Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, 22nd March, 1868.

We learn, as we progress in our experience in the Church and Kingdom of God, the necessity of living near to the Lord in order to enjoy His Holy Spirit and to reach the standard to which it is our privilege to attain. We can all remember when we received the gospel, how elated we were, and how glorious everything looked to our vision. We saw no difficulties but what we were willing to attempt to surmount. There appeared nothing in our way but what we thought we could overcome, and we felt, that, so far as in our power lay, we would remain faithful so long as we lived on the earth; that we could not stumble at anything that might come before us, and that we were competent to encounter the evils of life and every difficulty and affliction, counting it more honorable to be a doorkeeper in the House of the Lord than to feast with the rich and ungodly.

This is the experience, I might say, of all who have received the gospel in sincerity. I suppose that the Apostles and disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also felt elated with the idea that they were associated with the Savior of the world—the Son of God; but we find that they shortly afterwards deserted him. And even in the days of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, they doubtless were elated with the mission of Moses, and went forth nothing doubting; but we see in a short time that their minds again reverted to the things of the world, and the place they had left, and they transgressed so deeply that the Lord would not permit them to enter the promised land; yet, not to be frustrated or thwarted in His purposes, He declared that their children should inherit it. So it is with the Latter-day Saints. A good many feel, I think, as though their religion has become an old story. They received the word gladly in the first place, and were perhaps a good deal elated with the idea of being members of the Kingdom of God on the earth; but when they begin to live in that Kingdom and find that those ideas are not realized as fast as they imagined they would be, they get dull, and fancy the work does not progress. Perhaps they neglect their prayers; they think it is of little use to pray; they become cold, slothful and dull, and, their minds become darkened. Instead of living so as to enjoy a full measure and flow of the Spirit of God, they become discontented and dissatisfied with the Kingdom of God and the principles of our holy religion.

If we only reflect, when we enlisted in this cause it was for a lifetime—for eternity; not for a few days, or a year or two, and then to fall away and return again to the beggarly elements of the world. We did not receive these principles with any such idea; but we enlisted for time and for all eternity under King Emanuel’s banner. We covenanted that we would keep the law of God, walk humbly before Him, and do all in our power to build up Zion, and hold on to those principles made known in His kingdom, that we might attain to the blessings which were in the future. They who get weary and discontented think, perhaps, that they are not called and chosen. Why, we are called or chosen to be righteous, holy beings; and let us remember that the time for being chosen because we have been righteous will come after a while, and happy will be that individual who has so lived up to his privileges as to be among the chosen ones. If we wish to attain to this great blessing we must live for it, and not be neglectful in regard to the things of God. We must apply our religion to our daily lives. We can meet and sing and pray and soar away in the spirit, for we have as much in our spiritual exercises as any people on the earth to raise our drooping spirits and fill our souls with joy; but, on the other hand, our religion does not consist of that alone; it is practical.

We read that when the Kingdom of God shall be set up, the kingdoms of this world shall be broken in pieces; and that the power shall pass into the hands of the righteous and the just preparatory to that day when Jesus shall reign “King of nations as he now reigns King of Saints.” We are engaged in this preparatory work—the dispensation of the fullness of times in which this great temporal kingdom, which shall stand forever, is being established, and you and I, brethren and sisters, if we are united and earnest in our efforts for the promotion of the principles of truth may become happy instruments in the hands of the Lord in assisting in this great work. This is the dispensation of the fullness of times, and it comprises the keys, powers and authorities of all the dispensations since the world began; and we should live so as to enjoy a full flow of the Spirit of God so that we may progress and commune with Jehovah and holy beings, for the heavens are ready to drop with fatness if we will make good use of the blessings already conferred upon us. When we do this with clean hands and a pure heart before the Lord, blessings will flow to Israel in greater abundance than ever before. Look where you will upon the face of the earth and you can find no people blessed as we are even now. Why is it? Because we have a better country, and have better opportunities for bringing forth the blessings of the earth in a temporal point of view? No; we labor under many disadvantages that are un– known in most other places; and yet we are more comfortable and happy than any other people. It is because the blessings of the Almighty are with us, and we shall have them in greater abundance inasmuch as we will cleave to the Lord and prove to Him our integrity.

But I fear there is a great neglect of prayer in the midst of this people. It is our privilege, nay, more, it is our duty to seek to the Lord frequently, that we may enjoy the full measure of His Spirit. Peradventure there may be something between us and our brother or sister—we may have spoken evil of them, or they may have spoken evil of us. We may have neglected our secret prayers, or to pray in our families; and if so we shall decrease in that good spirit which ought to pervade every breast, and we are more liable to yield to the evil influences that are around us and to become more captious in our remarks with our brethren, and less courteous, civil and circumspect in our intercourse one with another, and more apt to say things that are calculated to injure the feelings of our brethren. Perhaps we neglect our fences and let our stock trespass on our neighbors’ fields, gardens or orchards, and give them occasion to say hard things about us; and then we go and retaliate and speak hasty words. To carry this idea a little further, perhaps we take that which is not our own, or borrow and do not return, or perhaps we go and take down our neighbor’s fence on purpose to let our stock go and get his hay or grain. Or, perhaps, some amongst us go hunting stock on Sunday, or to the canyons with our teams when we should be keeping the Sabbath day holy. It may be possible that a great many of this people practice some of these things and thus prevent a free flow of the Spirit of God unto themselves, and get darkened in the counsels of their minds. This should not be. If any of us find ourselves in this dilemma let us seek at once to remove the obstacles from our path, just as we would raise the gate if necessary to let down the stream to irrigate our gardens. Many a soul may be drooping for the want of spiritual moisture, and they do not know what the difficulty is. There are obstacles in the way that need removing, that our minds may be enlightened by the light of the Spirit of the living God.

It is moreover necessary that we should take this course that we may be united, that when the word shall come from our bishop, or a call is made upon us by any in authority who has a right to dictate, we may be ready to respond and be glad of the opportunity of so doing. A man should never fail of improving the opportunities that are given him for doing good, or he will be the loser if he dies. A man may perhaps feel a little elated if he escape the call of a bishop or get excused, thinking that it militated a little in his favor; but who is there who has ever felt so, but what he has had seasons of regret for not going forth manfully and freely performing the duty required of him? How much better such persons would feel if they had done so. On the other hand how well they feel who have always responded to every call made upon them! I do not think there is a person that lives who feels different. If he does, he feels very different to what I do. How often have I witnessed the pride and joy the brethren have felt in relation to this in their reunions at the parties of the “Mormon Battalion,” the “Pioneers” and “Zion’s Camp!” and other associations. How many have said to me, “I was with you at such a place, and such a place; and I was with the Saints in their troubles in Illinois and Missouri.” And they speak of it as though they were proud to have been there. And even in the times of trouble we had in our early settlement here, when clothing and provisions were scarce, the same feeling is manifested. “I was here,” says one, “and I,” says another, and they feel glad that they were counted worthy to endure these trials and stand firm. It is a matter of satisfaction to everyone who has proven himself worthy thus far; and when we shall have passed a little further along, and have got through this state of mortal existence, will we not, in that great reunion beyond the grave, feel still more to congratulate ourselves and each other that we have passed safely through, and that we have had virtue, strength and integrity sufficient for our day? And we shall be glad and rejoice that the difficulties we encountered were thrown in our way, and that we had the opportunity of proving ourselves before the Heavens.

Do not let us be discouraged at difficulties and trials, for we are sent to this state of existence for the express purpose of descending below all things, that we may pass the ordeals and trials of this life and thereby prove our integrity and be prepared to rise above all things. And after all, we have not been called upon to endure to that extent that the Savior of the world was. But he was not subjected to the afflictions he had to endure without hope, neither are we; but we are called to pass through them that we may prove whether we have power and strength to stand in that day when all things shall be shaken, and nothing doubting, cleave to the Lord our God with full purpose of heart, no matter how much things are against us, apparently. If we can pass these tests and trials we shall prove to God and angels that we are worthy to receive the welcome plaudit, “well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

These great principles are known to the Latter-day Saints, and they know also that there again exists communication between the heavens and the earth, and that the way has been opened through the ordinances of the House of God, for the full flow of His Spirit; and yet some of them begin to falter in their feelings and slacken in their duties and to go into darkness. Let it not be said in Israel, or in all the borders and coasts thereof, but let the Saints, as with the heart and voice of one person, continually strive to promote those principles and that unity which are necessary to wield an influence with the Heavens for the Kingdom of God on the earth. It was once said facetiously by one of the founders of American Independence, that it was necessary for them to hang together, because if they did not they would most likely hang separately; meaning that if they did not succeed in gaining their Independence they would be convicted of treason, and put to death. It is so comparatively with the Latter-day Saints; unless we act unitedly and in concert in temporal as well as in spiritual things, we shall suffer loss. A Latter-day Saint in the world may live his religion as circumspectly as we do in the valleys of the mountains, but what power or influence can he wield for the kingdom, standing alone? All the surroundings of the world are against him. But if we are united in this great work, we shall in the due time of the Lord, become a great and mighty people on the earth, that can never be uprooted nor overcome by the floods of sin and corruption, that have so long deluged the world. The Latter-day Saints have no rights that the world consider themselves bound to respect, and if we expect them to do so we shall be deceived, especially if we live near to God. I have seen this tested over and over again in my own experience. What rights had the Latter-day Saints in the State of Missouri? Why, every right that man could ask for. Were they respected by the people or the authorities of the State? No, but the rights of this people were trampled under foot and they were expelled from the State. It was the same in Illinois, and in every place where they gathered together. In view of this it was a great blessing conferred upon us when the Lord brought us out here where the wicked could not have such control over us as they formerly had. Since that time we have become a great and mighty people in comparison to what we were then, and we are exerting an influence in the earth.

Shall we, who have enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord, and, I might say, have a knowledge of the powers of the world to come, suffer bickering, strife and division to enter into our midst? Let it not be said in the midst of Israel, but let us be more careful hereafter in our intercourse one with another than we have been in times past. Let us not trespass upon what is our neighbors’, either in feelings, property or possessions. Let us be courteous, and, instead of engendering strife and destroying each other as they do in the world, let us build each other up. We have to prepare to cooperate with the Lord in the establishment of His Kingdom, and it should be our special business to first perform the duties devolving upon us, and let our individual matters, if we have any, be secondary. This kingdom is made up of individuals as much as any other kingdom, and is prospered and built up by our individual efforts, but if we can have our labors wisely directed, then he who acts as he is counseled, is not only attending to and securing his own interests, but he is working for the good of the kingdom generally. For instance, the farmer, who is engaged in raising the various kinds of grain, and is industrious, frugal and economical, is a good citizen and is doing as much for the kingdom as he who is preaching the gospel; but if he be counseled to direct his energies especially to the raising of flax, hemp, or the mulberry, it is his duty to heed that counsel, and so work unitedly with the Saints of God under the direction of those who are appointed to direct the labor of this people and thus bring about the greatest good to the whole. So with the mechanic, and in fact with every individual in Israel.

There is one thing I particularly wish to speak upon. There is much knowledge which we need that would benefit us if we would take the trouble to search for it in useful books and apply it. Who amongst us knows how to analyze the soil, and so be able to tell what kind of produce it is best adapted for? This knowledge we can acquire from books, and by experiments in agricultural chemistry. We do not raise sufficient grain and other produce in this Territory to make ourselves comfortable. Why is this? Some of us have a very poor way of farming. I remember when I was south last year—though I need not go out of this county to find such farming—of seeing land that had not been harrowed above once in three or four years, and neither plowed nor sowed in that time, and watered only once or twice in a season; still they reaped a crop every year, and the people complained that they had not seed enough for their land, and they were, I think, the poorest people I have yet found in this Territory. I told them they were criminally poor, that there was no reason for their being so, but that it was the result of their indolence and bad management. I said to them, “Suppose you rented this land, and the owner should come and see you, and find what a condition his land was in—overrun with cockle and black seed and the weeds so numerous that they choke out the grain, would he not upbraid you and take a portion of that land from you and let it to others who would cultivate it properly?” Said I, “you complain of poverty, but you have more land than you can handle properly, and that is the great cause of your poverty. Then, again, you had more cattle than you could take care of, and the Indians got them. Now if you had had fewer cattle, and had taken better care of them, the Indians would not have taken them and you would have been better off.” I told them they had better dispose of a portion of their land, and keep no more than they could cultivate properly, and they would get twice the amount of grain they ever got before and with less labor. This was for the want of intelligent farming. How many of us here do not reap half such crops as we might reap for the same reason? It has been said by somebody that “he who makes two spears of grass grow where but one grew before is a benefactor to his race;” but how much more so is he who, by his superior intelligence, helps to increase the necessaries and comforts of life! Let us learn to analyze the soil and know its component parts, then we will understand whether it is best adapted to the growth of vegetables, or wheat or other kinds of grain; and know where to put trees, strawberries, and other things, that they may have the kind of soil best adapted to their growth.

The recuperation of the soil, too, is a matter of great importance. Some people think if they put manure on the land, that is all it requires. There is some land that would be better with sand mixed with the soil; some would be benefited by having clay mixed with it. If we would pursue this course we might cultivate less land and receive a greater reward for our labor.

We might also cultivate lucerne, carrots, beets and cabbages to keep a cow. Now the custom is in most cases to send them to the range, making them travel from eight to twelve miles daily. This causes their feet to become tender, and they have to be sent to the blacksmith’s to be shod; and when they get to the range there is little but bitter weeds for them to eat. This is no way to keep a cow. If we wish them to be of any service they should be well fed with lucerne or other suitable food, and kept up in the city and attended to properly; then a cow would do some good, give good milk and butter, which go a great way towards making a family comfortable. Then, again, almost anybody can keep a few chickens, and, with them and a cow properly attended to, very little additional expense is necessary to make a family comfortable. In this country a great many neglect these things and complain about poor living, just for the want of a little attention. They have girls and boys too, who could attend to these matters.

