiles were supposed by the ancient disciples of Christ unfit vessels for the reception of that holy influence; but the house of Israel had proved themselves unworthy of the words of life, and the time had come that they should be offered to the Gentiles. It appears that Cornelius was a devout man, one that feared God, gave much alms, and prayed to God always. He saw a vision—an angel of God coming to him—who told him that his prayers were heard, and his alms, were come up before God for a memorial. Then the angel told Cornelius to send men to Joppa to call for one Simon, whose surname was Peter, telling Cornelius where he lodged in a house by the seaside, and saying “he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” In the meantime the prejudices of Peter had to be overcome, so, when he went up to the housetop to pray, he became very hungry, and fell into a trance while they were making food ready for him. While in the trance he saw as it were, a great sheet, knit at the four corners, let down from heaven to the earth, filled with all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him saying Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter refused, saying, I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice said, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. “While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.” Peter went to the house of Cornelius, and while he spake to those who were assembled, “the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” “And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.”

“Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” Now it may be asked, “What more did Cornelius want?” He needed to be baptized.

Again it is asked—“Is the Holy Ghost given in this age of the world?” Yes, but they could not send men to Joppa for Peter, for behold there was no Peter, or men possessing the Holy Priesthood, to send for, neither has there been since the Church lost the Holy Priesthood, until it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Cornelius did not belong to the house of Israel, yet he received the Holy Ghost. Continue this history, and what does it give to us? It gives to us the key of knowledge with regard to receiving the Holy Ghost through the ordinances of the Gospel, that it is free to all, Jew and Gentile, as Peter exclaimed when Cornelius had related to him how he was instructed to send men to Joppa. “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him.”

Our friends of the Christian world have labored from the pulpit and through the press, for ages, to make it appear that baptism by immersion is nonessential, and that the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost is done away and no longer needed. Suppose Cornelius had refused to be baptized, on the grounds that he had received the Holy Ghost as well as the Apostles, the result would have been that the Holy Ghost would have left him, and the light that was in him would have become darkness, and then it could have been exclaimed, how great is that darkness! Those who work righteousness, do as they are commanded by the Holy Priesthood; and those who do not according to the commands and requirements of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God, never did and never can work righteousness; they may do thousands of good acts, for which they will have their reward, but as the followers of Jesus—as his disciples—as light shining in darkness—as way marks to the Kingdom of heaven—as the oracles of truth to the children of men—they do not and cannot work righteousness to be saved in the celestial Kingdom, independent of the holy Priesthood. Is the Holy Ghost given? Yes, it may be given to members of the various churches, who are sincere enough to receive the revelation and power of God.

Here and there the Holy Ghost is and has been given to a few. Is it given to all? No. Have they any right to it? No. It is the system of government God has revealed to the children of men that gives people a right to the ordinances, blessings and privileges of the Gospel of Christ, and without that they have not any legal right to them, and cannot claim them. When men have the privilege of hearing the plan of salvation from the mouth of an inspired servant of God, and they reject it, I will promise them that if they have ever possessed any portion of the Holy Spirit, it will depart from them and sevenfold more darkness will ensue to the mind of that person than is the lot of all to suffer in a state of nature, unenlightened by the inspiring rays of the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus Christ, while on the earth, sent his servants to preach he instructed them to promise all baptized believers that, “these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” “But Mr. Speaker, were not these signs done away?” Yes, but how were they done away? They were done away by the wickedness and unbelief of the people. “Were they done away by the Lord Almighty, because they were no longer needed?” They were not.

“But if a man should, by the gift of the Holy Ghost, in these days prophesy and write it, would it not be adding to what is already written, and is not that strictly forbidden?” This is a very popular query, and I am disposed to notice it a few moments. In Deuteronomy it is written—“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commands of the Lord your God which I command you.” Again, in the Book of Proverbs it is written—“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Again in the last chapter of Revelation it is written—“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Where is it intimated in these passages that God would cease or had ceased to give revelation to his children? Those passages were written to guard against the mutilation of the revelations already given, which then existed in manuscript form, and very likely there existed not more than one copy when these words were written. It cannot reasonably be supposed for a moment that the Almighty has sealed his own mouth in silence by the Scriptures quoted, yet they are used in that light by modern Christians.

We are safe in saying that from the day that Adam was created and placed in the Garden of Eden to this day, the plan of salvation and the revelations of the will of God to man are unchanged, although mankind have not for many ages been favored therewith, in consequence of apostasy and wickedness. There is no evidence to be found in the Bible that the Gospel should be one thing in the days of the Israelites, another in the days of Christ and his Apostles, and another in the 19th Century, but, on the contrary, we are instructed that God is the same in every age, and that his plan of saving his children is the same. He has redeemed the world by offering up His Only Begotten Son, and that Son is the heir of the earth and to all things which pertain to it. He has not changed his laws, ordinances and covenants pertaining to Himself and the salvation of mankind. The plan of salvation is one, from the beginning of the world to the end thereof.

The gifts of the Gospel are given to strengthen the faith of the believer—“They shall speak with new tongues,” saith Jesus. The stranger who is ignorant of our history inquires—“Have you the gift of tongues in your Church?” Yes, and were I to permit it now, hundreds of the Elders and the sisters would rise up in this congregation and speak in new tongues, and interpret as well as the learned of the age; but I do not permit it. Does the gift of prophecy exist with us? This fact is so evident and plain that it appears to us almost a loss of time to talk about it. The present state of affairs and the present unhappy state of our once happy country, I have preached and prophesied of for the last thirty years; and so have thou– sands of others prophesied before the people of this land that the Almighty would come out in his wrath and vex the nation for persecuting the Priesthood of the Son of God; the fulfilment is too evident to attempt to prove.

I will here say that it is a mistaken idea, as entertained by the Calvinists, that God has decreed all things whatsoever that come to pass, for the volition of the creature is as free as air. You may inquire whether we believe in foreordination; we do, as strongly as any people in the world. We believe that Jesus was foreordained before the foundations of the world were built, and his mission was appointed him in eternity to be the Savior of the world, yet when he came in the flesh he was left free to choose or refuse to obey his Father. Had he refused to obey his Father, he would have become a son of perdition. We also are free to choose or refuse the principles of eternal life. God has decreed and foreordained many things that have come to pass, and he will continue to do so; but when he decrees great blessings upon a nation or upon an individual they are decreed upon certain conditions. When he decrees great plagues and overwhelming destructions upon nations or people, those decrees come to pass because those nations and people will not forsake their wickedness and turn unto the Lord. It was decreed that Nineveh should be destroyed in forty days, but the decree was stayed on the repentance of the inhabitants of Nineveh. My time is too limited to enter into this subject at length; I will content myself by saying that God rules and reigns, and has made all his children as free as himself, to choose the right or the wrong, and we shall then be judged according to our works.

