A Lecture by President Orson Hyde, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.

Beloved Friends and Brethren—It appears to have fallen to my lot to be your speaker at this time, and to call your attention to a subject that was proposed in the former part of the day.

At the time I gave out the appointment for this evening’s meeting, my eye was fixed upon another person to deliver the lecture. I shall try to do the subject as good justice as my abilities, aided by the faith of the Saints and the Spirit of God, may enable me to do. I desire not only your candid and undivided attention, but I trust I shall also have your prayers, that the Lord may inspire me with those arguments and reasons that are well pleasing in His sight, that I may acquit myself before Him, if it may not be my good fortune to acquit myself so amply before you as my heart would desire.

While reflecting upon the subject of this evening’s lecture, those words occurred to my mind, which our Savior spake to the Jews, who considered themselves righteous, and looked upon others with distrust and disdain—in short, who looked upon others as sinners; to reprove them, he said, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

I do not know that I shall confine myself to this text particularly. Although I have repeated these words for the text, yet the text is not a guide at all times for the servant of God. It is the letter that killeth, we read, but it is the Spirit that giveth life. The Spirit of the Almighty is the agent by which His servants should ever be led.

The words contained in this Bible are merely a history of what is gone by; it was never given to guide the servant of God in the course he should pursue, any more than the words and commandments of God, given to a generation under one set of circumstances, would serve for another generation under another set of circumstances. There must be something to suggest or to draw forth the command to answer the circumstance under which we are placed at the time.

It is so with the servants of God. There is a Spirit that is ever ready, and points out, under varied and conflicting circumstances, the very course which the servants of God should pursue. The Bible is not a sufficient guide; it is only the history of the people who lived 1,800 years ago. The history of our Church in this day, presents the scenes and transactions of this people—the revelations and words of God to them; but if an individual living an hundred, or eighteen hundred, years hence, under different circumstances, were to adopt the history of this people for his guide in all things, he would not find it sufficient to answer the circumstances surrounding him.

Hence, it is the letter that killeth, and the Spirit giveth life. In the light of that celestial agent I ever hope to walk. I hope that it may be not only my helm and guide, but yours also, through all the labyrinths and windings of this mortal life, until we attain a standing upon ground celestial.

I have heard it remarked sometimes, by individuals who were not identified or connected with our Church, that if they could only be convinced that polygamy was true, they would become “Mormons” at once.

Do you believe the Bible? “Certainly I do,” says the inquirer. Did father Abraham and the ancient Patriarchs live in this relation, and practice this doctrine? You say they did. Then if what they practiced is true, you are bound to become a “Mormon,” upon your own hypothesis and reasons. But, gentlemen, if I knew that that was the all-convincing argument, and if that was the principal doctrine that alone influenced you to become a “Mormon,” I should at once say, let me never baptize such a person, let me never be the agent to bring such a person into the Church and kingdom of God.

God despises every character who would enter His Church for no other purpose than to criminally indulge his natural propensities. Then, gentlemen, do not indulge the expectation, if you should be convinced by the arguments. I may adduce in favor of the doctrine of polygamy, as it is called, that that will prove a sufficient groundwork for your faith. But where is the ground upon which to base your faith? Where shall you go to find out “Mormonism” from the foundation to the topstone, from the root to the uttermost branch in the tree? Begin at the beginning. If men wish to accomplish any work, they must begin at the beginning of that work, not in the middle of it, or at the end. I must begin at the beginning, and if I know that the first stone is laid upon a permanent foundation, I can then with safety add another to that already laid; but if I cannot lay the first stone upon ground that is solid—if I cannot lay it upon a rock, I may despair of ever rearing a fabric or superstructure that will resist the rain and winds that may be hurled against it by the power of nature. We must begin at the beginning, and not content ourselves by grasping at that which may be beautiful in illustration and enlist our attention, and begin to build upon it as a foundation. In such a case we may have branches, but we do not bear the root.

I know that this doctrine is made the subject of a great deal of ridicule. I know that the world at large who profess to be pious, or, if not pious, morally upright, look upon it as a damning sin, as a stain upon the bright escutcheon of their country, here in the very heart of the United States territory, surrounded by tall mountains; they consider it a dark spot in the country’s history. Many of the great politicians of the day view it in this point of light. Religionists are still more scrupulous—they regard it as a heinous and damning sin.

I always consider it my duty, under proper circumstances, to give a reason of the hope that is in me, with meekness and fear; and if I have imbibed a principle, and am unable to defend it upon the principles of truth, justice, equity, and true philosophy, I should consider I was walking in the dark.

Whenever truth is manifested by revelation to the servants of God, it never comes without a reason for it. When the light of revelation bursts upon the mind, it not only unfolds one principle, but many. For instance, to illustrate this idea, suppose this room were in total darkness, and we were seated as we now are, if a brilliant light were introduced in the midst of the room, it would enable us to see not only one person, but the whole multitude.

So it is with the light of revelation. When it bursts into the human mind, it not only reveals one principle, but casts a halo of light upon all connected with it. An individual thus favored, walks in the light of Jehovah’s countenance. I have a desire that in this light we may walk; and he whose eye is single, says the Savior, his whole body shall be full of light, and there is no darkness in him, nor occasion of stumbling.

What is the condition of the world at large, both religious and political, who regard us as being in the depths of sin, iniquity, and transgression? What are their customs? Go, if you please, to the large cities of every nation and clime. I have visited many of them in the four quarters of the earth, and in the islands of the sea. I have had some little experience in relation to these things, so far as common observation could give it to me, and I pretty well understand the manner of life of the world at large.

A man, for instance, who has the most riches, the man who can command the most wealth, I do not say this is the case with all, but it is the case with the majority—they not only have their wives and families with whom they publicly live and associate, but they also have in secret places their mistresses, whom they maintain not honorably, but under a cloak as it were. When by their illegitimate connections they are likely to increase their race, what means do they resort to, to save their credit, to keep their honor unsullied in the eyes of the multitude, to cover up their iniquity, hide their crimes, and smother their shame? A skillful practitioner is employed to destroy the embryo offspring. This is murder.

Nor is this the only means used to hide their shame, and save themselves from reproach. They may be successful in hiding their iniquity from the eye of man, but they cannot hide it from the eye of the Omnipotent Jehovah. Is there not a day coming when these acts will be searched out, and proclaimed abroad, and that, too, by a mind that penetrates the secret thoughts and intents of the hearts of the children of men? “What! Is there indeed such a day approaching?” Yes. It may be hid for a little season from the view of the wicked, but it is steadily approaching, and will come as a thief in the night; and those very persons, both male and female, who often throw out their anathemas against the “Mormons,” against their course, and manner of life, will be overwhelmed with it.

Then how will apply the words of our text—“Ye are they that justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is well pleasing in the sight of men is an abomination to God.” What is well pleasing in the eyes of worldly men—men devoid of principle, and destitute of the righteousness of God? It is pleasing to them to hide and smother up anything that would tend to cast reproach and infamy upon their name. The blackness of their character they seek to conceal from the public gaze, and appear good Christians, and honorable men in society, men of principle, virtue, and integrity. If they can hide their shame, no matter what the expense or suffering caused in destroying the embryo coming into being. They care not to risk the life of her who would become a mother. All this is well pleasing in the eyes of unprincipled men, and that their iniquity should not come to light.

But that that is well pleasing in the sight of men, is an abomination in the sight of God. I will venture to say, that you may go into the most populous cities of the world, and you will find a considerable part of those who give tone to Christianity as it is in the world, standing in these miserable re– lations, under cover, and in secret. These things are true, and it is enough to pain the heart of the philanthropist, and wound the feelings of any man who is the friend of suffering humanity, to read their history, and observe their course. I would not follow them in all their filthy windings, were I able. Had I the discerning eye of an angel, or of a God, I would not wish to follow them up, and disclose to you the corruptions that are practiced in the world, and all under the cloak of popularity, shrouded by high standing, and worldly authority; and thus they are protected in their unlawful relations.

I am not disposed to charge home upon the lawgivers of our country things of this kind; I will not presume to do it; yet at the same time, if I can credit their own statements in relation to the acts of one another touching these matters, it is enough to make the nations blush and hide their heads in shame, from such miserable, MISERABLE, corrupt proceedings.

But we do not wish to sustain our own position upon the corruptions of others—our own position, as it is in the mind and revelations of God. God forbid that our faith should be founded upon the corruptions of the world. Our faith is founded upon the purity of the word of life, and there let it be grounded.

Well, now, friends and brethren, will you listen to me for a short time, and let me conduct you as far as I shall be able this evening, through the volume of inspiration that is universally acknowledged by all Christendom to be the word of God, the truth of heaven? Will you listen to some of the sayings contained in that book? And then say whether we possess the same spirit now that inspired the breasts of the ancients, whose history is penned upon these pages. Judge for yourselves whether it be so or not.

In the first place, then, we will look unto Abraham our father, and to Sarah who bore us, for if we are Christ’s, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Let any story be told of my father whereby dishonor is laid to his charge, or let any reproach be cast upon my mother, and if the feelings of the loyalty of a son towards his parents dwell in my bosom I will resist all such reproach. No matter how sinful they might have been, their sins must not be portrayed before me. I look then unto Abraham as my father, and unto Sarah as my mother who bore me. How was it, then, with Abraham? He is said to be the father of the faithful, and the great head of the Church in the days of the Patriarchs, and the head of those who have been adopted into the covenant of Jehovah through the blood of His only begotten; for if we are Christ’s then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. If, by the virtue of the Savior’s blood, our sins are washed away, we are the children of Abraham; we hail him as our father, and Sarah as our mother; he is the father of the faithful, he is the father of many nations. How was it with Abraham? Did he please God, walk before Him uprightly, and obtain this testimony that he pleased God, and obtain promises that no other man has obtained since the days of Abraham, the Son of God excepted? Jehovah promised that in him and in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, as a pattern of piety, and as the great head of the Church. Because of his faithfulness in keeping the commandments of Jehovah on earth, he drew from on high this great promise. Who has lived since that time who has been thus blessed? I will venture to say not one. Then if we are his children, will we not do the works of faithful Abraham? So said the Savior, whoever spoke the truth, whoever declared the mind and will of his Father in heaven. Are we Abraham’s seed, or are we bastards and not sons? That is the question.

Let us see what Abraham’s works were. Abraham obtained promises. What promise have you obtained? What promise has the Christian world obtained? “Why,” says one, “the Bible is all full of promises made to the people of God long ago.” But what have the promises to the people of God long ago to do with us? Have we obtained promises to ourselves? There is the point. If our fathers obtained promises that they should be fed, and were fed, their eating and drinking does not satisfy my appetite. It satisfied them, but that has nothing to do with me, I want the same kind of substantial food myself. If Abraham obtained promises, I want to obtain promises also. “What! A man that has more than one wife obtain promises from God?” I tell you there were but few in olden times whoever did obtain promises from God, that had not more than one wife, if the Bible be true. There was David, and there was Solomon; there were the whole line of the kings of Israel. Says one, “That Old Bible was for the Jews, and has nothing to do with us; that is the Old Testament; and having more wives was according to their law, and according to their custom, but it does not apply to us; the Savior of the world is our great pattern, he is our great lawgiver.”

And how is it with him? Let us inquire. Did the Savior of the world consider it to be his duty to fulfil all righteousness? You answer, yes. Even the simple ordinance of baptism he would not pass by, for the Lord commanded it, and therefore it was righteousness to obey what the Lord had commanded, and he would fulfil all righteousness. Upon this hypothesis I will go back to the beginning, and notice the commandment that was given to our first parents in the garden of Eden. The Lord said unto them, “Multiply and replenish the earth.” I will digress here for a moment from the thread of the subject, and bring an idea that may perhaps have a bearing upon it.

The earth, you remember, was void and empty, until our first parents began at the garden of Eden. What does the term replenish mean? This word is derived from the Latin; “re” and “plenus;” “re” denotes repetition, iteration; and “plenus” signifies full, complete; then the meaning of the word replenish is to refill, recomplete. If I were to go into a merchant’s store, and find he had got a new stock of goods, I should say—“You have replenished your stock, that is, filled up your establishment, for it looks as it did before.” “Now go forth,” says the Lord, “and replenish the earth;” for it was covered with gloomy clouds of darkness, excluded from the light of heaven, and darkness brooded upon the face of the deep. The world was peopled before the days of Adam, as much so as it was before the days of Noah. It was said that Noah became the father of a new world, but it was the same old world still, and will continue to be, though it may pass through many changes.

When God said, Go forth and replenish the earth; it was to replenish the inhabitants of the human species, and make it as it was before. Our first parents, then, were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth; and if the Savior found it his duty to be baptized to fulfil all righteousness, a command of far less importance than that of multiplying his race (if indeed there is any difference in the commandments of Jehovah, for they are all important, and all essential), would he not find it his duty to join in with the rest of the faithful ones in replenishing the earth? “Mr. Hyde, do you really wish to imply that the im– maculate Savior begat children? It is a blasphemous assertion against the purity of the Savior’s life, to say the least of it. The holy aspirations that ever ascended from him to his Father would never allow him to have any such fleshly and carnal connections, never, no never.” This is the general idea; but the Savior never thought it beneath him to obey the mandate of his Father; he never thought this stooping beneath his dignity; he never despised what God had made; for they are bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh; kindred spirits, that once basked in rays of immortality and eternal life. When he found them clothed upon and surrounded with the weaknesses of mortal flesh, would he despise them? No. It is this, I have seen men who became poor and miserable all at once, and then those who were their friends in the days of their prosperity turn from them, and scarcely deign to bestow them a look, it being too humiliating to associate with them in their poverty. But it was not so with the Savior; he associated with them in other spheres, and when they came here, descending below all things, he did not despise to associate with these same kindred spirits. “Then you really mean to hold to the doctrine that the Savior of the world was married; do you mean to be understood so? And if so, do you mean to be understood that he had more than one wife?”

The Christian world by their prejudices have driven us away from the Old Bible, so we must now appeal to the New Testament, for that seems to suit the prejudice of the people; though to me it is all alike, both the Old and New Testaments; for the scribe that is well instructed, brings out of his treasury things both new and old. This is my treasury, or rather, it is one of my treasuries, and what I cannot find there, I trust will come down from on high, and lodge in my heart. The gift of God is also my treasury, even the Holy Spirit.

Now suppose I should set out myself, and travel through the cities of the nation as a celebrated reformer, preaching revelations and sentiments as lofty as the skies, and rolling out ideas strange and new, to which the multitude were entirely unaccustomed; and wherever I went, suppose I had with me three or four women—one combing my head, another washing my feet, and another shedding tears upon them, and wiping them with the hair of her head. Suppose I should lean upon them, and they upon me, would it not appear monstrous in the eyes of the world? Would they ride me into Jerusalem upon our ass’s colt, and cast branches of the palm tree beneath my feet, shouting, “Hosannah, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosannah in the highest?” I guess they would give me a coat of tar and feathers, and ride me on a rail; and it is my opinion they would serve the Savior the same, did he go about now as he did eighteen hundred years ago.

There is an old prophecy of Isaiah, which I cannot stop to read, but you will find it in the 53rd chapter of his prophecies; read the whole of the chapter. This particular prophecy speaks of Christ all the way through. It is there said, “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.” What constitutes the soul? The spirit and body of man united; for you know it is said in one place that so many souls were slain in the night by the angel of God. The immortal part was not slain, but a disunion of the mortal and immortal parts took place. When they shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. If he has no seed, how could he see them? “When they make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, and prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” By and by the Prophet goes on to say, “And who shall declare his generation,” for his life is taken from the earth. If he had no generation, who could declare it? I told you there was an agent who would bring out every subject in bold relief, which is the Holy Ghost, who searcheth all things, even the deep things of God, and until that celestial agent should fire some man’s heart to declare his generation, it could never be made known. Who shall declare it? He could not, for he was cut off from the earth. I have noticed the prophecy of Isaiah, that portion of it which was fulfilled in the person of the Savior, for the Lord divided him a portion with the great, “and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Upon him was laid the iniquity of us all; he was numbered with thieves, and in his expiring moments he said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” Now if one portion of this prophecy has been fulfilled, the other portion has, or will be.

How was it with Mary and Martha, and other women that followed him? In old times, and it is common in this day, the women, even as Sarah, called their husbands Lord; the word Lord is tantamount to husband in some languages, master, lord, husband, are about synonymous. In England we frequently hear the wife say, “Where is my master?” She does not mean a tyrant, but as Sarah called her husband Lord, she designates hers by the word master. When Mary of old came to the sepulchre on the first day of the week, instead of finding Jesus she saw two angels in white, “And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She said unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord,” or husband, “and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.” Is there not here manifested the affections of a wife. These words speak the kindred ties and sympathies that are common to that relation of husband and wife. Where will you find a family so nearly allied by the ties of common religion? “Well,” you say, “that appears rather plausible, but I want a little more evidence, I want you to find where it says the Savior was actually married.”

Have you ever read your Bibles? I must confess I have not read it for some time, but looked more to Him who rules on high, and to those who hold the words of life in the inspiration of the Holy Ghost; I look to them more frequently than to it. I have once memorized the Bible, and when anyone quoted one verse, I could quote the next. I have memorized it in English, German, and Hebrew, still I do not profess to be very familiar with it now, yet the sentiments and spirit of it are in my heart, and will be as long as I live, and still remain when I am gone to another sphere. When does it say the Savior was married? I believe I will read it for your accommodation, or you might not believe my words were I to say that there is indeed such a Scripture.

We will turn over to the account of the marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Yes, and somebody else too. You will find it in the 2nd chapter of John’s Gospel; remember it and read it when you go home. “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him”—that is, the ruler of the feast saith unto the bridegroom, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”

Gentlemen, that is as plain as the translators, or different councils over this Scripture, dare allow it to go to the world, but the thing is there; it is told; Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and he told them what to do.

Now there was actually a marriage; and if Jesus was not the bridegroom on that occasion, please tell who was. If any man can show this, and prove that it was not the Savior of the world, then I will acknowledge I am in error. We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified. “Has he indeed passed by the nature of angels, and taken upon himself the seed of Abraham, to die without leaving a seed to bear his name on the earth?” No. But when the secret is fully out, the seed of the blessed shall be gathered in, in the last days; and he who has not the blood of Abraham flowing in his veins, who has not one particle of the Savior’s in him, I am afraid is a stereotyped Gentile, who will be left out and not be gathered in the last days; for I tell you it is the chosen of God, the seed of the blessed, that shall be gathered. I do not despise to be called a son of Abraham, if he had a dozen wives; or to be called a brother, a son, a child of the Savior, if he had Mary, and Martha, and several others, as wives; and though he did cast seven devils out of one of them, it is all the same to me.

Well, then, he shall see his seed, and who shall declare his generation, for he was cut off from the earth? I shall say here, that before the Savior died, he looked upon his own natural children, as we look upon ours; he saw his seed, and immediately afterwards he was cut off from the earth; but who shall declare his generation? They had no father to hold them in honorable remembrance; they passed into the shades of obscurity, never to be exposed to mortal eye as the seed of the blessed one. For no doubt had they been exposed to the eye of the world, those infants might have shared the same fate as the children in Jeru– salem in the days of Herod, when all the children were ordered to be slain under such an age, with the hopes of slaying the infant Savior. They might have suffered by the hand of the assassin, as the sons of many kings have done who were heirs apparent to the thrones of their fathers.

