An Oration by Bishop Edward Hunter, Delivered on the Southwest Corner Stone of the Temple, at Great Salt Lake City, after the Presidencies of the Aaronic Priesthood had laid the Stone, April 6, 1853.

Brethren and Friends—This, the Southwest Corner Stone of this Temple, in Salt Lake Valley, and Utah Territory, has been laid by the Aaronic Priesthood, which is in connection with the Melchizedek Priesthood forever—to connect those two Priesthoods to the building up of the kingdom of the last days, and exalt mankind on the earth, and in the presence of God, and prepare for the coming of Christ our Redeemer.

The past, the present, and the future—our history, our destiny, recur with redoubled force upon our minds, upon occasions like this. In honor to the great God we are here assembled. To the Valleys of the mountains we have been led by His Almighty power and watchful guidance. We have been delivered from our enemies, from our oppressors, by His unerring wisdom, and surpassing kindness.

Never before could the Saints look around, and behold so glorious, so prosperous a prospect before them, for the accomplishment of the enterprise which we this day commence. Although peace may temporarily have smiled around, yet it was like the lone traveler, struggling to make his way through the scarcely incrustated lava, yet warm, amid the craters of the momentarily extinct volcano, which has only ceased to pour forth its liquid fire, to gather renewed and increased energy, and again send forth its lurid flame, molten fury, and devastation, to all around. Thus has it ever been with this people—in the midst of enemies have they struggled to build up cities, wherein they might inhabit; erect temples unto the name of the God whom they serve, wherein to worship, and receive their holy anointings and endowments. But no sooner have they commenced, than have also commenced the howlings of the myrmidons of Satan’s kingdom, crying, as they did before Pilate, when they murdered the Savior of the world, “Away with him! away with him! crucify him! crucify him!” And they have poured out their wrath—they have murdered the Saints, driven them from city to city, from land to land, dispossessed them of their inheritances, destroyed their cities, their temples and slain their Prophets.

As it was in the days of our Savior and his Apostles, so has it been in our day. They have used every stratagem, every exertion to destroy the Priesthood from the face of the earth. They were successful then—will they be so now? Will the authority of the holy and eternal Priesthood of Almighty God, again be driven from the face of the earth, the Prophets and Apostles all slain, and none left in possession of the living oracles of divine truth? No! No!! The might of Jehovah will preserve us. The Lord God will sustain us, and if so be, we should be scattered as hitherto, He will gather us in greater power, greater numbers, with increased ability to perform His work upon the earth.

Let all people, sinners, mobocrats, and devils, learn from experience that persecution, plunder, robbery, rapine, murder, and expulsion from home and country, will not win. They have effectually tried this plan, and it has as effectually failed every time. Please take notice! And devise some new scheme the next time, wherein you can feel some assurance, that you may possibly succeed, and we have the pleasure of not being plundered, murdered, and disfranchised in the same old way. Tax your inventive genius for some broader scheme to destroy God’s people from the face of the earth.

Suppose you try the suggestion of our much esteemed, though distant, learned, very polite, and unsolicited chronicler, Lieutenant Gunnison, “of letting us alone severely.” But I will not make suggestions for you, having great confidence in your ability of changing your mode of operation. When your plans become so futile, weak, and unavailing, as to become stale and uninteresting, I may suggest for you. In the meantime, let the Saints remember the promise President Young made them, upon the occasion of his breaking the ground for this temple, on the 14th of February last—“Not one of them, who had not been through the fiery ordeal, should lose the privilege, if he continued faithful; he shall not be a whit be– hind the most exquisite infliction of torture that any of the Saints have had to endure.” If you are faithful, you shall have the promised blessing pertaining to those characters who became partakers of the sufferings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When we look around us, what do we behold? We see the most unmistakable tokens of prosperity, peace, and plenty; the self-evident fruits of high heaven’s protecting care, industry, sobriety, and faith. What else do we behold? Wickedness—the hydra-headed monster, apostasy, dares to lift his head; thieves dare to prowl in our midst.

It seems, that no sooner can the Lord pour out His blessings upon His people, and Zion be favored for a season, than it becomes occasion for some to kick and flounder, turning their heel against that beneficent power unto whom they owe their being, their existences—who has fed them, and nurtured them, and led them, like as He did the Saints of old, all the day long.

What becomes the duty of the Saints under such circumstances? Do you realize that upon yourselves, in a great measure, depends your future prosperity, the prosperity of Zion’s cause, the extension and advancement of the cause of truth in the world? Do you consider that it is your duty to purify and sanctify your hearts before God, to put evil far from you, to resist the allurements, temptations, and devices of Satan, and thus panoplied in the bright armor of integrity, truth, and righteousness, with pure hearts, and clean hands, and arising in the strength, might, and majesty of the great Jehovah, put down iniquity, yea, with an eagle eye, ferret it out, and with a strong arm, hush in eternal silence every ingrate spirit, who profanes, with his unholy presence, the most holy place; who tramples under his feet, as a thing of naught, those covenants, those most solemn obligations, which he has freely made? So shall Israel put away iniquity from their midst, and obtain and retain the favor of the Lord of Hosts.

Do you remember the history of the Gadiantons, as told in the Book of Mormon? We are surrounded by their descendants. Those loathsome, effeminate specimens of humanity, which we daily see in our midst, are their children, low, degraded, sunken to the lowest depths of human existence. We have our location amid their strongholds, where the ruins of their cities, towns, and fortifications are yet to be seen—they continue unto this day. Shall we, the Saints of the Most High God, who have been the special recipients of the oracles of life and salvation, to this generation, to all generations to come, to even those who have preceded us—shall we, through supineness and neglect, permit a foundation to be laid in our midst, for the ultimate triumph of wickedness, apostasy, and every abomination which maketh desolate? I tell you, if we do, we need go no farther in the progress of this work, for we shall most probably share the fate of those Gadiantons and their children. Better, far better, would it be for us to stop, and, in the first place, sweep from our midst and from our borders, every vestige of unmitigated wickedness and sin. If we do not put it down, it will put us down. If we do not, when we have the privilege, the opportunity, magnify our calling, fulfil our covenants, the Lord our God will withdraw His Spirit from our midst, as being unworthy and negligent servants.

I am aware that the devil raves and grows angry when the Saints prepare to build a temple. I am aware that he rummages every nook and corner, to gain the ascendant, seduce away, stir up strife, contention, and hin– der the progress of the work; he seeks to lull into a false security, the vigilance of the Saints; to cool their ardor, check their efforts, and render them fruitless; to cause them to neglect their duties, grow lukewarm and indifferent towards the cause of God.

Brethren, let me exhort you against these allurements, against this apathy—it will never do, it does not become the Latter-day Saints, whose work rolls upon them as fast as they are able to accomplish it. The Saints pray their Father in heaven to hasten His work, and roll it forth with mighty power.

Do you not know that the heavens are ready to drop with blessings in store for the faithful Saints, if they were ready and able to receive them? The Almighty God is ready to establish His kingdom upon the earth, in power and majesty, if His people were ready to receive, were prepared to administer therein in holiness, purity, and wisdom.

But are this people ready? No! they are not—their work is preparatory, and I am happy in believing that their progress is onward, that they are advancing toward that unity, faith, and perfection, those good works and Godlike attainments, which shall witness unto the Lord our God, that they are rapidly approximating towards that eventful period, when the Son of Man will appear in his temple, to cheer the hearts of his people.

The heavens are propitious, and if we do right, the Lord our God will be our friend, bless and prosper us in our endeavors to bring to pass this our preparatory work. We will build a temple unto the name of the mighty God of Jacob, here in the wilderness of deserts, amid the forest of mountains, upon the foundation which we this day consecrate unto the Lord of Hosts. We will rear a superstructure wherein we can receive the ministrations of angels and holy beings; wherein we can receive instructions, and perform offices for the redemption of our dead, receive keys for the resurrection of the Saints of God, wherein we can meet the spirits of just men made perfect, and again strike hands with the martyred Prophets, Joseph and Hyrum, and all those who have suffered and died for the testimony of Jesus.

We are far more commodiously situated, far better prepared for this work, than ever before, as a people. We have a house wherein we can hold our Councils, a tabernacle wherein to worship, storehouses to contain the tithing of the people, and shops, and machinery in full operation.

The wall around the Temple Block will soon secure those grounds from intrusion. We are comparatively free from debt, everything seems favorable for the rapid progress of this work.

Brethren, it depends upon your efforts, your liberality, your faithfulness, whether its progress be slow or fast. We are now ready to bid the Saints “come lend us your aid—bring up to the Tithing House of the Lord, your tithings and your consecrations; pay up what you owe, that our hands may be untied, and freed from our remaining indebtedness; that the hearts of the public workmen may rejoice in the blessings and comforts of life.” Let your liberality be known by your works, and remember that it is your own work you are called upon to perform, and one in which you have the deepest and most abiding interest.