Man appoints, but God disappoints, man’s ways are not like God’s ways; men can search out and perform many things as individuals, as families, neighborhoods, cities, and nations, but God holds the results of their doings and acts in his own hands.

If mankind honestly believe the Bible, with all their hearts, they are bound to become Latter-day Saints, for they will then do as we have done, be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the promise of the Holy Ghost, and “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” He will reveal unto you the goodness of the Lord, and the law of the Lord and his ways, and enlighten your minds to discern his goings forth among the nations and his footsteps among the people, and deliver you from sin and the effects of it, according to your faith and obedience. Will it deliver you from all the consequences of the fall? No, we shall continue to live, suffer pain, and die, until the power of the Holy Priesthood so takes effect on the earth as to cleanse and purify it and all things upon it; until then we shall have to contend with the effects of the fall, while the Holy Spirit, through obedience to its precepts, will purify and sanctify the human heart.

We can produce an abundance of evidence, in the experience of this Church showing the power of God manifested through believers, who, after being buried with Christ in baptism and receiving the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, have straightway prophesied in the name of the Lord. Here is our reporter, brother George D. Watt, the first man baptized in England by President Heber C. Kimball during his first mission to that land, is a witness that the gift of prophecy is enjoyed by this people. Soon after his baptism in England he prophesied that God would build up a Zion in the last days; that it would be located in the land of America, and that the Saints in England and in other countries would be gathered to it. Brother Watt is one witness of the Power of God manifested in the gift of prophecy, and there are hundreds and thousands of other like witnesses in this Church; indeed we are all witnesses to these well known facts, and it is this power which makes this people of one heart and of one mind. And not only have we numerous witnesses in this land, but they are scattered all over the world wherever the Gospel has found believers. When people embrace this Gospel, no matter in what country, nation, or clime, and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, it prompts them to gather up to Zion; from this cause alone the Church of Latter-day Saints in the mountains is composed of people from almost every nation in the world.

The world suppose that Brigham Young possesses this influence, in and of himself, thus to draw together from the ends of the earth a great people of different customs, habits, nationalities, and languages; this is a mistake. Brigham Young does nothing more than preach the truth, the people believe and love it, and that makes them of one heart and of one mind; and they love brother Brigham, brother Heber, and all other Elders who are full of the truth. I make this remark that all the world may know, that no man can have influence over this people, unless he is a righteous man: and the more of the power of God he can have upon him, and the more of the revelations of Jesus he can give to the people, the closer they will cling to him and the more they will love him. When fools cry aloud and say I am making slaves of the people, every man and woman that possesses the Spirit of truth looks upon them as poor ignorant creatures, and pities them. They do not want them in their houses, nor to hold converse with them in the streets, because they know that their desire and business are to try and take away from the faithful that which will exalt them and make them equal with the Saints in heaven.

When people embrace this Gospel in far off countries, about the first inquiry they make is—“Where is your Zion? We want to gather with the Saints, for we know the time is come, for the Spirit has manifested to us that the prophecies must be fulfilled that God will gather his people together.” All that Joseph Smith did was to preach the truth—the Gospel as the Lord revealed it to him—and tell the people how to be saved, and the honest-in-heart ran together and gathered around him and loved him as they did their own lives. He could do no more than to preach true principles, and that will gather the Saints in the last days, even the honest-in-heart. All who believe and obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ are his witnesses to the truth of these statements.

I have heard a good deal said, in my day, about disinterested witnesses. The Priest, schoolmaster, father, and mother taught us, that the Bible is true, and we believed it. How many witnesses are there to the New Testament? Only eight, and those witnesses were the disciples or followers of the Lord Jesus. There cannot be a disinterested witness to the New Testament, yet we believe it. In courts of justice they are very particular to have disinterested witnesses, but how can there be a disinterested witness of Jesus and his mission? There cannot one be found; there was not one to be found in his day nor in the days of the Apostles. How many witnesses has the Book of Mormon? Hundreds and thousands are now living upon the earth, who testify to its truth. How many witnesses has the Book of Doctrine and Covenants? There are hundreds and thousands of living witnesses who know that this Book is from God.

It may be urged that Joseph Smith did not escape death from the hands of his enemies, while the ancient Apostles and servants of God escaped the edge of the sword, etc. Neither did Jesus Christ escape from the hands of his enemies, but died an ignominious death upon the cross. Why was this? Because God so ordained it, for no testament is in force, until after the death of the testator; he sealed his testimony with his blood, and so he has permitted many of the Prophets to do. When we reflect upon the path in which the faithful children of God have walked, from the days of Adam to this day, we find that the path of the transgressor is much the hardest—that the righteous have always fared better than the wicked, in every age and nation.

I know in some degree what is in man, by what I have had to grapple with in myself all my days, and that is a self determined will of my own, which should be governed and controlled by the Holy Priesthood. If we would bend our stubborn wills, dismiss every prejudice, and doubt the correctness of our consciences until they are formed by the revelations of Jesus Christ, the chances in favor of our coming to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus would be far more than when we hug to our traditions, and cling with pertinacity to our prepossessed feelings and notions. This is my advice to all men, but you wonder what your dear friends would think of you, were you to do so, and—“O dear, I should lose my good name, my property,” etc. There are many before me today who have suffered the loss of houses, lands, flocks, herds, and all the comforts of life and former friends and relatives for the Gospel’s sake and to gather home to Zion.

