A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 25, 1857.

When brother Woodruff was speaking, he was the center; and when brother Wells was speaking, he was the center; and the speaker should draw every mind and feeling to the center, for this is the way you get your reformation.

Where there is so large a congregation, it is impolitic to bring little children here. I am perfectly willing that children from four to six years of age should come, because a great many of them have more sense than some grown persons; I know that mine have.

I want to speak, as brother Wells says, just what comes to my mind, that is, if the Spirit thinks proper.

God says, “My house is a house of order, and not of confusion.” The Holy Ghost will not dwell where there is confusion. I do not ask you whether you know this or not, because everyone knows that confusion does not come from the Father, nor from the Son. Does it come from the Holy Ghost? Everyone of you will answer, “No.” Where does it come from? It comes from the author of confusion, and is produced by those who rebel against God and against His authority. There were many who did this formerly, and they form part of that hell which brother Wells was talking about. Although those men and women are dead, they have a good deal of power; their spirits have power over us when we render ourselves subject to them; their spirits are busy at work. They are diligent in performing the work of destruction and confusion; they go at that work the very moment their spirits leave their bodies.

On the other hand, when righteous persons die, their spirits also go into the spirit world, but they go to work with the servants of God to help to do good, and to bring about the purposes of the Almighty pertaining to this earth; while wicked spirits, those who have been wicked in this probation, take the opposite course, just the same as they did here. I have said, a great many times, that that spirit which possesses us here will possess us when our spirits leave our bodies, and we shall there be very much the same as we are here.

If you are subject to rebellious spirits, or to a spirit of apostasy here, will you not have the same spirit beyond the veil that you had on this side? You will, and it will have power over you to lead you to do wrong, and it will control your spirits. If, then, you are opposed to the truth while you are here, you will be occupied in that opposition hereafter, for the spirit that is opposed to the work of God here, will be opposed to that work when beyond the veil. I do not guess at this, because I have been at the other side of the veil, in vision, and have seen a degree of its condition with the eyes that God gave me. I have seen it and have seen those that lived in the faith and had the privilege of seeing Jesus, Peter, James, and the rest of the ancient Apostles, and of hearing them preach the Gospel. I have also seen those who rebelled against them, and they still had a rebellious spirit, fighting against God and His servants.

Brother Wells has been explaining to you the spirit of apostasy that is apt to possess persons when they feel that they have been injured by any of their brethren. Doubtless some have felt grieved and hurt with some of my remarks. During last week several men came to me to make confessions for having talked about me, because I was too hard upon them in this stand. I told them that they had not injured me, because they were not partaking of the sap and spirit of the vine, while they were finding fault with me. If they had been, I should have felt the effects of it. When faulting me they were the branches that had withered, and the sap, the nourishment, was not in them, for while indulging in those feelings it had withdrawn to Him who gave it.

Of course their conduct would not affect me much, but would affect them at the junction of that branch with the vine, or of that limb with the tree. They did not hurt me; and I told them to make their consciences clear by going and making a confession to those that they had talked to against me, and whose minds they had perhaps prejudiced against me.

I mention this to show you that you need not come to me, not one of you who have talked against me; but acknowledge to your God and those that you have injured, for you have not injured me, nor brother Brigham, nor brother Wells, because you cannot get high enough to do it. You cannot reach higher than your length, and if your length does not reach high enough, you cannot reach us. It is the spirit of apostasy, when anyone takes that course, as brother Wells has said.

I knew brother Wells in Nauvoo before he came into this Church, and apostates and wicked men used to go to him and to Lewis Robison, and tell them everything they knew or imagined to be transpiring in regard to this people. Do those characters take the same course here? Yes, Mr. Bell and Mr. Gerrish know everything that is done, almost, if not quite as well as you know it. They are hearing things all the time, and from whom? From those who profess to be our brethren.

Have I any ill feeling towards Mr. Gerrish or Mr. Bell? No, for they have been our friends all the time. But have all who have come here been our friends? No, they have not. There are several who would destroy brother Brigham, brother Daniel, and myself in a moment, if they had the power. How does this feeling come about? Through the apostates in our midst. They go to work to destroy men and women, and to make themselves reckless and miserable. This is their condition.

Many men and women unfold everything they know and can think of, and that too, while professing to be good Saints. Have they injured me or brother Brigham? No, for they cannot reach us, they cannot destroy us. They can only destroy the house that we live in, or our tabernacles, and shall not we hold the Priesthood hereafter? Yes, we shall hold it forever.

If you will hearken to the teachings of brother Woodruff, brother Franklin, brother Samuel, and brother Wells, you will also receive my words; and if you will receive my words, you will receive brother Brigham’s; and if you will receive his, you will also receive brother Joseph’s, and so on until you get back to the root, or to the tree, or to the trunk from whence that Priesthood came.

Should you go into Iron County, you would there find a branch of this Church, a branch of the vine which is figurative of Jesus. So it is with the general authority of this Church; here are the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the Seventies, Elders, Bishops, and lesser Priesthood, and they are all branches of the vine. Now if the people in Iron county are connected to the main branch that is there, to the President and his Counselors there, and if they will hearken to their words, then they will hearken to our words. And if they won’t hear the words of those who are authorised to teach them, do you not comprehend that they cannot remain in the vine? But if they will hear our words, then there is a junction of the lesser with the larger branches to which they are connected. And if men hearken to our words, they will also hearken to the words of their Bishops and Presidents, and what is the result? They will partake of the same sap and nourishment that are in us.

Brother Brigham is our head, and we will say, by way of comparison, that brother Heber and brother Wells are the arms, and you can see that there are several members springing from the arms. These arms are for defending the head, and should there be any disunion? Or should anything step in between them? Or should anyone try to make a separation between them? No, for they should be agreed in nourishing and cherishing the head, or the branch to which they belong.

Reflect upon the union that should exist between those men! They should be of one heart and of one mind. Should not I know the mind of brother Brigham? Yes, just as much as he should know the mind of brother Joseph, and brother Joseph the mind of Peter, and Peter the mind of Jesus, and Jesus the mind of the Father. I should know the mind of brother Brigham; and brother Wells should know my mind, and the mind of brother Brigham. This is why that in my counsel I never run against him, and he knows it and speaks of it. And he never gave me any commandment, but what I was ready to sustain him. Then here is a Quorum that is of one heart and of one mind in all things; and just as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one, so we are one, and always should be.

The Twelve Apostles come next. Are they a separate and independent body? No, for they sprang from those three, and are branches that are connected to the same stock; and we sprang from Joseph, and Joseph from Peter, and Peter from Jesus, and Jesus from his Father. The Twelve may enquire, “Should not we have the same mind as the First Presidency have? Yes, they most certainly should. If the Twelve have the same Spirit, they will speak our mind, and will not suffer any person to get between us, nor between us and them, nor between them; for no person has the right to dictate to them, except brother Daniel, brother Heber, and brother Brigham, because they form a Quorum next in authority to the First Presidency, and hold the keys of the kingdom to all men and nations upon the earth. They should be one in spirit with the First Presidency, and the Seventies should be one with the Twelve and with us.

The First Presidency of the Seventies, Joseph Young and his six counselors, form another body holding power and authority, and where did they receive their power and authority from? They sprang from the Twelve. Then there are seven Presidents to each Seventy, and each Seventy is a branch, and they are all joined to the vine, their seven first Presidents are the junction by which the Seventies are connected to that vine, even to the very last; and they should all have the same power and faith that the first have. If the nourishment and connection are good, and the junctions of those branches or limbs are all alive, then the farthest Seventy has got the spirit of the first, and all will go on right. Why? Because they will all be in intimate connection with the vine.

I use the figure of the vine to show you the connection of this people with each other, and when the connection is unobstructed, you will find excellent fruit even on the farthest. If that be true, no matter how far he be from the head, he may be as a member of this Church, bright and useful in his sphere as are any of the members who are nearer.

Again, most of the members of those Seventies have wives and children, and from five to ten branches from each of them, and still the last child is as goodly as the first, because it receives the same nourishment, the same care and attention, for it sprang out of the vine, and abides in its fatness.

There has got to be that connection, and it must go to the farthest person in this kingdom, and if there is no obstruction, what can hinder its proceeding to the minutest branch and tendril? But should an obstruction occur, what will be done in such a case? Destroy the branch or limb causing the obstruction, and the other part of the tree will thrive.

I have been over many parts of this earth, and the power that is in me extends to the uttermost parts of God’s creation. But do you not see that I must be connected to the vine or tree? We also have to see that the fruit is gathered so as to be saved and preserved, because there is a storm coming, and if the fruit is gathered up and properly stored, it can be preserved on natural principles.

If there should be disorder in the root, vine, and branches, what would be the result? If there should be confusion and men should be opposed in their faith and feelings, there would not be much good done. But if every man was acting in his authority and the power of the calling placed upon him, there would be no obstruction. Suppose that City Creek extended into ten thousand branches through this city, and that no obstruction or filth is thrown into them, then the ten thousandth stream would be just as good, as pure and as wholesome as the rest. It is just the same with men and women in this Church and kingdom.

How long is it going to take you to become men and women of God, and to honor your calling? When you fight against your leaders, or against the head of a branch, do you not see that you are fighting against your head? It is the same as a child’s fighting against its mother, for when it does so, it is fighting against its own existence.

I want to show you the propriety of cleaving to the vine or the branch to which you are connected, for if you do not you will be cut off, as many have been. Are they cleaved off? Yes, with all the roots and branches that are in them, that is, supposing that they should afterwards have ten thousand children, they will not be acknowledged in this kingdom, except they are taken and grafted back into the Priesthood. I want to present these ideas to you, brethren and sisters, that you may lead new lives.

I have not a wife but what was taken from another man’s family and grafted into a space that I had got in my family. Now if I have a woman who says that she has no love for plurality, I do not think that there could be much affection towards her. And when there is affection, such a woman would soon banish it all. Suppose she has no love, no attachment, can she expect the affection of her husband? Can a graft grow to a tree unless its nature is congenial to that of the tree in which it is grafted? Say that one man gives me a graft from his tree, and that I get hundreds of grafts from other trees, and that they are all grafted into my tree, then if they partake of the nourishment and fatness that are in the tree, they will certainly grow, but if they alienate themselves, they will wither and drop off.

Perhaps some of you do not believe that the Spirit of the Lord goes and comes throughout every portion of the vine, even to the smallest and farthest extremity thereof, but it does. How could the members of my body exist, if the blood did not pass to the extremities? Then it has to turn and go back to the vitals. Now say that I am a branch, how am I to partake of brother Brigham’s spirit and know his mind, unless I also partake of the fatness of the true vine, and permit its sap, or essence, or spirit, to flow through me without obstruction?—that my mind and will may become amalgamated and run together with the mind and will of brother Brigham, that our spirits may freely and fully unite through the same genial influences of the Spirit of truth. And if my wife wants to be one with me, she must let her will and affections center in me, just as if I were a vine, and my wife a branch; then where is there room or occasion for confusion? Were such universally the case, do you not think that we could raise up a still better posterity?

When wives become one with their husbands, when there is no evil interruption, children will be begotten, born and reared under greatly improved influences. The Holy Ghost will rest upon and dwell with the parents, and their offspring will be mighty and godlike. I would not give much for a man nor a woman that does not enjoy the fellowship of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. If I do not have the Holy Ghost, I shall not produce the fruit that is designed by the holy order of matrimony. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a pure woman, and was ordained and designed to bear the Son of God, because no woman in her sins was worthy of performing that work. How long will it be before we will have children filled with the Holy Ghost from their birth, who will grow up steadfast in the truth, even sons and daughters of God? No woman entering into this holy order should do so without she has the Holy Ghost, and she should ever after keep it, that her nourishment, example, and teachings may always partake of the lifegiving principles of that Spirit.

Stop all wickedness, all your quarrelling, and all unholy divorces. Some women will marry a man one day, and call for a divorce the next. They are playing with the things of God, and are sealing their own damnation. Some women get married and then run after other men; and some men get married and run after other women. What are such persons doing? They are sealing their own damnation. On the other hand, every man and woman that will not yield to passion, nor to any evil practice or principle, will become filled with the Spirit of God, and it will pass from one to another. This is why, as I have often said, I love brother Brigham Young better than I do any woman upon this earth, because my will has run into his, and his into mine, and there is a free interchange of feelings. There are but few men that will do that, for they generally want their own way and their own will, therefore their wills do not run into ours and the Father’s. This free interchange of pure feelings should run through all the organizations in this Church, and through every member in every family throughout all our borders.

I have been trying to tell you how you may raise children to hold the Priesthood and be holy unto the Lord; and if all would take a right and proper course in regard to rearing children, from the commencement until they are grown up, and not take a course to weary the tree while it is maturing fruit, many would do far better than they now do. Many who have but one wife, and several of those who have more than one, take a course to excite adultery, and what is much worse, they often take that course at the most improper and unwise times, and thereby seriously injure their offspring. If husbands and wives will pursue a righteous course in this matter, their children will be much less subject to lustful desires, and will enter into the holy bonds of matrimony with a view to keep the commandment and raise up a pure posterity. For this purpose God has instituted the plurality of wives.

How I would like to talk to you in the plainest way that the Spirit dictates to me, but the delicacies and wickedness of the corrupt and ungodly cannot bear it. I want you to have a reformation, for God is working upon me. I wanted to stay at home this morning, but I could not; I had to come here to talk to you. The world judge brother Brigham and me as they do themselves, and some of you judge us in the same way. I wish to just touch upon this, for the world do not believe in our religion, still they take the liberty of judging us, and they judge us, as some of you do, according to the glasses, or microscopes which they have. This is not the right way, for there are but few men who hold their ages as brother Brigham and I. Whereas if we took the course that those do who thus unjustly judge us, we should have been old long ago.

Some of you are living in adultery or in the spirit of adultery. And some have wives that do not bear children. Why don’t you let them alone? Why don’t you take a course to regenerate, and not to degenerate?

How do you suppose I feel? As I live, and as the Lord lives, I will defend the oil and the wine; and they will be blest with the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with all the blessings of the fathers clear back through all generations and dispensations; all these blessings will rest upon them. I care not whether it be men or women who live the religion of the everlasting Gospel, nor whether they be Americans, English, Scotch, Dutch, Danes, or inhabitants of any other nation, for all such persons have my blessing and my good feelings. I am not national nor sectional, and God forbid that I should be, for I have that Spirit that delighteth in the welfare and salvation of the human family. And when I have that Spirit about me, can I be national? You never knew that feeling to be in me, for I abhor it. I will not bow my head to that national spirit, nor to any spirit that is not of God.

Cultivate the principles I have tried to lay before you, for I have done this for your good, for your happiness and salvation. I have endeavored to let you know that we must become one, or we never shall be connected to that vine or tree that I have spoken of. Everything will be saved that cleaves to the vine; but if you are not connected to the vine, you cannot be saved. That vine is like a cable which reaches within the veil, and the Father has hold of it.

The Twelve Apostles sprang from Jesus in his day, and Joseph sprang from them, and brother Brigham, myself, and others, sprang from brother Joseph, and if we cleave together, how can any of us be lost? We never shall be. But do not jump onto the car and ride, instead of trying to do something to help keep the car in motion. Do not jump on, as did some women who crossed the Plains last season. They jumped onto the handcart and made the men draw them, until the men died.

The true seed of the house of Israel are coming out of the world, and the Saints are shut up in the mountains to learn and practice those principles which pertain to salvation in the celestial kingdom of our God, and my prayer is that we may be enabled to accomplish the gathering of Israel and the redemption of Zion. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Lorenzo Snow, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, January 18, 1857.

By the request of the President of this Stake, Elder Spencer, I will occupy a short time in speaking such things as may come to my mind, or as the Lord shall see proper to dictate.

I have observed, brethren, that both speakers and hearers are frequently troubled with certain weaknesses, and I want to occupy a moment or two in pointing out some of those weaknesses, as this is a time of reformation. I presume when Elders rise to speak, those who have not been in the habit of speaking before assemblies, that it is sometimes very hard and difficult for them, but they will stand before a congregation because it is absolutely their duty to do so. They do it be– cause it is obligatory upon them; they do it because they cannot well escape that situation, which, peradventure, they would be well pleased to do, if they could do so and feel approbated in their own consciences. This is a weakness that individuals in this position feel more than they do in any other, though I do not think that this will apply to the Elders of Israel very extensively. Another weakness consists in their not taking care how they express themselves in the communication of their ideas and instructions.

I would not wish to stand before you this morning for the purpose of being seen or of getting rid of an unpleasant feeling, nor that my oratory may be spoken of hereafter, but I wish to stand before you for the purpose of communicating that which shall be for your good and benefit.

I understand that we are brethren together, that we are of the same Father in the celestial worlds, and that if we knew each other as we should, if each one was endowed by the power of God, our sympathies would be excited more than they are at the present time, and there would be a desire on the part of every individual to study in their own minds how they might do their brethren good, how they might alleviate their sorrows and build them up in truth, how to remove the darkness from their minds. If we understood each other and the real relationship which we hold to each other, we should feel different from what we do; but this knowledge can be obtained only as we obtain the Spirit of life, and as we are desirous of building each other up in righteousness.

Again, I have noticed on the part of the people what I have attributed to weakness. They come together, some of them, more for the purpose of being pleased with the oratory of their speaker, for the purpose of admiring the style in which he may address them, or they come together more for the purpose of seeing the speaker or speculating in regard to his character, or the true relationship that he sustains to the Lord in the Priesthood, than for the purpose of receiving instructions that will do them good and build them up in righteousness.

I think that speakers ought to try and improve themselves, wherein they see their weaknesses, the hearers ought to try to eschew their weaknesses, so that when the Elders are called upon to speak they may have it in their hearts to do the people good.

One of the greatest prayers that a man can offer, so far as I understand prayers and their consistency, is that, when an Elder of Israel stands before the people, he may communicate and tell some thoughts to do the people good, and build them up in the principles of truth and salvation. Prayers of this kind are as agreeable in the ears of the Lord as any prayers that an Elder of Israel can possibly offer, for when an Elder stands before the people he should do so realizing that he stands before them for the purpose of communicating knowledge, that they may receive truth in their souls and be built up in righteousness by receiving further light, progressing in their education in the principles of holiness.

This cannot be done, except by a labor of mind, by an energy of faith, and by seeking with all one’s heart the Spirit of the Lord our God. It is just so on the part of the hearers; unless particular attention is paid to that which is required of them from time to time by those who address the people from this stand, and unless individuals labor in their minds with all their mights and with all their strength in their prayers before the Lord, they will not receive that good and benefit to themselves which they ought to receive. If, for instance, you are attending school, you have your lessons to learn, and just in proportion to your energy and faithfulness, and intelligence in regard to acquiring a knowledge of those lessons, you will be prepared to enjoy their benefit, that for which they are designed. And, just in proportion to your neglecting to exercise your mind and your intelligence, your mind will be barren and unfruitful in relation to that knowledge which you should have attained.