I wish to speak in relation to imparting the necessaries of life to the poor and the needy. We do not furnish labor enough in the winter season to those who depend upon it for their daily bread. It seems to me that the men who have the means do not make the improvements they might make in the winter, and so employ those who are destitute. In the summer there is plenty of labor for every body, all through the Territory; and it frequently happens that hands are scarce and wages high; but as soon as the storms begin to come in the Fall, laborers are thrown out of employment and have nothing to do through the long winter. I think the Bishops should turn their attention to this matter and contrive more useful and profitable employment for the winter season. The first Thursday in every month, let us remember, is a day set apart for fasting, prayer and donations to the poor. It will soon come around again. Notwithstanding there may be a little scarcity felt in the midst of the peo– ple, do not let us neglect those things. Do not forget them, and let us live up to those things necessary in the midst of the Saints of the Most High God, so as to keep a full flow of the Spirit in each and every one of us, and seek to make a better use of the blessings with which the Lord has surrounded us. The elements are rich and laden with everything that is good for man, and it is for us to exercise our discrimination and understanding to draw our support therefrom, that we may become a great, free and independent people, able to bear off His kingdom against every opposing obstacle.

May God help us to do so, and to be faithful, is my prayer in the name of Jesus: Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, February 16th, 1868.

I am thankful that I have the privilege of meeting with you; I am thankful for the blessings of this day, and that I live in this age of the world. The beginning of this dispensation of the fullness of times may well be compared to the commencement of a temple, the material of which it is to be built being still scattered, unshaped and unpolished, in a state of nature. I am thankful that the way is being prepared, and that we have the privilege of erecting a spiritual and moral superstructure—a temple of God. I am happy to be a member of this community; it is my joy, my delight to perform the little services which God has given me ability to do for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the children of men, for the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and for the bringing forth of His laws.

We have been gathered to the valleys of these mountains for the express purpose of purifying ourselves, that we may become polished stones in the temple of God, for it is written, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” Christ is represented as a living stone, chosen of God and precious, and the Apostle represents the Saints “as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” We “are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the Saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord.” Then my brethren, “what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” We are here for the purpose of establishing the kingdom of God on the earth. To be prepared for this work it has been necessary to gather us out from the nations and countries of the world, for if we had remained in those lands we could not have received the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God, which are necessary for the perfection of the Saints preparatory to His coming.

The great work of the gathering in the last days was plainly seen by the ancient Prophets and Apostles, and the glory of Zion was portrayed to them by the Spirit; but the sufferings and labors and toils and travels of the Saints to bring about the grand results which they saw they have not particularly described, for very likely the minutiae were not revealed to them; still they plainly saw by the spirit of revelation that the Saints would be gathered in the last days to be perfected and sanctified to become the bride, the Lamb’s wife. I suppose that the visions of the Lord and the revelation of His Spirit given to His faithful people in former times, relating to the Zion of the last days, were much the same as they are when given to His people in our days. When we first receive the Spirit of the Gospel we receive great joy therein, great peace, and great satisfaction to our minds; and we are carried away in the Spirit to behold the beauties of Zion, and to contemplate the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Our brethren and sisters far away among the nations, when they received the gospel, and the spirit of revelation came upon them, delighted to contemplate the gathering of the Saints, it was a matter of joy to them to dream about it and think about it when they would awake from their slumbers. They would reflect upon it through the day, and talk about it in their prayer meetings, and in their prayer circles at home, the subject of gathering to Zion was constantly before them if they lived so as to enjoy the spirit of their religion. This spirit caused their hearts constantly to rejoice; it was not the journey across the sea and across the plains that gave them joy, but it was the contemplation of Zion in its beauty and glory, for they could not see the troubles and disappointments, perplexities and vexations they would have to pass through in gathering to Zion, nor did they think of the hardships they would have to endure after they were gathered. So the ancients viewed the glory of Zion in the last days.

We cannot now administer the further ordinances of God in the fullest sense of the word legally unto the people, neither shall we be able to do so until we have a temple built for that purpose. Some may consider that I am notifying our common foe in saying this, but it is true, notwithstanding, and our common foe knows it. We must be situated in local circumstances wherein we can efficiently administer in those ordinances of the house of God that cannot be administered to a people while they are scattered abroad among the nations of the wicked. The Apostle John no doubt saw in vision, by the spirit of revelation, Zion in her beauty and perfection, and that Zion would have to be built up by the gathering of God’s people out of Babylon. Under the influence of the same spirit the Psalmist exclaims—“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.” “He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather my Saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” The High Priest Caiaphas, under the influence of the same spirit of prophecy, foretold that Jesus should die for the nation; “and,” as John says, “not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.” The gathering previously foretold is now being accomplished, and wherever the children of men are, if there are individuals among them who would delight to be disciples of the Lord Jesus, forsake sin and sinful company and practices, they are called upon to gather out from the wicked and assemble themselves together at some place designated by the finger of the Almighty. This work the Lord commenced over thirty years ago, and it is still progressing; the call is still to His people among the nations of the earth—Gather out of her my people, be not partakers of her sins lest ye receive of her plagues. When the righteous are thus gathered they will then be prepared for the coming of the Messiah.

It was remarked by Elder Woodruff that he did not think it would be a hundred years before the Savior will come. It is no matter about when he will come; I do not think the Father has yet been pleased to reveal it to any man upon the earth, and I do not known that He has revealed it to the angels. He had not done so in the days of the Savior, and I do not think that He has yet revealed it. Whether He comes today, tomorrow, this week, next week, this year, or next year, it matters not; we should be prepared for His coming, and this should satisfy us. It is our duty to make a close application of the requirements of heaven to our lives, and qualify ourselves to accomplish the work which the Lord has committed into our hands. How can we perform this work? Can we do it by every man turning to his own way, and by following the vain imaginations of his own heart? No, we will all decide at once that we never can perform this labor without being guided and directed by the Lord himself, through the means which it pleases Him to use to bring about the perfecting of His people, to prepare them for the glory which is to follow. I would not question the truth of the statement that the people ordered their lives before the Lord and their neighbors while they were scattered among the nations more perfectly than they do here in many instances, for there they had nothing to try them only the com– mon enemy, and the finger of scorn pointed at them by unbelievers, which made them cling closer to their God; they had not the trials to undergo which the Saints have here. If it is necessary for us to be tried in all things, then weep not, mourn not because we are tried, neither let us object to the Lord directing our course in that path wherein the trials necessary for our perfection lie. If it is in sailing across the sea in ships, in being sick and cast down, in witnessing the sorrow of our dear friends, in receiving temptations and trials to which we have before been strangers; if it is in crossing the country from the United States to this place, by railroad or by ox team, no matter how, the Lord leads His people in this way expressly to give them trials which they have not passed through before, and which it is necessary they should have. While it is necessary that we should be tempted and tried, it is not necessary that we should give way to temptation.

The Latter-day Saints are often drawn into circumstances that are most peculiar, and sometimes very trying, yet there exists no other people on the earth who enjoy the privileges and the freedom that we do. Our laws are often trampled upon with impunity, and the offender goes free. The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often commit sins that if they were to commit in the world would cut them off from the church antichrist, yet we retain them as members of the Church of Christ in mercy, and in consideration of the weaknesses of poor human nature, and they pass along unscathed, receiving the fellowship of their faithful brethren and sisters with the hope that they will reform and learn to live their religion more faithfully.

It is absolutely necessary that the Saints should receive the further ordinances of the house of God before this short existence shall come to a close, that they may be prepared and fully able to pass all the sentinels leading into the celestial kingdom and into the presence of God. Our brethren and sisters who are scattered abroad must be gathered to be tried, and then to be blessed with a preparation for a glorious reward. This people will be tried more or less while they remain in the flesh; they may even be called as Abraham of old was to offer up that which is the most dear to them of all earthly objects for the Gospel’s sake. Some have already forsaken all and followed Christ; they have left their children, their husbands, their wives, their brothers and sisters and dear friends, some hoping again to see them, and many never expecting to see them again in this life. We shall be tried in all things, and the Lord is now disposed to try us by calling upon us to be of one heart and of one mind, to submit to be guided and dictated, governed and controlled by Him through the constituted authorities of His kingdom. We should not consider this a trial above what we can bear.

Is the wife tried because her husband wishes to dictate her and give her good and wholesome advice? Is somebody tried because his bishop wishes to control him for his good? Your bishop is very likely doing the best he can to advise the members of his ward for their best good. Does he advise you to do wrong? All the members of that ward who are full of faith and the power of God will be of one heart and mind with their bishop, and will go with him in all things, and while union continues in the Lord, He will cause every move they make to culminate for the greatest good to that people and the cause of truth. If a bishop counsels the people of his ward to swear shall they swear? No. If he counsels them to steal shall they steal? No. If he counsels them to lie and bear false witness shall they do these wrongs? No. If he teaches them to break the Sabbath shall they break the Sabbath? No. If a bishop or any other officer in this Church shall counsel the people to violate any of the laws of God, and to sustain and build up the kingdoms of this world, I will justify them, and the Lord will justify them in refusing to obey that counsel. But if they counsel you to do right, which they do, take their counsel. Instead of supporting antichrist we have agreed to give our time, our talent, our substance, our all, for the building up of the kingdom of God.

Do right, and you will be tried all you wish to bear, and if you overcome, being made perfect through suffering, your reward will be eternal life in the kingdom of God. Do wrong, and continue in doing wrong, and you will have trials more than you can bear, and be damned at last. When we receive chastisement let us not be discouraged, but be more faithful, enduring temptation, hardship, and perplexity, trusting in God, and walking in the light of His countenance day by day and hour by hour. By pursuing this course our life will be a cheerful and happy one even in the midst of severe trials. We have now some little trial to endure, but not much. We are part of a great nation; it has been one of the happiest and best nations that has ever existed with regard to liberty, the greatness of its institutions, and the land which it occupies. The Lord says—Let my servants and handmaidens be sealed, and let their children be sealed. This great and happy government under which we have lived so long says we shall not perform the ordinance of sealing. This may be a small trial to us for the moment. We shall see who will conquer—whether God will have His way in making manifest His purposes and having them fulfilled, or whether the wicked will have their way. They have had it, and have succeeded many times in overcoming the Saints and destroying them to that degree, causing them to apostatize, and putting them to death, that the Priesthood was taken from the children of men; but this is the last dispensation, and we shall see whether they succeed in this kind of proceeding now as they have formerly done.

The Lord has revealed His will for His servants to take more wives than one. Our government says that a man shall not have but one wife, though he may have as many mistresses as he pleases; he may ruin and destroy as many of the daughters of Eve as he pleases; but he is forbidden to acknowledge but one as his wife. The government says you shall only have one wife; the Lord says take unto yourselves wives; and Saints obey the Lord, and we shall see who will come off victorious. The ordinance of sealing must be performed here man to man, and woman to man, and children to parents, etc., until the chain of generation is made perfect in the sealing ordinances back to father Adam; hence, we have been commanded to gather ourselves together, to come out from Babylon, and sanctify ourselves, and build up the Zion of our God, by building cities and temples, redeeming countries from the solitude of nature, until the earth is sanctified and prepared for the residence of God and angels.

Our enemies say we shall not do this, and here will be a trial, as it has been for a long time past. One of the first objections that was urged against Joseph Smith was that he was a money digger; and now the digging of gold is considered an honorable and praiseworthy employment. They are hunting for gold all over the country, doing the very thing which they condemned in him. The next fault they found with Joseph and the Saints was that they were stirring up the slaves to rebellion against their masters; and this was published abroad. Have they not done, and are they not now doing, the very thing for which they falsely blamed the Saints? The next accusation was that the Saints took more wives than one. Whether they will make one grand sweep of it in the future, and all conclude to take more wives, I cannot say. I wish they might; I do not, however, wish this for any private benefit it will be to me or to God’s people, but that they may make women honorable wives whom they now destroy, and conduct themselves more like human beings who bear the image of God than they now do before Him. It is for their own sakes that I wish this, and for the sake of the unfortunate females whom they outrage. I would like you to behold your little darling sisters and daughters here throwing themselves in the way of the Gentiles. Any Mormon brother or father who can suffer this to go on without reproof or advice must be ignorant of the consequences. The Lord says to the sons of Israel, take the daughters of Israel to wife, and make them honorable, and let them multiply and replenish the earth, and fill up the measure of their creation, that their names may be had in honorable remembrance to the latest generation on earth and in eternity. Supposing that the Latter-day Saints had possessed the city of New York for the last twenty years, as they have these valleys of Utah, and the young women of that city from sixteen years of age to twenty-one had been in the hands of Mormon Elders as wives, how many would have now been living and honorable mothers of a bright, intelligent, and vigorous race of men and women, that have met an untimely grave, husbandless, childless, friendless, disgraced, and forgotten? Under such circumstances there would have been now living in honor, according to moderate calculation, from two to four hundred thousand females, whose filthy and corrupted remains are now mingling with the dust of that sinful city.

This is a waste of life. Who will be answerable to God in the day of judgment for such acts? The voice of the Lord is gather out from her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins nor of her plagues, and build temples to My name, and seal up My sons and daughters to eternal life, to prepare them for My coming, for “the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion; and also the Lord shall have power over His Saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.” For, behold, the days are coming in which they shall say—“Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the paps that never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” Devouring flames have already taken hold of the dry tree, and the hand of God in judgment is beginning to be felt by this nation, and soon will be upon all nations under heaven. Who will acknowledge the hand of God in the sufferings, travails, and deliverance of this people from the hands of their persecutors, and His handiwork in sustaining them in the wilderness, through sorrow, affliction, poverty, and wretchedness? All the faithful Saints will do it; but how few outsiders, as we call them, will stop to pray to God in the name of Jesus to know if this work is true; they pass it by as a thing of nought, as unworthy of their attention; they are so absorbed in the affairs of this world that the preparation for the next scarcely enters into their thoughts, and many of this class are honorable men.

I rejoice when I contemplate the work of the last days, and survey the Saints in their possessions in Utah. I have but one text which I desire to keep before them—it is to forsake their sins and become united as one man in the purpose of all their temporal acts, that their labors may all center in the building up and sustaining of God’s kingdom instead of building up the kingdoms of this world.

