Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 14, 1862.

The subject of eternal salvation is or ought to be interesting to all people. All the forms of religion which have been invented by the different sects of the day could never make one single line of Scripture. They have shut up the door of immediate revelation between God and man, and it does not seem to occur to them that this is the only means upon which the world can ever attain to the knowledge of God. All their religion and piety for many generations past have not produced one word of Scripture for the guidance of mankind to salvation in this and in the next existence. While they hold up the Bible as the all-sufficient guide to the possession of life eternal, they at the same time inculcate a principle which would never have given them a Bible. They fasten their faith and hope for salvation upon revelations given to another people, in another age and under other circumstances.

When God has a people upon the earth he gives them living oracles, and communicates his mind and will to them for their present and future exaltation, as well in one age as in another. The Old and New Testaments, yea, all Scriptures are made by this process. Prophets and Apostles are the mediums through which the Almighty communicates his will to the children of men. Revelations given from God to us are more binding upon us than revelations given to another people, because they are in accordance with our wants and circumstances, and fit our case more perfectly than revelations given to another people many generations back. This generation is responsible for the revelations of God given to them; if they receive them, blessed are they; if they reject them, woe is their doom. The words of God sent to this age by Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, and by his Apostles, is a dispensation of good will to all men now living, and they are responsible to God as to the manner in which they receive or reject it. These words are for their salvation, if they see proper to accede to them.

We talk a great deal about exaltation. We look for exaltation in the heavens—in the eternities which are before us. We expect the Gospel of salvation to exalt us. Where and when is this exaltation to commence? Some do not expect exaltation until after death. This is a mistake. Our exaltation commences in this world. That individual who has received the light of truth in his own bosom, has the base or foundation of his exaltation formed within him, and if he progresses in the knowledge of God—in the things which pertain to eternal life, he is in the road to exaltation, otherwise he is not. That brother who redeems himself from the habit of drunkenness, or from any other vicious practice, and suffers the holy principles of the Gospel to work in him for his redemption, is exalting himself in the kingdom of God.

The work of exaltation is the work of this probation, and has to do with every duty that pertains to it. That sister who seeks diligently to order her own conduct and her household; who seeks to bring forth from the elements for her own support, commences in the right way to obtain exaltation; she exalts herself in the sight of her husband and in the sight of all good men. She can be economical with that which she handles for the use of her household, whereas, before she has perhaps been wasteful and prodigal of the rich blessings of God bestowed upon her. In making this reformation she has taken an important step in the way of exaltation in this world for exaltation in the world to come. That man who improves in the cultivation of his farm, in the cultivation of fruit, who plants a single fruit tree if he does no more, and cultivates it, and cause it to bring forth more fruit, he has done something torwards his exaltation—has made one step towards redeeming the earth from sin and iniquity, and from the curse pronounced against it. It was said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.”

That man who commences to keep himself clean, whereas he has been brought up in filthiness and dirt, is engaged in the good work of exaltation upon his own person. That housekeeper who has been slatternly, slothful, and filthy in her habits, and begins to be thrifty, industrious, and cleanly in her household pursuits, commences the work of exaltation in that household. Those who ornament their houses and their gardens, making nice tidy fences, who ornament their fields, making everything pleasant and agreeable around them, commence the work of exaltation, and make a heaven at home for their wives and children; a home to which their children in afteryears will look back with pleasant reminiscences, regarding the home of their childhood, the pleasantest place they ever saw. A pleasant and happy home has its influence in creating in the young mind a love of order—a love of all that is beautiful, cleanly, virtuous, and true.

We can commence our exaltation upon this earth by trying to redeem it and ourselves from the effects of the fall, and continuing to progress in every good word and work. If we build a house and wish to build another, we have the experience of the one we have built to improve upon in building another. If we have raised one crop of grain, or one tree, we can improve upon that experience in raising more. Thus we progress and become exalted more and more. This same principle will hold good in any pursuit of life—rural, mechanical, scientific, or philosophical; whatever efforts we make to inform our minds, we have it in our power to do better still, gaining more knowledge and intelligence as we progress in life.

If by the enlightening aid of the Holy Ghost, that leadeth into all truth, we strive constantly to improve in all things we shall set ourselves about, we can improve faster than those who are not blessed with its influence, because our actions are based upon a principle of heavenly light and intelligence, giving us power to excel in all things we set our hands to do in righteousness.

Truth will prevail, while all man-made systems, on which the whole world stands convicted before High Heaven, will be swept away, as this people and this work progresses, because truth must and will prevail.

Let those who have not yet commenced to make improvements begin the good work at once; and let us all be constantly satisfied that we are doing something for good day by day. Inasmuch as we have been wicked, let us no longer be wicked. We have a standard of righteousness in our own bosoms; let us be actuated by it in all that we do. Let us be righteous, holy, truthful; walking wickedness under our feet, exalting righteousness in all our ways, that it may rule in us until sin and its consequences shall be subdued, and we gain a victory even over death and the grave, and life eternal shall reign supreme upon the face of the whole earth. I ask God to add his blessing in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 31, 1862.

We have just been listening to the testimony of one of the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, also an Apostle of him whom the Lord has called in our day to establish his kingdom no more to be overcome by wickedness on the earth. To say that we are Apostles of Joseph Smith is rather a dark saying to many. Jesus Christ being sent of the Father to perform a certain work, became an Apostle. It is written in the book called Hebrews, “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.” The Savior called upon a number of men to assist him in the work his Father had sent him to do, and sent them into the world to proclaim his mission and Gospel, instructing them to bap– tize all believers. In this way they became the Apostles of Jesus Christ, and at the day of his coming they will stand at his right hand in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory to judge the whole house of Israel.

Joseph Smith was the first Apostle of this Church, and was commanded of Jesus Christ to call and ordain other Apostles and send them into all the world with a message to all people, and with authority to baptize all who should believe the fulness of the Gospel and sincerely repent of all their sins. These other Apostles are Apostles of Jesus Christ, and of Joseph Smith the chief Apostle of this last dispensation.

Joseph Smith has laid the foundation of the kingdom of God in the last days; others will rear the super– structure. Its laws and ordinances, its blessings and privileges have been laid before all people who would hear; the testimony of God’s servants has sounded like the voice of a trumpet from nation to nation, and from people to people, warning the honest and meek of the earth to flee from Babylon to the chambers in the mountains for safety until the indignation shall be past. If all the inhabitants of the earth had been as diligent in searching out the truth and as willing to receive it as hundreds in this congregation have been, the world would have been converted long ago. But few people, compared with the masses, have ever received and lived the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in any age of the world in which it has been preached.

Enoch possessed intelligence and wisdom from God that few men ever enjoyed, walking and talking with God for many years; yet, according to the history written by Moses, he was a great length of time in establishing his kingdom among men. The few that followed him enjoyed the fulness of the Gospel, and the rest of the world rejected it. Enoch and his party were taken from the earth, and the world continued to ripen in iniquity until they were overthrown by the great flood in the days of Noah; and, “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man.”

So sure as the Lord called upon Joseph Smith, Jun., to bring forth his Gospel and establish his kingdom, just so sure will he hold this generation accountable for their acts in relation thereto. If any people reject the Gospel, God will destroy that people or nation. The majority of the people of the world declare that Joseph Smith was not called of God. If they know that, then are they safe in rejecting his testimony. I know that he was called of God, and this I know by the reve– lations of Jesus Christ to me, and by the testimony of the Holy Ghost. Had I not so learned this truth, I should never have been what is called a “Mormon,” neither should I have been here today. The world is as uncertain of the calling of Joseph Smith, as their religious ministers are that they are called of God; they hope they are so called; they hope they have experienced a change of heart; they hope they are renewed in spirit; they hope their sins are forgiven; they hope the Lord is gracious to them, &c., &c. If I did not know that my sins were forgiven, my hope would do me but little good.

For argument’s sake I will say, if we should be mistaken as to the legality of Joseph Smith’s calling, we still bear the same relationship towards the heavens as any other portion of mankind, and have the same chance of salvation, standing on equal grounds with them. Joseph told us that Jesus was the Christ, the Mediator between God and man, and the Savior of the world. He told us that there was no other name in the heavens nor under the heavens, neither could there be, by which mankind could be saved in the presence of the Father, but by and through the name and ministry of Jesus Christ, and the atonement he made on Mount Calvary. Joseph also told us that the Savior requires strict obedience to all the commandments, ordinances and laws pertaining to his kingdom, and that if we would do this we should be made partakers of all the blessings promised in his Gospel.

We have already been made partakers of the blessings of the Gospel which he promised to his disciples. One in particular I will name, and that is peace. Jesus says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” There are hundreds now before me who can testify that in the world they have had tribulation, but in the Gospel, as we believe it, they have found peace. Again, “Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for behold your reward is great in heaven, for in the like manner did their fathers unto the Prophets.” Have the world separated the Latter-day Saints from their company? They have. For what? For disobeying the laws of the land? No. They cast them out for believing in Jesus Christ and in Joseph Smith as his Prophet. This whole people were cast out for believing that God spake to Joseph Smith and chose him to be his messenger—his Apostle—to this generation. I testify to you that we were not cast out for teaching and practicing the Patriarchal doctrine, as our enemies now declare, for at that time it not been published to the world, but it was for believing, preaching, and practicing the doctrines of the New Testament; for believing in the events to take place in the latter days, as foretold by the ancient Prophets; and, for believing the declarations of Joseph Smith, that Jesus was indeed the Christ and the Savior of all men, but especially of them that believe, and that he had set to his hand the second time to gather his people, to establish his kingdom, to build up Zion, redeem Jerusalem, empty the earth of wickedness and bring in everlasting righteousness.

Joseph Smith testified that he had received revelations from God, that holy angels had administered to him, that he had seen the heavens opened, had seen Jesus Christ and knew that he lived, and that all the people must acknowledge him to be the Christ, the Savior of the world, and to obtain salvation through him must obey his ordinances, keep inviolate their covenants with him and with each other, and try with all their might to restore the covenants broken by the fathers, that the celestial gates leading to the presence of God may be opened to all believers. And this is our testimony, last of all, that God has spoken from the heavens, commanding us to preach repentance to this generation, giving us authority to baptize for the remission of sins, and to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. The remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the favor of God cannot be obtained in any other way. These are God’s unchangeable conditions for mankind to observe, when they are called upon to enter into an everlasting covenant with him to serve him and none else. For preaching this Gospel Joseph Smith was cast out and murdered; and for the same cause this people have been persecuted and afflicted, and finally cast out beyond the confines of so-called civilization.

What do we now see abroad? Confusion in all the ramifications of society. In the days of the great tower of Babel God confounded their language, and spread confusion and dismay among them, and ultimately scattered them to the four winds of heaven. The confusion will be no less great in these days, and the destruction of human life will be so great that but few men will be left. With the people in Christendom it is “oh, here,” and “lo, there”—“Christ, is here, and Christ is there.” Some say, “observe one ordinance and no more;” others say, “observe two ordinances and no more;” some say, “observe none at all;” and so on. There is no true faith, for all is uncertainty—every man pursuing his own way. They have no light of revelation to guide them, and that which would have saved this nation from its present awful chastisement they have cast out from them, therefore, “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.”

When Joseph Smith came to the people with the message of the Gospel in its fullness, they said, “let us kill him, or he will change our customs, overthrow our religions, make proselytes in foreign lands and flood our country with them, expose our political corruptions, and may take away our place in the nation; come, let us kill him.” They did kill him, that debt is upon them, and they have it to pay. The Lord pity them; I do. I pity them because they are so shortsighted, so wicked, and so determined to fight God and his laws. They killed Joseph Smith, and cast out this people for believing in him. Are they still upon our track? They are.

In a correspondence between Mr. Greeley, of New York, and the President, Mr. Lincoln declared it was his intention to do everything in his power that he thought would save the Union. This was very just and correct in him, but has his course invariably tended to save the Union? Time will show. There is no man can see, unless he sees by the gift and power of revelation, that every move that has been made by the Government has been made to fulfil the sayings of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and all earth and hell cannot help it. The wedge to divide the Union was entered in South Carolina, and all the power of the Government could not prevent it. The Lord spoke to Joseph Smith, on the 25th day of December, 1832, as follows—“Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls; And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place. For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations,” &c. The wickedness of the wicked is onward and downward, while the righteousness of the righteous is onward and upward. Light and darkness, or in other words, right and wrong are with us, and men choose darkness rather than light, wrong rather than right. This is their condemnation. They despise the truth and those who will declare it.