You remember, probably, a revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants giving to Oliver Cowdery the privilege of translating certain records, and that after receiving this he got the idea that all he had to do was to stand idle and not do anything; but he found that his mind was barren. The Lord gave a revelation to inform him of the difficulty, and told him that because he did not exercise his mind, the powers or intellect that were given him, his mind had become darkened.

It is precisely so in regard to ourselves. If we do not exercise those faculties given us, and get the Spirit of the Lord, but little information will be received from speakers, even though ideas may be communicated of great value and worth. Notwithstanding, ideas may be communicated in a very broken style, if the people will exert themselves, as a boy should at school, they will soon learn that they will never return from meeting without their minds being benefited by the speakers.

Brethren, I will tell you there is a fault, a weakness, with regard to this principle, and I know it. There must be a labor of mind, an exertion of those talents that God has given us; they must be put into exercise. Then, being enlightened by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, we may get those ideas and that intelligence, and those blessings that are necessary to prepare us for the future, for sceneries that are to come.

The same principle will apply in all our actions in relation to the things of God. We have to exert ourselves, brethren. This remaining idle without putting ourselves into action is of no use; if we remain perfectly neutral, nothing is accomplished. Every principle that is revealed from the heavens is for our benefit, for our life, for our salvation, and for our happiness.

Counsel that is given to us when it comes from the proper authority, is given for a certain purpose; and that purpose is our happiness, so far as the present time is concerned; it is for the purpose of adding happiness unto us in the present state, and also for the purpose of communicating benefits unto us in a state hereafter. Upon this principle is counsel established, upon the principle of doing our fellowmen good; for the purpose of doing them good here and hereafter.

The design of the Lord in regard to ourselves, in regard to His people generally, is to bring them to that state and fulness of knowledge, and to that perfection which their spiritual organizations are susceptible of receiving or arriving at. There are certain laws established from all eternity for the purpose of effecting this object.

The question is asked, “Why are we under obligations to follow counsel?” Because that counsel possesses those qualities necessary to make us better here, and to exalt us to honor and glory hereafter. If it were not so, there would be no obligation on our part to follow counsel. A minor is under obligation to follow his father’s counsel, for that counsel is designed to make him happy while in the state of boyhood, and to qualify him to act in an after state, in a state of manhood. That counsel is designed to benefit that father who gave it, as well as the son to whom it is given. It is the father’s privilege to counsel as shall be for the benefit of that father, and as shall contribute to the greatest happiness of that boy while in his boyhood, so that it shall benefit him to the greatest extent when he shall arrive at the state of manhood.

In the same light President Brigham Young is a counselor to this whole people, and the counsel he gives is for the purpose of benefiting them in this state, also for preparing them to receive the greatest happiness it is possible for human beings to receive in the world to come. It accomplishes the two-fold object of benefiting himself and those to whom it is given. No man can give counsel to anyone, but what it has a tendency to benefit himself as well as others. We are so constituted and organized, that we cannot counsel that which will contribute to the benefit and exaltation of others, without at the same time contributing to our own good.

A father, in communicating counsel to his son, should in the first place prepare himself to communicate those proper counsels which will suit the condition of his son. It is his privilege to extend happiness to himself; it is his privilege to increase his own happiness, and in increasing his own happiness he should extend it throughout his family dominions. And when he is increasing his own happiness, his own glory, his own authority, he at the same time is increasing that of his children, provided that counsel which he reveals is all the time that which is best for his family. If good counsel was not established for the benefit of the individual that communicates it, also of those who receive it, it would be of no service.

The people are under obligation to obey the counsel that is given; they are necessarily required to apply the counsel of brother Brigham, because that counsel possesses those objects. No man can be more happy than by obeying brother Brigham’s counsel. You may go from east to west, from north to south, and tread this footstool of the Lord all over, and you cannot find a man that can make himself happy in this Church, only by applying the counsel of brother Brigham in this life; it is a matter of impossibility for a man to receive a fulness who is not susceptible of receiving and carrying out brother Brigham’s counsel. An individual that applies the counsel of this Church is bound to increase in all that is good, for there is a fountain of counsel which the Lord has established. He has made it, has deposited that counsel, that wisdom and those riches, and it will circumscribe all that pertains unto good, unto salvation; all that pertains unto peace and unto happiness; all things that pertain to glory and to the exaltation of the Saints in this world and in the world to come.

If that counsel, if that intelligence, that is deposited in the President of this Church, was calculated to bring misery and misfortune and unhappiness upon the people, and to undo or hinder that which their nature is susceptible of receiving, then it would not be upon that principle of which we have been speaking. But it is our privilege to follow it; and if we carry out the principles that are established in our nature and that are being taught us, we shall keep rising and being exalted. If we follow that counsel, we shall advance in those principles that pertain to happiness in this world and the world to come.

It is the business of the father to be qualified to teach and instruct his children, and to lay principles before them, so that by conforming to those instructions they can be the most happy that their natures are susceptible of in a state of childhood, while at the same time they learn the principles upon which they can gain the most happiness and enjoyment in a state of manhood. Those children are under obligations to follow their father’s counsel precisely, so long as the counsel which the father gives is calculated for this express purpose. They are under obligations to follow that and carry it out in its design and in its object, and the moment they break off and separate themselves from the father they become like a branch that is separated from a tree; they no longer flourish nor bring forth fruit. The branch that is cut off from the tree ceases to have the lifegiving power, ceases to bring forth fruit. Let a person be cut off from this Church and he no longer remains a wise director and counselor for his children, but only so long as he has the privilege of receiving and having counsel in which is deposited that wisdom and knowledge, and power that can give life to those that are around him.

There is a necessity of our being more industrious, many of us, in getting into the spirit of this reformation more than what has already been received. There is a danger of our being satisfied with a superficial advancement, with merely advancing on the surface. We talk of walking in the light of the Spirit and of feeling it upon us, but do we do these things? We ought to dig deep into the things of God, lay our foundation upon the rock, until we come to that water which shall be in us an everlasting fountain of eternal life in the midst of the people in this reformation. When the Elders stand forth in the various ward meetings, the prayer meetings, the general assembly meetings, and when the Bishops exercise themselves in the power of their Priesthood, and feel pretty bright themselves, there has all along been this fact, these circumstances, a certain overwhelming spirit which the people feel more or less; and there is a spirit of excitement attending the exercise of those powers. Some individuals, I am fearful, do not partake of the spirit of this reformation any more than the external effect that it has upon them; there is nothing more than show, by the power that is around them and that is being exercised among them. With some it is simply the popularity of the reformation, if I may be allowed that expression, for the reformation has become very popular.

If a person does not see the necessity of a reformation, he is set down as being grossly ignorant. But few people would have the boldness to say that there was no necessity of a reformation in this day, when the people know that it has become popular. We ought to be careful not to be carried away with popularity alone, but lay a good, a strong foundation to build upon, and know precisely the foundation of this reformation, and get the Spirit ourselves, and not be satisfied to walk in the light as it is shadowed forth by others; we should have it incorporated with our spiritual organizations. We should not merely rest satisfied with the necessity of this reformation, but we should have the spirit of it within ourselves.

I will, for the purpose of expressing my ideas, present a figure. We will suppose that there is a large army organized for the purpose of contending against their enemies. All the officers in that army, from the general down to the lesser officers, are clad in bright uniforms; the bands are playing their thrilling martial music, and everything, to use a worldly expression, is grand and glorious. Here is a general excitement, a war spirit is upon every man, from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and the only feeling is, “Let me go forth to battle against the enemy.” They all feel strong in the midst of this excitement, but who will pronounce in reference to the bravery of this army? Everybody is excited to push ahead to battle, but is everyone prepared? Are those that cry, “Lead us forth to the battlefield?” When the day of test and trial comes, when they are in the battlefield, with the death balls flying, the artillery playing, then there is a different scene. The gay flags are no longer seen, the martial music is drowned by the groans of the dying, and, instead of the sun in full splendor and everything in grandeur, the air is filled with smoke, rendered lurid by the flashes of musketry and artillery. Then you will see a different feeling with those soldiers; the pomp, the splendor, the show are seen no longer, but they then stand in their callings, in proportion to the real intrinsic value and worth that they have acquired by a long series of experience, and which have got thoroughly incorporated in their systems.

When individuals are first baptized into the Church, there is more or less excitement about them; they feel well, they feel good; everything seems to wear a new appearance. They love everybody and everything; they wish they could at once take the line of march to the valleys of the mountains, there to contribute their exertions to the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. They see everything in a delightful condition and in a very pleasing state, but in a few days or weeks they feel that there is something for them to do, something that requires a strong sacrifice to enable them to conform to the doctrines that they have espoused.

Take a person that is penurious, one that thinks a great deal of his property, and who has accumulated a good deal; it never comes to his mind, when the good spirit is upon him, that there will be anything that will be difficult. When a call comes from the Church for the property he has, because it is wanted for a certain necessary purpose, it strikes in upon him like an electric shock. The spirit strikes in so that he feels perfectly powerless and palsied, when an exertion is required on his part. All that feeling of joy and gladness, that being sealed up unto the Spirit of goodness that was before him, is gone and he is left so that he feels all is gone. But there is a certain knowledge left which tells him that it is right for him to comply with the call, inasmuch as he calculates to follow-up to the doctrines of the Church. He stands the test; he is just able to reach forth and contribute that which is required; he feels that he has done a duty, and he feels that he has past through the field of battle and come off unscathed; he did not get wounded but came off clear. This individual, then, must pronounce to himself that he has gained a victory, and he can gain faith and confidence in himself and in his God. He can see that he has been tried in doing that which was required of him, and he can look back upon that point and the position in which he stood, and can see that he acted wisely and faithfully. Then he can say to himself what he will do, if circumstances of a similar character should come before him; he can say, with a little confidence, what he will do if, in future, a similar or even a greater requirement shall be made of him.

Individuals that have not past through such an ordeal cannot say in regard to themselves what they will do, with that confidence which those can who have had the experience. In this way we have to learn to do what is required. But it is a warfare, and we have to live so that we can be approbated in our doings. We have to look at things calmly, coolly, seriously, and firmly, and to live in a way to get righteousness incorporated in our systems. We are placed under certain regulations, certain restrictions, that we may get the notion of acting from practice.

An individual undertaking to learn to play upon a flute at first finds a difficulty in making the notes, and in order to play a tune correctly there is a great deal of diligence and patience required. He has to go on, to pause, to turn back and commence afresh, but after a time he is enabled, through a great deal of exertions, to master that tune. When called upon to play that tune afterwards, there is no necessity for remembering where to place the fingers, but he plays it naturally. It was not natural at the first; there had to be a great deal of patience and labor, before it became natural to go through with the tune.

It is just so in regard to matters that pertain to the things of God. We have to exert ourselves and go from grace to grace, to get the law of action so incorporated in our systems, that it may be natural to do those things that are required of us. The son cannot always see the intrinsic benefit of a father’s counsel when it is given, but that which he does know is that his father has a right to give that counsel; he also knows that he is in duty-bound to act in accordance with that counsel and that knowledge. By acting in that way he will feel well, and he will do his duty.

It is a great matter to act firm, for one of the main objects that the Saints should accomplish is to be perfectly calm and serene, no matter how sudden accidents may occur. If you find that you are surrounded by a host of evil spirits that are choking you to death, have presence of mind enough to call upon the Lord; but some have not had presence of mind enough for that.

I will say, in relation to the counsel given by brother Brigham, that often all you know is that he has the right to give that counsel; you cannot always see that the counsel is for your good, neither can you see the propriety of many things, until you put them into practice; you have a right to know that the source is legal, but its intrinsic value you cannot always foresee.

The son acts upon the counsel of his father, that he may have the law established in himself, that he may be put forth by the law that is or has been incorporated in him. It is just so with ourselves; we value the counsel that is given and learn the principles of righteousness, and to conform to those things that are necessary for us, until we get the law of the celestial kingdom incorporated in our systems; a law that will have a direct tendency to benefit us here and hereafter. But in our present state of blindness the perfect law is not always in us, we do not fully understand it.

Then again, I will bring another figure in regard to bringing about and getting this spirit in us, and digging deep, that we in the time of storm may not be driven off. Place a cucumber in a barrel of vinegar and there is but little effect produced upon it the first hour, nor in the first twelve hours. Examine it and you will find that the effect produced is merely upon the rind, for it requires a longer time to pickle it. A person being baptized into this Church has an effect upon him, but not the effect to pickle him immediately. It does not establish the law of right and of duty in him during the first twelve or twenty-four hours; he must remain in the Church, like the cucumber in the vinegar, until he becomes saturated with the right spirit, until he becomes pickled in “Mormonism,” in the law of God; we have got to have those things incorporated in our systems.

With these few words and with these exhortations, brethren and sisters, I will give way and leave the subject to your close application, consideration, and meditation, praying the Lord God of our fathers to pour out His Spirit upon His people. You are those whom the Lord has selected to glorify Him in His presence, and may the Lord bless you and fill you with His Spirit, and may your eyes be clear to discern the things that pertain to your salvation. And if there is any man or woman that is not fairly awake, may the time soon come that the Spirit and power of the Holy Ghost may be upon them, that it may teach them things past, present, and to come, and by the assistance of the Lord, plant righteousness and the principle of truth in their systems, that they may be prepared for the storms that are coming. These are my prayers, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Franklin D. Richards, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 11, 1857.

Brethren and sisters, I have no apology to make this morning for presenting myself before you. It becomes my duty and privilege to address you a little while, longer or shorter as I may be led to do, upon such things as shall be suggested to my mind.

I desire with your kind attention, your solicitations also to God that the Holy Spirit may rest upon me and upon you, and that we may all be edified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a pleasing idea to me to reflect and behold that the people have come together this morning so generally, to this Tabernacle. They have come anticipating being fed with the bread of life, and I feel as though the present is a time when the Lord is willing to administer unto His people the bread of life and salvation; that it is a time when the Saints may with one heart and one mind call upon Him for great blessings, and I may say a great many of them. We should ask for those blessings first and foremost which everyone needs for their own present salvation, increase of faith, increase of the knowledge of God, and an increase in ourselves of everything that is good and praiseworthy for Saints to enjoy through the revelations of the Holy Spirit.

This, it appears to me, is the legitimate object for which we should seek now a blessing at the hand of God. It is His good pleasure to bestow upon us according to our needs, and this He will do if we seek unto Him in faith.

When I contemplate the present situation of the people, if I were to think of one text more than another, that I could like to talk about it would be this: “Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy.” I have not been in the habit of taking a text for a long time, but there is something in this directly applicable to this people, that whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy. This is a favor and a blessing that is now extended to the people of God to an extent, and with a liberality that has never before been witnessed in this dispensation, and it appears to me that such has never been known upon the earth. A time when the Lord has spoken so openly, so abundantly, and so extensively to His people, and told them that if they will but confess and forsake their sins they shall be forgiven and be saved. I say the like (as it appears to me) has never before been known. I con– ceive that we as a people have the very greatest occasion to seek the mercy and blessings of God because of the condition we are in, and because of those things which He has committed unto us. We all have been taught and do understand that the time in which we live is a time of times; a time when the consummation of that which is great and good, and which has been promised shall be brought about here upon the earth; a time when characters shall make and do make their appearance upon the earth who have been reserved for the performance of this work, for generations. It has not been for them to labor in the flesh in former dispensations, but they have been reserved until now in order that the greater purposes of God may in this dispensation be accomplished, that all who are in Christ may be gathered in one, and a work be done in this our day, which has never been done before. All the revelations and prophecies go to show and declare this. We live then in a time of times; we live among, as we may see, those who are men of men, rulers of rulers, for such I hold those who are rulers in Zion to be, and they are taking hold of those principles, of that knowledge and that power, which shall qualify them to sway such a scepter of righteousness as has never been exercised over the earth. These qualifications we could see in our Prophet that is gone, and also in others that are with us.

With these men before us here continually, we have seen exemplified a measure of that knowledge, understanding and power that is offered us in the keys of the endowment that are given in the House of the Lord, by which we may grow to a knowledge of all that affects our salvation and exaltation in His kingdom. This manifests a degree of liberality, a degree of munificence such as has never been bestowed upon the people generally in any age of the world. We are indebted to the Lord our God for this knowledge, and are responsible to Him for the use we make of it, for He has not given us all this that we may feast our souls and sit down and go to sleep. He has not given it to us for this purpose, but for us to act upon it, and by the use of it become strong to carry out His work on the earth. He has given us this power and means of obtaining knowledge from the heavens, that we may exercise the principles of righteousness and truth, in order to prove ourselves worthy of those greater things that are yet in store for the faithful, and that are yet to be revealed, through a constant scene of trial and of proving. What has been the case in Israel? Why the fact has been that as soon as the people got those blessings which they obtain in the “House of the Lord,” that seemed to be the end of the law unto them, it seemed to be the height of their ambition, and they sat down and went to sleep, or became covetous and greedy of gain, whereas the powers conferred were tools or instruments in their hands to enable them to work for God.

This is the course that has been pursued by the people generally, and those whom we can say the least of in relation to transgression have some sins to atone for and make restitution. We have been nearly all more or less in the dark. Yes, all the quorums in the Church except the First Presidency. God be thanked His light and power has been in them to watch, while the rest have slumbered. The Twelve take this as strongly to themselves as any, and have acknowledged that they have been asleep. Yet we have been abroad laboring to bring people to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of God, a knowledge and power such as they never could have before received on the earth, hence the condemnation that we are brought under is beyond that which any other people could be under; then what has been the mercy of God? It is that now while in these circumstances, nearly all have got to sleep, and some in the darkness of their minds have wandered far from the Lord, and have committed sins that in their own estimation and judgment cause them to feel that they are worthy of damnation for having violated their holy covenants. And does the Lord go to and cut them off? Or does He send a chastisement and destroy them with plague, and sweep them off from the earth? No, this is not the tone of our Heavenly Father to us this day, but His voice to us is, that if we will now turn from and forsake our sins and draw near unto Him, that He will forgive and never cause the sins of this people to be remembered against them, but will blot them out from His remembrance forever. What unbounded love and tender mercy are here evinced to this people, while asleep, and enveloped in the dark shadows of death to that fearful extent that the word sleep will not properly express the state of the people. We have been mesmerized and could not be brought out of it without the most extraordinary means being used. We had become like “icebergs,” we were so cold and dead, that when President Young got up to speak he could not free his mind, and has not been able to do so for the last several times that he has spoken, feeling that there was not room in our hearts to receive his words. And what a sight was it in Israel to see the Social Hall filled, with the chief authorities and Elders of the Church, a body of men upon whom rests the responsibility of administering salvation to this earth and its inhabitants, and to see such a fog there, and such darkness that the Presidency could not there free their minds, but had to lift the almighty sledgehammer to break the flinty rock. The mesmerism of the devil was so great, so strong that it required the most stringent teachings to bring the people to the standard of truth, and to a sense of their condition.

This you have all realized more or less in your wards, and at your habitations, truly awful it has been to contemplate. Yet for all this the word of the Lord unto us is not judgment, nor pestilence, nor plague, nor famine, nor sword, if we will now awake, repent and live our religion.

Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy, but they who do not, have not the promise of mercy. I wish this morning to warn you against taking a course which will prevent the blessings and mercy of God coming unto you, for now is the time that is most exceedingly opportune in the favor of God, and it is a time that will work upon those that are transgressors, that are dishonest with themselves and with others, and that will endeavor to avoid the truth and shun the light, avoid the standard and add sin to transgression, the Lord God will harden their hearts that they cannot enter into His mercy. Although we thus speak we have the assurance that the people will as a people with heartfelt penitence and obedience turn unto Him and be saved. There never was a time in this dispensation or in any other that has been so full of mercy in His calling upon us and giving us an opportunity to feel after Him, and if we do this we shall find Him to be a God at hand and not afar off; we shall find Him in our habitations and it is for every man having the Priesthood to seek after God with all his might, mind and strength, and to obtain the spirit and power of his calling and ordination. There are a great many among us who have not yet obtained this spirit and power. There is a great difference among those who dwell in the light of Zion. Some walk in the light of others, and some walk having the light in themselves. There are those, and always have been, and always will be, while saviors and saved dwell together, that walk in the light of others, and do not get it into their own souls. They do not seem to think that they ought to or can have the light in themselves. If you look, you have an illustration of it in the difference that exists in the heavenly bodies. The sun has light of itself to warm the earth and the inhabitants of the earth, has power to give heat, light, and vegetation to this earth, and to other heavenly bodies. The moon and other planets do not appear to have light of themselves, but they reflect the light of the sun.

It is right and our duty brethren, for us to take the light that is offered, and to take hold of the counsel that is now given to us and turn from our errors, make all that is crooked straight, and make restitution to all that we have injured that we may go into the waters of baptism and come out clean from everything that would hinder us from receiving the light, and that we may receive the Holy Ghost; that it may be our constant companion, that the light of the Lord may be in us. If all things are not made right with each other we shall not be in a position to obtain the blessings promised, but if we make all right the Holy Spirit will be poured out and be a light to our feet, and a lamp to our path. We shall by it receive strength and power to magnify our calling. This is the duty of our men, and it is the duty of our women to seek this light and strength, and this help from the Lord. But it is especially the duty of men, the Elders of Israel, it is for them to lay hold, by the power of faith, and by their Priesthood. Yes brethren, if we have been mesmerised it is for us to wake up and do our duties that the light may go forth from us to others. This is not done in a week, nor in a month, but by a constant series of works and diligence, and that will bring the light of heaven upon us which has been shut out from our souls. As you see that some of our brethren that administer to you in your wards, increase in the power of their callings so every man that has a part in the Priesthood must prevail and obtain favor with God, and get light in himself, get rid of his sins, and all his hardness of heart, for the time is coming when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and we must have this light and strength within us, or we never shall stand the times that are yet to try our souls. Of course when we got dull and paralyzed, our duties were left for someone else to do.

Quorums, families, and individuals have alike failed to magnify their callings. They have looked over the Teachers, the Bishops and High Councils, and there was no authority but the First Presidency that could settle a little family dispute; such has been the dullness of the quorums and the condition of the people generally that they seemed lifeless until the Presidency have had to bear the burdens, discharge the responsibilities and perform the labors of nearly every other Quorum and Council in the Church.

Who is there that has any part of the Priesthood, and who has received his endowments but that ought to be able to administer in his household all those things which are necessary for life and salvation? They ought to be ready at all times to manifest their authority as men of God, and administer not only to all in their families but to perform the duties which they owe to the Church and the world also.

Surely to say we have been “asleep” does not tell the condition we were in, but now, notwithstanding all our transgressions, backslidings, hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, “whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy.” What a broad saying it is of the Prophet Brigham that we shall be forgiven of all our sins, except such as cannot be forgiven in this world nor in that which is to come. What an extent of kindness and mercy is now revealed unto us by our Heavenly Father in this accepted time which is peculiarly a day of salvation.

I will tell you how I feel about it; I consider that those who will not make a thorough work of it and obtain the Holy Spirit to dwell in them, it will be a hard case for them ever to find favor with the Lord.

If you and I and all Israel had lived up to our privileges what might we have been able to do for the kingdom? In purity and in power we could have increased the numbers and strength of it mightily, we could have had that faith that one would chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight. It is a power that will disperse wickedness, and the words of righteousness will be felt like the voice of thunders; men have now got to arouse themselves to activity and power in works of righteousness and faith. The First Presidency have been drawing us too long.

I do not feel to detain you much longer as brother Kimball and brother Wells have come in, but will say a few words more. We have now offered to us the great and glorious blessings of God’s favor renewed upon us. If we lay hold of this by faith and obtain the strength of our calling in the spirit and power thereof, it seems to me that we shall be blest far beyond our present or past conceptions. When I think of this I feel like exhorting the people to take hold and get the spirit and power of their calling, for all can plead guilty of neglecting their duty, if they are not guilty of more and overt transgressions.

Now if we will do to all as we wish them to do unto us, we shall be pre– pared to sit down in the presence of God and our Elder Brother, and then we can be one with them and they with us. Do not let it be so, that while the door of mercy is open, that any will seal it against themselves, for it would have been better for them not to have been born.

These are the times for us to wake up and take hold with the energies of our souls that light may come back to us, and that we may have light in our understandings, that we may have power to administer to those around us, and to do those things that are required at our hands; and I can say, brethren and sisters, that in future it shall be my study, my faith, and my prayer and my labor to obtain these blessings with you, and to stand in my place and calling and obtain grace to magnify them, and have faith like those who have gone before us, that are and have been laboring before us, and they are all laboring now, they are waiting and watching for the completion of the work that is laid upon us, that they may receive the blessings and promises given to them in ages that are gone. It is not to be wondered at when we contemplate the condition of the world what a vast deal is depending upon our exertions, but when we look at the extent of our follies it is wonderful that the Lord should give us such wholesale forgiveness. For the sake of ourselves, our families, the living and the dead, we should all turn to God with full purpose of heart and sanctify ourselves that there may be a people whom He will delight to own and bless, that He may fully establish this work and establish righteousness upon the earth forever.

May the Lord grant us power to do this, in the name of Jesus Christ: Amen.

A Discourse by Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 11, 1857.

We have a little business to lay before the brethren, and we might as well do it this forenoon as to do it in the afternoon. We many times leave our business matters for the afternoon, to transact in the time of the sacrament, though the administration of that ordinance has been omitted for a time. There are a great many people in this congregation and in this Valley who could justly and benefi– cially partake of the sacrament, but they are prohibited for the present in consequence of the wickedness of some who would also partake and thus eat and drink to their condemnation.

You talk about such persons being asleep; you call it sleep; well it is, comparatively speaking, the sleep of death that is on a great many individuals, and they do not realize it, and you cannot make them realize it. They think they are awake to their duties; they think they are living their religion, and when we speak to this people in a mass, as you are here, almost every man and woman will go home and say, “That sermon does not touch me, the coat, or the jacket does not fit me.” I am aware of this, for if it did fit you and you would acknowledge it, you would put it on and wear it; and the coat you would put on would be sackcloth and ashes; it would be a cloak that would be wet and soaked with ashes, and it would be so strong it would eat off the rust and filth that are on you, yea, eat them off with ashes put on with a cloth, so as to open the pores of life that the Spirit of God may penetrate through your systems.

There is a little matter of business that we want to lay before this congregation in regard to John Hyde, who went to the Sandwich Islands on a mission. There are a couple of letters that the brethren have received; we shall read a little from them, and give you to understand the course he is taking. (The letters were read.) You hear the letters and the testimony of our brethren in regard to John Hyde. Such matters, many times, have passed along and we have not noticed them but have let men deny the faith, speak against it and deliver lectures through the world. Many times we have let them run at large, but the time is now passed for such a course of things. By the consent of my brethren I shall move that John Hyde be cut off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I will put the motion in full, that is, that he be cut off root and branch; that means pertaining to himself. When this motion is put, I want you to vote, every one of you, either for or against, for there is no sympathy to be shown unto such a man. Brother Wells has seconded the motion I have made. All that are in favor that John Hyde be cut off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that he be delivered over to Satan to be buffeted in the flesh, will raise their right hands. (All hands were raised.)

When there was a vote of this kind taken before the congregation in regard to Thomas S. Williams, it caused a great deal of sympathy with some, for they looked upon it as though it had cut off his family, his wives and his children. I will ask the congregation, was a motion put to cut off his family? No, there was not. A motion has been put, and unanimously carried, that John Hyde be cut off root and branch, that is, himself and all the roots and branches that are within him; this has no allusion to his family. He has taken a course by which he has lost his family and forfeited his Priesthood; he has forfeited his membership. The limb is cut off, but the Priesthood takes the fruit that was attached to the limb and saves it, if it will be saved. Do you understand me? His wife is not cut off from this Church, but she is free from him; she is just as free from him as though she never had belonged to him. The limb she was connected to is cut off, and she must again be grafted into the tree, if she wishes to be saved; that is all about it.

When a limb that has got two or more branches or shoots is cut off, those shoots and branches, and their fruit, if any, are cut off with the limb. Why? Because they are attached to it. But they can all be taken and grafted right back again into the tree, or into the Priesthood.

I do not wish to say much this morning, without I feel a great deal of liberty; and my liberty will be in proportion to the liberty, and freedom, and life there in this people. If our Father and our God was to come here, or Jesus, or Peter, or Joseph, or brother Brigham, or any other man, he could not speak to this people and advance light to them, only in proportion to the light that is in this people and their willingness and readiness to receive more.

Have not brother Brigham and his Counselors cried unto this people, as with a voice of thunder and earthquake, for years and could not wake you up? You did not believe but that you were all the time living your religion, every one of you, men and women. Can brother Brigham advance any farther than this people strive to follow, and at the same time retain his present connection with them? Can brother Heber rise any faster than brother Brigham? No. Can brother Wells? No, he cannot. Why? The Church of God is compared to the body of a man; there is the head, there are the arms and every part of the body. God has joined them together, and they are brought up as an illustration to compare with the Church. Now if my legs and feet, and arms and hands, and other members of my body give up and lose their strength and power, become paralyzed or benumbed, how is it possible for my head to rise up, without the use of those members? It cannot, because the head is attached to them. On the other hand, if the arms, which are designed to defend the head, and all the members below the head lose their power and have gone to sleep, what can those members do? Can they rise until the rest of that body rises? No. I use the figure of the body of a man, just as the Apostle Paul did in ancient times—1 Cor. xii.

14. For the body is not one member, but many.

15. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

16. And if the ear shall say, Be– cause I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

17. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were the hearing, where were the smelling?

18. But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

19. And if they were all one member, where were the body?

20. But now are they many members, yet but one body.

21. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

23. And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

24. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked:

25. That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

26. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.

27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

28. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

29. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?

30. Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

31. But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

There is one way in which the Presidency of this Church can rise, but it would be greatly to the injury of the body, and I will tell you how. If you will go to work and reject them, you will see them rise quickly, but you will also see this body go down to death and hell, while the Priesthood of this Church would go to heaven. You can liberate them in this way, but not in any other except through obedience, unless that Presidency rises up and cuts you off. They can do that, for they have as much power to cut you off as you have to reject them. I want you to understand this. They are an independent body, still they are attached to you as the head of the body of Christ for the purpose of saving the whole body, that all might be a perfect system. You will find in the Bible what I am talking about, only I am applying it to this people, as Paul applied it to the people in his days.

Jesus says, in the 15th chapter of St. John, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman,” or, in other words, my Father is the root and I am the vine springing from the root, and it is for me to abide in that vine. And when he abode in it he received the same nourishment, the same fatness, and the same power that proceeded from the Father, or from the root from whence the vine sprang. Then if the twelve Apostles abode in him, they received the same nourishment that he did, and had the same power; then those that believed on the Apostles’ words, if they abode in their words, received the same power the Apostles received from the vine, they becoming branches of that vine in common with the Apostles. Jesus is that vine, the Apostles were the branches that sprang from him, then the Seventies, and other members, or those that sprang from them.

Joseph Smith sprang from Peter, James, and John; and brother Brigham and brother Heber, and brother Hyde sprang from Joseph; and you sprang from that authority now existing, did you not? Do you not see that you are all in the same vine? There are different branches, and every different branch springing out of the same vine. There are hundreds of lesser branches connected to the main branches of the vine, others again extend from them. There are the Seventies, the High Priests, the Elders, &c.; they are all branches, are they not, belonging to the same root, the same vine?—John xv.

1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

12. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15. Henceforth I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17. These things I command you, that ye love one another.

18. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

19. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

20. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

21. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

22. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

23. He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

24. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

25. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

27. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

I want to show you your connection with the Church, and then you can see what an effect it has when there is a dead member attached to the head of any limb, or at its junction with the trunk. When you go into your gardens and look at your peach trees, do you not see many great and important limbs, also many branches to those limbs? Now if a main branch is partly dead or lifeless where it joins the trunk, the sap has to go through there to support the limb, and of course affects its nourishment, for the sap becomes partially dormant, and when it goes into the rest of the members, they are dormant; like unto the sap that has passed through these dead parts. You may say that the Presidency of the Seventies are at the junction of one main limb with the trunk, and when the members that pertain to that department of government are partly dead, it affects the whole limb and every branch pertaining to it.

That is the connection we have got to form with each other, or we shall be severed from the tree and lost. We will say that here is a peach tree, and that there is one limb extends away yonder, and that away at the far end of it are six or eight peaches, and that there is not another particle of fruit on the whole tree. Now is not that one fruit-bearing limb worth more to the master than all the rest, except the trunk and root to which it is connected? Why? Because it brings forth fruit. God looks upon this matter just as I am trying to explain it to you. Jesus calls his true followers his disciples, because they bring forth much fruit. How can you be reckoned the disciples of Christ, the disciples of God in the last days, except you bring forth fruit?

I talked very plain to you, three weeks ago. The power of God ran through me just as City Creek would run through this city, provided there was no obstruction to its course. Such would be the case today, if there was no obstruction to the manifestation of the power of God, and every member would receive his full supply. Is there an obstruction? There is. Was there on that day? There was; but the power of God was there sufficient to penetrate a stone, and it did penetrate the hardest and most corrupt men in the congregation, and they did not know what was the matter with them. Did you see any particular difference with me? Nothing more than you generally see. I was calm and composed, and the truth kept pouring out without creating any convulsion, because there was no obstruction to it in me.

The more of the Spirit of God a man has, the more composed he is. You will not hear him rage and tear, saying. “Oh, the Holy Ghost is in me; I shall die; hell and the devil is to pay.” [The speaker mimicked the manner of wild enthusiasts.] I am trying to show you the folly, wild spirit, and devil that gets into some men, and they try to make the people believe that it is the Holy Ghost, when it is not any such thing. You never see brother Brigham operated upon in that way; you never see brother Heber so affected. I have had to fire here. Why? Because the enemy was so strong against me that I had to force the word of God towards the people to effect them in any way, shape, or manner.

There is more danger of people’s getting wildfire than there is of their getting the true fire of God. There is danger of going too far, and of pressing this people too far. There is a medium in all things. It would be but a little while, let some men lead and dictate, before the people would be as they are in London. How are they there? They have been excited with everything that could be raked and scraped, to such a degree that there is nothing now that will excite them one particle. In like manner some would get this people in a little while so that you could not create an excitement that would move them.

I will ask this congregation if they do not know that God was with me three weeks ago, and they will admit that He dictated me. I did not say anything about it, but all the tussle I had was to get out of this stand, for it seemed as though I was held by some power, visible or invisible. I had hard work to get out of this stand. Did I resist the spirit? Yes, I resisted the spirit and power of this people who were holding me. “Why did you leave the pulpit?” Because I had spoken long enough. The judgment that God gave me said I had spoken long enough, and if I had spoken any longer it would not have had so good an effect upon you as it did. Was I not calm? Did I tell any of you that the Holy Ghost was in me? I did not say one word about it; I let everyone judge for himself.

Some men in this town come pretty near tearing down the stands and benches, and the roofs off from the houses, crying, out, “The Holy Ghost is in me,” &c.

[The speaker jumped and threw his arms about.]

I am mimicking those persons, in order to show the folly of their conduct. I want you to understand, and not let men get these powers on them. It would not be any wonder if brother Gifford were to get into that spirit, because that is the spirit he had before he came into the Church: and he had it awhile after he came into the Church, and he feels as though he had lost all his religion, because he is not actuated by that wild spirit. I have seen the manifestations of those spirits both in America and England; they were in this Church in the first commencement of it in Kirtland.

In the commencement of this Church the devil came along, and there were men that saw written letters come down from the heavens in their presence; that was in Kirtland, Ohio, 25 or 26 years ago. Some enthusiastic spirits received those letters as revelation, and they would read them to the people. A spirit would come on those individuals, and they would begin to run around the house, and be thrown into all manner of shapes and convulsions, saying it was the operation of the Holy Ghost. If you do not look out, you will get such spirits as those here. I merely speak of them to give you a check, that you may be aware of the course you are taking.

I will tell you what kind of characters will have those kinds of revelations; they will be men who have committed whoredom in our midst, and women who have played the whore. Good, virtuous men and women are not actuated by those spirits, because they ask the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to give them His Spirit, and not those wild, enthusiastic spirits manifested by some. How was it with those men in Kirtland? Almost every one of them denied the faith and went over the board, and afterwards we found out that they were adulterous persons.

As for the gift of tongues, I do not speak in tongues often. Can I speak in tongues? Yes, I can speak in a good, beautiful language to this people at anytime. Why? Because God gave me the gift, and He does not give gifts to men and then take them away again, so long as those men are doing their duty. They are gifts, and God gives them to men and women; and so long as they improve upon them they do not forfeit them. If they do not improve upon them, the devil takes the advantage and will make it appear like the gifts of God which they have possessed, as nearly as possible, and thus they go overboard.

I do not know why it is that I am led to speak so today, but I am led as I am, and you may judge whether it is right or wrong. Can I interpret tongues? Yes, because that gift is in me, and I have not forfeited it. Is it in brother Brigham? Yes, and so is every gift the God ever gave to His ancient Apostles. God has given them to brother Brigham, and He will never take them away from him. He has the Spirit in him, and so have his Counselors, that can discern your spirits and gifts, whether they are of God or of the devil. When any of you get up to speak in tongues, whether you do so by the power of God or of the devil, I can tell you which source that tongue came from, and if it is from the Lord I can interpret it.

Are the gifts of the Gospel given to you to fool with? No, neither are they given to dictate the Church, nor the Priesthood. Have such things been done? Yes, thousands of men and women have received revelations and stood up to dictate the President, the Prophet, the Seer, and Revelator, in his Priesthood. When we came to find out who such characters were, we learned that they were men and women who had been in the habit of committing whoredom. You cannot refer me to an instance of the kind, but what I can show you that that is their character, more or less. Is it not singular? Those gifts and those blessings are for the Priesthood to dictate, and it will dictate them.