History is replete with circumstances of neck-or-nothing politicians dyeing their hands in the blood of those who stood in their way to the throne or to power.

That seed has had its influence upon the chosen of God in the last days. The same spirit inspires them that inspires their father, who bled and died upon the cross after the manner of the flesh.

“Well, but,” says one, “there was certainly an injunction laid upon the Bishops in New Testament times, that they should have but one wife.” This is brought up as a great argument against the position the Latter-day Saints have taken. In olden times they might have passed through the same circumstances as some of the Latter-day Saints had to in Illinois. What would it have done for us, if they had known that many of us had more than one wife when we lived in Illinois? They would have broken us up, doubtless, worse than they did. They may break us up, and rout us from place to another, but by and by we shall come to a point where we shall have all the women, and they will have none. You may think I am joking about this, but I can bring you the truth of God to demonstrate it to you. I have not advanced anything I have not got an abundance of backing for. There is more truth than poetry in this as sure as you live.

The Bishops anciently, in their office and callings, had a great deal to do with temporal matters—serving tables, attending to the poor, &c. And inasmuch as so much trust was reposed in them of a temporal character, they were required to have a fair reputation, and must not stand in any relation that would in the least prejudice their reputation with the world of mankind.

In certain countries, plurality of wives is legal. Christendom think they are about everybody, and the “rest of mankind” are few and far between. I have traveled among nations and countries where this doctrine was tolerated by law, and I will venture to say, if we were to take a walk through the world tonight and find out those who are in favor of, or against, this doctrine, the majority would be in its favor. Could the whole world be assembled here before me, and a vote taken upon this subject, they would give us the right of conscience in this matter.

Has not the Muhammadan a right to be in favor of it? Did not God make him? And is not his right as dear to him as ours? Why should we set ourselves up as a little family of nations in Christendom, and say to the rest of the great family of the world, “You shall not do so and so, and you shall do this or that?” Why should we be restricted in this matter, while the great majority of the world decide in its favor?

Take this question up upon political principles, and what do the majority of the world say about it? They establish our right. Then take it upon the principles of natural philosophy, and the truth of our position is made still more apparent. Had I language to portray to the most delicate ear the principles of our existence, and the laws of our nature, the most stubborn skeptic would be obliged to yield to the power of truth. I might take up the subject in this point of light, but I will forbear, I will spare you. If I had a congregation of men, I would not spare them one whit.

The Bishop is to be the husband of one wife. And as for old Paul, everybody says he lived and died a bachelor; but he said all things were lawful for him, and that he had power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas. Paul did not make known all things, for all things were not lawful to tell. He said himself, he knew a man that was caught up to the third heavens, and heard things unlawful to utter. If he did not take a wife, and multiply, and replenish the earth, he did not fulfil the first great fundamental law of nature.

There are many living now who are bachelors. I do not complain of the very old men, for they cannot help themselves at all times, but I am going to complain of the old bachelors; and I tell you what it is, if you do not step forward and marry, and try to carry on the great work of Jehovah, it will be left for a better man to do than you. [Voice in the stand, “There is but one old bachelor in the Territory, and he has gone to the States.“] O! I beg your pardon; President Young says he does not know of but one old bachelor in all the Territory of Utah, and he has gone to the States; therefore I have nothing more to say on this particular point. Look abroad, upon the world at large, and how many are there who are too niggardly to take a wife, and support her and her offspring honorably, and rear up a family that will reflect honor upon them in their old age! No—they cannot afford to do this, but they go where they can gratify their fleshly desires, leaving the consequences altogether with the confiding females whom they dishonor, and who in that state despair of ever being reinstated in society with a good character, give themselves to prostitution, and in rottenness go down to a premature grave with ten thousand curses on the heads of their deceivers.

Do you suppose these things are going to escape the all-seeing eye of the Great Jehovah? And will He not visit the guilty sensualist with a dreadful punishment? He will. Why not in honorable wedlock raise up offspring to glorify God? Why this niggardly disposition? No wonder the Lord Almighty sends the pestilence to lay them waste, and reduce nations and cities to ruins.

Brethren and sisters, it is for us to have the light of truth shining in our eyes, and honor that truth in all our intercourse with one another.

The Bishop shall have but one wife. If you were in a country where only one wife is allowed by law, then you would be obliged to have but one. What shall I say? A Bishop in England, where he knew polygamy to be contrary to law, must have but one wife; if you want another, and the law will not allow it, you must go where it is allowed by law. It was the case with the Bishops in olden times. We must submit to the laws of man until he shall reign whose right it is to reign.

This is the cord that shall revolutionize the whole world, and it will make the United States tremble from the very head to the foot; it is like leaven hid in three measures of meal until the whole is leavened. There is such a tide of irresistible arguments that, like the grand Mississippi, it bears on its bold current everything that dares to oppose its course.

Says one, “Why is it that men in your society may have more than one wife? What is the policy of it?” The men of God who hold the priesthood of heaven, and imbibe the light of the Holy Ghost, have the privilege and right. Now let me illustrate one thing, and let me bring it home to you. There may be some under the sound of my voice that the case will fit. Some man will perhaps marry a wife of his youth. She dies—he loved her as he loves himself, and her memory ever lingers about his heart. He marries another, and she dies, and he loved her equally as well. He marries a third, and so on, and he loved them all. By and by he dies, and he dies with devoted affection and love to them all.

Now in the resurrection, which of those wives will he claim? There is no difference in his love to any of them, and they have all perhaps borne children to him. He loves the children of one mother as well as the children of another. What say you? Which shall he have in the resurrection? Why, let him have the whole of them. To whom are they nearer allied?

There is a case opposite to this, where a woman married a husband, and he died, and so on, until she was married to seven husbands, and then she died. The question was asked the Savior, “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection!” for they all had her. The Savior gave a curious answer. Says he, “In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.” Now tell me how the angels are in heaven, and then we shall have the secret.

It is said, “In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall see visions, and your men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit; and they shall prophesy.” You are praying every day, “Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” You never can know how it is done in heaven, unless you can see it by vision; or the kingdom, when it does come, unless it is revealed to you by the spirit of prophecy, or in dreams and visions; then you know it.

This is the benefit of dreams and visions, although this power is lightly spoken of, and repudiated in the Christian world. The revelation of the Almighty from God to a man who holds the Priesthood, and is enlightened by the Holy Ghost, whom God designs to make a ruler and a governor in His eternal kingdom is, that he may have many wives, that when he goes yonder to another sphere he may still continue to perpetuate his species, and of the increase of his kingdom and government there shall be no end, says Daniel. How does the kingdom of God increase, but by the increase of its subjects? Everything increases, everything multiplies. As brother Benson said this morning, even the mosquitoes of Nebraska increase and multiply. If they do, why not high orders of the creation have a better right? These mosquitoes and insects are the result of a fallen world, but by and by there will be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain.

These men of God who are married here by the authority of heaven are sealed on earth and in heaven. The good old book says, that which is sealed on earth is sealed in heaven; and whosoever sins ye remit on earth shall be remitted in heaven, and whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. That Priesthood that has not this power is no better than a rope of sand. The true Priesthood alone possesses it. The Priesthood that has not this power is a mock Priesthood, and not the Priesthood of the Almighty. Little did the world know when they treated the Savior as they did, that he held their destiny in his hands; the world knew him not; he came to his own and they received him not; but the time will come that they will know him, and the power of his Priesthood.

When the servants of God and their wives go to heaven there is an eternal union, and they will multiply and re– plenish the world to which they are going.

It is not every man in the United States that can be the president, or that can be a governor, or a judge, but all are within the pale of the government of the United States, though they do not all bear rule; many are called, and few are chosen. But in yonder world those who bear the Priesthood, and by their faith and obedience obtain the sanction of the Almighty, they are sealed on earth and in heaven, and will be exalted to rule and govern forever; while those who would not listen to the holy commandments, and died without having a wife sealed to them, are angels; they are lower spirits, and servants to them that rule. Therefore, this family of old, which the Savior spoke of, saying, “In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage,” are not Gods, but angels, who neither marry nor are given in marriage, while the men that magnify their callings are they that bear rule, and hold dominion, and receive their crown, and are one with the Savior, as he is one with the Father. Hence, he that is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things.

I have a few words more to say, and a great deal more can be said; for I have only just dipped into the subject a little. I want to say a few things more, and perhaps this is the most fitting occasion on which they could be said. You never see a “Mormon” man who bears the Priesthood, unless it is some characters that only bear it in form, who are devoid of principle, who have transgressed, and have escaped being dealt with—I say you never see a true-hearted “Mormon” man running after a lewd woman; but there are women among the Latter-day Saints who are loose in their conduct, notwithstanding they have embraced the Gospel. We only wish to apply this where it belongs; do not any of you have your feelings hurt, for God knows I would hold the virtuous and good as sacred as I would my own life. At the same time I am bound to speak in plainness, and I feel that the Spirit is on me now, I am warmed with it, and it presses me to speak on this subject, and to speak it out. There are families in this town that have bowed externally to the yoke of Christ, but they are as corrupt as hell, and I can point where they are, in what direction they dwell. When I approach their habitations, I feel that they are an abomination in my sight. “Have you any tangible evidence of this?” Yes, I have, and more than I want, which I shall keep to myself, but the day will come when it will all come out. Do you see “Mormon” men running there? No. Wherever you find a house among the Latter-day Saints where no “Mormon” men go, you may know it is not all sound in Denmark. I will tell you whom you see there in particular—men who fear not God nor regard man. What have I got to say concerning women that will come into the Church and kingdom of God, and bring dishonor upon themselves, and endeavor to bring it upon the whole Church, by cohabiting with those cursed scapegraces who are passing through here to California, who make their boast of what they did in Great Salt Lake City? I know their secret talk in their chambers, for the Spirit of God searcheth all things. It may not be with me to the same extent all the time, but sometimes the whole vision of my mind is lit up, and I see and understand it all.

I am going to say something upon those who dishonor the Church and kingdom of God in this way. I will tell you what shall happen to those men and women who commit lewdness, and go and boast of it, and laugh in the face of heaven. The day shall come when their flesh shall rot upon their bones, and as they are walking it shall drop, and become a nauseous stink upon the highway. Now go and boast that you can get all you want for a dress pattern, or a yard of ribbon; go and boast of it, and the Lord Almighty shall curse you all the day long. [Voice in the stand, “Amen.“] And when you step, chunks of your flesh shall drop off your bones, and stink enough to sicken a dog.

I speak this to both men and women that practice this iniquity in the midst of this people; and if you do not refrain from such intercourse, this prediction shall begin to take effect, and by this you shall know whether I have spoken in the name of the Lord, or in the name of Orson Hyde. For such abominable practices to come in our midst under the robes of sanctity, because there are liberal, holy, and righteous principles practiced by the Saints, I say, curse their habitation and their persons; and if this is your mind, let all Israel say amen. [The whole of the congregation at the top of their voices said, “Amen!“] And let these contemptible wretches feel the “Mormon” spirit, not by “Mormon” hands, but by the power of God on high.

I feel charged with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, and it burns in my heart like a flame, and this is the testimony I bear. If I do mingle in the streets with the crowd to engage in business as any other man, I am not always asleep, and insensible to what is passing around me. I do not profess to know a great deal, but some things I do know, and some things I do not know.

I have endeavored to illustrate this subject for the benefit of the honest inquirer. I have only just touched it, endeavoring to throw out a few hints for your consideration, that you may know we are not without some reason for our faith and practice touching the subject of polygamy. I wish you to mind the admonition I have given. I have given it to you in faith; I have given it to you regardless of consequences, for I ask no odds of anybody, except of my Father in heaven, and of my brethren whose hearts I know to be pure; and I want to be identified with them in time and in all eternity, and with my sisters too; and wish to be exalted with them, and they with me, where the Saints may join hands after passing through much tribulation, and gaining crowns, to rejoice together forever and ever.

I feel as though I had borne a faithful testimony, and I now say, in the presence of God and angels, that I have given the guilty persons warning, and my garments are clean from your blood. Take warning, and never do a thing that will throw dishonor upon the Saints of the Most High.

May God add His blessing, and preserve us to His heavenly kingdom, which may He grant. Amen.

An Address by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, September 17, 1854.

It is some time since I spoke to this congregation, and it is with me as it probably is with many others, the longer I sit, and the less I say, the more I am troubled with fear. Is it the fear of God? No. It is a kind of a fear of the world—a fear of man. Now there is scarcely a person but what has more or less of these feelings, at times. I recollect often hearing brother Joseph Smith say that many times his legs trembled like Belshazzar’s when he got up to speak before the world, and before the Saints.

I have been interested with the relation brother Staines has given, although he could not relate all the experience he has had since he came into this Church some twelve or fourteen years ago. If he could remember it all, and relate it, his experience would be very interesting. It is good, and I have been interested with it. I am interested with everything that is good; and in fact, I am interested with a great many things which are not so very good, for there is nothing that I see on earth or in the heavens but what interests me, and gives me an experience. When I see a man take the wrong road—the road which leads to death, it is an experience to me, and it opens my eyes to shun that path. And we are taught that if a man will not learn by precept, or by example, he has to learn by what he suffers. By seeing the bad example of another I can shun that path, and escape the difficulties he goes into. Of course his experience is quite a schoolmaster to me; for if I do not take that road, I do not suffer the inconvenience he does.

During my whole course from the day I first heard of “Mormonism,” more than twenty-two years ago, I have never had but one desire, and that is to do what I am counseled. It matters not to me whether it be by the voice of God, or by the voice of His servants, it is all the same with me. When we go forth as the servants of God, we are dictated by the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost will speak the truth, and that is the word of God. It is the revelations of Jesus Christ, and it is the voice of God to us.

When He commands us to go forth and preach His word, and declare His Gospel—faith, and repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, with the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, He says it is the same as though it were spoken by His own voice, and the same condemnation will rest upon the world, and upon those people who hear it and do not abide it, and keep it, and walk in it. This is my testimony, and this is the testimony that God has revealed to us as a people. When he sent forth his disciples in his day he said, If they will not hear you they will not hear me; and if they will not obey you they will not obey me, and if they will not obey me they will not obey my Father. So it is with us, if you will not listen, obey, and practice those things that are laid before you by President Young and his brethren, you would not obey God, if He should speak from the heavens. Why? Because the Almighty has appointed him his delegate, just as much as we have appointed Doctor Bernhisel to be our Delegate to Congress, to lay before them those things that we want in connection with him. He has not gone to do his own will, but he has gone to do the will of those who have sent him. So it is with President Young. He is our head, he is our President, our Prophet, and Leader, and the Government of the United States have appointed him our Governor. He was before, in a Church capacity. Then his voice to this people is the voice of God, just as much as was Moses God, when God called him and set him to preside among the children of Israel. His word was the word of God to that people, and when they did not listen to him they suffered the penalty. We read there were two-and-twenty thousand fell in one day because of their rebellion. They rebelled against Moses, against his counsel, and against his government, which was of course rebelling against the character who sent him. God sent him and authorized him; and to us President Young is sent, ordained, and appointed by the Almighty, as Joseph’s successor, to lead this people. I want the world to know this. I want the people who come into these valleys, and do not believe “Mormonism,” to know what we believe. Probably there are but few men in the United States but what know that we look up to President Brigham Young as our leader, Prophet, and dictator. I want you to understand that I actually do, and I believe I have done so to the entire satisfaction of this people. I have proved it by my works from the day I came into the Church until the present time.

Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and was sent of God. He had visits from holy angels from the heavens, who authorized him to commit to this nation the Gospel, the plan of salvation and eternal life, which will save every man and woman that believe it, and practice it in their lives—in their outgoings, and in their incomings. I know it will save them. You have my testimony, and my testimony is true, and you will find it so, every soul of you who will practice it.

We believe this book, the Bible, to be an historical account of Jesus Christ, and his Apostles and Prophets. We believe it is sacred, and the great majority of this people actually practice it; and there is not a man nor woman in this Church, who believe it, but what have been baptized for the remission of their sins, and that too by immersion, being buried with Christ by baptism. This is what they have done, and that enables them, after they have received the laying on of hands, to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and they are entitled to a membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If they honor that membership, and are faithful, they will continue in it, not in time only, but in eternity, worlds without end. These are my feelings, and my determination is to continue to the end.

I am now in my fifty-fourth year; I am a Latter-day Saint, full in the faith, and not only in the faith, but I have a knowledge of the truth of this work. I know that God lives and dwells in the heavens; for I have asked Him scores of times, and hundreds of times, for things, and have received them. Is not that a pretty good proof that He hears me, when I ask Him for things and get them; and is not that a proof that He lives, and dwells in the heavens? I think it is. I suppose He dwells there, He could not dwell anywhere else, but in what particular portion He dwells, I do not precisely know, though He is not so far off as many imagine. He is nearby, His angels are our associates, they are with us and round about us, and watch over us, and take care of us, and lead us, and guide us, and administer to our wants in their ministry and in their holy calling unto which they are appointed. We are told in the Bible that angels are ministering spirits to minister to those who shall become heirs of salvation.

Bless my soul, look at the unbelieving world, that is a great many of them, they now believe in spiritual knockings, spiritual communications, and spiritual rappings, and they will ask the same spirit for this, and for that; to know this, that, and the other; and, “Won’t you cause that table to kick up its legs, and that chair to dance, and cause a knocking here, and a knocking there?” They believe all this, still they do not believe that God can communicate. And at the same time those that they communicate with are corrupt spirits, and they might know it, and still they say they can speak from the heavens, and communicate this, that, and the other, and tell them where their friends are. If wicked spirits can do this, I want to know, on the same principle, if the righteous have not power to communicate to the children of men? And has not God power to do it? He has. The whole world is now enthusiastic in these things.

I never heard a knocking, or saw a table dance, only as I kicked it myself. I do not want them knocking and dancing around me.

The people of the world do not believe in revelation from God, and they believe that Joseph Smith was a fool to pretend to have revelation direct from heaven, but still they are all engaged in this matter, in getting revelations from evil, corrupt, and comparatively ignorant spirits, and wicked men. Some became spiritual writers by a spirit taking their hand, and writing without their consent. I do not thank any person to take my hand and write without my consent; we do not like such proceedings. We believe they exist, but they are not for us. We receive communications upon another principle, and that is direct from heaven, from God’s servants, delegates, or administrators; this is what we believe most devoutly; and we intend to practice our religion, and to be governed by it.