On one occasion, in the wars of the kings of Israel and Judah with the King of Syria, the kings of Israel and Judah sent for all the Prophets they could find to prophesy good concerning their going down to the battle; and a lying spirit was sent to speak through the Prophets to lure Ahab, King of Israel, to the battlefield. Jehosaphat, King of Judah, inquired whether there was not yet another Prophet of the Lord that they might inquire of. “And the King of Israel said unto Jehosaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” Micaiah was brought before the king and said, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd.” Ahab ordered Micaiah to be put in prison and fed on the bread of affliction, until he should return in peace. An archer drew a bow at a venture and slew Ahab, who went to the field of battle in disguise, and the words of the Prophet were fulfilled. It is so in this day; the man who will speak the word of the Lord fearlessly is hated, while false prophets and false teachers, who pander to human vanity and to human greatness for gain, are fostered by wicked rulers and exalted to the chief seats in the synagogues.

We are determined to build up the kingdom of God on the earth; to bring forth Zion, to promote the cause of righteousness on the earth, and to walk under foot sin and wickedness. There is an opposing party who are determined that the kingdom of God shall not be built up, and who do all in their power to destroy it and its supporters. This has been the case from the beginning, and wickedness has triumphed, because the measure of the earth was not complete, and those mighty spirits calculated to bring to pass the winding up scene had not yet been born in the flesh. The time has now come when this work will be consummated. Satan’s rule and Satan’s kingdom will be destroyed, and everlasting righteousness and peace will be brought in upon the face of the whole earth.

Joseph Smith knew what was coming upon the nation of the United States, and said, “If they will let me, I will save the nation.” They would not let him, but treated him as a traitor. They arrested him in Missouri for treason, when he had not said a word with regard to political affairs, but preached the Gospel to his brethren. They put him in Carthage Jail in Illinois, under the same false allegation, and slew him without a trial before his peers. At this day, if they had the power, they would show us that their malignity is no less than it was in the days of Joseph Smith, but they have not the power to injure the kingdom of God and the Lord’s anointed. They do not make a move on the national checkerboard without my knowing their designs. They may send men here, with their mouths sealed as to their instructions, to dictate and guide affairs in Utah as they would have them, but all their deep laid plots will vanish into thin air and their fondly anticipated purposes will fail.

Our course is onward to build up Zion, and the nation that has slain the Prophet of God and cast out his people will have to pay the debt. They will be broken in pieces like a potter’s vessel; yea worse, they will be ground to powder. “And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder.” If there is a people within the pales of this nation that is worthy of the constitution, good laws and institutions of the American Government, it is this people called Latter-day Saints. It is the best earthly Government that ever was framed by man, and the true and righteous are alone worthy of it. It cannot long be administered by wicked hands. “When the wicked rule, the people mourn.”

My heart is filled with pain for the inhabitants of the earth. We desire with all our hearts to do them good. There are scores of Elders beneath the sound of my voice who have preached enough to convert the world. I have myself traveled many thousands of miles, carrying my valise and sustaining myself, to preach the Gospel to this generation and to bear testimony to the truth as I do today. I take liberties here, in referring to the world and its vanities, that I wish my brethren not to take. It is our duty to pray for them and place before them the holy principles of the Gospel by precept, and in the acts of our lives, rather than to hold prominently forward their manifold corruptions. They are in the hands of God, and so are we. Great and mighty empires are raised to the summit of human greatness by him, to bring to pass his inscrutable purposes, and at his pleasure they are swept from existence and lost in the oblivion of antiquity. All these mighty changes are pointing to and preparing the way for the introduction of his kingdom in the latter times, that will stand forever and grow in greatness and power until a holy, lasting, religious, and political peace shall make the hearts of the poor among men exult with joy in the Holy One of Israel, and that his kingdom is everywhere triumphant.

The Lord is willing that we should be the pioneers of this work, and it is now our duty to prove ourselves worthy of his confidence, by educating ourselves until our traditions are precisely according to the Gospel and will of God. The revelations of God to Joseph Smith instruct the Latter-day Saints to live their religion day by day, and to meet on the first day of the week to break bread, confess their faults one to another and pray with and for each other. I would like this tradition fastened not only upon the people generally, but particularly upon the Bishops and other leaders of this Church.

We should seek substantial information, and trust little to that kind of so-called learning that is based entirely upon theory. We should pluck fruit from the tree of knowledge, and taste, then shall our eyes be open to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to understand. I would recommend the same course to those who have not embraced and tasted the sweets of “Mormonism.” We should get wisdom by reading and by study. We should introduce the best books into our schools for the education and improvement of our children. Let our schoolteachers seek constantly to fasten upon the young mind useful information, and banish from their schools every study that only tends to perplex the student and waste his valuable time. I know of no branch in the rudiments of English education that is more difficult to conquer than its orthography; indeed, very few men have ever become perfect in it, and I know of no branch of learning that needs more reforming.

After introducing into our schools every useful branch of education, let our teachers ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to bestow upon them and upon their scholars the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence from heaven; ask for skill to control and ability to teach on the part of the teacher, and willingness to be controlled and aptability to be taught on the part of the scholars. Let parents aid the teacher in his labors, by seeing that their children attend school punctually, with a proper supply of books, slates, pencils, &c.; and permit not a good, diligent, faithful schoolteacher to suffer for the common necessaries of life, while he is laboring to educate and bless their children.

Every good and perfect gift cometh from God. Every discovery in science and art, that is really true and useful to mankind, has been given by direct revelation from God, though but few acknowledge it. It has been given with a view to prepare the way for the ultimate triumph of truth, and the redemption of the earth from the power of sin and Satan. We should take advantage of all these great discoveries, the accumulated wisdom of ages, and give to our children the benefit of every branch of useful knowledge, to prepare them to step forward and efficiently do their part in the great work.

Endless variety is stamped upon the works of God’s hands. There are no two productions of nature, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, that are exactly alike, and all are crowned with a degree of polish and perfection that cannot be obtained by ignorant man in his most exquisite mechanical productions. Man’s machinery makes things alike; God’s machinery gives to things which appear alike a pleasing difference. Fields and mountains, trees and flowers, and all that fly, swim, or move upon the ground are lessons for study in the great school our heavenly Father has instituted for the benefit of his children. Let us explore this great field of information that is open before us in good books and in the great laboratory of nature, and let every man become his own lawyer, every family have its own doctor, and every person be his own accountant, &c. Let even the female portion of our community be taught how to do business, in the absence of their guardians. It is an erroneous idea that a very learned man should not work with his hands, and is better than other people because he is learned. Education is the handmaid to honest labor. I should be pleased to have our young females study the fine arts, music, painting, &c., for which there is fine talent here, but I would not have them suppose that education in the fine arts alone constitutes them ladies, or will fit them for the active duties of life. It is more necessary that they should know themselves and the duties that will be required of them when they are wives and mothers; to educate them thus, is a duty that is particularly binding upon mothers.

Let there be a mutual desire in every man to disseminate knowledge, that all may know. I have always followed out the rule of dispensing what I know to others, and been blessed in so doing. After all our endeavors to obtain wisdom from the best books, &c., there still remains an open fountain for all; “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” Let every Latter-day Saint constantly practice himself in the performance of every good word and work, to acknowledge God to be God, to be strict in keeping his laws and learning to love mercy, eschew evil, and delight in constantly doing that which is pleasing to God. This is the only sure way to obtain influence with God and all good men. I want the fellowship and confidence of those who are justified before the heavens, and to have this I must walk in the path Christ has marked out, and let all the rest go their own way. Let all who are for God and his laws, walk with me and gain influence with those heavenly powers, and there is no danger but what they will gain influence with all good persons who labor for the same influence, which will bear us off conquerors over all our enemies, spiritual and temporal. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 3, 1862.

The way of life and salvation is mapped out so plainly in the Old and New Testaments that any man may read and understand, yet people do not understand. The most approved geography and map fail to give a description and delineation of any people or country so perfectly as to exclude all possibility of more being known by personally visiting and examining the country or people described. A mere geographical description has a claim only upon our belief, but to gain a perfect knowledge of the country or people described it is necessary to visit that country and people; having obtained this know– ledge, you in turn become a witness to others of what you have seen, heard, handled, or felt. So it is with the Gospel.

We may read the history of the life of Christ, admire his moral and religious teachings, be impressed with awe by the description of the character and works of the Father and God of the universe, be made acquainted with the means he has devised to prepare mankind to enter his presence, but it is necessary that we should follow Christ, put into actual practice the lessons of Christ, and obey the ordinances of Christ, to know for ourselves the saving effects they produce in mankind. A mere theory amounts to but little, while practice and obedience have to do with stern realities. In this way the ancients obtained a knowledge of the true God. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”

Although the character of God is plainly described in the Scriptures, yet mankind do not understand it, but have imagined to themselves a God without form or location. It is written in the Scriptures, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Again, “But the natural man (or as we now use the language, the fallen or sinful man) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” In no other way can the things of God be understood. Men who are destitute of the influence of the Holy Ghost, or the Spirit of God, cannot understand the things of God; they may read them, but to them they are shrouded in darkness.

We try to tell the people how to be saved; and if we have not the fulness of the Gospel, it is not upon the face of the earth. If we have not the Priesthood of Heaven, it is not possessed by any people upon earth. The Priesthood of the Son of God to the children of men is a perfect system of government—a heavenly institution among men—designed to bring them back into the presence of God to partake of the fulness of his glory. The power of all truth dwells in the bosom of our Father and God, which he dispenses to his children as he will, by the means of his eternal Priesthood. He is enthroned in the light, glory, and power of truth. He has abided the truth, and is thereby exalted, and his power, light and glory are eternal. The Gospel and the Priesthood are the means he employs to save and exalt his obedient children to the possession with him of the same glory and power, to be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

“We alone have the words of life,” is a great saying; who can hear it? “If you Latter-day Saints are the only people who have the words of life, why are you so despised, hated? Why have you been under the necessity of leaving your homes and possessions?” For no other reason than the following—“God ministered unto him (this first Elder) by an holy angel, whose countenance was as lightning, and whose garments were pure and white above all other whiteness; And gave unto him commandments which inspired him; And gave him power from on high, by the means which were before prepared, to translate the Book of Mormon; Which contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also; Which was given by inspiration, and is confirmed to others by the ministering of angels, and is declared unto the world by them—Proving to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old; Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.” This is all the reason that I know of.

“Have the Mormons been persecuted for their evil deeds?” If they have, shame on their persecutors, for if any Latter-day Saint breaks the law of his country he is amenable to that law, and it provides a suitable penalty. The Latter-day Saints live and always have lived in a land of law, and if they have transgressed the law, shame on a community, like the people that live under the Government of the United States, to persecute them instead of prosecuting them. An instance cannot be found upon the records of any court in the United States where the leaders of this people have been legally convicted of a breach of law and order.

Joseph Smith was arraigned before Judge Austin A. King, on a charge of treason. The Judge inquired of Mr. Smith, “Do you believe and teach the doctrine that in the course of time the Saints will possess the earth?” Joseph replied that he did. “Do you believe that the Lord will raise up a kingdom that will fill the whole earth and rule over all other kingdoms, as the prophet Daniel has said?” “Yes, sir, I believe that Jesus Christ will reign king of nations as he does king of Saints.” “Write that down, clerk; we want to fasten upon him the charge of treason, for if he believes this, he must believe that the State of Missouri will crumble and fall to rise no more.” Lawyer Doniphan said to the Judge, “Damn it, Judge, you had better make the Bible treason and have done with it.”

I was not in Missouri at the first of our people’s going there, but I have searched diligently to find whether any of the Latter-day Saints have ever been convicted in any of the courts of Missouri for transgressing the law, and, so far as I could learn, such an instance cannot be found on the court records of that State. “Then why are you persecuted?” Because the Lord has committed unto us the words of eternal life to deliver to the world, which, if they will obey, will bring them back into the presence of the Father and the Son.

The world will not receive the Gospel, unless they can have it on their own terms, and will persecute the few that do receive it. We preach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, and this gives offense to the wicked; they become angry with God, with Jesus Christ, and with his Saints; God and Christ they cannot reach, but the Saints they can persecute as long and as much as they are permitted.

“But were you not persecuted for teaching that odious doctrine called polygamy?” No. We were planted in these valleys before it was publicly made known to the people. Only a few of Joseph Smith’s intimate friends knew it previous to its being published to the world, which was several years after his death. We have not been driven from our homes since it was published.

“Do you not aggravate your enemies by your close communion habits?” I speak for myself; I acknowledge that I do not fellowship much of their conduct, nor do I expect to, unless it is better than some of it has been; and I will say further, it is hard for me to fellowship the conduct of some who profess to be Latter-day Saints.

Polygamy in Utah and polygamy among the Christian nations of the world at the present day are very different. Polygamy in Utah is an honorable transaction for we marry our wives, and openly acknowledge them and their children. It is a very different matter elsewhere; women are seduced and secretly kept as mistresses as long as they please their unprincipled seducers, when they are cast off to meet, if it were possible, a worse fate; their children are not acknowledged, but are thrown upon the world unprotected, and left exposed to be carried away by the dark and turbid stream of crime, to end their wretched lives in prison, upon the gallows, or in some other violent manner.