When persons get the religion of Christ, and enjoy the Holy Ghost, they will never see any of that wildness which I have spoken of, unless, in the progress of this work, our President should be moved upon to bring it into action. When he unlocks and opens the door for that Spirit to come upon this people, then it is right and never will be wrong. Brother Brigham is my brother; and holds the keys to all the departments of the Priesthood on this earth, and when he unlocks the door it will come open. He has a bundle of keys, and, if they were keys like these in my hand, no ten men in this congregation could carry or lift them. He possesses the keys of all the different gifts and graces that God designs for this people. Can you realize it? Some do, and some do not. It is brother Brigham that holds the keys, yes, above every other man that lives in the flesh. When he says, “Brother Heber, take that key and open such or such a door,” then I have authority to go and unlock that door, the same as he has. If he says, “Brother Wells, take this key and go and unlock such a door,” he then has the same power as brother Brigham has to unlock that door. If he says, “Brother Hyde, take this key and other small keys and go to the nations of the earth and open into different nations,” brother Hyde then has the power and authority, with his brethren of the Twelve, to open the door, preach the Gospel, build up the Church, organize it, and set it in order in every nation, kingdom, tongue, and island, so far as he has received the keys and authority. When brother Brigham gives a Bishop a key pertaining to a Ward, that Bishop has power to open and shut, to teach, prophesy, and administer the word of life, according to his holy calling in his department. Every man has his department as it is set off to him, and if he lives his religion he has the power of God, the power of Brigham, the power of Heber and of Daniel, yea, all the power we have in that department, when he goes and acts in our authority. Brother Franklin, did you realize that power while acting in your department in England? Yes, and you say, here I carry out the purposes of my leaders. Do you suppose that you would have failed a hair’s breadth, if you had constantly done so? No, but you fail when you draw back a little, or swerve through the influence of anyone not having authority. Do you understand me? Some of you do, I know.

There are just as good men and women in this congregation as ever were on the earth or ever will be, according to their age and experience; then, on the other hand, we have some of the meanest, and, O heavens, how they stink. Are they not ashamed? I am ashamed of them, that is, of their corruption. If they were served as they should be, they would be severed from the Church, as John Hyde has been this day, and would be made a public example of before this people. For what? I will not talk it, for I am ashamed of it. I want the Elders and Missionaries to take the keys and go and open their private rooms, and take such persons into them and talk to them, and not to do it in public. I am ashamed of them; take them into the private rooms in your Wards and talk to them, and try to save the poor, miserable curses, if you can. Do you understand me, brother Raleigh? [Yes.]

Call upon the High Priests, the Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, and first cleanse those ruling members, those that hold the Priesthood; and if you find those that deserve to be severed from the Church, sever them. Do not call in the females, when catechising the males; but when you have done with them, then call the females together and talk to them and show them their duty. And let the heads of families call their children into their private rooms and teach them. Do not make that public, brother Raleigh, which should be kept private, lest you do more harm than good. I have not said that you do so, but I am talking to you for all the rest of the Bishops, knowing that you are a man of good order, and one who loves to carry out things as you are dictated by the heads of Israel. I know that is your character, and God Almighty bless you forever, and every such man. There are lots of such men, and I wish to God there were a thousand where there is but one.

I would go to work and trim up the Wards in a gentle manner, without making such an ungodly stink, without exposing the brethren as Ham did his father Noah. Ham’s children were cursed with a skin of blackness, for Ham pulled the clothing off from his father Noah, who had drank a little too much wine. He had not drank any wine for a long time, as he had been in the ark, and when he had once more raised grapes, and made some wine, the old gentleman said to his family, come, boys and girls, let us sit down and take a little wine. Many of us might do as Noah did, were we placed under similar circumstances. But that poor, little, pusillanimous fellow, Ham, after the old gentleman had drank a little too much, and, perhaps, it operated upon him as an emetic, and he had besmeared himself a little, pulls off his father’s coverlet and exposes him to the whole family. That is, probably, just as it was, only I have told it a little plainer than it reads. If you find any persons besmeared, do not pull off the coverlets and expose them, lest you take a course to bring a curse on them by unwisely exposing iniquity.

Take a course to save men, not to kill them, not to destroy them. Take a course to save women, not to destroy them, I mean all the Elders in the house of Israel, Bishops, High Priests, Prophets, Apostles, Teachers, Evangelists, and every member in the Church of God, take a course to save; and if a man has done wrong, tell him to do right for the future, and do a good work, and, peradventure, God will remit his sins and not require any more than a lamb, a pigeon, a calf, or something of that kind, as an atonement. But He will require a great many heifers from some of you, and you will find your houses left unto you desolate. Still, if God will forgive you, I will, of all the sins you have committed, if you have not shed innocent blood, or sinned against the Holy Ghost. I will forgive you of all sins that God will forgive you of. God be merciful to you, and God bless the poor and honest, and those who are filled with integrity and virtue, God bless you forever, and you shall be blessed, whether the rest do right or not. Let us do right, and the day of deliverance will come, I know it, and we will be rescued from the evil that is coming.

Can I preach to you anything better than this? I do not know whether it is plain to your minds or not, is it brother Wells? [Yes.] I have been led just as I have, and it has been on my mind and working with me for a long time. I know that our faithful Priests and Bishops under– stand me, but there are some, perhaps, who do not, because I have spoken by comparison rather than to expose the meanness of the corrupt. I am ashamed to speak of the sins that some are guilty of. I have not said anything about the world, and do you suppose that I am going to speak about the world, so long as there are evils in our midst equally as bad as they commit?

There are a great many old men who have the Priesthood upon them, who have been in the Church from the beginning, and yet they are spiritually dead. What is the matter? I can expose them, I can tell you just what ails them, and why they are spiritually dead. They do not wake up, and cannot wake up, because they do not consider that they are guilty of anything wrong. They cannot see themselves, but when you come to find out you will find that they have, from the death of Joseph and before he was slain, murmured and complained at Brigham and Heber, saying that “Mormonism is not as it was then; and if Joseph had lived, he would have taken hold of us and made us prominent members in the house of Israel.” You will find that that is a fact; I shall not draw back from that one hair. Let us have the plain English, and you will find that to be the difficulty with them.

There are men here 60 or 65 years of age, holding the Bishopric of Aaron’s Priesthood and the High Priesthood of God, whom I have known to leave their important meetings and dismiss the business of the kingdom of God to spend their time with this man or that woman who was lying about their neighbors; and those very men would sit and hear that slander, and never rebuke it. There is were they have lost the Spirit of God and their authority, the power of their Priesthood. Do you hear it, ye old gentlemen, and also ye ladies that are connected with them? For you are just as bad, more or less.

You say, “We knew and understood ‘Mormonism,’ when Joseph was alive, but we do not know the tree now, it has grown so fast,” and that is the difficulty with you. We have had trees set out in these valleys seven years, and you can now see some of them large enough for rafters. Suppose a man had gone away about the time they were set out, or had been asleep to the sight of those things, would he recognize those trees? No, for they change as they increase. That applies to you elderly people, both men and women; and then to you who are younger, there is something will apply rather plainer than that.

Have I not been modest today? I do think it is outrageous to unwisely expose so much filth as some of our Elders and Missionaries do. If a man is asleep and has besmeared himself, do not expose him, unless the necessity of the case requires it. I feel a good, wholesome spirit and a fatherly spirit to you, brethren; you know I do. But I want my brethren to take a course, if they find their brethren lying under blankets besmeared, not to pull the blankets off from them before they first get water and wash them; save them if you can. You hear us talk about it a great deal, and probably many do not believe one word we say, but this people will never, no never, prosper to a high degree until we make a public example of—what? Men, who have been warned and forewarned, but who will associate with the wicked and take a course to commit whoredom, and will strive to lead our daughters and our wives into the society of poor, wicked curses, with a view to gratify their cursed passions; we will take them and slay them before this people. I am talking of those that will persist in this course of iniquity, and not about those who will repent and forsake their sins. Are there men in our midst who will court other men’s wives? Yes, and will take them right to the ungodly for them to seduce, and they will take our daughters and do the same. What are such men worthy of? They are worthy of death, and they will get it. That time is nearby, and God has spoken from the heavens, and when certain things are about right, we shall make a public example of those characters. Do you see me? Do you see this Bible and Book of Mormon? If there were ten thousand of those books, I could raise them all to heaven, saying, it is as true as the contents of those books. Do you believe me, brethren? [Yes.] There is no doubt of it. But do all believe me? No. If God forgives you, I will; but there will be a public example made of such characters, and the time is just at our doors. Can we stop this iniquity, until that is done? No, no more than we can stop some from stealing. There is some stealing right in the midst of your reform, brethren.

Don’t you think it is a better course to take the gentlemen privately and talk over matters, and then take the ladies privately and instruct them, and not open the budget of the filth of their husbands before the wives, nor that of the wives before their husbands? Such filthy characters seem to be the most sanctimonious, the most holy and gracious. I wish you could know one thing, that is, that we know you and can see right through you. I wish all those kind of men and women would get away to the backside of the congregation, and not stick themselves right under my nose. And if we make a party they stick themselves there also, and want to be the head, back, and everything else. If they would take a proper course, they would never intrude upon decent society, until they had repented of and forsaken their abominations.

John Hyde may spout as much as he has a mind to, and all such characters may spout and try to make out that Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, Jedediah M. Grant, and Daniel H. Wells are guilty of the things they are; but we are as clean as a piece of white paper. No women from heaven, earth, or hell can present themselves with a truthful allegation that we have ever led them astray. We have lawful wives, and the most of them honor their callings, and God will bless them, and they will be raised to immortality and eternal lives. They will go with us, and then there will be others that will not go with us, who will not go where Brigham and Heber will go, I will warrant you, for ten thousand years.

I wish you would obey the Book of Mormon. I was reading a little in it, the night before last, where Alma gives commandments to his son Corianton, as follows—

1. “And now, my son, I have somewhat more to say unto thee than what I said unto thy brother; for behold, have ye not observed the steadiness of thy brother, his faithfulness, and his diligence in keeping the commandments of God? Behold, has he not set a good example for thee? For thou didst not give so much heed unto my words as did thy brother, among the people of the Zoramites. Now this is what I have against thee; thou didst go on unto boasting in thy strength and thy wisdom. And this is not all, my son. Thou didst do that which was grievous unto me; for thou didst forsake the ministry, and did go over into the land of Siron among the borders of the Lamanites, after the harlot Isabel. Yea, she did steal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith thou wast entrusted. Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost? For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness. And now, my son, I would to God that ye had not been guilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell upon your crimes, to harrow up your soul, if it were not for your good. But behold, ye cannot hide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.

2. “Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all these things; for except you do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and cross yourself in these things. And I command you to take it upon you to counsel your elder brothers in your undertakings; for behold, thou art in thy youth, and ye stand in need to be nourished by your brothers. And give heed to their counsel. Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words. And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me: Command thy children to do good, lest they lead away the hearts of many people to destruction; there– fore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye refrain from your iniquities; That ye turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength; that ye lead away the hearts of no more to do wickedly; but rather return unto them, and acknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done. Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you.”

I did not know but that I was too hard on such crimes, but the passage referred to plainly states that adultery is next to shedding innocent blood. Hyrum Smith gave the same instructions in Nauvoo; many of you have heard him speak of this sin many times.

Again, I wish you to read another passage in that good book, as follows—

“And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that you may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you; Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, midday, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

29. “And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if you do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith. Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men.

30. “And now, my brethren, I would that, after ye have received so many witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures testify of these things, ye come forth and bring fruit unto repentance. Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you. For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have the power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked. And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb.”

Brethren and sisters, it is for us to prepare and qualify ourselves for the great change that is coming upon us all. Many do not attend to it, but sleep and sleep on until the time of death, and Satan will seal their spirits his, as the Book of Mormon says; he will have power over them, and they cannot help themselves.

God and His servants have instructed you to read that book, and if you read it faithfully and with a prayerful heart, you will find many principles and doctrines that you have heard brothers Brigham and Heber teach.

You who are tampering with the sin of adultery are sealing your damnation. Some are sitting right before me, with their looks as white as a sheet, who have tampered in these things. What have they done? They have done more hurt, more injury, and thrown more obstructions in the way of the work of God than they ever can restore. They have an atonement to make, there is a debt against them. Why? Because justice will require the debt to be paid. It is for you to arouse yourselves from these things and pay all you can, that there may not be much against you when the accounts are settled up.

I have said so much, and you may call it a kind of an eccentric discourse. What is eccentric? I will explain it to you. Supposing that there is a pivot on the top of this stand, and I preach to a man away yonder and come back, to another away there and come back, and so I preach every way from the center, that is eccentric, that is, I do not confine myself to any particular subject, but I am here and there and yonder, and yet I am always in the center; that is what is called eccentric, or original, or what is deemed by some extravagant, because it is out of the usual custom. I am tempered just as I am, and don’t you like me better in this way than in a stereotyped style? Don’t you like me in my way better than you would if I should try to imitate brother Hyde, and try to be like him? I hit on one thing and then on another, but brethren, is not all plain to you?

[Yes.]

Brethren and sisters, God bless you; God bless the good, God bless the oil and the wine; God bless all the authorities of this Church that honor their high and holy calling; and may the peace of the Almighty be with you forever. These are my feelings; and may He authorize His holy angels in heaven, and upon the earth, to cause the wrath of Almighty God to burn against the wicked, the corrupt, and those that seek and wish to follow corruption. May the wrath of the Almighty God come on them, that they may never have any more rest, from this time hence– forth, until they repent. May they not have peace at home or abroad, out of doors or in the house, upstairs nor down in the cellar, and I say it in the name of Almighty God and by virtue of the Priesthood, may the curse of Almighty God be on such men and women, and they shall welter in sorrow.

I know that if this people will do right, our enemies, those who lay snares and gins to ensnare the servants of the living God, shall be slain by the sword of His wrath, and shall have no power to fight against God, nor against Zion, and all Israel shall say, AMEN.

[The congregation was unanimous in saying amen, with a loud voice.]

It will be so, and I know it.

Live your religion. Bishops go to now and take the course I have suggested; take a course not to expose and ruin men, but let their private sins be privately acknowledged to the Bishop, and he has authority to report them to headquarters; then there can be a way of disposal—why? Because God our Father has made a way. There is no situation or circumstance that ever a man was or will be in, but what there is a law touching his case.

Be cautious of your wildfire; I have touched on that, and I want the Bishops to be cautious about it, and not to be overbearing and hard on the people, nor require them to fast three days in the week, and keep them under the big sledgehammer continually. It will not answer. You should pour in a little wine and oil, and the good things of the kingdom of God, and that will temper the iron so that it will yield to the hammer.

I mean this for the Bishops, the Missionaries, the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Evangelists; pour in a little oil and wine and soften the material, and not be putting on with three or four sledges and a small hammer in the bargain. It will not answer for the big hammers to go on beating, after the little hammer has sounded stop, you big fellows.

When I strike with a big sledgehammer, it performs much more than the little hammer. They used to say in England, when brother Hyde had preached, “Bring brother Kimball here and let him hit the old rock one crack with the big sledge, and we will warrant it to split.” Brother Hyde used to polish the rock before it was taken out of the quarry.

Brother James Brown, has it not been good for you to be here today? [Yes.] God bless you, if you will only live your religion, and let brother Brigham, brother Heber, and brother Daniel live theirs; for he is our brother now and always was. If you will rise up and let us rise a little higher, you will see no particular difference in us, but the difference will be in you. Rise up, and do not hold us down.

As we are members of one body, except we cut you off from us we never can rise, unless you rise. If you will cleanse the platter, and throw out the dead men’s bones that corrupt it, and all wicked things, you will rise; you will not feel so much difference, only you will be calm and composed, and you will not find any wildfire in the people. They swell when they have got wildfire, until their corporations are larger, figuratively speaking, than a dozen of mine. The Holy Ghost does not make a man act in any such way.

Why do I keep talking these things over? Because I want you to understand them and get the Spirit of God,and let its peaceable influence be upon you; then you will know the spirit of men and things. Read the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and every other good book, and keep busy at some good thing or other, and stop your quarrelling. There is a great deal of quarrelling in the houses, and contending for power and authority; and the second wife is against the first wife, perhaps, in some instances. But that is done away in my family, and there is none of it in brother Brigham’s, nor in brother Wells’, nor in any family where they have common sense.

If every member of my body performs its office and does its duty, according to the order and government of God, then I want to know if one member is any better than another? Is any one of my fingers any better than another, if each one fulfills its calling? If one of these fingers sticks itself where it should not be, it brings dishonor on the whole body; and there are certain men and women who have dishonored themselves and this whole community. John Hyde, probably, was living in adultery before he went from here, or if not, he was after he went from here, and he lost the Spirit of the Lord God. Any man that will do such wickedness, cannot keep the Spirit of God.

Do right, and let the Bishops and Missionaries understand their duty, and they may be the means of palliating your sins and making you comfortable for life. There are women in this congregation who have, probably, been seduced by Elders, by High Priests and men in authority. What do those women think? They believe that I am guilty of the same sin, and that brother Brigham and brother Wells, and every other good man, is alike guilty. Read the words of Alma over and over, and learn how he talked to his son. The people in that age would not hear the words of Alma, nor the words of his brethren, because of the wickedness of his son Corianton. I am showing you the cause of such iniquity, and the desolation it brings on the human family. I am not preaching as the world preaches; I preach not to show myself eloquent, but I am bringing right out these little matters that lay the axe at the root of the tree and obstruct the onward progress of this great work. The wickedness of the Latter-day Saints throws an obstacle before it.

Brethren, don’t you think the course you would take with a flock of sheep is better for this people, than it is to keep all the time hitting them on the head? It is well enough to hit a rap now and then, that is, to rap some of the old bucks and does that always want to stick their noses first in the salt. In accordance with my eccentric discourse, don’t you see that I have not thrown out salt on the floor or on the grass to be wasted? I have given one sheep out there a lap, and another one there, returning to the center, and don’t you feel just as comfortable now as before ye got the salt, and a little more so? That is the way to lead the people along, and do not gag them. You may take custard pie and cram it down a person’s throat until it makes him vomit; doubtless some of you have crammed your little children until they have vomited the food you gave them.

The people are often fed too much, with too long sermons. How long have I preached today? Though I have not stuck to one subject, but I have always come back to the center and began again. Stop your long sermons, except God leads and dictates. I should advise you, if you have but a little water in the pond, not to let your saw run the full length of the log. Get up when you have something to say, and sit down when you have done. Long sermons will not answer. Preach short sermons, you Bishops; and when the missionaries come along and give a first-rate good sermon at a Ward meeting, and perhaps one or two others also speak, and it is eight o’clock in the evening, or half-past eight, close the meeting. You Bishops are always there, and you can preach when the sheep are not crammed to death. There is too much of this cramming, for by it you will gag the people and throw them overboard.

I am holding on to this idea, because I see that you are wrong. And if brother Brigham had been here today he would, probably, have been led to speak on the same matter; and if I had been away from here, probably brother Wells would have been led the same; and if none of us had been here, perhaps somebody else would have spoken of it. I am telling you what to do, I am relieving your minds. Do not put on the double sledgehammers all the time, but pour in the wine and the oil, and scatter a little salt, and the sheep will be bleating and teasing for more.