I have no doubt but the gentlemen who have come in this year will discover a difference in the manners and conduct of the people here, when compared with those of the cities from whence we have come. We do not admit of some practices in our city that they admit of in the United States, at least in all of their great cities. We desire to live a virtuous and holy life, and do unto others as we wish others to do unto us, and for that reason many of us have been driven from the United States; I say many of us, for a great many who are now here have not been driven here, but have come since we were driven, and we have passed through a great many trials. Brother Staines was speaking about some of them. I was one of the first, in connection with President Young, who came to this valley when it was a de– solate region, and we could not even get a chart from Fremont, nor from any other man, from which to learn the course to this place. I was one who helped to pick out the road. When we started to come here, we had no more provisions with us than those emigrants started with, to whom we have sent flour this season. We had only one hundredweight apiece, and came here with nothing but what was in our wagons, only as we hunted and killed game. When we got to the upper ferry of Platte River, half of our company had not a mouthful of bread. That would look a little harder to you than the cricket time, still there was no grunting, nor murmuring, for it was beyond the grunting point; it would not do any good to find fault; it would not provide bread, buffalo, antelope, deer, nor elk.

I recollect one day, I believe it was on the Platte, brother Brigham said to me, “Brother Heber, what do you think about it, do you think we shall go any further?” I knew he asked this question to try me. I replied, I wanted to go the whole journey, and find some white sandstone, and see what there was in the earth. There never was a day when I would not go with him until we found a location. I knew there was a place somewhere, though at times the prospect appeared dreary, but here it was on high. It is the best country I ever saw. I have lived in the best portions of the United States, but this country is better. I have lived where Joseph found the plates, and where the angel of the Lord administered to him; it is the heart of the world, but is that place as good as this? No. It does not begin to bring forth wheat, corn, oats, and every other vegetation that the heart desires, like this land. We are going to be comfortable here.

The troops of the United States have come here; see how liberal they have offered for wheat, and not only for wheat, but for oats, barley, corn, potatoes, cheese, chickens, beets, carrots, parsnips, and everything they wish to buy. We do not say so much about the merchants, they have got plenty. You will see how good we will make the transient residents feel this winter.

How comfortable they feel, and rejoice to dwell in the midst of white people. They never thought for a moment we were white men and women; but when they came, they found out, to their astonishment, that the people in Utah were quite white, and right from their own country. Bless your souls, we are a free people, it is not a slave country here; still I admit we have to slave pretty hard to raise these fine things. Well now, do not be disheartened; make yourselves comfortable; treat us well, and you shall be treated well, and the best you ever were in your lives; but hands off. I speak just as I feel. My heart is good, kind, and generous; but there are lots of men more generous than I am, and again there are lots that are not so much so. All kinds of spirits have all kinds of capacities. There are as many spirits here as you can see persons, for they all have spirits in them; and some are more snappish than others, and some are more liberal, kind, and generous, and more divested of selfishness than others. If that is a fact, it proves to me that you can become just as generous as the most generous. Let us try, and what I say to one Saint I say to all the Saints, and to all people that come into this valley, be generous, be friendly, and be Saints.

We want you to be Saints while you stay here; for you know in the days of the Apostles, when they were among the Romans they did as Romans did; and while you are among the “Mormons,” do as the “Mormons” do; be generous, and be white folks. We are white folks; a good portion of us were born in the United States, and a great many in Old England; and they are our brethren and sisters. My father came from there, and fought for this country, and sustained it; if he did not my grandfather did, it is along in that train somewhere. We have all come from the old countries, and come into a new country, into the States; and from that we have emigrated into still newer countries—into the tops of the mountains, just as the Prophet said. They declared the Saints would be gathered in the last days, and we are gathering to build a city to the name of our God, and we are going to build a Temple, and houses of worship, that when you come here you may worship with us, and when you are among the “Mormons” do as the “Mormons” do, do right, and keep the commandments of God. I have said a good many times, when a man comes into my house, if he is a Catholic, a Pagan, a Quaker, a Baptist, a Methodist, a Soldier, a Captain, a Governor, or a President, he has got to subject himself to the order of my house; and when I bow down on my knees, I want him to bow down with me. That is my religion, let him bow down and pray with me; and then if I go into another man’s house, if he stands up to pray, I will stand up too and pray with him. That is good religion. Do as the Romans do when you are among them. A man can stand up, kneel down, or sit down, and not pray, and be as cross as he has a mind too, but let him be subject to the governor or the government of that house, and when he goes into another kingdom, let him be subject to that kingdom. God says, “If a man keep my commandments he has no need to break the laws of the land!” These are my feelings.

Let us be Saints, and keep the commandments of God, and mind our own business. That is my religion. We want all men to do this, we want all women to observe the same thing—to keep the commandments of God, and keep themselves pure and clean. And if you are not clean, pure, and holy, I would advise you to repent of your sins, and go and be baptized for the remission of them, and sanctify yourselves, and receive the Holy Ghost, that it may show you things to come, and bring things to your remembrance. That is my counsel and advice.

May God bless you, brethren and sisters, and bless this whole people, male and female, old and young, foreigner and everybody else; may He bless you with peace and quietness, that we may have a heavenly time, a joyful time during the coming winter. May God bless you with these blessings, and every other, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, September 10, 1854.

By the request of our President, I arise this afternoon for the purpose of addressing you upon those subjects that may be presented to my mind, feeling joyful in my heart that I have the opportunity.

I do not say, as many others may have said, that it is a disagreeable task, or a very great cross, for me to address the Saints; this is not the case; it is a pleasure and a joy; and I feel to esteem it as a blessing from the hand of God, that I have the privilege from time to time of meeting with His people, and speaking about the great things that God has revealed, which belong to our peace, happiness, and welfare, both here and hereafter.

There is no other subject that I care much about. As it regards earthly things, temporal things, the riches of this world, or the honors of this world, I will not say they are of secondary nature to me, but they are far beneath this; though they may be good in their place, yet my whole object and design, delight and joy, is to do the will of God, to benefit the children of men, and to seek after the welfare, happiness, and peace, not only of myself and family, but also of the whole human race, as far as it is within my power.

It does me good to return, after an absence of two years, and again look upon the faces of the brethren and sisters; there is something so different in the expression of your countenances from what we see abroad in the world; the principles of goodness, of righteousness, of virtue, and of holiness seem to be enstamped upon the countenances of the Saints of the living God; the spirit of meekness, of sobriety, of solemnity—a Godlike spirit is reflected in every feature of those who are truly good, which seems to carry peace, happiness, and joy to the hearts of those who gaze upon them with the same spirit. But after all, brethren, we are not near as good as we might be, in many respects. Though we are far in advance of the nations of the earth, though we have become far exalted above them in the principles of virtue, truth, righteousness, and a oneness of feeling, yet there is still room for improvement, and, while we remain here in the flesh, there will be room for improvement, upon all these principles, upon all the attributes of divinity, and upon everything that is good and Godlike.

There is one subject that presents itself to my mind, and upon which I have meditated in years past and gone, and which gave me great joy when I learned that it was being established in our midst. What is it? It is the consecration of the properties of the whole Church, according to the written revelations, commandments, and laws of the Most High God. I heard of this about the time I was starting upon the plains for this place, and it gave me great joy to learn that there was a prominent step taken at your last Conference to bring about and accomplish this object. I consider it is one of the most important objects to be accomplished among the Saints of latter days.

You may ask why? You may think that this contradicts my first statement—that the temporal things of this life are not even of a secondary consideration with me. They are not in one respect, but, in another, I consider them a part and portion of the religion that we as a people have embraced, and a very essential and necessary part too.

We read in the revelations that God has given, that the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; well, if it is the Lord’s and the fulness of it, then it does not belong to you nor me as individuals, exclusive of others. If the Lord had set apart, and consecrated, and given a certain portion of the earth to any individual with a deed and covenant, he might with some propriety call it his own; but all other deeds that are according to Gentile laws, and the institutions of the nations of the earth, do not, according to the laws and revelations of heaven, give to men the exclusive right to the things of this world, as their own; they are good enough in their place, for the Lord deals with the nations according to their light; and suffers laws to be enacted that are good in their place, and calculated to govern imperfect beings; laws to govern and control property; and in many respects, they are just adapted to the circumstances and conditions of the nations where they are enacted; and they are the means of doing much good in preserving what are termed the rights of individuals, and of the citizens generally; and they should not be done away, until circumstances will permit of their being superseded by a more perfect law. That more perfect order is what we wish to speak a few words upon at this present time.

The Lord told us something about it in the revelations He gave a long time ago, in the year 1831, when ancient “Mormonism,” as it has often been termed, was first introduced; we call it ancient, because it seems quite long to us narrow-minded creatures.

There were certain laws and revelations then given, in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, pertaining to the Lord’s earth, and the righteous that He has upon it. I will repeat a small clause which was given before the Church was one year old, in March 1831. It reads thus—wherefore “it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.” This was revealed above twenty-three years ago; we will again repeat it, “It is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.” Here was a hint of the more perfect law and order of things that God intended eventually to introduce among this people; and which I am happy to say, there has been a great step already taken at the last Conference to bring about; and I hope that I may be permitted to live to see this law carried out to the fullest extent among the Saints of the living God.

Remember, that as long as there is inequality in the things that belong to the Lord, the world lieth in sin. It is not given to them that they should possess one above another. I intend to explain how this is to be brought about, and also show how one man can possess hundreds and thousands of dollars, in a certain sense of the word, and another man only one dollar, and yet both be equal; but they possess the same, not as their own, but as stewards of the Lord; it being the Lord’s property.

We read, in another revelation that God gave in the early rise of this Church, that unless we are equal in earthly things, we cannot be made equal in heavenly things. Here is an equality preached. There must be an equality in earthly things, in order that we may be equal in heavenly things. Now supposing the people were all to be made equal today, tomorrow they would, through circumstances, become unequal: but I will show you how this equality can be established upon an order that never can be shaken—that inequality, in regard to property, never more can be introduced among the Saints, that no circumstance which can transpire can make them unequal. If a fire should burn up a man’s barn, and his stacks of grain, and everything he has accumulated, I will prove to you that it does not render him unequal with his brethren on the principle the Lord has established and ordained; so that when this order is once established among this people, they will become equal in earthly things, which will prepare them to be made equal in heavenly things.

In the first place how shall we get at this order? In what manner and by what means shall we begin to lay the foundation of this equality? The Lord has told us, that it is required of every man in this Church to lay all things, not one tenth alone, but to lay all things before the Bishop of His Church; consecrate the whole of it—everything he has—his flocks and herds—his cattle, horses, and mules—his gold and silver—his wearing apparel, watches, jewelry, and everything he possesses; consecrate it; not keep back a portion like Ananias and his wife, but give everything—make a full consecration to begin with. [Voice in the stand, “Wives and children.” ] Yes, give wives and children of course: the wives have given themselves to their husband, and he has to consecrate them; they are the Lord’s, He has only lent them to us.

Supposing that the people had complied with this law when it was first given, in every respect, instead of seeing inequality that has reigned for these many years in this Church, we should now have seen a different order of things. But we lacked experience, and there was too much covetousness in our hearts, for a full consecration of property, then. In consecrating property, we must, in the first place, remember that it is not ours. Why? Because the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. We have no cattle, no gold or silver, no watches or jewelry, no property of any description, no houses, lands, or anything else which is our own, if the fulness of the earth is the Lord’s. Then in consecrating that which we have been in the habit of calling our own, we are only returning to the Lord His own property—that which we became legally possessed of according to the laws of man, but not according to the laws of God, He never having directly given us the things which we claim as ours; we have not got them according to the celestial law—according to the great principle and order God has established; but we came by them through speculation, trading, labor, etc., and after we thus got them they are the Lord’s still. We consecrate this property—it all goes into the hands of the Bishop of the Church. If the whole Church were to consecrate in this way they would have nothing left of their own. Then, it would all be the Lord’s, and it has to be consecrated too, says the revelation, with a covenant and a deed that cannot be broken; that is, according to the law of God and man, and if it is made according to the law of God in all respects, and also according to the law of the land in which we live, it will be in the situation the Lord wants it in, even the whole property of the Church.

We ask, are they not all equal now? Yes. If the whole Church have consecrated everything in their possession to the Bishop, is there not a perfect equality among them before they get their stewardship? Yes: this makes them perfectly so, as far as property is concerned; they are all in a state of equality, owning nothing. What is the next step to be taken in order to bring about equality of property? The Lord says, “Let the Bishop appoint every man his stewardship,” for, says the Lord, “It is required of every man to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity.” Now the Bishop begins and parcels out to this man his stewardship, and to that one his stewardship, according to the counsels of the First Presidency of the Church—the authority that has the management and control of the Lord’s property. Each one gets his stewardship.

Now supposing one man obtained double the quantity of another; it is not his, but the stewardship is the Lord’s; consequently the man is on a perfect equality with his brother still. But there is another sense in which this equality may be made, so far as the consecrating of property to the Church is concerned, which includes the whole of it. I say, who does it belong to in another sense of the word? I have shown you that it belongs to the Lord, and if we are His, we shall inherit it with Him; consequently in another sense of the word it is all ours. If each one in the Church, then, possesses the whole of it, as joint heirs with the Lord, is there not an equality? You may diminish the common property or joint fund just as much as you please. Suppose it were diminished to one half by mobs, &c., it does not make the Church unequal, not in the least; for each one may be considered as the possessor of the whole; he inherits all things; he is a joint heir with Jesus Christ in the inheritance of the earth, and all the fulness thereof. Can you make any inequality here? If each man in the Church is a joint inheritor of all the property, and a part of it, it makes each one perfectly equal with the rest.

Now I defy you to bring about an equality upon any other principle. You may divide the properties of the Church today, yes, if it be possible, make a perfectly equal division of it, so that every man in the whole Church should have his share, and let him call it his own; it would not be one day before there would be an inequality again introduced; and one man would possess that which is above another; it could not be otherwise; the changes, difficulties, want of judgment in the management and control of property, and all these things combined together, would serve to render these divided shares unequal; one man losing a large portion of his property through mismanagement; another by fire, by mobocracy, or in some other way, so that neither would have one half, one quarter, or perhaps one hundredth part as much as some of his brethren with whom he was only a short time before perfectly equal.

No equality can be brought about by dividing property; the Lord never intended such an order of things. It is not a division of property that is going to bring about a oneness among the Latter-day Saints in temporal things, but it is a union of property, that all the property may be united, and considered belonging to the Lord, and to every individual in the whole Church, as joint heirs with Him, or as His stewards. You may imagine, then, how my heart rejoiced, when I received a letter from our beloved President, informing me that steps had been taken for a full consecration of the property of the Church, to introduce the order of stewardships among the Saints of God.

But in regard to these stewardships, it is not needful or necessary, or the Lord never intended, that every man should possess an equal amount of stewardship with his brother. Why? Because God has given to some men greater ability to manage and control property than others. He may give to one, one talent; to another, two; to another, three; to another, five; and to another, ten; and then command them to make use of these talents according to the instructions and revelations given, and be accountable to Him who gave them. “It is required of every man,” says the Lord, “to be accountable to me in their stewardships, both in time and in eternity;” consequently these stewards have to render all their accounts to some one in time, but to whom? To the Lord’s Bishop—to those whom the Lord has appointed to receive the accounts. And if a man undertakes to squander the stewardship which the Lord has entrusted to him, He takes it away, and gives it to another who is a more wise steward; one who will manage His property in such a way as to benefit the whole; each one seeking the interest of the whole as well as of himself.

Each one is to be considered as possessor of all things in the Church: but if it be all common property, how is it that the Saints can get along and give an account of their stewardship of property? Will not one brother go and pick up his brother’s plow, and take it off, without asking him for it, imagining that he is the possessor of all things? Yes, if that brother had no understanding he would do it, but when he comes to understand the law of the Lord, he will find that all these stewardships are controlled by the wisest kind of laws; hence the Lord says, “Thou shall not take thy brother’s garment; thou shalt pay for that which thou dost receive from thy brother.” Notwithstanding the whole property belongs to the Lord, and to each one as joint heirs, yet the Lord has given strict laws with regard to the stewardships, so that one has no business to go and pick up his neighbor’s ax, or take any of his stewardship from him, without leave; but he is to pay for that which he receives from his brother steward, unless he borrow it by fairly asking for it.

On this principle it would be an easy matter for each steward to render an account of his time; and if necessary he could account for every item of his stewardship. But if it were permitted to run at random, according to the vague ideas of common stock in some societies in the world, away would go a man’s hat, or his coat, and he could render no account of it at all. But according to the strict principle which the Lord has ordained, he could show to his Bishop a full account of everything in his stewardship—that he has gained so much here, and made so much there, upon the Lord’s property. What says the Bishop? “Well done, good and faithful steward, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will enlarge that stewardship,” providing he had anything to enlarge it with. “You have gained other talents; you have increased upon that entrusted to your charge; you have not squandered it away foolishly for that which would not profit you.”

There would be no desire on the part of stewards to steal, “For, says one, If I go and steal from another steward, it is all the Lord’s, and it would do just as much good in the hands of that steward to whom it was entrusted, as if I were to possess it by stealing it from him.”

How much every Saint ought to be interested for this order of things to be brought about, realizing that all the property of the Church is for his own good as well as for the good of the whole body.

But in regard to these inequalities in stewardship: I will show you another principle where men may have equal judgment, and yet there may be an inequality of stewardships; it is in consequence of the various branches of business in which they may be engaged. It is well known that for farming purposes, it does not require the same skill as for manufacturing many articles, nor the same capital. And the ingenious mechanic, who understands the nature or construction of machinery, might have to be entrusted with a stewardship of one hundred thousand dollars worth of property to establish his manufactory, and work it so as to have it prove a benefit to the whole Church; and without this amount being put into his hands, as a steward, he might not be able to accomplish anything needed in the particular branch of manufacturing with which he was familiar. The stewardships, in such cases, would be different, not only in kind, but in the amount or value of the stewardship.

Let me illustrate this in another way; not but what I suppose all the Saints understand it, but you only want to be put in mind of that you have understood for years, but have not perhaps practiced upon it; and unless a people practice upon that they do understand, it does not benefit them much. Suppose a man have twelve sons, and he had according to the laws of the land 78 acres of ground; he gives to his oldest son twelve acres as a steward; he gives to his next son eleven acres, and to the next ten, and so on down to the youngest, which he gives one acre; and he says unto them, “Manage these different inheritances that I have set off to you, and gain all you can;” would those sons have any right or title to call that property their own? No: they would say, “It is father’s property, and he has told us to go and occupy it, and he has given us rules by which we are to be governed; that the youngest may not encroach upon the oldest, nor any one encroach upon another, but that each stewardship may be managed and controlled according to the regulations he has given, and at the end of the year each of us must render a strict account to our father of every iota of our business transactions, of our losses and gains in trading, etc.” Now all this property, we see, belongs to the father, but it is all for the benefit of the twelve sons; they are all to be made joint heirs with the father in the possession of it. In due time, when they have learned the law the father has ordained, they will be prepared to enter as joint owners upon the grand inheritances, not only of 78 acres, but to possess all things that the father has.