Did the Devil believe that Joseph Smith was an impostor? He knew that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet. Did the first priest who persecuted Joseph Smith, when Joseph was about nineteen years of age, believe that Joseph was an impostor? No. The Devil and his emissaries are not afraid of an impostor; for the world is full of imposition. Men who lecture against God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible, are not persecuted, but figure in what is called the best society. This proves one saying of the Savior, that the world loves its own; and those that the Lord has chosen out of the world, they hate and persecute. Infidelity, under some popular name, makes its way to the altars of Christian sanctuaries, and its supporters receive the honor of this world. But when Joseph Smith came before the world bearing testimony that Jesus lived, that he had seen him, declaring that he was his witness, and that Jesus was the Savior of the world, that he had spoken from the heavens and had revealed in these days the fulness of the Gospel for the salvation of men, that the Old and New Testament were true and contained the plan of human redemption, he was cast out, and the cry—“False Prophet, false Prophet, away with him,” was almost universal.

Who can justly say aught against Joseph Smith? I was as well acquainted with him, as any man. I do not believe that his father and mother knew him any better than I did. I do not think that a man lives on the earth that knew him any better than I did; and I am bold to say that, Jesus Christ excepted, no better man ever lived or does live upon this earth. I am his witness. He was persecuted for the same reason that any other righteous person has been or is persecuted at the present day.

The world have the Gospel preached of them, but they do not receive it, and they wish to drive the Priesthood and its supporters from the earth. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Had Jesus Christ been an impostor and of the world; the world would have loved its own. Had Joseph Smith been an impostor and of the world, the world would not have hated him, but would have loved its own. Had Joseph Smith made political capital of his religion and calling, and raised up a political party, he doubtless would have become celebrated and renowned in the world as a great man and as a great leader.

The world fears a concentration of feeling and union of action. We say that we live in a Republican Government, and we hold that we have the best national constitution in the world; but a wicked people will corrupt themselves and do wickedly under any government, and, in so doing, will sooner or later be destroyed. The most excellent human or divine laws are of no use to earthly or heavenly beings, unless they are faithfully observed. Law is for the protection of the law-abider; and the penalty of the law is for the lawbreaker. God cannot acknowledge a divided government as his, wherein some are of Paul, some of Apollos, &c.

The Church of Jesus Christ could not exist, and be divided up into parties. Where such disunion exists in any government, it ultimately becomes the means of the utter overthrow of that government or people, unless a timely remedy is applied. Party spirit once made its appearance in heaven, but was promptly checked. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” They were cast out; and if our Government had cast out the Seceders, the war would soon have been ended. This placed the Spirit of Evil on the earth. Those evil spirits are not permitted to receive tabernacles of their own, and that is their condemnation and punishment. They have been known to take possession of the bodies of men and women, and rather than to be without a body, they have entered the bodies of brutes. All such spirits and all embodied spirits who violate wholesome laws and abuse the rights and privileges guaranteed unto them will be hurled down to hell.

The people in the States have violated the Constitution in closing their ears against the cries of the oppressed, and in consenting to shedding innocent blood, and now war, death, and gloom are spread like a pall over the land, which state of things will sooner or later spread all over the world. The world is at war against the truth, and against those who propagate it. Are they opposed to canting hypocrites in the garb of parsons? No. Will they ridicule a black-attired blackguard and pelt him with mud and rotten eggs, even though he should lecture against God, Christ, and the Holy Scriptures? No, but they will fight against the truth which has been reveled from heaven, “And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” The wicked hate the light because it maketh manifest their evil deeds, and they love to dwell in darkness, thinking to cover their sins from the public gaze and from the eye of God; but in the due time of the Almighty their deeds will be exposed upon the housetops. This is the reason why the religious and political factions of this land united their energies to slay the Prophet Joseph Smith, and to banish the religion of Jesus, because they saw that it would instruct, inform, and unite the people.

It may be said that the Roman Catholics are as much united as the Latter-day Saints, but is it in righteousness? No. I have not read that the Roman Catholics of late years have taken patiently the spoiling of their goods and suffered the loss of all things for their religion. Though this may not be positive proof of the truth of any religion, for it is well known that fanatics will suffer horrible torture for a false and foolish religion, more than is required of the Lord for true Christians to suffer for their religion, except in cases when his providences may require for certain wise purposes. Votaries of false systems of religion will at times court persecution, with a view to establish their religion and give it notoriety. The most effectual way to establish the religion of Heaven is to live it, rather than to die for it. I think I am safe in saying that there are many of the Latter-day Saints who are more willing to die for their religion than to faithfully live it. There is no other proof can be adduced to God, angels, and men, that a people faithfully live their religion, than that they repent truly of their sins, obey the law of baptism for the remission of sins, and then continue to do the works of righteousness day by day.

Some few who profess to be Latter-day Saints have been unruly and froward, not respecting the rights and property of others. The army that was quartered in our vicinity introduced more corruption and iniquity than had been made manifest for years. Whether to be thankful or sorrowful for this, sometimes I am at a loss to know. The wicked that were among us have been made manifest, and many of them have left; this is a result we have no cause to mourn over. There are still a few who are impatient of control, will go their own way, will steal, lie, swear, get drunk, &c. Their works make them manifest, and we know them. We also know upon whom we can depend in a time or trouble; a good sailor is always found at his post, both in calm and storm. The good soldier is ready to resist the enemy, and not to shake hands with him and be tamely taken prisoner. The time of storm, and trouble is the time to prove ourselves to God and to one another.

We desire to be a great deal better than we are as individuals and as a people, and if we are faithful, we shall be. Praise to the faithful Latter-day Saints, who are striving to serve God with all their hearts. Let all Latter-day Saints learn that the weaknesses of their brethren are not sins. When men or women undesignedly commit a wrong, do not attribute that to them as a sin. Let us learn to be compassionate one with another; let mercy and kindness soften every angry and fretful temper, that we may become long-suffering and beneficent in all our communications one with another. No man can ever become a ruler in the kingdom of God, until he can perfectly rule himself; then is he capable of raising a family of children who will rise up and call him blessed. On the other hand, if the Elders of Israel do not pay attention to this and improve themselves in every possible way, their families will see their weaknesses and follies, can have no confidence in them as leaders, and will scatter away from them and join themselves to more substantial, wise, and reliable fathers and leaders.

Shall we as a people ever become popular in the world? Yes, when righteousness reigns triumphantly on the earth. In the end, when the judgment is set and the Judge of all the earth makes his appearance, he will place upon his right hand Abraham and Abraham’s seed, and all those who have obeyed the Gospel of his Son, and they will inherit the earth and its fulness, while the sinner and the ungodly will be cast into prison to pay the uttermost farthing.

May the Lord help us to live so that we may be accounted worthy of all the glory our Heavenly Father has in store for us. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 13, 1862.

I will use, for the foundation of my remarks, words found in Rev. 11th chap., 15th verse—“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.”

How near to this text I shall preach, I know not; there is enough in it to answer my purpose, and it is one upon which a great deal can be said.

The plan of salvation cannot be told in one discourse, nor in one day, one month, or one year, for it is from everlasting to everlasting, like the Priesthood of the Son of God, without beginning of days or end of life. The Gospel we declare unto you leads to eternal life, and this kingdom is the kingdom of God which he has promised, by the mouths of his Prophets, that he would set up in the last days—a kingdom that must triumph over all the ills that afflict the family of man, and usher in everlasting righteousness.

Man has wandered far from his Maker—far from the path of rectitude his Heavenly Father has marked out for his feet—and is walking in a way strewn with dangers; he has left the true light, and is walking in darkness; rejected the wisdom and intelligence that is from Heaven, and has become benighted in ignorance and unbelief, neither knowing God, nor the object of his own existence upon the earth. This darkness and ignorance must be dispelled by the preaching of the Gospel, and as many as will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and walk in all the ordinances of God blameless, will be numbered with his Saints and be gathered into his kingdom, to be further taught the principles of eternal life.

The kingdom of God in the latter days must triumph upon all the earth, subdue every species of sin, and destroy every source of sorrow to which downtrodden humanity has been subject. The work of making the kingdoms of the world the kingdom of God and his Christ has commenced; and all the inhabitants of the earth, without exception, will yet acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, to the glory of God the Father. All mankind are individually interested in this Latter-day Work, for all have a future, whether glorious or inglorious.

Man is created for a glorious purpose—for a life that is eternal. A great deal is comprehended in the two words “eternal life;” they entirely exclude death. We have no death to preach, for we should never practice the principles of death, but pursue the path that leads to the continuation of the lives. The world will be revolutionized by the preaching of the Gospel and the power of the Priesthood, and this work we are called to do. In its progress every foolish and unprofitable custom, every unholy passion, every foolish notion in politics and religion, every unjust and oppressive law, and whatever else that is oppressive to man, and that would impede his onward progress to the perfection of the Holy Ones in eternity, will be removed until everlasting righteousness prevails over the whole earth. Such was the design of the preaching of the Gospel in the days of the Apostles.

It is written in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, “And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” Using the same figure, the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are called to right up the world. To turn it over is a gigantic work, but it will be done, for both the righteous on earth, and the sanctified in heaven are working at it, and all power both in heaven and on earth is given to the Savior by his Father. It is our business to fully comprehend the sayings and doings of the Savior in his mission on the earth, which is life to all who believe and endure to the end in the pursuit of life eternal.

A lifetime is too short to tell the extent of the mission of the Savior to the human family, but I will venture to use one of his sayings, in connection with what I have already quoted from the book of Revelation. When he was arraigned before Pilate to be tried for his life, he said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” Connect this saying with “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God,” and we can understand how the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, because it is established in peace, unlike all worldly kingdoms which are established in war. The motto of his kingdom is “Peace on earth and good will towards men,” and hence not after the order of worldly kingdoms.

It was remarked this morning that the Book of Mormon in no case contradicts the Bible. It has many words like those in the Bible, and as a whole is a strong witness to the Bible. Revelations, when they have passed from God to man, and from man into his written and printed language, cannot be said to be entirely perfect, though they may be as perfect as possible under the circumstances; they are perfect enough to answer the purposes of Heaven at this time.

The saying, “My kingdom is not of this world,” and the saying, “The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of God and his Christ,” at the first glance would appear palpable contradictions; but when they are read with their proper connections and by a person whose mind is enlightened by the power of the Holy Ghost, instead of contradiction between them there is seen to exist a perfect harmony. Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the last days, had a happy faculty of reducing the things of heaven to the capacity of persons of common understanding, often in a single sentence throwing a flood of light into the gloom of ages. He had power to draw the spirits of the people who listened to him to his standard, where they communed with heavenly objects and heavenly principles, connecting the heavenly and the earthly together—in one blending flood of heavenly intelligence. When the mind is thus lit up with the Spirit of revelation, it is clearly discerned that the heavens and the earth are in close proximity—that time and eternity are one. We can then understand that the things of God are things which pertain to his children, and that the expression, form, and sympathies of his earthly children pertain to their Great Father and Creator.

It has been thought by some that the kingdom Jesus established on the earth, when he was here in the flesh, was not the kingdom Daniel saw. Pardon me, if I differ from this view and say that it was the very kingdom that Daniel saw, but it was not then the time to establish it in its fullness, it was not then the time for the kingdom of God to subdue all other kingdoms as it would in the latter days.

Jesus came to establish his spiritual kingdom, or to introduce a code of morals that would exalt the spirits of the people to godliness and to God, that they might thereby secure to themselves a glorious resurrection and a title to reign on the earth when the kingdoms of this world should become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. He also came to introduce himself as the Savior of the world, to shed his blood upon the altar of atonement, and open up the way of life to all believers. When Jesus came to his own they received him not, but said, “This is the heir, let us kill him and seize on his inheritance;” and they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. Had the Jews received him as the heir, and treated him as such, he would have established his kingdom among them at that time, both spiritually and temporally; and they would have gathered the lost tribes that wandered from Jerusalem, would have overcome their enemies, possessed Palestine in peace, and spread to the uttermost parts of the earth and possessed the kingdom under the whole heavens.

Again, at the time the children of Israel left Egypt if they had then received the Gospel Moses had for them, the kingdom would then have been given to them, and it never would have been broken up, and the house of Israel never would have been smitten and scattered to become bondsmen among the nations. If the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, previous to the Egyptian bondage, had been faithful, they would have received the keys and power of the kingdom, and would never have gone into Egypt to suffer four hundred years in bondage, but they by their wickedness rejected the kingdom.

When God speaks to the people, he does it in a manner to suit their circumstances and capacities. He spoke to the children of Jacob through Moses, as a blind, stiffnecked people, and when Jesus and his Apostles came they talked with the Jews as a benighted, wicked, selfish people. They would not receive the Gospel, though presented to them by the Son of God in all its righteousness, beauty and glory. Should the Lord Almighty send an angel to rewrite the Bible, it would in many places be very different from what it now is. And I will even venture to say that if the Book of Mormon were now to be rewritten, in many instances it would materially differ from the present translation. According as people are willing to receive the things of God, so the heavens send forth their blessings. If the people are stiffnecked, the Lord can tell them but little.

