Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Semi Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday, October 7, 1874.

I am happy to have the opportunity of meeting with the brethren and to talk over the affairs pertaining to the kingdom of God in this Conference. We are engaged in a work in which all of us are interested, individually and collectively. It is a work that differs from any– thing else that exists at the present time on the face of the earth, and in many respects it differs from anything that ever has existed. I do not know that we are in any wise responsible for this, or for the position in which we find ourselves. The circumstances with which we are surrounded are not, particularly or specially, of our own making, nor the principles in which we believe. We have an abiding faith, as we heard referred to this morning, in certain principles which have emanated from the heavens; and we find ourselves on the earth at this particular time, in this peculiar dispensation, and engaged in a work that is dependent, I was going to say, altogether upon the Almighty, and which is part and parcel of that program which existed in his mind before the world rolled into existence.

There have been different dispensations existing in the various ages of time, as the purposes of God have rolled on in relation to this earth; all of them, more or less, partook of the same principles that have been revealed unto us, that is so far as the Gospel is concerned, but all of them more or less differing.

The first command given to man was to be fruitful, to multiply and replenish the earth; in other words, an earth had been created, and it was necessary, as it had been brought into existence and man placed upon it, that his seed should be propagated, that there might be bodies prepared for spirits to inhabit, that they together might accomplish certain purposes, in the designs of God, pertaining to the creation of the earth.

By and by we find the people departing from the principles of truth, from the laws of the Gospel, repudiating the fear of God, grieving his Holy Spirit and incurring his displeasure. Then a flood came and the inhabitants of the world, with the exception of a very few, were swept from it, after the Gospel had been preached to all who then lived and all had had an opportunity to believe in and obey it. A few of them did so and lived in the fear of God, and, according to the revela– tions which we have, they were translated and caught up, they had a separate existence from those who lived upon the earth, and occupied the position of translated beings and were necessarily governed by other laws than the denizens of the earth. This was one peculiarity of the dispensation before the flood. Then came the flood, which many people, unacquainted with things as they existed in the bosom of God and with his purposes and designs, consider was a great cruelty, an act of tyranny, evincing a spirit of outrage and oppression upon the inhabitants of the world. Skeptics reason in this manner sometimes, the only reason of their caviling being that they do not understand God or his laws and designs in relation to the earth and the inhabitants that live upon it, and being ignorant of these things they are not competent judges as to the fitness of things generally, and the course pursued by the Almighty in relation to the inhabitants of the earth, hence they arrive at all kinds of foolish conclusions. The fact is there were certain ideas connected with the destruction of the world that were good, proper and merciful. Mankind had committed unto them certain powers, among which was the power to perpetuate their own species, of which they could not according to the laws of nature be deprived while living. And they had a certain agency of their own, which they could act upon, and the people who were destroyed in the flood had departed from the laws of God. Man has a dual being, not only a body or mortal tabernacle, but a spirit, and that spirit existed before he came here; and if men before the flood had been allowed to go on in their iniquities, and if, with every thought and imagination of their hearts, which were all unlawful and evil, they had been allowed to perpetuate that kind of existence, of course God would have had very little to do with the operations of the earth and the inhabitants thereof, it would therefore have been unjust to the spirits created by our Father in the eternal worlds to force them to come and inhabit the degenerated bodies which they must have received from such characters as the generation drowned in the flood; and hence God took away their agency by destroying them from the face of the earth, because they were prostituting their powers to an improper use and not only injuring themselves by defying the law of God, but also inflicting an evil upon unborn generations by perverting their own existence and by their powers of procreation entailing misery upon millions of spirits that had a just right to look for protection from their Father. The Almighty therefore took this awful method to redress this aggravated wrong and he had a right to do it. Why, our stockraisers act upon that principle a good deal. I was talking to one of them a little while ago who had a large flock of sheep, and he told me that he had got some better stock, and was going to kill off the poor ones in order that he might raise only good stock and a better breed than he then had. I suppose that God had as much right to do this as sheep raisers and cattle raisers have, and thus by cutting off that wicked generation from the earth he deprived them of the privilege of propagating their own species. And what then? Oh, they were all damned. No, they were not quite, yes they were in part and partly not. God understands all these things and manages matters according to the counsel of his will, and hence he provided a way whereby the people who were then drowned, who would not listen to God’s law and who had departed entirely from the precepts of Jehovah, might hereafter have a chance of obeying the laws of life and salvation. Well, were they not all tee-totally doomed to go and be roasted in flames forever and ever. Not quite; for we read that Jesus, when he was put to death in the flesh, was quickened in the spirit, by which he went and preached to the spirits in prison that sometime were disobedient in the days of Noah, when once the long-suffering of God waited upon them in those days. Hence we see that instead of being eternally damned, Jesus went to preach the Gospel of life and salvation to those whom God, in the days of Noah, swept off by the flood, in order that he might introduce another state of things, and try to raise up a people who would listen to his laws and obey his precepts.

The Scriptures say that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison, the same as he had preached to others on the earth. What did he preach? Do the Scriptures say what he came to preach? Yes, they say “he came to preach the Gospel to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to set at liberty those who were bound, and to open the prison doors to the captive.” That is what he came to do, and he did it.

We are not connected with a something that will exist only for a few years, some of the peculiar ideas and dogmas of men, some nice theory of their forming; the principles that we believe in reach back into eternity, they originated with the Gods in the eternal worlds, and they reach forward to the eternities that are to come. We feel that we are operating with God in connection with those who were, with those who are, and with those who are to come.

We find that after the days of Noah an order was introduced called the patriarchal order, in which every man managed his own family affairs, and prominent men among them were kings and priests unto God, and officiated in what is known among us as the Priesthood of the Son of God, or the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. Man began again to multiply on the face of the earth, and the heads of families became their kings and priests, that is, the fathers of their own people, and they were more or less under the influence and guidance of the Almighty. We read, for instance, in our revelations pertaining to these matters, of a man called Melchizedek, who was a great high priest. We are told that “there were a great many high priests in his day, and before him and after him;” and these men had communication with God, and were taught of him in relation to their general proceedings, and acknowledged the hand of God in all things with which they were associated. Noah and his descendants for a length of time, did that which was right in the sight of God to a very great extent, but by and by they departed from his law, and Abraham was raised up as a special agent in the hand of the Almighty to disseminate correct principles among the people, and as a medium through which God would communicate intelligence and blessings to the human family. He went through a very rigid course of discipline, and was tried in almost every possible way, until, finally, he was called upon to offer up his son; and then, when he attempted to do that, and the Lord had fully proved him, the Lord said—“I know that Abraham fears me, that, he has not withheld his only son from me, and I know that he will command his children after him to fear my name.” After God had tried Abraham, he took him on to a mountain and said unto him—“Lift up thine eyes eastward and westward, and southward and northward, for to thee and thy seed after thee will I give this land; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” That was a great blessing, and it placed Abraham in a most prominent and important position before God, before the people, and before the world. Now, although God made that promise unto Abraham, yet Stephen, who lived some two thousand years afterwards, said that “God gave him none inheritance in that land, no not so much as to set his foot on, yet he promised that he would give it to him and to his seed after him.” There was something peculiar about all these men—being in possession of the everlasting Priesthood, which is without beginning of days or end of years, they measured things with the eye of the Almighty, by the principle of faith, by the knowledge and intuition which the Spirit of God gave them, and the revelations which it imparted, and they felt like one of old who said—“When a man dies shall he live again? All the days of my life to my appointed time will I wait until the change come.” Inspired by the Spirit of the living God, in possession of the principles of revelation, holding the keys of the everlasting Priesthood, which unlocked the mysteries of the kingdom of God, they looked forward and backward, and felt that they were a part of the great program which God designed to accomplish in regard to the earth. It was not for the immediate possession of some temporary good; not for the grasping of something that they could hold for the time being that they were anxious; but they were after riches, exaltations, glory and blessings that would continue “while life or thought or being lasts or immortality endures.”

From the loins of Abraham a great many great Prophets, seers, revelators, men of God, kings, princes and authorities descended; and they raised up a nation that was powerful in its day and generation. But they, like others, finally departed from the laws of God and from the principles of eternal truth, and then the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood was withdrawn from them, and the law was added because of transgression, and although they became a numerous, great, wealthy, wise and intelligent people, yet they lost for a long time the power, intelligence, life and light of revelation which the Gospel imparts.

Then came the time when Jesus appeared on the earth. He was “a lamb slain from before the foundation of the world,” and he came to accomplish things which had been planned by the Almighty before the world was. He was the Being to whom the antediluvians, and Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and the Prophets, Patriarchs and those who were filled with the Spirit of God and the light of revelation referred to, and to whom they looked; to him pointed all their sacrifices and the shedding of the blood of bulls and goats, heifers, lambs, &c. Jesus introduced the Gospel, and if the people would have received and obeyed the principles which he taught, the kingdom of God would have been established, the dispensation of the fullness of times brought in, and in the Temple at Jerusalem the baptisms for the dead would have gone on, and the redemption of the living and the dead would have proceeded. But the people could not receive the teachings of Jesus. Here was a dis– pensation different from any of the others.

There was an Elias to come, who was to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children; and when it was asked Jesus—“Art thou the Elias which was to come, or do we look for another?” it was told them, “This is he if ye can receive it.” But they could not, and consequently they beheaded John the Baptist and crucified Jesus, and it was declared that not one stone of their magnificent Temple should be left upon another without being thrown down, which was literally fulfilled, and the ground upon which it stood was ploughed over. Jesus told his disciples that when they saw “Jerusalem encompassed about with armies they were to flee to the mountains.” One of the Prophets, in speaking of the affairs that were then to take place, said that a certain power should arise which should make war with and prevail against the Saints, and that that power should seek to change the times and the laws, and that they should be given into his hand, for a time, and times and the dividing of times. Very well, these things have taken place.

We now turn our attention to this continent, and find that God transplanted a people who were of the seed of Abraham, from Palestine to this continent. Here they passed through all kinds of vicissitudes and changes, sometimes abounding in iniquity and vice, at other times full of virtue; sometimes they acknowledged the hand of God, and at other times disregarded it; sometimes they were chastened by the Almighty, and at other times permitted to go on in their iniquities. At one time there was a people on this continent who lived for nearly two hundred years in the fear of God, under the direction of his spirit, governed by the laws of the Gospel, and they had all things common among them, and we are informed that there never was a more united, happy and prosperous people upon the face of the earth.

These are some of the changes that have taken place here. And now, we are living in another age and under other circumstances. The world is waxing old; myriads of people have lived upon it, generation after generation have come and gone, some good, some bad, some very wicked, some very righteous; some pure and holy, others to the contrary, embracing every kind, and all the peculiar phases that have been developed by the human family. They have come into existence and they have died, and what of them? What of the good and what of the bad? What of the righteous and what of the unrighteous? What of their standing before God, and what of the nations that have existed, that do exist and that will exist? These are things, which, as intelligent, immortal beings, demand our consideration. And what of us as part of them? We need to reflect, and it is proper that we should understand something in relation to these things. We have our part to perform. We find ourselves in the world in this day and age, which is that which was spoken of by Paul—“the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God would gather together all things in one, whether they be things in the heavens or things on the earth.” There is something very remarkable, very peculiar in that expression. What the gathering is in the heavens it is not for us to say at the present time; what the gathering is on the earth we have some little idea of from the things with which we are associated. There is a peculiarity about it. As I said before, we find ourselves living in this day, and we are called upon to perform a certain work in connection with the economy and designs of God pertaining to the earth we live on, pertaining to ourselves, to our progenitors and to the whole human family that have existed upon the face of the earth. We are here to do a certain work which God has set us to do, and, as I have said, we have had very little to do in bringing about the matter. We did not originate it. We talk sometimes about Joseph Smith, he did not originate it. He told us about a great many things that we talk about, and unfolded many principles unto us. But how did he know them? God called him and set him apart as he called Noah in his day, and as he called Enoch, Abraham and Moses in their day, and as he called the Prophets and Jesus in their day, as he called Nephi, Lehi, Moroni and Alma in their day upon this continent. He has called us, and has introduced to our view certain principles, and we have been learning these principles gradually. The first thing was to get baptized, a very simple affair, a very little thing, nevertheless it was an ordinance of God, he appointed it, and we went and were baptized. Then we had hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and we partook more or less of its influence, according to our faithfulness and diligence in keeping the commandments of God.

We had not anything to do with originating this work; neither had Joseph Smith, neither had Oliver Cowdery, nor Brigham Young, nor any of the Twelve, nor the first Council, nor the Bishops, nor any other man living. God has his work to perform, and at the proper time and in his own way he will fulfill his own purposes and build up his kingdom. He commenced it at his own time, and he called Joseph Smith and gave him revelation. He told him about the ancient history of the people of this continent and enabled him to translate it, he gave him a key to all these things. He could not have done it without any more than you or I could. He was indebted to God, just as much as you and I are, and so were his brethren who were with him. Joseph Smith had many revelations, but who gave them to him, by what spirit and intelligence were they unfolded and communicated to his mind? God revealed them to him, he obeyed the behests of Jehovah. When God called him and set him apart he was obedient, just the same as you and I were. When the Elders of Israel came forth to preach the everlasting Gospel we obeyed it and, through obedience, we obtained the Spirit of God, and that brought us into the position which we occupy at the present time.

And now about the gathering, who understood anything about it? The ancient Prophets prophesied about it, but what did we know about it, or what do the world today know about it? Nothing, only as it has been revealed. If God had not revealed it we should have been as ignorant as the rest of mankind are. And so we should about our sealings, and the covenants that men and women make with one another, that the fools around us do not comprehend; they think we are fools, but we know they are; that is the difference between us. We know they are ignorant, brutish, foolish and know not God nor his laws, nor the principles of truth; but we know something about these things, because God has revealed them to us.

We heard this morning that this was a time in which to build Tem– ples, and you know that we are now engaged in a work of that kind. Why are we thus engaged? Is it for our sakes only? God forbid. The Gospel that we preach is not for ourselves only. We have not preached it these many years that we might make money by it. I have traveled a great many thousands of miles to preach this Gospel without purse and without scrip, and I see many men around and before me who have done the same thing. Was it for ourselves? No. Was it because it was pleasant? No, but God had revealed certain principles to us pertaining to the salvation of the world in which we live; he had committed a dispensation of the Gospel to us, and it was woe unto us if we preached not that Gospel, whether we liked it or not. But we did like it, and we went forth in the name of Israel’s God, and God went with us and sanctioned our testimony by his Spirit, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost. We could not have done these things or I will acknowledge that I could not, neither could any of my brethren, unless God had been with us, we had not sufficient faith and intelligence; but God imparted his Spirit, his intelligence and the gift of the Holy Ghost to the Elders of Israel, and they went forth bearing precious seed, the seed of eternal life, and they came again rejoicing and bringing their sheaves with them, and here they are gathered into the garner. What for? For ourselves? No, we are, or ought to be co-workers with God in the accomplishment of his purposes in relation to the world in which we live, and people that have lived before us, and those that shall come after us. The principles which we are in possession of emanated from God. The Priesthood which God has revealed emanated and originated with the Gods in the eternal worlds; it is the principle by which they are governed and by which God governs all things which exist, and we, as the servants of God, acknowledge the hand of God in all these things. Can I preach, do I have any intelligence? God imparted it. Can my brethren preach? have they intelligence? God imparted it. Did Joseph Smith or Brigham Young have intelligence? God imparted it. Have we been delivered at various times, and has the hand of God been manifested in our behalf? Yes, or we could not have been here today, the powers of darkness would have prevailed against us, the enemies of Zion would have put their feet upon our necks, and would have trampled us to the dust of death long ago. We talk about the intelligence that has been manifested in connection with this work. Where did it come from? It came from God. As you heard this morning, God, in answer to the prayers of thousands, has inspired his servants and has given them intelligence to carry on his work, and it has been carried on under the influence, guidance and direction of the Spirit of God. Without that none of us could have done anything more than the rest of mankind. Who led us? God. Who has sustained us here? God, and who will continue to sustain us? The Almighty. These fools who think they can trample under foot the servants of God, and overthrow the kingdom of God are reckoning without their host, they are pushing against the buckler of the Great Jehovah, and they will find that he will put a hook into their nose and lead them in a path they know not of. Israel will rise and shine, and the power of God will rest upon his people, and the work that he has commenced will roll forth “until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and he shall rule for ever and ever.” The purposes of God are not going to be thwarted by the folly, vanity and ignorance of men; and as we had very little to do with introducing these things, we have really very little to do with carrying them on. Somebody was speaking this morning, in reference to certain men who thought that, if they left the Church, the work would not go on; that is perfectly ridiculous. There are certain things that have to be accomplished in the economy of God, and no man or combination of men can stop them, no influence that the world can exert can hinder them, for God is at the helm, and he will roll forth his own work. Hear it, you men of the world, you cannot go further than God will let you, any more than the Latter-day Saints can. It is in God’s work that we are engaged. There is nothing really selfish about our operations when we come right down to the bottom of the work; for we are all engaged with God, and with the spirits of just men made perfect, and with the Priesthood that have existed before us, and with the intelligences that surround the throne of God; with all these intelligences we are united in the grand work of rolling forth the designs and purposes of God. You do not have the Latter-day Saints only to fight against, but you have to fight all the just and good who have lived and died on the earth, and who live again; and besides these you have to fight with God and his angels and the intelligences who surround his throne.

As Latter-day Saints, we are sometimes apt to think that we must look after ourselves individually. We are a good deal like the man who, when praying, said—“God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, amen.” There was no philanthropy, benevolence or kind feeling towards the rest of mankind there, and too many of us feel a good deal in the same way. As Latter-day Saints we ought to feel—and when we feel right we shall feel—that we are the representatives of God upon the earth, that we are engaged in building up his kingdom; that we are living in an age when God designs to accomplish certain purposes, and we are desirous of cooperating with him in that labor, and it is our mission to help to save the living, to redeem the dead and to bring to pass the things spoken of by the Prophets. This is the position that we occupy, and a great many things have yet to be introduced before these things can be accomplished.

We are commencing to build Temples, and hence, as I said before, our dispensation differs from others which have preceded it. It is kind of a time for settling up accounts. You know when a man goes to work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, he keeps account of what he does, and when Saturday comes it is a kind of settling-up day. It is so with us, it is so with the world, our day is a kind of settling-up day. The Elders have been forth and gathered together a few of the people to whom they have preached; others are gathering, and now we, at home here, are engaged in building Temples. What for, for ourselves? Yes. For somebody else? Yes. For our friends who have lived? Yes. For other people’s friends who have lived? Yes, and to feel after all nations who have lived, for we are interested in the welfare of all the peoples who have ever existed on this earth, and like God, we are feeling after them with a fatherly, kind, generous and philanthropic feeling. That is why we are building our Temples, that is why men are called upon to labor upon these Temples, for we desire to enter therein and to officiate and administer for the living and the dead.

“Well, but it takes a little money.” Oh, does it? Never mind, the gold and the silver are the Lord’s, the cattle on a thousand hills are his, and we shall get a little of his gold and silver, and in using it in building temples to the name of the Lord we are taken into partnership with him, we unite with God, and with the angels, and with the spirits of just men made perfect, with the priesthood that existed anciently and with the Gods. We all unite together for the accomplishment of God’s purposes, and we will feel after the inhabitants of the earth. If people are foolish around us we cannot help that; let them go on and exhibit their folly, God will take care of us, he is as much interested about us as we are, and a good deal more, and he is as much concerned about the rolling forth of this work as we are, and a good deal more. The ancient Nephites who lived on the earth, those men of God who, through faith, wrought righteousness, accomplished a good work and obtained exaltation, are as much interested in the welfare of their descendants as we are, and a good deal more; and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and those ancient men of God who once lived on the earth, and who yet live, are as much interested in the accomplishment of God’s purposes as we are, and a good deal more. Well, then, what have we to do? Why to fulfill the duties devolving upon us as they come along day by day, and to introduce every principle that is calculated to save the living and redeem the dead. We are not alone in these things, others are operating with us, I mean all the men of God who ever lived, and they are as much interested as we are, and a good deal more, for they know more, and “they without us cannot be made perfect,” neither can we be perfected without them. We are building temples for them and for their posterity, and we are going to operate in these temples, as we have done heretofore, for their welfare and for the welfare of their posterity. And then they are operating for us behind the veil with God and the intelligences which surround his throne; and there is a combination of earthly beings and of heavenly beings, all under the influence of the same priesthood, which is an everlasting priesthood, and whose administrations are effective in time and in eternity. We are all operating together, to bring about the same things and to accomplish the same purposes.