Temporal things are a type of heavenly things, as the Lord says, in one of the revelations, “All things have their likeness, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual.” Does this order of things—the equality of property—have its likeness? Yes, in the heavens, and it is typical of that celestial order that we are all praying for, that we all desire the Lord to bestow upon us. We all feel very anxious to enter into the fulness of celestial glory, and inherit thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, and to have kingdoms appointed to us, and to receive crowns and to sway a scepter over kingdoms, as wise rulers. If we want to get there, we must begin here, and learn the order that is to be there. If we should have a division of property here, as we have had heretofore, and continue this order of things, as has been for many years back, and never should begin to practice upon this equality of things which God has ordained in His law, when we come to enter the courts above, we should be ignoramuses; we could say, “We read in your law something about it, but the people did not practice it, they were careless, and did not keep the law.” And now we do not know how to manage this celestial glory, and these kingdoms, and these worlds placed under our charge; for we are to give an account, not only in time, but in eternity, of our stewardship; consequently we must improve upon the true order of things here, which is typical of that which is hereafter; and if we learn the lessons here, everything there will be plain before us, and we will be able to enter into the very things we have been practicing years before. There will be an inequality, no doubt, in some respects in the eternal worlds, in proportion to the eternal things that will be entrusted to the servants, as in temporal things; but there will be a perfect equality in another respect; the revelation says, “He maketh them equal in might, and in power, and in dominion.”

Did you ever think of that? It is only in one respect. Each one will be made joint heir of all things in heaven, and upon earth. What more can a person want, if he is made a joint heir of all things; and one revelation says, he that is a faithful and wise steward in time shall inherit all things; consequently they are equal in dominion, and in power, and in might, as the Vision states. This don’t say that each one shall actually control, and govern, and manage all things; that is a very different thing; just as it is here in temporal things, though each person may be considered as the inheritor of all the properties of the Church; yet when he comes to the management of property, he has only a share; so in heavenly things, a person may have the management of only one world, or of two, or of three, or of as many as there are particles of dust that compose our globe, yet, after all, each can proclaim himself as the inheritor of all things, being a joint heir of the grand universal inheritance.

There is no division of celestial glory, imparting to each one an equa– lity of dominion, and might, and power; it is not to be divided, but there is an equality in the union of all these things. That is what we want to get at here; we want to learn the alphabet of it here, and advance to the a, be, abbs, and get over into two syllables, and keep on until we understand all about the celestial order by practice in this world, and then we will learn the laws that are to govern the different individuals that control and manage certain portions of the great joint stock inheritance; we will learn the laws that are to rule and govern between man and man; and we will not be ignorant of it when we go into the next world, we will find there that one kingdom will not have the right to encroach upon the royalty of another and take away its right, but each one will be governed by true and holy laws. Upon this principle, and this only, can we understand those revelations which so often speak of the principles of equality in the eternal worlds. Equality of dominion we cannot understand, by supposing each person that comes into the celestial glory is going to have the same number of worlds, and of kingdoms, and thrones set off to him that those have who have been in the celestial glory millions of ages—that he is going to have the same number of principalities and powers, and servants or angels to wait upon him to carry out his commands. An equality of dominion is that that I have already explained, each one inheriting all things, according to the laws God has ordained for celestial beings, but not directly or personally controlling only that which is placed under his management.

Much might be said upon this subject; it is glorious, and it is a principle I wish the Saints in Utah may all be enlisted in, that it may be sought by the nations afar off, when they come to learn that this people are the people of God, and they are governed by God’s laws; that they may see the order carried out before them in practice, that we may be looked to as a great light set upon the mountains, that will reflect upon all the face of the earth, and show the people the true order by practice, and then they will see the difference between God’s order of the possession of property, and the little, narrow, contracted orders established by man; for each one is grasping for all he can get, oppressing the widow and the fatherless, bearing down his neighbor, and grinding him down in distress, tyrannizing over mankind, because he has riches at his command. The Lord has seen this order long enough, and it is a stink in His nostrils, and He wishes it driven away from the earth, and He has given us instructions to do it away, and if we want to do it away, let us begin among ourselves first. I rejoice in this principle, because it takes away the idea of having so many poor in our midst. You know in the days of Enoch the Lord placed the people upon the high places and mountains, and they flourished, and He blessed them, and called them Zion because there was no poor among them, and the Lord was in their midst.

Now the Latter-day Zion is to be built up according to the same pattern, so far as circumstances will permit, for we expect that the Zion which was built up by Enoch, that had no poor in it, will come down again at the commencement of the Millennium to meet the Zion here, according to the song in the Book of Covenants, “The Lord has brought up Zion from beneath, the Lord has brought down Zion from above,” and they shall gaze upon each other’s countenances, and see eye to eye. When we get there how sadly we should be disappointed, if we should look forward upon all the vast extent of the Zion of Enoch, and all the Zions God has taken out of His creations to heaven, and should see no poor among them; and then we should look upon Zion brought up from beneath, containing poor and rich; should we not be ashamed? Especially when we reflected that the law of God had been among us; we should not have boldness to gaze upon their countenances, unless we came into the same order of things that existed among them.

Let us prepare ourselves for the coming of Enoch’s Zion, that we may have the same order of things among us that they had in the beginning. Then, again, it will be a glorious thing in many other respects. What is it that creates this great inequality that we naturally see in the world, in regard to the high and low? It is the difference of parentage in many respects. One man is so situated he can train up his children in all the learning of the day; he can take them into his carriage, and they can ride at their ease, and in their grandeur, while the poor and needy and destitute bow before them, or are trampled under their feet. There is no such thing as union there, because they were unequal to begin with. When the Saints have this established in their midst, you will see them all alike, where none can say that “such a person is richer than I am, and I have no right to associate with him.” Neither can the rich look upon those that are poor, and say, “My children shall not marry with the poor, and unite with them in their festivities, &c., because I have more property than they.” All these things will be done away, and the principle of equality will be established, and all will be stewards of the Lord’s property. That is what I wish to see—that when one family of children have the privilege of being educated, the rest should enjoy it; when one family are in possession of the good things of the earth, the rest should enjoy the same privileges also.

How do I feel, to take it home to myself? I long for the time to come when I can consecrate everything I have got; all the cattle I have; I have got some first-rate cattle, the Lord has prospered them. I want the time to come when I can consecrate every hoof of them; also my books, and the right and title I have to publish my works, also my wearing apparel, and my houses; they are not mine, and not being mine, I have no business with this property, only as the Lord sees fit to let me have it. When I have done this, if the Lord in His mercy will give me one team, five or ten teams, to make use of as His steward, I will endeavor to keep a record of that stewardship, of the losses and the gains of it, and will endeavor to render an account of it in time as well as in eternity, and an account of all things pertaining to it, and of my transactions in regard to it; for unless I am a wise and faithful steward in time, I never expect to inherit all things in eternity.

Having said this much, may the Lord bless you, and may His Holy Spirit be poured out upon you, and may your hearts be united to bring about this union; for if we unite ourselves together upon this principle, with all our hearts, mights, minds, and strength, laying aside all covetousness, there is not any power beneath the celestial kingdom that is able to prevail against us; we will prosper in all things, and the Lord will make us the richest of all people that have been upon the face of the earth for many generations, and He will bless our basket and our store, and increase and multiply the flocks and the herds in the fields, and cause them to flourish exceedingly, and make us mighty; and when we go forth He will make the nations to tremble before us, because His power and glory will be with us when we are doing His will and are united in one.

An Address by Elder George A. Smith, Delivered to the Children who formed the Procession at the Anniversary of the Entrance of the Pioneers into Great Salt Lake Valley, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, July 24, 1854

My Young Friends—It is with pleasure I rise to address you on the present occasion.

Having been called upon to walk in the Procession, as the Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it created in my breast feelings not easily described; it brought up reminiscences of past scenes, and of celebrations similar to this, wherein I have acted in company with my worthy predecessor, Dr. Willard Richards, one of the First Presidency of the Church of God on earth, and one of the Pioneers who first entered this Valley. He has gone to rest, after being worn out by trials, persecutions, and adversities, and by the difficulties incident in the forming of this settlement in the Valleys of the mountains.

I could have stopped to drop a tear to the memory of departed worthies—the Historian, the aged Patriarch John Smith, and many others; at the same time, I could but feel joyful to see such an immense assembly, gathered together to commemorate the day on which the Pioneers first arrived in this region to inhabit these valleys.

Should we refer to the pages of the history that is no doubt written in many a private journal, our memories would be refreshed with the startling truth, that the first fifteen years of our existence had been a continued scene of trials, persecutions, afflictions, and murders; including the murder of the Prophet, the Patriarch, and a great many others of the ablest and most energetic members of the Church.

At a Council of the leading men of this community in Nauvoo, it was concluded that on finishing the Temple there, a company of one thousand or fifteen hundred pioneers should establish themselves in the mountains, to prepare the way for a safe retreat from the tyranny and oppression which had so long followed this people. This conclusion was unknown to the public, hence the surprise of the mob at our willingness to depart.

In a very few days afterwards, bands of organized mobbers commenced the work of burning our houses in Yelrom, Green Plains, and Bear Creek settlements, and throughout the country. As if they were not satisfied with the destruction of the hundreds of lives their persecutions had already sacrificed, and the millions of property they had already destroyed in Missouri; as if dissatisfied with the blood of the Prophet still smoking from the ground as it were; they lighted anew the torch of the incendiary, and the Governor of the State was silently willing to fan its fires. It will be recollected that he did not stop the house burning, but we stopped it ourselves, under the direction of the Sheriff of the County.

The moment that was done, General Harden, mounted on a white horse, backed up and accompanied by other dignitaries of the State came into Nauvoo with four hundred men. What was said to us by these worthies? They said, that in consequence of the combination against us throughout the State, the Governor did not feel at liberty to do anything for us; so we were abandoned to the rage of unprincipled men.

They then informed us they had come to search for some men that were missing, and formed a square around the Temple, also around the stables of the Nauvoo house, but more particularly around the Masonic Hall, the basement story of which contained a quantity of wine. General Hardin, and others of his band, went into the stables where a horse had just been bled, and concluded a man had been killed there, but fortunately the horse was there to answer for the blood. The General and his Staff then pierced with their swords the heaps of manure, thinking, I presume, that if they pricked a dead man, he would squeal. I thought they acted a little simple, for they might have presumed that if anybody had been killed, they would have been thrown in the Mississippi, which was not more than ten rods from the stables.

This was all that was done to punish the house burners; and the State authorities said they could do nothing for us; hence the only alternative was to leave, as nine counties of the State had concluded in Convention, that we must leave or be exterminated. The fact is, this was the very conclusion we had already come to, ourselves, in a Council a few days before. Yet it was thought proper not to reveal the secret of our intention to flee to the mountains; but as a kind of put off, it was communicated in the strictest confidence to General Hardin, who promised never to tell of it, that we intended to settle Vancouver’s Island. This report, however, was industriously circulated, as we anticipated it would be.

The persecution was blazing on every hand, and the reputable authorities “could do nothing for us;” which was equal to saying, “Hold on, and let us run our daggers into you.”

The first companies which left, in consequence of those persecutions, were obliged to start in the dead of winter, in the beginning of February, 1846. Many of the companies crossed the Mississippi, with their wagons, on the ice, and the rest in flatboats, and winding their way through a new and trackless country, making a road of nearly four hundred miles in length, stopped to winter on the right bank of the Missouri, where they built quite a town, called Winter Quarters.

Finding that our numbers in Nauvoo were reduced to a mere handful, the mob, numbering some 1,800 armed men, supplied with scientific engineers, and good artillery, attacked the remaining few, who were chiefly lame, blind, widows, fatherless children, and those too poor to get away. There were not one hundred able bodied men to stand against this superior force in defense of the helpless; this is called the battle of Nauvoo, and was fought in September. They cannonaded the citizens of Nauvoo, and finally, after three days’ fighting, and being forced to retreat three times, they succeeded in driving them over the river.

What was the result of all this? In April, 1847, we started from Winter Quarters, with a hundred and forty-three men (instead of 1,000) as Pioneers. We were “few,” and I was going to say “far between,” but we were close together. We set out, and made a new road to this valley, the greater portion of the way; we thus worked the path through, and arrived here on the day we now commemorate.

This is a hasty glance of history. To enter into details would introduce matters that would unnecessarily harrow up the minds of many. Suffice it to say, like the pilgrim fathers who first landed upon Plymouth Rock, we are here pilgrims, and exiles from liberty; and instead of being driven into the wilderness to perish, as our enemies had designed, we find ourselves in the middle of the floor, or on the top of the heap. Right in the country that scientific men and other travelers had declared worthless, we are becoming rich in the comforts and blessings of life, we are now rocking in the cradle of liberty, in which we are daily growing; and I challenge the Union to produce a parallel of this day’s Celebration.

I say to my young friends, be firm to extend the principles of freedom and liberty to this country, and never suffer the hand of oppression to invade it.

In the history of our persecutions there have arisen a great many anecdotes; but one will perhaps serve to illustrate the condition in which I wish to see every man that raises in these mountains the hand of oppression upon the innocent. I wish to see such men rigged out with the same honors and comforts as was the honorable Samuel C. Owen, Commander-in-Chief of the Jackson County mob. He, with eleven men, was engaged at a mass meeting, to raise a mob to drive the Saints from Clay County. This was in the year 1834, in the month of June. They had made speeches, and done everything to raise the indignation of the people against the Saints. In the evening, himself, James Campbell, and nine others, commenced to cross the Missouri River on their way home again; and the Lord, or some accident, knocked a hole in the bottom of the boat. When they discovered it, says Commander Owen to the company on the ferry boat, “We must strip to the bone, or we shall all perish.” Mr. Campbell replied, “I will go to hell before I will land naked.” He had his choice, and went to the bottom. Owen stripped himself of every article of clothing, and commenced floating down the river. After making several attempts he finally landed on the Jackson side of the river, after a swim of about fourteen miles. He rested some time, being perfectly exhausted, and then started into the nettles, which grow very thick and to a great height, in the Missouri bottoms, and which was his only possible chance in making from the river to the settlements. He had to walk four miles through the nettles, which took him the remainder of the night, and when he got through the nettles, he came to a road, and saw a young lady approaching on horseback, who was the belle of Jackson County. In this miserable condition he laid himself behind a log, so that she could not see him. When she arrived opposite the log, he says, “Madam, I am Samuel C. Owen, the Commander-in-Chief of the mob against the Mormons; I wish you to send some men from the next house with clothing, for I am naked.” The lady in her philanthropy dismounted, and left him a light shawl and a certain unmentionable undergarment, and passed on. So His Excellency Samuel C. Owen, who was afterwards killed in Mexico by foolishly exposing himself, contrary to orders, took up his line of march for the town, in the shawl and petticoat uniform, after his expedition against the “Mormons.”

My young friends, have the goodness to use every man so, who comes into your country to mob and oppress the innocent; and LADIES, DON’T LEND HIM ANY CLOTHING.

An Address by Elder Daniel H. Wells, Delivered to the Children who formed the Procession on the Anniversary of the Entrance of the Pioneers into Great Salt Lake Valley, Delivered in the Tabernacle, July 24, 1854

Beloved Friends—We are met in commemoration of the important historical fact, that on the 24th of July, seven years ago, a band of brethren came to this place, seeking a home, an asylum, where they might rest awhile from their arduous and toilsome march, and feel secure from the wrath of wicked, reckless, infuriated men, who had, in times past, pursued and hunted them with relentless fury, and driven them from the abodes of civilization. Directed by the same God who led Moses and the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt, they, with our beloved President at their head, located in this valley.

This becomes an important fact from its associations, fraught as it is with momentous consequences to us as a people; transplanting us from the narrow limits of a single city, to a large territory, in which we are fast becoming a mighty people. We perceive the hand-dealing of a wise and beneficent God in this, who has said, by the mouth of His Prophet, that it was “His business to provide for His Saints.” This also furnishes a strong illustration of high Heaven’s economy, in overruling and turning the wrath of man to its service and praise, and from “seeming ill still educing good.”

This day, in reality, is the Anniversary of our Birthday as a free people. We may say that it was a bloodless conquest, and yet our path has not been strewn with flowers, as witness the parting pang when exhausted strength has been laid low in the dust, and bitter tears have only been dried in view of a better future.

We this day rejoice together in union and harmony—in peace and prosperity; and as the sun of gladness has arisen upon our horizon, so may it never again become darkened by the mists of sorrow, nor the storms of persecution be permitted to obscure its genial rays.

We now possess a country sufficient for our present necessities and purposes, institutions which we have received from God, through His Prophets, and, under the broad folds of our glorious Constitution, American freedom.

We now have the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates of our own consciences, and no one to disturb, or make us afraid.

What more can we ask? What more can we expect? The balance rests with ourselves. If we would be happy, if we would be great, have the knowledge and wisdom of God, and be prospered, it remains with us to pursue that course, to perform those duties, and to live that life, which shall conspire to produce those blessings.

The kingdom will advance, and bring with it the treasures of know– ledge, wisdom, and power, just so fast as the Lord finds that He has a people ready, willing, and capable of receiving, and bearing it off. If we would hasten the time for the coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory, we must increase our diligence, hasten ourselves in the attainment of every perfection, and by our purity and excellence bring unto ourselves Heaven’s excellence and purity.

My friends, this is a day of rejoicing with the Saints, and here in this sacred place of worship, we mingle together, the old and the young, in offering to our God, praise and thanksgiving for His kind mercies and blessings. As we mingle in our amusements and rejoicings, and participate together in our celebration of this day, and the realization of our dependence upon Him who has wrought out our salvation, and brought us to an inheritance in this goodly land, amid scenes of joy and prosperity, it is always well to remember and acknowledge the kind hand of Providence, from whom we receive every good and perfect gift.

How can we well express the overflowing gratitude of our hearts to the Giver of all good, for what we this day behold? Thousands of children in a single city, of less than seven years growth, convened under their respective banners, each bearing a motto expressive of their views and sentiments, intention and designs; each bosom swelling with pride and gratitude, that they too are the children of the Kingdom, unto whom pertain the promises of God concerning Israel.

My young friends, how shall we reciprocate? What shall we do to advance the glorious cause of truth, make ourselves useful, and fulfil the measure of our creation upon the earth? I answer, it is for us to be obedient, hearken unto the counsel of our parents and leaders, to keep the commandments of God. It is to qualify ourselves to follow some useful oc– cupation, to be industrious in acquiring knowledge, and not spend our time in useless visiting, and lounging about in idleness. It is to have every moment devoted to some useful employment, to serve God, and walk humbly before Him, blameless in all of His ordinances, be true to God and His servants, follow in the dictates of wisdom and experience, be patient and courteous toward each other, be persevering, virtuous, honest, and faithful—in short, be good, faithful Saints of the Most High God.

If we do this, we shall always enjoy the blessings of a good conscience, void of offense toward God and man. Let our aim be for God, and an exaltation in His Kingdom, keeping our minds constantly directed to the attainment of this object; and no matter what may befall us here below, we shall be safe in the arms of our blessed Redeemer, who said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Does our Father in heaven view us with approbation this day? Let us look to it, each one of us, that we do nothing either in thought, word, or deed, neither this, nor any other day, but that He can look down upon us with approbation. Let not folly nor wickedness be committed in Israel, lest we be called upon to put away the workers of iniquity from our midst, and thus cleanse Israel from sin and guilt.