Bring forth the materials for building—stone, lime, and sand; lumber and timber; the pine, the fir, and the cedar; the iron and steel; the silver, gold, and precious stones; to ornament, make beautiful and glorious the place of His presence, whose excellence surpasses the understanding of the children of men. Amen.

By President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered on the Southeast Corner Stone of the Temple at Great Salt Lake City, after the First Presidency and the Patriarch had laid the Stone, April 6, 1853.

O God, the Eternal Father, in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth, we ask thee to look upon us at this time in thy tender mercy. Thou beholdest that thy servants, Brigham and his Council, have laid the Chief Corner Stone of a holy House, which we are about to erect unto thy name. We desire to do it with clean hands and pure hearts before thee, and before thine holy angels.

We thank thee that we are permitted to live in the flesh, and have a place upon thy footstool, and partake daily of the bounties thy hand bestows, for thou art our Father, and Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother.

Inasmuch, O Lord, as we desire to erect a House to thy name, that if it seemeth thee good to come and take up thine abode on the earth, thou mayest have a place to lay thy head, we pray thee to assist us to erect it in purity before thee, and the Heavenly hosts.

We ask thee to help us so to conduct ourselves, that all the holy Prophets, the angels of Heaven, with thee and thy Son, may be engaged continually for our welfare, in the work of salvation and eternal lives. Bless us in this attempt to glorify thee. Bless this portion of the earth we dwell upon—even these valleys of the mountains, which we have consecrated unto thee. Cause them to bring forth the productions of the soil in rich abundance. Bless the seeds that are placed therein by thy servants and handmaidens. And inasmuch as they are disposed to do thy work, and erect a Temple to thy name, which is their fixed purpose and determination; let the heavens be gentle over them. May the earth be sanctified for their good, and the seeds they throw into it yield to them an hundred fold in return. We pray thee to bless such men and women—may the blessings of the Almighty richly attend them, and multiply them in their families, in their herds and flocks, in strength and in health, in salvation, and in eternal lives.

We also pray for those who do not feel favorably disposed to thy work—may thy blessings not attend them, but may they go backward and not forward, may they wither and not increase, and may the strength that they might have received, through their faithfulness to thy work, be multiplied and divided amongst these thy servants, who are determined to keep thy commandments, and sanctify their affections unto thee.

Look upon thy servant Brigham, O Lord, and let thy Holy Spirit rest mightily upon him this day, and from henceforth. May he live to dictate the erection of thy house, see the Topstone brought on with rejoicing, and administer the keys of salvation and eternal life unto his brethren therein. Bless his Council in common with him, may they live to a good old age, and glorify God in all their days; may they never want for food and raiment, for fathers and mothers, for wives and children, and for the power of thy Spirit to inspire them, and those thou hast given them.

Pour out thy Spirit upon thy servants, the Twelve Apostles; may thy power abide upon them, to qualify them for the responsible calling unto which thou hast called them. Also, in connection with them, let thy Spirit rest upon the Quorums of the Seventies, the High Priests, the Bishops, the High Council, the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons; and upon every faithful member of thy Church in these valleys of the mountains, and in all the world.

Now, O God, we dedicate this Stone to thee. May this spot be holy, and all that pertaineth to it. And inasmuch as there shall be an enemy, or a person that are evil disposed towards thy house, and they shall endeavor to lay snares for the feet of thy people, may they be caught in their own net, be overwhelmed in their own dilemma, and have no power nor influence in the least to hurt thy Saints from this time henceforth and forever. May the power of the mighty God of Jacob fortify thy servants, enabling them to execute righteousness before thee the Lord our God.

Hear us, O Lord, for we dedicate this, the Southeast Corner Stone unto thee, praying that it may sleep in peace, be preserved from decay, for it is the Chief Corner Stone of the House we shall rear to thy name. May the same blessings attend the other three Corner Stones, and all the works thy servants shall set their hands to do, from this time henceforth and forever.

Bless the architect, the superintendent, the foremen of the various departments, and all the laborers that shall raise a hand, or move a thing for the erection and perfection of this thine house; and provide for them, their wives, their children, and all that pertains unto them, that they may want for no good or necessary thing, while they are engaged in thy service, and from this time henceforth and forever.

We dedicate ourselves unto thee, with our wives, our children, our flocks, and our herds, with all the settlements and possessions that pertain to thy people in these valleys of the mountains. And all the praise and the glory we will ascribe to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Ezra T. Benson, Delivered at the Seventies’ Conference in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 16, 1853.

I have listened with a great degree of satisfaction to those who have already spoken. I am now called upon to cast in my mite by the words of my mouth. I take pleasure in doing so. I always have taken satisfaction in speaking to my brethren, whenever it has fallen to my lot.

I have no excuse to make, no particular preliminaries to introduce, but wish at once to mingle my spirit, views, and feelings with those of this people. Whatever may be my field of labor, or whatever I may be called upon to do, I am ready to do it willingly, and wish to act in the calling whereunto I am called, to the best of my ability; whether to preach, or to labor with my hands, or whatever it my be, it is all the same to me, so that I am attending to the duty of my calling, and working in the sphere of this our holy religion. From the experience that most or all of us have had in this day and age of the world, we have all pretty much come to the conclusion that whatever we do, whether it is today or at any other time, should be within the pale of our religion, acting in the spirit of our calling. This is the instruction we have been receiving this afternoon and this morning. My heart has been warmed up since I have been sitting here, and it does not take a great deal to warm it up in this case, because I try to so live before the Lord and this people, that it takes but little to warm it up.

What kind of feeling do we want resting upon us? We want the testimony of Jesus, and that is what we must have, not only this week, this month, and this year, but every day of our lives. We should be in possession of that which the Apostle Paul admonished the people to possess in his day, viz., to be ready to give a reason of the hope that you have in you.

Much good instruction has been given to the Elders of Israel. It is true I have been a little surprised, when I have reflected as a man reflects, when I have reasoned as a natural man would reason, at the remarks that have been made here this afternoon by President Joseph Young. Here we are, eating, and drinking, and sleeping in peace, “with none to molest, or make us afraid,” worshipping God according to the dictates of our consciences.

But when we reflect for a moment upon the past experience of this people, it speaks louder than thunder in our ears, we are to be on hand, as has been stated this afternoon. What is this for? It is for our good, that we may not lie down and become indolent, and say all is ease now in Zion. But the devil is not dead yet; he is on hand to do his work, to perform his mission, which is to stir up the Saints to their duty, if they do not attend to it by being counseled from God. It has been so in every age of the world—it has been the experience of this people.

We have now commenced to prepare for the building of a Temple; the ground has been staked out and broken; does not the devil know it? Yes; he knows all about it, and there could not be a thing to displease him more than for this people to talk about a Temple, to say nothing about going to work to build one. Did it not always stir up the devil? It was so in Kirtland, Missouri, and Illinois; and will it not be so in the City of the Great Salt Lake? It will. Are you not glad of it? You ought to be. Why? Because it is impossible to do anything, to any great extent, without an opposite. This is strictly according to the experience we have had. We must have an opposite, it must needs be that there is an opposite in all things to square us up, and make us ready to become useful in all things. I am glad of it, myself. What is required of us to do? Why, just do right, and all is right; what an easy lesson. Can you have any enjoyment without an opposite? We hear a good deal said about making sugar; but I tell you it is impossible to make sugar enough to make everything sweet. There is plenty of sweet, and there is also plenty of bitter. There must be an opposite, and it is all right.

What should the Saints do? You know you are right, God has told you so. The revelations of Jesus Christ have told you that you are right, and everybody who knows anything about God tells you that you are right, for you want to do right, and work righteousness. What greater testimony do you want? It is enough, it is quite sufficient. It is the privilege of everybody to do just as much good as they have a mind to. And what a glorious idea it is to know that we are in the Church and Kingdom of God, where there is a fountain of knowledge, of light, and of faith, where there is an inexhaustible fountain of matter and experience to work upon, so that a man is not trammeled in performing any one good thing. The revelations of Jesus Christ are far more liberal than Mr. Strang’s. He told the people that it was only the rich that should have many wives, and the poor are not to have any. Our God does not use any such expression; He makes no distinction between the rich and the poor, between the high and the low, the manservant and the maidservant; everybody is placed as free as the air that blows. Who is trammeled in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Is there one person? No, not one. Are you debarred from getting revelation? No, not at all. Light and intelligence are placed as free as the air that blows.

Can an Elder in Israel leave this place and go into the world to preach the Gospel without revelation? No. Can people live in these valleys of the mountains without it? No, they could no more live without the light of revelation than they could without eating bread, and performing the duties required at their hands. Well, what difference is there, then, if a man can have all that he needs?