For their consolation I will say to my brethren and sisters that we have had a very happy time on our short visit in the south, and I think I never experienced greater peace, sweeter peace, than I have done on our short visit to Provo a week ago. We left the city a week ago last Friday, and returned again to this city on the Tuesday following. We had a most excellent meeting at American Fork, and everybody and everything seemed to cry peace on earth and good will to men. When we returned home we found rumors that there had been difficulty in Provo, and some of the brethren had been killed. Br. Heber C. Kimball, in conversing upon this subject in the School of the Prophets, remarked that the brethren voted that we should go to Provo and that the angels of the Lord should accompany us, but he did not expect that they would all go with us and leave you without any. There are good Saints in Provo, and they want to be better Saints; they may have committed errors, but when you arrive at the truth of the matter, they wish to be Saints. We are all called to be Saints, to be filled with the purity of God, and with the power of the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus—the spirit of revelation—we are called from darkness into light, from error to truth, from the power of Satan to the living God, we are called from the kingdoms of darkness to the kingdom of God and light, and, by and by, we shall be chosen because we are worthy, and it will be said to us: “You have lived the life of a Saint, now you are chosen to be an heir of the celestial kingdom of our Father and God.” Let us not forget, my brethren and sisters, the gathering of the Saints for sanctification and preparation to inherit all things. Let us live closer to our duty, that we may be sanctified and be prepared to dwell together in the celestial kingdom, which may God grant. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered at Provo, Saturday, February 8th, 1868.

I am happy in the privilege of meeting with you. We have come here to lay before you matters pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. The remarks which you have just heard from Brother George A. Smith are to the point. As far as I am acquainted with the inhabitants of Provo I think they are as good a people as those who dwell in Salt Lake City or in any other settlement in Utah Territory. I think much of Provo; it is a very favored locality. We have established a school of the prophets in Salt Lake City. It is written in a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, August, 1833—“Be hold, I say unto you, concerning the school in Zion, I, the Lord, am well pleased that there should be a school in Zion.” And when speaking of the President of that school, it is written—“And I will bless him with a multitude of blessings, in expounding all scriptures and mysteries to the edification of the school and of the Church in Zion.”

When the school of the prophets was inaugurated one of the first revelations given by the Lord to His servant Joseph was the Word of Wisdom. The members of that school were but a few at first, and the prophet commenced to teach them in doctrine to prepare them to go out into the world to preach the gospel unto all people, and gather the elect from the four quarters of the earth, as the prophets anciently have spoken. While this instruction prepared the Elders to administer in word and doctrine, it did not supply the teachings necessary to govern their private or temporal lives; it did not say whether they should be mer– chants, farmers, mechanics, or money changers. The prophet began to instruct them how to live that they might be the better prepared to perform the great work they were called to accomplish. I think I am as well acquainted with the circumstances which led to the giving of the Word of Wisdom as any man in the Church, although I was not present at the time to witness them. The first school of the prophets was held in a small room situated over the Prophet Joseph’s kitchen, in a house which belonged to Bishop Whitney, and which was attached to his store, which store probably might be about fifteen feet square. In the rear of this building was a kitchen, probably ten by fourteen feet, containing rooms and pantries. Over this kitchen was situated the room in which the Prophet received revelations and in which he instructed his brethren. The brethren came to that place for hundreds of miles to attend school in a little room probably no larger than eleven by fourteen. When they assembled together in this room after breakfast, the first they did was to light their pipes, and, while smoking, talk about the great things of the kingdom, and spit all over the room, and as soon as the pipe was out of their mouths a large chew of tobacco would then be taken. Often when the Prophet entered the room to give the school instructions he would find himself in a cloud of tobacco smoke. This, and the complaints of his wife at having to clean so filthy a floor, made the Prophet think upon the matter, and he inquired of the Lord relating to the conduct of the Elders in using tobacco, and the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was the result of his inquiry. You know what it is, and can read it at your leisure.

So we see that almost the very first teachings the first Elders of this Church received were as to what to eat, what to drink, and how to order their natural lives, that they might be united temporally as well as spiritually. This is the great purpose which God has in view in sending to the world, by His servants, the gospel of life and salvation. It will teach us how to deal, how to act in all things, and how to live with each other to become one in the Lord. There is no question but that the waste places of Zion will be built up, that temples of God will be reared, and the Elders of Israel will enter into them and perform ordinances for the redemption of their dead friends back to Adam; but do you know the method of operation by which this will be brought about? Do you understand the workings of this great machinery of salvation to accomplish the great end for which we are looking? With all of our experience we have but a very scanty or partial knowledge of this great work. We say that we will enter into this business or that business to suit our own tastes and notions, without thinking whether our proceedings will advance the kingdom of God or not, and when strangers come into our midst we are too apt to strengthen their hands, to destroy the very Zion which we are trying to build up. It may be that those who do this are not aware of the evil which they commit in taking this course; for while we encourage and strengthen those who are not of us, at the same time we firmly believe that scripture of the revelator respecting the separation of the Saints from the wicked—“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

We have met in these valleys of the mountains with an eye to the perfection of the Latter-day Saints as individuals or as a community, that instead of every man turning to his own way, all should be willing to be controlled by the God of heaven. We have established a school in Salt Lake City for the instruction of the Elders of Israel in the doctrines which are contained in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, etc., and that is also the place where questions may be asked, and instructions given touching all doctrines and principles that may be entertained by them. That is also the place where correction may be given and explanations be made upon all matters which pertain to the temporal and spiritual lives of the Saints. It is about two months since that school was established.

There have been petitions presented to the Legislature and much said concerning the division of this county. While cogitating upon this matter in our class, it came to me very forcibly to make a proposition for a few men to go to Provo and comfort the hearts of the brethren here, to show them the necessity of becoming one, of laying aside all individual bickerings, of overlooking and forgiving the weakness of one another, and of uniting our faith together to make this one of the most beautiful and lovely cities of Zion. Why not do this, brethren? I believe I made the motion myself before the class for President B. Young and President H. C. Kimball to go to Provo and make homes there, and live there a portion of the time; others were also named to do the same. If the brethren of the city of Provo are willing for us to dictate and guide them, and make our homes with them, we will try to do them good, and teach them the ways of life and salvation, and show them how to overcome the darkness so natural to the human mind, and give them extended ideas on the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth.

I have been informed by your presiding Bishop that this day was set apart for the people to make nominations for their municipal election. At the meeting for this purpose the people will have an opportunity of expressing their views and of making their nominations. If we would live according to the laws of God, be contented to live according to the rules and regulations of the Holy Priesthood, we should have but little use for probate courts, district courts, or supreme courts in our Territory; their existence here would only be in a name and form, for the people would live above the laws of man. We should have very little use for anything else in the shape of Government but the Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God. The Jews and Gentiles have of late brought some of their difficulties before the High Council in Salt Lake City for adjudication, in preference to going before the District Court; and the High Council, I believe, has invariably given satisfaction when such cases have been brought before it. This is a step in the right direction—to settle all matters without having recourse to law, which would do away with the necessity of employing and paying lawyers, court fees, etc. If we could ever see the time when we will live according to the laws of the Lord as given to us, and never suffer ourselves to transgress the wholesome, just, and righteous principles and rules which they inculcate for our guidance, we could live within ourselves, sustain ourselves, and make ourselves rich—rich in the knowledge of God and in the possession of this life. If we could learn to sustain one another and the interests of the kingdom of God, we would advance in the wealth of this world much faster than to sustain those who have no interest whatever with us. I would delight much to see a people who would actually live the principles of the Holy Gospel in every respect. But we are careless and thoughtless; we are not ignorant of the fact that we are continually making ourselves poorer by our unwise proceedings. This is grievous to behold. If every man in this Church would consent to be guided by the dictations of the Holy Priesthood in all their business transactions, dealing honestly with one another, giving to every man his due, instead of making a few rich and a great many poor, we would all become rich together, and have every convenience and appliance which is calculated to give comfort and happiness to man. We have got now about ten thousand dollars for the gathering of the poor, and a number of cattle of various kinds and ages, which we shall sell as soon as possible for money. If we had the money which the people have squandered by their injudicious trading, and by wrongly applied labor, we should have means sufficient to gather every poor Saint in the old world.

I can see the foolishness of the Elders of Israel in wandering here and there with their produce to make gain, and trying to undersell each other; they have always lost by this proceeding, whereas if they had stayed at home they would have made money. Every man who has property and means should live so as to obtain wisdom to know how to use them in the best possible way to produce the greatest amount of good for himself, for his family, and for the kingdom of God; but instead of taking this course it does appear that the great majority of the Elders of Israel are crazy to run here and there to get rid of what they possess at any price. What for? Do they do this to build up the Kingdom of God? “Have you built a good house?” “No.” “What have you got?” “Folly, folly, weakness, and poverty.” When we can get the people to stay at home, and observe the law of God, we have the things of God for them, and the things of the world too as soon as they are prepared to receive them and make a good use of them. It grieves me to see the people take such special pains to make themselves foolish and miserable. I am speaking of the community, and it is the one man, the one woman, and the one child multiplied that makes the great nation or people. Let us learn wisdom and govern ourselves accordingly.

We shall hold meeting among you today and tomorrow, and I hope the people of Provo will be benefited by our visit, and I pray that they will apply their hearts to understand, receive, and treasure up, and bring forth truth to the glory of God. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, January 12th, 1868.

I feel happy for the privilege of again speaking to the Latter-day Saints in this city; and I am also happy for the privilege of being a member of this Church. In this I am exceedingly blessed, and I can say of a truth, that my soul drinketh of that “river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.” I am full of peace by day and by night—in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, and from the evening until the morning. I am extremely happy for the privi– lege of living with those who are seeking to do the will of God. We are gathered together in the tops of these mountains for the express purpose of building up Zion, the Zion of the last days, the glory of which was seen by the prophets of the Almighty from the days of old. “And they shall call thee,” says Isaiah, “The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” “The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.” We are removed far away from those who bore rule over us and oppressed us, and who deprived the Saints of their constitutional rights. The Lord has led His people to a land where they can enjoy as much liberty as they are disposed to live for. There is no oppression here; there is no people on earth who have as few encumbrances upon their spiritual and temporal rights as the Latter-day Saints in these mountains. We have all liberty, yet we are not at liberty to do wrong in this community, and have it sanctioned, although many do wrong, which wrongs are in many cases overlooked and forgiven.

The law of liberty is the law of right in every particular—that is, if we understand it to mean the privilege of doing anything and everything to promote the peace, happiness, and well-being of mankind, whether in a national, State, Territorial, county, city, neighborhood, or family capacity, with a view to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man, and to have a place in the presence of their Father and God. Shall we say that we enjoy this law of liberty to the fullest extent? We do, in fact, and no power can deprive us of it. We have a good and wholesome government, when it is administered in righteousness and equity, and its laws scrupulously obeyed; and it guarantees to all their political, religious, and social rights. We have the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates of our own consciences, and according to the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true our consciences are formed more or less by circumstances and by the effects of early teachings, until we enter upon the stage of action for ourselves. Parental influences upon the growing organization of the unborn infant have much to do in giving character to conscience. But we always have the privilege of answering a good conscience. We have the privilege of praying as many times a day as we please; we have the privilege of praying from morning until evening and from evening until morning without anyone to molest us. We have the privilege to meet in a congregational capacity in our great public meetinghouses, or in our ward meetinghouses, to attend to our sacraments and fasts, and there to tarry, when we are thus assembled, as long as we please without any restrictions whatever.

There are circumstances in which it would be right to restrict a person even in prayer and worship. For instance, if a man should hire another to work for him so many hours a day, for which he agrees to pay him so much, the employed is thereby bound by the conditions of the agreement to work the number of hours stipulated, that he may justly collect his pay, for he is not paid for praying, nor for holding religious meetings and religious conversations with his fellow workmen. If this may be called a restriction upon the free exercise of religion, it is a just one, for the restriction itself becomes a religious duty in order that mistaken notions of religious freedom may be corrected. In such a case we would not say that a person is in the least degree abridged in the free exercise of his religious privileges, but rather, by keeping him to a faithful observance of his agreement, he is made to exemplify one of the foremost principles of true religion—namely, honesty. If a man has sufficient to supply his wants, and the wants of those who depend upon him, and can, without infringing upon the rights of others, afford to pray all the day long and then all the night long, he is free to do so.

A great many instances might here be introduced to illustrate wherein men should not be permitted to do as they please in all things; for there are rules regulating all good societies and the business intercourse of men with each other, which are just and righteous in themselves, the violation of which cannot be countenanced either by civil or religious usages. It is not the privilege of any man to waste the time of his employer under any pretence whatever, and the cause of religion, good government, and humanity is not in the least degree advanced by the practice, but the contrary is really the case. Men should be abridged in doing wrong; they should not be free to sin against God or against man without suffering such penalties as their sins deserve.

I have looked upon the community of the Latter-day Saints in vision and beheld them organized as one great family of heaven, each person performing his several duties in his line of industry, working for the good of the whole more than for individual aggrandizement; and in this I have beheld the most beautiful order that the mind of man can contemplate, and the grandest results for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God and the spread of righteousness upon the earth. Will this people ever come to this order of things? Are they now prepared to live according to that patriarchal order that will be organized among the true and faithful before God receives His own? We all concede the point that when this mortality falls off; and with it its cares, anxieties, love of self, love of wealth, and love of power, and all the conflicting interests which pertain to this flesh, that then, when our spirits have returned to God who gave them, we will be subject to every requirement that He may make of us, that we shall then live together as one great family; our interest will be a general, a common interest. Why can we not so live in this world? This people have been gathered together for a further purpose than to prepare them to be one in the faith of the doctrine of Christ, to be one in the proclamation of the Gospel in all the world; to be one in our obedience to the ordinances of the house of God. All this we could have done in the different countries from whence we have been gathered out. We could have lived and died there, as many have, in faithfulness to the spiritual requirements of our religion, if the Lord had not had in view a great spiritual and temporal purpose in gathering His people from the four winds. The order of God among men is not complete without a gathering. Hence Jesus says—“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” And because they would not be gathered and avail themselves of the great blessings consequent upon it, their house was left unto them desolate, etc.