Young men and youths, just rising to take a part in the affairs of men, if you follow in the precepts of wisdom, and abide in the counsel of truth, you shall have strength according to your day, and the mountain torrent shall not be more fierce to encounter than you, when the enemy shall again marshal his hosts for battle; the mountain roe shall not be swifter, nor more agile in its flight, than you in scaling the mountain height, or leaping the deep, dark chasm, made by a thousand floods. Nothing shall present a barrier too high, too rugged, or so difficult that you cannot surmount it.

As physical strength shall be given, so shall mental strength and ability, and you will increase and strengthen until you can fathom the deep sciences, and unfold the mysteries of eternity.

To you, also, ye maidens of Israel, is it not an honor to be numbered among the daughters of Zion? Unto you this invitation extends, to make yourselves useful in the drama of life; qualify yourselves also for the part which may be allotted you to perform in the Kingdom of our God. Preserve yourselves in purity and the perfection of every virtue. Let your time be fully occupied in some useful employment and although you may not be called upon to encounter the fierce contest of the world, as your brothers, fathers, or husbands, yet your path shall so closely entwine itself with theirs, as to strengthen, nourish, and sustain them, be a present help in every time of need; and when the storm clouds shall lower, and fierce persecution rage, be enabled by united faith and energy to bid defiance to “Mormon” foes, whether they come in form of men in hostile array, or the more insidious and stealthy manner of demons from the arch and subtle intriguer, and deceiver of the human race.

Yes, fair maidens, if you would have loveliness encircle your brow, and beauty adorn your forms, let the gems of virtue, truth, and sincerity sparkle your eyes, and adorn your minds with knowledge and wisdom. Let excellence, goodness, and industry embellish your lives, and the star of your glory shall never wane, nor the promised inheritance to dwell among the Gods be withheld, proving to God and man:

“The kindest blessing High Heaven could send; In life a treasure, and in death a friend.”

This is an age of progress, and if we would keep pace with the times, we must progress also. The youth of other States, Territories, or Nations, must not outstrip us in the arts and sciences, nor in anything that is calculated to adorn life and become useful to man.

Situated as we are, so far distant from the emporium of letters and commerce, some may think that this is difficult to avoid; but it is not so. It is easy not only to keep pace with, but outstrip them even in the race of progress. Our advantages are simply these—we have not the burden of trash and nonsense to wade through at the beginning, which others have; the mind is therefore more free to act, and can conceive more real truth and imbibe more real knowledge in a given time; and although we may not yet possess every facility for our advancement, still we are more than compensated by the wholesome influence of virtue and religion, rules, regulations, and institutions freed from the bigotry, superstitions, dogmas, and follies of ages. We moreover breathe the pure mountain air, and drink from the cool mountain stream, and dwell in a lighter and purer atmosphere, not only physically, but socially and morally. Are these advantages, and do they contribute to correct thinking? If they are, and if they do, then we have certainly no cause to complain.

If we will only avail ourselves of the opportunities which we possess, take the good, and reject the evil, abide in the light and truth, and apply ourselves, we have no fears but that we shall excel. And time will show in regard to our moral and social institutions, which Congress are so often trying to legislate about. They are welcome to all of their moral and social rules and regulations, religious or otherwise; nor do I suppose that we shall try to legislate about them, al– though we have just about as much right to, as they have about ours. The argument is opportune; I could not wish for better illustration for the subject under consideration, than the already muddy and beclouded brains which some of the present Congress exemplified upon this very subject. One might suppose that the spirit at least of the 3,000 clergymen upon the Nebraska and Kansas Bill, had found its way into their minds, and left its impression with them. What other item of religious faith they will next seek to interfere with, is left for time to determine; but I should expect, that women would be prohibited from marrying, or Shakerism abolished.

Excuse me, my friends, for alluding to such a subject, upon an occasion like this, but the absurdity of undertaking to legislate upon the morality of our social relations and religious institutions, imperceptibly led me to make a comment upon it.

If it is an indication of a righteous feeling among them, there may be some small hopes of them yet; but it “smacks rather too much of the SULFUR to be genuine,” as the parrot said when the devil taught him prayers. I hope you will accept of my apology, and I will refrain.

Our Pilgrim Fathers, when they landed on Plymouth Rock, constituted a small band, ’tis true; yet by uniting rich resources with energy and determined perseverance, witness what it amounted to—New England’s rocks and hills were peopled; large cities sprung into existence, and she sends her sons and daughters too into every State; they are the first upon the confines of civilization, exploring the deep forest and widespread prairie, stemming Missouri’s flood, and traversing ocean’s wide domain. The sons of the Pilgrim Fathers are everywhere; here today are congregated thousands of them, who feel the same spirit of freedom which emulated them to flee from under the oppressor’s rod, and beyond the tyrant’s grasp.

Our Pioneers, unlike our Revolutionary Fathers, did not dissolve their political ties, but more than our Pilgrim Fathers, fled from persecution, and planted their standard like them, free to all to flee unto. Here we hope to preserve American freedom, to ourselves and others, although it was not preserved to us in the land of our nativity. Here we hope to be prospered and increased in knowledge, wisdom, and power; enabled to preserve our rights, and our liberties, as did our Revolutionary Fathers, when oppression became too onerous, and tyranny ranked too high.

But I forbear. Let us do our duty to ourselves, our country, and our God; be vigilant in the preservation of virtue and truth; and leave the event with the God of Nations, who shutteth and no man can open, and opens and no man can shut.

An Address by President Brigham Young, Delivered to the Children who Formed the Procession at the Anniversary of the Entrance of the Pioneers Into Great Salt Lake Valley, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, July 24, 1854.

My remarks on this occasion will be disconnected, in order to answer my feelings, and to satisfy the congregation.

Here is a spectacle that is indeed admirable, and a scene that has called forth many reflections in my mind, and, no doubt, in the minds of the spectators.

First of all, allow me to remark, that before it was concluded to celebrate this day, the Seventh Anniversary of the entrance of the Pioneers into these valleys which we now occupy, I had determined to treat some of my family and friends to a dinner and had made preparations accordingly. This has occupied a portion of my time and attention, but before all my preparatory labor was performed, I was urged to attend on this interesting occasion. This has thrown my previous plans, touching this day, somewhat into confusion, still I am filled with joy in beholding this heart-cheering scene. According to the Program it seems I am to be escorted by the procession back to my dwelling. I however ask it as a favor of the officers of the day to excuse me, and relieve me from being present, or from taking any further part in this day’s proceedings, after the dismissal of this congregation, that I may repair immediately to my house, for, if I have to wait for the company to escort me, it will make it late before I can be present to wait upon my friends.

Before I proceed further, I wish to make another request, in behalf of the children, who are not capable of judging for themselves—they would traverse these streets until they fainted. I wish the Bishops and Marshals of the day to consider this, and my advice is to dismiss them soon; and while they are parading the streets, be sure to have plenty of water handy for them to drink. If these requests can be granted, I shall feel thankful, and I presume you will have no objections to granting them.

On such occasions as this, our Tabernacle does not afford room for seating the people. I wish the Bishops to hearken to a request I will make of them—Enable brother Hyde to prosecute the labors placed upon him to build a Bowery, on the north of this Tabernacle, that will convene about twelve thousand people; and let it be done before another Celebration comes off or even before another Conference. I am disposed to take a vote upon this matter. If the brethren and sisters, old and young, will put forth their exertions and means to assist in accomplishing this work, let them signify it by raising their right hands. [All hands were up.] I shall with pleasure render all the assistance possible.

Were there time, I would like to make a great many remarks pertaining to parents and children, but my time will be too limited.

A portion of the youth of our community is before me, and could I give these young persons a word of counsel, it would meet my wishes, and gratify my desires to do them good. I will venture to give them a few items pertaining to life, health, vigor, and salvation; and I hope they will not forget what I am about to say to them.

I will begin by asking the older portion of the assembly, if you do not recollect that when you were two, three, or four years of age, many of your mothers, as soon as you were able to drink out of a glass, and they happened to have a little wine, would compel you to partake of it, contrary to your feeble remonstrances? Do you not recollect when your mother made a little sling to revive her when she was fatigued with labor or exertion of any kind, saying to you, “Drink, my child?” Now, I wish to say to you girls, never be guilty of such practices when you become mothers. Never, when you sit down at the table to drink strong tea, perhaps as a stimulant when you are fatigued, give it to your child. I see this practice almost daily, or occasionally, at least, in this as well as other communities. Keep the tea, the coffee, and the spirits from the mouths of your children.

I could say many things that would be of great worth to you, pertaining to the rising generation, had I time; but I wish you to recollect and practice this one item I have briefly laid before you. I wish the daughters of Israel to far exceed their mothers in wisdom. And I wish these young men and boys to far exceed their fathers. I wish my sons to far exceed me in goodness and virtue. This is my earnest desire concerning my children, and that they not only walk in the footsteps of their father, but take a course to enjoy life, health, and vigor while they live, and the Spirit of intelligence from God, that they may far outstrip their father in long life, and in the good they will perform in their day. What I say of my children I apply to all.

Young men, my young brethren, will you accept a little counsel from me? When you go from this Tabernacle make a covenant with yourselves that you will taste no more ardent spirits, unless it is absolutely necessary, and you know it is; also make a covenant with yourselves that no more of that filthy, nasty, and obnoxious weed called tobacco shall enter your mouths; it is a disgrace to this and every other community. I am well aware of the reflections of many upon this subject. You may say to yourselves, “If I can do as well as my parents, I think I shall do well, and be as good as I want to be; and I should not strive to excel them.” But if you do your duty you will far excel them in everything that is good—in holiness, in physical and intellectual strength, for this is your privilege, and it becomes your duty. Young men, take this advice from me, and practice it in your future life, and it will be more valuable to you than the riches of this world. “Why,” say you, “I see the older brethren chew tobacco, why should I not do it likewise?” Thus the boys have taken license from the pernicious habits of others, until they have formed an appetite, a false appetite; and they love a little liquor, and a little tobacco, and many other things that are injurious to their constitutions, and certainly hurtful to their moral character. Take a course that you can know more than your parents. We have had all the traditions of the age in which we were born to contend with; but these young men and women, or the greater part of them, have been born in the Church, and brought up Latter-day Saints, and have received the teachings that are necessary to advance them in the kingdom of God on earth. If you are in any way suspicious that the acts of your parents are not right, if there is a conviction in your minds that they feed appetites that are injurious to them, then it is for you to abstain from that which you see is not good in your parents.

I will now offer a few words of encouragement, and I wish you to listen to them attentively. If you wish to be great in the Kingdom of God, you must be good. It has been told you often, and I reiterate it today, that no man or woman in this kingdom that the Lord Almighty has again established upon the earth, can become great without being good—without being true to their integrity, faithful to their trust, full of charity and good works. If they do not order their lives to do all the good they can, they will be stripped of their anticipations of greatness. You may write that down, and write it as revelation if you please, for it is true. Again, you must make sacrifice, if such you may call it, of every feeling you possess on earth, as a man, as a woman, as a father, as a mother, as a husband, as a wife, as a member of a family or community, for the sake of the kingdom of God on earth—that you assuredly must do. Now remember, that no earthly object may stand between you and your calling and duty.

While gazing upon the scene before me, and thinking of what we had passed through—scenes of affliction fleeting through my memory, I reflected on the generation now growing up, and on the past dealings of the Lord towards this people in His wise providences. I recollect that in 1839, the Twelve and others were called upon to go to England, after they had suffered much persecution and tribulation. Brother Joseph Smith had to leave Ohio and escape for his life. I had also to leave the country to save my life; I was going to the west, where Joseph told me to go. I had not been in Missouri more than five months, before the mob commenced to burn houses. I had expended what little means I had left, to purchase an inheritance for my family, but I had to leave Missouri, after being at the trouble and expense of conveying my goods there, and preparing for living; I left all behind and went to Illinois. Well, the revelation was that several of the brethren must start on missions to foreign lands, and we fulfilled it in the midst of poverty. This is a proof that the hand of God is able to sustain His people, and he will continue to provide for them.

If we do His will, He will take care of us as a people, and as individuals. One proof of this, is in my own life and experience. When I left my family to start for England, I was not able to walk one mile, I was not able to lift a small trunk, which I took with me, into the wagon. I left my wife and my six children without a second suit to their backs, for we had left all our property in possession of the mob. Every one of my family were sick, and my then youngest child, who has spoken before you today, was but ten days old at the time I left for England. Joseph said, “If you will go, I promise you, that your family shall live, and you shall live, and you shall know that the hand of God is in calling you to go and preach the Gospel of life and salvation to a perishing world.” He said all he could say to comfort and encourage the brethren. This was our situation, and I say, with regard to the remainder of the Twelve, they had all been driven like myself, and we were a band of brethren about equal. My family lived. When I left them they had not provisions to last them ten days, and not one soul of them was able to go to the well for a pail of water. I had lain for weeks, myself, in the house, watching from day to day for some person to pass the door, whom I could get to bring us in a pail of water. In this condition I left my family, and went to preach the Gospel. As for being cast down, or at all discouraged, or even such thoughts entering in my heart as, “I will provide for my family, and let the world perish,” these feelings and thoughts never once occurred to me; if I had known that every one of them would have been in the grave when I returned, it would not have diverted me from my mission one hour. When I was ready to start, I went and left my family in the hands of the Lord, and with the brethren.

I returned again in two years, and found that I had spent hundreds of dollars, which I had accumulated on my mission, to help the brethren to emigrate to Nauvoo, and had but one sovereign left. I said I would buy a barrel of flour with that, and sit down and eat it with my wife and children, and I determined I would not ask anybody for work, until I had eaten it all up. Brother Joseph asked me how I intended to live. I said, “I will go to work and get a living.” I tarried in Nauvoo from the year 1841 to 1846, the year we left. In that time I had accumulated much property, for the Lord multiplied everything in my hands, and blessed all my undertakings. But I never ceased to preach; and traveled every season, both in the winter, and in the summer. I was at home occasionally, and the Lord fed and clothed me. It has never entered into my heart, from the first day I was called to preach the Gospel to this day, when the Lord said, “Go and leave your family,” to offer the least objection. It has never entered into my heart to violate my covenants, to be an enemy to my neighbor, to deceive, to lie, or to take to myself that which was not my own. The youth around me, in their addresses this day, have eulogized the life and ability of brother Brigham; I want you not only to do as I have done, but a great deal better.

I am trying to encourage you to do good, and not evil, that the Lord Almighty may take care of you, sustain you, and give you power and influence, which He will do, if you serve Him with an undivided heart, but if you do not, He will chastise you. Remember it.

When I left Nauvoo, I again left all I had, and was under the necessity of borrowing a span of horses from this man, a yoke of cattle from that, and a wagon from the other; and after gathering up what little moveable property I could in this way, I left the country. I had accumulated thousands of dollars’ worth of property, and had to leave it in the hands of the mob, and, said I, “Eat it up, destroy it, or burn it down, as quick as you please, for ‘the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.’”

How did I obtain all this property? The Lord gave it to me; He has done what has been done. And if the youth will turn their hearts and affections to the Lord their God, they will be prepared to enter into the glory we are contending for, they will be prepared to redeem Zion. These young brethren and sisters will be prepared to return to Zion, bear off the Priesthood triumphantly, and build up the kingdom of God among the nations of the earth far better than we their fathers and mothers have, though we have done the best we could. Be full of integrity and love for all people, let hope abound in you, be filled with truth and virtue, and never allow yourselves to do a thing you would be ashamed to do in the presence of the Lord Almighty, or that you would be ashamed of were He to stand in your path, and call you to an account. That is the way to live, and it is the only way for a “Mormon” Elder to live, or for a “Mormon” mother, or daughter, or sister, in order to obtain what they wish to obtain. It is the only path you can possibly walk in to secure that which you desire. There are men who will tell you many things in your houses, and will try to pervert the truth, and the simple principles of the Holy Gospel, but you must remember that it is a holy life before God which gives you influence with Him.

Look, and see the past course of brother Brigham; he is not any different today from what he ever was. Knowing that the Lord wishes him to do a certain work, he is willing to do it. This has always been his character. You have seen me rise up here in my authority, when necessary, and I have had to be like a lion among the people. But who can point out a single act that has not been full of kindness to this people, collectively and individually? Though sometimes I have to roar to them; and why? Because sometimes they are foolish. This was exhibited here today, and also on the fourth of July. I saw scores of men who had no more sense than to crowd upon the women and children, at the risk of crushing them to death. When I see such conduct, I feel like a lion in the cause of the oppressed; and when the dogs and the wolves undertake to make this people a prey, they may expect that somebody is ready to roar, and contend for them.

Do you wish to know how men of God feel under such circumstances? I will tell you. If an enemy is crawling round this people, trying to make inroads to destroy them, they can pick up men as fast as they come to them, and throw them out of their way; they can conquer and destroy army after army; and in their feelings a thousand or ten thousand are no more to them than so many grasshoppers. It is the strength of the Almighty God that is in them. Keep His commandments, if you would have strength in the day you need it; and when you do not need it, be passive, like children in their mother’s lap, and be always ready and willing to extend the hand of charity and benevolence, and do all the good that is needed to be done, and you will thereby be able to resist the evil.

I had to go out to the door, when the people were crowding each other down, and talk as if I would swallow them up. What for? To injure them? No. Did I tell you to rush on and tread down women and children? No. Have I ever told you to take advantage of the weak and defenseless, or in any way oppress the innocent? No, never; and if you do, I shall handle you; and if you get into my way, you will be no more to me than a child’s toy.

I am consuming much time, and I wish to dismiss the meeting. But I will state that if children could know the feelings of their parents, when they do good or evil, it would have a salutary influence upon their lives; but no child can possibly know this, until it becomes a parent. I am compassionate therefore towards children. Parents, will you have a little wisdom, and learn to bring up your children under a proper influence, and under proper teaching? Mothers, remember that when your husbands are engaged in the service of the Church, and are all the time occupied in the duties of the Priesthood, so that they have not time to instruct their children, the duty devolves upon you. Then bring your children up in the ways of truth, and be to them both a father and mother, until they are old enough to perform duties by the side, and under the immediate eye of their father. I like to see mothers bring their children to meeting, as soon as they can be brought without injuring them, and when they can tell what they want, and call for water when they are faint. As soon as they are old enough to receive instructions, bring them here to be taught; and when you go home with them, do not put strong drinks, or tea, or coffee to their lips. I have actually seen women whip their children to make them drink spirits; such mothers do not know what is actually necessary they should know. Children should have milk, bread, water, and potatoes; and everything that would lay the foundation for disease should be strenuously kept from their stomachs, that no appetites may be formed for pernicious substances, which, when formed, cannot be overcome easily, if at all. The course mothers generally take in the world with their children, produces an appetite in the child that almost invariably leads to excess. There are scores in our midst who were begotten in a vault of liquor, and were enveloped in it till the day of their birth. They have come forth from it, and have a longing desire to still swim in it unto the day of their death. I wish you to understand this, sisters; and when you become mothers, know how to train up your children better than the past generations have been brought up.