I once heard a sectarian priest undertake to tell about the different glories Paul speaks of. He compared Christians to cups or tankards, some held a pint, some a gallon, &c. Now says he, “When the cups are all full, is not that enough.” I thought the comparison was pretty good. The Lord says He has different gifts and talents to the children of men; to one He gives revelation, to another the gifts of tongues, to another prophecy, to another the gift of miracles, but no man is deprived of obtaining them all, if he has the power of mind, intelligence, and faith to do so. We can get all we desire, all we can comprehend and ask for, or all we can appreciate. Here is wisdom, that a man should not ask for that he could not appreciate or comprehend, or make a good use of, although many of us may ask and receive like the child did the apples. A little child playing upon the floor sees you hold a plate of apples, it asks for one, which it holds in one hand; then it wants another in the other hand; then it wants more, until the arms and lap are filled to overflowing; still it is not content, but craves for more until it cannot hold them, and loses the whole. This spirit the President said he could see manifested by some of this people, so that if they are not careful their blessings will become a curse to them. We have to prove ourselves in all things, every man and woman in the Kingdom of God. Our faith is tried in many ways, and what plan looks better to a faithful, virtuous Latter-day Saint? And can you be a Latter-day Saint without being virtuous? The Prophet Joseph said one could not; and he said a virtuous man or woman is willing to do precisely as the Lord tells him. Then, according to the Prophet Joseph, it is virtuous for you to obey the voice of God—the counsel of heaven through that man whom God has set to preside over us. He holds the keys of salvation to this people, and to the nations of the earth; and when that man unlocks, there is not power enough in this earth to lock. This is the situation we are in, these are the keys that are held by the men of God among us. Have we anything to fear? We need not stop to spend any time to know whether we shall do this thing or the other we have been counseled to do. If it should be to sharpen up our swords, we need not inquire when a mob is coming from the States, or whether there is enough of mobocrats in our midst to raise one.

The longer I live, and the more experience I have, the more I feel like fighting for my religion and my rights. But to make a long story short, I would not give one groat whether I stay here one month, or one year, or twenty years longer. If I sit down, and reason with myself on this wise, “Well, I have built me a good, comfortable house, I have made me an excellent farm, and am just preparing to live;” or, “My wife is sick, and I have scarcely any provisions;” I should begin to draw in my horns, you know, and be against going away. But when we reflect upon the past, looking back upon the days of Nauvoo, and comparing the situation of this people now with their situation then; could we then claim a widespread Territory? No, we were settled then in a little elbow of the Mississippi, cornered up with mobs all around us, and even in that condition many of us felt first-rate. When we came away the enemy gave back before the Saints, and we crossed over the river unmolested. I am speaking of those who obeyed the counsel of the Lord.

I can recollect the time I had in Nauvoo. Brother Joseph Young remarked that he was President of the Seventies before any Seventies were organized; I also was somewhere, and was coming along in the natural train of things as fast as I could to stand in my lot among this people. I would have obeyed the Gospel before, if I had known enough. We found ourselves cooped up in Nauvoo, and the word of the Lord to this people was to gather out; and mobs menaced us on every side. Some good men at that time went to brother Brigham, “We shall never get out, we never can be permitted to pass through the Territory of Iowa.” Says brother Brigham, in reply to them, “We shall all go through, and not a man shall be hurt.” This I heard him say in the Temple of the Lord. Was it not the case? It was. The very moment the Saints began to cross the Mississippi River the cloud began to disperse, and the light in the west began to break forth; mobs began to disperse each way on the right and on the left, to let the Saints pass through unhurt. That was the situation of affairs at that time, it is all fresh upon my memory. I have not time to enter into this part of our history in full, I merely wished to refresh your memories, and make you feel as I do. All the people did not pass through, some half-hearted “Mormons” were left behind, with a sprinkling of true hearts, and the Lord was with them notwithstanding, and they stood there to whip the devil, and they did it first-rate.

Now let us stay here in the valleys of the mountains, and do all the good we can. Let us fight if the Lord says so, and blow and shatter hell from the center to the circumference if He tells us to do so, then it will be all right. But if He says, “Let the Saints go,” I tell you I want to be among the first train, if possible. I want to be on hand to obey counsel when the Lord speaks. We have escaped our difficulties in Illinois, and got a possession in these goodly valleys, by obeying the commandments of heaven, and what are our privileges? We are now organized as a Territorial Government, and acknowledged as such by the parent Government. This is the result of what we have passed through. Of course, then, if we carry out the same principle of progress, before we can be numbered as a free and sovereign State the mustard stalk must be again kicked; this is logical. It was pictured to us by the servants of God, before we embraced “Mormonism,” that we could not become Latter-day Saints without passing through much persecution. If we do not pass through it, it shows plainly to me that we are not Latter-day Saints.

I have known men converted to this Gospel through the remarks of the priests of Christendom. A very intelligent man in New York, for instance, when the priest told him not to run after this deluded people, saying, “They are thieves and robbers,” replied, “You don’t say so; why that is the people I have been hunting for—a people that all denominations of Christians speak against, for that is the Church of Jesus Christ; so, sir, I am a Mormon right straight.” We have got all these things to contend with, and it is all right, brethren and sisters; for here is your blessing, here is your crown, and with your crown, here is your glory. You are all desiring this, labor for it; and the longer I labor, the more experience I have. I find we have to labor with our own hands—this kingdom has got to be built up by manual labor; as the Governor said in the Legislature this winter, viz., our capital lies in the physical force of this people. Here is element in abundance all around us, as much as we have a mind to organize, according to the faith, experience, and ability that we possess from day to day.

Brethren, let us build a Temple, make farms, and raise an abundance of the good things of the earth; let us go to work and act according to the revelations we read from time to time, let us establish home manufactories, and, as I have said numbers of times this winter, I would to God we could say today that we will, from this time henceforth, sustain ourselves by the help of God, and abide by it. Decorate our own bodies with the workmanship of our own hands, and I know, as “Mormonism” is true, and my experience correct, we shall that moment be independent. If we are not willing to fulfil the word of the Lord by counsel, and the experience we pass through, He will let the devil punish us until we do it. What do we want of the Gentiles? I would rather wrap myself up in a buffalo robe than go back amongst them again, unless I was counseled to do so.

We are doing first-rate. I feel as though I was doing first-rate sometimes, and sometimes I do not feel so, but can discover that there is room for me to do a little better. I know the majority of this people mean to do right, and follow the counsel of the Lord’s servants, but there are some few who are wandering, their minds are not open to mark the providences of God to this people, but are pinned upon something else. We hear of meetings being established around in this city, for this ite, that ite, and the other ite. What is the matter with this portion of the people? Have they been neglecting their duties and their prayers? When I am out in the country, and stay at the houses of the brethren, I have an opportunity of seeing who prays. I stop all night at a brother’s house, I eat with his family, and I begin to know how he feels. If he is a praying man, he will ask me to pray with him, or he will pray for me, and his family, and the welfare of Israel.

I found, as I traveled round among the people, that many Elders of this Church seldom bow down to pray. We cannot live righteously without praying. Show me an individual who lives without prayer, and I will show you an individual who lives without the bread of life. Let us pray, and get into heaven as fast as possible; for we need not be many years in getting there. The quicker we get a Temple built, and preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, and gather the Saints, the quicker we shall be released from the powers of darkness. If a man is perfectly filled with the Spirit of God, when the devil comes along there is no chance for him to enter. Here then is quite an advantage in a person’s being continually filled with the Spirit of truth. So you are on the right track, you are right, and nobody can get you wrong. If you suffer the Spirit of the Lord to leave your hearts, and the devil comes along and finds an empty house, he then enters in, and inasmuch as we are under transgression, he lays his hand upon us, saying, “You shall be my tool for me to work with, you have transgressed the laws of God, and my spirit shall lead you about; you shall go into Gladdenism, to this and that ism.” I say you ought to feel the happiest people upon the earth, because we have had experience in this Church; we have got righteous men to lead us; they have stood the test—stood through mobs, fire, sword, and death, and their knees have never trembled, nor their lips quivered upon any occasion; but they have done everything that could be done by mortal man for the good of this people, and for our deliverance.

We have nothing to fear, but fear God and work righteousness all the days of our lives. Do not let us be cast down, nor be troubled about that which we cannot help. As the Apostle Paul says, we have done the will of the Gentiles, but from this time we will serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let us weed our own gardens, take care of our own concerns, and all will be right as far as we are concerned. I feel well, and I mean to go ahead in this great work; I want to see the winding up scene of this generation. If ever we are clipped of our Priesthood, our glory, and our crown, it will be when we cease to faithfully preach the Gospel, cease to keep the commandments of God enjoined upon us, cease doing good to this people. Then, at once, the principles of “Mormonism” will be contracted in us; we shall become leaky vessels in the principles of the Gospel, while we ought to retain every good thing we receive.