The kingdom that Jesus came to establish is the kingdom Daniel saw, but that stiffnecked, rebellious generation would not receive the Gospel, and he did not fully establish his kingdom at that time. Could the Lord consistently have given them power over their enemies to whom they were subject while in this state of rebellion to God and his laws, they would have become more wicked than the Romans or other heathen nations of the land. Had he given them power over the Egyptians in the days of Moses, they would have become more wicked than the Egyptians, and would have used this saving power to bring upon them a more sure and terrible destruction.

The Lord called upon Moses, and he stood amid the thunders and lightnings of Mount Sinai. Moses was a good and great man, but he had lived with and so often been aggravated by a wicked, murmuring, and rebellious people that he could not look upon God in his glory, but he could hear his voice and converse with his Heavenly Father in the pillar of cloud and fire. He was, on one occasion, in company with seventy Elders of Israel, permitted to see the back parts of the Almighty. He received the law of carnal commandments for Israel from the mouth of God. I believe with all my heart that if the children had been ready to receive the Gospel in all its fulness, the yoke of carnal commandments would never have been placed upon their necks. Moses was a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, and yet he partook of the sins of the children of Israel to such a degree that he could not see the face of God.

The very kingdom that Jesus said was not of this world would in his day have been permanently established in this world, if the people could have received it, but they would not have the man Christ Jesus to rule over them; they turned away from the holy commandments, and preferred fables. When Jesus stated that his kingdom was not of this world, he did not mean to convey the idea that it had no right to be on this earth, but that his kingdom was a righteous, holy kingdom, and not like the wicked kingdoms of the world; and the wickedness of the world was such that he could not then establish his kingdom upon this earth.

When Moses went into the mountain to converse with the God of Israel, the cry was heard in the camp, “where is this Moses?” And they made a molten calf of the jewelry they had borrowed from the Egyptians, and said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, tomorrow is a feast of the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play.” There was as much sense in this proceeding as there is in people’s worshipping their property and money at the present day.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, and he wishes to establish his kingdom upon it. I do not think any person will start a single argument to prove that the Lord does not own this earth and all that is upon it. All Christians acknowledge that the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, and that Jesus is the Christ and heir of all things.

One excellent idea that was advanced this morning, I will venture to carry out a little further. The time was when the test of a Christian was his confession of Christ. In the first Epistle of John it is written, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” This is no test to this generation, for all men of the Christian world confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This generation, however, is not left without a test. I have taught for thirty years, and still teach, that he that believeth in his heart and confesseth with his mouth that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is his Prophet to this generation, is of God; and he that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and sent Joseph Smith with the fulness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of God, but is antichrist. All who confess that Joseph Smith is sent of God in the latter days, to lay the foundation of his everlasting kingdom no more to be thrown down, and will continue to keep his commandments, are born of God. All those who believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet, at the same time trying with their might to live the holy principles Joseph the Prophet has revealed, are in possession of the Holy Spirit of God and are entitled to a fullness. When such men go into the world to preach the Gospel though they know not a letter in a book, they will do more real good to erring man than the great and wise can possibly do, though aided by all their learning and worldly influence in the absence of the gift of the Holy Ghost. When the spirit of the preacher is imbued with the Spirit and power of God, his words enter the understandings of the honest, who discern the truth and at once embrace it to their eternal advantage.

Every person who seeks to know right, to understand every principle of truth pertaining to the earth and the heavens, and by obedience to the laws of the Gospel to obtain the Spirit of truth from the great Fountain of truth, when he hears a truth, whether moral, religious, scientific, or mechanical, whether it pertains to God, to man, to the heavens, or to the earth, that truth is congenial to his feelings, and it seems to him that he had known it all his life. Notwithstanding the dreadful effects of the fall of man, almost all men delight in truth and righteousness. If men are not righteous themselves, as a general thing they honor and revere a righteous person more than they do the wicked and froward. A few in these latter days have ventured to stem the current of iniquity; defying the finger of scorn, they have raised their hands to Heaven saying, “we are for God.” They repeat a glorious text, “The kingdom of God or nothing.” It is with them, “Heaven or nothing.” The Lord must reign and rule.

We did not produce ourselves. We did not make the earth, nor stretch out the starry heavens. We have not sought out the wisdom of him who formed the foundations of the great deep, nor explored the vastness of his skill in the formation of the finny tribes. “Who removeth the mountains, and they knew not; who overturneth them in his anger. Who shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Who maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades and the chambers of the south. Who doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.”

Philosophy has tried to search out God, but it stands aghast amid the great and wondrous works of the great Supreme. It acknowledges a great Designer and Framer of the universe, but how to approach him, it findeth not. This great Being is the God of the Latter-day Saints; to whom we accede the right of reigning over the workmanship of his own hands. It is his right to control the gold and the silver, the wheat and the fine flour, yea, all the elements that have been enumerated by the searching eye of philosophy and science, and those that are past finding out by mortals in their present state. Has an unholy principle, a wicked influence that leads to death, the right to control the ability and power to do good which God has placed in man? No. God alone has the right to control the intelligence that is in the human family, for he is the giver of it.

Religious people talk a great deal about doing wondrous great things for the Lord—about doing this, that, and the other for the glory of God. Every good that man performs is, firstly, for his own benefit and eternal welfare, if he continues in well doing, and secondly, for the common good of others, so far as his example and the influence of good done effects others. We may, for comparison’s sake, imagine a great king who has many kingdoms to dispose of and many sons to give them to, but one of his sons will not have his kingly father to rule over him, neither will he accept of any of his favors. Now, if anybody suffers loss in this case, it is the proud, rebellious son; the father can give the kingdom, that he otherwise would have given to his wayward son, to a more worthy subject. He is all powerful, and bestows ability to whom he will to become powerful like himself. “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High.”

The generations of men from the beginning have refused to pay homage to their God, and to render unto him that which belongs to him. If men serve God, it is to their advantage; but they suppose that they sacrifice a great deal for God and do him a great service, and are enriching him and impoverishing themselves. Render unto God that which is God’s. I care not whether it be gold, silver, or copper. When men extract the precious metals from the earth, they breathe the air, drink the water, and eat the food that belongs to God.

I could give the reasons why the servants of God, from the beginning, have not been able to establish his kingdom on the earth, but I have not time to do so today. In these latter days, the kingdoms of this world will become “the kingdoms of our God and his Christ,” and those who have gold and silver and wealth of other descriptions, and refuse to devote it to the Lord, are blind and naked and destitute of that wisdom which comes from above. The breath that is in their nostrils is not really their own. All people live upon the bounty of the Almighty, yet they say that the precious metals are theirs, and they will devote this wealth to their own service, revel in luxury, and do as they please. Those who possess the wealth of this world, possess it by the permission of the Almighty, and then they go needlessly on in the way to destruction. How long? Until their race is run.

All must have the privilege of proving to God and angels what they will do with the talent and ability God has given them, whether they will waste their blessings in pandering to unholy appetites or use them in the way God has designed they should. This is one great reason why men are permitted to do as they do. It is an orthodox doctrine that God has decreed whatsoever comes to pass. He has decreed many things to come to pass, but not all things. He has not decreed that one man shall blaspheme his name, and that another shall often be found on his knees praying to him; this is left to the free volition of the creature. All the inhabitants of the earth have had the privilege of proving themselves before God in their lifetime whether they delighted in that which was right or that which was wrong, and according to that, those who have been without law will be judged without law. What better, in the sight of Heaven, are those who place their affections upon earthly wealth, than the children of Israel who worshipped a calf?

Those who wish to join us in this great work, must do as we have done, to obtain that which we have obtained. It is not our business to question the validity of any of the laws and ordinances of God. It is no matter to us how simple the ordinance he requires us to submit to, in order to attain a certain end. He has said, “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” If he has instituted baptism in water for the remission of sins, it is not our business to question his right to do this, by quarrelling with the mode of this ordinance. If he had told us to dig a hole in the ground and bury ourselves for a certain length of time, it is his right to do so, and our advantage to obey. Whenever the Gospel has been preached in any age of the world, the ordinance of baptism has been in force. It had the same validity in the days of Adam, Enoch, and Noah as in the days of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, or as it has now.

An angel of the Lord visited Adam, when Adam was offering up sacrifice. The angel asked him why he was offering up sacrifice. Adam replied, “I know not, but this I do know, the Lord has commanded me, therefore I offer up sacrifice.” It may be said that Adam was very ignorant. It was designed by the Lord that his previous knowledge should pass from him.

“Jesus answered and said unto him (Nicodemus), Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mothers womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” A man must be born again before he can see the kingdom of God; and must be born of water and of the Spirit, before he can enter therein.

It may be asked whether any person can be saved, except those who are baptized. Yes, all the inhabitants of the earth will be saved, except those that sin against the Holy Ghost. Will they come into the presence of the Father and the Son? Not unless they are baptized for the remission of sins, and live faithfully in the observance of the words of life, all the rest of their days. “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” A question was asked Joseph Smith if all would be damned, except the Latter-day Saints. He answered “yes and most of the Latter-day Saints, unless they repent and do better than they have done.”

The glory of those who are not permitted to enter into the presence of the Father and the Son will be greater than mortals can imagine, in glory, excellency, exquisite pleasure, and intense bliss. It has not entered into the heart of man to conceive of the greatness of their glory. But the glory of those who enter into the presence of God exceeds all these in glory, as the light of the sun exceeds the light of the moon and stars. All these different glories are ordained to fit the capacities and conditions of men.

Let me say a word in praise of the congregation before me. Here I see people who have gathered from almost every nation of the earth, and they have brought with them their national customs, traditions, education, fashions and language; yet this mixed people dwell together in peace: all nationality gradually subsides, and we see a universal blending into one, possessing the same feeling and spirit of our holy religion, all being determined to promote the kingdom of God on the earth, looking forward to the day of rest. What other community less needs the services of lawyers, magistrates and judges than this community? This is a joy to me.

The Lord designs to set up his kingdom in our day, and the commandments he requires us to obey and the duties he makes obligatory for us are easy. We can perform all he requires of us, without hurting us in the least.

Some contend that there is no virtue in the water, but there is virtue in him who has made the commandment, and he has power to pardon sins. Were I to command you to wash your bodies and you refused to do so, your filthiness would cleave to you, and you alone would suffer the inconvenience.

We break the bread, which represents the Lord’s body, as he has commanded, in remembrance of him, and that he will come to earth again when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. We pour out water or wine in remembrance of his blood which was shed, and in token of the time when he will drink of the fruit of the vine anew with us in his Father’s kingdom, when he comes again and the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. The kingdoms of this world must be prepared for his coming by the proclamation of the Gospel, or be wiped out of existence.

The whole world have lost confidence in themselves and in their God. How can it be restored? By beginning to serve God, and then trying to induce every man and woman to join heart and hand in this moral reformation. By associating with those with whom you can trust your wealth, honor, good name, virtue, and integrity, and inviting all to join you who are full of integrity and honor, and who will treat you as the angels of God would if they were here. We must restore the integrity and confidence which have been lost to the world. The kings upon their thrones have to pay for their positions, for they cannot trust themselves in the hands of their attendants, without bribery. Only the semblance of honor, integrity, and confidence are to be found in the world, and even that brings a high price; however, this general remark has its honorable exceptions. We must find men and women that we can trust with everything that is sacred to us, or the kingdom of God can never be established upon the earth. The Lord will not acknowledge a people who will falsify their word and are unvirtuous; he will not long trust a man of that kind with any of the affairs of his kingdom. He will not trust an unvirtuous people with his Holy Priesthood. He will not trust a people with property—with earthly wealth—who will covet the same and use it to pander to their lusts, and otherwise devote it to the power of the enemy of God and man.

The business of the Latter-day Saints is to bring forth the kingdom of God in the last days, morally, re– ligiously, and politically. Will they do it? I rather think they will, with the help of God. No matter what the enemies of God and his cause do with our name, or with our means; no matter how often they hurl us from our habitations and drive us from city to city, and from county to county, let every one of us be found standing upon the pedestal of truth and virtue, defiling not our persons by sin in any way. Let us esteem all that we are permitted to possess as given to us of the Lord; whether it be gold, silver, goods, houses, lands, or wives and children, they are all the Lord’s. These blessings are only lent to us. When we have passed this earthly ordeal and have proven to the heavens that we are worthy to be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal lives, then the Lord will say these are yours, but until then we own nothing.

Will all believe as we believe? I know not. I would be pleased if all men would believe the truth and practice righteousness. If they have truth in their possession, I wish them to be as generous with it as I am. I freely impart to my fellow beings all the truth I know of, and all the rules of godliness I am in possession of. My religion teaches me to embrace all truth in the heavens, on the earth, under the earth, and in the bottomless pit, if there is any there. My creed embraces all truth. If you have truth that I have not, let me know it, and it will come to where it belongs; and if I have truth which you have not you are welcome to it. There is no need of debate and contention in regard to truth and error, for debate tends to create a spirit of bitterness.