Brethren and sisters, may the Lord bless you all. If I had time to answer my feelings here today, I should enjoy more freedom in my remarks. Brother George A. Smith has given you the music, and I wished to point out the way in which you ought to walk. Take him for the music, and my words for the counsel; all he said was right, and I want you to observe what he told you; and what more you should do, we will tell you in season.

A Discourse by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 2, 1854.

We are assembled this afternoon to partake of bread, and drink in remembrance of the death and suffering of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I am satisfied that the Spirit of the Lord attends us whenever we meet in the way He has commanded; and whenever we have a meek and quiet spirit, we are prepared to receive that additional influence of the Holy Spirit, necessary to lead us into all truth, through the ordinances of the house of the Lord.

While we sit and contemplate upon the fulfillment of prophecy, delivered by the Prophet of the Lord in this dispensation, and by many more of His servants; while we contemplate upon the fulfillment of the revelations in the Book of Mormon, and in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and think of the events that we have been for twenty odd years expecting and preaching about, now rolling in on the right and on the left; it is calculated to make some of our very anxious people feel more satisfied.

The time has been, that even many of our Elders, when the sun was retiring in the west, looked for some sign in the heavens—for some flaming sword unsheathed, or some visible display of the power of the Almighty, by which they might know of the near approach of the Son of God. Others have feared greatly they would not live to see the fulfillment of the prophecies of brother Joseph, brother Brigham and others; they have felt very anxious indeed about it. But I am convinced, that that class of Saints which have been so struck with anxiety and fearfulness, may now dismiss their fears, and dispense with all their anxiety in relation to the predicted events that are coming upon the earth, for they are rolling in with such rapidity—they are rushing upon the astonished world with such velocity, as to exceed even our most sanguine expectations.

The things that are transpiring upon the earth are certainly as great and as momentous as any of the revelations hold forth, or as any of the predictions of the Prophet Joseph have foretold.

Notwithstanding this display of the power of God in fulfilling His word, we need not expect the eyes of the inhabitants of the earth to be opened to understand the meaning of the astounding events that are transpiring around them, for one of the marked signs of the last days is, the blindness of the people; we are told they should have eyes and see not, and ears but hear not, and hearts but understand not. If in the days of Jesus this was true of the Jews and surrounding nations, it is doubly so now in relation to the nations with which we are acquainted.

Though the fulfillment of the words of the Prophets is clear and visible to us as the noonday sun in its splendor, yet the people of the world are blinded thereto; they do not comprehend nor discern the hand of the Lord. The Saints who live in the Spirit, walk by the Spirit, and are governed by the counsels of the Almighty, can see the working of the Lord, not only in our midst—not only in Utah Territory, in the midst of the people of God who assemble in this Tabernacle—it is not only in this latter-day capacity we view the work of God, but we let our minds stretch abroad to creation’s utmost extent, and we can see the hand of the Lord in all the events of earth. We see it in the revolutions of our own continent; we see it in the scattering and scourging of the house of Israel; in the fading away of nations, on the right and on the left; in the present commotion in our own nation; in the broils and contentions between the South and the North; in short, we see it in all the events connected with our own and other nations living on the continent of North and South America. And when the mind’s eye stretches abroad across the mighty deep, through– out Europe, we see the hand of the Lord visibly at work there, not only in the spread of the Gospel, in the prosperity of the people of God, and in the proclamation of the eternal principles of truth through the agency of the Elders of Israel, but in the war cloud gathering black around, dyeing the ocean with human gore, and drenching the solid earth with blood.

We see it in the preparations of war, and the framing of treaties of peace among strong nations. The world is in commotion, and the hearts of men fail them for fear of the impending storm that threatens to enshroud all nations in its black mantle. Treaties of peace may be made, and war will stop for a season, but there are certain decrees of the Gods, and certain bounds fixed, and laws and edicts passed by the high courts of heaven, beyond which the nations cannot pass; and when the Almighty decrees the wicked shall slay the wicked, strong nations may interfere, peace conventions may become rife in the world and exert their influence to sheath the sword of war, and make treaties of peace to calm the troubled surface of all Europe, to no effect; the war cloud is still booming o’er the heavens, darkening the earth, and threatening the world with desolation.

This is a fact the Saints have known for many years—that the Gods in yonder heavens have something to do with these revolutions; the angels, those holy beings who are sent from the heavens to the earth to minister in the destiny of nations, have something to do in these mighty revolutions and convulsions that shake creation almost to its center.

Consequently, when we see nation stirred up against nation, and on the other hand see other nations exerting a powerful influence to bring about negotiations of peace, shall we say they can bring it about? Do we ex– pect they can stay the onward course of war? The Prophet of God has spoken it all, and we expect to see the work go on—and see all things fulfilled as the Prophets have declared by the spirit of prophecy in them.

The fact of the Prophet declaring an event before it comes to pass does not necessarily make that event. If he should foresee war, and predict it, the bare prediction, independent of the event that is known in the heavens, and which the world must read in the great chapter of events, does not set Europe to boiling like a pot. The Prophet simply tells a fact that is to exist—simply tells an event that is to transpire in the great chain of the providence of the Almighty relating to this earth, in the winding up sceneries thereof.

Why is it that the Latter-day Saints are perfectly calm and serene among all the convulsions of the earth—the turmoils, strife, war, pestilence, famine, and distress of nations? It is because the spirit of prophecy has made known to us that such things would actually transpire upon the earth. We understand it, and view it in its true light. We have learned it by the visions of the Almighty—by that spirit of intelligence that searches out all things, even the deep things of God.

Can the wise men of Europe tell the result of the present war between Russia and Turkey with the allied powers? No, they cannot. If the present war should be suspended for a time, can they tell you when the next will break out, and what will be the result of it? No, they cannot. But if you will listen to the revelations of God through the spirit of prophecy, and to the servants of God, you may learn it all with certainty.

Three days before the Prophet Joseph started for Carthage, I well remember his telling us we should see the fulfillment of the words of Jesus upon the earth, where he says the father shall be against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law; and when a man’s enemies shall be those of his own household.

The Prophet stood in his own house when he told several of us of the night the visions of heaven were opened to him, in which he saw the American continent drenched in blood, and he saw nation rising up against nation. He also saw the father shed the blood of the son, and the son the blood of the father; the mother put to death the daughter, and the daughter the mother; and natural affection forsook the hearts of the wicked; for he saw that the Spirit of God should be withdrawn from the inhabitants of the earth, in consequence of which there should be blood upon the face of the whole earth, except among the people of the Most High. The Prophet gazed upon the scene his vision presented, until his heart sickened, and he besought the Lord to close it up again.

When we hear of war in foreign lands—when we hear of the revolutions among nations afar off, we necessarily infer that distresses incident to war and the hottest of the battle will not come nigh unto us. It is natural for man to make favorable conclusions as to his own safety, when danger threatens, but the Prophet saw in the vision, that war and distress of nations will not only occur in Europe, in Asia, and in the islands of the sea, but he saw it upon the American Continent—in the region of country where he first introduced the doctrine of the Son of God; so we may look for calamity in our own borders, in our own nation, as well as in the nations of foreign climes.

Some think, because of the peculiar situation of the country of the United States—the government being so well organized, little or no difficulty will ever come upon this continent, notwithstanding the European wars. Allow me to tell you in relation to that—when the Spirit of the Lord is powerfully manifested in any of the Elders of Israel, the first thing that is presented to his mind is the shedding of the blood of the Prophet, and those who did the deed.

It is no matter how much they deal in compromised measures, or how often they try to adjust difficulties that thicken around them—it is a stern fact that the people of the United States have shed the blood of the Prophets, driven out the Saints of God, rejected the Priesthood, and set at naught the holy Gospel; and the result of rejecting the Gospel has been, in every age, a visitation from the chastening hand of the Almighty—which chastisement will be administered in proportion to the magnitude and enormity of their crimes.

Consequently I look for the Lord to use His whip on the refractory son called “Uncle Sam;” I expect to see him chastised among the first of the nations. I think Uncle Sam is one of the Lord’s boys that He will take the rod to first, and make him dance nimbly to his own tune of “Oh! Oh!!” for his transgressions, for his high-mindedness and loftiness, for his evil, for rejecting the Gospel, and causing the earth to drink the blood of the Saints—for this, I say, I expect he will be well switched among the first of the sons.

I expect John Bull will get the next whipping; and I have no idea of the Lord whipping Russia and letting those refractory sons escape who are better taught—who have had a kind Father teaching them and instructing them by the voice of His Elders; sending Prophets to them, to warn them late and early; inviting them by the voice of His Son, by the voice of angels, and by the still small voice of His Spirit, crying unto them to repent of their sins and to turn unto Him. I say, I do not expect He will pass by these refractory sons who have turned a deaf ear to all His instructions, maltreating His messengers, and whip those boys who have not been so well instructed.

I rejoice in the Lord my God, and feel happy in my spirit that the work of God is prospering, not only by the preaching of the Gospel, but by the progress of revolutions among the nations of the earth, and by the deeper corruption of the press and the people. I do not rejoice that the people and the press are waxing more and more corrupt, and that the war cloud darkens more and more, threatening nations with deeper distress; but I rejoice that the words of the Prophet are being fulfilled.

I do not desire thousands to lose their lives by war, and the attendant distresses; the spirit in me is different to this; but I rejoice that the reign of Satan is short upon the earth, and that the work of the Father has commenced on the face of all the earth—in the north, in the south, in the east, and in the west; and it is seen in our midst by the progress of the work of apostasy; for there is half wise and half foolish, as represented by the parable of the Savior.

How many of the brethren that are brought here by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund from England and other countries will keep the faith, and stay with the people of God, and do right? I am afraid not more than half. All these things betoken the establishment of the work of God, and the growth of our religion, which gives me great joy.

When the people apostatize there is a contrast between the good and the bad, the just and the unjust. I rejoice when I see the righteousness of the Saints in contrast with the corruptions of the world.

In the midst of this people there is faithfulness, virtue, and integrity, and they are the most righteous and the best people upon the face of the whole earth; but when the world look upon us, and upon our morals, they look through dark spectacles and goggles, which blind them; they cannot see, and they therefore think we are the blackest people in crime, and the deepest sunk in degradation. When I see that the world have eyes, but cannot see, ears, but cannot hear, hearts, but cannot understand, it speaks volumes on the end being near, when the Son of God will come in the clouds of heaven to take vengeance on the ungodly, and reign in the midst of His people, and bring to a termination the reign of Satan.

I rejoice exceedingly that the work of God is progressing so rapidly under the sun upon the face of all the world. For war and bloodshed are just as necessary, and just as much the work of God, as repentance and baptism for the remission of sins; and it must progress, for the only means to bring about His purposes, consummate His decrees, and establish eternal righteousness, is by cutting off the wicked from the earth, after He has sought to save them by the plan of salvation. Seeing they would not listen—they would not obey—they would not be instructed—then as a kind father who cares for the welfare of his children, He takes the chastening rod, He unsheathes His sword in heaven, and cuts off the disobedient portion of His children. I rejoice to see this work progressing.

To give you my ideas more clearly upon this matter, suppose the people of God are called out to war—would they wish to cultivate the same spirit that the wicked cultivate? No, they would not. Would they go out to war to satisfy a guilty thirst for blood? No. But they would exercise faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and execute the judgments of God upon the wicked by His command.

I know that some cannot see the difference between a man of God taking a sword as did Samuel, and hewing down Agag, and the wicked slaying each other; but they look upon that the same as they do upon one Gentile hewing down another. When the man of God raises the sword, he would at the same time ask God to nerve his arm with strength, and fill him with the Holy Ghost. Thus strengthened, one man would slay a thousand, and overcome a troop, in executing the judgments of God, like the angels that were sent into the camp of the Assyrians in days of old. Do you think those angels were bloodthirsty? No. They were messengers of the Most High, to execute His judgments, and bring to pass His purposes.

Some think we rejoice to see the wicked in their distress, and to behold the calamity that is coming upon the earth. That is not the true cause of our rejoicing; but we rejoice to see the predictions of the Prophets coming to pass, the reign of wickedness closing, which is the cause of all the ills to which mortality is heir, the cause of God move on in its majesty, and the great work fast approaching the winding up scene of the dispensations pertaining to earth.

Let us hear, see, understand, obey, and serve God faithfully, that we may make our way, through changing elements and the crash of worlds, into the presence of our Father who is in heaven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 2, 1854.

I have been much interested and edified with the remarks of brother Grant: they are good. I wish this whole people could see the propriety of these things as they ought. To me it would be one of the best and most joyful things in the world, if men and women who call themselves “Mormons,” or Latter-day Saints, would live up to their profession, and learn to speak the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, and do his will on the earth, as it is done in heaven.

I ask you, brethren and sisters, if you expect to go into heaven, if you do not do his will on earth as it is done in heaven? Can those persons who pursue a course of carelessness, neglect of duty, and disobedience, when they depart from this life, expect that their spirits will associate with the spirits of the righteous in the spirit world? I do not expect it, and when you depart from this state of existence, you will find it out for yourselves.

Brother Grant was speaking about the work of God, in the laying waste of nations by sea and by land. I believe it is all the work of God, and it is all right. Will He sweep them from the earth in order to destroy their power and influence? He will. And when kings, and princes, and captains, and great men, according to the greatness of the world, go into the world of spirits, they will not have as much power as they had here upon the earth. We can hear of their spirits trying to peep, and mutter, and mock, and rap, and cause tables to dance, and chairs to move from one place to another, but that is all the power they have.

While I am in the flesh, I can take a chair, or a club, and make you feel my power to a still greater extent; I could bruise your flesh, and break your bones, but they cannot do anything but peep, and make tables and chairs dance, and rap, and give uncertain sounds. That is wisdom great enough for the world; it does well enough for them; it is all the revelation they deserve; and a few of this people go to those spirits. That man or woman who will not learn the principle of subjection, and become like clay in the hands of the potter, will be led astray by these spirits; and if not by these spirits, something will come by and by with more power.

The Saints are receiving their endowment, and preparing for that which is in the future; to dwell in the heavens, and sit upon thrones, and reign over kingdoms and dominions, principalities and powers; and as this work progresses, the works of Satan will increase, and he will continue to present one thing after another, following up the work of God, and increasing means of deception, to lead astray such men and women, and take them captive. As the work of God increases in power and extent upon the earth, so will the works of Satan increase. I expect that tribulation will be upon the wicked, and continue from this time until they are swept off from the earth. I just as much expect these things as I do to see the sun rise and set tomorrow.

I would like to see all this people do right, and keep the commandments of God. I would like to see them fulfil their covenants, and live up to their vows and promises, and fulfil their obligations, for they have obligated themselves before God, and before angels, and before earthly witnesses, that they would do this.

What you have agreed to do, God will require you to perform, if it should be ten thousand years after this time. And when the servants of God speak to you, and require you to do a thing, the Lord God will fulfil His words, and make you fulfil His words he gave to you through His servants. Inasmuch as you have come into this Church, and made a covenant to forsake the world, and cleave unto the Lord, and keep His commandments, the Lord will compel you to do it, if it should be in ten thousand years from this time. These are my views, and I know it will be so.

Comparing us to clay that is in the hands of the potter, if that clay is passive, I have power as a potter to mold it and make it into a vessel unto honor. Who is to mold these vessels? Is it God Himself in person, or is it His servants, His potters, or journeymen, in company with those He has placed to oversee the work? The great Master Potter dictates His servants, and it is for them to carry out His purposes, and make vessels according to His designs; and when they have done the work, they deliver it up to the Master for His acceptance; and if their works are not good, He does not accept them; the only works He accepts, are those that are prepared according to the design He gave. God will not be trifled with; neither will His servants; their words have got to be fulfilled, and they are the men that are to mold you, and tell you what shape to move in.

I do not know that I can compare it bet- ter than by the potter’s business. It forms a good comparison. This is the course you must pursue, and I know of no other way that God has prepared for you to become sanctified, and molded, and fashioned, until you become modeled to the likeness of the Son of God, by those who are placed to lead you. This is a lesson you have to learn as well as myself.

When I know that I am doing just as I am told by him who is placed to lead this people, I am then a happy man, I am filled with peace, and can go about my business with joy and pleasure; I can lie down and rise again in peace, and be filled with gladness by night and by day. But when I have not done the things that are right, my conscience gnaws upon my feelings. This is the course for me to take. If it is the course for me to take, it is the course for every other Elder in Israel to take—it does not matter who he is, or where he came from; whether he be an American, an Englishman, Irishman, Frenchman or German, Jew or Gentile; to this you have got to bow, and you have got to bow down like the clay in the hands of the potter, that suffers the potter to mold it according to his own pleasure. You have all got to come to this; and if you do not come to it at this time, as sure as the sun ever rose and set, you will be cut from the wheel, and thrown back into the mill.

You have come from the mill, and you have been there grinding. For what purpose? To bring you into a passive condition. You have been gathered from the nations of the earth, from among the kindreds, tongues, and peoples of the world, to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, to purify and sanctify yourselves, and become like the passive clay in the hands of the potter. Now suppose I subject myself enough, in the hands of the potter, to be shaped according as he was dictated by the Great Master potter, that rules over all things in heaven and on earth, he would make me into a vessel of honor.

There are many vessels that are destroyed after they have been molded and shaped. Why? Because they are not contented with the shape the potter has given them, but straightway put themselves into a shape to please themselves; therefore they are beyond understanding what God designs, and they destroy themselves by the power of their own agency, for this is given to every man and woman, to do just as they please. That is all right, and all just. Well, then, you have to go through a great many modelings and shapes, then you have to be glazed and burned; and even in the burning, some vessels crack. What makes them crack? Because they are snappish; they would not crack, if they were not snappish and willful.

If you go to the potteries in Staffordshire, England, where the finest chinaware is manufactured, you will see them take the coarsest materials about the pottery, and make a thing in the shape of a half bushel; then put the finest ware in these to secure it from danger in the burning operation. All the fine ware made in Europe and in China, is burnt in this kind of vessels. After they are done with, they are cast away—they are vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. So God takes the wicked, and makes them protect the righteous, in the process of sanctifying, and burning, and purifying, and preparing them, and making them fit for the Master’s use.

Those saggers, as they are called, are compounded of refuse articles that have been cast out; so even they are good for something. The wicked are of use, for they are a rod in the hands of the Almighty to scourge the righteous, and prepare them for their Master’s use, that they may enter into the celestial world, and be crowned with glory in His presence.

Brethren who hold the Priesthood, how do you like to rebel against those who are placed over you in the Priesthood, to rule and guide you in the proper way? You Bishops, or Presiding Elder, Teacher, Deacon, Apostle, or Prophet, how do you appear when you rebel against your head? You look like the woman who rebels against her husband or Lord. It also makes the children as bad as the parents; for if the parents are rebellious against their superiors, the children will be rebellious against their parents. Because the parents do not pursue a proper course, God makes their children a scourge to them.

Parents, if you do not listen to counsel, and walk in the path the Priesthood marks out, the Lord will prepare a scourge for you, if it is in your own family, to chasten you, and bring you to a knowledge of the truth, that you may be humble and penitent, and keep the commandments of God.