Who can make a people of one heart and mind, like unto this people, without the aid of the power of God? Is not this a standing evidence before all the world that God is the moving power in this work? Societies have been organized and immense wealth expended to form an united community, but all their endeavors have more or less failed to accomplish the purpose they sought; but God has gathered a people from all nations and brought them home to Zion, through the preaching of the Gospel and his power. Our Doctrine is right—there is no deception in it. It requires no argument, for it is a self-evident fact. Still, when we meddle with that which we know nothing about, we are apt to fall into error and differ; but we have so much which we do know, and think about and talk about, that we have no time to speculate about that which we do not know. We know that God lives. Now, my brethren, does your religion witness to you the truth of this, day by day? I will answer the question for you, it does. Is it to you who live your religion from day to day a self-evident fact? It is, and you know that the Gospel God has revealed in our day through Joseph the Prophet is the only plan of life and salvation that ever was or ever will be revealed. Another question I will answer briefly. Are the Latter-day Saints going to be saved while everybody else will be damned? This notion has created in the minds of those who are not of the Latter-day Saints’ Church a great antipathy and hatred against us. We do not condemn any person. God is the judge of all. There is no occasion for alarm on this point, for all men will be judged according to the deeds done in the body; and all will receive a salvation according to their capacities, except the sons of perdition. Jesus will save all, except the sons of perdition. “There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” Those who come under the influence of that sin are those who shed innocent blood, or consent to it; also those who deny the Holy Ghost, after having received it; they are sons of perdition, and will be damned. All the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, except those, will inherit a kingdom of glory, and will receive glory, power, and greatness according to their capacities, knowledge, desires, and works. Can they dwell in the presence of God? None can enjoy his celestial presence, except those who keep a celestial law. God bless you: Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday p.m., July 17, 1864.

It is some time since I have spoken to the people in this place. The congregations are very large, and when I have met such congregations as we have here, in former years, and they were a little noisy, with babies crying, I have said “cry on, I can talk louder than you can cry,” but I cannot do so now. I wish to favor myself, for there are many things to be said to the Latter-day Saints, as well as to those who do not believe the Gospel, and I desire to live to be able to speak to the people.

I have learned that I can receive and treasure up but little knowledge at a time, and I have learned that this is the case with others. If the people had the whole catalogue of the law to govern them spiritually and temporally repeated to them today, they would need it repeated to them again next week. It is necessary to constantly teach the people.

We are among the happy number of those who have the privilege of having their names cast out as evil by the wicked. We have the privi– lege of purifying and sanctifying ourselves, and preparing ourselves for the day of the coming of the Son of Man. Others might enjoy the same privilege, if they were so disposed, but they are not.

Our situation is peculiar at the present time. Has it not been peculiar ever since Joseph found the plates? The circumstances that surrounded him when he found the plates were singular and strange. He passed a short life of sorrow and trouble, surrounded by enemies who sought day and night to destroy him. If a thousand hounds were on this Temple Block, let loose on one rabbit, it would not be a bad illustration of the situation at times of the Prophet Joseph. He was hunted unremittingly. We have the privilege of believing the same Gospel that Joseph taught, and with him, of being numbered with those whose names are cast out as evil.

The Lord has brought us here, and sustains us. Some people think that the cunning of man has made the characteristics that mark the history of this people. It is not so, the Lord has done it. He suffered our enemies to drive us from our homes. He knew the reason why he permitted it, though at the time we did not. As brother George A. Smith said, we came here willingly because we were obliged to; and were it possible for our enemies to gain power to drive us from these mountains, which I trust they will never do, there is no other place on the earth, that we know of, where we can enjoy the safety and security we do here. We are here, and the Lord has sustained us.

In reflecting upon the conduct of the world, it appears that the wisdom of the wise has perished and the understanding of the prudent is hid. You will see that the wisdom of the wise among the nations will perish and be taken from them. They will fall into difficulties, and they will not be able to tell the reason, nor point a way to avert them any more than they can now in this land. They can fight, quarrel, contend, and destroy each other, but they do not know how to make peace. So it will be with the inhabitants of the earth.

We see men laboring and toiling to gather around them the luxuries of life, to become possessed of fine houses, orchards, gardens and that which adorns and makes beautiful, and in many instances we see such property left to those who have not wisdom to take care of it—left to fools. How quickly the house becomes old, dilapidated, and unfit for a home for any person; the garden and orchard become a desolation, because the occupants have not wisdom to keep them in order. We can see boys, foolish, wicked boys, gathering around them a few associates and going into a man’s garden, stealing the fruit, cutting down the trees, destroying, perhaps, the labor of years, and they think this makes men of them.

Look at the world. The feeling among mankind is, “we will rule or ruin.” An architect may build a splendid habitation, and in so doing do a good work; but a poor fool can come along and with the touch of a torch destroy it. Which does the better work? We see that people can build beautiful cities, make fine roads and walks, and raise lofty buildings, but an idiot can burn and destroy them. Let a few incendiaries go through a city and put the torch here and there, and the city is destroyed—the labor of years, perhaps of centuries, is wasted. Does this make great men of them? Perhaps they think so. If they can destroy a city or a nation they think they will get a great name. They will not. It takes a wise man to build a city, to found a nation, though a fool can destroy either, and thinks he is a great man. How mistaken he is!

I wish you to hearken to the counsel given you on the temporal affairs that have been spoken of, for I realize its importance, as also does brother Kimball and the Twelve. We realize that we gather together a class of men with little or no judgment in taking care of themselves. A great many of them have no knowledge of agriculture, or how to acquire and preserve property of any kind, and it is necessary that we should teach them constantly, till they can learn to take care of themselves. They that hearken to the counsel of the Elders soon begin to gather around them the necessaries of life, make fields and gardens, build good houses, etc. Fools will come along and say, “You are wrong, don’t you see that you are slaves?” Is not this said to this very community? Who are you slaves to? Not to sin, I hope. But unless the world can see us slaves to sin, they will call us slaves. We are servants to God, to whom we are indebted for every blessing we enjoy, to whom we look for succor and from whom we have received it, and we are indebted to nobody else, for the wicked have done us no good. They have had the pleasure of driving me five times from my comfortable home; that is nothing. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” But what glory and honor is there in having and using power to destroy? This is the work of the Devil, not of Jesus. His labor is to build up, not to destroy; to gather together, not to scatter abroad; to take the ignorant and lead them to wisdom; to pick up the poor and bring them to comfortable circumstances. This is our labor—what we have to do.