Well then, what shall we do? We will build the temples. And don’t you think we shall feel a little better while we are doing it? I think we shall, for while we are so doing we shall have the approbation of God our Heavenly Father, and of all good men who have ever lived, and we may need this by and by when we get through this world. These Gentiles do not need anything of this kind, they are all going to heaven anyhow; but we want to make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when we fail they may receive us into everlasting habitations. I want friends behind the veil. I want to be the friend of God and God to be my friend; I want to help to roll forth the Kingdom of God and to build up the Zion of the Most High, and I want to see my brethren engaged in the same work, and we will do it. In the name of Israel’s God we will do it.

We talk about the Order sometimes, well, we will do that too. What, would you? Yes, to be sure I would, or anything else that God wants of me. I am on hand, that is my feeling about these things. Well, but is there not a good many weaknesses to see? I think there is, don’t you think there is about you? Just examine yourselves and then answer the question whether you have not a good many weaknesses. I think there are a great many things among us that we ought to be ashamed of. We are covetous, grasping and grinding; there is not enough human sympathy, brotherhood and kindly feeling among us. Every man in Zion ought to feel that in every other he has a brother and a friend, and not a ravenous character who would grasp everything that he has and grind him to the dust of the earth. I want liberality, generosity, kindness and the love of God within us, and flowing around us like wells of water springing up unto everlasting life. These are the principles by which we ought to be actuated and governed. Let the potsherds of the earth strive with the potsherds of the earth, God will take care of his own affairs and manage them his own way. Zion is onward, her progress cannot and will not be retarded, I will prophesy it in the name of Israel’s God. It is onward, onward, onward, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished, until the towers of Zion shall arise, until her temples shall be built, until the living shall be saved, until the dead shall be redeemed, and until “the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.”

Let us, then, cleave to righteousness and truth, lay aside our folly, vanity and nonsense, our egotism, ignorance and covetousness and everything that is wicked, sinful, narrow and contracted, and let us feel that we are servants of God, engaged in rolling forth his kingdom and accomplishing his purposes upon the earth.

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

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday, October 7, 1874.

I have been requested, this afternoon, to preach upon the subject of marriage. It is a subject which has been often laid before the Latter-day Saints, and it is certainly one of great importance to the Saints as well as to the inhabitants of the earth, for I presume that no person, who believes in divine revelation, will pretend to say that marriage is not a divine institution; and if this be the case, it is one which affects all the human family.

I will select a passage of scripture in relation to this divine institution as it existed in the days of Moses. In selecting, however, this passage, I do not wish the congregation to suppose that we are under the law of Moses particularly. There are many great principles inculcated in that law which the Lord never did intend to come to an end or be done away—eternal principles, moral principles, then there are others that were done away at the coming of our Savior, he having fulfilled the law. Because we find certain declarations, contained in the law given to Moses, that does not prove that the Latter-day Saints are under that law; that same God that gave the law of Moses—the being that we worship—is just as capable of giving laws in our day as in Moses’ day; and if he sees proper to alter the code given to Moses, and to give something varying from it, we have no right to say that he shall not do so. Therefore, in selecting the passage which I am about to read, it is merely to show what God did in ancient times, and that he may do something similar in modern times.

In the 21st chapter of Exodus, speaking of a man who already had one wife, Moses, says—“If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish.” It will be recollected that this law was given to a polygamic nation. When I speak of a polygamic nation, I mean a nation that practiced both plural and single marriage, and believed one form to be just as sacred as the other. Their progenitors or ancestors were polygamists; and they were considered patterns for all future generations. Their piety, holiness, purity of heart, their great faith in God, their communion with him, the great blessings to which they attained, the visions that were made manifest to them, the conversation that God himself, as well as his angels, had with them, entitled them to be called the friends of God, not only in their day, but they were considered by all future generations to be his friends. They were not only examples to the Jewish nation, but in their seed, the seed of these polygamists, all the nations and kingdoms of the earth were to be blessed.

I hope that pious Christians in this congregation will not find fault this afternoon with their Bible, and with the Prophets and inspired men who wrote it. I hope that they will not find fault with God for selecting polygamists to be his friends. I hope that they will not find fault with Jesus because he said, some two thousand years or upwards after the days of these polygamists, that they were in the kingdom of God, and were not condemned because of polygamy. Jesus says, speaking of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—“Many shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God.” Do not find fault with Jesus, you Christians, because he has these polygamists in his kingdom, and because he has said that the Gentiles will be blessed through the seed of these polygamists; neither find fault with him because he has taken these polygamists into his kingdom, and that many will come from the four quarters of the earth and have the privilege of sitting down with them therein.

Jacob married four wives, and may be considered the founder of that great nation of polygamists. He set the example before them. His twelve sons, who were the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, were the children of the four wives of the prophet or patriarch Jacob. So sacred did the Lord hold these polygamists that he said, many hundred years after their death—“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, and this shall be my memorial unto all generations.” Now, Christians, do not find fault if God chose these polygamists and, at the same time, wished to make them a sample, a memorial to all generations, Christians as well as Jews.

Several hundred years after God raised up these, his friends, and founded or began to found the twelve tribes of Israel, he saw proper to raise up a mighty man called Moses to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage in which they had been oppressed and afflicted by the Egyptian nation. So great had this affliction become that the King of Egypt issued a decree commanding the Israelitish midwives to put to death all the male children, born among the Israelites. This murderous law was carried out. This was about eighty years before Moses was sent down from the land of Midian to deliver the children of Israel from this cruel bondage. How long this great affliction of putting to death the male children existed, is not given in the Bible; but it seems to have waxed worse and worse during the following eighty years, after which Moses was sent to deliver them. We may reasonably suppose that the oppressive hand of Pharaoh was not altogether eased up, but continued on for scores of years, destroying many of the male children, making a great surplus of females in that nation. A great multitude of females over and above that of males, will account for the peculiar passage of Scripture to which I will now refer you. It will be found in the 3rd chapter of Numbers. I have not time to turn to it and read it, but I will quote you the substance thereof. Moses and Aaron were commanded to number all the males in Israel from a month old and upward that were called the firstborn among the various tribes. Now the firstborn does not mean the oldest male child of the first wife, for sometimes the first wife has no children, but it means the firstborn son that is born to the father whether by the first wife, or second, or third, or any number of wives that he may have; the term firstborn pertains to the first male child that is born to the father. So it was accounted to Jacob’s family of twelve sons. Reuben only was called the firstborn of Israel until he lost his birthright, through transgression, which, we are told in the 5th chapter of first Chronicles, was taken from him and given to one of the sons of Joseph. But so far as age or birth was concerned, Reuben was the firstborn; and had it not been for his transgression, he would have inherited a double portion of his father’s substance, for that was the law in ancient times.

Now how many of the firstborn could be found in the midst of Israel? We are told that there were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three firstborn males among the eleven tribes: the tribe of Levi was not reckoned at that time, but all the male members of the tribe of Levi, from a month old and upwards was twenty-two thousand souls. Now if the tribe of Levi numbered in proportion to the other eleven tribes, the number of firstborn males in all the twelve tribes would probably amount to between twenty-four and twenty-five thousand souls, it could not have run over that. There might have been some of the firstborn who were dead, which would make a few more families: then there might have been other families who never had any male children, which would increase the families still more. Supposing then, in order to give all the advantages possible, and to make as many families as we possibly can consistently, that we say, instead of twenty-five thousand firstborn in the midst of all Israel, that there were thirty thousand; that is allowing for all these contingencies I have named, where families have no males, and those families that have male children under a month old which were not reckoned, and those families which might have had firstborn male children who died and the number might possibly be increased to four or five thousand more, making the total number of families about thirty-thousand.

Thus we see that the number of firstborn males from a month old or upwards give us a clue to the number of families; we may not be able to determine the number exactly, but these data will enable us to approximate very closely. It is generally admitted, that Israel, at that time, numbered twenty-five hundred thousand souls. There might have been a variation from this of a few thousand souls, but according to the Scriptural and all other evidences that can be gleaned, the number above referred to is about the number of souls that existed in Israel at that time. Among that twenty-five hundred thousand souls then, there were thirty-thousand families. How many were there in a family? All that you have to do to tell how many there were in a family, is to divide twenty-five hundred thousand by thirty thousand and you will find that the quotient is eighty-three, showing that number of souls on an average in each family. Now if these families were all monogamic, how many children must have been born to each wife? Eighty-one.

This argument is founded on Scripture, and it shows plainly, even if you should double the number of families or of the firstborn, that they could not be all monogamic families, for if we suppose there were sixty thousand families, it would make every married woman the mother of forty odd children, and if such a supposition could be entertained it would go to show that women in those days were more fruitful than they are now. These declarations are given in your Bible, which is also my Bible; that is, in King James’ translation. We all believe, or profess to be Bible believers or Christians. Do not be startled my hearers at these declarations of your Bible. No wonder then that this passage which I have taken for my text was given to that people, because they were a people who needed to be guided in relation to their duty. “If a man take another wife;” that is, after he has got one, if he take another one, “her food”—whose food? The food of the first wife—“her raiment,” that is the raiment of the first wife, “her duty of marriage, he shall not diminish.” Now this is plain, pointed and positive language in regard to polygamy as it existed among the house of Israel in ancient times. Why did not the Lord say, if polygamy were a crime or a sin—“If a man take another wife let all the congregation take him without the camp and stone him and put him to death?” Or if that was too severe let them incarcerate him in a prison or dungeon for several years? If it be a crime why did he not say so? It is just as easy to say that, as to give directions as to what course a man shall pursue with regard to his first wife, if he takes another one.

This is Bible doctrine as it existed in those days. I know that it has been argued that the first woman, here spoken of, was merely a betrothed woman, and not married. But if this be so, what a curious saying this in our text—that her duty of marriage shall he not diminish if he take another wife. This and other expressions show clearly that they were both wives, and that there was a certain duty to be attended to by the husband, besides providing them with food and raiment. It was argued here in this tabernacle before some eight or ten thousand people, on a certain occasion, that the Hebrew word translated “duty of marriage,” ought to have been translated “dwelling”—“Her food, her raiment and her dwelling he shall not diminish.” I recollect asking the learned gentleman, Rev. Dr. Newman, why he translated it dwelling, instead of translating it as all other Hebraists have done? I asked him to produce one passage in all the Bible where that word translated “duty of marriage,” meant a “dwelling,” but he could not do it. The Hebrew word for “dwelling,” and the Hebrew word for “duty of marriage,” are two entirely distinct words. I referred him to the learned professors in Yale College, and to many others who have translated this Hebrew word “duty of marriage.” These professors and other learned translators, have referred to this special passage, and have translated it in two ways—one is “duty of marriage,” and the other is cohabitation. Now, if this latter be correct—her food, her raiment and her cohabitation, shall not be diminished. I asked him why he varied in his translation of the Hebrew, from all these translators and lexicographers? His only answer was that he found a certain Jew in Washington who told him that it meant “dwelling,” or rather that its original root referred to a “dwelling.” I thought that was a very poor argument against all the translators of the Christian world, who are mostly monogamists. But we will pass on. I do not intend to dwell too long on these subjects.

So far as the law of Moses is concerned, to prove that the house of Israel kept up their polygamous institution from generation to generation, let me refer you to another law to show that they were compelled to do this, or else to come out in open rebellion against the law of Moses. In the 25th chapter of Deuteronomy, we read something like this—“When brethren dwell together, and one of them die, the living brother shall take the widow of the deceased brother, and it shall come to pass that the firstborn that is raised up shall succeed in the name of his brother.” This was a positive command given to all Israel. Now was this command confined to young men who were unmarried, or was it an unlimited command so far as living brothers were in existence? This is a question to be decided. There is nothing in all the Scriptures that makes any distinction between a married brother who survives and an unmarried brother; the law was just as binding upon a living brother, if he had already a wife living, as it was upon a living brother if he had no wife, it being a universal law, with no limits in its application, so far as the house was concerned. This law, then, compelled the children of Israel to be polygamists; for in many instances the living brother might be a married man, and in many instan– ces there might be two or three brothers who would take wives and die without leaving seed, and in that case it would devolve upon the surviving brother to take all the widows. This law was not given for that generation alone, but for all future generations. Some may say, that when Jesus came, he came to do away that law. I doubt it. He came to do away the law of sacrifices and of burnt offerings, and many of those ordinances and institutions, rites and ceremonies which pertained to their tabernacle and temple, because they all pointed forward to him as the great and last sacrifice. But did he come to do away all these laws that were given in the five books of Moses? No. There are many of these laws that were retained under the Christian dispensation. One of the laws thus retained was repentance. The children of Israel were commanded to repent, and no person will pretend to say that Jesus came to do away the law of repentance. Another was the law of honesty, upright dealing between man and man; no one will pretend to say that that law ceased when Jesus came. The laws concerning families and the regulation of the domestic institutions were not intended to cease when Jesus came, and they did not cease only as they were disregarded through the wickedness of the children of men. The laws concerning monogamy, and the laws concerning polygamy were just as binding after Jesus had come, as they were before he came. There were some laws which Ezekiel says were not good. Jesus denounced them, and said they were given because of the hardness of the hearts of the children of Israel. Ezekiel says that God gave them statutes and judgments by which they should not live. Why did he do it? Because of their wickedness and hardness of heart. I will tell you how this law became done away and ceased to exist among the children of Israel—it was in consequence of their rejection of the Messiah. In consequence of this their city was overthrown, and their nation destroyed, except a miserable remnant, which were scattered abroad among the Gentile nations, where they could not keep the law in regard to their brothers’ widows. When John the Baptist was raised up to that nation, he must have found thousands on thousands of polygamists, who were made so, and obliged to be so, by the law which I have just quoted.

Some of you may enquire—“Had not a surviving brother the right to reject that law of God?” He had, if he was willing to place himself under its penalty. I will quote you the penalty, and then you can see whether he could get away from polygamy or not. One penalty was that he should be brought before the Elders and that the widow whom he refused to marry, according to the law of God, should pluck his shoe from off his foot, and should then spit in his face, and from that time forth the house of that man should be denounced as the house of him that hath his shoe loosed, a reproach among all Israel. Instead of being a man of God, and a man to be favored by the people of God; instead of being a man such as the Christian world would now extol to the heavens because he rejected polygamy, he was a man to be scorned by all Israel. That was the penalty. Was that the only penalty? I think not. Read along a little further, and it says—“Cursed be he that continues not in all things written in this book of the law.” Oh, what a dreadful penalty that was, compared with being reproached by the whole people! Oh, what a fearful curse upon a man that refused to become a polygamist, and would not attend to the law of God! A curse pronounced by the Almighty upon him, also the anathemas of all the people as well as from God! The word of the Lord was that all the people should say amen to this curse. Now, if I had lived in those days, I should not have considered it very desirable to bring myself under the curse of heaven, and then have the curse of all the twelve tribes of Israel upon my head. I should not have liked it at all. I would rather have gone into polygamy according to the command, even if it had subjected me to a term of five years in a penitentiary.

We find many other passages, touching upon this subject. I will quote one, which will be found in the 21st chapter of Deuteronomy. It reads as follows: “If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he makes his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn.”

Now this applies to two classes of polygamists. First, to those who may have two wives living at the same time, and then to those who may have married two wives in succession. It applies to both classes, for both classes existed in those days, and the Lord gave this, not to condemn polygamy, not to do away with it, but to show that the individual who had two wives should be impartial in regard to his children. Did he approbate this man that might have two wives in his hatred of one, and in loving the other? No, he did not, but inasmuch as man is weak and may sin against God, and suffer himself to be overcome with prejudice and hatred to one person, and feel in his heart to love and respect another, the Lord gave laws in case any such crime should exist among them as a husband’s hating one wife and loving another; he gave laws to regulate it, not that he approbated the hating part.

As I have already proved to you that there were great and vast numbers of polygamic families in Israel, and that there were thousands of firstborn from these plural wives, these firstborn persons, whatever might be the conduct of their mothers, were entitled to their inheritance, namely a double portion of all that the father had to bestow. That was the law in ancient times. We might close here so far as the law of Moses is concerned, but I wish to call your attention to a peculiar saying in this law.

This law has got to be restored again. Says one—“You astonish me beyond measure, I thought it was done away forever.” Well, listen to what the Lord said to Israel in the closing of this book of Deuteronomy. When the children of Israel shall be scattered in consequence of their iniquities to the uttermost parts of the earth among all the nations, and their plagues shall be of long continuance, and they shall be cursed in their basket and in their store, and with numerous curses which he mentioned should come upon them; after these things had been of long continuance, the Lord says—“After they shall return unto me and hearken unto all the words contained in this book of the law, then I, the Lord God, will gather them out from all the nations whither they are scattered, and will bring them back into their own land.” Oh, indeed! Then when they do absolutely return and hearken to all the words of the book of this law, God has promised to gather them again; that is, they must enter into polygamy, they must believe when their brother dies and leaves no seed, that the surviving brother, though he has one, two, or a half a dozen wives living, shall take that widow. That is part of the law, and they must fulfill all the words of this law, and then God has promised to gather them again. Says one, “When that is fulfilled it will be in the days of Christianity.” We can’t help it; polygamy belongs to Christianity, as well as to the law of Moses.

Says one—“The children of Israel have been scattered now some 1,800 years among all the nations and kindreds of the earth, in fulfillment of this curse, but if we believe that saying which you have just quoted, we are obliged to believe that the children of Israel are yet to return to attend to all these institutions, and that too while the Christian religion is in vogue, and that they are to regulate their households according to the law of God, whether those families are monogamic or polygamic.” What will the good Christians think when that is fulfilled? They cannot help themselves, for God will not gather Israel until they do return with all their hearts unto him, and hearken to and obey all the words of this law, written in this book. This is the word of the Lord, and how can you help yourselves? Says one, “We will pass laws against them.” That will not hinder, when God sets his hand to carry out his purposes, laws that may be passed by England, Denmark, Norway or any other Christian community will not hinder the Israelites from attending to all the words contained in the book of his law; for they will want to get back again to their own land.

Inasmuch then as the Lord has promised to restore all things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began, supposing that he should begin this great work of restoration in our day, how are we going to help ourselves? I can’t help it. Brigham Young, our President, can’t help it; Joseph Smith could not help it. If God sees proper to accomplish this great work of restoration—the restitution of all things, it will include what the Prophet Moses has said, and it will bring back with it a plurality of wives. The 4th chapter of Isaiah could never be fulfilled without this restoration. The passage to which I refer is familiar to all the Latter-day Saints—“In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely; and in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.” Now will this prophecy ever be fulfilled, unless this great restoration or restitution shall take place? It cannot. If this great restitution does not take place, Jesus will never come, for it is written in the New Testament, in the 3rd chapter of the Acts of the apostles, that “the heavens must receive Jesus Christ, until the times of the restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouths of his holy Prophets, since the world began.” Jesus will have to stay a long time in the heavens providing that monogamist principles are the only principles that will be introduced, in fact he never can come, for the Scriptures say the heavens must retain him until all things are restored.

God has said that seven women shall take hold of one man for the purpose of having their reproach taken away, that they may be called by his name, not cast off as harlots or prostitutes; not to take away the name of the father from the children, and cast them into the streets, as the Christian nations have been doing for many long centuries that are past. But these seven women will be desirous of having the name of their husband for themselves and their children. Isaiah says it shall be so, and it will have to be under the Christian dispensation. How are the Christians going to get rid of this? Can you devise any way? Is there any possible way or means that you can think of that will put a stop to the Lord’s fulfilling his word? I will tell you one way—if you will all turn infidels and burn up the Bible, and then begin to persecute, the devil will tell you that you can successfully overcome, and that God will never fulfill and accomplish his word; but if you profess to believe the Bible, by the Bible you shall be judged, for, saith the Lord, “My words shall judge you at the last day.” The books will be opened, God’s word will be the standard by which the nations will be judged; hence if you wish a righteous judgment I would say—Forbear, do not destroy the Bible because it advocates polygamy; but remember that every word of God is pure, so it is declared; and he has nowhere in this book, condemned plural marriage, even in one instance.