There is no need for war and bloodshed, for the earth is large enough for all. The elements of which this earth is composed are all around it. Philosophers say the at– mosphere is forty miles deep. Be this as it may, there are no bounds to the elements that compose worlds like this. This earthly ball, this little opaque substance thrown off into space, is only a speck in the great universe; and when it is celestialized it will go back into the presence of God, where it was first framed. All belongs to God, and those who keep his celestial law will return to him.

Many inquiries are made as to what will become of that portion of the world of mankind who have died without law. When we return to build up the waste places of Zion, then will the Scripture be fulfilled—“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” The servants of God will officiate for the dead in the temples of God which will be built. The Gospel is now preached to the spirits in prison, and when the time comes for the servants of God to officiate for them, the names of those who have received the Gospel in the spirit will be revealed by the angels of God and the spirits of just men made per– fect; also the places of their birth, the age in which they lived, and everything regarding them that is necessary to be recorded on earth, and they will then be saved so as to find admittance into the presence of God, with their relatives who have officiated for them. The wicked will be cleansed and purified as by fire; some of them will be saved as by fire. Some will be given over to the buffeting of Satan, that their spirits may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Others will receive their bodies, but cannot be saved in the kingdoms and mansions that are in the presence of God. All the children of men will receive a glory in the mansions of God according to their capacities, and rewards according to their acts in the flesh.

Brethren and friends, do you naturally despise such a doctrine as this, or does it find a response of welcome in your bosoms? My soul says, Hallelujah, every moment I think of the ample provisions God has made for his sons and daughters. They will not welter in hell to an endless eternity, but they will rise higher and higher, and continue to increase in intelligence and love of truth as they advance. There will be an eternal progress in the knowledge of God.

May God bless the people. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, July 6, 1862.

The religion of Jesus Christ gives light for darkness. The Gospel we have received is sent “to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” The life of a Christian is said to be full of pain, tribulation, sorrow, and excruciating torments; of fightings without and fears within, of anxieties, despair, gloominess, and mourning. His path is supposed to be spread with gins, pitfalls, and uncertainties, but this is a mistake, for “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,” while “The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.”

The faith I have embraced has given me light for darkness, ease for pain, joy and gladness for sorrow and mourning, certainty for uncertainty, hope for despair. We talk about having grace to endure, and pray, “O Lord, give me grace to endure the pains I receive in this thorny path that leads to heaven, the scoffs and sneers of this unfriendly world, that I may bear the name of Jesus honorably while I live.” It is right to pray for grace, but let me shape this prayer a little differently, and ask God my heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to open the eyes of my understanding, and teach me the truth as it is, then shall I see that I am walking in the light and not in darkness. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The true people of God are far removed from that pain which the sinner and the ungodly constantly endure. They are removed from it as a people politically, and as families, and as individuals. Compare, for instance, the colonial history of the United States with the history of the settling of the wild and desolate regions of Utah by the Latter-day Saints, and you will learn that the sufferings of the first settlers here from Indian outrages and other causes, will scarcely supply enough for a comparison. And whole companies of emigrants to California and Oregon have been massacred, their flesh given to wild animals, and their bones left to bleach upon the plains. Almost fifteen years ago one hundred and forty-six souls started from Winter Quarters (now Florence) to settle in this Valley. We arrived here in safety, stayed thirty days, returned the same season, and not a single person was lost by the way. If any of our company was taken sick, there were a hundred prayers ascending to God for the recovery of that sick person. How is it with gold hunters? Do they pray for their sick, and administer to them by the laying on of hands? No, they do not believe in any such thing, but the sick suffer and die. When any among us were taken sick we laid hands upon them and they were healed. I was told, on one occasion, by one of the camp, that Br. Taft had the mountain fever and could not live till morning; we dipped him seven times in the river, and the next day he was comparatively well.

Oh! What a great sorrow it is to be a Saint. How mournful the thought, when we contemplate the contrast between the Saint and the sinner? We have ease for pain, comfortable health for sickness, joy for mourning and light for darkness. “This is all very good,” says one, “but your religion is so unpopular in the world.” There is not another religion so popular as this in the courts of heaven. Without the garb of a Saint you cannot be admitted to the presence of the Father, and to Jesus, the Mediator between God and man. No religion is popular there but the religion of the Bible. Episcopalianism, Methodism, Quakerism, Catholicism, Presbyterianism, and all their collateral branches are unpopular in the celestial kingdom of God, while the religion of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the patriarchs and prophets, Jesus and his Apostles, is the only acknowledged and popular system of religion with the sanctified ones in the presence of the Father and the Son. “But,” says a Presbyterian, “Abraham was a polygamist.” He was. “And you say that his religion is popular in heaven.” It is the only religion acknowledged there. I have not time now to dwell upon all the points of Abraham’s faith, but he did believe in a plurality of wives, and was a practical polygamist. And Paul says, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Did Abraham believe in Presbyterianism? Not much. Did he believe in Quakerism? Not much. Each of the different sects of religion has some truth, and so far as they have the truth so far did Abraham believe. But is the religion of any one of the sects, as a whole, the religion of heaven? It is not. We all desire to join the popular party. Light, truth, and intelligence are the side that is popular with the heavens, and the side that will rule, govern, and control the nations. If we join that society we then all become popular with the popular party. Some people will render themselves ridiculously conspicuous on purpose to become popular. Their desire for popularity or notoriety is so great that they will not hesitate to do a mean act to gain it. The great majority want to be on the strongest, wealthiest, and most popular side, and to be connected with that family which is possessed of immense wealth, influence, and power. Many of my brethren of the Elders of Israel rise up here to speak to the people, and they cannot give utterance to their ideas. What is the matter? They are fearful of making a slight mistake in their language, which they think would make them unpopular. I wish they were as I am in this respect, and did not care what people may think or say, but pour out what the Holy Ghost shall give them to say, regardless of consequences. We all want to be on the side that will produce the most safety, the most joy, and the most sterling happiness. I can say, without fear of successful contradiction that the man or woman who believes that the religion of Jesus leads into a thorny path, does not understand nor enjoy the true religion of heaven.

We can say to all the world that the persecution which the Latter-day Saints have received, and the misery they may have suffered in consequence thereof, will not begin to compare with the misery and real suffering they are now receiving in the United States in consequence of war. In Missouri our bleeding feet stained the prairies, but now they are shedding each other’s blood to curdle and bake in the sun, or to be licked up by dogs and wild animals, while their flesh is given to vultures and wolves. We were invited to sign away our property to pay the expenses of our persecutors, and we were permitted, as a body, to take away as much of our moveable property as we could; but now the Secessionists are robbed and pillaged without mercy, their houses are burned over their heads, their barns are destroyed, their food and clothing are taken, and the women and children are left without anything to eat, drink, or wear, while their husbands, fathers, and brothers are either killed or taken prisoners. In the same manner the Secession party fall upon the Federals or Union men, and whip them, rob them, and hang them up at their own doors and in the presence of their families. Then comes a third party who are called May-walkers or Jayhawkers, but more properly they are buccaneers or land pirates, and they rob everybody that is left after the Union and Secession parties have done their worst. Have we ever suffered like that? I think not. When they come across a small settlement of Secessionists they plunder and destroy it, and when they come across a hamlet of Unionists they serve it in the same manner. Did the Latter-day Saints ever see such times? They never did. They never suffered anything in comparison to what the people in many of the States are now suffering.

It is right the brethren and sisters should have grace to sustain them in doing right, and it is right they should pray for it, but I would rather they possessed good sound common sense to begin with, and know what to do with the grace of God when they received it.

I never try any other way to please people only by pleasing myself and my God. If I can please God I can please myself; then I care very little whether anybody else is pleased or not, because if they are pleased with God and godliness they will be pleased with me. When Elders preach or lecture among the Saints or to the world, if they do so to satisfy themselves they have done well. When you have pleased yourselves it is very probable that you have pleased human beings like yourselves.

When journeying the Saints organize as perfectly as they can for safe and comfortable traveling. We appoint one man to this duty, another to that, and every man attends to his duty. If a wagon is broken the captain at once arranges to have it put into traveling order. If there is a sick person in the camp, he either goes himself or details somebody to administer to the sick by anointing with oil, laying on of hands, and prayer. Perhaps a sister is fainting by the way; she is worn out; the journey is too much for her. The captain procures for her such nourishment as can be found in camp, to give her strength and ability to endure the further fatigues of the journey; doing everything he can to restore the sick to sound health, and giving them all possible comfort and aid. Is there the same care and fellow feeling manifested in the trains of emigrants who are passing over the country in search of gold? Each person is seeking to better his condition, and they have no interest that extends further than self. It is with them as with the man that prayed, “O Lord, bless me, my wife, my son John and his wife, we four, no more. Amen.” They are for themselves, and not for the kingdom of God. They know that the world is going to destruction. They see the whole world in confusion—one party seeking to destroy another in the vain hope of building themselves up. The present Government of the United States is self-destroying, as they are now proving.

If there is one class of persons on earth who need comfort more than another, it is both the poor and rich who will not serve God. Those who serve him are comforted all the day long; they walk in the light of his salvation, dwell under the smiles of his countenance, and the works of their hands are abundantly prospered. Still some apostatize from all this light—from this great salvation—to get gold. The reason of this is not because they have to suffer so much for their religion, but because they have not enough good common sense. What is the grace of God? Who can define it? You say it is the favor of God. If you had good common sense, you never would be out of his favor. He is the Father of our spirits—the Great Ruler of the Universe. If we had enough common sense to understand things as they are, we certainly would choose to serve him, and be on the strongest side.

Do we intend to make our final abode in hell, or in heaven? If we mean to be in heaven we must become faithful Latter-day Saints; if in hell, we may be anything we please, no matter what. I profess to be a Latter-day Saint. I believe that the Old and New Testaments were given by the inspiration of God, and since much adulterated by uninspired translators, which makes it necessary for one to have the Spirit of revelation from God to read and understand them. I believe the doctrine that the Lord taught to Adam in the garden, and that Adam taught to his children, that Enoch taught to his city three hundred and sixty-five years, preparing a people to go into the presence of God the Father. I believe the doctrine taught by Noah, who was instructed of God to build an ark to save himself and family from destruction in the great flood. I believe the doctrine Abraham taught, that Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs taught. I believe all the doctrine Moses taught to be the word of the Lord. I believe in the law of carnal commandments as he did; it was for them, and not for us. It was a yoke placed upon their necks because of their disobedience to the higher law of the Gospel. Jesus Christ removed that yoke, and told them to follow the law of the Gospel. Some Christians throw away all the Old Testament except some portions of the Prophets; but Moses had the Gospel; Jethro had the Gospel, and the house of Jacob were urged to receive it, but they would not; so the Lord told Moses to give them a law of carnal commandments that would be grievous for them to bear.

The people generally would not have the revelations which the Lord delivered to Joseph Smith, unless he would give them a law of carnal commandments like that which he gave to the children of Israel, and how long was it before they were in conversation with the spirit world, being led to destruction by strong delusion which God sent them, because they would not receive the truth? “And when they say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God?” They would not receive revelations from God, but, as they were told, God suffered them to have revelations that they would believe, that they might believe lies and be damned. Moses tried to give the children of Israel the law of the Gospel, but they would not receive it. The Gospel was revealed in those days, as much so as in the days of Christ and his Apostles. They had the Melchizedek Priesthood, and were entitled to all the promises and blessings then as in the days of the Apostles.

When Jesus came to preach the will of his Father, he came to his own, but they would not receive him. He said to them, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.” The Jews wanted to make laws to guide God and his children. They believed many of the doctrines that Abraham believed and taught. They practiced polygamy, as did Abraham, the Patriarchs, Moses, David, and the Prophets down to the days of the Apostles.

Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of Heaven among men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman empire. That empire was founded on the banks of the Tiber by wandering brigands. When these robbers founded the city of Rome, it was evident to them that their success in attaining a balance of power with their neighbors, depended upon introducing females into their body politic, so they stole them from the Sabines, who were near neighbors. The scarcity of women gave existence to laws restricting one wife to one man. Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced this order of monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged. Thus this monogamic order of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers.

The Congress of the United States have lately passed a law to punish polygamy in the Territories of the United States and in other places over which they have exclusive jurisdiction. In doing this, they have undertaken to dictate the Almighty in his revelations to his people, and those who handle edged tools, unless they are skillful, are apt to cut their fingers; and those who hand out insult to the Great I Am, in the end, are apt to get more than they have spoken for.