We are wiser than we were, and can see that we have received a little, and we are able to teach this to others; and instead of taking those who are ignorant and making slaves of them, we wish to make them honorable, to give them the knowledge and wisdom revealed to man from the heavens, as fast as they are capacitated to receive them, and bring them up to our standard. This is our labor. We are here, and it is our duty to sustain ourselves, and then prepare for the strangers that will come here, and with them many of our connections who are not now with us. Where are they? In peace? No. Were we to relate to you the facts, as reported to us, with regard to many of the towns, villages, farms, and country seats in many parts of our native land, the picture would cause your hearts to mourn. We understand that in many of our Eastern neighborhoods, where there were plenty of young men, and the young ladies had nothing to do but sit at the piano, go visiting, or amuse themselves as they pleased, many young ladies are now compelled to go into the fields and labor. This is true of young girls and their mothers who never before did such work. Where is the brother? Where is the husband and the father? Slain, or before the enemy. What is the situation of our once happy country? It is written here, almost daily—“You know not the state of the inhabitants of this country, and the circumstances in which they are placed.”

What are our circumstances? We have no poorer people in this Territory than there are now in this Bowery. Are any of you suffering? Since we came into this Territory, nearly seventeen years ago, it is true we have fared hard. A little wolf meat once tasted good, but since we began to gather the poor from foreign nations was there ever a man or woman in our community that had to ask the second time for bread, if the family where they asked had it? Not one I believe. Is this the case in other cities in other parts of the nation? In New York, in Philadelphia—the city of brotherly love and so on? No. True there are a few societies that sustain their own poor, but take a community picked up as this one is, and have you ever seen or read of such a community, except one or two named in the Scriptures? The very passage of Scripture that Brother George A. Smith quoted, concerning the reapers leaving a little grain in the corners of the field, and, if they should pass by a bundle, not to go back for it, but leave it for the benefit of the gleaners, shows that, though Moses and the Elders of Israel talked with the people day by day, there was not the same amount of charity manifested by them that there is by this people.

I say to you, as I have always said, the Kingdom of God or nothing. We are in the Kingdom of God, and we will trust in the Lord Almighty to bear us off conquerors, no matter who is against us. All are in the hands of the Almighty; He has preserved us.

Now, Latter-day Saints, mingle not with the wicked. Preserve yourselves in the faith of the Gospel and trust in the Lord, and He will bear us off conquerors. Love your religion. We are agreed in the matter of our religion, and we must be agreed in temporal matters. If we cannot become of one mind in all things, we shall not be that people called the people of the Lord. Let us treasure up wisdom in our hearts. The Lord gave Joseph a revelation thirty years ago, in which he said, “You know not the hearts of your neighbors;” we did not then know what was in the minds of the people, but now we begin to understand.

Brethren and sisters, hearken to the words of the Lord. We are laboring for your preservation and salvation, will you consider us tyrannical? If so, your hearts are not right before God, and those who do so will sooner or later apostatize and go down to hell. Let each of us be careful that we will not be of those who take a wicked course. Let us so live that we can save ourselves. I cannot save you. I can tell you how to save yourselves but you must do the will of God. I have enjoyed the privilege of preaching to the people at times when a stream of revelation has been poured out that would furnish knowledge to save every son and daughter of Adam if they had believed. But when they began to manifest a spirit of opposition and have rejected the teachings of the Spirit, I have said I am not compelled to make you believe the truth.

I have spoken this afternoon that you may see that I am living and in good health; and I intend to live, if I can, until the Zion of our God is established upon the earth, and until all wickedness is swept from the land.

God bless you. Amen.

Synopsis of Instructions by President Brigham Young, during his visit to Davis, Weber, Box Elder, and Cache counties, June 22-29, 1864.

KAYSVILLE.

It is not quite two weeks since we were here and shared largely in your hospitality, for which I thank you in behalf of those with me. Should we continue to pass here as we have recently done, you might begin to think we were taking pleasure trips. Well, so we are, in one sense, for it is a pleasure to us to travel and preach among the brethren. I used to take my carriage rides on foot, traveling and preaching from neighborhood to neighborhood, and from people to people, but we are now in the midst of the Saints. Many times in my travels, I have anticipated the time when we could travel from place to place and see none but Saints, though I did not contemplate seeing that time so soon. I have never felt, since I began to preach the Gospel, as though I could throw off my Gospel armor and say to myself, “Go to the world and get your living.” My feeling is that I have still a mission. When I began preaching I took the universal text—truth; and my subject has been eternal salvation. I took the world for my circuit, and it did not much matter to me where I went. Now we are in the midst of the Saints.

All who are with me have plenty to do at home. Were they to stop there and attend to their business, they would not have a moment to spend in visiting the Saints. This is the case with me; but when I go out I have nothing but what I take with me—the rest I leave in the hands of God. If I was to be so covetous as to stay at home and attend to my private business, do you think others would leave their private affairs and come to visit with and preach to you? Would brother Taylor? No, for he has two mills, and is full of business. How would it be with George A. Smith, brother Woodruff, and the rest of the brethren? They also are full of business. I am setting an example. I trust in God, who gave me what I have. When we come together and devote a little time to meeting, it will not make us a particle poorer.

Brother Taylor has just given us a good exhortation, and I will not longer occupy your time.

May the Lord bless you, and may you realize our blessing; you do realize it every time we pass your place, for we are filled with blessing. We have in our hearts love to God and his children on the earth. Let us not love the things of this world above the things of God, but strip for the race and harness for the battle of the Gospel plan of salvation. God bless you.

BRIGHAM CITY.

The Kingdom we are talking about, preaching about, and trying to build up is the Kingdom of God on the earth, not in the starry heavens, nor in the sun. We are trying to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth to which really and properly everything that pertains to men—their feelings, their faith, their affections, their desires, and every act of their lives—belong, that they may be ruled by it spiritually and temporally.

The brethren have been talking about temporal things. We cannot talk about spiritual things without connecting with them temporal things, neither can we talk about temporal things without connecting spiritual things with them. They are inseparably connected.

The spiritual portions of the Gospel have been, with few exceptions, preached to many of us in foreign lands. The Elders go forth and set before the people the Spiritual Kingdom of God upon the earth; the people hear and believe. Many of them receive the truth in honest hearts, and gather here to the valleys of the mountains. The providences of God have planted our feet here, and we want to do the will of our Father in heaven.