I know that it has been argued that there is a law against polygamy; but in order to make the law, the Scripture had to be altered. It is in that famous passage which has become a byword in the mouth of every schoolboy in our streets, Leviticus xviii. ch., 18 v. Now let us examine for a few moments that passage and see what it says. You will find that the fore part of this chapter forbids marriage between certain blood relations. Prior to this time it had been lawful for a man to marry two sisters. Jacob, for instance, married Rachel and Leah, and there was no law against it prior to this time. It had also been lawful for a man to marry his own sister, as in the days of Adam, for you know there were no other ladies on the face of the earth for the sons of Adam except their own sisters, and they were obliged to marry them or to live bachelors. But the Lord saw proper when he brought the children of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, to regulate the law of marriage, so far as certain blood relations were concerned, called the law of consanguinity, which speaks of a great many relationships, and finally comes to a wife and her sister. This law was given to regulate the marriage relations of the children of Israel in the wilderness. It was not to regulate those who lived before that day who had married sisters; not to regulate those who might live in the latter days, but to regulate the children of Israel in that day. It reads thus: “Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness besides the other in her lifetime.”

This passage has been altered by certain monogamists in order to sustain their ideas of marriage, and we find in some large Bibles what are called marginal readings that these monogamists have put in, and instead of taking this in connection with all other blood relationships, they have altered it—Neither shalt thou take one wife to another. The men who translated King James’ Bible were monogamists, yet they had sense enough to know that the original Hebrew would not bear that construction which has been given by later monogamists. The original Hebrew, when translated word for word, makes it just as King James’ translators have made it. The Hebrew words are—Ve-ishaw elahotah-lo takkah. These are the original Hebrew words, and if they are translated literally, word for word, the translation stands just as it is in the text. But this is not saying but what the words, El-ahotah, under certain circumstances, are translated in another form, namely, “one to another,” “one sister to another,” and I am willing that it should be translated that way. Then it would read—“Thou shalt not take one sister to another to vex her in her life time.” So you may take it either way, and it bears out King James’ translation, or the meaning given by him.

I do not profess to be a Hebraist to any very great extent, although I studied it sufficiently many years ago, to understand its grammatical construction, and to translate any passage in the Bible; but then, having lacked practice for many years, of course a person may become a little rusty in regard to these matters. But I have searched out all the passages that can be found in the Old Testament, either singular or plural, masculine or feminine, pertaining to the words contained in this text, and I find a far greater number rendered according to the words that are here given, literally, in this text than what are translated—“one sister to another.” But I am willing that this translation should be allowed.

Now, if we thought the congregation would like to hear the translation of all this, and the reasons why, we could give it; but I presume that there are but few Hebrew scholars present, and if the translation were given, the great majority of the congregation would not understand whether it was translated correctly or not, and for that reason I shall not take up your time by referring to these technicalities. But I will make the broad statement, that there is not a Hebrew scholar living on this earth who can translate that passage from the words contained in the original Hebrew, without adding words of his own, not contained in the original text, if he translates it, as Dr. Newman did—“one wife to another.” If the first word—Ve-ishaw means one, as he would try to have us understand, it does not mean wife also: but if it means wife, it cannot be translated as he has it, and therefore it cannot bear out that construction. But I see that I am dwelling too long on the subject of the law of Moses.

Now I wish to come directly to the point in regard to polygamy as it exists at the present time among the Latter-day Saints. I stated in the beginning of my remarks, that polygamy, or any other institution that was given at one age, might not be binding upon another, without a fresh revelation from God. I made that statement when I was discussing that subject in this house. I still say, that we are not under the necessity of practicing polygamy because God gave laws and commandments for its observance and regulation in ancient times. Why then do the Latter-day Saints practice polygamy? That is a plain question. I will answer it just as plainly. It is because we believe, with all the sincerity of our hearts, as has been stated by former speakers from this stand, that the Lord God who gave revelations to Moses approbating polygamy, has given revelations to the Latter-day Saints, not only approbating it, but commanding it, as he commanded Israel in ancient times.

Now let us reason on this point. If God did do such things in former ages of the world, why not the same Being, if he sees proper, perform the same or similar things in another age of the world? Can anyone answer this? If God saw proper to give certain laws in ancient times, and then to revoke them; or if he saw proper to give laws that were not revoked, but done away by the transgressions of the children of men, has he not a right, and is it not just as consistent for that same Divine Being to give laws, for instance, in the 19th century, concerning our domestic relations, as it was for him to do it in the days of Moses? And if he has that right, as we Latter-day Saints believe that he has, are not the people’s consciences just as sacred in regard to such laws in these days, as the consciences of ancient Israel? Or must there be some power to regulate our religious consciences? Here is a grand question. Shall our religious consciences be regulated by civil government or civil laws, or shall we have the privilege of regulating them according to the divine law of the Bible, or any divine law that may be given in accordance with the ancient Bible? I answer that, when I was a boy, I thought I lived in a country in which I could believe in anything that agreed with, or that could be proved by the Bible, whether it was in the law of Moses or in the doctrines of the New Testament. I really thought the Jews had a right to reject Christ, or, in other words, if they had not the right to do it morally, they had the right, so far as civil law is concerned, to reject this Messiah, and to believe in and practice the law of Moses in our land; but I am told that such liberty of conscience is not to be tolerated in our Republican government. If the Jews should collect in any great numbers, and should say one to another—“Come brethren, we are the descendants of Abraham, let us now begin to practice according to the laws that were given to our ancient fathers, and if a brother dies and leaves a widow, but no children, let his living brother, though a married man, marry the widow, according to our law,” it is doubtful whether they would be permitted to associate together and practice those laws now, if they were so disposed. Why? Because the prejudice of the people is so great that they are not willing others should believe in the whole Bible, but only in such portions as agree with their ideas. If we were instituting a practice that the Lord God never approbated, but for the punishment of which he had prescribed penalties, or if we were introducing something foreign and contrary to the Bible, then there would be some excuse for the people in saying that such a thing should not be practiced in the name of religion. But when we take the Bible as a standard in relation to crime, it is altogether another thing; and I do think that every American citizen who professes to believe in any part or portion of that sacred record, on which all the laws of Christendom pretend to be founded, has the right to do so, and to practice it, and that, too, without being molested.

Now, after having said so much in relation to the reason why we practice polygamy, I want to say a few words in regard to the revelation on polygamy. God has told us Latter-day Saints that we shall be condemned if we do not enter into that principle; and yet I have heard now and then (I am very glad to say that only a few such instances have come under my notice), a brother or a sister say, “I am a Latter-day Saint, but I do not believe in polygamy.” Oh, what an absurd expression! What an absurd idea! A person might as well say, “I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, but I do not be– lieve in him.” One is just as consistent as the other. Or a person might as well say, “I believe in Mormonism, and in the revelations given through Joseph Smith, but I am not a polygamist, and do not believe in polygamy,” What an absurdity! If one portion of the doctrines of the Church is true, the whole of them are true. If the doctrine of polygamy, as revealed to the Latter-day Saints, is not true, I would not give a fig for all your other revelations that came through Joseph Smith the Prophet; I would renounce the whole of them, because it is utterly impossible, according to the revelations that are contained in these books, to believe a part of them to be divine—from God—and part of them to be from the devil; that is foolishness in the extreme; it is an absurdity that exists because of the ignorance of some people. I have been astonished at it. I did hope there was more intelligence among the Latter-day Saints, and a greater understanding of principle than to suppose that anyone can be a member of this Church in good standing, and yet reject polygamy. The Lord has said, that those who reject this principle reject their salvation, they shall be damned, saith the Lord; those to whom I reveal this law and they do not receive it, shall be damned. Now here comes in our consciences. We have either to renounce Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, Book of Covenants, and the whole system of things as taught by the Latter-day Saints, and say that God has not raised up a Church, has not raised up a prophet, has not begun to restore all things as he promised, we are obliged to do this, or else to say, with all our hearts, “Yes, we are polygamists, we believe in the principle, and we are willing to practice it, because God has spoken from the heavens.”

Now I want to prophesy a little. It is not very often that I prophesy, though I was commanded to do so, when I was a boy. I want to prophesy that all men and women who oppose the revelation which God has given in relation to polygamy will find themselves in darkness; the Spirit of God will withdraw from them from the very moment of their opposition to that principle, until they will finally go down to hell and be damned, if they do not repent. That is just as true as it is that all the nations and kingdoms of the earth, when they hear this Gospel which God has restored in these last days, will be damned if they do not receive it; for the Lord has said so. One is just as true as the other. I will quote this latter saying, as recorded in the Book of Covenants. The Lord said to the Elders of this Church, in the very commencement as it were, “Go ye forth and preach the Gospel to every creature, and as I said unto mine ancient Apostles, even so I say unto you, that every soul who believes in your words, and will repent of his sins and be baptized in water shall receive a remission of his sins, and shall be filled with the Holy Ghost; and every soul in all the world who will not believe in your words, neither repent of his sins, shall be damned; and this revelation or commandment is in force from this very hour, upon all the world,” as fast as they hear it. That is what the Lord has said. Just so, in regard to polygamy, or any other great principle which the Lord our God reveals to the inhabitants of the earth.

Now, if you want to get into darkness, brethren and sisters, begin to oppose this revelation. Sisters, you begin to say before your husbands, or husbands you begin to say before your wives, “I do not believe in the principle of polygamy, and I intend to instruct my children against it.” Oppose it in this way, and teach your children to do the same, and if you do not become as dark as midnight there is no truth in Mormonism. I am taking up too much time. I would like to dwell on another more pleasing part of this subject, if there were time. (President G. A. Smith—“There is plenty of time, brother Pratt.”)

I will go on and tell the people why polygamy was instituted in this dispensation. So far as a future state is concerned, God has revealed to us that marriage as instituted by him, is to benefit the people, not in this world only, but to all eternity. That is what the Lord has revealed. Do not misunderstand me; do not suppose that I mean that marriage and giving in marriage are to be performed after the resurrection; I have not stated any such thing, and there will be no such thing after the resurrection. Marriage is an ordinance pertaining to this mortal life—to this world—this probation, just the same as baptism and the laying on of hands; it reaches forth into eternity, and has a bearing upon our future state; so does baptism; so does the ordinance of the laying on of hands; so does every ordinance which the Lord our God has revealed to us. If we attend to these things here in this life, they secure something beyond this life—for eternity. They neither baptize, nor receive baptism, after the resurrection. Why? Because neither was intended to be administered after the resurrection. After the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage. Why? Because this is the world where these ceremonies are to be attended to. That which is secured here, will be secured hereafter, if it be secured upon the principles of law which God has revealed. Marriage, then for eternity, is the great principle of marriage with the Latter-day Saints; and yet, I am sorry to say, that there are some of our young people who will suffer themselves to be married by the civil law; not for eternity, but just like the old Gentile custom—the way our forefathers were married. A justice of the peace, a judge, or someone having the right by the civil laws, will pronounce them husband and wife for a short space, called time; perhaps to last only about three score years, and then it is all over with the marriage contract; it is run out; they are husband and wife until death shall separate them, and then they are fully divorced. We do not believe in any such nonsense; it is one of the ideas of the Gentile world in regard to marriage.

The first great marriage celebrated in this world of ours—that of our first parents—is a sample of marriage that should be introduced and practiced by and among all generations and nations, so far as the eternity of its duration is concerned. Our first parents were immortal beings; they knew nothing about death; it was a word that had never been spoken in their ears. The forbidden fruit had never been laid before them; no law in respect to that was yet given. But Eve was brought to our father Adam as an immortal woman, whose body could not die to all ages of eternity; she was given to an immortal husband, whose body could not die to all future periods of duration, unless they brought death upon themselves. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin; death is one of the consequences of sin; and they brought it upon themselves. But before that, they were married—the immortal Adam had the immortal Eve given to him.

Now if it had been possible for them to have resisted that temptation, they would have been living now, just as fresh, and as full of vigor, life and animation, after six thousand years, as they were on the morning in which this ceremony of marriage took place; and if you should reflect upon millions and millions of ages in the future, they would still be considered husband and wife, while eternity should last. You could not set a time—you could not point your finger at a moment or hour, when they would be separated, and the union be dissolved.

That is the kind of marriage that we Latter-day Saints believe in; and yet some of our young people, professing to be members of the Church, and who say they wish to keep the commandments of God, go and get married by a justice of the peace, or some person authorized to perform that ceremony by the civil law. Ask parties who are guilty of such folly, why they were married by these officers of the law until death should part them? and they will say, “We did it inconsiderately, and without reflection,” or perhaps they will say that their parents did not teach them on that point. Do you not know that such marriages are not sealed by him that is appointed by divine authority? That they are not of God and are illegal in his sight, and your children are illegitimate in the sight of God? If you expect to have any benefits in eternity arising from your children, they must be yours legally, according to divine appointment, under a divine marriage. “What God has joined together let not man put asunder.” But what has God to do with it, when a magistrate, who, perhaps, is an infidel, and does not believe in a God at all, says to a man and woman, “Join your hands together,” and then, when they have done so, he says, “I pronounce you husband and wife?” What has God to do with such a marriage as that? Has God joined them together? No, a civil magistrate has done it; and it is legal so far as the laws of the country are concerned, and the children are legal and heirs to their parents property so far as the civil law is concerned, but what has God to do with it? Has he joined them together? No, and the marriage is illegal, and, in the sight of heaven, the children springing from such a marriage are bastards.

How are we going to legalize these matters? There are many who are very sorry for the Latter-day Saints; so sorry that they would favor the passing of a law which would legalize all the children who have been born in polygamy, and thus prevent them from being what they consider bastards. Now we are just as anxious, on the other hand, to get all our fathers and mothers, who have been married by these Gentile institutions, joined together by divine authority, in order that they may become legal in the sight of God. We do not want their children to be bastardized; and hence, we get them adopted, or we shall do so when the Temple is built; I mean all those who have been born of parents that have never been joined together of the Lord or by his authority. All such children, as well as men and women, married only by the civil law, have got to have ordinances performed for them in the Temple. The men and women will have to be legally married there; and the children born before their parents were thus legally married, will have to pass through ordinances in order that they may become the legal sons and daughters of their parents; they will have to be adopted according to the law of God. You young men and women, who are married in a manner that the Lord does not authorize or own, put yourselves to a great deal of trouble, because you will have a great deal of work to do hereafter in temples in order to get things legalized. How much better it would be for you to come to those whom God has appointed, and have your marriages solemnized as immortal beings, who have to live to all eternity.

It is true that we have all to die by and by, and we shall be separated for a little season; but this separation is a good deal like a man’s leaving his family to go on a mission: he returns after a while to his wives and children, and he has not lost the one nor has he been divorced from the other, because they have been separated. And if death separates, for a little season, those who are married according to God’s law, they expect to return, to each other’s embraces by virtue of their former union; for it is as eternal as God himself.

“Do you mean to say,” says one, “that people in the immortal state, will be united in the capacity of husbands and wives, with their children around them?” Yes, we do believe that all persons who have these blessings sealed upon them here, by the authority of the Most High, will find that they reach forward into the eternal world, and they can hold fast to that which God has placed upon them. “Whatsoever you seal on earth,” said the Lord to the ancient Apostles, “shall be sealed in the heavens.” What could be of more importance than the relationship of families—the solemn and sacred relationship of marriage? Nothing that we can conceive of. It affects us here and it affects us hereafter in the eternal world; therefore, if we can have these blessings pronounced upon us by divine authority and we, when we wake up in the morning of the first resurrection, find that we are not under the necessity of either marrying or giving in marriage, having attended to our duty beforehand, how happy we shall be to gather our wives and our children around us! How happy old Jacob will be, for instance, when in the resurrection, if he has not already been raised—a great many Saints were raised when Jesus arose and appeared to many—if Jacob did not rise then, and his four wives, and his children, how happy he will be, when he does come forth from the grave, to embrace his family, and to rejoice with them in a fulness of joy, knowing that, by virtue of that which was sealed upon him here in time, he will reign upon the earth! Will it not be a glorious thing, when that polygamist, by virtue of promises made to him here, comes forth to reign as king and priest over his seed upon the earth? I think that in those days polygamy will not be hated as it is now. I think that all things that have been prophesied by the ancient prophets will be fulfilled, and that Jacob will get his wives, by virtue of the covenant of marriage; and that he will have them here on the earth, and he will dwell with them here a thousand years, in spite of all the laws that may be passed to the contrary. And they will be immortal personages, full of glory and happiness. And Jesus will also be here, and the Twelve Apostles will also sit on the twelve thrones here on the earth, judging the twelve tribes of Israel; and during a whole thousand years, they will eat and drink at the table of the Lord, according to the promise that was made to them.

Old Father Abraham will come up with his several wives, namely Sarah, Hagar and Keturah and some others mentioned in Genesis; and besides these all the holy prophets will be here on the earth. I do not think there will be any legislation against polygamy.

By and by they will build a polygamous city, and it will have twelve gates, and in order to place as much honor upon these gates as possible, they will name them after the twelve polygamist children that were born to the four polygamous wives of Jacob; and these good old polygamists will be assembled together in this beautiful city, the most beautiful that ever had place on the earth.

By and by some Christian will come along, and he will look at these gates and admire their beauty, for each gate is to be constructed of one immense splendid pearl. The gates are closed fast and very high, and while admiring their beauty he observes the inscriptions upon them. Being a Christian he of course expects to enter, but looking at the gates, he finds the name of Reuben inscribed on one of them. Says he—“Reuben was a polygamous child; I will go on to the next, and see if there is the name of a monogamous child anywhere.” He accordingly visits all the twelve gates, three on each side of the city, and finds inscribed on each gate the name of a polygamous child, and this because it is the greatest honor that could be conferred on their father Jacob, who is in their midst, for he is to sit down with all the honest and upright in heart who come from all nations to partake of the blessings of that kingdom.

“But,” says this Christian, “I really do not like this; I see this is a polygamous city. I wonder if there is not some other place for me! I do not like the company of polygamists. They were hated very badly back yonder. Congress hated them, the President hated them, the cabinet hated them, the Priests hated them, and everybody hated them, and I engendered the same hatred, and I have not gotten rid of it yet. I wonder if there is not some other place for me?” Oh yes, there is another place for you. Without the gates of the city there are dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, adulterers and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Now take your choice, Amen.

Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday, October 7, 1874.

I did not have the privilege of listening to all the remarks of Elder Taylor this forenoon, yet to what I did hear I can bear testimony of its truth. I always delight in seeing a man valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ. There is something glorious in the principles of the Gospel. I always did, from my boyhood, hope and pray that I might live long enough in the earth to find some man who would have sufficient courage and independence of mind to believe in the same doctrine and Gospel that Jesus Christ taught, and I have lived long enough to see, hear and partake of it, and I glory in it, because it is true.

The religion or Gospel of Jesus Christ is a very unpopular thing, and has been in every age of the world. Show me a man who was ever inspired of the Lord God of Israel to do a work for him who was popular. You cannot find such a man in the whole history of the world. You may take Noah, who was about a hundred and twenty years building an ark, and how many friends did he have? I think about seven in all. Lot was very unpopular the morning he left Sodom and Gomorrah, and so have been all the Patriarchs and Prophets in every age of the world. Jesus Christ, when he came to Jerusalem, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the great Shiloh of the Jews, came to his own father’s house, yet there was not a man more despised in all Judea and Jerusalem than was Jesus Christ, from the day of his birth until he came to the cross. Why is this? Because men love darkness rather than light—because their deeds are evil. The Lord Almighty, in the last days, has set his hand to carry out and fulfill his words for the past five or six thousand years, given through the mouths of his servants the Prophets and Apostles whenever he has had them on the earth. He has commenced this work and he will perform it, for, as brother Taylor has justly said, there is no power on the earth that can stay his hand, for the simple reason that God controls the destinies of all men—kings, princes, rulers, presidents, statesmen, governors, nations, tongues and people, upon the face of the whole earth, and men are placed in a position where they are under the necessity of exercising faith in God in order to build up his kingdom. Read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, and you will find that, beginning with the creation of the world, everything has been accomplished by faith. The whole of the work of all the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets was accomplished by the exercise of this principle; and it is just so in the last dispensation of the fullness of times. When God sent angels to Joseph Smith, he knew and understood, by the teachings given unto him, what he had to perform in a measure. The Lord called him to do a work, and raised him up for this purpose. Was Joseph Smith popular among men? No, never, he was persecuted until the day of his death, until he sealed his testimony with his blood. But the persecution against him, and the unbelief of the world, do not make the truth of God without effect. The Lord has carried out and fulfilled all these prophecies from the commencement until now; there never has been a jot or tittle allowed to fall unfulfilled; there never was a revelation, from the days of father Adam until this, given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost through the mouth of Patriarch or Prophet that will fall unfulfilled. Though the heavens and the earth pass away, these things will not fail of their fulfillment, and, as brother Taylor has said, the world cannot stay the work of God. They never have done, and they never will.