I am a shepherd, I was brought up a shepherd; and I was a plowboy; and I am a blacksmith, a potter, a joiner and carpenter, and a tailor; I understand all these branches. I never was confined to either of them long, but always returned to the center. This is my mode of preaching; I do not want to talk a whole dictionary. I do not use any squatalations, as brother Hyde, brother Franklin, and others do. I am just what I am, and cannot be anything else. Brother Hyde, did you ever know me try to imitate anybody? I never did and cannot do it, unless I have the power given me. There is only one thing that I can mimic, and that is the power that some enthusiasts show, when they suppose the Holy Ghost is on them.

I don’t want you to merely talk about it, but I want you to go to and live your religion, do your duty, do all things that are required of you. If you have not done so, go and do it. If you have done wrong, don’t do wrong again, and do right from this time, making satisfaction and restitution for your wrongdoing, and I will say you shall be forgiven, every one of you who has not shed innocent blood or sinned against the Holy Ghost; that cannot be forgiven. If you will take this course, brother Brigham and Heber will live, yea, they will live and let live scores and scores of years.

Brethren and sisters, do not be the aggressors, always act on the defensive. I never will touch any of you, I never will offend or scold at you, nor injure you in any way, if you will not harm me but live your religion. I never will strike one of you, without you first strike me; but when you strike me, I shall be justifiable in striking you. I want you to remember what you read in the Book of Mormon, where Alma tells his son not to be the aggressor; also what Moroni said to Zerahemnah, at the time Nephites and Lamanites fought by the river Sidon.

12. “And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a pace from them. And Moroni said unto Zerahemnah: Behold, Zerahemnah, that we do not desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we do not desire to slay you. Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring anyone to the yoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come against us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion. But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith. Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith. And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—Yea, and that is not all; I command you by all the desires which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto us, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will go your way and come not again to war against us. And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I will command my men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then we will see who shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who shall be brought into bondage.”

That shows the mercy and compassion of our God; although his enemies are in his hands, he will have mercy upon them. In the book of Doctrine and Covenants it is said, if thine enemy comes upon thee and falls into thine hand, forgive him, if he repent; and if he comes upon thee the second time, forgive him, if he repent; but if comes upon thee the third time, thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good, still, if thou shalt forgive him, I will add glory unto thee for thy mercy. Just look at it, and see what kind of a God we are serving. That God is talking to you, through me, today.

Some of you may, perhaps, think that I have had wildfire in me today, but I have not had a bit of it about me. I am preaching all the time to show you the propriety of being filled with mercy, for God says the merciful man shall obtain mercy. That is the spirit which is in me. When I step forward here God speaks through me; and if brother Brigham had been here He would have spoken through him. Don’t you see that I have the same fatherly care, when I step up here to act in brother Brigham’s place for the time being? I do not care who you put here, he will have the same spirit when he is put here, that is, if he is dictated by the Holy Ghost.

I have had a good time here today. How nice it feels; there are good feelings here. Brethren, cultivate the spirit of compassion; if any man has committed adultery, have mercy on him and pity him, if he repents. You may say, “O Lord God, I thank thee that I never fell into that sin.” Have compassion on those who have, if they will repent.

You leading members of the Church, you Twelve, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, &c., go ahead, press forward, and we will gain the victory. We will overcome, because with those that do repent, if there are not more than three hundred men, we will whip out the unrighteous, for, says the Lord, everything that can be shaken shall be, and that which cannot be shaken will remain. Amen.

A Discourse by Elder Lorenzo Snow, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 4, 1857.

Brethren: In consequence of the deep fall of snow, the present assembly is not so large this morning as usual, still we may feel thankful that the spirit of gathering to this Tabernacle predominates with the Saints.

On the subject of reformation I presume, brethren, most of us feel alike its importance and necessity, and that great diligence is required, and much faith and spiritual energy, in order to obtain immediate possession of gifts and powers, which, through our great neglect and dilatoriness we have failed heretofore in obtaining, but must absolutely have in order to pass the fiery ordeal that, by the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, we feel is fast approaching. We cannot obtain those blessings unless we sincerely repent of our sins, and with deep humility and with prayer and fasting call mightily on the God of our Fathers whom we have neglected and whose words we have set at naught, to listen once more to the voice of our supplications and pour out His Holy Spirit upon us, that we may trim our lamps and have them burning.

Brethren, is it not strange, and should we not be ashamed of ourselves that after receiving the words of life, and coming to a knowledge of glory and immortality and eternal lives, instead of pressing forward and preparing ourselves for those blessings, we slacken our pace, close our eyes, and sink into a state of drowsiness? It was so with the people of the Lord in ancient times, and they were sorely chastised, and such as would not repent were destroyed.

The word of the Lord through brother Brigham to this people is to repent speedily and seek the God of heaven with deep repentance, and this is the mind of the Lord, and the voice of the Lord which is quick and powerful, peace and salvation to the humble and obedient, confusion and destruction upon the willful and disobedient.

Brethren, most of you hold high and important positions in this kingdom, indeed but few men have lived on the earth that were placed in so important and responsible situations; the salvation of the present world, also many generations past and generations to come look to you for life, exaltation, and happiness. High Priests, Seventies, and ye Elders of Israel, are you this day prepared with wisdom and power to officiate for the living and the dead, and to lay a pure and holy foundation through your wives and children, that salvation may go forth to the rising generations; or have you neglected qualifying yourselves in your holy callings, and let the cares of the world occupy your entire thoughts and attention, and your minds become dull, your spiritual armor rusty and but little room found in you for the Holy Ghost to abide?

Brethren, your eye should be single to the glory of God, to hearkening to the counsel of brother Brigham, and to the building up of Zion, then your bodies would be filled with spirit, and your understandings with light, and your hearts with joy, and your souls would be quickened into eternal life with the power of the Holy Ghost, you would then become the depositories of that wisdom and knowledge which would qualify you to be saviors unto your brethren and your posterity.

It is the case with many in this community that instead of preparing themselves for positions in the eternal world, they have been satisfied with the cares of this life, and attending to those things which have been for the comfort of themselves and their wives and children; they have been satisfied in exercising themselves in this small way of ambition. They have forgotten the salvation of their forefathers, and that on them lay the responsibility of laying a holy and pure foundation upon which their posterity may build and obtain life and salvation, and upon which the generations to come might return back to their pristine purity. Instead of being sanctified this day as the people might have been had they sought it diligently, they are weak in their intellects, weak in their faith, weak in their power in reference to the things of God, and many of them this day, setting aside their being saviors of men, are incapable of administering salvation to their individual wives and children. This, brethren, whatever you may think about it, is a solemn consideration, and you must know it, for at the present you do not see this as you want to see it, and as you should see it.

The men who are sitting here this day ought to be, when in the presence of their families, filled with the Holy Ghost, to administer the word of life to them as it is administered in this stand from sabbath to sabbath. When they kneel down in the presence of their wives and children they ought to be inspired by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, that the husband may be such a man as a good wife will honor, and that the gift and power of God may be upon them continually. They ought to be one in their families, that the Holy Ghost might descend upon them, and they ought to live so that the wife through prayer may become sanctified, that she may see the necessity of sanctifying herself in the presence of her husband, and in the presence of her children, that they may be one together, in order that the man and the wife may be pure element, suitable to occupy a place in the establishment and formation of the kingdom of God, that they may breathe a pure spirit and impart pure instruction to their children, and their children’s children. But it is otherwise than this now; the man is full of tradition, and has not got rid of that which was taught him in the Gentile world, he has not become one with his file leader, as brother Kimball frequently remarks.

That principle which I spoke of last Sunday, in regard to a man becoming his own daddy is correct, for a man that feels so has not subjected himself to the Priesthood, but is disposed to become his own leader and his own head, and it is the case with many in this Church, they have not become one with their file leader, and therefore the Spirit is not transmitted to their wife or wives, and not having learned true obedience themselves, the wife cannot receive that which the husband has not got to impart. How can it be expected that the wife can obtain that which the husband has not received.

In regard to being one I will say that if ever there was a day when it was necessary for us to be one, now is the time, now is the day and the hour that we are called upon to be one, as Jesus and His Father are one; it is for us to be one together, as brother Brigham and brother Kimball are one, that we may be one indeed.

The Twelve are determined to be one, and to be inspired by the same Holy Ghost, and that we may all have the same spirit continually, and that we may echo the same feeling and intelligence unto the people that exists in brother Brigham, that we may be one with him in all things, and that we carry out his sayings at the expense of our all, our property, our wives and children, that we may stand up with them, and be inspired by the same Spirit, that inasmuch as they walk in the light of eternity and in the wisdom of the Holy Ghost, that we may have the same spirit, and that inasmuch as they are determined to lay down everything for the work of purging out iniquity, we may do likewise.

In this way we, the Twelve, are resolved to lay down everything that would draw our attention from the path of duty, that we may be one as the Presidency are one, and be bound together by the principle of love that binds the Son of God with the Father. It is an impossibility for a man to love another unless he has the same Holy Spirit that is in himself.

Now I will respect a man because he is a High Priest, a Seventy; I respect him, I honor him because he is the anointed of the Lord, but can I respect him as I wish to do, and move in him and he in me, unless he moves in the same spirit, and moves heart and hand with me, and is willing to clear out iniquity with me? When the Holy Ghost teaches and inspires me to lift my hand against that which is causing our destruction and is bringing sin among the people, how can we be inspired and walk in the same spirit unless our minds are one, and unless we are united in all things?

We have got to be one, and to make ourselves worthy to receive the same Holy Spirit, and to receive it alike one with another. Jesus prayed to His Father that those He had given Him out of the world might be one, as He and the Father were one, and says he, I pray that thou wilt give them the same love which thou hast for me, that I may be in them, and thou in me, that all may be one. There is something very important in this, and we have got to practice ourselves until we become like the Father and the Son, one in all things.

When we are cold-hearted we respect men because they are the anointed of the Lord, but I tell you it is a perfect uphill business to have to do this. Now if a man is not the anointed of the Lord we may have a fellow feeling for him, that feeling which human nature teaches, but when a man is the anointed of the Lord, we feel like David did with Saul. David would not lift his hand against Saul, because, said he, he is the anointed of the Lord, but how could they move hand in hand and be one, when they were of a different spirit? There was an opposite spirit in Saul, but yet David would not put forth his hand and slay him, although he had him in his power; he had a respect for him because he was the Lord’s anointed. A man may move on the same car or in the same kingdom, and yet be of a different spirit from another man, and he may pass quietly along for a time, because he is the Lord’s anointed, but still he will not exert himself for the carrying out of the principles of the kingdom, he lies dormant all the time. How can he who is filled with the principles of righteousness and with the love of Jesus love that man? He cannot do it as he desires. We have got to be inspired by the same Spirit and by the same kind of knowledge, in order that we may love one another and be of one heart and one mind.

Now, brethren, there is no use for us to occupy time talking about this, for it is necessary and it has got to be done. We talk about repenting of our sins, and I suppose the brethren have heard a great deal of talk about this, and hence I say there is no necessity for a great deal of talk upon this question, for we call ourselves Saints, the children of God, but the word has come to us that we are in sin and transgression.

I want to ask is there any need of hammering and pounding all the time in our speeches to convince the people of this fact? I say there is not. A man that has any life in him soon catches the fire of the Almighty when the word of the Lord comes to his ears, he is waked up, and like the king of Nineveh, he humbles himself, that peradventure he may get the Spirit of the Lord bestowed upon him again.

We have got to attend to our duties, make use of that intelligence which is given us, that we may be one with each other. The High Priesthood have got to do this, every husband must do this, that he may be full of the Holy Ghost, that he may be the means of sanctifying his wife and his children, and that he may be an instrument in the hands of the Lord of extending the kingdom of God, and of aiding in the accomplishment of His purposes.

When a man is full of sin he is not capable of lifting his voice to teach his family. How does a man expect he can be a Patriarch to a large family when he is going on in sin and darkness, and is becoming more blind to the things of the kingdom? He goes forward and gathers other wives and increases his family, but how does he expect to teach them when he is not susceptible of instruction himself? I tell you he will see the day when he will be too late and will have to stand out of the way. A man has to look well at the foundation upon which he builds; a man has to look to the Lord for strength, he has to be purified and sanctified, and he has to purify those that are around him, and among that number will be his one wife, if she is worthy of salvation, and if she is susceptible of being saved. He must have sufficient in him of the saving principle to impart to her, and inasmuch as she can conform to that, she can thereby become sanctified, and be prepared for an exaltation; but if he cannot get faith enough to receive the principles of life and salvation, so that he can communicate those truths to others, he may get one wife, and then he may get another, and after that another, and still another, and then he is worse off than before, and is no nearer to the kingdom of God, but much farther off.

Brethren we have got to think of these things, and to enter into the practice of them, and to understand them as they are, and to acknowledge this one fact—that we have been slack, negligent, and in the background, and we must see this and acknowledge ourselves before God and our brethren, and walk up to those principles which are being taught, and have our religion in practice as well as in theory.

Men who wish to retain their standing before God in the Holy Priesthood, must have the spirit of prophecy, and be qualified to administer life and salvation to the people: and if they cannot do it to the world, they must do it at home, in their families, in their shops, and in the streets, that their hearts may be inspired with words of life at their firesides, in teaching the Gospel to their children, and to their neighbors, as much so as when they are speaking to their brethren from this stand. This having a little of the Spirit when before the people and then laying it aside, will not do. Some men will speak to the people and then go home and be just as dry as molding stock, and instead of having the words of life in them, they become perfectly dry and dead, but this will not do any longer.

It becomes the duties of fathers in Israel to wake up and become saviors of men, that they may walk before the Lord in that strength of faith, and that determined energy, that will insure them the inspiration of the Almighty to teach the words of life to their families, as well as to teach them when they are called into this stand. Then all our words will savor of life and salvation wherever we go, and wherever we are.

In this we will see a spirit of determination that will enable us to become one, that we may learn how to love each other, and I pray to the Lord that He will deposit that love in each of our hearts which He deposited in Jesus His Son, and that He will continue to deposit a knowledge of that which is good.

Let us remember that we have all got to show by our works that we are worthy of this life and of this salvation which is now offered.

Now when a man is not willing to sacrifice for the benefit of his brethren, and when he knows that he trespasses upon the feelings of his brethren, and yet he has not that love which will enable him to make satisfaction, that man is not right before the Lord, and where is the love of that individual for his brother?

When one brother is not willing to suffer for his brother, how is it in his power to manifest that he has love for his brother? I tell you it is in our folly and weakness that we will not bear with our brethren, but if they trespass upon our rights we immediately retaliate, and if they tread upon our toes we immediately jump upon theirs, the same as the people do in the Gentile world, where it is thought necessary to act in a state of independence, and to defend oneself against aggressors.

It is all nonsense for us any longer to act upon this principle, for there is a day coming that we will have to suffer for each other, and even be willing to lay down our lives for each other, as Jesus did for the Twelve Apostles in his day, and as they did for the cause which he established. When I see a brother that has been trespassed against, and then he turns round and jumps upon the offender, then I say, how far is that brother from the path of duty, and I say to him you must learn to govern yourself, or you never will be saved in the kingdom of God.

We are all called upon to think of these things, and we might as well think now, at the present time as to defer it till the future, for we have got to do it, or we never will receive the Spirit of the Lord to a great degree, nor the advantages of this reformation, nor the outpouring of that Holy Spirit which is anticipated.

Why do I say these things when we are all so far advanced in the knowledge of God? I make these remarks because they are the only things which will save us at the present time.

This quarrelling and bickering will not do; it is the work of salvation we are engaged in. Now for an example, and what is the use of going to heaven for an example when there is one here? The Presidency of this Church are one, there is no jar existing between them; and the Twelve Apostles have got to be one like them, and when we see perfect union with ourselves, we expect others to imitate our example. Did you ever see us rebel when the Presidency saw fit to chastise us? No, we are one with them, and we will not stop the Spirit that is in them, nor attempt to stop up the channel through which the Holy Ghost designs to prepare us for that which is to come. Did they see proper to chastise, we will not rebel, neither will we lose our confidence in them.

Well, the High Priests and Seventies, they ought to be one with the Twelve Apostles, and they ought to learn to echo our sentiments as we echo forth those of the First Presidency, for we must all learn to be one.

Just so far as we echo forth the words of President Young and brother Heber, just so far are the High Priests and Seventies under obligations to echo forth our words. Now ye High Priests and Seventies, if you do right you will carry out this counsel; you are obliged to carry out those counsels, if you walk in the light of the Holy Ghost which is now manifest. And why is it not so at the present time?

The Seventies were spoken to and counseled to pursue a certain course a few days ago, but did they do it? No, they did not. It is not the Seventies that speak, it is not the High Priests, neither is it the Twelve, nor Brigham Young, but it is the Holy Ghost through those various channels that is calling upon the people to carry out the mind and will of our Father who is in heaven. It is God that is all in all, Him whom we call our Father in heaven, He qualifies us upon the earth, and we speak forth by the dictation of His Spirit the things that are necessary to be laid before the people.

Brethren, I will not take up any more time; may the Lord bless you and enable you to see things as they should be seen; may He give you power to double your diligence as I am determined to do, and may He give you power to see your duties, and to have the inspiration of the Holy Ghost as I feel to have it, and may you see by the spirit of prophecy those things that are approaching, that they may awaken you to a true sense of your position before God and your brethren, that you may have the qualifications which are necessary for you to possess, which I ask in the name of Jesus: Amen.

Remarks by President Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 21, 1856.

Being requested to make a few remarks this afternoon, I rise to comply with the request. I can say, like those that have spoken, and as I have spoken myself, I feel thankful to the Lord for the privilege of once more standing in your midst to speak to you of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. It is true we have had rather a cold time in coming through from the western portion of Utah, and I thought before we arrived within the borders of the settlements, we had had a pretty severe time; but after we arrived and ascertained what kind of times our brethren had had here in the eastern mountains, I concluded that we had had pretty fair times, and nothing to complain of. We are sound in body, limb, and joint, and none of us suffered materially, and what any of us might have suffered last year in the snows of the Sierra Nevada mountains, those injuries are fully repaired, and I believe we are all fit for service, and I feel thankful to God our Heavenly Father for these blessings. I have the privilege of meeting once more with my friends; I have met with friends and with enemies both since I have been gone.

I simply rise to relate a dream I had a few nights before I arrived within the borders of our settlements. The old Prophet says, “He that hath a dream, let him tell it; and he that hath my word, let him speak it faithfully.” We had the word faithfully spoken in the former part of the day by brother Kimball.