I do not know of a sect of Christians on the face of the earth whose religion does not, more or less, embrace temporal things, and the temporal acts and conduct of its members. We, as Latter-day Saints, really expect, look for, and we will not be satisfied with anything short of being governed and controled by the word of the Lord in all of our acts, both spiritual and temporal. If we do not live for this, we do not live to be one with Christ. We wish to be one, as Jesus prayed, while here in the flesh, that his disciples might be one. We wish to be one in the Lord, and we can agree with regard to faith, repentance, baptism, laying on of hands, and the sacraments and ordi– nances of the House of God, and yet if we contend about land, the water, our cattle, etc., we never can be one, if we live to the age of Methuselah. We must become one in all of our moral and social associations in life.

When we talk of politics we are one. The world complain of us with regard to our politics, and enquire, “Are there any Democrats here? Are there any Republicans here?” We do not care who rules; we are satisfied with God, who setteth up one man, and casteth down another.

All people have to live in this temporal world; they eat temporal food, wear temporal clothing, live in temporal houses, have temporal horses, oxen, farms, etc., and if they have families, they are temporal ones. If we are going to live to secure life everlasting, we require to live so that we can be judged according to the deeds done in these temporal bodies, and be found worthy to live in heaven, and that we cannot do unless we live here according to the word of God.

We want this people to become wealthy, but there is an “if” in the case. If this people can at the same time possess riches and glorify God, then we want them to be rich; but, I would rather see this people half clothed and living in the dens and caves of the earth, than that through riches they should forsake their God. When the people can endure wealth and live and glorify their Father in heaven, it will be pleasing to him to have us wield enough of the wealth of the world to send forth our Elders by thousands, and then gather home the faithful by thousands and millions, who are just as honest as we are. There are thousands of good men and women on the earth, who are praying and seeking unto the Lord to open up the way to bring to them the words of life that they may be saved.

If we will cling closely to the Lord, be more humble, and be filled with the spirit of life, the Lord is willing that we should have the good things of this world. In the first place, will we be of one heart and mind financially? You will at once say, “yes, we are of one heart and mind, and desire to be one in every good thing.”

It has been said here, time and time again, and been prophesied for years and years—Joseph said it when alive—that the time would come when men would be glad to take a bundle under their arms and flee to the mountains, when they will seek unto this people for succor. Already is this coming to pass. People are coming by thousands and scores of thousands into these mountains. Are we willing they should have succor? Yes, and some of us are a little too willing. It is written, “Love your enemies,” but when I hear of what I have heard, and what I am a witness is true, of a poor woman taking a sack of flour and selling it sack and all for a dollar, to a man who, perhaps, helped to kill the Prophet Joseph, while her children are left without bread, I do not think that is right—that is loving our enemies a little too well. It is said self-preservation is the first law of nature, then let us preserve ourselves well enough to save our lives.

Will we sell our grain? Yes, but I will say to the inhabitants of these mountains, who have been here for years and are raising grain, it is their privilege to be paid for their labor. We will sell flour at a fair labor price, and reserve the bran and shorts to feed the cows and fatten the pigs.

Do not say there are men in the midst of this people who cannot get work, for it is not so. And you, sisters, who lack work, if you cannot get washing, sewing, or housework to do, go to your neighbor and tell him, you will go into the field and pick, rake, and glean, if he will pay you in wheat. You, brother, go to your brother and say, “You will want your place fenced; I will cut the poles and make you a fence. I will make adobies, get the timber to saw into lumber, and make you a house; will you pay me in wheat?” There is plenty of work for everybody in this Territory, and the reason many are so poor now is, that in years gone by if a carpenter, a tailor, a blacksmith, etc., was offered wheat in payment, he would say, “I won’t take wheat; I have so much now it is a curse.” This is the way things have gone; and when they sold wheat, they sold it at one-third its value. This has brought evil upon the people.

You are a good people here; and I say to you, one and all, receive my thanks for your attention to us as a company today. I thought we had got right into the middle of the 4th of July—that Independence Day had come—when I saw those little ornamentings, the little ones with their flags and rosettes, and the signs of gladness around. I do not think you did this because brother Taylor, or brother Kimball, or anybody else was coming, but to show your respect for your brethren, and I bless you for it. But if you do not do what I counsel you I will tell you of it. I do not care though all the world bowed to me, it would not make me one particle proud. I feel prouder to be a son of God and a member of the Kingdom of God, than anything else. Still you are disposed to pay us respect in this manner, and I hope you will be blessed forever and ever, which you will be through faithfulness in good works.

The Kingdom of heaven is first and foremost with us. When the people do right, I am satisfied; but when they do wrong, I will tell them of it, for that is my business. It is also my business to bless, and I bless you in the name of Jesus: Amen.

WELLSVILLE.

I shall only detain you a few minutes. The counsel you have received here from my brethren is just as good as can be given, if you will but heed it. There are a great many things that are said, and a great many have not yet been said, which people will hear and learn when they receive truth and practice righteousness sufficiently to be worthy of them. One thing we understand perfectly, that we are to become one in Christ Jesus. Our faith is one, our hope is one, our belief is one with regard to our future and God and his Holy Gospel; but we are not of one heart and mind until we are one in all temporal things as well as in spiritual things.

The Lord has many blessings for us. He is now blessing us. Soon we will behold the golden harvest. Our fields are rich, and it fills the hearts of the people with joy and satisfaction to see the luxuriant grain that now stands upon our mother earth, and bids so fair for an abundant harvest. Do not forget the source from whence these blessings came. It is written, speaking of the Church and Branches of the Church, that “Paul may plant, and Apollos may water; but it is God who giveth the increase.” You may go and plant your grain here and water it, if you bring out the streams, but you cannot produce one kernel of grain. And when the grain is maturing how easy it would be for the Lord to send crickets, though we can war with them easier than we can with grasshoppers, that would destroy the fruits of your toil. The increase is in the hands of the Lord, just as the people are in his hands in regard to the results of their acts.

The inhabitants of the earth have the pleasure of performing the labors they list to do, but they have never enjoyed the privilege of controlling the results of their labors, and never will until they are crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. We have the privilege of going to the gold mines, or staying at home; of serving God, or not serving him; but the result of our acts is not in our hands, it is in the hands of our Father and God. So it is with individuals, with neighborhoods, with communities, and with the nations of the earth.

Did you not think brethren, you who were in Missouri and Illinois, that the inhabitants of those places did just as they pleased with regard to driving the Saints? “Yes.” And also in regard to killing Joseph? “Yes.” They had power to kill him, and now they are reaping the results of their acts. The war now raging in the nation is the consequence of their choosing to do evil instead of good, and the Lord is rewarding them according to their works. So it will be with us.