This is a different dispensation from all others. God has set to his hand to build up his kingdom and Zion, and that kingdom and Zion must be built up, or the revelations of God will fall unfulfilled. The Bible is full of these teachings, and they must have their fulfillment, and I bear testimony to their truth. The Bible is true, and its prophecies were spoken by holy men of old as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. The revelations of Isaiah concerning the building up of the Zion of God in the last days will have their ful– fillment. The house of God will be established upon the tops of the mountains, and all nations must flow unto it. Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments, she must be clothed with the glory of her God. The Temple of God has got to be built also upon the tops of the mountains; the Gospel must be preached to every nation under heaven before the end shall come.

The world say they do not believe these things; that is true, we do not expect them, we never have expected them to believe them, but the unbelief of the world does not change the work of God. We have to live by faith. When Moroni hid in the earth the record which the Book of Mormon was translated from, four hundred years after Christ came in the flesh, he did it by faith, as much so as Noah built the ark. He looked forward and saw that record come forth in the last days, in fulfillment of the sayings of Ezekiel and of the saying of Isaiah, when the stick of Joseph should be put with the stick of Judah, and they should become one stick in the hands of the servants of the Lord before the eyes of the world, and when the truth should spring out of the earth and righteousness look down from heaven. These things were to be a beginning of the great work of God preparatory to the gathering of the twelve tribes of Israel in the latter days. That work has come forth, just as everything has been fulfilled which has been done by faith and by the commandment of God.

When Joseph Smith began to receive revelations from God he was a boy, an illiterate youth; and had he not had faith and the inspiration of the Almighty upon him, he never could have had power and courage to go forth and introduce the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of a gene– ration of false doctrine, ignorance and darkness. But God preserved, inspired and sustained him, and caused him to live upon the earth until he had planted this kingdom, in fulfillment of the revelations. He organized the Church, he received the holy Priesthood from the hands of angels sent from God—men who had held the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood in other generations upon the earth; they conferred upon Joseph all the powers and keys of the Priesthood necessary to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and he lived long enough to organize that kingdom, and it will never be thrown down any more forever.

The revelations of God to us have been encouraging, and we have seen them fulfilled, and we shall continue to do so until the end. I will say to the Latter-day Saints, that we are in the same position that other generations have been—we have got to walk by faith, we must have confidence in the fulfillment of the revelations of God. No man or woman on the face of the earth will ever be disappointed with regard to the fulfillment of the word of the Lord, for he has uttered decrees, made covenants, and through his servants the Prophets has declared his word and will concerning the world and its inhabitants, and not one of his sayings will fail, all must be fulfilled. If it could be otherwise, the Zion of God would never be built up; but God has decreed that his kingdom will be established, that Zion will arise and shine, and that every weapon formed against her will be broken.

The prayers of hundreds and thousands of Saints, dwelling in these valleys of the mountains, daily ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, beseeching him to fulfill his word upon the earth and to sustain his servants. Do not the Saints pray for anybody else? Yes, they pray for everybody—for President Grant, Judge McKean, the Governor of Utah, and every man holding official positions here, as well as for Brigham Young and the Apostles. These prayers ascend before the Lord and they will be heard and answered.

Talk about Brigham Young and Joseph Smith, how many have said to Joseph Smith—“How on the earth do you govern and control this people? How easy you do it!” Our enemies, today, look at Brigham Young, and they say—“If he would only die, Mormonism would stop;” but in this they are mistaken. This work does not depend upon President Young; it did not depend upon Joseph Smith. All the world thought if they could only slay Joseph Smith there would be an end of Mormonism, and so there would have been had it not been the work of God Almighty; if it had been the work of man it would long since have ceased to exist on the earth. The power that has sustained this work from the beginning sustains it now. As brother Taylor has said, all the holy Prophets and Apostles who have been slain on the earth for the testimony of Jesus and the word of God, and who now sit on the right hand of God in the heavens, are just as much engaged in carrying on the work of God here as when they lived in the flesh, and more so, because they have more light and power. And Jesus Christ, himself, who died on the cross, and after his resurrection visited the other sheep of his fold on this continent, and offered the Gospel to Jew and Gentile, that same Jesus is pleading with the Father today, and has been from the day his body lay in the tomb, to carry out and fulfill his purposes and to accomplish his work in our day and generation. We are not alone in our efforts to carry on the work of God. If the eyes of the world were open, they would see that there are more for us than against us. We are only, in one sense of the word, worms of the dust in the hands of God. This work does not depend on any man or set of men. The Lord Almighty has set his hand to accomplish his purposes, and he is feeling after the honest and meek throughout the world, in order to find those who are willing to take hold and help to build up his kingdom in the latter days. He has found a few, and he will find many more.

How has it been with Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, the Apostles, and thousands of the Elders of Israel who have gone forth to preach the Gospel to the world without purse or scrip, offering the word of life and salvation without money and without price? They have carried their knapsacks on their backs, or with valise in hand have traveled thousands and thousands of miles for this purpose. They have been inspired to do this by the power of the Most High God, and that inspiration has sustained them all the way through; it has upheld this Church from the time it came forth until this hour, and will unto its consummation. We came in here on the 24th of July, 1847, having been driven from our homes, the graves of our fathers, and from lands we purchased from the general Government because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, or, in other words, because of our religion. We came here and found a barren desert, containing nothing but a few roving Indians, coyote wolves, crickets and grasshoppers. There was no mark of the Anglo Saxon race or of the white man here then, but the whole region of country was a desert of the most forbidding and desolate charac– ter. Now when strangers come up to Zion on this great highway, cast up in fulfillment of the revelations of God, what do they see? They see no longer a desert, but a belt, for six hundred miles, of cities, towns, villages, orchards, fields and crops. Who has done this? The Lord God of Israel has inspired his Saints to do it. President Young has been led, guided, counseled and moved upon by the Holy Ghost and by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and that which strangers now behold in this Tabernacle, and throughout this Territory is in fulfillment of that volume of revelation which you can read in the prophecies of Isaiah and others of the Prophets and Patriarchs. These things are true and your eyes can see them, whether you believe them or not has nothing to do with it. I will tell you that if this work had not been of God, and God had not borne testimony to the preaching of the Elders, we might have preached until we had been as old as Methuselah and we could not have gathered the people from almost every nation under heaven as we have done, according to the predictions of the ancient Prophets contained in the Bible. But the Lord has never disappointed anybody so far as his work is concerned. It did not stop after the death of Joseph, and it never will on account of the death of any man, Prophet, Apostle or any other man, for it is in the hands of God, and he has decreed that it shall stand forever, and that it shall extend until its dominion becomes universal.

We do not see today what we saw twenty-four years ago, and we do not see today what will be seen twenty-four years hence; there will be no stoppage to the building up of the Zion of God, or to the carrying out of his work. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, raised up by the Lord Almighty, and the inspiration of God guided and sustained him to the day of his death. He sealed his testimony with his blood, and that testimony is in force upon all the world. This record which I hold in my hands (Book of Doctrine and Covenants) contains the revelations of God, and in one of them the Lord says—“Let earth and hell combine against you, and they shall not prevail, the kingdom is yours—I have given it into your hands—and you are called upon to build it up.” The Lord is at the helm to govern, guide and control this work, and he will do so unto the end.

Now when men undertake to fight against this work, as brother Taylor has said, they fight against God; it is not against Brigham Young, the Apostles or this people alone, but it is against God. Every man will be rewarded according to his works. Our prayers go up before God day and night, that he will execute justice, judgment, righteousness and truth, that he will sustain everything that leads to good, and does good, and that he will overthrow all that lead to evil and do evil; and we are assured by revelation that the Lord will hear and answer our prayers. The Lord is with this people; but as Latter-day Saints, I do not think that we always prize our privileges. We are called upon to perform a work; the Lord has placed this work in our hands, and we are held responsible before the heavens and the earth to use the talents—the light and truth, which have been committed into our hands.

What is this life? What are the things of this life? The Latter-day Saints are living for things the other side of the veil, the same as all servants of God have done in every age of the world. Now is it not a curiosity that so few of the human family have an interest in eternal things—things the other side of the veil? Bless your souls, our lives here are only a few days in duration, but on the other side of the veil we shall live eternally, we shall live and exist just as long as our Creator will exist, and our eternal destiny depends upon the manner in which we spend our short lives here in the flesh. Will it not pay any man, any Prophet, Apostle or Saint, in this or any other age of the world, to be true and faithful to his God, to magnify his calling, to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ, to preach the Gospel, to bear record of the things of the kingdom to Jew and Gentile in his day and generation? Yes, it will pay men to do right, and men will sorrow and bitterly regret taking any course in this or any other generation against God or his work. What have been the afflictions of the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ? Why every word spoken concerning them by Moses and Jesus has had its fulfillment until the present day, for hundreds of years past and gone. They have been a hiss and a by-word, and trodden under the feet of the Gentiles, in fulfillment of the words of Jesus Christ, and they will continue in their present position until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Jesus offered his Gospel to the Jews in his day, but in these latter days it has been offered first to the Gentiles, thus fulfilling the saying that the first shall be last and the last shall be first; and when the Gentiles count themselves unworthy of eternal life, the Gospel will go to the House of Israel and they will receive it. The Gentiles should heed the warning given them by the Apostle Paul, lest they fall through the example of unbelief as did the Jews, who were broken off because they rejected the Messiah, and refused the message of salvation which he delivered unto them. From that day to this they have been scattered, peeled and afflicted; their city was overthrown and their Temples destroyed, and the land of their fathers has been in the hands of Gentile nations until today. The Lord has said—“Vengeance is mine and I will repay,” and we may rest assured that the Lord will reward those who seek to destroy the lives of his people and to overthrow his kingdom. Vengeance is in the hands of the Almighty. “I will fight your battles,” saith the Lord. We do not seek any man’s hurt, however much of an enemy he may be to us, we leave him in the hands of God, we know that he will reward him, and the reward will be all that God, Saints, angels, devils or wicked men can ask, and it will be all that any man can want. When we undertake to fight against God we have to pay for it. Men will have to pay for every sin committed in the flesh; no matter what they do, they will have to be accountable for it. If a man does right, is valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ, obeys the Gospel, and keeps his covenants, when he passes to the other side of the veil he has an entrance into the presence of God and the Lamb; having kept celestial law he enters into celestial glory, he is preserved by that law, and he participates in that glory through the endless ages of eternity. It pays any man under heaven to obey and be faithful to the law of God the few days he spends in the flesh. I say to the world, to every sect under heaven, if you ever obtain any blessings in the eternal worlds from anybody at all it will be from the God the Latter-day Saints worship, for God made us all; whether we are Methodists, Baptists, Mormons or anything else we are all the children of one parent. Then why should we persecute one another because of our religion? It is folly in the highest degree. We live in a land and under a constitution which guarantees the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience to every sect, party, name and denomination under heaven, then why should we be so narrow-minded as to hate or seek to persecute or kill our neighbor because he differs from us in religion?

We worship God and we are Latter-day Saints because we know that the Gospel which has been revealed in these latter days is true. We have received it and have realized the promises made to those who would obey it. The Holy Ghost and the testimony of Jesus Christ never deceived us, and we have received that testimony while abroad in almost every nation under heaven. By this power we have been gathered. That is the reason we are Mormons, as the world call us. We know this work is true, we know it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We would not persecute, abuse, or quarrel with any man because of his religious views. A man’s religion, let it be what it will, is between him and his God. He is going to the eternal world, and he will receive his reward, and there is no reason or use in quarreling about religion, and we have never felt to do this in our lives. Whatever may have been said concerning us, our Tabernacles—this and others—have been open to every minister who came along, no matter to what sect or party he belonged. We are not afraid of our doctrines, and we are not afraid to have our children hear the doctrines of others. If any man has got a truth that we have not got, let us have it. Truth is what we are after, and we are not afraid of the doctrines of any man; we are willing to stand by the revelations of God. These are the feelings of the Latter-day Saints. When our Methodist friends came to this city, erected their tent and held their big camp meeting, what was the course pursued by the Latter-day Saints? The President of the Church, the Twelve Apostles and citizens with their wives and children gave them a congregation of many thousands, and we sat in their tent and listened to them while they abused us just as much as they pleased. We believe in giving every man the privilege of saying what he pleases, we have always been willing to let every man express his sentiments here among us. We are not afraid of them. If we have not the truth, that is what we are after, we want it. But we know that we have it, that the Gospel as restored, revealed through Joseph Smith, is the truth of God, and we know that the Lord has set to his hand to build up Zion, and he is going to do it. We bear record of this because we know it is true.

I pray that God will bless the Latter-day Saints. I pray that we may prize our privileges, that we may enjoy the spirit of our calling, and that the Holy Ghost may enlighten our minds continually, that we may not walk in the dark but in the light. I pray that the Spirit of God may bear record to the stranger within our gates. I am satisfied that it does, and it has done more or less for the forty years that are past and gone. But it is the same today as it was in the days of Jesus. He told Nicodemus that light had come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil, and here is where condemnation comes in, but we cannot help that. My brethren and I have traveled a great many thousands of miles to preach the Gospel to our fellow men; we have done this because we know this Gospel is true. We are willing to stand by this Gospel, this testimony and this work in life and in death, in time and in eternity. We shall meet the strangers who come here and visit us, on the other side of the veil; they will meet us there, and if they never know before, they will know then that our testimony is true.

I pray God our heavenly Father that he will bear testimony by his Holy Spirit to the meek and honest among the children of men, that they may receive the truth and be prepared to inherit eternal life, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Morning, October 6, 1874.

The present occasion, a Semi-annual Conference, is one which, in the history that we are making, is marked with more than ordinary importance. I always feel thankful to be permitted to meet the faces and greet the countenances of the brethren and sisters from the different parts of the Territory and elsewhere, who assemble at these Conferences; and I feel it important that, in doing so, we should lay aside the ordinary business transactions of life, and try and compare notes with ourselves as to our actual progress in the things of the kingdom. We have received the first principles of the Gospel, and we have started in their observance; and in doing so we have become obligated by our personal agreements, and covenants in the waters of baptism, and in the ordinances which pertain to the Gospel, to live in accordance with those principles which are revealed. In pursuing our daily avocations we become mixed up, more or less, with the world; we are called to battle with the world, and we have exhibitions from time to time of the weaknesses of human nature. I remember very well in the days of Kirtland, hearing men testify that they knew this was the work of God, and that they had seen visions of the armies of heaven and the horsemen thereof, as did Gehazi, the servant of the Prophet, and then, in consequence of the failure of a bank, or because some business transaction did not come out in accordance with their expectations or desires, they would apostatize and come to the conclusion that they never knew anything about it, and become infidels. This shows the weakness to which some individuals have been subject. I also remember, in the great apostasy which took place in Kirtland, that those who apostatized considered that all the talent of the Church had left it, and yet the work rolled right along, and, so far as they were concerned, they were never missed, and were soon forgotten, and nobody could tell where they went to. I have occasionally met them twenty or thirty years afterwards, and could hardly tell where they dropped out, their disappearance made no ripple. The facts are, brethren, that the work of the Lord does not depend upon us. If we go into darkness, if we let our hearts be filled with covetousness or corruption, or give way to licentiousness, drunkenness, Sabbath breaking, unbelief, or any crime that corrodes our system or organization, so that our tabernacles become unfit for the holy Spirit to dwell in, it will withdraw from us, and the light that is in us becomes darkened, and that darkness is so great that we grope as a blind man and wander hither and thither, and those who suffer themselves to be led by these blind men fall into the ditch with them, but the work rolls right along.

Now, we assemble here, and we want to review our conduct and our characters before the Lord. It is one of the weaknesses of human nature to sit in judgment on others, but on the present occasion we should bring ourselves to account, one and all, and determine whether we are living in accordance with the principles of the holy Gospel that we have received. I recollect hearing once that Satan had invented for men a certain kind of leather spectacles which, when a man looked at his own sins, made them look very small, and when he looked at his own righteous acts, made them look very large; when he looked at his neighbor’s sins they seemed very large, and when he looked at his neighbor’s righteous acts they appeared very small. Spectacles of this kind should be avoided, and we should be very careful when we are examining ourselves that we do not get them on, as well as when we examine our neighbors.

The first step, then, in relation to the business of this Conference, is to preach the principles of repentance and reformation. We should question ourselves, and determine whether we have suffered ourselves, with the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desire of gain, or from any other cause, to become darkened in our minds. There are many false spirits gone out into the world, and when Joseph Smith communicated the keys of the Priesthood to the servants of the Lord, he gave them the power to try these spirits, and this power was given to the Church, and no man need be led astray only as he suffers himself to lose the Holy Spirit, which is the result of sin, wickedness, neglect or transgression.

In addition to this general reformation which we wish to impress upon the minds of our brethren and sisters at the opening of the Conference, we want to take such steps as will be for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the Saints. The changes which have transpired in the world show us how uncertain a tenure our business arrangements are placed upon. From the time that the revelation was given to the Saints, commanding them to let the beauty of their gar– ments be the workmanship of their own hands, to the present time, that doctrine has been preached, and yet, it now seems more necessary than ever that, in all our settlements and associations, we should organize and take such measures as will enable us to provide, within ourselves as far as possible, the articles which we need. It is our duty to ourselves and to our God to unite our interests in such a manner that we can produce what we need within ourselves, without being hewers of wood and drawers of water to strangers. We have made a good deal of progress in this direction, as we can see by the numbers of people who come here clothed in the manufacture of their own factories or looms. Still there is room for further progress in this direction, and during the Conference instructions will be given as may be considered necessary to aid us in facilitating the work of manufacturing our own wool, leather, shoes, hats and every other article of domestic necessity, just as far as our country will admit.

We are always commanded, so says the revelation contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, given on the 19th of January, 1844, to build Temples to the holy name of our Father in heaven. We are now engaged in this work; we are building a Temple in this city and one in St. George; and if any of you ever cast an eye at the beautiful foundation that is now raised up here by the Tithes and offerings of the brethren, you can but rejoice in the idea that we are building, to the name of our Father, an edifice creditable to the work for which it is designed. We wish our brethren and sisters to remember this. It has been counseled and advised by our President, and by those in authority, that it would be a wise thing for every person in the Church to contribute a monthly donation of a half dollar in money for the Temple, that their names may be put in the book of the law of the Lord, that old and young among the Latter-day Saints may feel an interest in this matter, that on their fast days they may make this contribution to aid in supplying the necessary means to the workmen that cannot be procured without money, and the necessary materials to facilitate the work. If anybody will go and examine that foundation, and the granite blocks that are lying around, and consider the expense of quarrying them and bringing them here, and of cutting them and fitting them in that foundation, they will realize that the brethren have been very industrious, and that a great work has been done, for such edifices are not erected without great labor, time and expense. We therefore desire the brethren to take into consideration, during the Conference, such subjects as pertain to the advancement of these Temples. We also wish, during the Conference, to call the attention of the brethren to the propriety of some two or three hundred hands from different parts of the northern settlements volunteering to go to St. George this winter to work on the Temple, making a donation of their labor. During last winter quite a number of the brethren went down from Sanpete and some of the neighboring counties, and put in about three months work, and during the entire winter there were only seven and a half days they could not lay stone on the Temple, and they were mostly rainy days. Those of us who have not got anything to employ us to advantage during the winter, can go down there and put in three or four months’ work on that Temple, in getting lumber, and hauling it, in quarrying rock, and in cutting and setting it; in making mortar, providing lime and hauling it, and in aiding in all the various departments of labor necessary. We can have the walls put up and get the timber ready for the roof during the winter, while we should be doing comparatively little at home. This is one item that I wish to have considered through the Conference.

There will be some missionaries called during Conference, whose duty it will be to preach the Gospel and defend the interests of Zion in the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world.