I dreamt that I had a very large pile of wheat thrashed, but in the chaff, and also a good deal in the bundle stacked away that had to be thrashed, and there seemed to be a portion of the floor on which the wheat lay that had been removed, but there was quite a quantity of wheat that lodged on the beams or sleepers, and this was excellent wheat, but there was considerable dirt with it. I went to work with a shovel and wing to save that which was lodged on the beams, and to separate the wheat from the dirt, and threw it into the pile. But it seemed to be quite a task for me to clean that wheat. I threw it, by the shovel full, in the air, with the expectation, as usual, for the chaff to blow away with the wind, but a portion of the chaff would come down and settle with the wheat all the time, and I kept to work at in this way. It seemed, however, to get clearer and clearer of chaff and dirt, but all I could do a portion of the chaff would come down with the wheat. I thought it was excellent wheat and good.

You can judge for yourselves of the interpretation. At any rate I feel disposed to contribute my mite and what little strength I have to save and clean the wheat, that it may be prepared for the use for which it was intended.

The remarks made in the former part of the day are worthy to be indelibly written upon every heart; that they were made in truth and in power there is no doubt, and for one I have decreed to set about the work of repentance and reformation right off. I have tried to reform and live about as well as I thought I could; but when I come to look into the glass and see myself, I own there is room for improvement, and that improvement I intend to make, God being my helper, with all the speed in my power.

I think it was in August last that I wrote to my family, and told them I thought there was a day of trial near at hand, and that my feelings were that it would be general throughout the Church; I presume they have the letter now. These were my feelings back yonder, these are my feelings all the time. Well, it matters not how soon it transpires. But let me here, brethren and sisters, admonish and caution you all, and myself, too, that while we have the opportunity to right every wrong that is within our power, or that is within our control, that we do it forthwith, and that we right ourselves before the Lord. It is not necessary to say many words, the subject with me is too deep to spend much time in multiplying words about. I feel that plainness has been the characteristic of the remarks by brother Kimball this morning, and truth also; and in order that we may be benefited, let us cherish his words in our hearts and reduce them to practice, and square our lives according to the circumstances portrayed before us, and if we will do this, we shall have reason to hope in the mercy and favor of our God, that in the midst of tribulation there will be a way for our escape.

And with regard to my time, my talents, and everything I possess on earth, it is at the service of this Church and the building up of the kingdom of God; whenever I, or anything I possess can be used to further the work of God on earth, I say, with all my heart, let it go; and furthermore, I feel proud of the opportunity of doing all in my power to build up this Church.

In fact, I will mention one little circumstance with regard to the consecration law. We heard a good deal about it in the early part of its agitation. I preached the principle; I believed in it. Yet business not having been arranged with me to make it exactly convenient as I thought, I did not subscribe to it, but put it off to a more convenient season. The Indians are hostile a portion of the way between here and Carson Valley, and we did not know how we might fare in passing among them; and again, it had got to be late in the season, and the snows were coming thicker and faster, and more of them, and it was pretty difficult to tell whether we should get through safely or not. Thought I, what evidence have I ever given that I have made a of consecration to God and His Church of that which I possess, suppose it be our misfortune not to return? In the resurrection what evidence will appear on record that I have conse– crated to God and His Church? What can I produce? What will the book show? I prayed that I might, with my brethren, be spared to return and be allowed the privilege of consecrating to God my earthly goods, and felt a pleasure in dashing ahead, be the consequences what they might. Our prayers were answered, and I have, in part, complied with the dictates of conscience teaching this thing, so that when the books shall be opened, and another book opened, and the dead judged out of those things that are written in the books, I shall rejoice to see that the records will show my feelings towards the Church. Whatever earthly goods I possess, and what I am, are at the service and disposal of my brethren to advance the interests of the kingdom of God.

When I heard this morning the remarks that were made, all worldly interests looked like trash to me. I have labored hard to lay a good foundation in the west for a settlement, but if what we have done must fall a sacrifice, so be it. We did what we thought was right, and tried to do considerable of it. The fact is, I count an inheritance in the kingdom of God greater than anything that this world can afford.

Let us remember what has been said to us today, and not forget it; and let us make our calling and election sure, and ask God Almighty to save us from every ill, except what He gives us strength to endure, that we may be accounted worthy to be crowned in His presence, which may He grant in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 21, 1856.

Brethren, I wish to speak to you about the reformation that is now taking place, and to inform you that God would have this people adhere to and listen to it. He would have this people take a course to live their religion, that they may be faithful and have confidence in God their Father, and have a testimony of things in heaven, and that brother Brigham is our Prophet and leader, and that the Twelve Apostles are called of God; that they may know these things for themselves, and thus get such a testimony and such a portion of the Spirit of God, of the Holy Ghost, that they will stand.

This people must come to a position where they will be tested, everyone of them; and the day is just at our door, although many of you will not believe it, even when you are told so by brother Brigham and brother Heber; and when Jedediah was alive you would not believe it. You might have believed, “But,” said some, “we cannot realize it.” Whether you believe it or not, you will realize such a scenery as you have never seen, and it will go ahead of anything I have ever seen, for we have promised you that you shall all be tested; that is, you will be tested as to whether you are of the religion of Christ or not. Some may often think that we merely talk to frighten you, but I tell you that the testing time is right at your doors, and you know it not. I want you to understand it; I am going to tell it to you, and I mean to warn and forewarn you of it. I have done so for these five years in succession, and so has brother Brigham.

I presume there are hundreds here today who can say that I speak the truth. I have said that the scarcity of bread was nothing in comparison to what is coming: for this reason the Lord wants this people to repent, reform, and live their religion; to learn to be punctual, true, and humble; and those who do not will go overboard. Mark it; you will see hundreds, if not thousands, in a few years, turn their backs to us and seek the death of brother Brigham and brother Heber, and hundreds of you that now hear me speak. Men are sitting here today, and are at home and in other places, who will rally to the mob, to those that will seek to destroy this people.

I have seen such scenes, but I shall see more of them. I do not come here with velvet lips, nor with silver lips; my lips are not fixed for silver, nor for gold. I tell you the truth as to what those who will not live their religion may expect, and they cannot expect anything else. As to those who do live their religion, God will make a way for our escape and we will go free. Then I will tell you there will be many a scapegoat that we shall always be pleased about, for that will sift this people and cleanse them, and the power of God Almighty will rest on those who remain true and faithful.

These are my feelings, and I want to tell them to you, for I do not want you to go home and lay down and sleep; but I wish you to repent and forsake your sins and your wickedness, your lying and your hypocrisy. I will tell you how I feel; I bare no fellowship for those men and women in our midst who do not live their religion, who do not pray and pay their tithing and do as they are told; I have no confidence in such persons. I cannot have confidence in any man or woman any further than they do right; and I know that the Spirit of God will not rest on one of you, any further than you do right. When you have reformed one inch, the Spirit of God is upon you precisely in that proportion; and when you have reformed all over, inside and out, your bodies will be filled with light; but you have more light, only according to the amount you live your religion.

There are men right in our midst, some of whom are now sitting in this assembly, who will gamble, associate with lewd women, frequent grog shops, get drunk, use profane language, and sit with the wicked and hear them curse brother Brigham and brother Heber and the authorities of this Church. Do you suppose that I have confidence in such men? Do you suppose that I have confidence enough in them to invite them to associate with the servants and representatives of the Almighty? No, I will not abuse my brethren by inviting such persons anywhere; I will show wickedness and its votaries a proper resentment.

God and mammon, or the righteous and the ungodly, have no fellowship for each other. Those that are for God love one another, and those that are for the devil try to love one another; I have no fellowship for the devil and his servants. Are there such characters here? Yes, there are some who are in the Quorums of the Seventies, and brother Pulsipher and others will sit in this stand and let those poor curses pervert the ways of righteousness and damn themselves. There are men now sitting close by this stand as wicked as hell, who associate with apostates, with whoremasters and with whores and gamblers; and there are men in our midst who would destroy everyone of us in one moment, if they had the power.

And here are brothers Pulsipher, Herriman and Clapp, members of the first Presidency of the Seventies, sitting here as dead as doornails, and suffering these poor curses to live in our midst as Seventies. As the Lord God Almighty lives, if you do not rise up and trim your quorums, we will trim you off, and not one year shall pass away before you are trimmed off.

Am I telling you the truth? I am, and I ask no odds of any unrighteous man that lives, nor of anyone who wishes to cherish unrighteous curses in our midst. I have not said anything about those who do not belong to this Church; I am talking about those who are in the Church, and am striving to impress it upon you that we have got to go to work and cleanse and purify the inside of the platter; we must remove those dead men’s bones and rottenness that are as corrupt as hell. Do you believe that such things exist? There is an example of them not ten feet from brother Pulsipher’s left hand.

Do I ask any odds of the unrighteous? God knows that I do not, nor of any who associate with them or strive to justify them. And I am disgusted with many of you; I am disgusted with your meanness, your corruption, and your ungodliness.

The Spirit and power that rested upon the First Presidency when brother Jedediah was in the flesh are with brother Brigham and me, and you cannot get them away from us. We have the keys of the kingdom of God, and they will be on this earth, even though there should be but one left of those who hold them.

You read, in the revelation that God gave through Joseph the Prophet, concerning the plurality of wives, that all shall be redeemed, except those who sinned against the Holy Ghost by shedding innocent blood or consenting thereto, after having entered into the new and everlasting covenant. Thus you can see that a man or woman that consents to the shedding of innocent blood is partaker of the crime, and is just as bad as the one that committed the deed; and that the damnation is just as sure to the accessory as to the principal, which is also in accordance with the law of the land. Now suppose that one of our Elders will associate with the ungodly, with apostates, with adulterers, with whoremongers and liars, and will tamely sit and hear them damn brother Brigham and brother Heber and everything that is pure and holy, without rising up and reproving them, I wish to know if he is not just as bad as the characters that conduct so wickedly? Yes, he is. And those that will quietly sit and hear such language are partakers of that sin, and will soon begin to curse and swear with those wicked persons.

If you do not repent of these things and stop them, there are many among this people that will be damned. I know that many of you associate with and cherish the wicked. What would I give for the friendship of such men and women? Not one farthing, nor for their religion, nor for their presence, nor for their preaching. I wish all such persons would go from this place. They will go by and by, if they do not now; for the Lord our God will bring a test on this people; and if you do not feel it and acknowledge to me that it is something that surpasses anything we have ever passed through, then I am mistaken.

I have been through strait places, and there are many who know it; and we have individuals in this place that were apostates and treacherous then, and who did drink and were drunken with the poor curses that oppressed us. Do they ever come near me or brother Brigham? No, not unless they are obliged to. If they were Saints they would associate with us, they would come and comfort us and cheer us up, and with us investigate matters and try to do us good; but instead of that, they are with the drunken. Did you ever see me with such characters, or hear of my associating with them? No, never in your lives. God knows that I despise their society. I have been in the world, through the United States and Great Britain, and I have plowed and worked, and God knows that I did abhor their wickedness.

Who is bearing off the kingdom of our God? Those who stand right up breast to breast to those who are leading this people in the paths of truth. As brother Hyde has said, those men will have power, glory, immortality, and eternal life; and they will increase upon them as fast as we can lead this people along. But leading this people is at times a harder work than drawing a large tree, top foremost, and yet I know that there are just as good men and women sitting here as ever were on this earth, and also that there is an opposite class.

You talk of angels and ministering spirits, and let me tell you that they are ready to abundantly minister to all who are faithful in their different callings. And if brother Hyde, who is the President of the Twelve, and if the President of the High Priests, the Presidents of the Seventies, the Patriarchs, the Bishops and all the officers of this Church will honor and magnify their respective callings, the spirit and power of those who have previously filled those stations with honor, but who are now behind the veil, will rest mightily upon them, and they will become a terror to evildoers. If you do not honor the callings which have been delivered to you, as the Lord Almighty lives, you shall be severed from those callings. For me to speak in this congregation until I am worn out, and still know that drunkards, whoremongers, sorcerers, adulterers, gamblers, and every species of vile characters are rioting in our midst, I tell you that I will not endure it any longer. Are they here? Yes, and the Presidency of the Seventies are aware of them. Why do you not rise up and purify your Quorums and bring such vile persons to justice? If they deserve severing from this Church, sever them; if you do not, you Elders will be severed.

Why pursue this course? To cleanse Israel and qualify and prepare them, for there is going to be a test, A TEST, A TEST; and if you do not forsake your wickedness you will see sorrow, as the children of Israel did in Jerusalem. Do you believe it? If you will cleanse your hearts and purify them, and call on your God, He will tell you that I speak the truth. I would not give a dime for all the learning upon this earth, without it is devoted to the dictation of the Holy Ghost. There are a great many learned men, and they can be used to good advantage in the kingdom of God, if they will listen to the dictates of His Spirit. Yet I would rather take a clean, pure, white sheet of paper to fill with useful matter, than to take all old scrapbook already filled with matter that I did not want, and undertake to correct that. If God has a pure heart, like a pure piece of white paper, He can easily write on it what He has a mind to.

I want to see every man rise up, in the name of Elijah’s God. I will not ask you whether you will or not, for I do not want you to make covenants, because there are many who make covenants today and break them tomorrow. I would not give a dime for such persons, and God is going to send forth a test that will tumble them over the board, because there is not integrity in them. They are not honest, they will not fulfil the duties that are required of them. Justice will make her demands, and God will require an account from them in a coming day, and He will cast them into prison, into hell, and they will lie there until they pay the uttermost farthing.

As we progress in the reform, as we confess our faults and make restitution to those we have wronged, asking pardon of those we have offended, the opposition of the devil will proportionally increase, and his power be manifested in a greater degree; and there is going to be a mighty time. I understand this; I wish you did, and some of you do. It is a peculiar day, a peculiar time.

Do you suppose that we would take a course to send the Gospel to every nation, if God did not dictate and require it? This Gospel shall go to every kindred, nation, tongue, and people under heaven, and then the end shall come.

Righteous and holy men and their sons, all who honor their calling, will bear off the kingdom and become a royal Priesthood. But while we are multiplying and gathering such as will be saved, adulterers, whoremongers, and every kind of abominable characters creep into our midst. Many who are as corrupt as they possibly can be, come forward and are baptized in their corruption, and then come here and live in it.

Do you suppose that an unbeliever, a Gentile, could induce a woman to prostitute herself to his hellish desires, if every woman was pure and holy? No, there is not an upright woman that would submit or even listen for a moment to such a course. Why do any women submit to such wickedness? Because they were in the habit of doing so before they came here, and they delight to follow their old practices. They are the ones that find fault with brother Brigham and with brother Heber, because we have many wives. And when you meet whoremongers, they are the ones who find fault with us, and at the same time will whore it with every woman, married or single, that will listen to them. This is true, and men who are pure are like the gleaning of grapes, after the vintage is done.

Brother Hyde: 19 years ago this winter we were proclaiming salvation in England, and since then that nation has greatly multiplied in corruption. Father and Mother Black, if you were now to go back to Manchester you would not want to stay there long, for you would not find it as it was when we were there.

Many of those who have come from foreign lands do not realize the wickedness, the poverty and the distress that abound there. Our Elders who have lately returned from abroad understand the matter; they comprehend the condition of the people. When I was about leaving England, I left brother Lorenzo Snow in London, and God knows that I nourished him and blessed him, and he had more power unto salvation than all the rest of the citizens put together.

I feel free, and have not the least desire to reprove or offend any good person. I have not interfered with the wine and the oil, but I am trying to defend them, to get the dross from among the pure metal, that you may all be like virgin gold seven times tried in the furnace, that you may be pure. They melt and refine gold until there is no dross in it, and we wish this people to cleanse and purify themselves until they are parted from all dross.

Wake up, you Bishops, Elders, and High Priests, and go and be baptized for the remission of sins, that you may receive the Holy Ghost, for it will not rest on you until you do. I say to brother John Young, President of the High Priests’ Quorum, baptize those who will repent; and to brother Spencer, it is your duty to exercise a careful oversight of the affairs in this Stake of Zion, and I will not ask you to be any more obedient to me in my calling than I will be to you in yours. May the Almighty bless you and your counselors, and fill you with the power of God. And I say to the faithful of all Israel, God bless you when you go out and when you come in, and bless all your good wives and children forever. You shall be blessed; and I will bless you all the time, for I have nothing about me but blessings and telling you the truth.

I want to be one with brother Brigham, just as Jesus was one with his Father. Jesus replied to Philip, when he said, “Shew us the Father,” “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” I want to live in the same element and in the same power with God and with brother Brigham, that when you see me, you may see brother Brigham. Jesus said, “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me;” and again, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” Let me maintain the Father’s words and enjoy the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, and I will be one with the Father, with brother Brigham, and with all holy beings, even as the Son is one with the Father.

Wake up, ye Elders of Israel, and purge yourselves, and purge out the filth that is in your Quorums, for we will not countenance unrighteousness in our midst. There are thousands and millions of men that will have to become eunuchs, to ob– tain the kingdom of God, and God will cut off their posterity, so that when they come up in the resurrection they will find their houses left unto them desolate. God will not have their names perpetuated on the earth, because they have forfeited their Priesthood.

We are going to send some missionaries to Europe in the spring, and when they come back I do not want to hear any of them say, “brother Brigham, I was ignorant;” for you will lie, if you say so; because all who are sent forth are carefully instructed, and especially in regard to the sin of adultery, a crime so prevalent in the world. Some have committed adultery and been cut off from the Church, and the rest who are guilty of that crime will be cut off, sooner or later. O ye unbelieving of the world, ye call us impure; but I would have my head severed from my body, yea, a thousand times, before I would be guilty of such a crime. Ought not adulterers to be damned and go to hell? Yes, for they are bringing destruction and wasting upon the human family by their acts. You have all read or been taught the revelation which positively and plainly informs us that all such characters shall be destroyed in the flesh, and that their spirits shall be given over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of redemption. That is true, and why do you not read and understand it as I do? I am pleading all the time to save you from stumbling and falling.

I am talking more particularly about things that have transpired since you came into the new and everlasting covenant; I am not talking about the world. Have you lived your religion and been faithful and virtuous, since you came into the Church? Have you been ungodly, since you were admitted into the fold of God? I have told you time and again, to refrain from all ungodly con– duct; and yet Elders have women coming in here, with whom they made covenants while abroad. You cannot find a man who has done that, but what is today as spiritually dead as a doornail, and will be. Why? Because he has broken his former covenants.

I am telling you the truth, and trying to save you from falling into snares; I see a great many men falling by these things. I have said, months ago, that there is an undercurrent of wickedness working in this city. How do I know it? By the Holy Ghost, which shows it to me.

Why don’t you wake up, ye sleepy heads and stop your murmuring and complaining? Why don’t you engage more thoroughly and wisely in providing the raw material for every article we need, and in manufacturing those materials into hats, boots, cloth, and everything useful? I have been engaged in this movement, and have been pleading with and exhorting my family to go into home manufacturing. They have done pretty well; they made some six or seven hundred yards of cloth last year, and this year some eight or nine hundred yards. You have not heard of any trouble about my family, because they have been at work with the spinning wheels, the looms and the dye tubs. I furnish them with rolls, and they spin, color, weave and manufacture them into stockings and cloth. I say to them, “Ladies, you don’t get me to buy you another ribbon, or artificial. If you want flowers in your hair, or in your bonnets, take the peach, apple, and other blossoms in their season, and then you will have the real instead of the artificial.”