There are a few things we should constantly have before our minds, day by day and hour by hour. Becoming of one heart and mind is one of these things; becoming one in spiritual things, one in our labors and in all our actions here on the earth, that our united labor may accomplish the design for which we are here in building up the kingdom of God. Let all our thoughts, feelings, and actions point to this end.

Some of the brethren think the Saints ought not to be rich, and they have their various feelings. A great many brethren who have been in the States do not want to build fine houses or make many improvements here, for they are going back to their inheritances. You know there is a certain class who are fearful of getting the good things of this life, saying, “the Lord has chosen the poor in wealth and rich in faith,” etc. My feelings lead out to obtain every good thing we can obtain as a people—the gold, the silver, the flocks and herds, and to building beautiful cities; to having good gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and to making the earth like the garden of Eden. “To gather all we can, honestly or dishonestly?” No, but through laboring faithfully and honestly, and treasuring up these things and thanking the Lord for them. And if we have substance given us from the Lord, it should be devoted to building up His kingdom upon the earth. But let us not forget the spiritual fellowship we should enjoy. I never forget that. It is first of all, and if we can have only the one, let it be the good Spirit of God, to make us one in the spiritual things of the kingdom.

The Lord designs to build up a kingdom that will be both a spiritual and temporal kingdom upon the earth. The earth and the kingdoms thereof will be given unto the Saints of the Most High God. Will they be rich then? Do you not think they will possess the gold mines and the treasures of the earth? Yes. But some cry out, “that is not yet.” That is right. How long will it be until then? As soon as we are prepared to receive them.

Let us try to improve, until we can say, “my peace is like a river, and my righteousness like the waves of the sea.” We have come here to encourage you to do this, and may God help us to accomplish it. Amen.

LOGAN. 25th, Afternoon.

The remarks of brother Kimball this morning, and of brother George A. Smith this afternoon, are worthy our attention.

As I learn the kingdom of God in the latter days, I understand more of the present duties of myself and my brethren. We are called to establish the kingdom of God literally, just as much as we are spiritually. If we do not build it up in a temporal point of view, we will not accomplish what we are called to do; we will come short of our duty, and be removed out of the way, and others will be called to succeed us who will perform the labor we are called to do.

The question arises, will we as a people consider ourselves what we proclaim to each other and believe day by day? And will we by our good acts prove to the heavens, to the inhabitants of the earth, to each other, and to all who know us, that we actually believe what we say we believe? Every heart responds in the affirmative; every voice would declare that we will strive to perform the duties devolving upon us.

Another question arises here, what is our duty? What are we called to do at the present time? We are called to various duties. Many of our brethren are called to go and preach the Gospel, and a great many have been called to go with their teams to the Frontiers after the poor. We are called to our various duties in a home capacity—to plow, sow, plant, build, improve, pray with our families, teach them righteousness, set them and all others a goodly example, in all things striving to do all the good in our power, and no evil. We expect to continue to be called to preach the Gospel and gather the poor Saints; and we expect to be called upon to make provision for them when they gather here, which we have done year after year. There are Bishops here who are ready to receive a hundred families; let the brethren take them and set them to work; they are ready and willing to perform this duty.

The question has been touched upon here with regard to our liberties and rights. A man has a right to preach the Gospel—to declare the truth so far as he knows it. The people who hear him have the right to believe, if they want to, and they also have the right to reject him. The nation, as a people, objected to the Lord’s calling upon his servant Joseph, and sending him as a teacher to this generation. The nation called the United States of America has a right to reject the revelations given through Joseph, to reject the servants of the Lord, and then the Lord has the right to come out from his hiding place and vex the nation. He too has rights. They had a right to kill Joseph, and the Lord has the right to destroy the nation.

We all have rights, and I would not abridge the rights of anybody. But have I not the right to do right, as well as wrong? Yes. The foolishness and weaknesses of people lead them many times to do wrong, to show to the heavens and the earth that they have a right to do as they please. You know people sometimes say they will do as they please. Well, do so. We have a right to help the people gather here and to feed them, and they have the right to go to the gold mines, or to the devil by any road they please, and we have a right to cut them off from all fellowship with the Church, in the heavens and on the earth. Men may come here professedly Latter-day Saints, and when they have accumulated a little property they have the right to apostatize, and we have the right to cut them off from the Church.

Does it follow that a man is deprived of his rights, because he lists in his heart to do the will of God? Must a man swear to prove that he has an agency? I contend there is no necessity for that, nor for stealing, nor for doing any wrong. I can manifest to the heavens and to the inhabitants of the earth that I am freeborn, and have my liberty before God, angels and men, when I kneel down to pray, certainly as much as if I were to go out and swear. I have the right to call my family together at certain hours for prayer, and I believe that this course proves that I am a free agent, as much as if I were to steal, swear, lie, and get drunk.

We have tried to teach ourselves to lead and guide ourselves, to be dictated and controlled by the direction of the Holy Spirit, and then to teach and counsel the people under the dictates of that Spirit. Is it our duty to preach to this people and plead with them, until we can govern and control them in all temporal affairs as much as in spiritual affairs. I answer, it is the absolute and imperative duty of the Elders of Israel to try and control themselves and their families and their brethren, until they can hold control over all things in righteousness.

I know very well the feelings of the people. “In spiritual things you are my leader; I take you for my counsel in spiritual affairs; but if you dictate me in my temporal concerns, you touch a string that does not belong to you, to brother Heber, brother George A. Smith, nor anybody else.” If this is the case, ye Elders of Israel, we have been mistaken all the day long in telling you that we are in a kingdom that in such case we are not in, in preaching a Gospel that in such case we have not in our possession. We have declared that God has spoken from the heavens, when in such case He has not spoken. Our faith and labor are vain, and we are still in our sins, or else it is our duty to lead this people in every act of their lives, as much in their temporal as in their spiritual affairs, so far as pertains to building up the kingdom of God on the earth. Now, to this extent we want to control you for your good in regard to your grain. We want you to sell it at a fair remunerative price for your labor, so that you can build good houses, employ your brethren, send for the poor, provide for a few families when they arrive, and be ready to act in your positions.