We would invite our brethren and sisters living in this neighborhood, as long as there are vacant seats here, to come and occupy them while the Elders shall give them instruction; and we ask every man and woman who fears the Lord to lift their hearts to him in prayer, that his blessing may rest upon the Elders, that President Young may be healed of his afflictions, and have health and strength to perform the duties of his calling, and that all the Elders who rise to speak may be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, that we may be instructed, not from the mere natural wisdom of the individual, but by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Almighty, that our testimony, our knowledge of the Gospel, the principles of salvation as revealed unto us, may be inspired unto us by the power of the Almighty, that we may know for ourselves and not for another that we have received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are some of the items that will be spoken of during the Conference as the Spirit may direct, as well as other matters pertaining to Zion. You remember the revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, given June 22, 1834, on Fishing River, Clay County, Mo. It says:

7. “And let all my people who dwell in the regions round about be very faithful, and prayerful, and humble before me, and reveal not the things which I have revealed unto them, until it is wisdom in me that they should be revealed. Talk not of judgments, neither boast of faith nor of mighty works, but carefully gather together, as much in one region as can be, consistently with the feelings of the people; And behold, I will give unto you favor and grace in their eyes, that you may rest in peace and safety, while you are saying unto the people: Execute judgment and justice for us according to law, and redress us of our wrongs.

8. “Now, behold, I say unto you, my friends, in this way you may find favor in the eyes of the people, until the army of Israel becomes very great. And I will soften the hearts of the people, as I did the heart of Pharaoh, from time to time, until my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and mine elders, whom I have appointed, shall have time to gather up the strength of my house, And to have sent wise men, to fulfill that which I have commanded concerning the purchasing of all the lands in Jackson county that can be purchased, and in the adjoining counties round about. For it is my will that these lands should be purchased; and after they are purchased that my Saints should possess them according to the laws of consecration which I have given. And after these lands are purchased, I will hold the armies of Israel guiltless in taking possession of their own lands, which they have previously purchased with their moneys, and of throwing down the towers of mine enemies that may be upon them, and scattering their watchmen, and avenging me of mine enemies unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

9. “But first let my army become very great, and let it be sanctified before me, that it may become fair as the sun, and clear as the moon, and that her banners may be terrible unto all nations; That the kingdoms of this world may be constrained to acknowledge that the kingdom of Zion is in very deed the kingdom of our God and his Christ: therefore, let us become subject unto her laws.

10. “Verily I say unto you, it is expedient in me that the first elders of my church should receive their endowment from on high in my house, which I have commanded to be built unto my name in the land of Kirtland. And let those commandments which I have given concerning Zion and her law be executed and fulfilled, after her redemption. There has been a day of calling, but the time has come for a day of choosing; and let those be chosen that are worthy. And it shall be manifest unto my servant, by the voice of the Spirit, those that are chosen; and they shall be sanctified; And inasmuch as they follow the counsel which they receive, they shall have power after many days to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion.

11. “And again I say unto you, sue for peace, not only the people that have smitten you, but also to all people; And lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth; And make proposals for peace unto those who have smitten you, according to the voice of the Spirit which is in you, and all things shall work together for your good. Therefore, be faithful; and behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end. Even so. Amen.”

Let us consider these things and sanctify ourselves in all humility. God has preserved us from all our enemies for over forty years since this revelation was given, and we occupy many cities, towns and settlements, and should improve in all the goodly graces of the Gospel preparatory to the great work still before us, for the promises of God are true and will not fail.

Oliver Cowdery, previous to his apostasy said to President Joseph Smith: “If I should leave the Church it would break up.” Joseph said to Oliver—“What, who are you? The Lord is not dependent upon you, the work will roll forth do what you will.” Oliver left the Church, and was gone about ten years; then he came back again, to a branch of the Church in meeting on Mosquito Creek, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. The body of the Church had come off here to the west, but there was still remaining there a branch of about fifteen hundred or two thousand people, and when he came there he bore his testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon and the divine mission of the Twelve Apostles, and asked to be received into the Church again, and said that he had never seen in all his life so large a congregation of Saints as the one then assembled. We loved to hear brother Oliver testify, we were pleased with his witness, but when he passed off and went among our enemies he was forgotten, and the work rolled steadily along step by step, so that, ten years after, when he came back to an outside branch, he expressed his astonishment at seeing such a vast body of Saints. Some men in their hours of darkness may feel—I have heard of men feeling so—that the work is about done, that the enemies of the Saints have become so powerful, and bring such vast wealth and energy to bear against them that we are all going to be crushed out pretty soon. I will say to such brethren, it is very bad policy for you, because you think the old ship Zion is going to sink, to jump overboard, for if you jump overboard you are gone anyhow, and the old ship Zion will ride triumphantly through all the storms, and everybody who proves unworthy to remain on board of her and jumps overboard will repent of it when it is too late, as many have done already.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and the Lord has revealed this work. It has been said—“Oh what vast, what wonderful ability Brigham Young has possessed to do what has been done!” The fact in the case is, it is the Lord who has done it. He has guided and directed and has done the work, and his servants who have labored in it, have only been instruments in his hands, he has given them all the ability, wisdom and knowledge which have been manifested; and the same God has the power to still guide, control, instruct and uphold, and he will do so. Those who fall into darkness, error, folly and wickedness simply lose their position; but they who endure to the end the same will be saved. The great work which has been commenced in these last days will continue until, by and by, when the Lord sees fit, he will come to his Temple and will receive his Saints as his own.

Let us then devote our time and attention for a few days to receiving instruction and counsel, that we may have our hearts comforted and renew our testimony, for I can assure you, as the Lord God of hosts lives, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and all of us who fall into darkness and go astray will be the losers. Zion will ride triumphant, which may God grant for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Discourse by Elder Brigham Young, Jun., delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Morning, October 6, 1874.

I have a testimony also to offer to my brethren and sisters. It is a great thing, in my estimation, to know God and his Son, to know that God has established the kingdom of the latter days, and to realize that there are men upon the earth, who are capable, through the revela– tions of Almighty God, to teach the people the way of life, to point out to them the path by which they may regain the presence of their Father and God. Such is the testimony I have had, such a testimony I have at the present time. I am aware that to some it seems incredible, and that in their ears it sounds preposterous to utter such words, and especially does it seem so to those who consider that they are living in the blaze of the Christian religion, for the large majority of that class of people will not for a moment entertain the idea that God will ever again speak to men upon the earth, or inspire them as he did anciently. They believe the day as gone by when such things can be, and that, having the Bible in their possession, it is no more necessary for God to make known his will to man. I am aware that the Christian world view it in this light, but I cannot help that, I am not responsible for them, nor they for me. I stand for myself and am supported by the evidence which I have received from Almighty God. If they can testify to me that the Christian religion is true, I can, in turn, testify to them that God has revealed himself, that he has again spoken to men upon the earth, and that they hear his voice just as much as Isaiah, Ezekiel or any of the Prophets of ancient days. This is my testimony, and I know it to be true. By the same Spirit that revealed unto Peter his Lord and Savior I know that Jesus is the Christ. This has not become knowledge with me through the testimony of others alone. I sought and received that testimony for myself. Said Jesus unto Peter, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven;” and I testify to you this day, that that same God has revealed unto me that these things are true, that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that this people represent the kingdom of God which Daniel and others of the ancient Prophets said should be established upon the earth in the latter days. That is the testimony which I have to offer here this morning. If I stood alone in this matter, and there was no other person who could bear the same testimony perhaps people would be justified in disbelieving me, that is, if I gave them no evidence of the truth of my words; but when the proof is positive and the evidences incontrovertible; when there are scores of thousands of people gathered from as well as scattered through the nations of the earth who can rise as one person and bear this testimony, the nations of the earth will be condemned if they reject it.

It is true that Joseph Smith was an unsupported witness in some respects of the Gospel which he had to reveal unto the human family. He came forth a boy, alone; his testimony was given to the world, and God, in his wonderful providences, fulfilled the words of that boy, and others were induced to believe what he told them. He told the people that if they would obey the will of the Father, if they would repent of their sins, be baptized for the remission of them and have hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, they should receive it, and it should be a witness unto them that his words were true and faithful.

Have the words of Joseph Smith been fulfilled in this and in other respects? I answer yes. He bore this mission unto the people, and it, with its promises, came to me, and I obeyed it, doing as I was told in order that I might obtain the evidences of the Holy Spirit. Did I obtain them? Yes I did; and here is a congregation before me, the repre– sentatives of a great people, who can bear witness with me this day that the words of Joseph the Prophet were true and faithful to this generation. Our testimony is not unsupported, for I have gone forth into the midst of the nations of the earth, and have stood before strangers and have said unto them—“If you desire the knowledge that the Prophets who were with Jesus on the earth possessed, if you will do those things which have been commanded you shall know of the doctrine whether I speak of myself, or of God who sent me.” I have borne this testimony hundreds of times to the nations of the earth, because I was sent forth to do it, and I had a testimony that it was my mission to testify of these things. What has been the result of the Elders going to the nations of the earth and bearing this testimony? We see before us a mighty people gathered in these mountains. There is scarcely an adult who has been gathered here who came with any other purpose but to build up the kingdom of God, because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which he or she received through obedience to the words which were declared unto them. If any have gathered here with any other purpose they are not in this Church or if they are they will not remain in it very long. This people have gathered here by scores of thousands, cannot those who are not of us put their prejudices to one side for a moment and take a fair and impartial view of the circumstances which surround us? Cannot the world look upon the Latter-day Saints and ask themselves—“Is it possible for men to make these promises, and yet be impostors and deceive the people to the extent they have?” Have the Elders deceived the people? It looks to me like folly in the extreme for people to entertain such an idea. Have we deceived the people? No sirs, we have not. Were those words false which were uttered by the Elders when they called upon the people to repent? No. The people verily received that testimony of the truth of this work by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost which was promised them by the Elders, and that is the reason why so many have gathered to these mountains.

But the majority of people now are like the Jews when they arraigned Jesus—they want a miracle. “Then did they spit in his face and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee.” That is exactly the same spirit that prevails now—“If you Latter-day Saints have the blessings and gifts you talk of, why don’t you rise up in power? Why does not God come out of his hiding place and preserve you from your enemies?” I can testify today that he has done so. From my earliest recollections I have been wandering with this people. I have been with them when driven before their enemies, with my father and his family in their persecutions, and I know, as I know that I live, that God has stretched out his hand and preserved this people when nothing but his providences could have saved them.

Who are they who smite this people? Are they righteous men, men who are seeking to benefit the human family? Are they men who are turning their whole attention to benefit their fellow men, or building up principles of righteousness and truth, to sustain the poor, and to gather them from the nations of the earth to a land where they can possess those comforts and blessings which should surround the sons and daughters of our God? No, they do not busy themselves about such things as these, they have business on hand, which they think is more important; they have the Latter-day Saints to persecute. They do not have time to turn their attention, nor their minds to such trifles as bringing the poor from the nations of the earth or developing the resources of this great country. They have no time for this, they have a far greater work on hand, opposing the progress of this people and the fulfillment of the prophecies of men of God who have lived upon this earth. That is the view I take of it from my standpoint. Of course I do not expect others, outside of the Church, to look at it as I do. But this people are engaged in what? First, at the present time, in defending themselves, trying to secure their lives and property from men who are seeking to deprive them of both; they are also continuing their efforts to bring the downtrodden of Europe and every other nation, to this land of America, where they can enjoy freedom and religious liberty, and have a home and not be servants of those who are more wealthy than themselves. This people are expending millions of dollars to gather the poor from the nations of the earth that they, with us, may enjoy the blessings of religious liberty, and the blessings of this free land.

Why don’t these men who are persecuting us, and all the time telling how mean and contemptible we are as a people turn their attention, not to our sins, but to their own shortcomings, and pick the beam out of their own eyes before attending to the mote in ours, and then try and do something to ameliorate the condition of the human family? These are simply my views on this subject, and I would to God that every man in this great nation would do right himself and not seek to persecute his neighbors because he thinks they are doing wrong! A man might do a thing in which, according to his conscience, he would be perfectly justified, but from my standpoint it would be very wicked. A heathen might be justified in doing that which I should consider a great crime. Shall I go to work and persecute an individual that does not see exactly as I see? Should I be justified in doing this? No. If I see a person in the wrong I am justified in going to him and trying to teach him the principles of the Gospel which I find contained in the Bible, and which God has revealed to the human family for their salvation; in other words, I should be justified in trying to lead him in what I believe to be the path of righteousness, but I should not be justified in trying to drive him.

Is this the course that is being pursued with us? By no means. The spirit manifested towards us continually is—“If you don’t do as we say we will force you.” Nobody comes here to persuade us, their object is to compel us to bow to their wishes. They wish to make us forsake that which we revere and consider holy, simply because they despise it, and deride it as something that ought to be put down by force. It is not a Christian spirit that induces persecution, not at all. Why not take the example of Jesus, whom they profess to worship? If this people are wrong, convince them of their error. “Oh,” say they, “we can’t do it.” It is like the King of Denmark, Frederick the Seventh, if I mistake not. The Priests complained to him and said that they could not put down the Latter-day Saints, and that they were proselyting in spite of all they could do. Said the King—“Why don’t you take the Bible, and confound them and let the people see their errors?” The Priests said—“We have tried that, but have not succeeded, they have more arguments in the Bible than we have.” “Well,” said the King, “I think yours is the poorest religion of the two, I will let the Latter-day Saints go on, and shall not interfere with them.” I would like this position to be taken by those in this nation who are opposed to us. But they will not assume this position, for we can correct them with the Scriptures of divine truth. Why do they not use the word of God in their operations against us, instead of the carnal weapons which they happen to have because they belong to a certain party? Why not imitate the example of Jesus and try and persuade us if we are in the wrong, and put us in the right. We desire to be saved; it is salvation we hope for. It is the desire for salvation in the kingdom of God that prompts me to say these things; and as long as God shows to me that I am right, as long as I have an approving conscience before Him in carrying out the doctrines which I believe in, so long, with the help of God, will I advocate them, let the issue be what it may. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, September 20, 1874.

I will read the 3rd and 4th verses of the 29th chapter of Isaiah:

“And I will camp against thee round about, and I will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

“And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.”

[The speaker also read the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 18th verses of the same chapter.]

It will be forty-seven years the day after tomorrow since the plates, from which the Book of Mormon was translated, were obtained by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and as there may be persons in this assembly who are unacquainted with the circumstances of the finding of this book, I will relate some circumstances in relation to the beginning of this great and marvelous work.

Joseph Smith, generally known in the world as “Old Joe Smith,” was a boy about fourteen years of age at the time the Lord first revealed himself in a very marvelous manner to him. The circumstances were these: This boy, in attending religious meetings that were held in his neighborhood, seemed to be wrought upon in a very wonderful manner, and he felt great concern in relation to the salvation of his soul. Many young people were wrought upon by the same spirit, and they commenced seeking the Lord, and professed to be converted. Among this number were several of the Smith family, who united themselves with the Presbyterians. During the progress of this revival a sort of rivalry sprang up among the various denominations, and each one seemed determined to obtain as many of the converts as possible, and have them unite with his particular religious order. This boy, Joseph Smith, was solicited and advised to unite himself with some of the religious denominations in that vicinity, but being of a reflecting turn of mind, he inquired in his own heart which among these several religious bodies was right. I presume that many of you, at some period of your existence, have been wrought upon in the same manner, because you have been anxious to join yourselves to the true church of God, if you could only find which was God’s church. It was not, therefore, at all strange that this young man should have these ideas passing through his mind; but how to satisfy himself he did not know. If he went to one denomination they would say, “We are right, and the others are wrong,” and so said all the others. Like most boys of his age, Joseph had never read the Bible to any great extent, hence he was unable to decide in his own mind, as to which was the true church. When he saw several denominations contending one with the other, he naturally enough supposed that some of them must be wrong. He began to search the Bible in his leisure time after his work was done upon the farm; and in perusing the New Testament, he came across a passage which is very familiar indeed to most of my hearers; the passage reads thus—“If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Mr. Smith really believed this passage. He did not read this as one would read a novel, thinking that it was all imaginary; but, from his heart, he believed that it meant what it said, and he said to himself—“I certainly lack wisdom in relation to my duty. I do not know which of these denominations is correct, and which is the church of Christ. I desire to know, with all my heart, and I will go before the Lord, and call upon his name, claiming his promise.” He therefore retired a short distance from his father’s house, into a little grove of timber, and called upon the Lord, claiming this promise, desiring to know his duty and to be informed where the true Church of Christ was. While thus praying, with all his heart, he discovered in the heavens above him, a very bright and glorious light, which gradually descended towards the earth, and when it reached the tops of the trees which overshadowed him, the brightness was so great that he expected to see the leaves of the tree consumed by it; but when he saw that they were not consumed he received courage. Finally the light rested down upon and overwhelmed him in the midst of it, and his mind at the same time seemed to be caught away from surrounding objects, and he saw nothing excepting the light and two glorious personages standing before him in the midst of this light. One of these personages, pointing to the other, said—“Behold my beloved Son, hear ye him.” After this, power was given to Mr. Smith to speak, and in answer to an inquiry by the Lord as to what he desired, he said that he desired to know which was the true Church, that he might be united thereunto. He was immediately told, that there was no true Church of Christ on the earth, that all had gone astray, and had framed doctrines, and dogmas, and creeds by human wisdom, and that the authority to administer in the holy ordinances of the Gospel was not among men upon the earth, and he was strictly commanded to go not after any of them, but to keep aloof from the whole of them. He was also informed that, in due time, if he would be faithful in serving the Lord, according to the best of his knowledge and ability, God would reveal to him still further, and make known to him the true Gospel, the plan of salvation, in its fulness.

Mr. Smith had this vision before he was fifteen years old, and, immediately after receiving it, he began to relate it to some of his nearest friends, and he was told by some of the ministers who came to him to enquire about it, that there was no such thing as the visitation of heavenly messengers, that God gave no new revelation, and that no visions could be given to the children of men in this age. This was like telling him that there was no such thing as seeing, or feeling, or hearing, or tasting, or smelling. Why? Because he knew positively to the contrary; he knew that he had seen this light, that he had beheld these two personages, and that he had heard the voice of one of them; he also knew that he had received instruction from them, and therefore, to be told that there was no such thing as revelation or vision in these days, was like telling him that the sun did not shine in these days. He knew to the contrary, and he continued to testify that God had made himself manifest to him; and in consequence of this, the prejudices of the different denominations were aroused against him.

Why should they feel such concern and anxiety in relation to his testimony as to persecute him, a boy not quite fifteen years of age? The reason was obvious—if that testimony was true, not one of their churches was the true Church of Christ. No wonder, then, that they began to persecute, point the finger of scorn, and say—“There goes the visionary boy.”

In the year 1823, Mr. Smith, being not quite eighteen years old, was meditating in his heart concerning the former vision, and was feeling great anxiety that the promise might be fulfilled to him, that he should, at some future time, have revealed to him the Gospel in all its fulness. He retired to his room one Sunday evening, in September (1823), and commenced to pray with all the earnestness and faith that he could possibly obtain, that the Lord would fulfill the promise that he had made to him. While thus praying, he discovered that a light seemed to be breaking into his room, growing brighter by degrees, until he saw a personage, apparently an angel, standing before him. This personage wore a white robe, and his countenance had the appearance of lightning, but yet appeared of an innocent expression. This personage did not stand upon the floor of the room, but his feet were a short distance above the floor. He informed this boy that the Lord had sent him as a messenger, in answer to his prayer, in order to impart unto him further information. And then he commenced telling him that this great American continent was once occupied by a numerous people, the descendants of the house of Israel, most of them the descendants of a remnant of the tribe of Joseph; that they came here from Jerusalem by the direct guidance of the Almighty, some six centuries before Christ; that in a vessel, which they built by the command of God, they came round by the Gulf of Arabia, crossed the Great Pacific Ocean, and landed on the western coast of South America; that the descendants of these people had many Prophets among them, and that after they had been on this continent about a thousand years, during the progress of which they had become divided into two distinct nations, they fell into great wickedness, and that God threatened them with overthrow; the people of one of these nations were called Lamanites, from Laman, one of the colony which came out of Jerusalem; that the people of the other nation were called Nephites, taking their name from Nephi, the brother of Laman; that between three and four centuries after Christ these two nations occupied the two great wings of this continent, the Lamanites occupying South America, and the Nephites North America; but the Nephites, at that time, having apostatized from the religion of their fathers, and many of them having become exceedingly wicked, the Lord threatened them with an overthrow. And he commanded one of the last Prophets, named Mormon, to make an abridgment of all the records of former Prophets who had been raised up on this land, an abridgment of the history of the nation from the time that they left Jerusalem until that time. He did so, and committed the abridged record, written on plates of gold, into the hands of another Prophet, his son Moroni. The original records, from which the abridgment was made, were hid up by Mormon in a hill called Cumorah, in the interior of what is now called the State of New York, but the abridgment was still in possession of the Prophet Moroni. About this time, or a little before this time, there had been a fifty years war between the inhabitants of North and South America; and finally the Lamanites of South America drove the Nephites from the Isthmus, and continued to burn their towns, cities and villages, and they destroyed hundreds and thousands of the Nephites; and ultimately they were driven into what we now call the State of New York. Three hundred and eighty years after the birth of Christ they entered into terms of peace, or, in other words, an armistice, for the space of four years, during which time the two nations gathered together all their forces into one vicinity, near the hill Cumorah. And when the four years of peace, or armistice, had expired, they came together in battle, in which the Nephites were overpowered, and hundreds of thousands of them killed, including women and children. Moroni, who was among the few Nephites who were spared, and in whose possession was the abridgment which had been made by his father, Mormon, was commanded to hide up that abridgment in the hill Cumorah, near the town of Manchester, Ontario County, State of New York. The Lord commanded him not only to hide up the record, but also to deposit with it the Urim and Thummim, an instrument used by the ancient seers who dwelt on this Continent. The Lord promised Moroni that, in the latter days, he would bring forth that book out of the ground, that it should whisper out of the dust; that it should speak unto the living as if it were from the dead, and when he should bring it forth this Urim and Thummim, deposited with it, should enable the finder to translate it into the language of the people who should then inherit the land.