Does a man lose any of his Priesthood and power by going to heal and bless the sick? No, He receives a blessing at the same time. Is not a man blessed when he gets a revelation from God to this people? He is; and so are we blessed if we do the work of God. No man or woman is exempted from doing good; we may do just as much as we please. Let us have respect and kindness for each other; let us feel well towards each other, speak good things to each other, and of each other, for this is the way Saints should live. When we take this course we shall feel right. When I feel like blessing my brethren, like lifting them up, and exalting them in my feelings, I feel first-rate myself; but when I feel like dragging them down, I feel contracted in my feelings, my mind does not expand in the principles of “Mormonism;” but when I feel to bless everybody and do right by night and day, I feel like blessing everybody, and strong like a young lion sallying from his thicket. Do you want a qualification to that expression? I feel like blessing those who ought to be blessed, they do not stick anywhere else. God blesses no person, only on condition, neither do His servants. If a man rises up and prophecies great and glorious things on your head it is all on conditions. And says Jesus Christ, “He that endureth to the end shall be saved.” It is the faithful performance of our duties that will insure us an entrance into the celestial kingdom of God, not only today, but to the end of our lives.

Now, brethren and sisters, may God bless you; pray for yourselves; go into the private chamber, and there kneel down, and make known your wants unto God; if you ask wisdom He will not upbraid, but give it to you liberally. Get the spirit of prayer upon you, and then you are all right; it is no matter where we are, so as we are found doing the will of God. He does not require us to ascend these snow-capped mountains, or to go to the United States this winter, to do His will, but the arena of action is here, in our family circle, by our own firesides, attending to our daily labors and local duties. And if a man wishes to have the Spirit, let him expand himself in temporal matters, or spiritual if you please, for it is all spiritual and all temporal according to my feelings. I preach the Gospel, it is temporal, it is manual labor; I would rather chop cordwood anytime than do it, were I to consult my natural feelings. For when I preach to the people I want to take the word in my hand and throw it down their necks, and say, “That is ‘Mormonism,’ will you swallow it? It is the truth from heaven and I know it.” That is about all the preaching a man can do. You may quote Scripture for a month, and a sectarian will rise up and tell you, “We preach the Holy Scripture,” but if they do, they do not know it is true. I know that “Mormonism” is true; this testimony will make him shake like Belshazzar of old. When a man knows that “Mormonism” is true, he is commissioned to preach the Gospel; if he does not, he is not qualified.

We have heard a great deal this morning about reading and qualifying ourselves; it is right, and according to the revelations of God; but if I cannot have but one of these qualifications given me, I want to have the testimony of Jesus, which will pierce them like a cannon ball. It made me feel so. You will be called upon to go to the nations; and before you go, as brother Jedediah said, we want you to have “Mormon” thunder in you; and if you have not got any of it, we will try to pump some in you before you start. For you will have many kinds of devils to contend with; there are laughing devils, and crying devils, murmuring devils, and sympathetic devils, besides many more I could name. But don’t be afraid, brethren, you will all have a chance to go and see for yourselves.

I belong to all the Quorums. One Quorum is just as necessary as another, and if so, it is just as honorable in its place, sphere, and calling. What a beautiful Church the Lord has organized! We could not have thought of it; it is altogether beyond the wisdom of man, because a man, no matter how big, how eloquent, or learned he may be, has to be admitted through the same door, he must pass through the same ordeal as the ignorant, yet honest, poor man, he must be kicked, and cuffed, he must sacrifice all things for Christ’s sake, or he cannot reign with this people. How should we look among the exalted and glorified Saints who have passed through much suffering to obtain their crowns, if we had not passed through the same, could we reign with them with any satisfaction to ourselves? I think not. As we heard here last Sunday, do not be discouraged because you were not in the various troubles the Saints have passed through on sundry occasions, for you will get a chance to try yourselves in like scenes, that you may have the same glory, exaltation, and crown.

May the Lord bless you for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 6, 1853.

The organization of man, I suppose, is one of the deepest and most profound studies for philosophers and theologians there is in nature. The organization of man, embracing all the attributes and powers of his physical and mental constitution, is considered a mystery by the wisest and most expert philosophers that have lived, and is a subject that daily occupies the thoughts and researches of the more intelligent portion of the children of men.

When we carefully notice the manner of our own reflections, it is a marvel and a wonder to us; and we are apt to say, What am I? Who am I? And for what was I made? Who is the author of my existence? Who laid the foundation of and planned this singular structure? It is a mystery how this wonderful machinery works, and how it is sustained to fulfil the purpose of its creation! In reality, however, there is no such thing as a mystery but to the ignorant. We may also say, there is no such thing, in reality, as a miracle, except to those who do not understand the “Alpha and Omega” of every phenomenon that is made manifest. To a person who thoroughly understands the reason of all things, and can trace from their effects to their true causes, mystery does not exist. Yet the physical and mental existence of man is a great mystery to him.

In the experience of our lives we are taught many principles that are worthy the attention of the most intelligent on earth. The first great principle that ought to occupy the attention of mankind, that should be understood by the child and the adult, and which is the mainspring of all action (whether people understand it or not), is the principle of improvement. The principle of increase, of exaltation, of adding to that we already possess, is the grand moving principle and cause of the actions of the children of men. No matter what their pursuits are, in what nation they were born, with what people they have been associated, what religion they profess, or what politics they hold, this is the mainspring of the actions of the people, embracing all the powers necessary in performing the duties of life.

This is the lesson we should study. The powers of our minds and bodies should be governed and controlled in that way that will secure to us an eternal increase. While the inhabitants of the earth are bestowing all their ability, both mental and physical, upon perishable objects, those who profess to be Latter-day Saints, who have the privilege of receiving and understanding the principles of the holy Gospel, are in duty bound to study and find out, and put in practice in their lives, those principles that are calculated to endure, and that tend to a continual increase in this, and in the world to come. All their earthly avocations should be framed upon this principle. This alone can insure to them an exaltation; this is the starting point, in this existence, to an endless progression. All the ideas, cogitations, and labors of man are circumscribed by and incorporated in this great principle of life.

When we duly reflect upon the cogitations of our own minds, when we look upon the people called Latter-day Saints, upon the earth on which we stand, and upon the mighty universe around us, by the light of the Spirit of truth in our minds, we marvel with astonishment. When the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, illuminates the understanding, and exposes to view the true order of the works of the Framer of the Universe, so that they can contemplate the great first cause of all things, and then look upon the groveling pursuits of mortals, and their anxiety to obtain that which will perish, at the expense of the more enduring substance, every person must be struck with astonishment beyond measure.

The human family are like so many children that have just learned how to walk, in the eyes of a person whose mind has been opened by the light of the Holy Ghost. The sage, greyheaded grandfathers, and those of fewer years, but not of less experience and wisdom, have viewed the eagerness of children to possess mere trifles, and often something that would be their sure destruction if they obtained it. So it is with the inhabitants of the world. A company of little children at play is a perfect miniature picture of the life of man: “Give me this, and give me that; and I want to have the other thing;” still you are not willing I should possess it; and the parent knows that often its possession would be an injury. Or when one child sits down in a little chair, another one will cry because of it, without receiving the least injury. If you place a plate of apples or plums before a child of three or four years old, he will not be content with one, or two, or with as many as he can hold, but he will try to grasp the whole plate full with his little fingers, dropping one, and taking up another, until he has scattered and wasted them, and at last be contented to sit down and eat one, that is, if the rest of the children have not any but himself; or else cry, when he has as many as he can hold, because he cannot hold them all. The little girl will cry for the needle she sees her mother working with, and when she has got it, handle it to her injury; and the little boy will cry for the razor he sees his father using.

It is so with many of the brethren and sisters; they cry for the razor. These inconsistent desires of early childhood for trifling things, are exhibited in the human family, after they have arrived to maturer years. They may be reaching after things of weightier importance than the child, but when they are compared with eternal matters, they are just as trifling; and to the mind that is instructed, that has been touched with the light of eternal truth, they appear even more foolish than children, because we expect better things of them. As a general thing, the men of eighty years of age are as contracted in their minds, as to a knowledge of the true principles of life, and the end and purpose of their being, as little children only two and three years old are of the business that occupies the attention of the City Council or the Legislature of the State.

The thousand-and-one inconsistencies of childhood have their parallel in the actions, and doings of many of this people. Theatrical companies try to exhibit traits of human life; but a better stage cannot be than the world, nor better actors than men, to a man of understanding. It is pleasing and instructing to see certain characters personified upon the boards of a theater which is managed upon righteous principles. A prominent feature of the human world was most admirably portrayed by our performers the other evening, in the melodrama called “The Serious Family.” When the mother told the daughter to say to the friend of her husband, they had no spare rooms in the house, the daughter replied, “Shall I tell a lie?” “Yes,” answered the old dame, “if it is to promote our holy cause.” Do anything, no matter what, whether it is right or wrong, to gain the end we wish, is the language of unenlightened, unregenerate man. If the Lord Almighty should give the human family their desire in full, they would not keep the broad road to destruction, but they would go across lots, quick to hell.