Where are many women spending their time? Around the Tithing Office, idling from morning until night, spending their time for naught. What are you lounging about there for, with your dresses and petticoats, looking as though they were sadly in want of soap and repairing? You know that I have said that the women who go about with the lower edges of their clothes draggled into strings and fragments, are the women who rule their husbands; they are so constantly making snaps and flirts, like a whiplash.

I cannot let go of you, I feel such an interest, such an anxiety for this people. Go to work and cut off the few poor miserable devils in our midst, for they will never think that they are sinners, until you do cut them off; they will not know but what they are in full fellowship, they have become so darkened.

I am not going to often attend your evening ward meetings, for my health will not admit of it. What I do here, with what I have to do through the week, is a little more than I can well endure.

God bless those men who went to the rescue of our late immigration, and all who have in anywise assisted it; also those who have come in this season, if they live their religion and appreciate their blessings. Perhaps some have had their feet frozen a little, but if some others had had their heads frozen off it would have been best for them, for they will murmur and find fault, after the immense toil and expense we have been at to bring them here. What I have individually done towards accomplishing their deliverance amounts to $1,100. What has brother Brigham done for the same purpose? Several times more than I have. Will one hundred thousand dollars pay the expense of that operation? No, and if those people murmur, after all their experience and all that has been freely done for them, the Almighty will cut them off. We have taken them into our houses as we would little children, and have nursed and cherished them, and after all some of them will mur– mur and go to hell, and there are some of them that will be true unto death.

Do as you are told, and you will be blessed. A great many men and women have received the word, and will treasure it up: and it will bring forth fruit, and be like a well of water springing up to everlasting life, to every soul that receiveth it.

Ye Elders of Israel, you who have lately come from your missions, continue your labors and go forth among the people by the power of God. Ye Bishops, teach your people to go to meetings at the hour appointed.

I feel perfectly free and sociable, because the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a spirit of freedom; and I am going to be free, and not be in bondage any longer. We shall be a free people, if we only do right, and reform and live our religion; and we never will be in bondage again, worlds without end. I most sincerely wish that you so had the Spirit on you that you could see it all, without a man’s saying one word, or giving you a single wink.

My forefathers came out of the old world, and some of them were in the American revolution. One of their mottoes was, “Go ahead,” and the other was “Press forward.” Do you not perceive that I possess the same spirit? I am one of the sons of the revolution, and in the first beginning of this Church, God called upon that class of men, and they are the ones to sustain the Constitution of the United States, for they are of the real blood of Israel, and they will raise up a royal Priesthood, and you cannot help yourselves. I have twenty-three boys living and ten dead, and lots of girls. They were all honestly begotten, and the Almighty will sustain them, and they will be like lions among this generation; they will live to let live, and the world cannot help themselves.

Do I feel as though I ever wanted to stop? I never will; as the Lord lives, I never will stop. I will always strive to root out iniquity; and Jedediah will work behind the veil, and I will work this side with Brother Brigham, and may God aid us, and all who love truth, in bringing to pass righteousness, for His Son’s sake. Amen.

Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 21, 1856.

We have some few missionaries returned very recently, and I wish to notify them to meet with us on Tuesday evening in the Seventies’ Council Hall; and we want all the Bishops in the city, and the missionaries who have been appointed to labor here, to meet at the same place, on the same evening.

I attended the High Priests’ meeting last evening, in company with brothers F. D. Richards and Lorenzo Snow, and I want to say to all the High Priests in this city, I want them to meet with their quorum; and we are going to meet with you; the Twelve will meet with you and with the Seventies, and I want every man who is a president of Seventies to meet with his quorum at the time appointed. There was not more than half the High Priests out last evening.

We are called upon to wake up and reform, and it makes me feel curious when I go into the High Priests’ meeting, and see not one half of them there when a meeting is held to prepare them to wake up the people.

I want this people to listen to what they have heard today. I feel thankful to see brother Kimball again come into this stand. I expressed my feelings when I saw the sacrament removed from the table; I felt that it was a loud sermon to this people; I said I knew not what would come next; I thought likely the Presidency would be removed next from us, not that I expected they would die; brother Grant, however, is gone; the load he undertook to draw killed him, the same load that was pressing the President of this Church to the earth, when Jedediah rose up to bear it off; his spirit was strong enough, but as brother Kimball said, his mortal body was not strong enough to bear its weight. The First Presidency have not addressed this people but a little time since the sacrament was removed, therefore I was glad to see and hear brother Kimball today.

Although Jedediah has been taken from us, that load, which in a measure has been removed from the Presidency of this Church, has not returned unto them, and I pray it never may. When Jedediah M. Grant went forth among the people through the north country and this city to carry out the views of President Young, and lifted up his voice like the trump of the angel of God, and called upon the people to awake out of their deep sleep and repent of their sins and turn unto God, the people were so sound asleep that they did not realize the importance of his mission; many felt that his labors and reproofs were unnecessary and uncalled for, the people did not know what he was doing. Had the vision of their minds been open as was brother Grant’s, and those who sent him, they would have seen and felt the importance of that mission.

I tell you the people have been asleep, and they are not yet half awake, they have not more than one eye open, and not that quite; when we hear such things as we have to– day, this people have got to wake up to righteousness. I have lived twenty-three years in the Church, and I have been acquainted with Prophets and have heard them prophesy, and I have not yet seen their words fall to the ground unfulfilled; and when they speak Israel should hear and obey.

We have been called upon, some of us, as missionaries to the people of this city, to wake them up. We shall be among you, brethren, and we do not intend to let you sleep. Brother Orson Hyde is with us today; he has had a dream which refers to the wheat and the thrashing floor. I am glad brother Hyde is with us, and I want to say to you, brother Hyde, in the name of the Lord, wake up and rise up in the midst of your brethren the Twelve, and lead them forth into the field of labor, and we will stand by you; if you will lead the Twelve, brother Hyde, in the spirit and power of your calling as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, you will see your brethren by your side; we will back you up, and step forth and help to bear that mighty load which has rested upon the Presidency of the Church like a mountain, and nearly crushed them to the ground. As a Quorum we have got to more fully obtain the spirit and power of our Apostleship and take more upon ourselves the care and burden of the Church and Kingdom of God than we have done.

The Twelve Apostles have got to rise up and magnify their calling, or they will be removed out of their place. The High Priests, the Seventies, the Bishops, and every other Quorum of the Church and Kingdom of God have got to do the same, or they also will be removed; we cannot sleep any longer with the Priesthood of Almighty God resting upon us, and the work that is required at our hands. WE CANNOT SLEEP. I do not wonder that calling on the people to wake up has killed one man, and it will kill more if we do not respond to the call; mortality cannot endure the visions of eternity that rests on them when they look on the Priesthood and see the position they are in; it has nearly laid brother Young in the grave; he felt he could not live until some man rose up and started the work of reformation.

I know it is my duty to wake up and enter into the labors of my calling, and it is the duty of Elder Hyde, and the duty of every other man in Israel that bears this Priesthood to do the same; it is our duty to bear off that burden and labor which has been resting like a mountain upon the leaders of this Church. I know they have groaned under the load than has rested on them, when they have seen all Israel going to sleep.

Let the Twelve Apostles, and the Seventy Apostles, and High Priest Apostles, and all other Apostles rise up and keep pace with the work of the Lord God, for we have no time to sleep. What is man’s life good for, or his words or work good for when he stands in the way of men’s salvation, exaltation, and glory? They are of no use at all.

As an individual I am determined to wake up and do my duty, God being my helper. I want to see brother Hyde, who is the President of the Twelve, walk into all these Quorums and attend their meetings, and we will back him up; I want him to lift up his voice like a trumpet and go to winnowing the wheat; it is for the Twelve to rise up and carry off the load. The Seventies have got to walk up in their place and do their duty. I know God requires this at our hands. The law of God, the holy Priesthood, and the holy anointing and washing, and everything else that is holy requires it at our hands. I know this.

It is necessary to reform. The question may be asked, what is the matter? Why, we are asleep; if the eyes of any man or woman is opened as they should be, they could see the things of God as they are in one moment; they would see there is a necessity of waking up and doing something. Here is a great and mighty dispensation committed into the hands of this people for the living and the dead; the candle of the Lord God is placed in these mountains like a city that is set on a hill that cannot be hid; the work is on your shoulders, ye Priests of the Most High God!—on you rests the salvation of this generation, and the Lord will require this stewardship at your hands.

The Lord has given you the keys of the Priesthood with all the blessings pertaining to it—as great and as mighty a work as ever was committed to any man on the earth, and that too in the midst of the last dispensation and fulness of times. The Lord requires us to prepare this generation, both Jew and Gentile, either for salvation or damnation through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the administering of the ordinances of the House of God, and we go to sleep! The Apostles go to sleep—the Seventies go to sleep—the Elders of Israel close their eyes to slumber, and we the only people God has on the earth, upon whose shoulders He has laid the responsibility of performing this great and mighty work!

Do you wonder that Prophets get up here and chastise, and draw the sword of justice and hold it over our heads? I do not. I wonder that our children at the fireside do not rise up and prophesy, with a voice like thunder and in flames of fire, unto their fathers and mothers, and unto the people of Israel. I know that the counsels we have had here through the mouths of the Prophets of God are just and true. I know that the warning voice that has been heard in this Stand, and the call that has been made on this floor is necessary; and I do hope and pray God that we, as missionaries, will listen to it. I want my brother missionaries in the first place to wake up, and get aroused with the mantle of salvation and Spirit of God ourselves, and get our own armor bright. It has been justly remarked here that we have got to labor ourselves until we get the Spirit of God, and then we can walk out among the people and correct them; but if we as Seventies, as High Priests, and Apostles, and Elders bearing the Priesthood, if we are resolved to set our hearts upon things of this earth, without being engaged in the interest of the kingdom of God, what can we expect of the people? Not anything. I desire that we may all wake up, and listen to the counsel of these men who lead us from day to day.

We have no time to lose to prepare ourselves for the things that are coming on the earth; and who wants to lose his crown, his glory, and hope of eternal lives that he has had in days past and gone by receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ? No man that has any portion of the Spirit of God. Let us rise up and magnify our calling, and labor before God until we can get the Holy Spirit, and until our prayers rend the veil of eternity and enter into the ears of the God of Sabbaoth and be answered in blessings upon our heads.

When shall the fire be kindled in Zion? I do not mean wildfire—there is a true fire, and that is the fire we need to get, that is necessary to kindle; and if we live up to our privileges, do our duty, walk up to the word of the Lord God, and magnify our calling, we do know that the blessings of God will attend us, and the sinners in Zion will tremble and fearfulness will surprise the hypocrite; and let what will come, all will be right with the Latter-day Saints.

There are great things awaiting us and the world—the Lord is withdrawing His Spirit from the nations of the earth, His sword is bathed in heaven and will fall upon Idumea or the world; the seals are about to be opened and the judgments of God poured out upon the wicked, for the cup of their wickedness and abominations is filled to the brim and the indignation of the Lord will be poured out without measure.

Let the Saints read the revelations of God, and they will see that there are important events at our doors. Let us hearken and wake up, and be doing the things required of us. Let the missionaries first get their lamps trimmed and burning, and then go among the people, and go with the Spirit of God and the salvation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and let the other Quorums do the same; and when you do this you will see a reform, and sin and iniquity cannot abide in our habitations, in our wards, or in our city.

We have sin and sinners among us, and what are we going to do about it? Why, we are going to try to live our religion, and when we do that we shall do right. The business with me is to do right today, to live my religion today, and leave the events with God; He holds the destinies of the nations and of all men; they are in His hand; He made the earth and controls the children of men upon it.

Then let events roll on—if we are only right, all is well. We have got to be tried even unto death. The Lord says He will prove us, and see if we abide in His covenants. There is where we have got to stand as a people, not only our horses, and gold and silver, and land and houses, but our lives have got to lie on the altar, and when anything comes to test us, even at the stake of our lives, we should be in the possession of the Holy Ghost not to flee from it, and such will be crowned with the gift of eternal lives, exaltation and glory.

There is nothing to encourage a man to draw back; there is nothing short of the most damnable principle that dwells in the spirit of devils that would tempt any man to shed the blood of the Lord’s anointed, yet men will try to do it. There are men here today who will possess that spirit; I believe it; they are in our city. If they shed blood they have got the bill to pay. Let the wicked and the ungodly, who will not repent, but fight against God, do their worst, their time is short, and the day will come, and that soon when they will be called to judgment.

I remember what Joseph said, a short time before he was slain in one of the last sermons I ever heard him preach. Said he, “Men are here today who are seeking my blood, and they are those who have held the Priesthood and have received their washings and anointings; men who have received their endowments.” I saw the faces of those men at that time, and they had a hand in slaying the Prophet. There are men who now possess the same spirit and the same desire. There are men here, too, that have faith, that have the Priesthood and the spirit of it, and they will do their duty, and God will sustain them in it, and He will sustain this Church and kingdom; let the trials of the Saints be what they will, the kingdom of God is not to be torn down anymore at all—it will not again be taken from the earth until it is prepared to receive Christ at his coming.

Let us prepare ourselves and do our duty, and let the High Priests and Seventies go to their meetings, and before you go there, go to work and get the Spirit of God, that when you get there you may not freeze to death. And I want to have the people, when they come here, to get enough of the Spirit of God, that when the Presidency rise in this Stand they may give us what is in their hearts. They are filled with blessings for this people. All the trouble is our eyes have been closed, we have been in a deep sleep; let us wake up and attend to our duty, and make it the first business we do.

Those who lay their plans in secret chambers to seek the blood of the Prophets, will have their case attended to by messengers on the other side of the veil, ministers will be sent to them who will render unto them a righteous judgment there. I do not want to preach to them here, but to those who want to be saved.

Go to, and if you have not the Spirit of God, make it your first busi– ness to get it, that your minds may be opened to see the things of God as they are; it is your privilege and mine, that we may be prepared for what is to come.

That this people may repent of all their sins and wake up, and have power to come before God that their prayers may be heard, be prepared to defend the kingdom and never desert their covenants and their brethren, or betray the Gospel, but overcome the world and be prepared to become joint heirs with Christ to the fulness of the first resurrection which is prepared for those who keep the commandments of God, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Funeral Sermon by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, December 4, 1856.

We expected that this congregation would have been assembled and seated by ten o’clock, or by a quarter past ten at the latest; it is now twelve, lacking five minutes, and near the time when we should be moving to the place of burial.

The time is so far advanced that I shall not presume to answer my feelings, in my remarks on this occasion. I expected to have had time enough for offering some of my feelings and views, with regard to the living and the dead. True, it would take me a long time to reveal to you what is in my heart, but I expected to have had time to bestow a portion thereof on this congregation.

I will say to those here assembled, and especially to those more immediately connected with brother Grant in the capacity of a family, you have no cause for mourning, neither have we. True, we were very fond of the company and society of brother Grant; brother Jedediah was a man we all loved, and we would have liked to have had him stayed with us; we would have been pleased in longer enjoying his society here.

But this our place of abode is only temporary; we are on a journey; we have only to winter and summer, as it were. Brother Grant has got through here, and has gone to his spiritual place of abode for a season. Not that he has reached his journey’s end, nor will he, until he has again received this body that now lies before me. Every material part and portion pertaining to his body, to the temporal organization that constitutes the man, will clothe his spirit again, before he is prepared to receive the place and habitation that is prepared for him, yet he has gone to his spiritual home for a season.

I am aware of the feelings of families and friends on such occasions. Many times I can govern and control my feelings, at other times I cannot. When I can control my own feelings, I can collect my thoughts and express my ideas as clearly as my language will permit.

In the few remarks that I will make today, I will not go to the Bible, to the Book of Mormon, nor to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, for my text, for I will give you a text which comprehends the sermon also, so that if I do not dwell directly upon it, I trust that what I say will be true, for it will be incorporated in my text, and the text alone will be a sermon.

On this occasion I will say, as on other occasions, blessed are they that hear the Gospel of salvation, believe it, embrace it, and live to all its pre– cepts. That is the text, and a whole sermon in and of itself.

Time will not permit me to tell, only in part, wherein they are blessed, how and with what they will be blessed, for it takes a lifetime to prepare for this blessing.

Some people would have to live to be a hundred years of age, in order to be as ripe in the things of God as was brother Grant, whose body now lies lifeless before us; to be as ripe as was the spirit which lately inhabited this deserted earthly tabernacle.

There are but few that can ripen for the glory, the immortality that is prepared for the faithful; for receiving all that was purchased for them by the Son of God; but very few can receive what brother Grant has received in his lifetime. He has been in the Church upwards of twenty-four years, and was a man that would live, comparatively speaking, a hundred years in that time. The storehouse that was prepared in him to receive the truth, was capable of receiving as much in twenty-five years as most of men can in one hundred.

Though we might say that the time has been short which he has had to prepare himself in the flesh for receiving all that is treasured up for the faithful, yet there are but few men in this Church that ever will be prepared to receive what he will receive, though they live thirty, fifty, seventy-five, or a hundred years or to the coming of the Son of Man; there are but few men that will be prepared to receive the same degree of glory and exaltation that brother Jedediah will receive. This may be attributed to the peculiar organization of man.

It is not every man that is capable of filling every station, though there is no man but what is capable of filling his proper station, and that, too, with dignity and honor to himself. When you find a person that is capable of receiving light and wisdom, one that can descend to the capacity of the weakest of the weak, and can comprehend the highest and most noble intelligence that can be obtained by man, can receive it with all ease, and comprehend it, circumscribe it, understand it from first to last, that is the man that can ripen for eternity in a few years; that is the individual who is capable of occupying stations that many cannot occupy.

Brother Grant we were well acquainted with, and there is no person but what laments his departure from this world. But what will we mourn for? I want to ask myself that question, as I have a great many times. What will you mourn for, because brother Grant has gone where he can do more good? No, we will not mourn for that. Will we mourn because he has overcome all his enemies here, all that are opposed to Jesus Christ and to his Gospel, because he has won the prize? Will we mourn for that?

He is prepared to dwell with Prophets, with brother Joseph, with the ancient Apostles, with Moses, with Abraham, and to dwell in the presence of Jesus Christ. We will not mourn for that. What will we mourn for? He has lost nothing, but has gained all.

Why do we mourn? Perhaps it will be difficult for me to tell you, yet I know. It is not the knowledge that God has given you or me, that causes us to mourn; it is not the Spirit of the Gospel that produces within us a mournful feeling; it is not the Spirit of Christ, the knowledge of eternity, of God, or of the way of life and salvation. Our mourning proceeds from none of those causes. What causes us to mourn? Neither more nor less, to me and so far as I can convey my idea by language, than the earthly weakness that is in us. It is not the knowledge of the Almighty, the power of God, the light of eternity, but it is the darkness, the weakness, the ignorance, the want of that eternal knowledge, so far as I can conceive, that makes any person mourn here on the earth. If this conveys the idea to you, as it does to me, it will satisfy me.