I have now given you a brief statement of these things, in substance, as they were taught by the angel of God who administered to Joseph Smith in September, 1823. After giving this instruction the angel disappeared; and as Mr. Smith continued to pray and call upon the name of the Lord, the angel appeared the second time, and made the same narration in relation to the Lamanites and Nephites as he made on his first visit. When conversing with Mr. Smith about these records, the vision of his mind was opened so that he was enabled to see where the records were deposited, and he was told by the angel that, if he would be faithful and do according to the commandments of the Lord his God, he, in due time, should have the privilege of bringing the records forth, and that he should translate them for the benefit of the people.

The angel again departed, and Mr. Smith, being unable to go to sleep, continued to pray, and the vision was renewed again; the angel, on his third visit, not only reiterating his previous statement, but also declaring many things that were then in the future in relation to the marvelous work and wonder which the Lord was about to perform upon the earth. When he had withdrawn for the third time, daylight began to appear in the east, and Mr. Smith had not slept the whole night; but he nevertheless went to work with his father in the field, at their usual early hour. But the visions of the night wrought upon his mind to that degree, that his natural strength began to fail, and his father, noticing that he looked pale, advised him to return at once to the house. He started to do so, but had only gone part of the way, when he again saw the light in the heavens, and the angel of God came down and stood before him, and commanded him to return to his father, and relate the visions of the previous night to him. He did so; and the old man commanded his son to be obedient to the heavenly messenger, believing with all his heart that the vision was from the Almighty. On this last occasion the angel told Mr. Smith to go to the hill Cumorah, which had been shown to him in vision the previous night, which was about three miles from his father’s house, and there he should have the privilege of beholding the records. He, after having spoken to his father, accordingly went, and beheld the records. He knew the place as soon as he saw it. He saw the crowning stone of the stone box that covered the records. It was oval in form, and was partially bare, the edges being under the sod. He immediately removed the turf that covered the edges of this stone, and, with a lever, succeeded in lifting off the upper stone, which was cemented to four others, in the form of a box, within which he saw the plates and the Urim and Thummim. He was about to put forth his hand to take the plates, when lo! the angel of God appeared again, and told him that the time had not fully come for these records to come forth; that he (Joseph) was yet inexperienced, and needed strength, and that if he would be obedient to the commands which he would give to him, and which the Lord would impart from time to time, he should, in due time, be permitted to receive these records, commanding him at the same time to come there one year from that date, and that he would appear again to him, and give him further instructions; and thus he should do from year to year, until he should receive the plates, provided that he should prove himself worthy before God; for the angel said unto him, that these plates could not be obtained by any person for speculative purposes; that they contained records that were sacred, prophecies and doctrines that were written by ancient Prophets, and that the Lord God had promised that these prophecies and revelations should go forth to all people, nations and tongues, and that they could not be entrusted with anyone to get gain.

From that time, Mr. Smith, on the 22nd of September each year, continued to visit this place, until the year 1827, he being then not quite twenty-two years old. On the morning of the 22nd of September, in the year 1827, the angel of the Lord permitted him to take these records, with the Urim and Thummim, and he carried them to his father’s house. The people in that neighborhood, having learned about these things, sought by every means in their power—by persecution, mobs, and every other means that they could bring to bear, to find these plates and take them from him. But the Lord gave him directions, through the Urim and Thummim, what he should do with the plates, where he should hide them, and gave him all the information that was necessary to keep them out of the hands of the mobs.

Finally, the persecution became so great, that this young man was obliged to leave his father’s house, and proceed to the Susquehanna River, in Pennsylvania, and there he commenced to transcribe or make a facsimile of some of the characters or words that were written on these metallic plates; and the transcript, then made, was taken by a man named Martin Harris to the city of New York, and exhibited to the learned, to see if they could translate them. Remember, it was not the plates that were taken to the learned, but it was the words of the book, transcribed from the plates, and the learned were requested to read them. But Mr. Harris could not succeed in finding any person who was able to translate them; although he found one man—Professor Anthon—well known through the United States, and in European nations, as a great linguist, who said that he would assist, according to his best ability and judgment, in translating the transcript presented to him by Mr. Harris, and he gave a written promise to that effect. “But,” said he, “where did you get these records?” Mr. Harris informed him that they had been revealed by an angel of God to a young man named Joseph Smith. Mr. Anthon then said to Mr. Harris, “Give me that paper I have given you.” Mr. Harris handed it back to him, and he tore it in pieces, saying—“There is no such thing as the ministering of angels in these days, but bring the record here, and we will see what we can do in relation to assisting in translating it.” Mr. Harris replied that a part of the record was sealed, and that only one portion of it was permitted to be translated at the present time. This learned man said—“I cannot read a sealed book,” thus fulfilling the words I have read—“And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, ‘Read this I pray thee,’ and he saith, ‘I cannot for it is sealed, I cannot read a sealed book.’” The next verse says—“And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying—“Read this I pray thee;” and he saith—‘I am not learned.’”

When Martin Harris reported to this boy, what the learned had said, and how they had proceeded in relation to this matter, the Lord God commanded this young man to translate the record himself, through the aid of the Urim and Thummim. But he made this excuse—“I am not learned.” And the Lord answered him in the very words of Isaiah, as recorded in the next verse—“Wherefore the Lord said, inasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, and have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men, therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” That is the answer that the Lord made this young man, commanding him to read the book.

It was marvelous that a man who did not possess the ordinary education, obtained in the common schools of the country, and who could barely read, and could write but very little; a man who had only read the bible a very little, and who knew but little about the various theological doctrines of the day; I say that for such a man to be called of the Lord God, and commanded to translate from an ancient record and to bring forth a book for the benefit of all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, was marvelous in the extreme, and it did literally cause the wisdom of the wise to perish. “And I will raise forts against them, they shall be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust,” &c.

Now this record is as if one spoke from the dead; it is the voice of the ancient dead Prophets who once inhabited this great continent; it is the voice of the dead to the living, a warning voice, the everlasting Gospel in all its plainness and purity, speaking out of the ground, whispering out of the dust, just as this passage of Scripture declares. Not the book, but the words of the book were sent to the learned; and, lastly, the book itself was commanded to be translated by the unlearned. All this is marvelous.

The eighteenth verse, which I read, says—“And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book.” What book? We answer, the one that the Prophet had been speaking of, the one that was to speak out of the ground, and that was to be translated by the unlearned. “In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”

This book, that has thus been marvelously translated, is for the benefit of the meek and the poor among men. When Jesus came in ancient days, and preached the Gospel to the learned and the unlearned, we are told that on one occasion, the disciples of John came and asked him if he was the true Messiah, or should they look for another? And he said unto them—“Go and tell John that the dead are raised, that the blind see, and that the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” So, in these latter days, when the Lord God causes a book to come forth out of the ground, and to whisper from the dust, it is for the benefit of the poor among men, and they are to rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Has this ever been fulfilled literally? It has. We have lifted up our voices for forty-four years and upwards among the inhabitants of this nation, and also for many years among the inhabitants of other nations, bearing testimony to all people that the Lord God has sent his angel, according to the promise made in the fourteenth chapter of the Revelation of St. John, flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people that dwell upon the face of the earth. We have borne testimony, faithfully and diligently without purse or scrip, for these many years among the inhabitants of the earth, to the rich as well as the poor. But the rich will not obey it; no, they have their riches to look after. One says—“I have a yoke of oxen that I have just bought, I must go and try them.” Another says—“I have invested so many hundred thousand dollars in merchandise, I must attend to that.” Another says—“I have some other business, I must look after that.” But the poor among men, whose hearts are pure and meek because of the oppression that they have received from the monopolist, and from the rich, are humble, and they receive this work, hence they have gathered out from among the various nations, where they are no longer oppressed or under taskmasters, and have accumulated homes of their own, and lands, and flocks and herds of their own, which neither they nor their fathers in the old countries inherited from generation to generation. The poor among men, when they shall hear the words of the book, shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

To show more fully the time when this book should be brought to light, let me say that it is a latter-day work, and to prove it, I will read the following verses. “The poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel, for the terrible one is brought to naught, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off; all that make a man an offender for a word, or that lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, or that turn aside the just for a thing of naught.” All these are to be cut off. When? When they have heard the words of this book, when the proclamation has been sounded in their ears. When they are become fully ripened in iniquity, they will be cut off according to the declaration of the Prophet Isaiah. But their times must first be fulfilled; their fulness must come in, before these terrible judgments and destructions shall lay waste the nations of the Gentiles. But is there no hope for Israel, when this book comes forth? When I speak of Israel I mean the literal Israel, the descendants of the twelve tribes, whose fathers inherited ancient Palestine. Is there no hope for them when this great and marvelous work shall be accomplished? We will read the next verse. “Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob. Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale; but when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.”

It seems then, that Jacob was to be scattered and dispersed, and made ashamed, his face was to wax pale, and he be counted a hiss and a byword among the people, until the set time should arrive, until God should rise up in his majesty and power in the latter days, and should set his hand according to the words of the Prophets, a second time to recover his people from the four corners of the earth. And when he should commence this great work, he would bring forth the words of them that have slumbered in the dust, should whisper out of the ground, and their speech should be low out of the dust; and Israel, after that time, should no longer be made ashamed, neither should their faces wax pale. Why? Because they must be gathered from the four quarters of the earth by means of that book.

There is another object expressed in the next verse, the last verse of the chapter, for the bringing forth of this book. “And they also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.” How many hundreds of thousands of good, upright, moral people among all the nations of Christendom, have erred in spirit because of the false doctrines that have been promulgated, from generation to generation, in their midst; doctrines of form without any power? Doctrines that exclude all communications with the heavens, that shut up the voice of the Almighty in continued silence; that closed up the heavens as brass over their heads; that proclaimed in all their creeds, articles of faith, and discipline, that the Bible contained all that God would ever reveal to the children of men. Millions have erred in spirit because of these doctrines; others have murmured because of them, and have found fault, and said, “How can we know the true doctrine, or the true church, when we find several hundred all teaching different, each one going his own way, each proclaiming his own dogma, creed and discipline? Contradicting and quarrelling with one another? Christian nations fighting against Christian nations,” etc. They have murmured about it; and many have begun to think that there is nothing in revealed religion. It has made thousands on thousands of infidels; and it is not to be wondered at; for instead of taking the Bible as their guide, and comparing ancient Christianity with the truth, they have taken this Babel of confusion, called modern Christianity, and have asked if that could be from heaven? And they do not believe in it. They do not believe that God is the author of confusion, and they have murmured, contended and complained. But when this book should come forth, “they that murmured should learn doctrine, and they that erred in spirit should come to understanding.” How? In what way? Because this book, translated from those plates, contains the doctrine of Christ in such perfect plainness, that no two persons who read that doctrine disagree in relation to it. It is plain, and easy to be understood. For instance, let me mention in relation to one ordinance about which there is much contention among the sects of Christendom, namely the ordinance of baptism. One says it must be by pouring, another by sprinkling, another by immersion; a fourth says you must be baptized three times, once in the name of the Father, once in the name of the Son, and then in the name of the Holy Ghost. And thus they quarrel, and contend, and have their different views about that one doctrine.

Now, when you take up the Book of Mormon, and read, in the latter part of the book, concerning this ordinance, you find that our Lord and Savior, after his resurrection, descended to the northern part of what we call South America, and stood in the midst of a large congregation of people who saw him descend, and who also beheld the wounds in his hands and in his feet, and they heard him teach his gospel, and he commanded them that they should no more offer sacrifices and burnt offerings on this American continent, as their fathers had been accustomed to do, but that they should do away with these things. And he taught them his gospel, and commanded them to believe and repent with all their hearts, and to come down into the depths of humility, like little children, and be baptized in his name for the remission of their sins, and promised them, if they would do so, that they should be filled with the Holy Ghost. And he called twelve disciples on this American continent, the same as he called twelve apostles in ancient Palestine. And after he had called and ordained these twelve disciples, he commanded them to baptize all penitent believers, and he gave them the pattern, saying unto them—“You shall go down and stand in the water and, in my name, you shall baptize them. And now, behold, these are the words which you shall say, calling them by name—’Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen,’ and then shall ye immerse them in the water, and shall come forth again out of the water. And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name, for behold the Father and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one,” etc.

Now, let me ask, who could draw any two conclusions from words as plain as these? No person could; and there could be no two churches differing, or built up upon the principle of baptism as here revealed. So it is in regard to every other point of doctrine relating to the plan of salvation revealed in this book; they are all just as plain as the one to which I have called your attention. Hence, when people understand, and comprehend by the power of the Holy Ghost, that this record is divine, and when they can once put their confidence in it as such, they never after that need be at a loss concerning the points of the doctrine of our Lord and Savior. “They that erred in spirit shall come to understanding; they that murmured shall learn doctrine.”

Again he says—“The deaf shall hear the words of the book.” Has this been literally fulfilled, or must it be spiritualized? “The eyes of the blind shall also see out of obscurity and out of darkness in that day.” Does this mean those who are blind spiritually, or does it mean literally? I think it means both. Those who have been blind spiritually are seeing out of obscurity and out of darkness, and those who have been deaf spiritually are beginning to hear. But this is not the entire meaning. Do not the greater part of this congregation, now sitting before me, know of a surety that the Lord God has, since he sent forth the proclamation of this Gospel among the people, caused the eyes of the blind—those blind physically, born blind—to be opened? Do they not know that the ears of some who were so deaf that they could not hear the loudest sound have been literally opened? Yes; you know this, for it has been done in the four quarters of the earth. Not in some obscure corner, where a few individuals have seen it, but among the nations and kingdoms where this gospel has been preached; therefore, the Lord God has indeed fulfilled, to the very letter, these predictions, uttered by the ancient prophets in relation to the great work that should be performed on the earth in the latter days, when he should bring forth this book, and should cause the earth, as it were, to open and bring forth salvation.

This agrees with the testimony of David the Prophet; for not only Isaiah, but David says, in the 85th Psalm, when enquiring about the long captivity of Jacob—“Lord wilt thou not bring back the captivity of Jacob, that Israel may rejoice, and that thy people may be glad?” The Lord, in answering this prayer of David, tells him how he will do it. Says he—“I will cause truth to spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven, and they shall go before us, to set us in the way of his steps.” Yes, by bringing forth this work out of the earth, and by raising up his church, by the divine authority which he restored again, and by pouring out the Holy Ghost from heaven, by sending down righteousness from heaven, and by truth, which has sprung forth out of the earth, the Lord has set us again in the way of his steps. And Israel will truly be made glad, and the house of Jacob, when this work shall go forth to them, will no longer be made ashamed.

This agrees with another prophecy, where the Prophet Isaiah, in looking after the consolation and redemption of Jacob in the last days, says—“Let the skies pour down righteousness, and let the earth open and bring forth salvation. It seems then that the earth was to bring forth truth and salvation, and the skies at the same time were to pour down the blessings of eternity upon the heads of the people, and by this means the Lord God would save the nations of the earth, and redeem Israel from the four quarters thereof. But alas! for the wicked in that day. Let us see what is to become of them. I have already quoted one passage stating that they were to be cut off in a terrible manner, and be brought to naught, the scorner being consumed, and all that watch for iniquity being cut off. Let us read another passage, in this same 29th chapter—“The multitude of all nations that fight against Zion shall be as a hungry man who dreameth and behold he eateth, but he waketh and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth and behold he drinketh, but he waketh, and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite. So shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.”

Has that ever been fulfilled upon the nations of the earth? It does not matter how many of them there are, they are in the hands of the Almighty, and by the blast of his nostrils they can be consumed, and swept away by the breath of his lips, and they will become like a hungry or a thirsty man who dreams that he has something to eat or to drink, and behold it is all disappointment; for he wakes and his soul is thirsty and hath appetite. So it will be with all people that fight against the great latter-day work; for, saith the same Prophet, “they shall be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake, with great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.” It will be a day not of destruction by a flood of waters, but by various judgments, ending with the flame of devouring fire, which will sweep the earth, and destroy the wicked out of it. Behold the day will come, and is close at hand, when Malachi’s prophecy will be fulfilled, that shall burn as an oven; when all the proud and they that do wickedly shall become as stubble, and they shall be burned up, saith the Lord of hosts. That day shall leave them neither root nor branch. No branches of the wicked left, no roots left among the nations, but the earth, and all the fulness thereof, will be given into the hands of the Saints of the Most High, as was predicted by Daniel the Prophet, that “the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, shall be given into the hands of the Saints of the Most High.” A King shall reign in righteousness in those days and his name shall be the Lord of Hosts, Jesus of Nazareth, the great Messiah. The King of kings and Lord of lords will reign over the nations in those days, as he now reigns king of Saints. And behold this is the preparatory work. This book that has now come forth will be sounded among the various nations and kingdoms of the earth. They who hear the words thereof, and repent of their sins, and turn away from all unrighteousness, and will receive the fulness of the everlasting gospel, will be gathered together, and the sons and daughters of God will come from the ends of the earth, even every one that is called by his name.

We might go on still further, but this is sufficient for the time being. Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Meetinghouse, at Lehi City, Sunday Afternoon, August 9, 1874.

There are a few ideas and reflections that I wish to give to the people. I shall have to make my remarks brief in order to be prepared for our journey northward. You hear a good deal from time to time, and you think a good deal, about the condition of the Latter-day Saints, and what we are trying to do with them concerning the United Order. I wish you to understand that this is no new revelation; it is the order of the kingdom where God and Christ dwell; it has been from eternity and will be to eternity, without end, consequently we have nothing particularly new to offer you, but we have the commandments that have been from the beginning. With regard to those who wish to have new revelation they will please to accommodate themselves and call this a new revelation. On this occasion I will not repeat any– thing particular in respect to the language of revelation, further than to say—Thus saith the Lord unto my servant Brigham, Call ye, call ye, upon the inhabitants of Zion, to organize themselves in the Order of Enoch, in the New and Everlasting Covenant, according to the Order of Heaven, for the furtherance of my kingdom upon the earth, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the salvation of the living and the dead.

You can accommodate yourselves by calling this a new revelation, if you choose; it is no new revelation, but it is the express word and will of God to this people.

How many do you think would like and have hearts to enter into this Order? Let me ask you a question. You sisters as well as the brethren who have read the Bible and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, whether you have read the Book of Mormon and the sermons or not, who is there among you who does not know and understand that the people called the Saints of the Most High, or the disciples of the Lord Jesus, must be of one heart and of one mind? I do not think there are any of you who do not know, feel and understand this just as I do, and yet perhaps you do not realize it. We can see that it does not sit upon the hearts and take hold of the affections of the people; it does not break up every particle of the fallow ground of their hearts so that they can receive this into their affections and bring forth fruit to the glory of God. If those now before me, brethren and sisters, who profess to be Latter-day Saints, were of one heart and of one mind in the sense of the Scripture that is given to us, revealed in days of old and in our day, we never should have to say to them—Pay your Tithing; but the feeling of every heart, and the language of everyone who has come to years of discretion would be if there is a Temple to be built—“What can I do to forward this Temple? Do you want my work? I have abundance for my family to eat, they are capable of clothing themselves with a little help from me, I can spend all my time;” and the sisters would say—“We can make the stockings and the shirts, and we can make up the cloth, if you will give it to us, for the hands, and we can make their hats and, if necessary, we can make their shoes.” If this was in the hearts and affections of the people it would no longer be Tithing alone, but the inquiry would be—“What do you want? We have abundance.”