It is not my intention to detain the meeting long this afternoon; but before I bring my remarks to a close, I wish to impress upon your minds some few prominent items of our religion. I can say truly that I am happy, and rejoice exceedingly, and am thankful beyond measure, that the items I wish to notice are in a great degree adhered to by this people as a whole. That I may bring the matter before our minds at once, I will repeat part of the “Mormon Creed,” viz., “Let every man mind his own business.” If this is observed, every man will have business sufficient on hand, so as not to afford time to trouble himself with the business of other people. You can now comprehend the whole discourse by the nature of the text.

While brother Erastus Snow was speaking, he made use of weedy gardens as a comparison, to apply to those who complained of other people’s gardens, while their own were neglected. I will refer to the same idea. There are plenty of evils about our neighbors; this no person will pretend to deny; but there is no man or woman on the earth, Saint or sinner, but what has plenty to do to watch the little evils that cling to human nature, and weed their own gardens. We are made subject to vanity, and it is right. We are made subject to the powers of evil, which is necessary to prove all things. We are apt to neglect our own feelings, passions, and undertakings, or in other words, to neglect to weed our own gardens, and while we are weeding our neighbor’s, before we are aware, weeds will start up and kill the good seeds in our own. This is the reason why we should most strictly attend to our own business.

I am happy to say that this people do increase in understanding, wisdom, patience, and faith. It appears to me much more easy for mankind to live without sin, than with it. We have been taught that it is contrary to nature to live without sin. If a man should spit in my face, it would be natural for me to knock him down, or in return spit in his face. But suppose one should injure me in person, or estate, and I should overlook it, and show mercy to the individual, it would cause him to reflect upon his conduct, and show him the true bearings of his unjust act, and make him ashamed of it much better than if I retaliated. If I were to pay him back in his own coin, I should render myself worthy of what I have received. If I bear an insult with meek patience, and do not return the injury, I have a decided advantage over my adversary. And if the person is susceptible of feeling such a rebuke, he will say, “I have done wrong; my con– science condemns me, and my neighbor, or my brother, did not retaliate.” It at once causes the evil doer to reflect, and he will say, “Why did I do it? The devil tempted me; I will go and confess my sin to my neighbor, for he is not disposed to return the wrong, and he is a better person than I am; and from henceforth I will mind my own business, and keep a guard upon my passions.” Is it not better in all such cases to be guided by that principle, than by the principle of retaliation?

To illustrate still further. Suppose A insults B, and B demands satisfaction, and they agree to fight; they meet and inflict upon each other blows and injuries, and whip each other right well. A, however, is the conqueror, and B retires vanquished, in shame and disgrace. He cannot any longer remain in the same neighborhood with his victorious enemy, and therefore concludes to sell out, and leave the place. Now suppose B had borne the first insult, or injury, and returned it only with good, instead of trying to do A an injury; A would have been completely conquered, and B would have escaped a sound whipping. Were we, one and all, to pursue the latter course, quarrels would soon cease in our community. As I said, if we keep our own gardens clear of weeds, our neighbors will take a pattern by us, and produce from their gardens greater quantities of fruit another year.

Now, brethren and sisters, receive the exhortation and counsel of brother Snow, and profit by it; and employ the rest of your lives in good thoughts, kind words, and good works. “Shall I sit down and read the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Covenants all the time?” says one. Yes, if you please, and when you have done, you may be nothing but a sectarian after all. It is your duty to study to know everything upon the face of the earth, in addition to reading those books. We should not only study good, and its effects upon our race, but also evil, and its consequences.

I make these remarks to lay the foundation for principle in the minds of the people; and if you do not yet understand what I would be at, I will try to illustrate it still further. For example, we will take a strict, religious, holy, down country, eastern Yankee, who would whip a beer barrel for working on Sunday, and never suffer a child to go into company of his age—never suffer him to have any associates, or permit him to do anything or know anything, only what the deacon, priests, or missionaries bring to the house; when that child attains to mature age, say eighteen or twenty years, he is very apt to steal away from his father and mother; and when he has broken his bands, you would think all hell was let loose, and that he would compass the world at once.

Now understand it—when parents whip their children for reading novels, and never let them go to the theater, or to any place of recreation and amusement, but bind them to the moral law, until duty becomes loathsome to them; when they are freed by age from the rigorous training of their parents, they are more fit for companions to devils, than to be the children of such religious parents.

If I do not learn what is in the world, from first to last, somebody will be wiser than I am. I intend to know the whole of it, both good and bad. Shall I practice evil? No; neither have I told you to practice it, but to learn by the light of truth every principle there is in existence in the world.

Still further. When I was young, I was kept within very strict bounds, and was not allowed to walk more than half-an-hour on Sunday for exercise. The proper and necessary gam– bols of youth having been denied me, makes me want active exercise and amusement now. I had not a chance to dance when I was young, and never heard the enchanting tones of the violin, until I was eleven years of age; and then I thought I was on the highway to hell, if I suffered myself to linger and listen to it. I shall not subject my little children to such a course of unnatural training, but they shall go to the dance, study music, read novels, and do anything else that will tend to expand their frames, add fire to their spirits, improve their minds, and make them feel free and untrammeled in body and mind. Let everything come in its season, place everything in the place designed for it, and do everything in its right time. And inasmuch as the Lord Almighty has designed us to know all that is in the earth, both the good and the evil, and to learn not only what is in heaven, but what is in hell, you need not expect ever to get through learning. Though I mean to learn all that is in heaven, earth, and hell. Do I need to commit iniquity to do it? No. If I were to go into the bowels of hell to find out what is there, that does not make it necessary that I should commit one evil, or blaspheme in any way the name of my Maker.

Do you not suppose the Lord is there, and knows all about it? I am satisfied of it. If He is not there, when the wicked inhabitants of the earth begin to inquire where they shall flee to escape from His presence, they will find a hiding place in hell. If the wicked wish to escape from His presence, they must go where He is not, where He does not live, where His influence does not preside. To find such a place is impossible, except they go beyond the bounds of time and space.

I have learned enough to be happy, when I am in the enjoyment of the blessings of the Lord. That is a great lesson for a man to learn. There are two things that make this people unhappy, if ever they are unhappy, viz., themselves, and the spirits that are around them. This, however, will more particularly apply to individuals. As a people, as a community, there is not its parallel to be found on the earth, for contentment and happiness. Will you make yourselves happy? You are greatly blessed of the Lord, all the day long, and should be happy; but we are apt to close our eyes against this fact, and fancy ourselves miserable, when we are actually blessed.

To make ourselves happy is incorporated in the great design of man’s existence. I have learned not to fret myself about that which I cannot help. If I can do good, I will do it; and if I cannot reach a thing, I will content myself to be without it. This makes me happy all the day long. I wish you to learn the same profitable lesson. Who hinders you from being happy? From praying, and serving the Lord as much as you please? Who hinders you from doing all the good in your power to do? Who is there here, to mar in any way the peace of any Saint that lives in these peaceful valleys? No one. It is for us to keep our own gardens clean, and see we do not harbor evil in our own hearts. Were we to look into our own hearts and seek diligently to do all the good in our power, and never commit another evil while we live, what is there to prevent us from being happy? I know there never lived a happier people, upon the earth, I might venture to say, because of the dispensation in which we live; it brings joy, comfort, and satisfaction to those who will receive it, that could not be realized by any people who have lived before us.

Do we expect to see our children grow up in darkness, and rebellion against the principles of the Gospel of Christ? Have you this thought to worry your minds? No. The an– cients had, and their souls were sometimes weighed down with sorrow on this account. They saw their children would leave the true Church, transgress the laws, change the ordinances, and break the everlasting covenant. This we have not to fear. God has seen fit in our day to bring forth the Priesthood again, even at the eleventh hour—at the end of summer—at the harvest time—at the gathering up of his sheep. At this time, or never, He has put forth His hand to send the Gospel to all nations, and gather the people together, and give to the chosen of the Lord the inheritance of the earth. Now what hinders our being a happy people? I do not see anything to hinder it.

I have a few words to say concerning our spiritual labors. I cannot, however, define any difference between temporal and spiritual labors. I call it spiritual to accommodate my language to the ideas of the people. Anything that pertains to the building up of the Lord’s kingdom on earth, whether it be in preaching the Gospel, or building Temples to His name, we have been taught to consider a spiritual work, though it evidently requires the strength of the natural body to perform it.

If the weather had been fine the past week, we should have been ready to have commenced excavating the earth for the foundation of the Temple. When we call upon the brethren, we wish them to be ready to obey the call. Probably a week from tomorrow we shall call upon them to commence this work. To satisfy those who may wish to know the size of the excavation, I will state that it will be about 250 feet from east to west, and from north to south a little less, and from 16 to 20 feet deep, we expect the mason work of the basement will be 24 feet high, 16 feet below the ground, and 8 feet above. That will require considerable labor.

We wish the excavation made, and everything prepared to lay the cornerstones on the 6th day of April next, if the Lord will; and if the Lord will not, I care not whether a stone is laid here, or in any other place; I care as little about it as the snowbirds in our fields. All that concerns me, is to do the work the Lord has for me today; and if the work is designed for tomorrow, I will prepare for it today, so as to be ready to perform it tomorrow with alacrity.