Why do we believe in and practice polygamy? Because the Lord introduced it to his servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and the Lord’s servants have always practiced it. “And is that religion popular in heaven?” It is the only popular religion there, for this is the religion of Abraham, and, unless we do the works of Abraham, we are not Abraham’s seed and heirs according to promise. We believe in Jesus Christ the Mediator of the new covenant, who has introduced the Gospel for the benefit of the human family, to happify, exalt, and glorify them in the presence of the Father, not to make them miserable, not to torture them, nor cause them to walk in the gloomy path of grief all their days. We rejoice in this Gospel, it is all glory, hallelujah, peace, and comfort. We believe in following the admonitions and instructions of the ancient Prophets and Apostles, and of all good men in this our day.

I do not make these remarks to cast reflections upon any being, but we should strive to know the mind and will of God and to be filled with his Spirit. I wish the Saints to be filled with the Spirit of understanding; and I never want to again hear a Saint say, “Oh, how we suffer for the religion of Jesus! We suffer more than the wicked,” while at the same time, we are better clad, better fed, and better looking, and our hearts are filled with joy, while the hearts of the wicked are filled with sorrow and mourning. All the cheerfulness, gladness, comfort, exuberance of spirit, joy, bliss, peace, and brightness of expression that can be bestowed upon individuals are possessed and enjoyed by the sanctified in heaven, and if we are prepared by the principles of eternal life, the same halo will shine through our countenance and make our faces bright with glory.

Whatever leads to vanity, lightness, and worldly-mindedness is not the joy of heavenly beings, but the nonsense of the wicked world. There are men in this kingdom who cannot discriminate between that which is of God and that which is not of him, and who are at a loss to know how far to go and not sin. The very moment you have a doubt upon your mind that what you do is not exactly right, then stop and pursue that course which you know is right, and in which you can enjoy the clear, warm, cheering, peaceful influence which cometh from God as an earnest that you are doing right, then shall you be blessed in all your works here below, and fill up your days in usefulness. I heard a man say, the other day, who is in the evening of his days, that if he had never done much good, he had never done any evil that he knew of. God will receive all such in the heavens, when they put off this mortality.

I feel to bless and not curse. Had I the power I would rather avert an evil that I saw coming upon any individual or people, and see them led into the path of blessings, though it should cause my words to fail.

May God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 19, 1862.

Brethren and sisters, you have all heard what has been said by President Young and others. I can say that I agree with them in all those things of which they have spoken. I have been very much annoyed, ever since I came into these mountains, by those thieves that have been prowling around and stealing our property. I cannot think what fathers are doing to allow their children to mingle with those who are known to be thieves, thereby creating a propensity to interfere with other men’s property. My father was not a religious man, but he always taught his children good morals and strict honesty: he also paid due respect to the religions of the day. He instructed them against lying, stealing, and every species of vice; and I presume that there are not many who have been more strictly educated in the principles of morality than I have.

When people sent their children to school in those days, they were taught, among other things, the Ten Commandments. The principles inculcated in those commandments were impressed upon their young and tender minds, such as, “Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet any of thy neighbor’s property. Thou shalt not bear false witness.” These and many other good principles were strongly enforced upon the children’s minds, and this prevented them from being led astray. In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants we have these things set forth in great plainness. Read the 5, 6, 7, and 8 paragraphs of a revelation, given February, 1831, which is as follows—

“And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel. And they shall observe the covenants and church articles to do them, and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be directed by the Spirit. And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the power of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach. And all this ye shall observe to do as I have commanded concerning your teaching, until the fulness of my scriptures is given. And as ye shall lift up your voices by the Comforter, ye shall speak and prophesy as seemeth me good; For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth record of the Father and of the Son.

And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.

And again, I say, thou shalt not kill; but he that killeth shall die. Thou shalt not steal; and he that stealeth and will not repent shall be cast out. Thou shalt not lie; he that lieth and will not repent shall be cast out. Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else. And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be cast out. Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out. But he that has committed adultery and repents with all his heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt forgive; But if he doeth it again, he shall not be forgiven, but shall be cast out. Thou shalt not speak evil of thy neighbor, nor do him any harm. Thou knowest my laws concerning these things are given in my scriptures; he that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out.

If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments. And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken. And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do it unto me; and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church and his counselors, two of the elders, or high priests, such as he shall appoint or has appointed and set apart for that purpose.”

In these days people act with their children as if they thought those wholesome doctrines were done away, and they are very ready in their ignorance to refer to Paul’s saying about leaving certain principles and going on to perfection; but the true doctrine is not to leave those principles which we first learned, but to bear them in mind, day by day, to do unto our neighbor as we would wish him to do unto us, and thus go on to perfection. This is the law and the prophets. These principles are in force upon us as much as they are upon others.

You may go and read the revela– tions which God gave through Joseph Smith, and you will there find repeated in each of them some of those good old principles. From the first organization of this Church until today, virtue, honesty, and the strictest morality have been taught in all the revelations given through Joseph Smith and his successor. Then, for men to introduce those hateful practices of lying, stealing, drunkenness, and other vices into our midst, at the same time professing to be Saints, I cannot but feel to despise their conduct, if I do not hate them. It is taking a course to defile this community. The tabernacles of men become corrupted by these wicked acts which they perform while under the control of the evil spirits which dictate them, and that tabernacle that is defiled I will destroy, saith the Lord God.

These are my feelings upon the subjects treated upon by President Young and Bishop Woolley. As was remarked, I may also ask, Do we fear our enemies in the world? I answer, No. I have more fear about those corrupt individuals who dwell in our midst.

Let us endeavor to live up to our privileges; then the world have nothing more to do with us than they have with the angel of God whom they never saw. Know ye not, brethren and sisters, that you are angels to the present generation as well as those behind the veil? You can read in the Scriptures that the Lord promised to make Peter and James ministers to his servant John, whom the Lord appointed to tarry on the earth until Jesus should come again. If Michael the archangel were to come, he would appear as did Peter, James, and John when they appeared to Joseph Smith. If we are the elect of God, we should be among that number who will assist to gather the Saints in the last days. It won’t be done again by angels that are said to have wings, but it will be accomplished by those that have hands and feet, and who travel about upon this earth. It is for us who are chosen to administer in the flesh, and men behind the veil minister to us.

I feel really glad in regard to what has taken place of late—that those characters that have been prowling around, annoying their neighbors and stealing from their best friends, have been removed out of our midst, and placed where they can no longer afflict the righteous. This people know enough to be righteous, honest, pure, and virtuous; and those who will not practice that which they know to be good will become habituated to folly and vice, just in the same way that men become habituated to using tobacco, to stealing, drinking, and lying.

Some have tried to hide their iniquities by saying they only stole from the Gentiles; but I contend that a man who will steal from a Gentile will steal from me, if he ever gets an opportunity. When the time comes that the Lord says, “Arise, and to your tents, O Israel;” then men must be pure inside and out; they must be for God, or they will have no part in the blessings conferred upon the righteous. We sometimes talk about cutting men off from the Church. Now, I want to know what is the use of retaining dead limbs upon a tree. If such limbs are allowed to continue, they impart death to the branches. Brother Brigham illustrated this subject very clearly.

We are all connected with the one tree; and if one member suffers, the others are affected. When we get intelligence, it is through the Father having revealed himself to Jesus, and Jesus to his chosen ones upon the earth.

In the beginning of this Church, Jesus sent Peter, James, and John, who committed the power unto Joseph; and then he engrafted it into us. But suppose the graft die, like many which we put into trees, then we have to cut out the graft and put in a new one, that the tree may thrive and prosper.

When I see dishonesty among this people, I feel sorrowful. If I find men out once, I will have nothing to do with them afterward; and there is no law in heaven or on the earth that requires me to mingle with them; but I am required to cleave to every honest, virtuous, and truthful man. This is the nature of the religion of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation.

Brethren, if any of us have erred in the past, let us do better in the future. Let those who have done wrong do wrong no more. Let us cast out all hatred, malice, and bad feelings from our hearts. We are very subject to be charged with falsehood—to get wrong impressions concerning our brethren. Although we may be men of God, judges in Israel, and have a right to the power which will enable us to judge between truth and error, the man that tells the truth and him that striveth to deceive, still we are apt and liable to be mistaken and to receive false impressions. For instance, we think a great deal of our children and of our wives, and we are apt to believe them in preference to men of God; and in this way we become charged with false impressions concerning our brethren. We should be very careful how we receive the report of one person concerning another, especially if that report be unfavorable. Brethren and sisters, it is our duty to tell the truth and to let falsehood and misrepresentation alone. These are my sentiments and feelings; and if ever I have gone contrary to this, I have gone wrong.

This is a doctrine you all believe in, as well as I. You came here with the feeling in your hearts, “If I can see a people living thus and so, all will be right.” But I want to know what it is to you or me whether another person does right or wrong. It is for us to do right, and never to suffer ourselves to be caught in a snare, or walking in the path of the ungodly. It matters not what another does, we should honor the Priesthood and work righteousness all the day long. This is the duty of every man in the Priesthood and every member in this kingdom; then all will go well with Israel, and our enemies will have no power over us. The world may combine against us, but the unalterable decree of the Almighty has gone forth—“I will fight your battles.” Have we not proven this? Yes, we have; and we shall prove it again and again.

God bless the upright, the humble, the pure, the poor, and the meek of his people; and may the time soon come when his kingdom shall triumph, and Jesus reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 15, 1862.

I love to speak to the Saints, when I am blessed with ability to speak in a manner to please myself. I have proved that when I can become fully satisfied with my own actions, and am well pleased with myself, then I please and satisfy my neighbors. People ought always to be pleased with themselves when they do the best they can.

It is fully proved in all the revelations that God has ever given to mankind that they naturally love and admire righteousness, justice, and truth more than they do evil. It is, however, universally received by professors of religion as a Scriptural doctrine that man is naturally opposed to God. This is not so. Paul says, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of God,” but I say it is the unnatural “man that receiveth not the things of God.” Paul, in another place, says, “if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” That which was, is, and will continue to endure is more natural than that which will pass away and be no more. The natural man is of God. We are the natural sons and daughters of our natural parents, and spiritually we are the natural children of the Father of light and natural heirs to his kingdom; and when we do an evil, we do it in opposition to the promptings of the Spirit of Truth that is within us. Man, the noblest work of God, was in his creation designed for an endless duration, for which the love of all good was incorporated in his nature. It was never designed that he should naturally do and love evil.

When our first parents fell from their paradisiacal state, they were brought in contact with influences and powers of evil that are unnatural and stand in opposition to an endless life. So far as mankind yield to these influences, they are so far removed from a natural to an unnatural state—from life to death. Adam and Eve did not sin because it was in their nature to love sin, but, as Paul says in his Epistle to Timothy, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.” The enemy of all righteousness deceived the woman, and Adam went with her that man might be, and that she might be saved in childbearing.

I hold that it is easier to do right than wrong, and that it gives more real satisfaction, more sterling happiness, and more self-respect to any person to do a good deed than to do an evil deed. “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward,” and that in consequence of sin’s being in the world.

Brother G. D. Watt has exhorted us to let truth be the standard to all our sayings and actions. While he was so fervent for the truth I thought of the harlot Rahab who, by faith, perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. It appears that this ancient harlot told the king of Jericho that the two spies went out of the city when it was dark, about the time of the shutting of the gate, while at the same time she had hid them on the roof of her house under some stalks of flax. This is an instance where a slight departure from the truth produced more real good than a strict observance of the facts in the case would have done, for by screening the two spies from the custody of the King of Jericho the harlot saved herself and her father’s house. We call simple facts, truth; but the truth must be held in righteousness. “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.” It is more natural for a person to tell the truth than to lie. All the works of God are founded in truth, and that truth must be held in righteousness.

You remember that a few weeks ago the Elders of Israel were advised to practice what they preach, and not do a thousand things they are glad the people do not know. There are many acts of some of the best of mankind that they are thankful are not known in the streets and in their families. I would not be willing to say that this is the case with all men, or that it is so in the midst of this people, because the best of this people do as well as they know how, and live lives they need not be ashamed of before God and the hosts of heaven and hell. A great many wrongs are committed more from mistake and ignorance than design; and in judging of wrongs done it is more just to judge according to design than according to the exterior appearance or the sight of the eye.

It is much easier to live the life of a Saint than to live the life of a sinner. There is more real good obtained and more real profit gained in being honest and in telling the truth as it is, than in taking the opposite course. If you are selling an animal and it is a little faulty, deceive not the purchaser to get from him more than the animal is worth, but reveal its faults and ailings, and deal upon upright principles. I will explain this by relating a circumstance. When I was quite young, a man by the name of Hezekiah Wales, a great horse jockey, traded upon this principle. He had a horse that seemed to be the embodiment of every wrong way. A traveler rode up on a worn-out animal and must have that very horse, and would exchange in the trade the one he was riding. Mr. Wales wanted five dollars and the worn-out horse for his animal. The traveler thought this was rather too much, and asked Mr. Wales what his horse was good for: “Will he work in harness?” “No.” “Is he a good riding horse?” “No.” “Can he do anything at all?” “Yes; if he has a mind to.” “Is he worth anything?” “No, not a cent.” The traveler could not be beat off, and made the exchange. This circumstance also illustrates a leading trait in the character of man, he will not be turned aside from his purpose, if it is within his power to accomplish it. Should he undertake to travel to the south, east, west, or north, a recital of all the dangers that lie in his path will not turn him from his purpose, he will follow the bent of his own inclination, should he lose his life in so doing. This is human.