There is not much of this in the city of the Great Salt Lake, but look among the settlements north, south, east, and west, and see the rebellion against the authorities of which President Young and his associates have sent to preside over them; there is scarcely an instance where a whole settlement will listen to the counsel of their President.

Do you expect to have peace and plenty, to continue to thrive, and increase in property, in life, in herds, in flocks, and in the comforts of this life, while you are disobedient to those placed over you? You may for a season, but there is a rod preparing for the rebellious, and the righteous will have to suffer with the guilty. I know that by experience.

I will tell you another thing that I know. While the righteous are taking the rod along with the wicked, and it comes upon them severely (I have passed through it many times), they have joy, and peace, and conso– lation, and the Spirit of the Lord God rests mightily upon them, and is round about them, and they say, in the midst of it all, “We are determined, by the help of God, to keep His commandments, and by His help to do the will of our President.” For if there is no man on God’s footstool that will stand by him, and assist him, I am determined to do all that lies in my power to sustain him while I am upon the earth.

My prayer is, O Lord help me to do thy will, and walk in the footsteps of my leader, light up my path, and help me to walk so that my feet may never slip, and to keep my tongue from speaking guile; that I may never be left to betray my brethren, who hold the Priesthood of the Son of God; but that I may always honor that Priesthood, magnify it, reverence it, and love it more than I do my life, or my wives and my children. If I do that, I know the Priesthood will honor me, and exalt me, and bring me back into the presence of God, and also those who listen to my counsel as I listen to the counsel of him whose right it is to dictate me. If brother Brigham should get a revelation containing the will of God concerning His servant Heber, it would be, “Let my servant Heber do all things whatsoever my servant Brigham shall require at his hands, for that is the will of his Father in heaven.” If that is the will of God concerning me, what is the will of God concerning you? It is the same.

Brethren of the Priesthood, let us rise up in the name of Israel’s God, and dispense with everything that is not of God, and let us become one, even as the Father and the Son are one. If we take that course we shall triumph over hell, the grave, and over everything else that shall oppose our onward progress in earth, or in hell; there is nothing we need fear. I fear nothing only to grieve my Father who is in heaven, and my brethren who are upon the earth.

Now suppose my wives and my children would take the same course to please me, and be subject to me, as I am to brother Brigham, would there be any sorrow, or confusion, or broils? No, there would be no sorrow, there would be no blues in my family. I am never blue when I do brother Brigham’s will; but when I do not do it, I begin to grow blue; and when brother Brigham does not do the will of God, he begins to feel blue. It always makes my family feel blue when they will not do as I wish them; and I suppose it affects almost every family so in this town.

Do you suppose I am afraid of the world? No. I have nothing to do with the world, with the devil, with any of his servants, nor with his commandments. All I have to do with is the Saints. I belong to the Kingdom of God, with my family, and with everything I possess on earth or in heaven, it is the Lord’s, and I am His servant, and I devote all I have to Him, and to His cause, it is all at the service of this Church and people. I have said it to my family, and I say it now, when I have finished my course pertaining to the flesh, I am going to deed all my property to the Church; my wives, my children, shall not have it to quarrel about; but I will deed it all to the Church, and the Church shall dictate them from this time henceforth and forever.

That is just as I feel; for if I put myself in the Church, and everything I have, and deed it all over to the Church, then I belong to the Church, with all I possess. I have not anything but what the Lord has given to me; He has given me my houses and my land. I have built my houses out of the elements that He organized when He organized the earth. My wives, my children, myself, and all I own, belong to the Lord God; and when I lay down this tabernacle of clay, my spirit will return to God who gave it. What can I retain of this world when I have done with it in this mortal state? I do not know of anything I can take with me. I came into the world naked, and I shall go from it taking nothing with me.

I have seen many cases where, at the death of the parents, the children will quarrel about the property, and fight about it; but my inheritance shall not be divided, it must remain whole; for except the body remains whole, it will die. If you divide the body, and separate the members of it, it will distress the body, make it imperfect, and it will go to misery, wretchedness, sorrow, and death. Well, then, when you die, put your inheritance into a situation that it will never be divided, and there will be no quarrelling about it.

It is just so with this Church; if we are united, and the Priesthood is united, and the families of this Church, with their husbands at their head, are united, we stand, and all hell, with the devil at their head, have nothing to do with us; they cannot move us. But if we are divided we fall.

What do you say to our being one, and clinging together? I speak to the brethren; I do not expect any woman will stick to me, only my wives; if the women of every man stick to him, as the men stick to me, then we shall all be stuck together, and live together, and reign together, and get rich together, and increase together, and build up together, and be as one man in all things. Would we not be a happy company? It is that alone that will make you truly happy; and to be perfectly limber in the hands of the potter like clay. What makes the clay snap? Because it wants its own way; and you cannot be happy unless you submit to the law of God, and to the principles of His government.

When a person is miserable, wretched, and unhappy in himself, put him in what circumstances you please, and he is wretched still. If a person is poor, and composes his mind, and calmly submits to the providences of God, he will feel cheerful and happy in all circumstances, if he continues to keep the commandments of God. But you may fill the house of a dissatisfied person with everything the world can produce, and he will be miserable with all. All heaven could not satisfy discontented persons; they must first be satisfied with themselves, and content in the situation in which they are placed, and learn to acknowledge the hand of God in all things.

There are some ladies who are not happy in their present situations; but that woman who cannot be happy with one man, cannot be happy with two, and a man that is not happy with one wife, cannot be with two, even though they are good women. You know all women are good, or ought to be. They were made for angelic beings, and I would be glad to see them act more angelic in their behavior. You were made more angelic, and a little weaker than man. Man is made of rougher material, to open the way, cut down bushes, and kill the snakes, that women may walk along through life, and not soil and tear their skirts. When you see a woman with ragged skirts, you may know she wears the unmentionables, for she is doing the man’s business, and has not time to cut off the rags that are hanging around her. From this time henceforth you may know what woman wears her husband’s pants.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 19, 1854.

I have been pleased with the remarks of Elder Hyde this afternoon. I am myself more or less familiar with the doings of the Spirit Rappers, having had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with them when I was last in New York and Philadelphia; and I am satisfied now, and was then, that they are manifestations of spirits; and startling are the sentiments, developments, and doctrines they have made known. It has been treated as a bubble upon the wave that soon would burst asunder; but I am satis– fied the result of the manifestations of the spirits (wicked spirits) will be to combine their forces in as systematic an order as they are capable of, to successfully resist the Priesthood upon the earth.

I am aware that even some of the Latter-day Saints are slow to believe in relation to the power of Lucifer, the son of the morning, who was thrust from the heavens to the earth; and they have been slow to believe in relation to the spirits that are associated with him; but from the first revelations of the Almighty to brother Joseph Smith, not only revelations in relation to the deep things of the kingdom of God, and the high things of heaven, and the depths of hell, but revelations showing him the power of Lucifer, the opposite to good, that he might be aware of the strength of his opponent, and the opponent of the Almighty—I say, from perusing these revelations, I have always been specially impressed with the doctrine relating to the power of Satan, as well as with the doctrines relating to the power of God.

I have always felt that no Saint fully comprehends the power of Satan as well as God’s Prophet; and again I have thought that no Saint could fully understand the power of God unless he learn the opposite. I am not myself acquainted with any happiness that I have not learned the opposite of. You may perhaps enjoy a great deal, the opposite of which you know nothing of, you may be constituted different to me, your feelings may be different, you may have learned to enjoy without first experiencing the opposite; but I may say with safety, nearly all the blessings I enjoy and highly prize are most appreciated after I have learned their opposite; and I am of opinion that all Saints sooner or later will have to learn the opposite to good, they will have to partake of the bitter in order to properly appre– ciate the sweet, they will have to be impressed with pain that they may appreciate pleasure.

In relation to spirits, for it seems to be the subject introduced today, I have this idea, that the Lord our God absolutely gave Lucifer a mission to this earth; I will call it a mission. You may think it strange that I believe so good a being as our Father in heaven would actually send such an odd missionary as Lucifer. You may call him a missionary, or anything else you please, but we learn he was thrust out of heaven, the place where the Lord dwells, to this earth; and his mission, and the mission of his associates who were thrust down with him, and of those whom he is successful in turning away from God’s children who have tabernacles, is to continue to oppose the Almighty, scatter His Church, wage war against His kingdom, and change as far as possible His government on the earth. He could take the Savior upon the pinnacle of the temple, and show him the kingdoms of this world, and could perform many wonderful works in the days of Jesus. When the Priesthood of God is upon the earth, then the priesthood of the devil may be seen operating, for he has got one. When the kingdom of God is on the earth, you may expect to see a special display or manifestation of the opposite to the Gospel of the kingdom, or of the Priesthood of God.

If you read the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, you read about the power of Satan upon the earth—the manifestation of wicked spirits. When was this special power of Satan more particularly made manifest? It has always been when the power of the holy Priesthood and the kingdom of God were upon the earth. In the days of Moses, in the days of the Patriarchs, in the days of the Prophets, and in the days of Jesus and his Apostles, and while his Church remained upon the earth, the opposite of the principles of heaven were specially made manifest, causing a lull in the public mind. The world is more or less controlled all the time by influences that Lucifer evidently is not opposed to; he has little objection to the present organization of human society, from the fact that everything passes along in the wake that agrees with his religion, and rather tends to forward his purposes.

Now some suppose if they can see a miracle, as they call it, that is, something beyond that which is ordinary with man, they are bound to believe; but I am of opinion that Lucifer and his associates can show as many miracles as the people desire to see; they can show as many as were exhibited in Egypt in the days of king Pharaoh. I believe Lucifer has just as much power to make lice now as ever he had, he has just as much ability to display his power in making a serpent to oppose a Moses as ever. Has he lost his power during the last two, three, or four thousand years? We do not believe he has. If, then, he possesses the same power as he once did, why is he not able in this dispensation to make manifestations corresponding to those in previous ones?

I wish to come down to our own day, for you know I am fond of rooting, grubbing, building, fencing, and doing the things needed right here at home. Let us then confine our remarks to this dispensation, when the Prophet Joseph Smith was visited by an holy angel, clad in robes of light, who authorized him to sound the trump of the Gospel of peace, and receive the sacred records from the earth, and the Urim and Thummim, and who laid hands upon him and gave him the Holy Ghost, and authorized him to baptize for the remission of sins, and organize the kingdom of God on the earth. What do we see at this time? We see the manifestations of the power of Satan immediately after the revelations of the angel to Joseph. For instance, there were spirit mediums in Kirtland, when the Church was first organized there by brother Parley P. Pratt and others; but when Joseph went with the Priesthood, the devil had to leave, for he had learned the power of Lucifer; and Joseph organized the Church, established the Priesthood, and set everything right.

I might go on with a long routine of manifestations of the power of God, and of the power of the devil; but you who have come from the old country, and some of the first Elders that went over there—Presidents Young, Kimball, Hyde, and others, recollect manifestations of the spirits of the devil in that land. They attacked those brethren by hundreds and by thousands, and the spirits were actually visible. If you could call up brother Willard Snow and converse with him, I have no doubt that he would tell you he was attacked by them, and they overcame his body.

I am not surprised to see these manifestations increased upon the earth; but where is the anchor to the faith of the Saints? Where is the surety of the Saints against these manifestations? Inasmuch as the world would not listen to the Prophet Joseph, and receive the word of God through him, I look for the Lord to fulfil His word, and send them strong delusion, inasmuch as they believe not the truth, and will permit them now to believe a lie, that all who have pleasure in unrighteousness may be damned. I anticipate seeing strong delusion among the wicked in the day in which we live, but where is the anchor for the faith of the Saints? I will tell you where mine is.

When Joseph Smith was alive, his declaration to me was as the voice of Almighty God. Why? Because he had the Priesthood of God on the earth; the Priesthood that is without father, without mother, without beginning of days or end of years, which is God’s authority, the eternal power and right of the government of God upon the earth. I was subject to that government in the days of Joseph. Men used to talk on this wise—“But would you believe in the Prophet if he should demand all your property?” Lucifer would suggest this idea to them. “No,” says another, “I would not.” “Suppose he should come to you, and tell you, you must sell your farm in the east, and go to Kirtland, and consecrate your property to the Lord, would you do it?” “No,” answers his neighbor, “the Lord has no use for my property, I would not do it.” “Well,” says one, “do you think Joseph is right to dictate in temporal matters?” “No.” There were quite a majority, I believe, in the days of Joseph, who believed he had no right to dictate in temporal matters, in farms, houses, merchandise, gold, silver, &c.; and they were tried on various points.

When the family organization was revealed from heaven—the patriarchal order of God, and Joseph began, on the right and on the left, to add to his family, what a quaking there was in Israel. Says one brother to another, “Joseph says all covenants are done away, and none are binding but the new covenants; now suppose Joseph should come and say he wanted your wife, what would you say to that?” “I would tell him to go to hell.” This was the spirit of many in the early days of this Church.

If you maintain the fact that the Priesthood of God is upon the earth, and God’s representatives are upon the earth, the mouthpiece of Jehovah, the head of the kingdom of God upon earth, and the will of God is done upon earth as it is in heaven, it follows that the government of God is upon the earth. I allude to the Church which it dictates; and then to the whole earth which it will dictate. Satan may succeed for a season to curtail the extent of this government, and the free working of its machinery, but if the Lord Almighty has organized a government upon the earth, and has committed the keys and Priesthood of it to His Prophet, that Prophet holds jurisdiction over the earth, the same as Adam did in the beginning. And righteous men in every dispensation since the creation, if they had any keys, had the keys of the kingdom of God; and they extended over this wide world wherever God had a people and a government; and just as far as the Priesthood exercised its authority, just so far the rule of the Almighty reached.

If Joseph had a right to dictate me in relation to salvation, in relation to a hereafter, he had a right to dictate me in relation to all my earthly affairs, in relation to the treasures of the earth, and in relation to the earth itself. He had a right to dictate in relation to the cities of the earth, to the natives of the earth, and in relation to everything on land and on sea. That is what he had a right to do, if he had any right at all. If he did not have that right, he did not have the Priesthood of God, he did not have the endless Priesthood that emanates from an eternal being. A Priesthood that is clipped, and lacks length, is not the Priesthood of God; if it lacks depth, it is not the Priesthood of God; for the Priesthood in ancient times extended over the wide world, and coped with the universe, and had a right to govern and control the inhabitants thereof, to regulate them, give them laws, and execute those laws. That power looked like the Priesthood of God. This same Priesthood has been given to Joseph Smith, and has been handed down to his successors.

I do not care how many devils rap, it is no trouble to me. I say, rap away, and give as many revelations as you please, whether you are good spirits or bad ones, it does not trouble my cranium. Rap away, for I trust in the anchor of my soul that is sure and steadfast, in the Priesthood of God upon the earth.

What would a man of God say, who felt aright, when Joseph asked him for his money? He would say, “Yes, and I wish I had more to help to build up the kingdom of God.” Or if he came and said, “I want your wife?” “O yes,” he would say, “here she is, there are plenty more.”

There is another main thread connected with this, that I have not brought out. You know in fishing with the hook and line, if you draw out suddenly on the line when you have got a large trout, you may break your line; you must therefore angle a little, and manage your prize carefully. I would ask you if Jehovah has not in all ages tried His people by the power of Lucifer and his associates; and on the other hand, has He not tried them and proved them by His Prophets? Did the Lord actually want Abraham to kill Isaac? Did the Prophet Joseph want every man’s wife he asked for? He did not, but in that thing was the grand thread of the Priesthood developed. The grand object in view was to try the people of God, to see what was in them. If such a man of God should come to me and say, “I want your gold and silver, or your wives,” I should say, “Here they are, I wish I had more to give you, take all I have got.” A man who has got the Spirit of God, and the light of eternity in him, has no trouble about such matters.

I am talking now of the present day. There was a time when we could be tried pretty severely upon these points, but I now could pick you out hundreds of men that cannot be tried in this way, but they will hand over everything they possess. They understand the nature of such doctrines, and the object of such requirements. They know it is to prove the people, both men and women, and to develop what they will do. How can the Priesthood judge the people, if it does not prove them?

If ever you are brought into the presence of God, and exalted to a seat in His celestial kingdom, it will be by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, therefore you have got to be proved, not only by being tempted by the devil, but the Priesthood will try you—it will try you to the core. If one thing won’t try you, something else will be adopted, until you are like the passive clay in the hands of the Potter. If the Lord our God does not see fit to let the devil loose upon you, and mob you, He will employ some other means to try you as in a crucible, to prove you as gold is tried seven times in the furnace.

The world philosophizes about the “Mormons,” about their leaders, and the life they are living. There are a thousand conjectures among them in relation to the “Mormons.” The grand secret is told in a few words; the fact is, the Almighty God has spoken from the heavens, sent heavenly messengers, and organized His Church, restored the Holy Priesthood, established His government on the earth, and exerted his power to extend it, and send forth His word. And that Priesthood understands the principles and motives by which men are actuated, and it understands the workings of the devil on the earth; that Priesthood knows how to govern, when to strike, and when not to strike.

Some things in this Church start up at times, that you would think the whole Church would be rent asunder, like the clans of Scotland. Clanism, and “Mormonism” are like that [putting his fingers across]; “Mormonism” is one, it is governed by one head, one President, and that head representing God on earth. If Joseph Smith held the keys of the kingdom of God on earth, of the Apostleship, does not his successor possess the same? Does he not have a right to give laws, to instruct, to control and rule the people of God?

I might still go on, and explain to your understandings exactly what I mean by rule. If this Priesthood is upon the earth, and you are controlled thereby, and listen to its counsels, you will be united as one people. I know the time was that many of this people believed that if a man was adopted here and there, one man would hold this way, and another that; but the fact is, in the kingdom and Church of the Lord they are all in one pile. I do not care how many of you have been adopted here or there; that is the doctrine to me.

Let the devils rap, then, and let them talk, and mutter, and have their mediums; what do I care, so long as the Priesthood is upon the earth, and the Apostleship is upon the earth, and the government of God, and the light and influence of the Holy Ghost, are upon the earth? Can they shake the Saints? No. But let a man lose the Spirit of God, and depart from this Church, and from the men that hold the Priesthood of God on the earth, and I have no doubt that Lucifer will reveal a great many truths to him, and teach and advocate principles and sentiments that will agree with doctrines of this Church. And they will even imitate Joseph Smith’s handwriting, and the handwriting of brother Hyrum, of Bishop Partridge, and of Bishop Whitney, and others; and they will give you flaming revelations, and the light they emit will blaze like a comet.

Now Lucifer has philosophy enough and religion enough to suffer his agents to run along with the truth hand in hand, and make himself appear like an angel of light, and teach hundreds of true principles, if he can only thereby get you to swallow one item of false doctrine. But the grand story is, the devil may rage as long as he pleases, and use all the cunning and craft that he may, yet he never can overreach those who hold the keys of the Priesthood, nor succeed in deceiving them. This Joseph taught the people, but they were slow to believe. But now the energies of the people move as one man; and if they want to build a Temple, they can build it, and whatever they want to accomplish they can do.