We are gathered together expressly to build up the kingdom of God. We are not gathered together to build up the kingdom of this world. The voice of God has not called us together from the uttermost parts of the earth to build up and enrich those who are diametrically opposed to His kingdom and its interests. No, but we are gathered together expressly to become of one heart and of one mind in all our operations and endeavors to establish Christ’s spiritual and temporal kingdom upon the earth, to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory.

When the everlasting gospel is preached by the power of the Holy Ghost, the minds of those who are honest and worthy of the truth are opened, and they see the beauty of Zion and the excellence of the knowledge of God which is poured out upon the faithful. Such men and women have seen in the revelations of the Spirit that God would gather His people even before the gathering was taught to them by the servants of God; and they understood the great object of the gathering, they saw that the people of the Lord could not be sanctified while they remained scattered abroad among the nations of the Gentiles. When the people first receive the Spirit you may ask what you will of them, and they will yield it in a moment; their submission to God and the counsels of His servants is almost complete. They are ready to give their substance, their houses and lands, they are ready to leave all and follow Christ; they are ready to leave their good, comfortable, happy homes, their fathers and their mothers, and their friends; and some have left their companions and their children for the gospel’s sake, and all this because of the vision of eternity which has been opened to their minds so that they beheld the beauty of Zion, and they sacrifice all to gather to the home of the Saints.

We have been assembled together from among all nations to be corrected in our lives and manners, and for purification before the Lord. We have come up to these mountains through trials and tribulations and perplexities, and what do we see when we come here? The fatigues of the journey have proved and tried the souls of many, so that they have faltered in their faith; the light of the Spirit within them has become darkened and the understanding benighted. They look for perfection in their brethren and sisters, forgetting that in the vision of the Spirit they saw Zion in her perfection and beauty, and that this state must be obtained by passing through a strict school of experience. When they arrive here they find the people like themselves, subject to many weaknesses of the flesh, and some giving way to them every day. The great majority of the people are apt to lose the Spirit they at first possessed through the cares of the world and the many afflictions they pass through in gathering together from the distant nations of the Gentiles, and through looking for perfections in others which they do not find and which they themselves do not possess. Notwithstanding this there exists no other community so dissimilar in their education and training, and yet so agreed in theological and civil polity as we are.

What does the Lord want of us up here in the tops of these mountains? He wishes us to build up Zion. What are the people doing? They are merchandising, trafficking and trading. I wish to view them as they are and where they are. Here is a merchant—“How much have you made this year, 1867?” “I have made sixty thousand dollars.” “Where did you get it? Did the merchants in the east or the west give it to you?” “No.” “Who did give it to you?” I answer that this poor people, the Latter-day Saints, who have gathered together in their penury, have put this means into the hands of the merchant. He has got it from a people, a great number of whom have been helped here by the means of others; and when they get a dime, a dollar, ten dollars, they carry it at once to the merchant for ribbons, artificials, etc., making him immensely rich. We all have our pursuits, our different ways of supplying ourselves with the common necessaries of life and also its luxu– ries. This is right, and the possession of earthly wealth is right, if we follow our varied pursuits, and amass the wealth of this life for the purpose of advancing righteousness and building up the kingdom of God on earth. But how easy it is to wander from the path of righteousness. We toil days and months to attain a certain degree of perfection, a certain victory over a failing or weakness, and in an unguarded moment, slide back again to our former state. How quickly we become darkened in our minds when we neglect our duties to God and each other, and forget the great objects of our lives.

The purpose of the Lord is to get the Saints together, and then preach to them the doctrines of the kingdom of God by the voices of His servants, and it is the duty and the privilege of all His people to conform to them in their lives, in all their daily pursuits, until they became one in all things, in every day’s operations in life, for the obtaining of our bread and meat and clothing of every description, being one in the exercise of our ability in gathering together the various comforts of life around us, sustaining ourselves and the household of faith, and still being kind to the stranger. The Lord has not called us here to make our enemies rich by giving to them our substance for considerable less than it has cost us to produce it from the elements. They would use that means for our destruction. This course is against the mind of the Holy Spirit, against the mind of the angels who watch over us, against the commandments of the Almighty, against the mind of every faithful and true Latter-day Saint, and against the cause of God and truth. As Elder Orson Hyde has said, I would that all the inhabitants of the earth would repent of their evil ways and become righteous, and then work the works of righteousness all their days.

As Latter-day Saints it is our business, morning, noon, and night, all the day long, all the week long, all the month long, all the year long, and all our life long, to sustain those who sustain the kingdom of God. Does not the religion which we have embraced incorporate everything which is in heaven and earth and under the earth? Yes, if there is a truth among the ungodly and wicked it belongs to us, and if there is a truth in hell it is ours. Everything that will produce good to the people is within our religion. With our religion we have embraced all good, but we have not engaged to sustain the powers of Satan and the kingdoms of this world. We have left them and engaged to sustain the good—the wine and the oil—until we become one, and act as with one voice in maintaining every temporal and spiritual interest of the political kingdom of our God on earth, whose officers shall be peace and whose exactors shall be righteousness. Our judges will be of our own selection, who will deal out justice and righteousness to the people. We are looking forward to this state of things. We expect to see the day when there will be none in our midst but those who are for God and truth and who are valiant for His kingdom on earth. As the Prophet has said—“Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.” We are longing for this state of things, then why not begin to work for it today? Why not commence the work today by ceasing to do evil, by ceasing to give strength to the hand which would pierce us through with many sorrows? Why not begin today by sustaining those who will sustain the kingdom of God? This is my text for the Latter-day Saints, and I wish it to be constantly held before them until they exemplify it in their lives, by becoming of one heart and of one mind in all things in righteousness and holiness before the Lord.

To observe the Word of Wisdom is nothing more than we ought to have done over thirty years ago. Touching this matter, I tell the people the will of God concerning them, and then they are left to do as they please in obeying it or not. It is a piece of good counsel which the Lord desires His people to observe, that they may live on the earth until the measure of their creation is full. This is the object the Lord had in view in giving that Word of Wisdom. To those who observe it He will give great wisdom and understanding, increasing their health, giving strength and endurance to the faculties of their bodies and minds until they shall be full of years upon the earth. This will be their blessing if they will observe His word with a good and willing heart and in faithfulness before the Lord.

I am talking to the bishops continually almost, giving them instruction and advice, but it is hard for them to get the people to be guided by them. Now, for example, we will take the least ward in the city, and suppose the people all consent to be guided and controlled by the word of the Lord in all things, to be faithful in their labor and in the discharge of every duty, being economical, prudent, and industrious in all their labors, taking care of everything, abstaining from the use of spirituous liquor, tea, coffee, and tobacco, etc., also to let doctors alone, and faithfully abide the word of the Lord relating to the sick, manufacturing what they need to wear, and raising what they need for food; saving their dollars as they happen to get them by the sale of some of their products, sustaining themselves in all things, wanting only what they can produce in the country from the elements and the labor of their hands—suppose, I say, they were to take this course, three years would not pass away before the people of that ward would be able to produce everything they need in life. Thus, by a union of purpose and a concentration of action, that little ward would soon be able to buy out their neighboring wards, who would persist in pursuing the opposite course; and perhaps fifteen years would not pass away before this prudent ward would be able to buy out and own this whole city, if they continued to do as they were desired to do, and the rest of the wards pursued their own way. I pray my brethren the Bishops, the Elders, the Seventies, the Apostles, yea, every man and woman and child who has named the name of Christ to be of one heart and of one mind, for if we do not become of one heart and mind we shall surely perish by the way.

Before I close my remarks I will again remind my brethren and sisters that we have a duty to perform in sending for our brethren and sisters who are in foreign lands. We wish to gather them together. As to whether they will stick to the faith after they are gathered I know not, neither do I care. It is better to feed nine unworthy persons than to omit feeding one who is worthy among the ten. So it is with clothing the needy and sending for the poor. They must have the same opportunities for salvation that we have, for the neglect of which they will be held accountable in the day of judgment as we will also be. Let us send for the poor. We are doing consi– derable, though we are not doing as much as we should do. If I could only have power sufficient with God I think I should accomplish the desire of my heart in this matter and that of my brethren and sisters. We do desire to have our friends relieved from their bondage, and brought to these valleys of the mountains to share with us the blessings we enjoy. It would be a blessing to the poor if we could only exercise the faith that Elijah had in the case of the widow’s meal and cruse of oil, that the little we do get for the emigration of the poor may accomplish, under the blessing of God, much more than is natural for us to expect from it. If we can only obtain faith to multiply the means we do get, we may make a little reach out so far as to accomplish the desires of our hearts.

May God bless you. Amen.

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, December 29th, 1867.

In the dealings of God with the children of men, in almost every age of which we have any account, we find that a certain weakness of the human heart has ever manifested itself—that is, its proneness to stray from the Lord. On almost every occasion when the children of Israel began to get prosperous and wealthy, they forgot their duty and strayed from the Lord. After Joshua had led them across the Jordan, subdued their enemies, and placed them in possession of Canaan, he called the people together en masse, and exacted of them a covenant that they would serve the Lord, who had brought them out of Egypt and had wrought so many miracles in their favor; and it is recorded of that generation that they served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the Elders who outlived Joshua. This is about as long a time as Israel ever did abide by the law of the Lord. In reading the Book of Mormon this same trait of character is very noticeable in the history of the Nephites and Jaredites. When the Elders were stirred up to preach and prophesy to the people, or when, through the scourging of the Almighty, they were brought to repentance and to the knowledge of their fathers, it would be but an incredibly short time—a few years of peace and industry with their attendant blessings—before they would again go astray from God, follow new doctrines and forms of worship designed by men, and wickedness would soon again overspread the land. This was repeated time and again by the Nephites from the time they separated from the Lamanites until their final destruction. It is remarkable, however, in the history given in the Book of Mormon, that after the mission of the Savior to this continent, and the reception of the gospel by the whole of the Lamanites and Nephites, that for several generations they remained faithful to its precepts and principles, and walked before the Lord with such a degree of humility and thanksgiving that they were prospered and blessed in all things. This is the longest period of peace, and the most like a millennium that we have any account of in any of our records where time is given to us. It is true that Enoch and his followers were more faithful than this, for it is said that he walked with God three hundred and sixty-five years; but, as we have no detailed account of the transactions in his cities, or of the regulations in Zion under his direction, we are not prepared to use the short account we have of him and his people by way of comparison.

All these lessons taught in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and by our own experience are to warn us of the danger of going astray, and to show us how prone we are to lust after the leeks and onions of Egypt, or to sacrifice principle to gain some temporary advantage or to answer some mercenary purpose; and they should be so firmly fixed upon our minds, and so applied in our lives, that nothing could induce us to do so, for however great the seeming advantage resulting from such a course, it would in the end prove a serious disadvantage, for in following it we sacrifice our integrity, violate our faith, weaken our confidence in God and our power with him, and lay ourselves liable to fall into snares from which it is impossible for us to extricate ourselves.

As I have already said, when I first read the Book of Mormon, this trait of character astonished me, and I have been equally astonished at seeing it manifested by this people during the thirty-seven years I have been conversant with their history. In relation to the Word of Wisdom, see what a variety of opinions and feelings have arisen amongst us. It is now about thirty-six years since that was given by the Lord to His people, not by commandment or constraint, but a principle with promise, and yet today many of us find it difficult to leave off our tea or to do without our tobacco. Had we, as a people, pursued an even, straightforward course in obedience to the counsels of the Almighty, many of us who today are in bondage to these and other pernicious practices would never have indulged in them.

I moved into Kirtland with five families. The question immediately arose—“Where shall we settle?” Why, right here in Kirtland; the Lord designs to make this a stronghold for a few years, and here we are to settle, which was the counsel of the Prophet.

The very first thing that occurred after this advice was that two out of the five came to the conclusion that they had better go to the neighboring town, because they thought they could gain some temporary advantage. To Chagrin they went, in opposition to the advice of the Prophet, and in a few weeks they were in darkness, and not long after they were numbered with the enemies of Zion, and were soon using all their power for the destruction of the Saints. He that gathereth not with us scattereth abroad. Joseph, the Prophet, told us to go to work and build up the cities of Zion, and not to build up strange cities. Kirtland, of course, contained but few Saints, and they were poor, and many of the brethren who were mechanics would go to Cleveland, Painesville, and other places, while the residue were willing to take the advice of the Prophet and stay in Kirtland and get what work they could among the brethren, and make improvements, and at the end of the year it invariably turned out that those who had obeyed counsel had made the most means, and what was more, they had the best spirit, and, as a general thing, they are still in the midst of the Saints; while those who went abroad, contrary to the counsels and instructions of the servants of the Lord, became darkened in their minds, and eventually apostatized. The fact is, in relation to this, that we are to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and to use all our efforts to sustain His Kingdom and each other, and to sustain and uphold those who uphold the Kingdom of God, and when we neglect to do this, and suffer temporary interests to drag us to the right or to the left, we lay a foundation for darkness and destruction. However many objections we may feel to abiding the counsels and instructions which are given to the Saints, we will find, under all circumstances, that they are invariably for the best, and that, when they have not been observed, the result was unfavorable. It seems to me that most of us can look back the last four or five years and see the course that has been pursued by some in their eagerness and determination to disobey counsel. By these lessons and examples in the school of experience we ought to make ourselves acquainted with the principles of progress, and profit by them. If we will do so God will strengthen our hands and enlighten our minds, and enable us to pull unitedly together; and, when we are united as a solid mass, all the powers of earth cannot prevail against us.