I will take the liberty of differing with many of my brethren with regard to how we should conduct ourselves towards our wives. I am a great lover of good women. I understand their nature, the design of their being, and their worth. I have been acquainted with hundreds of men, before I came into this Church, who before that, if they did not dictate every five dollars or fifty cents that they had in their pockets, their wives were ruling over them. On this point I shall differ with all who differ with me. If I have five dollars and I can spare it, and my wife wants it, I tell her she is welcome to it. What do you want to get with it, wife? “Oh, something that pleases me.” I do not believe in making my authority as a husband or a father known by brute force; but by a superior intelligence—by showing them that I am capable of teaching them. If I have a wife that wants to be humored with five dollars, yes, take it; I would humor her. If I commit wrong towards my family, it is because I let them use what they should not, or that which I might bestow upon the poor. I may humor them too much. I will humor a child with everything I consistently can. Does not God, in his providences, bear and forbear with us in our weaknesses and sins? How many times shall I forgive a brother, and bear with weaknesses in him that are common to all men? So long as he does not intend to commit willful sin.

When our little children handle things that are in their way, the knives, forks, pins, needles, anything, and scatter, waste, and lose them, and these little faults are committed every few minutes throughout the day, shall we forgive the children or whip them? We will always forgive them until they are taught better, and learn to know good from evil, right from wrong. Our Father in heaven deals with us his children upon this principle. Do I believe in humoring too far? No. My Priesthood and calling as a minister of salvation must be honored; and if the Lord has placed me to be the head of a family, let me be so in all humility and patience, not as a tyrannical ruler, but as a faithful companion, an indulgent and affectionate father, a thoughtful and unassuming superior; let me be honored in my station through faithful diligence, and be fully capable, by the aid of God’s Spirit, of filling my office in a way to effect the salvation of all who are committed to my charge.

When I was first married I was told that my wife would rule over me, because I was too indulgent; I do not think that she did. Wife, when you spin you may set the wheel where you please; and when I come in to sleep if you have moved the bed from the northeast corner of the room to the southeast corner it is all right, if you are pleased. This course is much more manly than to quarrel with her because she has moved the bed without your permission, or has put the shovel and the tongs on the left instead of on the right hand side of the fireplace, at the same time giving her to understand that you are the master of the house. But wife, I have made you a good water bench, and a sink, and under the sink have made a place for the swill pail, and I would like to have you to keep the pails in their respective places. If you will put the swill pail where the water pail should be, I must go somewhere else to drink water, and not run the risk of drinking out of the swill pail in the night. I can show you wife, where to put everything in your house. If she wants so many tucks in her dress, yes, put in as many as you want, for you have to spin and weave the cloth; make the dress as you please, that is your business; and if I have five dollars that is not otherwise appropriated you are welcome to it. But if I have five dollars in my pocket that I owe and have promised to pay tomorrow morning, it must be paid.

If a woman can rule a man and he not know it, praise to that woman. They are few who know well the office of a woman from that of a man. Imbecility is marked upon the people of the present age. All who have their eyes open to see and their minds enlightened to understand things as they are, will subscribe readily to this declaration. When the servants of God in any age have consented to follow a woman for a leader, either in a public or a family capacity, they have sunk beneath the standard their organization has fitted them for; when a people of God submit to that, their Priesthood is taken from them, and they become as any other people.

I shall humor the wife as far as I can consistently; and if you have any crying to do, wife, you can do that along with the children, for I have none of that kind of business to do. Let our wives be the weaker vessels, and the men be men, and show the women by their superior ability that God gives husbands wisdom and ability to lead their wives into his presence. I want the brethren and sisters to kindly manage their affairs indoors and out, taking good care of that which belongs to them, and being contented in their lots and stations.

God bless the righteous, and I do not care how soon the wicked are overthrown. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 7, 1862.

The teaching today has been excellent, and very profitable to us all. When Jesus Christ commenced his ministry, he taught a short time, wrought miracles, called twelve men and ordained them Apostles, and gave them power from on high to establish the principles of the Gospel of the Son of Man in all the world. When he had thus commenced the work of his Father, and eaten his last supper with his disciples, which we commemorate in the sacrament on the Sabbath day, they spilled his blood. On the third day he rose again from the dead, showed himself to his faithful followers, gave them further instructions, promised them another Comforter, and then went to preach to the spirits in prison, opening the door of the proclamation of the Gospel to the dead as well as to the living, that men in the spirit might be judged according to men in the flesh.

The present American war, which brother George A. Smith has dwelt upon this afternoon, has disembodied thousands of spirits, who are gone into the spirit world to mingle with those spirits who are unprepared to enter the presence of God. Now we who hold the same Priesthood that Christ and his Apostles held, who follow him in the regeneration, will also become the saviors of men on earth and in the spirit world; therefore, the thousands slain in the present war are not without hope. It is our calling to preach life and salvation to them even in another existence; and it is our duty so to live that we honor our high calling in this world to be prepared to labor for the souls of men in the next. We should forsake the world and its pernicious ways, and serve the Lord our God with our might, soul, and strength.

The word of the Lord to all the world, and to all Israel, is repent and turn to the Lord your God with all your hearts. The Lord does not require that of us which we cannot do. We can forsake every unrighteous principle and cleave to principles of truth, wherein is the power of God. No man can have the power of God who dishonors the truth. Jesus took Peter, James, and John into a high mountain, and there gave them their endowment, and placed upon them authority to lead the Church of God in all the world, to ordain men to the Priesthood, to set in order the Church and send forth the Elders of Israel to preach to a perishing world. For the same purpose has the Lord called us up into these high mountains, that we may become endowed with power from on high in the Church and kingdom of God, and become kings and priests unto God, which we never can be lawfully until we are ordained and sealed to that power, for the kingdom of God is a kingdom of kings and priests, and will rise in mighty power in the last days.

Some people are taken captive by the adversary, and are seduced to bring themselves under obligations never to raise the standard of King Emanuel again. We have not enlisted in the cause of truth for a limited time, but for time and all eternity; we are not to be taken prisoners, or ever lay down our arms to submit in the least degree to the enemy of all righteousness, and the Lord helping us, we never will; the world, with all their combinations of earthly power, and earthly cunning and wisdom will never bring us into subjection. That time is past, if we keep the covenants and vows we have made in the house of God. I know that as well as I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that Joseph Smith was sent of God to organize it, and that the men who now lead it on earth are his authorized ministers. If we follow them as they follow Christ, God will give us the victory. But we must act as one man; and as the natural body is dictated by the conclusions of one mind, so must we as a Church and people act under the dictation of one head; yet, “the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.”

The righteous have no cause for fear. If I fear anything, it is that this people are becoming wealthy, becoming fanciful, and full of love for the vain fashions of the ungodly, which, if indulged in, will bring them trouble and sorrow.

The majority of this people are a righteous people, and God will defend the righteous, and for the righteous’ sake preserve a great many for the time being that are not righteous; for he has great respect for his friends—for his anointed—for the elect whose lives have been hid with Christ in God, and none of these will be lost because Jesus Christ saves all whom the Father has put in his power. Then let us be comforted and full of good cheer; and let us, with a good will as a people, work the work of righteousness. Let every person be filled with a desire to excel in every good word and work, and strive to become foremost in making good improvements, laying aside everything that is unnecessary, and cleaving to that which is useful and necessary to give us power and independence among the nations of the world, and favor with God and angels who will bear us off victoriously.

Brother George A. has been talking about our driving. In this I have an extensive experience during thirty years past that I have been in the Church; and this is an experience that no man can obtain only by passing through the same circumstances; but all the Saints will have enough of trials if they are faithful to their God and themselves, they will have all they can possibly bear in one way or another.

Let us improve our homes, our city and our country, and do all in our power to become a self-sustaining people by making at home everything we need. One of the speakers today referred to the ignorance of gardeners; it made me think of a gardener I had. When the corn was in the silk, he husked it, and brought it into my family to eat; he said he thought the cob was the part to eat. He pulled the watermelons before they were ripe, and divided them among my family. Our English gardeners are unacquainted with many of the productions of this country, and hence they make some little mistakes; but who is so ignorant that they cannot learn and improve?

We spend a great deal of ready money in the east and west for material for clothing which we can make at home, if we will try. We can make lace and silk, and different kinds of cloth, both cotton and woolen. We have as good weavers as can be found in any country, but it is almost impossible to get any of them into a loom; they seem to love rural pursuits better. When they were in England, it was the daily business of many to work with the flying shuttle, which could be heard all over the land.

All sane persons, old and young, can improve. Some say they are too old to improve, but there is no person too old to be damned for their sins. A man of sixty years of age, if he has improved himself, is brighter than he was at twenty; he is filled with more power, energy, and life; he is like a ripe ear of corn that is filled with the elements of life more than a green ear: the old man will come up quicker than a young one. There is brightness in old men and in old women who live and honor God and their own existence.

What brother Brigham has said in relation to the carelessness of hired men is strictly true. I have had a man in my employ that would light his pipe or cigarette and smoke in the hay mow, which was paying him twenty-five dollars a month, besides boarding and washing, which altogether would amount to fifty dollars a month and over; and then would wear out two or three pairs of thin boots in the course of three months, for which he would pay from eight to ten dollars a pair, and then complain he had not wages enough. There are but few men that honestly earn their wages. Brother Brigham and myself used to work hard, side by side, for fifty cents a day and board ourselves; we had seventy-five cents a day when we worked in the hayfield; we would work from sunrise to sunset, and until nine o’clock at night if there was sign of rain. We would rake and bind after a cradler for a bushel of wheat a day, and chop wood, with snow to our waist for eighteen cents a cord, and take our pay in corn at seventy-five cents a bushel.

There is an impression in laborers that they should not earn their employer anything above their wages. What man would keep an animal—say a cow—that never made any increase? Such an animal you would fat and eat. These are a few things which we suffer from one another, and if such dishonesty is permitted to increase, it will be the ruination of those who practice it.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 25, 1862.

I certainly feel it a privilege to listen to such instructions as we have had this morning. I feel that we are a favored people; and that we can have instructions continually poured out upon us day by day, and Sabbath by Sabbath, that are calculated in their nature to reform, to elevate and instruct the mind. The principles of our religion exercise an influence over the minds of the people which is calculated to lead them in the paths of virtue, truth, and sobriety, and in that way which will best conduce to their happiness here and hereafter. Many reflections pass through my mind when I look abroad throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, and view the position of the Latter-day Saints who are gathered in these valleys of the mountains; and when I consider the object and purpose that have brought them here and that are keeping them together, view the vastness of their desires before high Heaven, their wishes in regard to themselves and posterity, their strong faith and unison of purpose which have caused them to take the course they are now pursuing, I consider it is a sublime spectacle to behold. Think of a community of thousands and tens of thousands actuated by one and the same purpose, and that the most noble in its nature, and that they are using their exertions for the establishment of peace and righteousness upon the earth, continu– ally seeking to produce a oneness in all their manifestations towards each other, in their public instructions and in their daily walk and conversation, using their life to do those things that will exalt the human family and striving to walk sin and iniquity under their feet. The consideration of this subject causes very strange and yet good reflections to pass through my mind. When I look upon this people and consider the subject of their present and future progress, when I view the matter in this light, I conclude that the feeling and desire with the great majority is to have righteousness prevail; and I know that this feeling exists to a greater extent here than it does anywhere else upon the surface of this globe. As was remarked last Sunday, by brother Taylor, if sin and iniquity bear sway, although the people may have here and there good principle, something among them that is calculated to do good, here and there an item of essential doctrine, and occasionally a few good men who seek to sustain good principles to exalt virtue and truth, yet these are overbalanced by the wicked and ungodly, and hence that people cannot enjoy pure and unalloyed happiness.

There is no power but that of the Almighty that can sustain these Heavenly principles, and it can only be accomplished by drawing the people out from the nations and placing them where they can overbalance all wicked influences and have the predominance over the evil. This is our situation, and how does it become us to act as the repositories of these favors? Should we sink into sin and iniquity, or should we continue to improve in the knowledge of God and to increase in those principles which lead to exaltation? We should endeavor to eradicate evil from our midst. What is our prayer? Is it not that those who work wickedness may be rooted out, and that those who work righteousness may be left to inherit the land? But how often do we see in our own experience little departures from these principles of right? Men swayed this way and the other by the influence of evil, just as brother Cummings said, though it may be ever so slight, yet it gives the Enemy the advantage; it leads men astray, takes them into darkness and error. We can see the individual who is thus swayed as he becomes completely darkened in his mind, and finally we see him stray from the fold of Christ.