I need not say anything more about the Temple; we shall accomplish that work as expeditiously as we can. I might advance many profitable ideas pertaining to business, if the brethren who are men of business, and understand what is needed in our case, would listen, and profit by them.

I will say a word to the Seventies. Some of them have incorrect notions touching the Seventies’ Hall; and I wish them to understand, that the Temple must be the first thing in our thoughts; and if I want all the funds that have been collected for the Seventies’ Hall, for the erection of a Temple, I calculate to use them. The people need not expect us to give them the easy circumstances the noblemen of the Gentile nations enjoy, while there is so much for us to do for the public good. There is more before us to be done this year, than will take five to accomplish. We are not, however, going to do all things this year; we are not going to finish the Temple this year, but we will begin it. The Lord requires all we have to be devoted to His kingdom; and though it be but the widow’s mite, He can do as much with two mites as we can with millions of them.

May the Lord God of Israel bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

An Address by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, September 19, 1852.

Brethren and Sisters—I never saw the day in which I felt more thankful than I do at the present time, that the God whom I serve has given me the Spirit of truth. I have no desire in my heart to manifest anything, by my words or by my acts, only the truth.

There is not anything that has been revealed to me, since I came into this Church, but what I most assuredly know to be true. “Mormonism” is true, and we who have enlisted in this Church have enlisted in a good cause; and by continually obeying the truth to the end of our lives, it will lead us into the Celestial world; and I know that there is no other way to get there, only by the principle of obedience, and bringing our hearts to bear upon the truth, and to gauging our lives by it. I reflect many times upon these things, and am thankful that I know and possess the truth in a degree, still am aware that there are thousands of things before us which I have not yet attained to. The only way for us to be useful to one another is to take a course to build upon the principles of truth, and never to suffer ourselves to cultivate any but the principles of right.

I am satisfied that a man’s conduct has a great influence; it has an influence with the Saints and with the world. The world is in possession of the truth and of the Spirit of the Lord in some degree; as you have heard brother Brigham say a great many times, there is not an honest man or woman, who has heard the Gospel, but who has in a greater or less degree been influenced by that Spirit to believe it to be the truth—that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, an Apostle, a man sent of God to preach the Gospel. He was, whether they believe it or not. We live in a day and age of the world which we have talked about a thousand times, but do we fully realize it? We live in a day that the Apostles in the days of Jesus, and the Patriarchs, and thousands of holy men actually saw—they beheld the day we now live in, and anxiously desired to enjoy it in the flesh, but they died without that privilege. Are we not privileged with that day? Do we not live in the days of the Prophets and Apostles, in the days of Patriarchs and holy men? We do. I realize it, I reflect upon it, and desire that the people should reflect upon it, and diligently seek after the Spirit of truth—seek after the Holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of revelation, and it will reveal past things to you and show you things to come. Many times you reflect upon things, but are not certain whether they are correct or not, and by and by they will be revealed from this stand, the very things you had in your mind for years, and that the Spirit of God had shown to you, but you did not know how to organize and classify them, and judge of their truth. President Brigham Young is a Prophet, and can present doctrines to you, classify them, and set them in order; that is his office; and the Apostle has his office, which is to preach the Gospel in all the world, and organize the Church, and set it in order, to take the elements and combine them together.

Inasmuch as we are the Elders of Israel, the saviors of men, we should take a course to set an example that is worthy of imitation in our daily walk, conversation, and business transactions. While we were hearing from this stand last Sabbath concerning the course which some men took in keeping groceries, &c., I thought all men are not alike—have not all got strong minds, that it is the duty of every person never to introduce into or permit a thing to enter your houses that would have a tendency to allure the mind and lead it astray, but set a good example and do as you would wish to be dealt by.

A man who starts a drinking shop in the midst of this people, is introducing that which has a tendency to lead away men who are habituated to strong drinks from their youth up, and have so craving an appetite for them that they cannot let them alone if they are where they can be got.

Another thing, it does not suit my mind to believe that man to be a good man who would present anything to his neighbor that is calculated in its nature to be injurious. As we are the people of God, as “Mormonism” is true, and as we have enlisted under the banner of Christ the King, the Savior of the world, and as he taught the laws of his Father, we should do his will and keep his commandments as he kept the commandments of his Father, and never allow ourselves to do wrong, or act in any manner that would lead anyone astray.

But where a man does permit himself to do these things, I have no doubt that in process of time it will work together for good to those who love God and keep His commandments. We can see who is righteous, who is false, and who is true. Let us keep the commandments of God, and when we meet together, as we have this afternoon, and every afternoon, to partake of the Sacrament, let us pray that we may be strengthened in our bodies and spirits, that we may be filled with the same spirit, power, truth, and righteousness that dwelt in the bosom of Jesus, that we may cleave to the vine and partake of the same nourishment with it.

Let us all take a course to do right, and, if we all do right, there is no person here that will do wrong. I am aware that there will have to be a sifting, but would there be any necessity for it if the elements were pure? No. You can obtain pure sand here upon the public works, and with that you can make good tempered mortar, for the better it is tempered the better wall you can put up for your habitation. Temper the mortar and let the sand be clear of stone, roots, and every imperfect thing.

If this were the case the masons would have no use for the coarse screen to throw the sand against, nor for a fine sieve to separate the finer particles. It is just so with us. The Lord will keep sifting, and will prepare a riddle and sieve, that is, the devil will riddle you, and after that he will sift you. Did not the Savior tell one of his disciples that the devil desired to sift him as wheat is sifted? We have come together here, the wheat is gathered in from the four quarters ready for the thrashing and sifting. The world is called the field, and the reapers are going forth to reap and bind up the wheat, or children of the kingdom, into churches, and then draw them together from the four quarters of the earth. For what purpose? In order that the wheat may be thrashed, and after it is thrashed it must go through the fanning mill, and many of the kernels are blown out with the chaff. The heavier wheat drops down in the place prepared to receive it, and at the mill it has to go through the smut machine before it is ground, and after it is ground it has to go through a bolt.

At the far end of the bolt there are fans, into which the flour enters, then it keeps growing coarser and coarser, and then goes out the bran at the hind end. In this country we have got a thrashing machine that is fitted with three places; one for the chaff, another for the smut, and other foul articles, and a third to retain the wheat; hence they can go off south, in this way or that way, and some go after gold, and some after a better climate, for they do not like this climate, as they say the winters eat up the summers.

I am more than willing that all such should go, for if they all the time want to go there, let them go. We have got to be brought back into the presence of our Father in heaven, from whence we have fallen; and if we calculate on this we must pass through trials, suffering, and sifting. If you get thrashed, do not murmur. Brethren, let us take the right course, listen to the counsels we are blessed with and that we know to be right.

If you will not take the course the Lord has marked out, you might as well back out and go down to the regions of despair, to the gold regions, or where you please, but do not trouble us, we are bound to be Saints. We know that this work is true, and if you don’t know how to take a course that will bind you to it, plead with and ask God until you do get knowledge for yourselves, until you can bear the same testimony as we do. When you can do that, you will have favor with God, He will prosper you here and multiply His blessings upon us, until we are redeemed and prepared to enter into His glory, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Joseph.

You know the revelation says that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob entered into their glory and exaltation, and they have done this; you can sit down with them by taking the same course that they did. Let us cheer up, let us be comforted. We are comforted, we are blessed, and you feel just as good a spirit here as ever you felt in any place.

You who have lately come in, if you are not very careful, will get to murmuring and finding fault with us, and to think that we are not religious enough. I admit that I am not quite so sanctimonious as they are in London, but I believe that we have got something they have not, we enjoy something they do not. The feelings I enjoy, yield me pleasures that far exceed those derived from the mere luxuries of the world, and that is, to have dwelling in me the power of the Holy Ghost, to be honest, and as pure as a babe, as a lamb, or as an angel.

If you enjoy that condition, brethren and sisters, never be troubled about anything, about food, raiment, houses, lands, the devil, or any wicked person, and we will gain the victory, and become Kings and Priests to our God and to His Christ. If every individual will overcome for himself, he will be crowned. This Church and Kingdom will never fall, therefore let me hear about pure Saints and a pure plan of salvation. Let us observe the order of God, and every one be humble to that order and His authorities that preside over us. Let these Saints in the valleys of the mountains be subject to their officers, the people to their Bishops, and the Bishops to their rulers, and in this way we will move on with mighty power. As for the devil and the world, with its combined powers, if they are all arraigned against us, we have power with God to overcome them all.

In the days of Israel, we read that one chased a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight. The Lord would send an influence, perhaps a spirit rapping would get into their midst, and they would go to work and slay one another. Cannot the Lord do the same now? Cannot He turn over mountains, if we were followed up by enemies, and heap them upon them just as easy as I can turn over an apple? You need not borrow trouble about brother Brigham—he does right all the time. God is with him, angels are with him and round about him night and day. The wisdom of God is given to him, and it will supersede the wisdom of the world; I know this as well as I know that you are here this day.