Our weakness consists in division among ourselves, in not living up to our calling, in not abiding by the counsels which the Lord inspires His servants to impart unto us, and not abiding by the covenants which we make when we lift up our hands to Heaven and vote to sustain our President, or Prophet, as a seer and revelator unto us. This failure on our part weakens both his hands and ours. Brother Woolley said this morning—“We are progressing,” and there is no doubt we are, but it is slowly.

May the Lord bless us, unite our hearts, and quicken our progress, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 29th, 1867.

It is said that short visits make long friends, and short sermons perhaps make interesting meetings. I am sure this is the case sometimes. I am thankful for the privilege of being instructed, and of meeting with a people who manifest by their lives a desire for improvement. I am thankful that we have the privilege of meeting in this tabernacle from Sabbath to Sabbath. Last Sabbath I referred to the meager congregations that generally attend in the morning, and today I really expected to see every seat in this house occupied. I cannot think that the people are sleigh riding, for there is no snow; neither can I conclude that they are in the canyon, for the roads cannot be traveled. I do not think that they are fishing at this season of the year; neither can they all be in attendance at Sabbath schools. Then what are they doing? Are they praying, resting, sleeping, or wasting their time in frivolous and unprofitable employment? We are happy to see large congregations of the Saints in the afternoons. This is the only public meetinghouse in which meetings are held in the morning and afternoon on the Sabbath day in this city. The people of Great Salt Lake City make to one point to attend meeting in the morning and afternoon, unlike the people of the large cities of the world. I have seen them go to meeting in some of those cities, and I cannot compare them to anything that will describe them as they appeared to me better than the inhabitants of an ant hill. They run in all directions, the Methodists jostle against the Baptists, and the Baptists against the Presbyterians, and the Presbyterians against the Quakers, &c.

Let the people come to meeting, and hear what is said, and if any of you are not instructed to your satisfaction, be so kind as to send up a card to the stand, intimating your desire to speak, and we will give you an opportunity of doing so, to display your wisdom; for we wish to learn wisdom and get understanding.

We are in a great school, and we should be diligent to learn, and continue to store up the knowledge of heaven and of earth, and read good books, although I cannot say that I would recommend the reading of all books, for it is not all books which are good. Read good books, and extract from them wisdom and understanding as much as you possibly can, aided by the Spirit of God, for without His Spirit we are left in the dark. I have very frequently urged upon the people to live so that they can enjoy the spirit of revelation, even that intelligence which proceeds directly from heaven—from the fountain of all intelligence. Do this people live so? Yes, measurably. We improve slowly, and as brother George A. Smith has said, we do not improve fast enough. I acknowledge that this people are improving, and I am proud of it. When I address the throne of grace in prayer, I am happy to be able to thank God that the Latter-day Saints are striving to order their lives correctly before Him. I am pleased, I am happy, I am full of comfort, of joy, of peace, because of the progress this people are making; and yet I see how easy it is for a person to slide backward, and get into darkness and blindness of mind. We are prone to wander, and do that which our inclinations bid us do; like the boys with their sleds, we go up hill very slowly, but rush quickly down again. We are too apt to be slow to learn righteousness, and quick to run in the ways of sin. The adversary of our souls is constantly watching to decoy us from the path of truth and duty to God, until we become reckless in our disobedience to His commandments and to the counsels of His servants. There is one path—one line to follow to obtain and continue in the love and light of the Lord, which is, as it were a compass to direct the Saint to the haven of safety, and it will not vary, for its directions are sure.

We have many duties to perform, and a great work is before us. We have Zion to build up, and upon this we are all agreed, but we differ more or less respecting the modus operandi for we wish, in the majority of instances to follow the dictates of our own inclinations. We do this too much for our good. If the people will live so as to be directed continually by the light of the Spirit of the Lord, they never will go much astray. In many instances our anxieties, our desires, and our wills are so great that we actually plead with the Lord to allow us to bend duty a little particle for the purpose of accomplishing what we wish. We are pleased to do this, and to do evil also, hence “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” We are very prone to wander. Let the people watch themselves lest they take a course that will lead them into darkness, and they know not the things of God, and be left to believe a lie instead of the truth. What is that which turns people away from this Church? Very trifling affairs are generally the commencement of their divergence from the right path. If we follow a compass, the needle of which does not point correctly, a very slight deviation in the beginning will lead us, when we have traveled some distance, far to one side of the true point for which we are aiming. When men take upon themselves strength, depending upon their own wisdom, light, and knowledge, saying—“I am right, and I care not what anybody else says;” and, “I will do thus and so on my own responsibility,” asking no odds of God and His servants. “If I wish to go to the north, south, east, or west, or follow this or that employment, or pursue this or that course to obtain the necessaries of life, it is my affair, and I cannot see that any other man has anything whatever to do with it.” I say, if we thus arrogate to ourselves strength, wisdom, and power, and think that we can judge for ourselves in all things independent of God and His servants, then are we liable to be led astray. Every man and woman who walks in the light of the Lord can see and understand these things for themselves; but through our anxiety, and over desire to have our own way, we often swerve and turn to the right or to the left of the true line of our duty. How often have we sealed blessings of health and life upon our children and companions in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God, and yet our faith and prayers did not succeed in accomplishing the desires of our hearts. Why is this? In many instances our anxiety is so great that we do not pause to know the spirit of revelation and its operations upon the human mind. We have anxiety instead of faith. When a man prophecies by the power of the Holy Ghost, his words will be fulfilled as sure as the Lord lives; but if he has anxiety in his heart, it swerves him from the thread of the Holy Gospel, from the true thread of revelation, so that he is liable to err, and he prophesies, but it does not come to pass, he lays his hands upon the sick, but they are not healed. It is in consequence of not being completely molded to the will of God. Do we not realize that this is so? And do we not realize that we should constantly strive to live in the counsel and light of God day by day, and hour by hour? If we do this we shall certainly make sure to ourselves a celestial inheritance.

We have gathered the best people from among the nations of the earth, and yet we are not so good as we should be. Why are we not as good as we should be? Because we have eternal light and knowledge here, and no person is deprived of the privilege of asking and receiving of God for himself, but we do not all avail ourselves of this great privilege. We are not like others who are called by men to go on missions to the world, we are called of God, and carry with us true credentials, not the credentials of Paul, Peter, or any of the old Apostles and servants of God, who used them a thousand years ago, but we have the living oracles and the Holy Priesthood restored in our day, giving authority to men in the nineteenth century as in days of old. Having this authority, and these great advantages, we should be better than anybody else. We have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received in our faith the fullness of the gospel, we have yielded obedience to God’s commandments, obeyed the ordinances of His house, receiving them in our faith and practice, and these we have received through apostles and prophets, called of God, in our own age, as was Aaron. These blessings and callings the Almighty has revealed in this as in all ages for the benefit of finite beings, that through obedience to the gospel, eternal life in the presence of God might be brought upon all who endure to the end in righteousness. By obeying the ordinances of God, mankind glorify God, but if they do not obey Him, they do not detract one particle from His glory and power. Although all His children should wander from the holy commandments, God will be glorified, for they are left to choose for themselves, to choose death instead of life, darkness instead of light, pain instead of ease, delight, and comfort. This liberty all beings enjoy who are created after the likeness and image of God, and thus they become accountable for their own actions. The commandments of God are given to us expressly for our benefit, and if we live in obedience to them we shall live so as to understand the mind and will of God for ourselves, and concerning ourselves as individuals. This is a subject upon which a great deal can be said, but I shall not follow it at this time.

I exhort my brethren continually to live so that they may have the light of the Holy Spirit in them, to know their duty, and when they know their duty fully it will be to follow truly those whom God has placed over them to lead them as a community, as a people, as a kingdom of God; it will be to obey the counsel that is given them from time to time. What does the man who understands the spirit of his religion believe with regard to his own affairs, with regard to his life, with regard to his business transactions, &c.? He believes that it is his privilege to be dictated by the constituted authorities of the church of God and the spirit of revelation in all things in his mortal life. There is no part of his life that he will consider exempt from the guidance and dictation of the Priesthood of the Son of God.

We wish the Latter-day Saints to meet at their respective houses, erected for that purpose, on the day appointed for a fast, and take with them of their substance to feed the poor and the hungry among us, and, if it is necessary, to clothe the naked. We expect to see the sisters there; for they are generally first and foremost in deeds of charity and kindness. Let the hearts of the poor be made glad, and let their prayers and thanksgiving ascend unto God, and receive an answer of rich blessings upon our heads. I think I told you last Sabbath that I would mention this subject again today.

If you would be healthy, wealthy, full of wisdom, light and knowledge do all you can for the kingdom of God. I expect that there are brethren who are well to do, who can command their thousands, who consider that their business crowds them this year, and they do not see how they can give anything for the gathering of the poor Saints. I have a word of consolation for such. You, merchants, mechanics and farmers; yea, everyone; let me console you, and say to you, keep your money, and pay your debts, and buy your teams, and your farms, and your goods. You think I am speaking to you ironically. Well, I acknowledge to you that I am. You keep all, and do not apply one dollar for any purpose outside of your business, and I will promise you, in the name of the Lord, that you will be poorer than you would have been if you had given of your substance to the poor. Do you consider these hard words? They are true words. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the gold and the silver are all his; and he throws up the precious metals to view whenever he pleases, and when he pleases he sends his messengers to hide them in the bowels of the earth, beyond the reach of man. He also closes the eyes of wicked gold hunters, that they cannot see them; but they walk over them, and leave them for the righteous to gather in the due time of the Lord. Now, you who think that you must keep your means and that you cannot spare a portion to gather the poor another year, remember that you will not get rich by so doing. You may ask what I am going to do? I am going to get rich, for I calculate to give considerably more to gather the poor than any other man; because I want to be richer than any other man. I want more, because I believe I know what to do with it better than most of men.

These are a few words of consolation to the brethren who wish to keep their riches, and with them I promise you leanness of soul, darkness of mind, narrow and contracted hearts, and the bowels of your com– passion will be shut up, and by and by you will be overcome with the spirit of apostasy and forsake your God and your brethren.

I see around me a great people. Joseph Smith was called of God, and sent to lay the foundation of this latter-day kingdom. He presided over this people fourteen years. Then he was martyred. Since that time your humble servant has presided over and counseled this people; he has directed the Twelve Apostles, the Seventies, the High Priests, and every quorum and department of the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods, guiding them through the wilderness where there was no way into a dry, barren land. For the space of twenty-four years he has watched over their interests, holding at bay their enemies, teaching them how to live, and redeem this country from the barrenness and desolation that have, for many generations, made it unfit for the habitation of man. What man or woman on the earth, what spirit in the spirit world can say truthfully that I ever gave a wrong word of counsel, or a word of advice that could not be sanctioned by the heavens? The success which has attended me in my presidency is owing to the blessings and mercy of the Almighty. Why I have referred to this is to show you that I realize the importance of obeying the words of the Lord, which he gives through his acknowledged servants. When revelation is given to any people, they must walk according to it, or suffer the penalty which is the punishment of disobedience; but when the word is, “will you do thus and so?” “It is the mind and will of God that you perform such and such a duty;” the consequences of disobedience are not so dreadful, as they would be if the word of the Lord were to be written under the declaration, “Thus saith the Lord.”

Now, I say to the people, will you gather the poor? To the Elders I say, will you carry the Gospel to all the world? Blessed are they who obey when the Lord gives a direct commandment, but more blessed are they who obey without a direct commandment. For it is written: “It is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in no wise lose their reward. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with a doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.” I say this that you may understand that I feel just as patient, and just as kind towards the Latter-day Saints as a man’s heart can feel, and am careful to take every precaution in directing their steps to the possession of eternal life in the presence of God that none may be lost. My course is not to scold, but to persuade and entreat the people to do their duty, holding before them the reward of faithfulness. It requires all the care and faithfulness which we can exercise in order to keep the faith of the Lord Jesus; for there are invisible agencies around us in sufficient numbers to encourage the slightest disposition they may discover in us to forsake the true way, and fan into a flame the slightest spark of discontent and unbelief. The spirits of the ancient Gadiantons are around us. You may see battlefield after battlefield, scattered over this American continent, where the wicked have slain the wicked. Their spirits are watching us continually for an opportunity to influence us to do evil, or to make us decline in the performance of our duties. And I will defy any man on earth to be more gentlemanly and bland in his manners than the master spirit of all evil. We call him the devil; a gentleman so smooth and so oily, that he can almost deceive the very elect. We have been baptized by men having the authority of the holy Priesthood of the Son of God, and consequently we have power over him which the rest of the world do not possess, and all who possess the power of the Priesthood have the power and right to rebuke those evil spirits. When we rebuke those evil powers, and they obey not, it is because we do not live so as to have the power with God, which it is our privilege to have. If we do not live for this privilege and right we are under condemnation.

I know that the Bishops in this Church are improving, and are better men, and they should lead and dictate their Wards still better than they do.

It may be asked, should not brother Brigham lead the people better? No doubt he should. Will you hearken to one little saying? I can say, follow me as I follow Christ, and everyone of us is sure to go into the celestial kingdom of our God, God being our helper. Can all the Bishops say this? I think not in every case. But are they improving? They are and that is not all, they will continue to improve, and they will become wise leaders of the people. They should be fathers to their Wards. They are looked upon as such by the people; and their example has its effect for better or for worse, and they should be foremost in every good word and work, to be successful in leading the people into the celestial kingdom of God.

Here is a great people, and we have called upon them to contribute of their substance to gather the poor Saints from abroad another year. It is now nearly three months since we commenced to call upon them for means to apply in this way. Means for this purpose does not come in so readily as we think it should. Now, I will mention a single circumstance in this city to show you that there is money in the country. One mercantile house in this city traded in one month forty-one thousand dollars. If one house can sell this amount of goods in a month, surely we can gather considerable for so laudable a purpose as the gathering of our poor brethren and sisters to a place where they can be fed and clothed, and taught further in the things of God. Yet, for all this, we are improving as a people; but do we serve God with a perfect heart and a ready and willing mind? We do not. If the Latter-day Saints will put into my hands one-twentieth part of the means that go into the hands of their enemies, I think we can gather up every poor saint there is in the old country. Will they do this? I do not expect they will. My brethren are willing to go and preach the gospel in all the world. I would like to see them just as willing to assist in gathering them home. The kingdom of God is the safest institution on earth in which to invest means. We are citizens of His kingdom and members of His church, and we realize that we have to suffer all things for the gospel, but it will make us richer than we can possibly be in any other work. May God bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 8th, 1867.