I have been accused of being one of Joseph Smith’s followers, and that he was a speculator; I have never denied it. We are in one of the greatest speculations in the world, to honor God, and so live before him that we shall be crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives, to be numbered with those to whom God will give the gold and silver and precious things and all the riches of this earth and of eternity.

The fluctuations of the money market are such that you cannot tell today what to ask for an article tomorrow. Cotton fabrics, cloth of every kind, and merchandise generally are rating at very high prices in the East, and the prices are still rising. Let us do as brother George A. Smith has said—“raise flax,” such as I saw at brother Maughan’s. He had none to sell; and I was glad of it. Raise flax and sheep, take care of your lambs, and in winter take care of your sheep.

The first cotton we raised in the region we call our “Dixie” cost us about $3.65 a pound; we proved that cotton could be raised there. The next season it cost $1.84, and the next season about 70 cents, and that is the way we proved to the people that we could raise cotton. The experiment cost us thousands of dollars, but now we have cotton. They have shipped cotton to California. We sent some to the States to show that we could raise cotton here, and it sold for some 70 cents a pound, not so much as it would have brought if it had arrived a few days earlier. We now have some cotton factories in operation. I have cotton machinery set up and being run by Mr. Wilmarth, a gentleman from Massachusetts, who says the cotton will spin up to about number 40; that will make a good thread. Our cotton cloth is made from about 20’s, and our ginghams from 24’s. I now have machinery sufficient to keep thirty-five power-looms going, and I wish I had them; but this will not supply the Territory. One of our merchants said to me, last fall, “When you get your machinery going we need not send for any more such material as you will produce.” I told him he had not counted it up. When he reflected and made up the figures he found he had sold more cloth himself than my machinery could make with thirty-five looms. If we go to work and manufacture for ourselves, we can stop the continual drain upon us through purchasing the articles of clothing which we require.

It has been said, “Cotton is king.” Everybody who knows anything of mankind knows they had to live a great many years without cotton. The first cotton factories were started in America within my remembrance. What would the Indians here, who are all but naked, say if they were told cotton is king? They would say, “No, biscuit, biscuit,” that which will sustain life. They can kill rabbits, and make clothing of the skins. Bread is king. God bless you. Amen.

At a meeting of the Priesthood, convened at half-past six in the evening, he said—

I presume the arrangement of the settlements in this county in a church capacity is as good as the brethren can make it at present. I suppose the Bishops represent their various wards and report here at their monthly meetings, that the minutes of their previous meetings are read for approval or disapproval, and then their other business is attended to in due course.

I will ask whether the Bishops have led out sufficiently to have the people follow them in building, adorning, and making the earth as it should be? Have they apple seeds to start a nursery, or plum pits to plant, that they can say to the brethren, if you want any trees we will soon be able to supply you? I have never purchased a peach or apple tree without paying from fifty cents to a dollar each for them, yet in one season I gave away 14,000 peach trees, and if I had received the same price I gave they would have brought me some $7,000. I did this to encourage the people. In the early period of our raising apples and peaches I never suffered a peach pit to be thrown away, nor ate an apple without saving the seeds to plant. It is true you have not been long in this valley, but you have been here long enough to have nursery upon nursery, with trees two and three years old. There are a few trees here. Raise orchards, if only for the welfare of your children, as brother George A. Smith has said, that they may be preserved from growing up thieves. The temptation is strong for the children, and if they can get fruit in no other way they are sorely tempted to steal it. Do not lay a foundation to make your children thieves. The man who sends his little son or hired boy on to the prairie to herd sheep or oxen, lays a foundation for making that boy a thief; and he who will do this will have the curse of God resting upon him in proportion. Trace it back, and you will find it is so. Will you hearken to this counsel? If so, stop sending boys to herd.

Why not quarry rock and build stone houses, and make stone fences? Stone makes a good fence, and it will not winter kill. Build fences, have good gardens, and make yourselves comfortable and happy, serving God; let that be first continually, so that you may have consciences void of offense towards God and man. Build meetinghouses, put up the one you have in contemplation, and finish it nicely. Get lumber and make bins in which to put up your wheat so that it can be safe for fifty years, if needed. If you are compelled to stack your wheat, stack it right, for you may have storms. You have English and Danish brethren here who can stack it so that it will stand for fifty years. But, as far as you can, get lumber and build granaries and preserve your grain.

I want to say a word or two with regard to brethren here taking goods from merchants to sell. Watch and learn the spirit of the man who does this, and in nine cases out of ten his faith, feelings, and affections are wholly to benefit his employer, to get all he can from the people, and really commit the riches of the Saints to his employer, no matter whether he be Jew or Gentile. Such a man will, sooner or later, apostatize. Those who will do this, and will shave the Saints to do a good business for the merchant who employs them, I curse in the name of Jesus Christ, and they shall be cursed.

Sunday Morning, 26th.

There is one principle I would like to have the Latter-day Saints perfectly understand—that is, of blessings and cursings. For instance, we read that war, pestilence, plagues, famine, etc., will be visited upon the inhabitants of the earth; but if distress through the judgments of God comes upon this people, it will be because the majority have turned away from the Lord. Let the majority of the people turn away from the Holy Commandments which the Lord has delivered to us, and cease to hold the balance of power in the Church, and we may expect the judgments of God to come upon us; but while six-tenths or three-fourths of this people will keep the commandments of God, the curse and judgments of the Almighty will never come upon them, though we will have trials of various kinds, and the elements to contend with—natural and spiritual elements. While this people will strive to serve God according to the best of their abilities, they will fare better, have more to eat and to wear, have better houses to live in, better associations, and enjoy themselves better than the wicked ever do or ever will do.

I say to you, and would like to hear the brethren speak upon this subject, that the righteous have never suffered in temporal things like the ungodly. Search history and you will find it is so, whether with nations, neighborhoods, or individuals, from the day that Adam ate the forbidden fruit down to the present time. If you do not wish to go any farther back, look at the history of the Saints who have settled these valleys, and see it exemplified. History does not show that a colony was ever settled, either in North or South America, that had so little difficulty with the Indians as we have had. This is encouraging; and so it has been in our entire history. The wicked do not know how to enjoy life, but the closer we live to God the better we know and understand how to enjoy it. Live so that you can enjoy the spirit of the Lord continually. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Afternoon.