Mourning for the righteous dead springs from the ignorance and weakness that are planted within the mortal tabernacle, the organization of this house for the spirit to dwell in. No matter what pain we suffer, no matter what we pass through, we cling to our mother earth, and dislike to have any of her children leave us. We love to keep together the social family relation that we bear one to another, and do not like to part with each other; but could we have knowledge and see into eternity, if we were perfectly free from the weakness, blindness, and lethargy with which we are clothed in the flesh, we should have no disposition to weep or mourn.

Perhaps it is not proper for me to make a few remarks with regard to this day’s operations. Funeral ceremonies have often borne upon my mind with considerable, I will say, weight, and especially since I came into the vestry at the time appointed for the services to commence. I have often reflected with regard to paying particular respect to that which is useless, to that which is nothing at all to us. And while waiting in the vestry, I was pondering upon how many bands of music attended Jesus to the tomb, upon what the procession was, how many were crape, who mourned, and the situation of the mourners.

There are but few of us but what have been honored with as convenient a place for a birth as was Jesus, though I presume that his mother was comparatively comfortable while lying on the hay in the manger; there are but few of us but what have had the privilege of a house to be born in.

I was reflecting upon how many here were to lament and mourn for Him when he went out of the world; and the few that did mourn had to make their escape, like going on to Ensign Peak; they had to stand afar off to mourn, and durst not be seen near the place of the crucifixion. When the body had hung on the cross until eight, Joseph begged the privilege of taking it down and carrying it to the tomb.

I was reflecting further. Suppose brother Grant could speak to us this day, he would deprecate to the lowest degree the fuss and parade we are making. He would say, “Away with you; stop your blowing of horns, beating of drums, and hoisting of colors. Give my body a place to lay and rest, and do not consider me better than other men. Take my body and bury it deep enough, so that it can rest where the floods cannot wash it out, where it can remain until the trumpet sounds, when I may awake up and help you again.”

Perhaps it is not proper for me to make these remarks, yet I hope they will not injure the feelings of anyone. But I say to each and every one of you, whether I die in this city, or wherever I die, when my spirit leaves my body, know ye that that tabernacle is of no use, until the command comes for it to be resurrected; and I do not want you to cry over it, nor make any parade, but give me a good place where my bones can rest, that have been weary for many years, and have delighted to labor until nearly worn out; and then go home about your business, and think no more about me, except you think of me in the spirit world, as I do about Jedediah.

I have not felt, for one minute, that Jedediah is dead; I feel he is with us just as much as he was a week or a month ago.

The few words I say will perhaps be a consolation to you, and perhaps not, but I tell you some of my feelings and views.

I want you all to remember this; when I die, let your flags remain in their proper places, omit your parade, and lay me away where I can rest. And I do not wish any of you to cry and feel badly, but prepare yourselves to fight the devils while you live, and after you pass through the veil; and let me tell you, that there we will do a great deal more than we can here.

Another thing I want to promise you, every one of you, if you will be faithful; I promise it to myself. True, brother Grant was a great help to me; he stood by me, and was willing to come and go, and to do whatever was requested of him, in order to take the burden from me; but I tell you that we will have not only four, but an hundredfold for him, just as good, and so we will for every good man that lies down; I promise you that. Brother Grant we call a great man, a giant, a lion; but let me tell you that the young whelps are growing up here who will roar louder than ever he dare, and instead of there being two, or three, or four, there are hundreds of them.

Perhaps many of you will think I am not correct in my views, that I am enthusiastic, that I am mistaken; but let me tell you that the very sons of these women that sit here will rise up and be as great as any man that ever lived, and as far beyond Jedediah, or myself, and brother Heber, as we are in the Gospel beyond our little children. I am not going to gather the lions of the forest from the sectarian world, that is not where I am going to get them, but the mothers in Israel are going to rear them. They will raise hundreds and thousands that will know more about the things of God in twenty years than Jedediah did in his life– time, which was forty years. Will they know more than I do? Yes.

I do not make any calculation, and never did, but that my boys who are now growing up will be as far beyond me, at my age, as I am beyond the knowledge I had in my infancy. We will not mourn for that, will we? No. For one I am comforted, if I can overcome the weakness that is upon me, which is the result of ignorance; that pertains to the flesh—to fallen nature. The cause of mourning does not pertain to God, nor to the things of God, but arises from the weakness of human nature.

When we lose such men as we have since we came into the valleys of the mountains, such men as brother Whitney, brother Willard, brother Jedediah, brother Orson Spencer, and many others, it is a matter of regret.

Brother Grant can now do ten times more than if he was in the flesh; do you want to know how? He is in the spirit world, he has conquered death and hell, and will the grave, when he again assumes his body. He is no more subject to the devils that dwell in the infernal regions; he commands them, and they must go at his bidding; he can move them just as I can move my hand. Do you know how that is done? It is done by the principle in me that is called will, which principle God has planted in all intelligences according to the capacity bestowed upon them. That intelligence is in us; we may call it will; it is the power of life in every creature and in all intelligences, and by that power I stretch out my arm and bring it to me again at my pleasure, I look to the right or to the left, and I speak according to the dictates of my will. When I govern myself, I do this or that, I rise up to go to that city and return again, I sit down and rise up, and do what I please.

When men overcome as our faithful brethren have, and go where they see Joseph, who will dictate them and be their head and Prophet all the time, they have power over all disembodied evil spirits, for they have overcome them. Those evil spirits are under the command and control of every man that has had the Priesthood on him, and has honored it in the flesh, just as much as my hand is under my control.

Do you not think that brother Jedediah can do more good than he could here? When he was here the devils had power over his flesh, he warred with them and fought them, and said that they were around him by millions, and he fought them until he overcame them. So it is with you and I. You never felt a pain and ache, or felt disagreeable, or uncomfortable in your bodies and minds, but what an evil spirit was present causing it. Do you realize that the ague, the fever, the chills, the severe pain in the head, the pleurisy, or any pain in the system, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, is put there by the devil? You do not realize this, do you?

I say but little about this matter, because I do not want you to realize it. When you have the rheumatism, do you realize that the devil put that upon you? No, but you say, “I got wet, caught cold, and thereby got the rheumatism.” The spirits that afflict us and plant disease in our bodies, pain in the system, and finally death, have control over us so far as the flesh is concerned. But when the spirit is unlocked from the body it is free from the power of death and Satan; and when that body comes up again, it also, with the spirit, will gain the victory over death, hell, and the grave.

When the spirit leaves the tabernacle of flesh and goes into the spirit world, it has control over every evil influence with which it comes in contact, and when it takes up the body again, then the body also, with the spirit, will have control over every evil spirit that is in a tabernacle, if there is any such being, just as far as the spirit that has the Priesthood had control over evil spirits.

Perhaps you do not understand me. Take a spirit that has gone into the spirit world, does it have control over corruptible bodies? No. It can only act in the capacity of a spirit. As to the devils inhabiting these earthly bodies, it cannot control them, it only controls spirits. But when the spirit is again united to the body, that spirit and body unitedly have control over the evil bodies, those controlled by the devil and given over to the devils, if there is any such thing. Resurrected beings have control over matter as well as spirit.

Brother Grant’s body which lies here is useless, is good for nothing until it is resurrected, and merely needs a place in which to rest; his spirit has not fled beyond the sun. There are millions and millions of spirits in these valleys, both good and evil. We are surrounded with more evil spirits than good ones, because more wicked than good men have died here; for instance, thousands and thousands of wicked Lamanites have laid their bodies in these valleys. The spirits of the just and unjust are here. The spirits that were cast out of heaven, which you know are recorded to have been one-third part, were thrust down to this earth, and have been here all the time, with Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, at their head.

When a good man or woman dies, the spirit does not go to the sun or the moon. I have often told you that the spirits go to God who gave them, and that He is everywhere; if God is not everywhere, will you please tell me where He is not? The moment your eyes are opened upon the spirit land, you will find yourselves in the presence of God, for as David says, “If you take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the earth, He is there; and if you make your bed in hell, behold He is there.”

You are in the presence of God, and when your eyes are opened you will understand it. Brother Grant’s spirit is in the presence of God; and he is with Joseph, when he is not required to be somewhere else. He is at work for the benefit of Zion, for that is all the business that Joseph and the Elders of this Church have on hand.

You and I have yet to deal with evil spirits, but Jedediah has control over them. When we have done with the flesh, and have departed to the spirit world, you will find that we are independent of those evil spirits. But while you are in the flesh you will suffer by them, and cannot control them, only by your faith in the name of Jesus Christ and by the keys of the eternal Priesthood. When the spirit is unlocked from the tabernacle it is as free, pure, holy, and independent of them as the sun is of this earth. Jedediah can now do more for us than he could by longer staying here.

Where do you suppose the spirits of our departed friends are? Where they ought to be; they are here, on the other side of the earth, in the East Indies, in Washington, &c.; they are controlling the fallen spirits here, or somewhere else. They could not control the spirits of evil men while here, only by faith, but now one of our departed brethren can control millions of disembodied evil spirits; while they were in the flesh they were afflicted by them. Is this not a great consolation to us? Someone may ask me for the proof for my statements, and may enquire whether it is in the Bible; yes, every word of it. I could prove it every word from that book, but I do not need to go to the Bible, my scripture is within me.

Brother Kimball could tell what I will now just touch upon better than I can, for he heard it; I will, however, say a few words about it. A short time before his death, brother Jedediah went to the world of spirits two nights in succession, and saw perfect order amongst them. He saw many of the Saints whom he was acquainted with, and saw his wife Caroline and his child that was buried on the route across the Plains, and dug up and eaten by the wolves. She said to him, “Here is my child; you know it was eaten up by the wolves, but it is here, and has taken no harm.” It was the spirit of the child he saw. He came back to his body, but did not like to enter it again, for he saw that it was filthy and corrupt. He also told how his brethren and family felt, when he told them what he saw in the spirit world. He said that his friends felt like saying, “Well brother Grant, maybe it is so, and maybe it is not so; we do not know anything about it.”

You know nothing about what I am telling you concerning the spirit world any more than brother Grant’s friends knew about what he told them. Why? Because we are encumbered with this flesh, we are in darkness; the flesh is the veil that is over the nations. When we go from the body, we have eyes to see spiritual things and understand them.

I have not answered my feelings, and cannot, owing to the lateness of the hour. It wanted but five minutes to twelve when I began to speak, and it is now time to bring the services to a close.

I hope you will remember what I have said, for it is true; and if you do not, I hope it will be told to you until you do. May God bless you. Amen.

By President Heber C. Kimball, Made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 4, 1856.

The ideas that brother Brigham has just advanced are congenial with my feelings, perfectly so.

During brother Grant’s brief sickness I would not believe, for one moment, that he was going to die, though my feelings would at times incline me to doubt as to his recovery; but I would not give way to them. And now it is only the body that is dead, for his spirit will never die! It has overcome death and hell, and laid aside its earthly tenement that that may return to its native element, awaiting the morn of the resurrection, when the spirit will receive it in an immortal state, and then have gained the victory over death, hell and the grave.

In regard to the lifeless body that now lies before us, let me tell you that mourning and making a great parade over it, is similar to what it would be for me to lament about a house which the occupants had forsaken. I left a house in Nauvoo, but do you suppose that I fret about it? I do not. And what is the use of gathering the bands together and the troops, and performing lengthy and pompous ceremonies over a tenement the spirit has left? I would not give a picayune for all your parade.

I will not stoop to the principle of death. I could weep, but I will not. There is a spirit in me that rises above that feeling, and it is because Jedediah is not dead.

I went to see him one day last week, and he reached out his hand and shook hands with me; he could not speak, but he shook hands warmly with me. I felt for him, and wanted to raise him up, and to have him stay and help us whip the devils and bring to pass righteousness. Why? Because he was valiant, and I loved him. He was a great help to us, and you would be, if you were as valiant as he was, which you can be through faithfulness and obedience.

I laid my hands upon him and blessed him, and asked God to strengthen his lungs that he might be easier, and in two or three minutes he raised himself up and talked for about an hour as busily as he could, telling me what he had seen and what he understood, until I was afraid he would weary himself, when I arose and left him.

He said to me, brother Heber, I have been into the spirit world two nights in succession, and, of all the dreads that ever came across me, the worst was to have to again return to my body, though I had to do it. But O, says he, the order and government that were there! When in the spirit world, I saw the order of righteous men and women; beheld them organized in their several grades, and there appeared to be no obstruction to my vision; I could see every man and woman in their grade and order. I looked to see whether there was any disorder there, but there was none; neither could I see any death nor any darkness, disorder or confusion. He said that the people he there saw were organized in family capacities; and when he looked at them he saw grade after grade, and all were organized and in perfect harmony. He would mention one item after another and say, “Why, it is just as brother Brigham says it is; it is just as he has told us many a time.”

That is a testimony as to the truth of what brother Brigham teaches us, and I know it is true, from what little light I have.

He saw the righteous gathered together in the spirit world, and there were no wicked spirits among them. He saw his wife; she was the first person that came to him. He saw many that he knew, but did not have conversation with any except his wife Caroline. She came to him, and he said that she looked beautiful and had their little child, that died on the Plains, in her arms, and said, “Mr. Grant, here is little Margaret; you know that the wolves ate her up, but it did not hurt her; here she is all right.”

“To my astonishment,” he said, “when I looked at families there was a deficiency in some, there was a lack, for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here.”

He asked his wife Caroline where Joseph and Hyrum and Father Smith and others were; she replied, “they have gone away ahead, to perform and transact business for us.” The same as when brother Brigham and his brethren left Winter Quarters and came here to search out a home; they came to find a location for their brethren.

He also spoke of the buildings he saw there, remarking that the Lord gave Solomon wisdom and poured gold and silver into his hands that he might display his skill and ability, and said that the temple erected by Solomon was much inferior to the most ordinary buildings he saw in the spirit world.

In regard to gardens, says brother Grant, “I have seen good gardens on this earth, but I never saw any to compare with those that were there. I saw flowers of numerous kinds, and some with from fifty to a hundred different colored flowers growing upon one stalk.” We have many kinds of flowers on the earth, and I suppose those very articles came from heaven, or they would not be here.

After mentioning the things that he had seen, he spoke of how much he disliked to return and resume his body, after having seen the beauty and glory of the spirit world, where the righteous spirits are gathered together.

Some may marvel at my speaking about these things, for many profess to believe that we have no spiritual existence. But do you not believe that my spirit was organized before it came to my body here? And do you not think there can be houses and gardens, fruit trees, and every other good thing there? The spirits of those things were made, as well as our spirits, and it follows that they can exist upon the same principle.

After speaking of the gardens and the beauty of everything there, brother Grant said that he felt extremely sorrowful at having to leave so beautiful a place and come back to earth, for he looked upon his body with loathing, but was obliged to enter it again.

He said that after he came back he could look upon his family and see the spirit that was in them, and the darkness that was in them; and that he conversed with them about the Gospel, and what they should do, and they replied, “Well, brother Grant, perhaps it is so, and perhaps it is not,” and said that was the state of this people, to a great extent, for many are full of darkness and will not believe me.

I never had a view of the righteous assembling in the spirit world, but I have had a view of the hosts of hell, and have seen them as plainly as I see you today. The righteous spirits gather together to prepare and qualify themselves for a future day, and evil spirits have no power over them, though they are constantly striving for the mastery. I have seen evil spirits attempt to overcome those holding the Priesthood, and I know how they act.

I feel well, and I do not feel to condescend to a spirit of mourning. If I do weep, I will weep for my own sins and not for Jedediah. If he could speak he would say, “Weep not for me, but weep for your own sins.”

Before brother Grant was taken sick, he said that he had unsheathed his sword, and that it never should be sheathed again until the enemies of righteousness were subdued; and he fought the devil up to the last, and used to proclaim that he should not prevail on this earth. I can say that he left us with his sword unsheathed, and he will help Joseph and Hyrum and Willard.

Previous to the late Reformation, I saw brother Willard in a dream. I dreamed that we had a very large kiln filled with articles of ware of various kinds and sizes. Many of them had previously fallen down, being thin, not having strength to remain upright; we had put the good ones into the kiln and put in the fire, and had got them considerably warmed; but, somehow or other, they got cold again, and we thought we would go down to a certain stream and get some dry wood, and burn the earthenware for use. As we were going towards the stream, brother Willard came along and said, “Brethren, I am gathering up better fuel than that—some that will make a bigger fire.” So he is, and Jedediah has gone to help, and the day will come that many of us will go too; and as the Lord Almighty lives, and as my soul lives, we have unsheathed the sword, and we never will sheath it until the enemies of our God are overcome. Jedediah has overcome all his enemies.

Brother Brigham says that he will have hundreds and thousands of boys right here that will help us with a power greatly increased beyond that of their fathers, and I know that it will be so. When boys go back on the Plains to encounter storms and rescue the suffering, as did David P. Kimball, Stephen Taylor, Joseph A. Young, Ephraim Hanks, and many others, it makes me feel well. David took the consecrated oil and went forth, like a man of God, and anointed the sick and afflicted, and commanded them to arise; and those boys acted valiantly, having been trained up amid the Saints.

Brother Ephraim Hanks has put a feather in his cap, through his noble conduct in aiding our belated immigration, he has unsheathed his sword upon the side of doing good, and I exhort him not to sheath it again.

I feel encouraged; brother Jedediah has gone to be with Joseph.

Let us be faithful, and listen to the words of brother Brigham and brother Jedediah and those placed to lead us, and what joy I will have. Would I be willing to lay down my body? Yes, if that would sooner accomplish so great an object, and bring this whole people into a position where they could see and understand for themselves.

These are my feelings, brethren and sisters, and may God bless you. To those who delight in uprightness I am all blessings, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet; but I am heavy on the tracks of sinners, because I know that if they do persist in their course, and if the Quorums do not purify themselves quickly, you will see something that will make you lament; some are nourishing a cankerworm that they will not easily get rid of.

Why do you not all listen to brother Brigham and Jedediah and Heber and many others? They have had the spirit of reformation all the time. Then wake up ye Saints of Latter Days, and cleanse your platters inside and out, and God Almighty will rescue us from our enemies. He will slay them; He will hurl kings from their thrones and unrighteous rulers from their places of authority, and they will drop faster than you saw the stars drop from heaven, at the time that the Saints were driven out of Jackson County, Missouri.

I am talking of what I know, and not of what I merely believe; and may the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, rest upon you, my brethren and sisters, and upon our families and every good person. Brother Brigham is my brother, and brother Jedediah is my brother; I loved him, I love those men, God knows I do, better than I ever loved a wo– man; and I would not give a dime for a man that does not love them better than they love women. A man is a miserable being, if he lets a woman stand between him and his file leaders; he is a fool, and I have no regard for him; he is not fit for the Priesthood.

I want to stir you up to faith, obedience, integrity, and everything that is good. I am preaching to you; not to Jedediah. What remains here of him goes back to mother earth, and let us strive to honor our tabernacles as did brother Grant his.

My body has got to return to dust, and I will honor it, then I will take it again. I am as sure of that, as I am that I am standing here before you.

God bless you forever: Amen.