The subject of salvation is one which should occupy the attention of the reflecting among mankind. Salvation is the full existence of man, of the angels, and the Gods; it is eternal life—the life which was, which is, and which is to come. And we, as human beings, are heirs to all this life, if we apply ourselves strictly to obey the requirements of the law of God, and continue in faithfulness. The first object of our existence is to know and understand the principles of life, to know good from evil, to understand light from darkness, to have the ability to choose between that which gives and perpetuates life and that which would take it away. The volition of the creature to choose is free; we have this power given to us.

We have reason to be thankful more than any other people. We have no knowledge of any other people on the face of the earth who possess the oracles of God, the priesthood, and the keys of eternal life. We are in possession of those keys, and, consequently, we are under greater obligations, as individuals and as a community, to work righteousness. I hope and trust we will continually manifest before the Lord that we appreciate these blessings. There is no question but every person here who seriously reflects upon his own existence, his being here, and the hereafter which awaits him, must many times feel that he comes short of doing all the good for which our Father in heaven has brought us forth. This I conclude from my own experience. Every mind that thinks deeply upon the things of time and eternity, sees that time, which we measure by our lives, is like the stream from the mountains which gushes forth, yet we cannot tell from whence it comes, nor do we know naturally where it goeth, only it passes again into the clouds; so our lives are here, and this we are certain of. We do know that we live and that we have the power of sight. We do know and can realize that we possess the faculty of hearing. We can discern between that which we like and that which we dislike. Give a child candy and it is fond of it, it wishes more; but give it calomel and jalap, and it turns from it with loathing. It has the power of discerning between that in which it delights and that in which it does not delight. It can taste, smell, see, and hear. We know we are in possession of these faculties. This life that you and I possess is for eternity. Contemplate the idea of beings endowed with all the powers and faculties which we possess, becoming annihilated, passing out of existence, ceasing to be, and then try to reconcile it with our feelings and with our present lives. No intelligent person can do it. Yet it is only by the spirit of revelation that we can understand these things. By the revelations of the Lord Jesus we understand things as they were, that have been made known unto us; things that are in the life which we now enjoy, and things as they will be, not to the fullest extent, but all that the Lord designs that we should understand, to make it profitable to us, in order to give us the experience necessary in this life to prepare us to enjoy eternal life hereafter.

These principles are before us. We are now acting upon them. We feel to exhort ourselves and our fellow beings, not only those who have embraced the gospel, but all mankind, to hearken to the words of truth and wisdom, to hearken to the still, small voice that whispers to the conscience and understanding of all living beings according to the knowledge and wisdom which they possess, instructing them in right and wrong, entreating them, wooing them, beseeching them to refrain from evil. There is not a person so sunk in ignorance but has that principle in him teaching him that this is right and that is wrong, guiding him in the way that he will not sin a sin unto death. Can we realize this? Yes. There are many who possess the spirit of revelation to that degree that they can understand its operations upon the creature, no matter whether they have heard the gospel preached or not, nor whether they are Christians, Jews, or Mahommedans. They are taught of the Lord, and the candle of the Lord is within them, giving them light.

This principle we are in possession of, and it should be nourished and cherished by us; it is the principle of revelation, or, if you like the term better, of foreseeing. There are those who possess foreknowledge, who do not believe as we believe with regard to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Take the statesman, for instance; he has a certain degree of knowledge with regard to the results of the measures which he may recommend, but does he know whence he derives that knowledge? No. He may say: “I foresee if we take this course we shall perpetuate our government and strengthen it, but if we take the opposite course we will destroy it.” But can he tell whence he has received that wisdom and foreknowledge? He cannot. Yet that is the condition of the statesmen in the nations of the earth. If the philosopher can gaze into the immensity of space, and understand how to fashion and make glasses that will magnify a million times, that knowledge comes from the fountain of knowledge. A man of the world may say: “I can foresee, I can understand, I can frame an engine, make a track, and run that engine upon it, bearing along a train of loaded cars at the rate of forty, fifty, or sixty miles an hour.” Another may say: “I can take the lightning, convey it on wires, and speak to foreign nations.” But where do they get this wisdom? From the same source where you and I get our wisdom and our knowledge of God and godliness. Realizing these things, I look upon my brethren and sisters, and ask what manner of persons ought we to be? We are apt to think wrong and to speak wrong. Our passions will rise within us, and without reflection the organs of speech are put in motion and we utter that which we should not speak. We have feelings which we should not have, and we neglect the great and glorious principles of eternal life. We are groveling, of the earth earthy. We look after the things of this life, are attached to them, and it is hard for us to see and understand the final result of things, even though we have the spirit of revelation.

What will be the final result of the restoration of the gospel, and the destiny of the Latter-day Saints? If they are faithful to the priesthood which God has bestowed upon us, the gospel will revolutionize the whole world of mankind; the earth will be sanctified, and God will glorify it, and the Saints will dwell upon it in the presence of the Father and the Son. We need to exert our powers, and call forth all the ability within us, and put into requisition every talent that God has given us, to bring about this glorious result, to bear off this Kingdom, and see that the gospel is preached to all the inhabitants of the earth. This is our duty and calling. It is obligatory upon us to see that the House of Israel have the gospel preached to them; to do all that is in our power to gather them to the land of their fathers, and to gather up the fulness of the Gentiles before the gospel can go with success to the Jews. We are under obligations to establish the Zion of our God upon the earth, and establish and maintain its laws, so that the law of the priesthood of the Son of God may govern and control the people.

Go into the world, among the inhabitants of the nations of Christendom, whether Infidels, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, or people of any other religious sect, and tell them plainly that the law of God is going to be the law of the land, and they would be terrified, they would fear and tremble. But tell them that the law of liberty, and equal right to every person, would prevail and they could understand that, for it is according to the Constitution of our country. To do the greatest good to the greatest number of the people is the principle inculcated in it. But tell them that the law of Zion will be the law of the land, and it grates upon their ears, they do not like to hear it. Many have read with regard to the effects of Catholicism, when it exercised great power among the nations, and the thought of any church getting such a power strikes a terror to them. That church professed to be the church of God upon the earth, and some dread similar results to those which attended that. Supposing the early Christians had not departed from the truth, but had retained the keys of the kingdom, there never would have been a man put to the test with regard to his religious faith. If an Infidel had abused a Christian, it would have been stopped, and the wrongdoer would have been compelled to cease his violence, but no religious test would have been applied. The law of right would have prevailed. Some suppose that when the Kingdom of God governs on the earth, everybody who does not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ will be persecuted and killed. This is as false an idea as can exist. The Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth will take the lead in everything that is praiseworthy, in everything that is good, in everything that is delightful, in everything that will promote knowledge and extend an understanding of truth. The Holy Priesthood and the laws thereof will be known to the inhabitants of the earth, and the friends of truth, and those who delight in it, will delight in those laws and cheerfully submit to them, for they will secure the rights of all men. Many conclude, from reading the history of various nations, that Catholicism never granted any rights to any person, unless he would believe it as he was required to believe. But it is not so in the Kingdom of God; it is not so with the law nor with the Priesthood of the Son of God. You can believe in one God, or in three gods, or in a thousand gods; you can worship the sun or the moon, or a stick or a stone, or anything you please. Are not all mankind the workmanship of the hands of God? And does he not control the workmanship of His hands? They have the privilege of worshipping as they please. They can do as they please, so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of their fellow beings. If they do well they will receive their reward, and if they do ill they will receive the results of their works. You and I have the privilege of serving God, of building up Zion, sending the gospel to the nations of the earth and preaching it at home, subduing every passion within us, and bringing all subject to the law of God. We have also the privilege of worshipping Him according to the dictates of our own consciences, with none to molest or make us afraid.

I am now going to preach you a short sermon concerning our temporal duties. My sermon is to the poor, and to those who are not poor. As a people, we are not poor; and we wish to say to the Bishops, not only in this city, but through the country, “Bishops, take care of your poor.” The poor in this city do not number a great many. I think there are a few over seventy who draw sustenance from the General Tithing Office. They come to the Tithing Office, or somebody comes for them, to draw their sustenance. If some of our clever arithmeticians will sit down and make a calculation of the hours lost in coming from the various parts of the city to the Tithing Office, and in waiting around there, and then value those hours, if occupied in some useful employment, at twelve and a half cents each, every eight of them making a dollar, it will be found that the number of dollars thus lost by these seventy odd persons in a week would go far towards sustaining them. We have among us some brethren and sisters who are not strong, nor healthy, and they must be supported. We wish to adopt the most economical plan of taking care of them, and we say to you Bishops, take care of them. You may ask the question, ‘“shall we take the tithing that should go to the Tithing Office to support them, or shall we ask the brethren to donate for that purpose?” If you will take the time consumed in obtaining the rations drawn by them out of the General Tithing Office—for every person who is not able to come must send someone for them—and have that time profitably employed, there will be but little more to seek for their sustenance. Get a house in your Ward, and if you have two sisters, or two brethren, put them in it, make them comfortable, find them food and clothing, and fuel, and direct the time now spent coming to this Tithing Office wisely in profitable labor. Furnish the sisters with needles and thread to work at sewing, and find something for them to do. Take those little girls who have been coming to the Tithing Office, and have them taught to knit edging, and tidies, and other kinds of knitting, and make lace, and sell the products of their labor. Those little girls have nimble fingers, and it will only take a little capital to start them at such kinds of work. Where you have brethren who are not strong enough to saw and split wood, or do some kind of outdoor labor, agree with some chairmakers to have his chairs bottomed, and get rushes, and set the brethren to bottoming the chairs. If you cannot get that for them to do, procure some flags or rushes, and let them make foot-mats, and sell them, but do not ask too high a price for them; do not ask a dollar or two dollars each for them, for one can be made in an hour or two. And if the market should get stocked with them, get some willows and have willow baskets made, and you can scarcely stock the market with them, for they wear out almost as fast as they can be made. In the spring have these brethren sow some broom-corn—they will enjoy working a little out of doors in the nice spring weather—and then in fall they can make brooms with the corn. By pursuing this course a Bishop will soon be able to say, “I have accomplished a good work; the brethren and sisters whom I had to help are now in a condition to help themselves.” And in a short time, if their labor and time are wisely employed, you can build for them the finest house in the ward. You may call it a poorhouse if you choose, though it should be the best house in the ward, and there its inmates can enjoy themselves, the younger ones can be taught music, and thus a source of enjoyment be created, as well as being taught in various kinds of profitable employment, and the lives of all be made a blessing to themselves, they being in the enjoyment of happiness and comfort. You may think that I am painting a fancy sketch, but it is practicable, and those are places I intend to visit by and by.

Now, Bishops, you have smart women for wives, many of you; let them organize Female Relief Societies in the various wards. We have many talented women among us, and we wish their help in this matter. Some may think this is a trifling thing, but it is not; and you will find that the sisters will be the mainspring of the movement. Give them the benefit of your wisdom and expe– rience, give them your influence, guide and direct them wisely and well and they will find rooms for the poor, and obtain the means for supporting them ten times quicker than even the Bishop could. If he should go or send to a man for a donation, and if the person thus visited should happen to be cross or out of temper for some cause, the likelihood is that while in that state of feeling he would refuse to give anything, and so a variety of causes would operate to render the mission an unsuccessful one. But let a sister appeal for the relief of suffering and poverty, and she is almost sure to be successful, especially if she appeals to those of her own sex. If you take this course you will relieve the wants of the poor a great deal better than they are now dealt by. We recommend these Female Relief Societies to be organized immediately.

Another thing I wish to say. You know that the first Thursday in each month we hold as a fast day. How many here know the origin of this day? Before tithing was paid, the poor were supported by donations. They came to Joseph and wanted help, in Kirtland, and he said there should be a fast day, which was decided upon. It was to be held once a month, as it is now, and all that would have been eaten that day, of flour, or meat, or butter, or fruit, or anything else, was to be carried to the fast meeting and put into the hands of a person selected for the purpose of taking care of it and distributing it among the poor. If we were to do this now faithfully, do you think the poor would lack for flour, or butter, or cheese, or meat, or sugar, or anything they needed to eat? No, there would be more than could be used by all the poor among us. It is economy in us to take this course, and do better by our poor brethren and sisters than they have hitherto been done by. Let this be published in our newspapers. Let it be sent forth to the people, that on the first Thursday of each month, the fast day, all that would be eaten by husbands and wives and children and servants should be put in the hands of the Bishop for the sustenance of the poor, I am willing to do my share as well as the rest, and if there are no poor in my ward, I am willing in divide with those wards where there are poor. If the sisters will look out for rooms for those sisters who need to be taken care of, and see them provided for, you will find that we will possess more comfort and more peace in our hearts, and our spirits will be buoyant and light, full of joy and peace. The Bishops should, through their teachers, see that every family in their wards, who is able, should donate what they would naturally consume on the fast day to the poor.

You have read, probably, that we are starting the school of the prophets. We have been in this school all the time. The revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to the human family is all the learning we can ever possess. Much of this knowledge is obtained from books, which have been written by men who have contemplated deeply on various subjects, and the revelations of Jesus have opened their minds, whether they knew it or acknowledged it or not. We will start this school of the prophets to increase in knowledge. Brother Calder commences tomorrow to teach our youth and those of middle age the art of bookkeeping and impart to them a good mercantile education. We expect soon to have our sisters join in the class and mingle with the brethren in their studies, for why should not a lady be capable of taking charge of her husband’s business affairs when he goes into the grave? We have sisters now engaged in several of our telegraph offices, and we wish them to learn not only to act as operators but to keep the books of our offices, and let sturdy men go to work at some employment for which by their strength they are adapted, and we hope eventually to see every store in Zion attended by ladies. We wish to have our young boys and girls taught in the different branches of an English education, and in other languages, and in the various sciences, all of which we intend eventually to have taught in this school. Tomorrow evening we shall commence our course of lectures on theology. To that class I have invited a few, but not many. I believe I have invited the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, Bishop Hunter and his Counselors, the first seven presidents of Seventies, the Presidency of the High Priests’ quorum, the Presidency of this Stake of Zion, the High Council, the Bishops and their Counselors, and the City Council. A few more will be invited, enough to fill the room. I wish us to profit by what we hear, to learn how to live, to make ourselves comfortable, to purify ourselves, and prepare ourselves to inherit this earth when it is glorified, and go back in the presence of the Father and the Son.

God bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 17th, 1867.

We have great reason to be thankful for the blessings we enjoy as individuals and as a people. There is no other people on the earth, that we have any knowledge of, who are blessed to the same extent as this people called Latter-day Saints. If we are blessed more than others, we should be more thankful than others. The blessings and bounties of the Lord upon us are bestowed according to our faithfulness and obedience to the requirements made of us. We have seen times in our history as a people, that if the hand of God had not been immediately over us, we must have perished. But to secure His blessings the Lord requires the strict obedience of His people. This is our duty. We obey the Lord, Him who is called Jehovah, the Great I AM, I am a man of war, Eloheim, etc. We are under many obligations to obey Him. How shall we know that we obey Him? There is but one method by which we can know it, and that is by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord witnessing unto our spirit that we are His, that we love Him, and that He loves us. It is by the spirit of revelation we know this. We have no witness to ourselves internally, without the spirit of revelation. We have no witness outwardly only by obedience to the ordinances.

About the time I was preparing myself to embrace the gospel, there were great reformation meetings, and many professed to be converted. Those were very stirring times. The cause of religion was the great topic and theme of conversation, and preachers were full of zeal to bring souls to Christ through repentance and faith in His name. I recollect very distinctly that if I permitted myself to speak in any of their meetings, the spirit forbade me mentioning or referring to the testimony of Jesus, only in a superficial way. A few who believed in the everlasting gospel which had been revealed through Joseph, the prophet, testified in their meetings that they knew by the spirit of revelation that God had done thus and so, and they were hooted at immediately by those reformers. If I spoke at all in their meetings, I had to guard every word I uttered, lest I should offend those who professed to understand the gospel of life and salvation, but who did not. Gradually we broke through this fear, and ventured to utter the sentiments of our hearts, in faith before God, delivering that to the people which the Lord had revealed to us. Such is the condition of the professed religious portions of Christendom today. They refuse to receive the testimony of Jesus through revelation from His spirit; but they believe in the mutterings, whisperings, and rappings of low, foul, degraded spirits, who delight to lead astray rather than to guide to the truth. They “Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead?” Unless we are willing to be guided by the revelations of the spirit of the Almighty, by obeying and living up to the principles of His gospel, we are as apt to believe one thing as another, and to be influenced by, and follow the dictations of a bad spirit as a good one. We have the same testimony as the faithful followers of the Lord Jesus had anciently.

The scriptures made use of by Elder George A. Smith this morning, show the way in which the former Saints became the sons of God. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” Who did receive Him and believe on His name? Did the Jews as a nation? No. Did the Gentiles as nations? No. A few Jews and a few Gentiles only received Him and believed on His name. When the gospel was preached to the Jews and to the Gentiles, a few had ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts that understood by the spirit of revelation; they believed the sayings of the Savior, and received the Lord Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. It is written, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth.” Again, it is written, “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.” The disciples believed the words of the Savior, and proved to Him and to His apostles that they were sincere and honest in their belief. Thus they were entitled to the spirit of revelation through their obedience. They asked and they did receive, “not the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” While the same Holy Spirit, or comforter, becomes the testimony of Jesus to all true believers, “He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment;” for in the days of the Savior many who did not receive the gospel were pricked in their hearts, and they did perish, although convinced of its truth. And so it is today; wherever the gospel is preached by the Elders of this Church many are pricked in their hearts, and they testify in their own conscience that it is from heaven, and yet they will not receive the gospel, and perish in their sins. They smother the spirit of conviction within them, and go into greater darkness than before. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” When a man or woman anciently renounced the Jewish religion, or any of the sects of it that then existed among the Jews, forsaking every mode of worship excepting that which Jesus introduced, it was regarded as a sufficient testimony that they were honest—that they were born of God—and all the sincere and honest believers received the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy, and received power to become His sons.

I think, however, that the rendering of this Scripture is not so true as the following, namely: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to continue to be the sons of God.” Instead of receiving the gospel to become the sons of God, my language would be—to receive the gospel that we may continue to be the sons of God. Are we not all sons of God when we are born into this world? Old Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was just as much a son of God as Moses and Aaron were His sons, with this difference—he rejected the word of the Lord, the true light, and they received it. For “this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” Then we receive not the gospel that we may become the sons of God, but that we may remain the sons of God without rebuke. Inasmuch as all had apostatized, they had to become the sons of God by adoption, still, originally, all were the sons of God. We receive the gospel, not that we may have our names written in the Lamb’s book of life, but that our names may not be blotted out of that book. “For,” saith the Lord, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.” Why? Because he had overcome through his faithfulness. My doctrine is—that there never was a son and daughter of Adam and Eve born on this earth whose names were not already written in the Lamb’s book of life, and there they will remain until their conduct is such that the angel who keeps the record is authorized to blot them out and record them elsewhere. These are my views on that intricate point, but we are satisfied to use this Scripture as it is rendered by our translators.

I now wish to make an application of this to our own day. By what means shall the people of this generation become the sons and daughters of the Almighty? By believing on the Lord Jesus Christ? Yes. How shall they know that they believe in Him? By yielding obedience to the gospel as it is revealed to us in this generation, at the same time believing in all that has been revealed to others until now, concerning the children of men, the character of God, the creation of the earth, the ordinances of the Lord’s house, the oracles of truth—believing in all things that have been revealed to mankind from the time that the Lord first began to reveal His will to them. Now, we say to the people of the nineteenth century, and we speak the truth and lie not, whosoever believes that Joseph Smith, Jun., was a prophet sent of God, and was ordained by Him to receive and hold the keys of the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, and power to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, to gather the house of Israel, to guide all who believe and obey to redemption, to restore that which has been lost through transgression—whosoever believes this, believing in the Lord, and obeying His commandments to the end of their lives, their names shall not be blotted out of the Lamb’s book of life, and they shall receive crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal life. This is for the nineteenth century, for the generation of people now living, and who lived thirty or thirty-seven years ago. I am not now preaching to a congregation of unbelievers, but to the Saints; and I now say to you, Saints, and to the unbelievers, that all who reject the gospel, who despise the principles of life and salvation that have been delivered to us, they must taste of the second death if they do not repent. There may be some, however, who are so ignorant that repentance is yet left for them. This is the gospel that we preach, the testimony which we send forth to the world, inculcating strict obedience to the requirements of heaven, which is expected from all who embrace this gospel. For example, Joseph, the prophet, said to the Colesville branch, “sell your farms.” So he said to other branches, “gather up and let us go to the Ohio,” and they went, and from the Ohio to Missouri. Before we went to the Ohio, Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jun., Parley P. Pratt, and Ziba Peterson started in the fall of 1830 to visit the land where the Center Stake of Zion was afterwards located. When Joseph went up he located the city. Those who had farms and stores were instructed to sell out, to forsake all, to give to the poor, and to impart of their substance to sustain this elder, clothe another elder, and to send another on his mission, which they did, and up they got, and to the Ohio and to the Missouri they moved. What other people would have done this? They are not to be found in Christendom. While in Missouri they moved from county to county, and then back east into Illinois; for, thus said the Lord, through the prophet Joseph, return to Illinois, and there the prophet was killed. Then the word of the Lord to us was: gather up my people, and flee to the mountains, and hide yourselves, and there wait until you shall see the hand of the Lord made bare, and the wrath of the Almighty poured out upon the wicked nation that has consented to the death of my prophets. Impart of your substance, was the word of the Lord to them, and who were there in all those trains of Saints that did not impart of their substance? When we left Missouri we covenanted before the Lord that we never would cease our endeavors until the last man, woman, and child should be brought out of Missouri to Illinois who wanted to be moved. A few tarried in Missouri and apostatized. When the persecuted and driven Saints reached Illinois, the word of the Lord through the prophet Joseph was—gather up to Commerce, which was afterwards named Nauvoo. We did not lose sight of one Saint in Missouri, and gave our means to gather out the last and least Saint that would leave. When the word came—“gather to the mountains from Nauvoo”—we agreed before we left that city that we would use our means and our influence to gather the last Saint to the mountains. I have sent, time and time again, to inquire if there was a Saint in Nauvoo who wished to be gathered to these mountains. If there are any, let them come, for we have means and teams to bring them. This proves that we have kept our covenants. Now the word of the Lord is go forward—press on. The kingdom of God is onward and upward. The proof of this declaration is before me today.

Who believes Joseph Smith to be a prophet? These my brethren and sisters who are now sitting before me. They entertain no doubts on this subject. They may sometimes be tempted and tried, and neglect their prayers, until they hardly know whether “Mormonism” is true or untrue. The cares of the world, we know very well, flood in upon them; but let me tell you one thing—and I want you to seriously remember it—if you are in darkness, and have not the spirit of prayer, still do not neglect your prayers in your families in the morning. You, fathers and husbands, get down on your knees, and when the cares of this world intrude themselves upon your devotions, let them wait while you remain on your knees and finish your prayers. Brother Daniel D. Hunt’s blessing over a dinner in Missouri, when he and Benjamin Clapp first met, is a very good prayer for us all. It was: “O, Lord, save us from error.” If you can say no more than this very short but comprehensive prayer, go down upon your knees and say it. When you have labored faithfully for years, you will learn this simple fact—that if your hearts are aright, and you still continue to be obedient, continue to serve God, continue to pray, the spirit of revelation will be in you like a well of water springing up to everlasting life. Let no person give up prayer because he has not the spirit of prayer, neither let any earthly circumstance hurry you while in the performance of this important duty. By bowing down before the Lord to ask Him to bless you, you will simply find this result—God will multiply blessings on you temporally and spiritually. Let a merchant, a farmer, a mechanic, any person in business, live his religion faithfully, and he need never lose one minute’s sleep by thinking about his business; he need not worry in the least, but trust in God, go to sleep and rest. I say to this people—pray, and if you cannot do anything else, read a prayer aloud that your family may hear it, until you get a worshipping spirit, and are full of the riches of eternity, then you will be prepared at any time to lay hands on the sick, or to officiate in any of the ordinances of this religion. I do not recollect that I have seen five minutes since I was baptized that I have not been ready to preach a funeral sermon, lay hands on the sick, or to pray in private or in public. I will tell you the secret of this. In all your business trans– actions, words, and communications, if you commit an overt act, repent of that immediately, and call upon God to deliver you from evil and give you the light of His spirit. Never do a thing that your conscience, and the light within you, tell you is wrong. Never do a wrong, but do all the good you possibly can. Never do a thing to mar the peaceable influence of the Holy Spirit in you; then whatever you are engaged in—whether in business, in the dance, or in the pulpit—you are ready to officiate at any time in any of the ordinances of the House of God. If I commit an overt act, the Lord knows the integrity of my heart, and, through sincere repentance, He forgives me. Before Joseph’s death he had a revelation concerning myself and others, which signified that we had passed the ordeal, and that we should never apostatize from the faith of the holy gospel; “and,” said Joseph, “if there is any danger of your doing this, the Lord will take you to Himself forthwith, for you cannot stray from the truth.” When men and women have traveled to a certain point in their labors in this life, God sets a seal upon them that they never can forsake their God or His kingdom; for, rather than they should do this, He will at once take them to Himself. Probably this is so with many of the elders who are taken from us, and over whom many ignorantly mourn. I say, to God give thanks, for who knows but that had they lived there might have been trials to pass through which they could not overcome. It is all right, blessed be the name of the Lord.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by Elder Brigham Young, Jun., delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 17th, 1867.

I am grateful for this privilege of speaking to you for a short time this afternoon, and I trust that the Spirit of the Lord will be present to bless and edify both the speakers and hearers. By our experience we can testify that the Spirit of the Almighty is always present where His Saints congregate, and no person can come into their assemblies without feeling the influence of that Spirit, although he may not personally possess it. I have met with religious bodies of people in various nations, but I have never experienced that heavenly influence in any of their meetings that I have invariably felt while assembled with the Latter-day Saints.

There is something about this people that is truly peculiar, and this peculiarity consists in their enjoying the Holy Spirit to a greater degree than it is enjoyed by any other peo– ple of the present day and for many ages past. The possession of this Spirit makes us happy under every circumstance of life, except in committing sin. The Lord has enlightened our minds by the spirit of revelation; hence, wherever you find a Latter-day Saint upon the face of the whole earth, you will find a happy person. Faithful Latter-day Saints everywhere triumph over all the ills that humanity is subject to, because they know that the Lord has redeemed them, and brought them forth to bless them with salvation in His presence.

We, as a people, cannot sufficiently realize what the Lord has done for us. When we reflect upon the situation of this people in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and other places, and contrast our present position with our circumstances then, we can, in a measure, realize what the Lord has done for us, and we begin to understand that He has led us from the midst of our enemies, and planted us where no man maketh us afraid. This has not been done by the feeble effort of man, but by the power of the Almighty, and the praise and thanksgiving of all His Saints are justly due to Him.

This people are greatly blessed by receiving the Spirit of the Almighty, and by being privileged to go into His house and making covenants with Him, and in return receiving the keys of eternal life from his hands. We are peculiar in this. There is no other people upon the face of the earth that we know anything about who are permitted to make such covenants with the Most High God. If we do not appreciate these blessings it is because we do not live faithfully to the covenants we have made—because we do not do all in our power to fulfil the commandments of the Almighty, and obey, fully and freely, the words and counsels of those who hold God’s authority upon the earth, who have led us thus far efficiently, and who can lead us into the presence of our Father and God.