The ungodly killed Joseph and Hyrum, but in so doing they furthered the work of God more than tenfold. Joseph laid the foundation, and left us to build the building, and when we are gone we will leave others, for it must be done. Do not be troubled, but do what you have been told today, and never take a course to trammel the First Presidency in their operations, but take off their shackles and burdens and carry them yourselves, for you have just as much physical strength as they have. There is scarcely a weakly man or woman here; then carry your own burdens. God bless you forever. Amen.

An Address by President Joseph Smith, Delivered on the evening of his arrival from Dixon, June 30, 1843, in the Grove, near the Temple, Nauvoo; about eight thousand people having hastily assembled, under the most intense excitement, in consequence of the attempt of Sheriff Reynolds, of Jackson County, Missouri, to kidnap him to Missouri, by preventing him from obtaining a writ of Habeas Corpus.

The congregation is large; I shall require attention. I discovered what the emotions of the people were on my arrival at this city, and I have come here to say, “How do you do?” to all parties, and I do now at this time say to all, “How do you do?” I meet you with a heart full of gratitude to Almighty God; and I presume you all feel the same. I am well—I am hearty. I hardly know how to express my feelings—I feel as strong as a giant. I pulled sticks with the men coming along, and I pulled up with one hand the strongest man that could be found: then two men tried, but they could not pull me up; and I continued to pull mentally until I pulled Missouri to Nauvoo. But I will pass from that subject.

There has been great excitement in the country since Joseph H. Reynolds and Harmon Wilson took me; but I have been cool and dispassionate through the whole. Thank God, I am now a prisoner in the hands of the Municipal Court of Nauvoo, and not in the hands of Missourians.

It is not so much my object to tell of my afflictions, trials, and troubles, as to speak of the writ of Habeas Corpus, so that the minds of all may be corrected. It has been asserted by the great and wise men, lawyers and others, that our municipal powers and legal tribunals are not to be sanctioned by the authorities of the State; and accordingly they want to make it lawful to drag away innocent men from their families and friends, and have them put to death by ungodly men for their religion! Relative to our city charter, courts, right of Habeas Corpus, &c., I wish you to know and publish that we have all power; and if any man from this time forth says anything to the contrary, cast it into his teeth. There is a secret in this; if there is not power in our charter and courts, then there is not power in the State of Illinois, nor in the Congress or Constitution of the United States, for the United States gave unto Illinois her constitution or charter, and Illinois gave unto Nauvoo her charters, ceding unto us our vested rights, which she has no right or power to take from us; all the power there was in Illinois she gave to Nauvoo; and any man that says to the contrary, is a fool. The Municipal Court has all the power to issue and determine writs of Habeas Corpus, within the limits of this city, that the Legislature can confer. This city has all the power that the State Courts have, and was given by the same authority—the Legislature.

I want you to hear and learn, O Israel! this day, what is for the happiness and peace of this city and people. If our enemies are determined to oppress us, and deprive us of our constitutional rights and privileges as they have done; and if the authorities that are on the earth will not sustain us in our rights, nor give us that protection which the laws and constitution of the United States, and of this State, guarantee unto us, then we will claim them from a higher power—from Heaven—yea, from God Almighty.

I have dragged these men here by my hand, and will do it again; but I swear I will not deal so mildly with them again; for the time has come when forbearance is no longer a virtue; and if you or I are again taken unlawfully, you are at liberty to give loose to blood and thunder. But be cool, be deliberate, be wise, act with almighty power, and when you pull, do it effectually—make a sweepstakes for once!

My lot has always been cast among the warmest-hearted people; in every time of trouble, friends, even among strangers, have been raised up unto me, and assisted me.

The time has come when the veil is torn off from the State of Illinois, and its citizens have delivered me from the State of Missouri; friends that were raised up unto me would have spilt their life’s blood, to have torn me from the hands of Reynolds and Wilson, if I had asked them; but I told them not. I would be delivered by the power of God, and generalship; and I have brought these men to Nauvoo, and committed them to her from whom I was torn, not as prisoners in chains, but as prisoners of kindness. I have treated them kindly, I have had the privilege of rewarding them good for evil. They took me unlawfully, treated me rigorously, strove to deprive me of my rights, and would have run with me into Missouri to have been murdered, if Providence had not interposed; but now they are in my hands, and I have taken them into my house, set them at the head of my table, and placed before them the best which my house afforded; and they were waited upon by my wife, whom they deprived of seeing me when I was taken.

I have no doubt but I shall be discharged by the Municipal Court: were I before any good tribunal I should be discharged, as the Missouri writs are illegal, and good for nothing—they are “without form and void.”

But before I will bear this unhallowed persecution any longer—before I will be dragged away again, among my enemies for trial, I will spill the last drop of blood in my veins, and will see all my enemies IN HELL! To bear it any longer would be a sin, and I will not bear it any longer. Shall we bear it any longer? [One universal “No!” ran through all the vast assembly, like a loud peal of thunder.]

I wish the lawyer who says we have no powers in Nauvoo may be choked to death with his own words. Don’t employ lawyers, or pay them money for their knowledge, for I have learnt they don’t know anything. I know more than they all.

Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel; he that believeth in our chartered rights may come here and be saved, and he that does not shall remain in ignorance. If any lawyer shall say there is more power in other places and charters, with respect to Habeas Corpus, than in Nauvoo, believe it not. I have converted this candidate for Congress [pointing to Cyrus Walker, Esq.], that the right of Habeas Corpus is included in our charter. If he continues converted, I will vote for him.

I have been with these lawyers, and they have treated me well; but I am here in Nauvoo, and the Missourian too. I got here by a lawful writ of Habeas Corpus, issued by the Master in chancery of Lee County, and made returnable to the nearest tribunal in the Fifth Judicial District having jurisdiction to try and determine such writs: and here is that tribunal, just as it should be.

However indignant you may feel about the high hand of oppression which has been raised against me by these men, use not the hand of violence against them; for they could not be prevailed upon to come here till I pledged my honor and my life that a hair of their heads should not be hurt. Will you all support my pledge, and thus preserve my honor? [One universal “Yes!” burst from the assembled thousands.] This is another proof of your attachment to me. I know how ready you are to do right; you have done great things, and manifested your love towards me in flying to my assistance on this occasion. I bless you, in the name of the Lord, with all the blessings of heaven and earth you are capable of enjoying.

I have learned we have no need to suffer as we have heretofore—we can call others to our aid. I know the Almighty will bless all good men—He will bless you; and the time has come when there will be such a flocking to the standard of liberty as never has been, or shall be hereafter. What an era has commenced! Our enemies have prophesied that we would establish our religion by the sword; is it true? No, but if Missouri will not stay her cruel hand in her unhallowed persecutions against us, I restrain you not any longer: I say, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the authority of the Holy Priesthood, I this day turn the key that opens the heavens to restrain you no longer from this time forth. I will lead you to battle; and if you are not afraid to die, and feel disposed to spill your blood in your own defense, you will not offend me. Be not the aggressor—bear until they strike you on the one cheek; then offer the other and they will be sure to strike that; then defend yourselves, and God will bear you off, and you shall stand forth clear before His tribunal.

If any citizens of Illinois say we shall not have our rights, treat them as strangers and not friends, and let them go to hell and be damned! Some say they will mob us; let them mob and be damned! If we have to give up our chartered rights, privileges, and freedom, which our fathers fought, bled, and died for, and which the Constitution of the United States, and of this State, guarantee unto us, we will do it only at the point of the sword and bayonet.

Many lawyers contend for those things which are against the rights of men, and I can only excuse them because of their ignorance. Go forth and advocate the laws and rights of the people, ye lawyers; if not, don’t get into my hands, or under the lash of my tongue.

Lawyers say the powers of the Nauvoo charter are dangerous; but I ask, is the Constitution of the United States, or of this State, dangerous? No; neither are the charters granted unto Nauvoo by the Legislature of Illinois dangerous, and those who say they are, are fools. We have not enjoyed unmolested those rights which the Constitution of the United States of America, and our charters grant. Missouri and all wicked men raise the hue and cry against us, and are not satisfied. Some political aspirants of this State also are raising the hue and cry that the powers in the charters granted unto the city of Nauvoo are dangerous; and although the General Assembly have conferred them upon our city, yet the whine is raised—“Repeal them, take them away;” like the boy who swapped off his jack-knife, and then cried, “Daddy, daddy, I have sold my jack-knife, and got sick of my bargain, and I want to get it back again.” But how are they going to help themselves? Raise mobs? And what can mobocrats do in the midst of Kirkpatrickites? No better than a hunter in the claws of a bear. If mobs come upon you any more here, dung your gardens with them. We don’t want any excitement; but after we have done all, we will rise up, Washington-like, and break off the hellish yoke that oppresses us, and we will not be mobbed.