We ask nothing but the labor of the people, and if the Latter-day Saints felt the importance of the mission that is upon them, and of fulfilling the requirements of heaven that are resting upon them, you would see Temples rising here like magic; it would be nothing but a breakfast spell for us to build a Temple. How do you think those feel who do understand the mind and will of the Lord, and view the condition of the Latter-day Saints as it really is? Unless you see it by the Spirit, you know nothing about it.

We can say to the Latter-day Saints, it is the mind and will of God that we organize according to the best plans and patterns and system that we can get for the present. We can do this, and thus far give to the Latter-day Saints the mind and will of the Lord; but we cannot make a man or a woman yield to the will of God unless they are disposed to. I can plant, I can water, but I cannot give the increase; I cannot cause the wheat and corn to grow. It is true I can break up and prepare the ground and cast the seed therein, but I cannot cause it to grow, that can only be done by the people having willing hearts, ready minds, and a disposition to go forth with a firm determination and a willing hand to build up the kingdom. I will do my part—I have done it. Brother Erastus Snow has made certain eulogistic remarks about my career in the Church, but I will say this with regard to Brother Brigham—I do not know anything about what he has earned, I never inquired about that or about what he deserves. All I have to do is to take good care of everything that the Lord gives me, improve upon every means of grace and every talent he gives me, improve upon the visions of the Spirit and speak the word of the Lord to the people. My mind has been and it is today, that there is not an Elder in all Israel that can do his duty in declaring the things of God to the na– tions of the earth unless he declares those truths by the power of revelation. He must speak by the power of God or he does not magnify his calling. The theory of our religion will not answer the purpose of saving us. I can call upon the people, but will they organize themselves? Some inquire, “Is this exactly the order that the Lord requires? It is just exactly what the Lord requires.”

I will say to you with regard to the kingdom of God on the earth—Here is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized with its rules, regulations and degrees, with the quorums of the holy Priesthood, from the First Presidency to the teachers and deacons; here we are, an organization. God called upon Joseph, he called upon Oliver Cowdery, then others were called through Joseph, the Church was organized, he with his two counselors comprised the First Presidency. In a few years the Quorum of the Twelve was organized, the High Council was organized, the High Priests’ quorum was organized, the Seventies’ quorums were organized, and the Priests’ quorum, the Teachers’ quorum and the Deacons’. This is what we are in the habit of calling the kingdom of God. But there are further organizations. The Prophet gave a full and complete organization to this kingdom the Spring before he was killed. This kingdom is the kingdom that Daniel spoke of, which was to be set up in the last days; it is the kingdom that is not to be given to another people; it is the kingdom that is to be held by the servants of God, to rule the nations of the earth, to send forth those laws and ordinances that shall be suitable and that shall apply themselves to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; that will apply themselves to the mother Church, “the holy Catholic Church;” they will commend themselves to every Protestant Church upon the earth; they will commend themselves to every class of infidels, and will throw their protecting arms around the whole human family, protecting them in their rights. If they wish to worship a white dog, they will have the privilege; if they wish to worship the sun they will have the privilege; if they wish to worship a man they will have the privilege, and if they wish to worship the “unknown God” they will have the privilege. This kingdom will circumscribe them all and will issue laws and ordinances to protect them in their rights—every right that every people, sect and person can enjoy, and the full liberty that God has granted to them without molestation.

Can you understand me? This Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized for the building up of this Church alone; it is not for the building up of Catholicism, it is not for promoting any or all of the dissentients from the Mother Church, it is alone for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for no other body of people. When we organize according to these laws and ordinances we make this people one, but we do not bring in the Methodists, Presbyterians or Calvinists, they are independent of themselves. But the kingdom of God, when it is established and bears rule, will defend the Methodists in their rights just as much as Latter-day Saints, but it will not allow them to infringe upon the rights of their neighbors; this will be prohibited. These sects may want to afflict the Saints just as now; they may want to persecute each other just as they now do; they may want to bring everybody to their standard just as they do now. But the kingdom of God, when it is set up upon the earth, will be after the pattern of heaven, and will compel no man nor woman to go contrary to his or her conscience. They would compel us to go contrary to our consciences, wouldn’t they? I recollect when there were but few Methodists, when they were poor, and when there was scarcely a college-bred minister on the continent of America in the Methodist Church. I recollect them in their infancy, but what would they do now? Then they were persecuted, and thought they bore a great deal for Christ’s sake. Perhaps they did.

Now I want to give you these few words—the kingdom of God will protect every person, every sect and all people upon the face of the whole earth, in their legal rights. I shall not tell you the names of the members of this kingdom, neither shall I read to you its constitution, but the constitution was given by revelation. The day will come when it will be organized in strength and power. Now, as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we work our way along the best we can. Can you understand this?

A few words upon the organization of this United Order. We regret that we are not in a capacity to make our own laws pertaining to our domestic affairs as we choose; if we were in a State capacity we could do so. The legislature could then pass laws by which we would have the right to deed our property to the Church, to the Trustee-in-Trust, if we chose, or in any other way the people would like to deed their property to God and his kingdom. But we cannot do this now, we are not a State. We are in the capacity of servants now, where we have to bow to the whims and caprices of the ignorant, and to the prejudice of willful, ignorant sectarianism; consequently we are under the necessity of getting up our constitution or the articles of our association so that they will agree with existing statutes and be legal, that we can carry on business as we wish without being infringed upon or molested by anybody.

Some have complained, and say—“This does not incorporate the whole, we want articles of agreement under which we can give all that we have got.” Let me say to you that our articles of confederation, agreement or association will allow us to deed every particle of property that we have got to this cooperative institution—our houses, farms, sheep, cattle, horses, our labor, our railroad stock, bank stock, factories, and everything that we have we can deed to the trustees of this association. Whatever you have here in Lehi that you wish to deed over to those you have selected to be a board of trustees you can deed to them to take the supervision of it, and then you will put it out of the hands perhaps of unruly froward children and spendthrifts, and do good by so doing. And if you can put in every particle of your property, and have this governed and controlled by the best men you have here, why not do this just as well as to deed it to George A. Smith, the Trustee-in-Trust? Does not this answer every purpose? It does. Look at the reason of it if you wish to. If it is the word and the wish and the will of the organization here to deed only part of the property, I expect they will take the liberty of doing so; but this would not suit me. If I had property here in this place I should wish to deed every particle of it to this association. I wish to deed every particle of my property in Provo, just as quick as there is an opportunity, and have it done in a way that it will be beneficial to the people. I am laboring under a certain embarrassment and so are many others, with regard to deeding property, and that is to find men who know what to do with property when it is in their hands. I will relate a circumstance here, which I related to some of the brethren the other day. There was a very excellent good man in this Church who found it very hard to get along with his large family. He received a very fine present, for which he was very thankful to the donor; but after it was given to him, he said he did not know what to do with the elephant now that he had got it. He called his present an “elephant” on his hands; he could not plow with him, he could not ride him to meeting, he could not harness him to a carriage, and in fact he could not do anything with him, the “elephant” was too large for him to handle. When this factory at Provo can go into the hands of men who know what to do with it, it will go; when my factory in Salt Lake County can go into the hands of men who know what to do with it, it will go. There is my beloved brother James W. Cummings, who has worked my factory ten or twelve years; he counts himself A No. 1 in all financial business. I have offered the factory to him and his workmen on the cooperative system, in the order that we wish to adopt. I said to him—“Take it and manage it, you are welcome.” Said he—“If I only had plenty of money to furnish it I suppose I could do it.” Have not I furnished it without money? Yes, I had not the first sixpence to begin with. I furnished my factories, and I have built what I have built without asking how much they cost, or where I was to get the money to do it. When we find somebody that knows what to do with property, somebody who knows how to handle the “elephant,” we will give them charge of it. If I had him I would make the “elephant” get down on his knees to me and keep him there until I allowed him to get up, and then teach him to get up with his burden on his back, and carry it where I said. As quick as we can find men who know what to do with the “elephants” we will put the “elephants” into their hands; but here, as elsewhere, you will find, in all these business transactions, that the greatest difficulty will be to find men who know what to do with money or means when they have it. Can you understand this? I want to say to you who have a little money, a farm or other property, seek first to know where God wants you to put that property. That is the word of the Lord to you. Hearken and hear it, men and women, seek to know where God wants you to put it, and if it is into a factory where you will not get a farthing for ten years, put it there, and in the end the Lord will bring out more means to you than if you let it out at twenty four percent. You will make by it. “How do you know, brother Brigham?” I know by my own experience; my character and my life have shown that from the first time I had fifty cents after I came into the Church my first desire was to know what to do with it. In the days of Joseph where we lived and worked, it was harder then to get fifty cents than it is for a poor man to get a hundred dollars now, but if Joseph came along, and said—“Brigham, have you got fifty cents?” “Yes, I have.” “I want it.” “You can have it always and forever.” If it was a hundred dollars, or two hundred dollars, he had it, and had it freely, and I never asked for it again. And if ever I could work at home and get fifty cents in money to buy a little molasses for my family to sop their johnny cake in, if Joseph wanted it he always had it, and I got rich by it, and I can say so of all who take the same course; while the covetous, those who are striving continually to build themselves up in the things of this life, will be poor indeed; they will be poor in spirit and poor in heavenly things.

You have heard me say, a great many times, that there is not that man or woman in this Church, and there never was and never will be, who turn up their noses at the counsel that is given them from the First Presidency, but who, unless they repent of and refrain from such conduct, will eventually go out of the Church and go to hell, every one of them; and I expect one thing will be true that Joseph said when living. A gentleman came to see him and asked him a great many questions, and among the rest he said—“I suppose you calculate that you are just right, and that you “Mormons” are all going to be saved and everybody else will be damned.” Said Joseph, “Sir, I will tell you this one thing, all the rest of the world will be damned, and I expect that most of the “Mormons” will be unless they do better than they have done.” The man did not stop for an explanation. What Joseph meant by being damned was that people will go into the spirit world without the Priesthood, and consequently they are under the power of Satan, and will have to be redeemed, or else they will be forever under his power. That is all there is about that.

Now Latter-day Saints, I want to say this to you, when a man lifts his heel against the counsel that we give him, I know that man will apostatize, just as sure as he is a living being, unless he repents and refrains from such conduct. Brother George A. Smith has been reading a little out of the revelation concerning celestial marriage, and I want to say to my sisters that if you lift your heels against this revelation, and say that you would obliterate it, and put it out of existence if you had the power to nullify and destroy it, I say that if you imbibe that spirit and feeling, you will go to hell, just as sure as you are living women. Emma took that revelation, supposing she had all there was; but Joseph had wisdom enough to take care of it, and he had handed the revelation to Bishop Whitney, and he wrote it all off. After Joseph had been to Bishop Whitney’s he went home, and Emma began teasing, for the revelation. Said she—“Joseph, you promised me that revelation, and if you are a man of your word you will give it to me.” Joseph took it from his pocket and said—“Take it.” She went to the fire-place and put it in, and put the candle under it and burnt it, and she thought that was the end of it, and she will be damned as sure as she is a living woman. Joseph used to say that he would have her hereafter, if he had to go to hell for her, and he will have to go to hell for her as sure as he ever gets her.

You sisters may say that plural marriage is very hard for you to bear. It is no such thing. A man or woman who would not spend his or her life in building up the kingdom of God on the earth, without a companion, and travel and preach, valise in hand, is not worthy of God or his kingdom, and they never will be crowned, they cannot be crowned; the sacrifice must be complete. If it is the duty of a husband to take a wife, take her. But it is not the privilege of a woman to dictate the husband, and tell who or how many he shall take, or what he shall do with them when he gets them, but it is the duty of the woman to submit cheerfully. Says she—“My husband does not know how to conduct himself, he lacks wisdom—he does not know how to treat two wives and be just.” That all may be true, but it is not her prerogative to correct the evil, she must bear that; and the woman that bears wrong—and any number of them do in this order—patiently, will be crowned with a man far above her husband; and the man that is not worthy, and who does not prove himself worthy before God, his wife or wives will be taken from him and given to another, so the women need not worry. It is the man who has need to worry and watch himself, and see that he does right. Where is the man who has wives, and all of them think he is doing just right to them? I do not know such a man; I know it is not your humble servant. If I would only be dictated by women I should make a hell of it; but I cannot be, I can humor them and treat them kindly, but I tell them I shall do just what I know to be right, and they may help themselves the best they can. I do not say that in so many words, but that is what I mean, and I let them act it out.

It is time to close this meeting. I say to the brethren and sisters, peace be with you, and may God bless you. If you walk humbly before Him so as to enjoy his Spirit, it will lead into all truth. I have one little sermon to the Bishops, Bishop Young and all the rest of them, and to the Elders. I want to see a pattern set for this holy order, and, I give to each one of them a mission to go and call together five, ten, twenty or fifty families, and organize a complete organization, and show the rest of us how to live.

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered at the Funeral Services of Elder Thomas Williams, in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July 19, 1874.

We are met this morning to attend to one of those ceremonies that are intimately connected with hu– man existence. People generally feel reflective on sorrowful occasions like the present, and there is some– thing about the manner in which this, our beloved brother, was taken from us, that rather tends to increase this feeling of commiseration, not for the departed, but for his family, friends and associates. Taken away in the bloom of life and health, without a moment’s warning, snatched off in the face of his family and ushered, as it were, immediately from this world into another state of existence, it produces feelings that are more easily imagined than described. However, my ideas in relation to this matter are that so long as we are prepared to live or to die, so long as we are living in the fear and favor of the Almighty, so long as we are fulfilling the various obligations, duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us, it is a matter of very little importance how or in what manner we leave this world and go into another. It is appointed for man once to die, and we cannot evade the fiat which fate has decreed. No persons have yet been able to avoid the operations and summons of the grim monster whenever his call has been made. And when we reflect upon the position that we occupy upon the earth it is analogous, in this respect, to that of myriads of human beings who have existed before. In various parts of the world there have been a variety of opinions about the resurrection and about the state of man after death; but there has been very little difference of opinion about death itself. The myriads of human beings who have lived upon this earth have all gone in the same way, that is more or less. Some have died peaceably and quietly in their beds; others have been submerged in the ocean, and drowned far from friends and homes, some in the violent struggles of the battlefield, and some have departed this life after enduring the agony and pain of lingering disease. There are phases associated with human existence and the departure of humanity from this world that are more pleasant than others, and we should like generally, if we could have our way, to make all preparations, have everything arranged, and to leave this world, bidding adieu to our friends and companions as quietly and easily as practicable. We should all like this if we could have our own way about it. But we do not have our choice. “God moves in a mysterious way,” we are told, and the dispensations of Providence are inscrutable. Nor is it a matter of very much moment, according to my ideas, how, or in what way, we leave this world; the great object is and the great questions for us to solve are, are we prepared? Have we formed a union with God our heavenly Father? Have we obtained the forgiveness of our sins? Are we living our religion? Are we keeping the commandments of God? Have we made arrangements for our everlasting associations with beings in the eternal worlds? If we have, if this is our position, it matters but little how or when we leave this world, that must be left for the Almighty to regulate and to decide upon.

God, in his eternal decrees, has ordained that all men must die, but as to the mode and manner of our exit, as I said before, it matters very little. As part of the household and family of God, as beings associated with eternity as well as time, it behooves us to reflect, and that calmly and deliberately, upon our present position, and our relationship and standing before God our heavenly Father. These are important questions for us to solve, and if we can solve them satisfactorily, then all is right.

These events that are continually transpiring around and among us convince us of the fallacy of all earthly enjoyments as associated merely with this life. No matter what our acquirements—no matter what our talents or abilities, no matter what our wealth, position or circumstances in life, we all have to submit to the same grim monster, hence the question naturally comes to our minds, why are we thus situated? We seem attached more or less, to this world. We are struggling, and striving, and grappling and grasping to possess the things of this world. Of what use are they now to this brother whose lifeless remains lie before us? And yet our whole lives, and thoughts, and energy, and talent are generally bent on their acquisition. In a short time, the body now lying here, with whose face we have been familiar, and whose company we have enjoyed, will be lying up there, enclosed in mother earth. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, the worms preying upon his system, and his spirit gone into another state of existence. That which we see here today, will be our case in a short time. Myriads who have lived before us have gone the same way. Where are the statesmen, warriors, orators, princes, potentates, emperors, philosophers, and great men whose names are found upon the pages of history? They have gone! gone! gone! and we are all sliding down the plane of time and hurrying into eternity. This is the position of all men that ever have lived on the face of the earth. Is this our abiding place then? Is this the land of our immortal, eternal inheritance? Not until a change takes place. And what of the affairs of the earth—the baubles, tinsel, glitter and show, the empty name and ap– pearance of earthly things? Why, just as a great and very sensible man expressed himself: Said he, “When I am gone you will build a monument over me, and you will write upon it—

“Here lies the great—

but if I could rise from the tomb, and could again speak, I would say—

“False marble, where? Nothing but poor and sordid dust lies there!”

So it will be with all of us, with me with you, we shall soon all be in that position. I do not care what our hopes, aspirations or position in life may be, we have all got to go through the dark valley of the shadow of death. We have all got to appear before the tribunal of a just God to give an account of the deeds done in the body, whether those deeds have been good or evil.

And in the various changes that have taken place, in the cycles of time as they have rolled forward, and as they will continue to take place, what of the earth, what of the men who have lived and died and live again, and what of us? What are our position, ideas and prospects? We believe that God has spoken; we believe that light has emanated from the eternal worlds; we believe that God has given us revelation for our guide in time, and to prepare us for an eternal inheritance. For this the Gospel has been preached; for this the Elders of the Church and kingdom of God have gone abroad; for this we have gathered from distant lands; for this we build our Temples and our Tabernacles; for this we preach and pray daily that God may inspire our hearts with the spirit of revelation that emanates from him, and that the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, may rest upon and dwell within us, that when we get through with this time, we may be prepared, with our progenitors and our posterity, to inherit an eternal exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our God.

And what is anything without this? Do I mourn over that man? No, I do not, I feel sorry for his family, I do not mourn over him, not a particle. I would not shed a tear over him. He was a good man, a man who feared God, loved his religion, kept the commandments of God and walked humbly before him; he was a man who was honored and respected by the good, respected and honored of God and of holy angels, and it is all right with him. Do I mourn that he is taken away? No, we would like to have our good men stay among us, but perhaps they have something to do in another sphere. Perhaps the services of brother Williams are required somewhere else. There are other positions for men to occupy besides this earth. We had an existence before we came here. We came here to do a certain work. He has done his and gone. Perhaps God required him and has taken him away. All right, we will say, it is the Lord, let him do what seems him good.

In regard to ourselves, that is another thing that we have individually and personally to do with. It is all right with him, how is it with us? I talk to the living, to those who are in existence, who have their volition, who have the power of action and their reasoning faculties, and I say unto them, look where you will be in a short time, and ask yourselves are you prepared, like him, to meet your God, and to have an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of God? These are the questions that I would ask, and I would say that no matter what your position, what your wealth, what your prospects or ideas pertaining to this world, they are none of them worth anything except sanctified by God and appropriated for the building up of his kingdom and the establishment of righteousness upon the earth.

But the question is, are we the friends of God? Is God our friend? Are we living and walking in the light of his countenance? Do we feel that our spirits, feelings and consciences are right before him, that we have consciences void of offense towards God and towards man? These are some of the thoughts and reflections that we have to do with, and it is for us to think seriously, calmly and deliberately upon these things, and to act as wise, prudent, intelligent beings, that we may keep the commandments of God, live our religion and obtain an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of God when we shall have got through with the affairs of time, with which we are surrounded.

May God help us to be faithful and keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered at the Funeral Services of Elder Thomas Williams, in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July 19, 1874.

I do not wish to detain the congregation, for I realize that it is very warm and uncomfortable; but on this occasion I feel to offer a few reflections, and pray that they may be instructive to the living, and encourage us in the faith of the holy Gospel, strengthen us in the little faith that we now possess, and open up to our minds the future prospects and blessings that the Lord has in reserve for the faithful.

We call this a solemn occasion, for we have met together to pay our last respects to one who has lived with us, and with whom we have associated, and we delight to show our respect to the mortal remains of those who, in life, have been near and dear to us. But for me to address a lifeless lump of clay would be useless, while to address the living, who have ears to hear and hearts to understand, may be profitable. I requested the brethren to speak who have already addressed you, and there are more here who would like to speak on the present occasion.