I have been thinking that if the sisters had all worn bonnets of their own make, they would know how to do them up, after the brief storm we have had, and they would have been little or none the worse. That is an advantage homemade bonnets have over the fancy ones bought in the stores. A severe storm this afternoon would rather injure the latter kind, and the nice collars, caps, and handkerchiefs that many of the sisters wear. It looked as though a heavy rain storm was coming, which would have done an incalculable amount of good in the present condition of the crops.

I was sorry that we were interrupted in hearing brother Taylor through, as his mind seemed to be so clear on the subject of the life of the Christian and the life of the anti-Christian.

The sufferings recorded of those who were called the people of God were endured by a people who had transgressed the laws of God, changed the ordinances, and substituted other laws and other ordinances, and had broken every covenant made to their fathers. They killed the Prophets, and stoned those sent to them. Their Prophets were the ones who suffered first in the midst of those whom the Lord had selected to be his people, and then the wrath of God was poured out upon them, their enemies were let loose to inflict suffering upon them.

How is it with us? When the whole Church could meet in a little schoolhouse 16 feet by 24, there were more difficulties, contentions and quarrels, to be settled before the High Council and Bishop’s Courts in one month, than there are now in all the settlements in this county in a year. This is encouraging, when we reflect that every year we have to take newcomers and lead them along, people who have lived under such different circumstances. It is encouraging for us to continue our labors, and we do not mean to stop pleading with the Latter-day Saints to send the Gospel to the nations, gather the poor and purify themselves, until we can say in our hearts that, when the voice is heard, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh,” we are actually ready to go out to meet him.

BRIGHAM CITY, 27th.

Brother Weinal asked brother Kimball this question, “You have preached so many years to us about saving our grain, will the people save it now?” They will do just as they please. It is our duty to preach the truth, it is theirs to believe and obey it. Some of the Saints are very full of faith. I remember the case of an old gentleman, who started from Manti for G. S. L. City, during the Indian difficulty, with some three or four companions, though he was counseled to delay his trip for a short time till a company was ready to start; but no, he had faith the Indians would not touch him. He was tomahawked right by the Uinta Springs, with his companions, where they had lain down to sleep in the afternoon. If they had obeyed counsel, they might have been saved.

The Lord has blessed the people with abundance in the past, and while we have been preaching to them to save their grain, they have gone and sold it and squandered it away, they had so much faith, when at the same time it was the power of God and the faith of the few who were consistent in their faith that saved them. My faith must be consistent, and go with my works. It is not my duty to make you build granaries. My duty is done when I tell you what you ought to do. I have no right to stand over you with a rod and make you pray, for you ought to pray of your own choice. And when I have done my duty, and brother Kimball has done his, and the Twelve have done theirs, the rest is with you.

Try to improve your minds; enrich them with every kind of true knowledge known on the earth; by faith so live as to enjoy the Holy Ghost; learn the object of the creation of man, of the formation of the earth, of what it is composed, and what it is for. Why is gold made? For us to worship it? No, it was made to be useful for domestic and other purposes. May God bless you: Amen.

WILLARD CITY, 28th.

We say we believe we are the Kingdom of God on the earth—this is our profession. Let us, by our every act, prove this profession to be true. It has been told you before, time and again, and we want to keep sounding it in your ears, take the course to save yourselves both spiritually and temporally.

The world have lost confidence in each other through transgression, and we must take a course to restore it among each other first, then it will extend to our friends, and finally, when Jesus rules, you will find the friendship and confidence which once existed among men will be restored to them again.

I feel to bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hearken to the counsel given to you, and we will do everything in our power to bring power and glory and honor to the Latter-day Saints.

OGDEN, 28th.

I expect there will never be a law made in this Kingdom that will prevent us from doing good and assisting the poor. If I were to sell my flour to my enemy, and he were to pay me seventy-five dollars a hundred in gold for it, it would not prevent me from giving a poor sister fifteen or twenty pounds of flour in her need. You may think that an extravagant price, but I have been offered $75, for flour, yet I have never sold any at that price.

We have quite a number of people here who never had a farm in their lives. They know nothing about trading. They have been accustomed to work, and, when Saturday came, to receiving their ten or fifteen shillings, and then spending it. We will have to arrange for them to live until they can learn to take care of themselves.

When we moved south there were 20,000 bushels of wheat in the Tithing Office, which we offered to the people, but they would not take five bushels of it. We had to take some of the people, and feed them too! Of what use will they be, either in this world or in the next?

Some people imagine they can obtain possession of knowledge very easily; if they were to have a vision of eternity, they would conclude they knew everything about it. Suppose a being on another planet were to have a vision of this congregation, would he understand all about the earth and its inhabitants? If I were to have the vision of my mind opened to obtain a glimpse of the spirit world, would I possess the knowledge of beings who are exalted in the eternal world?

We must increase in knowledge and understanding, to prove ourselves worthy of the blessings of the Lord. Obtain wisdom that you may so order your lives before the heavens and each other that you may be able to accept the power God has for you, and wield it to his power and glory. God bless you: Amen.

CENTERVILLE, 29th.

I will detain the people but a very short time. The matters which have been laid before you this afternoon are inseparably connected with our spiritual well-being. There is no man on this earth who can receive the Kingdom of God in his heart and be governed according to the laws of that Kingdom, without being governed and controled in all temporal matters. If you are not of one heart and mind in these things, never think of Jackson County, for you will not be wanted there. No man is going to inherit a celestial glory, who trifles with the principles thereof. The man who does not labor from day to day and from hour to hour for building up this Kingdom and bringing forth the fulness of the Kingdom of God on the earth, and the establishment of Zion, will sooner or later, fall and go out of the Church.

If you love brother Brigham, brother Heber, and the Twelve, do as they tell you. As fast as possible, secure a year’s supply of breadstuff, and then try to sustain yourselves without using any of that supply; and take the same course in the harvests of 1865-6-7, and so on, until you have a supply for seven years, then you are prepared either for a famine of that duration, or to feed the thousands who will come here hungry.

We are the descendants of Abraham. Here are the Lamanites—descendants of Joseph, and the seed of Israel is scattered through the nations; and as Joseph was a savior to his father’s house, let us live in obedience to the counsel given us, that we can become saviors to his whole father’s house in the latter days.

I exhort you to obtain the Spirit of the Lord, and to so live as to enjoy it continually. God bless you: Amen.