These servants of the Most High have called upon us, as a people, to step forward and do our utmost to deliver our brethren and sisters who are now in the old countries. The Lord has placed means in our possession to do this. He has led us forth from the midst of our enemies, where the lives of our leaders were constantly sought, and where no man durst say, he knew that Jesus was Christ, and that he lives. In delivering us, He has given us new life, and all that we require to sustain us and to make us happy and comfortable. Now, shall we use a portion of these means which He has given us to gather the Saints? The people of this city are better prepared today to emigrate every Latter-day Saint from foreign lands to these mountains, than the whole people of Nauvoo and surrounding country were prepared to emigrate one hundred families. I believe this statement to be true, and that it will bear scrutiny. While we feel very poor, we are really increasing in wealth; yet as we increase in wealth, our wants increase. If we have a fine carriage, we must then have a fine horse and harness to go with it; but instead of spending our means upon unnecessary luxuries, it is far better for us to sacrifice everything in property that our hearts are set upon, and let it go where it can be used to the gathering of Israel. This is the standard to which all the faithful are approaching, and the sooner we reach it the better for us. We must, sooner or later, give our whole hearts to our Father and God, if we wish to gain salvation. We owe to Him every energy of our souls, and all the earthly wealth we can amass, if He calls for it through His servants. We should look upon God as being unjust were He not to give us the blessings we are entitled to through His promises.

There are hundreds in this congregation who know the situation of the poor Saints in the old countries, for they were once in the same condition themselves. It has not improved any since you left; but you were not able to realize it then as you should now be able to. When you were there in the midst of your enemies, when your children wanted bread, and were destitute of clothing and the comforts of life, there were none to help you to preserve them from perishing with hunger. Here you are comfortable, and the great majority of this people in these mountains are wealthy, and it has all been given them of the Lord. Then, shall we refuse to subject all we have to Him? When we identified our interests with this Church, we made a Covenant with Him to aid all in our power to gather together the honest from every land, kindred, tongue, and people, but we are too apt to forget our covenants, and to be slow in the performance of our duties. An immense labor has already been performed; many thousands are now in this Territory who have been gathered from the nations of Europe, and from other parts of the earth, still there are thousands in those lands who are praying for deliverance, and whose greatest hope in life is to identify their interests with ours in this our mountain home, and join with us in building up cities and temples to the most High God. They look to us for help, shall they look in vain? Shall we not, with uplifted hands, covenant afresh that we will devote the means which God has given us for the building up of His kingdom, and the gathering of His people of the house of Israel? Those who are not living under broken covenants will feel ready and willing to do this.

If we do not put forth our hands to strengthen the cause of Zion on the earth with all we have and are, it is a dereliction of duty on our part, to say the least of it, and for which we stand accountable to God. In a few months the emigration of the year 1868 will leave England, and now is the accepted time for the means to be supplied. The sooner we put forth our means for this purpose the better, that our agents may not be pressed for time to make every necessary arrangement.

If you will show me a member of this Church, in this or any other country, who has faithfully paid his tithing, although he might only get ten shillings a week, and have to support a large family out of it, if he has been obedient to the counsels of the servants of God, there you will find a man who has prospered continually. It is invariably the case that men who have been honest with God have been greatly blessed of Him, even until they had not room to contain His blessings. I have known men in the old country whose wages did not exceed $2.50 per week, and out of this small sum they have supported a family of nine persons, paid their tithing, and in three years saved money enough to emigrate the whole of them. This could not have been done if the Lord had not blessed them. This is their testimony. I have seen it, and it is my testimony. We have seen His blessings so often and so visibly bestowed upon the faithful, that there is no room to doubt His word or His ability to bless us with all that we need. The words of the Apostle may be very fifty applied here: “And he that doubteth is damned—for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Every intelligent Latter-day Saint, who has made himself acquainted with the dealings of God with this people, has no room to doubt the hand of the Almighty. We cannot doubt and at the same time enjoy the blessings which are for the faithful.

May God bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 3rd, 1867.

I will, in the commencement of my remarks, take up a subject upon which much has been said in the pulpit and in the chimney corner. It is regarding the Spirit of the Lord manifesting His will to His children. There is no doubt, if a person lives according to the revelations given to God’s people, he may have the Spirit of the Lord to signify to him His will, and to guide and to direct him in the discharge of his duties, in his temporal as well as his spiritual exercises. I am satisfied, however, that in this respect, we live far beneath our privileges. If this is true, it is necessary that we become more fervent in the service of God—in living our religion—and more truthful and honest with one another, that we be not slack in the performance of any duty, but labor with a right good will for God and truth. If this people, called Latter-day Saints, live beneath their privileges in the holy gospel of the Son of God, are they justified in every respect before Him? They are not. If we do not live in the lively exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus, possessing His Spirit always, how can we know when He speaks to us through His servants whom He has placed to lead us? It was observed here this morning, by one of the brethren, that he never attempted to perform a duty required of him unless the Spirit manifested to him beforehand that he would be justified in doing it. Now, let me ask, how many of you know, by the manifestation of the Spirit of revelation, that the Lord has whispered to His servants the necessity of this people observing the Word of Wisdom? Some submit to it, and say that it is right, because their President says so; but, how many of the Saints have received the manifestations of the Spirit to themselves that this is the will of God? Again, how many know by the Spirit of revelation that they should contribute of the substance the Lord has given to them to gather home the poor Latter-day Saints from Europe? Many may have received a testimony from the Holy Spirit that this is their duty, but there may be one-half of the community who have not received such a manifestation. Now, is it the duty of those who have not lived so as to enjoy the Spirit of revelation, as others do, to perform this labor of love and charity, the same as those who have received the Spirit of revelation, to witness to them that it is right? We think that it is. I can call to mind revelations which the Lord delivered to His servant Joseph, that when they were written and given to the people there would not be one in fifty of the members of the Church who could say that they knew, by the revela– tions of the Lord Jesus, that they were of the Lord; but they would have to pray and exercise faith to be able to receive them, and in some instances some apostatized in consequence of revelations that had been given. This was the case when the “Vision” was given through Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon.

At that time there was not as many in the whole Church as there is in this congregation. Yes, many forsook the faith when the Lord revealed the fact to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, as He did to His ancient Apostles, that all would receive a salvation except those who had sinned a sin unto death, of which the Apostle John said—“I do not say that ye shall pray for it.” I prayed and reflected about it, and so did others. I became satisfied that, when a revelation came to Joseph for the people to perform any labor or duty, it was their privilege to go to with their might and do it collectively and individually, not waiting for the manifestations of the Spirit to me, but believing that the Prophet knew more than I knew, that the Lord spoke through him, and that He could do as He pleased about speaking to me. This is a close point; but I will tell you what is right, what is the duty of the Latter-day Saints, unless they can, by undeniable proof, show that the word of the Lord has not come through the President, they have no right to hesitate one moment in performing the duties required of them. This is the way I understand revelation. It is the privilege of the Latter-day Saints to know and understand the mind and will of God concerning them; yea, it is even the privilege of the wicked world to know this. The Spirit of the Lord bears witness to all people according to the faith, honesty, and humility which dwell in the individual who hears and in those who administer the word. In a great measure it depends upon this with regard to the witness of God to them. It is hard, however, for people to understand these things. The intelligence we possess is from our Father and our God. Every attribute that is in His character is in His children in embryo. It is their duty to improve and develop those attributes; and it is, consequently, necessary to pay strict attention to every requirement of Heaven, that we may better understand the mind and will of God concerning us and our duty. If we will live so as to enjoy the Spirit of revelation, we may know concerning ourselves and those we preside over.

If the people are ready and prepared to receive the word of the Lord continually, it can be given to them. An elder may declare the truth philosophically, and the light of Christ may kindle up the candle of the Lord within those who hear him, and they see, understand, and are convicted of its truth, although the elder who preaches it to them may himself be void of the Spirit of revelation. Again, a man may preach to a people whose ears are closed, and their hearts hardened against conviction, they will not believe the gospel, yet the man who testifies to them may be full of the power of God. For example, we will say, here is a man on the right or the left, who declares that he cannot perform this or that duty unless he receives a witness to himself, direct from the Lord, that He requires the duty at his hands. Upon what principle has he the right to question any requirement made by the constituted authority of God on the earth? Is he entitled to any such right? He is not. He is not entitled to the right of bringing up any argument in his own mind, as to the right or wrong of it, or to in any way remonstrate against any requirement the Lord has made of him through His servants. He is under obligation to obey, whether the Spirit of the Lord gives him a manifestation or not. When the authorities call for so many loads of rock to be hauled for the Temple, should every man wait to know by direct revelation to himself whether he should draw rock or not? Or should all acknowledge the call as the word of the Lord to us, and promptly and willingly obey? When we asked the brethren to build this New Tabernacle, did they wait to get a revelation to themselves before they commenced the work? No; but while they were engaged in that work, when they knelt down to pray before the Lord, His Spirit was with them, and it justified the act. And so will it be with every duty that is required of this people, if they perform the same in faith before God. Our beloved brother did not speak as he meant. He will be understood to mean simply this: If a requirement is made of this people, it is their privilege to have a testimony that it is of God. This is what I mean, and it is what my brother meant who spoke this morning. I wish now to say a few words to the Bishops. It is a common saying, “as with the priest so with the people.” I will change that a little, and say as are our bishops so are the people. We have said much to the people with regard to laying up provisions to last them a few years. This is our duty now; it has been our duty for years. How many of our bishops have provisions laid up for one year, two years, or seven years? There may be a few bishops who have got their grain laid away to last their families a year, but the great majority of them have not. The people do, or should look to their bishops for example. Each bishop should be an example to his ward. If the bishop of a ward lays up wheat to last his family a year, two years, or seven years, as the case may be, his neighbors on the right and on the left will be very apt to do the same; they will very likely build good bins and try to fill them. But I need not talk much about this. Do you ask me if I have wheat laid up? Yes, I have it all the time. I have been furnishing this tithing office in part with my own flour for the building of the New Tabernacle, and I calculate to furnish it still. I have so many hundreds of people to feed, it cannot be expected that I can save much; yet I have enough laid by to last my family for years.

I wish now to refer to what was said this afternoon regarding this people’s knowledge. I think of this frequently. It is said by our enemies that the Latter-day Saints are an ignorant people. I ask all the nations of Christendom if they can produce a people, considering all the circumstances, who are better educated in all the great branches of learning than this people, as a people. Many of them have been brought from poverty, and have been placed in comfortable circumstances in these mountains, where they have been taught how to get their living from the elements, and to become partially self-sustaining. How much do you know among the nations? Can you make an axe helve? “Yes,” and so can we, and make an axe to fit it, and then we know how to use it. We can make a hoe handle and a hoe to fit it, and then we know how to hoe the ground with it. Can we make a plough? Yes, and know how to use it as well as any people on the earth. We can make every agricultural implement, and can use it. We can make a cambric needle; and we can make the steam engine and vessel to carry it. We can direct the lightning, and make it our servant, after Franklin showed us how; and the philosophers of the day are as dependent on his discoveries as we are. We have all the improvements that have been made in the arts and sciences, and know how to use them to our advantage. We can make boots and shoes for the sturdy, plodding agriculturist in the field, and for the delicate lady in the parlor, and we know how to make the leather as well as others do. We can read the Bible and understand it, and our lexicographers can make dictionaries. Wherein, then, are we more ignorant than others? We have good mechanics, good philosophers, good astronomers, good mathematicians, good architects, good theologians, good historians, good orators, good statesmen, good school teachers, and we can make a good prayer and preach a good sermon. I heard a very sensible prayer the other day at camp Wasatch. In the prayer were these words—that “the militia might be enabled to keep their guns bright and their powder dry.” We know how to make cloth, how to make it into garments, and wear it; we know how to provide for ourselves, how to protect ourselves, and we ask nobody to help us but God our heavenly Father. Then, wherein are we so woefully ignorant as some people make us out to be? We know how to build houses, and can make the furniture to furnish them; we know how to plant gardens, set out orchards, and plant vineyards. We know how to raise all kinds of vegetables, fruit, and grain, and everything else that will flourish in this latitude. Wherein are we ignorant?

We may not be able to get out a great burst of words, which mean nothing, as many of the preachers and reverend divines abroad can. They speculate a great deal about walking the golden streets of the New Jerusalem, and about going into the presence of God to sing psalms forevermore, but when they are asked seriously where they are going when they leave this earth, they are unable to tell you. If you ask them what they are going to do in the next existence, when the labors of this word are ended, they are still in the dark. You may ask them where God lives, and they do not know—they say in heaven; but where is heaven? They do not know. If you ask them what He looks like, still they do not know. Some have gone so far as to say that He dwells beyond the bounds of time and space, and is seated on a topless throne, being Himself without body, parts, and passions. Numerous are the wild speculations of religionists regarding God and His habitation. We can instruct the world on these matters; wherein are we ignorant? We know and read history; we understand the geography of the world, the manners, customs, and laws of nations. Our astronomers describe to us the geography of the heavens, measure the distances between the earth and the sun, moon, and planets. We have learning to speculate on all these works of God, and revelation unfolding reliable knowledge on many of the wonders of the heavens. Now, wherein are we more ignorant than other people? Is it because we believe the Bible, which declares that man is made in the likeness and image of God, that He has ears to hear our prayers, eyes to see His handiwork, a stretched-out arm to defend His people, and to make bare to punish the wicked nations of the earth? Wherein are we ignorant? We understand the laws of domestic and civil government; we know how to conduct ourselves like men of sense, like gentlemen and Christians; we understand natural philosophy and medicine; and are satisfied of the emptiness of the vain philosophy of the world. If believing and knowing what we do constitute ignorance, then let us be ignorant still, and con– tinue in the way which will lead us to the perfection of knowledge which the world call ignorance.

Now, let me say to you, it is our imperative duty to use a portion of our substance to send for our poor brethren and sisters who are still back in the old countries. May the Lord bless you. Amen.