The testimony that has been borne concerning the character of our beloved brother, whose body is now a lifeless mass of clay before us, is true, and more we can say than what has been said.

The scene that we are now called to witness is painful to near and dear friends—it is a scene calculated to wring the very heart—the inmost heart. Such scenes are always painful, still we witness them day by day, and when we contemplate the vast number of souls that come into existence and inhabit bodies here on this earth, and the vast number that are departing, almost every moment, it is nothing strange or new. Except this plant die it cannot be quickened; except this mortality is put off it cannot put on immortality; except this body that we have received from the earth returns to mother earth, it cannot be brought forth in the morning of the resurrection. This we know and understand; yet how strange it is, and yet we may say it is not strange, that the living, with all that they witness concerning the departure of the living to another state of existence, how few there are who lay it to heart, how few there are who profit by it, how few there are who seek unto God for wisdom, knowledge and understanding to enable them to acquit themselves well here preparatory to this change. There are some who do, but very few, and though we mourn at the loss of our friends, when our natural feelings have passed away, and our hearts have ceased to mourn, cheerfulness takes the place of these mournful feelings, and we think no more of it. This is the common condition of the children of men, those who profess to be Christians, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. They have made many inquiries with regard to this passing from one state of existence to another. It seems to be a great mystery to them. A great deal has been said and a great deal has been written, and there have been many reflections—more than has been spoken or written, and yet it is one eternal mystery to the world. Why? Because they have not eyes to see, nor ears to hear, and they do not understand the providences of God; and if they read the word of the Lord—the revelations that he has given concerning the living and the dead—they do not understand them, and so the world is left in darkness, to grope their way like the blind man by the wall. Thus it is with the children of men, taking the whole of the Christian world.

It is true the Latter-day Saints have received a little more—they have received something beyond the imagination of the heart. We have facts before us, we have experience that is satisfactory, and we can rejoice in the hope that God has given us. But if we will be prepared, as this our beloved brother was prepared, to go at a moment’s warning; if we live in this way, we live just as we should live. No person who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has a right to spend a day, an hour, or a minute of his life or her life in a manner unbecoming the profession of a Saint; they should be ready to depart this life any moment. I say that those who understand the things of God have no right, neither have they any wish, to live only so that they may enjoy the light of his Spirit, enjoy communion with God, with his son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Ghost, so that they may be instructed day by day how to walk in the path that lies before them, the path that leads to life everlasting. But how easy it is for those who profess to be Saints, to be of the earth, earthy, and to seek after and love the world, and fall into the spirit of the world. How easy it is for them to receive the spirit of the world, and to forget the spirit of salvation that has been in their hearts. If we could keep constantly in our minds and before us what we really know, what the Lord has taught us, what we have read and what we have received by the whisperings of the Spirit, this would be satisfactory; but many do not retain these things, they pass from them, and when they have passed away doubt seizes their minds, and they are at a loss to determine whether they ever understood anything or not.

In the great providences of God, in bringing forth worlds into existence, as he has this, which worlds are continually coming into existence and passing from one state to another, inhabitants come forth; every living creature that we have any knowledge of God sends forth upon the earth that he frames, there to live and to enjoy, or to endure all that his providences bring forth upon the earth, that they may have an experience, that they may be prepared for another change. These changes are taking place continually, and have been from the beginning. In the vegetable and in the mineral kingdoms, as well as in the animal kingdom, these changes are continually going on. Man comes on to this stage of action, and he is continually undergoing a change until the time of his departure. He comes here—he knows not how. We know we are here; but who is it understands how we came, and the design and purpose of our Heavenly Father in sending us here? Here is the mystery to the Christian and scientific world; they do not understand it. “Would that we could” say the inhabitants of the earth, and especially those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “How glad I should be to know where Jesus lives!” “How glad I should be to know whether I am going to him when I leave this world! But it is a mystery.” Why should it be a mystery? Because the curtain is shut down before us, and the vision of our minds is closed up for a trial for us, for us to prove ourselves, and to show whether, while passing through darkness and affliction, in ignorance and with clouds of unbelief over us, after being made acquainted with the things of God, we will persevere and be firm to our faith, and so prove ourselves worthy to receive a glorious resurrection, a change to a more exalted state of being than we can possess and enjoy here on this earth.

We are made expressly to dwell with those who continue to learn, and who receive knowledge on knowledge, wisdom on wisdom; we belong to the family of heaven. I am looking now upon a body of divinity. Every face that I see sheds forth a certain amount of the divinity I worship—my Father in heaven. Here we are, we are God’s children, and we are brought forth to give us an experience, that we may know good from evil, light from darkness; that we may know how to serve God; that we may know why and wherefore we should refuse the evil and choose the good. I ask the philosophers—and I think it is probable there are some here today—how do you prove facts? By their contrast. How do you know this or that? By its contrast. We know and prove things by their opposite; we understand the evil because the good is present with us, and the Lord sends forth his intelligent children on the face of the earth to prove whether they are worthy to dwell with him in eternity.

How frequently the question arises in the minds of the people—“I wish I knew where I was going!” Can you find out? Well, you will go into the spirit world, where brother Thomas now is. He has now entered upon a higher state of being, that is, his spirit has, than when in this body. “Why cannot I see him? Why cannot I converse with his spirit? I wish I could see my husband or my father and converse with him!” It is not reasonable that you should, it is not right that you should; perhaps you would miss the very object of your pursuit if you had this privilege, and there would not be the same trial of faith to exercise you, not so severe a path of affliction for you to walk in, not so great a battle to fight, nor so great a victory to win, and you would miss the very object you are in pursuit of. It is right just as it is, that this veil should be closed down; that we do not see God, that we do not see angels, that we do not converse with them except through strict obedience to his requirements, and faith in Jesus Christ. When we contemplate the condition of man here upon the earth, and understand that we are brought forth for the express purpose of preparing ourselves through our faithfulness to inherit eternal life, we ask ourselves where we are going, what will be our condition, what will be the nature of our pursuits in a state of being in which we shall possess more vigor and a higher degree of intelligence than we possess here? Shall we have labor? Shall we have enjoyment in our labor? Shall we have any object of pursuit, or shall we sit and sing ourselves away to everlasting bliss? These are questions that arise in the minds of people, and they many times feel anxious to know something about hereafter. What a dark valley and a shadow it is that we call death! To pass from this state of existence as far as the mortal body is concerned, into a state of inanition, how strange it is! How dark this valley is! How mysterious is this road, and we have got to travel it alone. I would like to say to you, my friends and brethren, if we could see things as they are, and as we shall see and understand them, this dark shadow and valley is so trifling that we shall turn round and look upon it and think, when we have crossed it, why this is the greatest advantage of my whole existence, for I have passed from a state of sorrow, grief, mourning, woe, misery, pain, anguish and disappointment into a state of existence, where I can enjoy life to the fullest extent as far as that can be done without a body. My spirit is set free, I thirst no more, I want to sleep no more, I hunger no more, I tire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go, I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like pain or weariness, I am full of life, full of vigor, and I enjoy the presence of my heavenly Father, by the power of his Spirit. I want to say to my friends, if you will live your religion, live so as to be full of the faith of God, that the light of eternity will shine upon you, you can see and understand these things for yourselves, that when you close your eyes upon mortality you wake up right in the presence of the Father and the Son if they are disposed to withdraw the veil, they can do as they please with regard to this; but you are in the spirit world and in a state of bliss and happiness, though we may call it Hades or hell. It is the world of spirits, it is where Jesus went, and where all go, both good and bad. The spirits of the living that depart this life go into the world of spirits, and if the Lord withdraws the veil it is much easier for us then to behold the face of our Father who is in heaven than when we are clothed upon with this mortality. I have not time at present to follow these reflections further.

Then we should be encouraged, we should strengthen our faith by our hope, we should seek unto the Lord until our hope is made perfect, that we may have power to bear like Saints all the afflictions we meet with here on the earth. If we do this, when we have crossed the dark valley of the shadow of death it will be so easy to turn round and behold the path that we have walked, wherein we have had the privilege, the same as the Gods, of learning the difference between good and evil.

You recollect that it was said in ancient days, to her that we call Mother, “Your eyes will be opened if you will eat of this fruit, and you will know as the Gods know, good from evil.” This probation is given us that we may learn this lesson, and if we are faithful in it we shall learn how to succor those who are tempted and tried as we are, when we have the power to rescue them from the ravages of the enemy.

This earth is our home, it was framed expressly for the habitation of those who are faithful to God, and who prove themselves worthy to inherit the earth when the Lord shall have sanctified, purified and glorified it and brought it back into his presence, from which it fell far into space. Ask the astronomer how far we are from the nearest of those heavenly bodies that are called the fixed stars. Can he count the miles? It would be a task for him to tell us the distance. When the earth was framed and brought into existence and man was placed upon it, it was near the throne of our Father in heaven. And when man fell—though that was designed in the economy, there was nothing about it mysterious or unknown to the Gods, they understood it all, it was all planned—but when man fell, the earth fell into space, and took up its abode in this planetary system, and the sun became our light. When the Lord said—“Let there be light,” there was light, for the earth was brought near the sun that it might reflect upon it so as to give us light by day, and the moon to give us light by night. This is the glory the earth came from, and when it is glorified it will return again unto the presence of the Father, and it will dwell there, and these intelligent beings that I am looking at, if they live worthy of it, will dwell upon this earth.

As for their labor and pursuits in eternity I have not time to talk upon that subject; but we shall have plenty to do. We shall not be idle. We shall go on from one step to another, reaching forth into the eternities until we become like the Gods, and shall be able to frame for ourselves, by the behest and command of the Almighty. All those who are counted worthy to be exalted and to become Gods, even the sons of God, will go forth and have earths and worlds like those who framed this and millions on millions of others. This is our home, built expressly for us by the Father of our spirits, who is the Father, maker, framer and producer of these mortal bodies that we now inherit, and which go back to mother earth. When the spirit leaves them they are lifeless; and when the mother feels life come to her infant it is the spirit entering the body preparatory to the mortal existence. But suppose an accident occurs and the spirit has to leave this body prematurely, what then? All that the physician says is—“it is a still birth,” and that is all they know about it; but whether the spirit remains in the body a minute, an hour, a day, a year, or lives there until the body has reached a good old age, it is certain that the time will come when they will be separated, and the body will return to mother earth, there to sleep upon that mother’s bosom. That is all there is about death.

Brother Thomas Williams is no more dead than he was a week ago. His clay is simply dead; and inasmuch as he honored this tabernacle that lies before us, it will take a sleep in the dust, to come forth immortal in the day of the first resurrection.

This will be the case with us all; if we honor our being here. This is our path, and our great object should be to honor our calling here. We have bodies which, in infancy, childhood and youth, are just as pure as the angels, and if we honor these bodies, and preserve them in chastity, purity and holiness, they are just as good as the bodies of those that dwell in endless life, and they will be prepared to come forth in the glorious resurrection, and be crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives. This is the privilege of all, and the work that the Savior has undertaken is to save all that will come unto him; none will be eternally lost except the sons of perdition; and the great work that God has brought forth in the latter days in restoring the Priesthood is for the living and for the dead, to bring them up that they may enjoy a glorious resurrection.

Brother Thomas has honored his body here, and he now goes into his glory, that is, as far as he can in the spirit world. He goes where he can do more good. He has gone where he can preach to those who have lived and died on the earth without the Gospel, that they may have the privilege of receiving and obeying it, that they may be judged according to men in the flesh, and have the privilege of a glorious resurrection.

This is the work of the Latter-day Saints, and if we are hated for anything, it is for trying to save the people; if we are persecuted it is for trying to do good to those who are living and those who are dead. I say, then, to the Saints, pursue your course, live your religion and be ready at a moment’s warning. Brother Thomas Williams, while he sat at table eating his dinner, had not the privilege of speaking a word. A blood vessel broke, and his mouth and throat were instantly filled with blood to that degree that he could not speak a word. He tried to swallow a little salt and water, and probably he got a little down, but I doubt it very much. The blood gushed most probably from both stomach and lungs. The vessels were ripe and prepared to break, and the blood within him gushed out so copiously that he never spoke another word. How could he repent of his sins if he had not been prepared? What kind of a confession could he have made if he had wished to? None at all. He could not ask a Priest to pray for him if he had wanted to do so; no, he was prepared to go; he never spoke a word, but committed his soul to God without a moment’s warning. I try to so live that my work is always done; I have done everything that can be done up to the moment, just as he did it. I wish our business men would take pattern by him who lies before us. He was our paymaster in the Parent Branch of Z.C.M.I., and attended to this Branch of the financial business of the Institution, and there was not an order that was to be paid or filed, but what he had written a description of it and pinned it on to that order before he went to his dinner. In all his business there was not one scratch of the pen wanted to be done by other clerks, but every iota was done just as much as though he had known that he was going to breathe his last in twenty minutes.

Saints, I wish you would take pattern by this man, and live your lives as he lived his life. I pray you in Christ’s stead live your religion. If you want to know whether I live mine judge by my works, judge from my daily walk and conversation. You have the right to judge, but you be sure and live so that you will know whether I do or not. I live so that I know whether you do or not, exactly. Latter-day Saints live your religion and honor your God.

I say to this family, the wives and children of brother Williams, God bless you and comfort your hearts; and I say, will you please live your religion so that you may be prepared to meet him? If you do not live so as to honor your Priesthood, you will come short of meeting him in the resurrection, I assure you. Now live your religion. God is not to be mocked, the laws of God are to be honored, and all of his ordinances and requirements are to be filled and fulfilled. He requires strict obedience of his children, and if we are not obedient we shall come short of that glory that we anticipate now.

I hope and pray that the Lord will bless you all. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Funeral Services of Elder Thomas Williams, in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July 19, 1874.

While Elder Taylor was speaking of the future condition of the departed, the words of a writer in the Book of Mormon came to my mind, and I think that, probably, reading it will be as appropriate on the present occasion, to refresh the minds of the Saints in relation to their faith, and if there should be strangers present, it will give them an idea of the faith of the Latter-day Saints in relation to the resurrection. I think, I say, it would be as appropriate as anything I could say. They are the words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, and are recorded in the second book of Nephi and sixth chapter. Speaking to a people who were there, Jacob says—

“Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children. For I know that ye have searched much, many of you, to know of things to come; wherefore I know that ye know that our flesh must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God. Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord. Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

“O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder, and all manner of secret works of darkness.

“O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. And because of the way of the deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its death; which death is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

“O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect. Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.

“And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch an they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God. And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.

“O the greatness and the justness of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled. But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.

“O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

“O how great the holiness of our God! For be knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it. And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam. And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day. And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it. Wherefore he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him. For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel.”

There is much more in this chapter of a similar character, very instructive to those who read and have faith to believe the testimony of this man.

In speaking to you, my brethren and sisters, who are familiar with the life of him whose remains are in our midst this morning, I need not say to you scarcely what our views and hopes are concerning him. We know when a man dies, inasmuch as he dies faithful to the truth, hav– ing kept the commandments of God and obeyed the ordinances of the house of God as far as they have been revealed and as he has had an opportunity, that he is secure, that his future is assured. He goes, as we are taught, to the Paradise of God, there to await the morning of the first resurrection. We know that his body will be called forth from the dust and from the tomb, and that his spirit will reanimate it, and he enter upon that glorious condition of existence concerning which so many promises have been made. In this respect the faith of the Latter-day Saints is not a chimera, it is something tangible.

While I sat here and listened to the words of our brother the reflection came across my mind—how often we are called upon to participate in sad scenes like the present, and yet throughout all this Territory, among all the Latter-day Saints, there is this peculiarity, which was not witnessed in the case of our brother because of the suddenness of his taking off; but I have never yet found, in any instance where people have been summoned hence by death, that there were death and sorrow, and feelings of pain and anguish, and dread concerning the future as I have witnessed elsewhere. In the early days of this Church God promised unto the Latter-day Saints that their deaths should be peaceful, and that the dread of death should be taken away from them, and after forty-four years’ experience we, today, and in all the years that are passed, have realized the truth of this promise.

There is something tangible about the faith which God has revealed. If I go forth believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and am baptized for the remission of my sins, and receive the Holy Ghost, I know that I have done that which God requires at my hands, and if I should die at such a time what have I to fear? If the Holy Ghost has descended upon me it is a witness and evidence to me that I have received a remission of my sins, and that the promise of God has been fulfilled to me, and that the man who administered that holy ordinance to me was an authorized servant of Jesus Christ.

That was the case with brother Williams. His testimonies were of the most remarkable character. I have heard him speak about the evidences of its truthfulness he had when he joined this Church, and I have been almost overpowered with joy that I lived in a day and age of the world when God revealed his mind and will unto man as he did in ancient days. A more powerful testimony, probably, could not be heard than has been borne so repeatedly by our deceased brother. And then what? Why the Spirit of God rested upon him and impelled him to leave his friends and his former home and associations and gather with the Saints. Did he do this because some “Mormon” Elder told him it was right to do it? No, he did this because the Spirit and power of God rested upon him and impelled him to do it. He was filled with joy and peace in obeying this commandment of God, and it was so after he came here in all the works that devolved upon him. Only the day before he died we had a long conversation about these things together, and I trust I shall never forget the spirit that rested upon him and myself while talking. Speaking about the unfaithfulness of men, he did not say in these exact words, but he conveyed the idea to me that he would rather die, rather lay down his life than prove recreant to the principles of the Gospel which he had espoused, he valued them so highly, more than life and everything else on the face of the earth. He has done all that he could do. That power which God promised, or which Jesus rather gave unto Peter, when he said that he should have the power to bind on earth and it should be bound in heaven, and the power to loose on earth and it should be loosed in heaven, has been exercised in behalf of our deceased brother. He took a wife and she was sealed to him by the power of the holy Priesthood, and he entered into this holy ordinance and obeyed celestial marriage as it was revealed to him in the fullness of his faith, although it was a trial to him. But he was impelled to do so by the power which rested down upon him, and he knew he did that which was right. He went forward in obedience to the commandments, putting his trust in God, and I know, as he knew and still knows, though gone behind the veil, that he has secured to himself, so far as his own works could secure, through the grace and atonement of Jesus Christ, his eternal exaltation in the presence of God our heavenly Father.

It is not a strong assurance or hope that the Latter-day Saints have, that they will receive these blessings in the eternal worlds; but when the promise is sealed upon their heads that they shall come forth in the morning of the first resurrection and be crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives, there is a testimony from God, our eternal Father in the heavens above, which rests down upon them and confirms the truth of these words upon the soul of a faithful man or woman, and they know, when words are pronounced upon them by a man who has the authority, sealing upon them blessings, keys, thrones, principalities, powers and exaltations in the eternal kingdoms of God our Father, I say they know, by the testimony of the Spirit of God which rests down upon them at such times, that these words are not the words of men, but that they are the words of the Spirit of God inspiring that man, and that God takes a record of that ordinance in the heavens, and that it is sealed upon them and upon their children, and that they will actually come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, according to the promise, hence, there is no fear of death in the minds of the Latter-day Saints. If the stake was standing before us, prepared for our execution—if we had that faith that we should have, and which animated the Saints of God in ancient days, we would walk as calmly to that stake and be bound to it as we would walk to eat a meal of victuals, knowing that God, our heavenly Father, will bestow all the blessings that have been sealed upon us.

This was the faith which animated the ancients and sustained them in the midst of persecutions, and this is the faith that we should cherish and cultivate as a people and as individuals. Woe to the man who has lost that faith! Dreadful is his condition if he has not that faith living within him. Woe to that man, for his condition is far worse than his first condition, that is before he had these blessings sealed upon him.

My associations with our brother who has gone have been of the most tender character. I have known him as I have known a brother. Our associations have been very intimate from the day I first made his acquaintance, on the Missouri River, in 1860, until the present time. I have watched his course, and have been pleased with his faithfulness. A more amiable, more kind-spirited or more loving man I scarcely ever met. I do not know that I ever met one more so. He has been beloved by all who have known him. A modest, unobtrusive man, never setting himself forward, but faithful and diligent, performing the labors assigned to him without any parade but with the greatest devotion and zeal.

That God may bless his wives and his children, and pour out upon them the spirit of consolation, that he may preserve his little ones, that they may grow up in the truth, and tread the straight and narrow path which he has trodden to the end, and like him be crowned with glory, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.