The day before I was taken at Inlet Grove, I rode with my wife through Dixon to visit some friends, and I said to her, “Here is a good people.” I felt this by the Spirit of God. The next day I was a prisoner in their midst, in the hands of Reynolds of Missouri, and Wilson of Carthage. As the latter drove up, he exclaimed, “Ha, ha, ha, by God we have got the Prophet now!” He gloried much in it; but he is now our prisoner. When they came to take me, they held two cocked pistols to my head, and saluted me with “God damn you, I’ll shoot you! I’ll shoot you, God damn you;” repeating these threats nearly fifty times from first to last. I asked them what they wanted to shoot me for. They said they would do it if I made any resistance. “O very well,” I replied, “I have no resistance to make.” They then dragged me away, and I asked them by what authority they did these things. They said, “By a writ from the Governors of Missouri and Illinois.” I then told them I wanted a writ of Habeas Corpus. Their reply was, “God damn you, you shan’t have it.” I told a man to go to Dixon, and get me a writ of Habeas Corpus. Wilson then repeated, “God damn you, you shan’t have it; I’ll shoot you.” When we arrived at Dixon, I sent for a lawyer, who came, and Reynolds shut the door in his face, and would not let me speak to him, repeating “God damn you, I’ll shoot you.” I turned to him, opened my bosom, and told him to “shoot away; I have endured so much persecution and oppression that I am sick of life; why then don’t you shoot, and have done with it, instead of talking so much about it?” This somewhat checked his insolence. I then told him that I would have counsel to consult; and eventually I obtained my wish. The lawyers came to me, and I got a writ of Habeas Corpus for myself, and also a writ against Reynolds and Wilson for unlawful proceedings and cruel treatment towards me. Thanks to the good citizens of Dixon, who nobly took their stand against such unwarrantable and unlawful oppression, my persecutors could not get out of town that night; although, when they first arrived, they swore I should not remain in Dixon five minutes; and I found they had ordered horses accordingly to proceed to Rock Island. I pledged my honor to my counsel that the Nauvoo city charter conferred jurisdiction to investigate the subject; so we came to Nauvoo, where I am now prisoner in the custody of a higher tribunal than the circuit court.

The charter says that “the city council shall have power and authority to make, ordain, establish, and execute such ordinances, not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, or of this State, as they may deem necessary for the peace, benefit, and safety of the inhabitants of said city;” and also that “the Municipal Court shall have power to grant writs of Habeas Corpus in all cases arising under the ordinances of the city council.” The city council have passed an ordinance “that no citizen of this city shall be taken out of this city by any writ, without the privilege of a writ of Habeas Corpus.” There is nothing but what we have power over, except where restricted by the Constitution of the United States. “But,” say the mob, “what dangerous powers!” Yes, dangerous, because they will protect the innocent, and put down mobocrats. The Constitution of the United States declares that the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be denied. Deny me the right of Habeas Corpus, and I will fight with gun, sword, cannon, whirlwind, and thunder, until they are used up like the Kilkenny cats.

We have more power than most charters confer, because we have power to go behind the writ, and try the merits of the case.

If these powers are dangerous, then the Constitution of the United States, and of this State, are dangerous; but they are not dangerous to good men; they are only so to bad men who are breakers of the laws. So with the laws of the country, and so with the ordinances of Nauvoo; they are dangerous to mobs, but not to good men who wish to keep the laws.

We do not go out of Nauvoo to disturb anybody, or any city, town, or place; why then need they be troubled about us? Let them not meddle with our affairs, but let us alone. After we had been deprived of our rights and privileges of citizenship, driven from town to town, place to place, and State to State, with the sacrifice of our homes and lands, our blood has been shed, many having been murdered; and all this because of our religion—because we worship Almighty God according to the dictates of our own consciences. Shall we longer bear these cruelties, which have been heaped upon us for the last ten years in the face of heaven, and in open violation of the Constitution and laws of these United States, and of this State? God forbid! I will not bear it: if they take away my rights, I will fight for them manfully and righteously until I am used up. We have done nothing against the rights of others.

You speak of lawyers; I am a lawyer too, but the Almighty God has taught me the principle of law; and the true meaning and intent of the writ of Habeas Corpus is to defend the innocent, and investigate the subject. Go behind the writ, and if the form of one that is issued against an innocent man is right, he should not be dragged to another State, and there be put to death, or be in jeopardy of life and limb, because of prejudice, when he is innocent. The benefits of the Constitution and Laws are alike for all; and the great Eloheim has given me the privilege of having the benefits of the Constitution, and the writ of Habeas Corpus, and I am bold to ask for this privilege this day; and I ask, in the name of Jesus Christ, and all that is sacred, that I may have your lives and all your energies to carry out the freedom which is chartered to us. Will you all help me? If so, make it manifest by raising the right hand. [There was a unanimous response, a perfect sea of hands being elevated.] Here is truly a committee of the whole.

When at Dixon, a lawyer came to me as counsel; Reynolds and Wilson said I should not speak to any man, and they would shoot any man who should dare to speak to me. An old greyheaded man came up, and said I should have counsel, and he was not afraid of their pistols. The people of Dixon were ready to take me from my persecutors, and I could have killed them notwithstanding their pistols; but I had no disposition to kill any man, though my worst enemy—not even Boggs: in fact he would have more hell to live in the reflection of his past crimes, than to die. After this, I had lawyers enough, and I obtained a writ for Joseph H. Reynolds, and Harmon Wilson, for damage, assault, and battery, as well as the writ of Habeas Corpus.

We started for Ottoway, and arrived at Pawpaw Grove, thirty-two miles, where we stopped for the night. Squire Walker sent Mr. Campbell, Sheriff of Lee County, to my assistance, and he came, and slept by me. In the morning, certain men wished to see me, but I was not allowed to see them. The news of my arrival had hastily circulated about the neighborhood; and very early in the morning the largest room in the hotel was filled with citizens, who were anxious to hear me preach, and requested me to address them. Sheriff Reynolds entered the room, and said, pointing to me, “I wish you to understand this man is my prisoner, and I want you should disperse; you must not gather round here in this way.” Upon which an aged gentleman who was lame, and carried a large hickory walking-stick, advanced towards Reynolds, bringing his hickory upon the floor, said, “You damned infernal puke; we’ll learn you to come here and interrupt gentlemen: sit down there, [pointing to a very low chair,] and sit still, don’t open your head till General Smith gets through talking; if you never learned manners in Missouri, we’ll teach you that gentlemen are not to be imposed upon by a nigger driver: you cannot kidnap men here, if you do in Missouri; and if you attempt it here, there’s a committee in this Grove that will sit on your case; and, sir, it is the highest tribunal in the United States, as from its decision there is no appeal.” Reynolds, no doubt aware that the person addressing him was at the head of a committee, who had prevented the settlers on the public domain from being imposed upon by land speculators, sat down in silence, while I addressed the assembly for an hour and a half on the subject of marriage; my visitors having requested me to give them my views of the law of God respecting marriage.

My freedom commenced from that hour. We came direct from Paw-paw Grove to Nauvoo, having got our writ directed to the nearest court having authority to try the case, which was the Municipal Court of this city.

It did my soul good to see your feelings and love manifested towards me. I thank God that I have the honor to lead so virtuous and honest a people, to be your leader and lawyer, as was Moses to the children of Israel. Hosannah! Hosannah!! HOSANNAH!! to Almighty God, who has delivered us thus from out of the seven troubles! I commend you to His grace, and may the blessings of heaven rest upon you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

[President Smith then introduced Mr. Cyrus Walker to the assembled multitude; and remarked to him]—These are the greatest dupes, as a body of people, that ever lived, or I am not as big a rogue as I am reported to be. I told Mr. Warren I would not discuss the subject of religion with you. I understand the Gospel, and you do not; you understand the quackery of law, and I do not.

[Mr. Walker then addressed the people to the effect that from what he had seen in the Nauvoo city charter, it gave the power to try writs of Ha– beas Corpus, &c. After which President Smith continued as follows—]

If the Legislature have granted Nauvoo the right of determining cases of Habeas Corpus, it is no more than they ought to have done, or more than our fathers fought for.

Furthermore, if Missouri continues her warfare, and to issue her writs against me and this people unlawfully and unjustly as she has done, and to take away and trample upon our rights, I swear in the name of Almighty God, and with uplifted hands to heaven, I will spill my heart’s blood in our defense. They shall not take away our rights; and if they don’t stop leading me by the nose, I will lead them by the nose; and if they don’t let me alone, I will turn up the world—I will make war. When we shake our own bushes, we want to catch our own fruit.

The lawyers themselves acknowledge that we have all power granted us in our charters that we could ask for—that we had more power than any other court in the state; for all other courts were restricted, while ours was not; and I thank God Almighty for it. I will not be rode down to hell by the Missourians any longer; and it is my privilege to speak in my own defense; and I appeal to your integrity and honor, that you will stand by and help me, according to the covenant you have this day made.