The Priesthood is a power we should respect, reverence, and obey, no matter in whose hands it is. Let Lucifer mix in truths with error, and work great signs and wonders to deceive the very elect, but it is not possible. Why? Because they have learned the Priesthood, and they possess the power thereof that cannot be shaken. Let the Rappers go ahead, then, for it is not possible for them to deceive the elect of God; and let the witch of Endor, and all other witches and wizards, with the prince and power of the air at their head, do their best, if we keep the commandments of God we shall continually soar far above their power and influence.

I want to have nothing to do with Satan. I desire not to shake hands with him, nor to do anything that will bring me in contact with him, for he is powerful, and if he once gets you in his grasp and shakes you, you will think you are less than a grasshopper. Let us rally round the standard of God, and when we are in the circle of truth, then let the devil and the enemies of the Church of God fire their loudest guns, and wage their war, and marshal their strength, yet, armed with the armor of righteousness, clothed with the Priesthood and generalship of the Almighty, we shall successfully resist, and triumphantly conquer Satan and all his allied forces of the earth and hell. They will then find out whether Joseph had a right to rule this earth by the power of the Priesthood. They will then find out that the “Mormons,” notwithstanding their curious bumps, for they have got some curious bumps, are authorized to preach the Gospel of God, gather Israel, build up Zion, bind Lucifer with a chain, and establish the reign of peace on earth.

My prayer is that the Saints may understand that they are safe as long as they listen to the Priesthood authorized of heaven, are united in one, and not divided into clans, but become one great clan, under one head. Then let all the clanism of the world rally against us, and we are as firm as the rock of ages, that supports the throne of Jehovah.

May God bless you with the truth as it is in Himself, and save you in His kingdom, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 18, 1853.

I love to hear my brethren speak. Their testimony yields joy and consolation to my heart. But notwithstanding the pleasure it would give me to sit and hear them continually, it is obligatory upon me to occupy the position I do, and let my voice be heard in connection with theirs.

We all occupy diversified stations in the world, and in the kingdom of God. Those who do right, and seek the glory of the Father in heaven, whether their knowledge be little or much, or whether they can do little or much, if they do the very best they know how, they are perfect.

It may appear strange to some of you, and it certainly does to the world, to say it is possible for a man or woman to become perfect on this earth. It is written “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Again, “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” This is perfectly consistent to the person who understands what perfection really is.

If the first passage I have quoted is not worded to our understanding, we can alter the phraseology of the sentence, and say, “Be ye as perfect as ye can,” for that is all we can do, though it is written, be ye perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. To be as perfect as we possibly can, according to our knowledge, is to be just as perfect as our Father in heaven is. He cannot be any more perfect than He knows how, any more than we. When we are doing as well as we know how in the sphere and station which we occupy here, we are justified in the justice, righteousness, mercy, and judgment that go before the Lord of heaven and earth. We are as justified as the angels who are before the throne of God. The sin that will cleave to all the posterity of Adam and Eve is, that they have not done as well as they knew how.

I will apply this to myself, and it will apply to you, and to every man and woman upon the earth; of course including brother Morley, who spoke to you this morning. If he has done the best he could in the late Indian difficulties in the district where he lives, and acted according to the judgment and light of the spirit of revelation in him, he is as justified as an angel of God.

Though we may do the best we know how at this time, can there be no improvement made in our lives? There can. If we do wrong ignorantly, when we learn it is wrong, then it is our duty to refrain from that wrong immediately and forever, and the sin of ignorance is winked at, and passes into oblivion.

An inquiry was made this morning, if we know who we are, what our situation is, and the relationship we sustain to each other, to our God, and the position we occupy to the human family. I can answer the question. No, we do not. Do the people understand all the obligations they are under to each other and to their God? They do not. Again, do they try to know, as far as it is in their power? They do not. Are there individuals among us who seek with all their hearts to know and understand the will of God? Yes, many. But as a people, do they, with an undivided heart, endeavor to know the will of God in preference to every– thing else upon earth? They do not.

There is a reason for this. Brother Morley wanted to know if we had learned ourselves. We have not. When he referred to the spirits in the world, and what we could witness in the infant child in its mother’s lap, at this moment like a little seraph, and in the next, more like a demon with passion and rage, I thought we need not confine ourselves to the child for example, for this picture of good and evil is exhibited as frequently in the parent, and even in the greyheaded sire, as in the child. If men and women understood perfectly their position before God, angels, and men, the place they occupy, and the sphere they act in, they would know they are as independent in their organization as the angels, or as the Gods. Yet, in consequence of sin entering into the world, darkness, wretchedness, folly, weakness of every kind, and the power of temptation surround the children of men, as well as the power of God. I say the greyheaded father, and the aged matron will give way to the power of evil, when it comes upon them, as readily, in many instances, as the infant child upon its mother’s lap.

I speak what I know, and say, shame on those who are subject to such weakness, when they have had time and opportunity to learn better. Brother Morley says, “Such spirits will be damned.” Bless your souls, they are damned already. The reason they act as they do, in a manner so diametrically opposed to the angels and Gods in the eternities that are, is because they have been in a miserable condition since they have been upon the earth.

When men and women give way to these wicked spirits, it is a proof they have not learned their organization, and what they were made for.

As for this people knowing their true position before God, in the midst of the nations of the earth, it is certain they have not yet learned it. Shall we ever learn it? We shall. And further, we shall be obliged to learn it; and further still, we shall be COMPELLED to learn it. How? By flattery? By blessings? By the kind smiles of Providence? By the bountiful fulness of the invisible hand of our heavenly Father bestowing every blessing upon us? Now some of us are ready to say, this will not bring us to an understanding of our true position, and prepare us for what is before us. If the mercies and blessings of our kind and indulgent heavenly Parent will not produce the desired effects upon His people, He will certainly chasten them, and make them know, by what they suffer, how to govern and sanctify themselves before Him.

We ought to pursue the same course with our children when we wish them to obey our commands. It is reasonable and right, after you have held out every kind of inducement possible, to bring them to their senses, and to obedience, if they still continue refractory, to try the rod, and chasten them until they become obedient. That is what our Father in heaven will do for this people, if they will not learn by His blessings and loving kindness.

Do you inquire if I think we are about to be afflicted? If we are not good children, we shall be. We must learn to love righteousness, and hate iniquity, and then we can chasten ourselves, and bring ourselves to the sphere we were designed to fill in our existence, and govern and control ourselves in it, preparatory to power being put into our hands. We should never have but one desire, but one determination; our will should be perfectly centered upon the one object, viz., to find out the will of God, and do it. Let every individual thus school, chasten, prove, view, and re– view himself, taking himself into custody as a prisoner to be subjected to a severe examination, until his will is perfectly subservient to the will of God in every instance, and you can say, “No matter what it is, let us know the will of the Father in heaven, and that is our will.” Then we shall be able to train, school, and practice upon ourselves, until we can control, and bring under subjection, the wicked influences that surround us; we can then begin to pave the way, or throw up an highway of holiness to the rising generation.

This we have to do. It is our business. It is the labor of the Latter-day Saints, which, if carried out, will run through all the various changing scenes of mortal life. It is in every act and dealing, both with ourselves, our families, and strangers. It fills every avenue of human life, from beginning to end. To gain the spiritual ascendancy over ourselves, and the influences with which we are surrounded, through a rigid course of self-discipline, is our first consideration, it is our first labor, before we can pave the way for our children to grow up without sin unto salvation.

No man, in a short hour or two, can tell everything that is in his heart, when it is filled by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. But I will continue my remarks, and give you a little more.

All persons are surrounded with circumstances peculiar to their location, station, and situation in life. A portion of our old associates believe we are controlled entirely by circumstances; but this people have learned enough to know they have the ability and power to control circumstances, to a certain extent; they will control us more or less, but not entirely. We can lay the foundation in the midst of this people for a train of circumstances to surround the rising generation with a divine influence. We can also produce a train of circumstances that will work their certain destruction. This is in our power, and the first is the labor of the Latter-day Saints.

Some, when their minds are opened to behold the purity of a God of eternity—the purity of heaven, and understand that no impure thing can enter there; when they can realize the perfection of the redeemed and glorified Zion, and then look at the people now, and their actions, and how they are overcome with their weaknesses, how they cannot go out and come in without coming in contact, in some way, with their neighbors; when they look at the universal sinfulness of mortal man; are ready to exclaim, “We shall all go to destruction, salvation is impossible.” I do not believe a word of it. If we do the best we know how, and yet commit many acts that are wrong, and contrary to the counsel given to us, there is hope in our case.

The Savior has warned us to be careful how we judge, forgiving each other seven times seventy in a day, if we repent, and confess our sins one to another. Can we be more merciful and forgiving than our Father in heaven? We cannot. Therefore let people do the best they can, and they will pave the way for the rising generation to walk up into the light, wisdom, and knowledge of the angels, and of the redeemed from this earth, to say nothing of other earths, and they will be prepared to enjoy in the resurrection all the blessings which are for the faithful, and enjoy them in the flesh.

It is our duty, and to this we are called so to frame and control circumstances in our lifetime, as to bring blessings upon the rising generation, which we can never attain to while we are in the flesh. But when the vision of our minds is opened to behold the immaculate purity, perfection, light, beauty, and glory of Zion, the heaven of eternity, the place where Saints and angels dwell in the eternal worlds, then salvation for us poor erring mortals seems almost impossible; it seems that we shall hardly be saved. This, however, is verily true, we shall hardly be saved. There never was any person over saved; all who have been saved, and that ever will be in the future, are only just saved, and then it is not without a struggle to overcome, that calls into exercise every energy of the soul.

It is good for us to follow the example of those who have attained unto salvation; consequently if I wish to be saved, and be an instrument of pointing out the way to others, let me not only preach the doctrine of salvation, but set the example in my conduct, and plead with them to follow it. If our faith is one, and we are united to gain one grand object, and I, as an individual, can possibly get into the celestial kingdom, you and every other person, by the same rule, can also enter there.

Though our interest is one as a people, yet remember, salvation is an individual work; it is every person for themselves. I mean more by this than I have time to tell you in full, but I will give you a hint. There are those in this Church who calculate to be saved by the righteousness of others. They will miss their mark. They are those who will arrive just as the gate is shut, so in that case you may be shut out; then you will call upon someone, who, by their own faithfulness, through the mercy of Jesus Christ, have entered in through the celestial gate, to come and open it for you; but to do this is not their province. Such will be the fate of those persons who vainly hope to be saved upon the righteousness and through the influence of brother Somebody. I forewarn you therefore to cultivate righteousness and faithfulness in yourselves, which is the only passport into celestial happiness.

There is another thing I wish to notice, viz., touching the man brother Morley spoke of this morning, who put away his wife which he had lately taken. He began to tell you how mean it looks to him to trifle in this manner with the greatest blessings of heaven to man. To men who will ask for blessings, and jewels of great price, and seek to cast them away tomorrow, it will be said by and by, “Take that and give it to the man who is more worthy.” And what shall be done with the other? Let him scrub the floor, clean shoes, and make soap. I mean this to be understood spiritually. Of course we shall be so clean in the heavenly Zion, we shall not need anybody to wash for us. When I say we will set such characters to work in the garden, to clean our stables, to curry our horses, or work in the cellar kitchen, it is to be understood spiritually.

You may get jewels of great price, and trifle with them, and think them nothing, but by and by they will so far outshine you, that you cannot look upon the blaze of their glory without being struck with blindness. The words of the Savior will be fulfilled on such persons, “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”

That which they think they possess, they only seem to have. It is put in their hands for a few days, to see if they have wisdom sufficient to use it to the glory and honor of God, that they may have more blessings added to them. When they have proved themselves unworthy, that which they seemed to have will be taken away, and given to another who is more worthy, that he may have more abundantly.

As it respects the wicked actions of the people, while brother Morley was speaking, I thought I could tell you things about some men, that you would not want to hear. To satisfy my own feelings by way of comparison, I will give you a faint idea of how they look to me.

Imagine all the carcasses of the people who have died of the cholera, and of other loathsome diseases, heaped up to rot in one general mass, under the rays of a southern sun, and the stench of such a mass of corruption would not begin to offend my nostrils, and the nostrils of every righteous man, so much as those men do. On the other hand, if every man will do the best he can, and as far as he knows how, it will be well with him, and he will be blessed until there is not room to contain the blessings which will be poured upon him. Sin consists in doing wrong when we know and can do better, and it will be punished with a just retribution, in the due time of the Lord.

Have this people been blessed? They have. Why can they not understand, that they are organized and formed for the express purpose of becoming independent in and of themselves, that they may begin to guard against any evil principle, or the suggestions of evil? But you will readily say, “That is in all men, it is natural to them.” So Paul thought. He was surrounded with spirits of evil, and was wonderfully troubled with them, so much so, that when he would do good, evil was present with him. I would have kicked them out of doors. He was a righteous man, and died for the Gospel’s sake, and it was right for him to die, if it were for nothing but taking care of the clothes of those who stoned Stephen to death. “Now,” says Paul, “I would do good to that man, but evil is present with me.” Why did he not kick that evil out of the way of his doing good? Was he bound to be troubled with it? No, no more than you and I are.

Are those who are drinking and carousing today (and there may be some doing so who profess to be brethren) obliged to break the Sabbath, and make themselves drunkards and gluttons? No. If the brethren who profess to be Saints, and do wrong, would reveal the root of the matter, and tell the whole truth, it would be, “I have a desire to do a great deal of good, but the devil is always at my elbow, and I always like to keep the old gentleman so that I can put my hand upon him, for I want to use him sometimes.” That is the reason why men and women are overcome with evil.

Again, I can charge you with what you will all plead guilty of, if you would confess the truth, viz., you dare not quite give up all your hearts to God, and become sanctified throughout, and be led by the Holy Ghost from morning until evening, and from one year’s end to another. I know this is so, and yet few will acknowledge it. I know this feeling is in your hearts, as well as I know the sun shines.

We will examine it a little closer. Many of you have fearful forebodings that all is not right in the organization of this kingdom. You shiver and shake in your feelings, and tremble in your spirit; you cannot put your trust in God, in men, nor in yourself. This arises from the power of evil that is so prevalent upon the face of the whole earth. It was given to you by your father and mother; it was mingled with your conception in the womb, and it has ripened in your flesh, in your blood, and in your bones, so that it has become riveted in your very nature. If I were to ask you individually, if you wished to be sanctified throughout, and become as pure and holy as you possibly could live, every person would say yes; yet if the Lord Almighty should give a revelation instructing you to be given wholly up to Him, and to His cause, you would shrink, saying, “I am afraid he will take away some of my darlings.” That is the difficulty with the majority of this people.

It is for you and I to wage war with that principle until it is overcome in us, then we shall not entail it upon our children. It is for us to lay a foundation so that everything our children have to do with, will bring them to Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. If we lay such a foundation with all good conscience, and labor as faithfully as we can, it will be well with us and our children in time and in eternity.

What kind of a sensation would it produce in my heart, should I hear at the close of this meeting that the Lord had suffered the devil to destroy my houses, my wives, and my children, and committed every particle of my property to the devouring flames—that I am left destitute, and alone in the world? I wish you all to apply this interrogation to yourselves. What would such a circumstance produce upon this people, provided they did not know the Lord was going to send a judgment upon them, as He has done in former times (though you need not be afraid of it)? How would you feel? Would there not be murmuring, and fault finding, and writing and plotting with apostates, and some fleeing to California, and some running back to the States?

Or suppose, when you arrive at home from this meeting, you find your neighbors have killed your horses and destroyed your property, how would you feel? You would feel like taking instant vengeance on the perpetrator of the deed. But it would be wrong for you to encourage the least particle of feeling to arise in your bosom like anger, or revenge, or like taking judgment into your own hands, until the Lord Almighty shall say, “Judgment is yours, and for you to execute.”

Brother Morley wished to know if anyone could tell the origin of thought. The origin of thought was planted in our organization at the beginning of our being. This is not telling you how it came there, or who put it there. Thought originated with our individual being, which is organized to be as independent as any being in eternity. When you go home, and learn that your neighbors have committed some depredation on your property, or in your family, and anger arises in your bosom, then consider, and know that it arises in yourselves.

On the other hand, suppose some person has blessed you when you return home, brought you a bag of flour, for instance, in a time of great scarcity, and some butter, milk, and vegetables, thoughts would at once spring up to bless the giver. The origin of thought and reflection is in ourselves. We think, because we are, and are made susceptible of external influences, and to feel our relationship to external objects. Thus thoughts of revenge, and thoughts of blessing will arise in the same mind, as it is influenced by external circumstances.

If you are injured by a neighbor, the first thought of the unregenerate heart is for God to damn the person who has hurt you. But if a person blesses you, the first thought that arises in you is, God bless that man; and this is the disposition to which we ought to cleave. But dismiss any spirit that would prompt you to injure any creature that the Lord has made, give it no place, encourage it not, and it will not stay where you are. You can let the black man, or the white man into your house, as you please; you can say, “Walk in,” to both of them.

This is a figure. When the white man presents himself, you know him at once by his complexion; the same when you see darkness and blackness advancing, you know it is from beneath, and you can command it to leave your house. When the good man comes, he brings with him a halo of kindness which fills you with peace and heavenly comfort; invite him into your house, and make him your constant guest.

I have often told you from this stand, if you cleave to holy, godlike principles, you add more good to your organization, which is made independent in the first place, and the good spirit and influence which come from the Father of lights, and from Jesus Christ, and from the holy angels add good to it. And when you have been proved, and when you have labored and occupied sufficiently upon that, it will become, in you, what brother Joseph Smith told Elder Taylor, if he would adhere to the Spirit of the Lord strictly, it should become in him, viz., a fountain of revelation. That is true. After awhile the Lord will say to such, “My son, you have been faithful, you have clung to good, and you love righteousness, and hate iniquity, from which you have turned away, now you shall have the blessing of the Holy Spirit to lead you, and be your constant companion, from this time henceforth and forever.” Then the Holy Spirit becomes your property, it is given to you for a profit, and an eternal blessing. It tends to addition, extension, and increase, to immortality and eternal lives.

If you suffer the opposite of this to take possession of your tabernacles, it will hurt you, and all that is asso– ciated with you, and blast, and strike with mildew, until your tabernacle, which was created to continue throughout an endless duration, will be decomposed, and go back to its native elements, to be ground over again like the refractory clay that has spoiled in the hand of the potter, it must be worked over again until it shall become passive, and yield to the potter’s wish.

One power is to add, to build up, and increase; the other to destroy and diminish; one is life, the other is death. Let us, then, lay a foundation for the rising generation to grow up without being trammeled and hindered in their onward course to glory and happiness by the superstitions, tradition, and ignorance that have blinded and hurt us. Let us do the best we can, and if we make a mistake once, seven times, or seventy times seven in a day, and are honest in our confessions, we shall be forgiven freely. As we expect to obtain mercy, so let us have mercy upon each other. And when the evil spirit comes let him find no place in you.

I recollect telling the Latter-day Saints that no man could judge the nature of a spirit without first testing it; until then, he is not capable to judge of it. Brethren, love righteousness, and hate iniquity.

May God bless you forever. Amen.