This is the way with some of our young men who have been brought up by good, pious and righteous parents; and it is also to be regretted that we sometimes see those fathers who have been long in the Church lead their children to do evil by their improper examples, and not, perhaps, designing to use that kind of influence which will lead their offspring to the commission of crime. But, I apprehend that when a child comes to maturity he will have to stand and act upon his own volition; when he comes to this state he has both the knowledge and the power to act for himself, and in that case the responsibility attaches to the child and not to the parents. How often do we see children following in the path of their parents? If the parents are industrious we naturally expect that the children will follow in that path, but if parents learn their children to do that which is not right, they are apt to grow up in sin. I believe that the child is naturally honest, but when this feeling to do wrong first penetrates the mind of the child it causes it to look and wonder in astonishment, and it can scarcely comprehend what the parents mean. I have thought frequently upon this subject, and I have seen circumstances where the child could not comprehend the evil or the cheat that was intended, when it would appear to be bereft of its senses and to be completely astonished when it comprehended what was intended by its parents. Now the child has the utmost confidence in its parents, and when it comes to maturity that confidence will be retained, provided the parents do not forfeit it. I believe that the child is astonished when it discovers any departure from truth on the part of its parents; I consider, therefore, that the responsibility, to a great extent, is with the Elders and those who are over the people in the community. If confidence be impaired in the parents, then all the children have to look to for instruction and guidance are those who hold authority among the people. I know there are people here who are lawless and who do not consider the rights of their neighbors, and it is as it was said anciently, “My people do not consider.” Parents do not consider that the eyes of their children are upon them, reading in their looks, acts, and words that which will be incorporated in their own nature and manifested in their future career. Children are continually watching, and they imitate everything they see, and, in fact, generally speaking, they are very great at imitation. Then, how circumspect and how careful should parents be to instill righteousness and holy principles into the young and tender minds of their children; remember to teach them principles of honor, teach them to avoid everything that has the appearance of evil, and let them be taught to look down with disdain upon those little peccadilloes and little nasty tricks that are sometimes indulged in. Some have been taught that certain little mean tricks are according to the way of the world, and, therefore, they have indulged in them. I despise such performances, and I like to see a man above that which will lead to dishonesty. Here are my brethren and sisters who have come from different parts of the world, and who have been traditionated to do a great many things that are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, but we have had instructions in this kingdom to put away far from us all those practices that are contrary to the spirit and genius of our own religion. Who will act in this way when they can see very clearly that these little things will lead them on to still greater? It has been quite a common practice with some to steal the soap and the clothes of those for whom they were washing. Such practices are as common as anything that occurs in their lives; they have been trained up to such things all their days, and their fathers before them from generation to generation. Well, shall they carry on these little petty stealings in this generation, or shall they quit them and teach their children to do so too? Has not the Gospel placed them upon a platform where they can live without continuing in these evil practices? They doubtless have their apologies for these things in the old country where they are oppressed, and, as it were, trodden under foot of men, but here it is not so, for the Gospel will redeem them, exalt them, and bring them up to where they can live better without these practices than with them, and where they can leave these things off and have the confidence of their brethren and friends, so long as they do not attempt to drag these evil practices with them into the kingdom of God. I tell you the kingdom of God will do you but little good, unless you forsake all your evil ways and turn unto the Lord our God with full purpose of heart.

Let us not have such things hanging around us, nor permit ourselves to transmit any of them to our children, but let us purify our own hearts, and then let us set before them pure and holy examples. I speak of these things with a view to have the same remarks apply to all the evil influences with which the Devil has afflicted the world. I am aware that there are those both around us and amongst us that would be glad to see these kind of practices triumph just as they do in the world, and then the Enemy of all righteousness would have the people in his own hands just as he has in the world. But we have the privilege of overcoming those things, and have been placed in a position where we can combine our energies for the accomplishment of those which are required of us, ever seeking to do good, having had our hearts touched with those principles which have come from heaven. In this way we can rid ourselves of those evils which prevail within the rest of the world.

Let that father who sends his child to feed his horse in his neighbor’s pasture overnight and to bring him home before morning, consider what influence it will have upon his son in after life. Would it not make a thief of him? It would; and it would frame his mind for trespassing upon his neighbor whenever he might have the opportunity.

Man is the most independent being upon God’s footstool, for he has his free volition to do right or wrong; he has the power to reject the evil and choose the good if he chooses, and if he wants to consign himself to oblivion and go back to native element let him follow in the path of the ungodly; but, if, on the other hand, he wants to endure and dwell with God and holy angels, to have knowledge and power to understand all intelligence and finally become one of the Gods of eternity, let him take a course to produce that effect, and let him use his influence to bring to pass that which is calculated to exalt and bring him up finally upon the platform of the Gods of eternity.

We are here upon God’s footstool and we have all the privilege and the power to take either course—to take which road we please. Here through the goodness of God in these last days mankind have a privilege which they have not had for many generations that are past and gone. Here a man can live and pursue the path of righteousness, truth, and virtue and none dare forcibly drive him from the path of right, but, if, on the other hand, a man is not honest he can join with the wicked and ungodly. A man who has a disposition to do right can here prove his integrity in all the relations of life, in all the intercourse he has with men on the earth, he can increase his power to do good, and none will attempt to hinder him. This is a great privilege, and one that does not belong to all the people upon the face of the earth, but it accrues to the people of these Valleys because they have been gathered out from the nations and brought under the influences which prevail here. And where these principles are cherished and taught by the servants of God, where they are urged continually upon the attention of the people, where the people practice them and shun the evil and live for happiness and glory there is present peace; but if they take another course and neglect those principles of light and intelligence they will be led to ruin and be sub– jected to all kinds of disasters. We can see clearly that those who are supposed to be righteous can be so in the nations of the earth, though not so easily as they can here, for it is very easily to be seen that the influence of the good Spirit and the principles of eternal life cannot be used to the same extent there as in these valleys and mountains.

When Joseph was in Egypt he could preserve his integrity before Potipher and Pharaoh, and so it is with our Elders who go out from here to perform duties that may be assigned them among the nations of the earth; they can preserve their integrity, and by cleaving to those principles which they have learned while here they will have power over the Tempter, and they will return when they have accomplished their missions in peace and safety, for the Lord will preserve them from those evils which are calculated to lead them into disgrace. This is the advantage of those who go forth from the midst of this people; they have the faith and prayers of all Israel to shield them from the powers of darkness and from those influences which would otherwise lead them to commit sin; by these means are the Elders of this Church preserved when in the midst of wickedness. This is a great power that is upon the earth, and it is here because holy and righteous principles exist and are practiced among this people. These are some of the benefits derived from obedience to the fulness of the Gospel, and it becomes us as Saints of the Most High to strive to preserve ourselves pure and holy before him, to take hold of good and righteous principles like men and women of God, to labor to sustain our present existence, to sustain ourselves by drawing from the elements all those good things which he has placed within our reach, and thus become a really independent people, to be no longer dependent upon those who would gladly sell us for the cloth we have to wear. It becomes an experiment for us to sustain ourselves, though not exactly one that is liable to fail, but it is to see whether a righteous and holy people, coming out from the world, can draw from the elements that have been previously scattered around them for their own immediate sustenance and support, or whether they will forever be dependent upon those who would destroy them.

We have made good progress in these valleys of the mountains, and it is truly encouraging to look around and see what has been accomplished within fifteen years. Still there is a great deal more to be done. When ancient Israel went out of Egypt, a vast host of them, the Lord administered to their immediate necessities, and ordained that their clothing should not wear out, and in this way they were freed from labor while traveling in the wilderness; the Lord himself combined the elements for the benefit and support of that people. Now, we have been brought a far greater distance than they were, but the manna from heaven has not been showered out upon us as it was upon them. We have had to exert our intellect, to delve in the earth, and to a great extent we have succeeded in bringing from the elements our food and clothing. I think this is a far greater work than that which Moses brought about, and we are doing it without that mighty interposition which seemed to be necessary in the days of Moses, though the Lord has truly been prolific in blessing the earth since his people came to this country. What have the servants of God done since they came here? The first thing was to dedicate the earth, the air, the water, and the mountains, and this blessing has been poured out upon them and upon the people, and through the blessing of High Heaven, the earth has brought forth to the sustenance of his people. Is there not a dignity in this labor which we are performing? In endeavoring to bring from the elements things necessary for our support? I say there is, and there is an honor that accrues to the Latter-day Saint for their indefatigable exertions in this respect; it shows that they are alive to the work of the last days, that they are exerting themselves to build up a city and a kingdom wherein shall dwell righteousness, to the defiance of the Devil and his hosts. What a glorious sight it would be to see the united hosts of Israel present one mighty and unbroken phalanx against the wickedness of the world. If this were the case could the Devil or wicked men break such a band of united brethren? No; they would say come on, let the surges of opposition roll up against us, and still we will stand steadfast being of one heart and one mind. What is there that this people could not accomplish if they would preserve inviolate this integrity, and stand shoulder to shoulder in all the acts of their lives, to sustain one another and those that are placed to guide and dictate in the kingdom of God? There is nothing but what could be done by a union of this kind, for it is your privilege, and it is also the privilege of all the Latter-day Saints to be united in doing that which is good, and I am happy to say that this is the case to a great extent, but still the people might do more towards concentrating their energies for the welfare of Israel. There are a great many mean little acts manifest themselves yet, at this advanced day; these we should all seek to reject and begin anew with ourselves, and see that none of these things are traced to our bosom.

Brother Cummings does not pretend to train up his children to walk in these bye and forbidden paths of which I have been speaking, neither do I nor brother Brigham nor many others, still there are others that turn out vile and do those things that are wrong. But the time must come that righteousness must prevail, or else we have no privilege, no promise of the future, and in fact without it we have nothing that is any better than that which is possessed by anybody else, and we had better have stayed in the world and served the Devil at the places where we came from than to have come here for such a purpose. All those who feel like continuing in this way had a great deal better be somewhere else striving to introduce such evil practices as they have brought from the old world. A Gospel of salvation would reform every son and daughter of Adam, if they would let it, and it would bring them upon the platform of redemption, for the Gospel is redeeming in its qualities; it is ennobling in its nature, and it leads on to great and glorious results, and if we wish to be the recipients of its benefits it is for us to turn from the path which leads to destruction, and walk continually in the path of life. I truly feel an interest in this people, because they are of the class who are striving to do right; I feel proud to be associated with such a people as this, with all the follies which I cannot fellowship and which, in connection with others, I shall try to overcome, and to redeem this people from all evil. I say that we are a good people, and far the best people that live upon the earth, and let us try to get rid of things that are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel as fast as we can, and try to induce the people by whom we are surrounded to increase in the love of God, to hate that which is evil, and by the love which they have for the principles of holiness, cause them to hate iniquity and love righteousness. The presentation of these things to the minds of the people will do good, it will be a means of imparting to them the influences and principles by which we are inspired. In this way, perhaps, we may redeem some of them and bring them back to where they can have the honor, the glory and the peace which are the reward of the righteous, even of all who eschew evil and do good.

Let each and every one exercise their influence in this way, to promote holy and righteous principles upon the earth. Religion is glorious where it brings peace to the soul and contentment to the mind. Let us abide in those things and keep ourselves within the scope of those holy influences that do predominate and prevail in the midst of this people, and do not let us run here and there after things which do not concern us. If we want to be blest by those predominating principles and influences which the Lord has placed here, far from the power of the wicked, let us not by any act of our own throw ourselves outside of those influences. The moment we do it of our own volition we tread upon slippery places. Men may go away from here when they are sent by proper authority, when they are wanted to accomplish a certain purpose, and they can retain the Spirit of the Almighty, but when they go without being sent, of their own volition, then they have no assurance that their feet will not slip; they have not the faith of the people to help them; the angels have no charge to preserve them, and particularly those that leave and go into sin and iniquity, and are finally captivated by Satan. And, supposing they only go to Salmon River or California and return, perhaps having a little of the leaven of life, they return with the spirit of the world upon them. Have we any examples of this kind? If we have let us look at them, and from the lessons of the past let us look at the results of the future. I have seen them come back with a little gold, and it has almost invariably ruined them, nine cases out of ten this has been the result, and if they have not succeeded as well as they thought they ought to have done in the midst of the Saints, they are found with curses upon their lips, such as the inhabitants where they have been are accustomed to indulge in: they do not respect the Sabbath, they do not meet in the Tabernacle with the brethren to learn the word of the Lord, neither do they meet anywhere else for any good purpose, but they may be seen in the streets racing their horses, or cutting up some kind of useless folly, wasting their time till their money is gone, and then they have nothing to do but to go back and get more. They go, and perhaps get a less sum than they did the first time, but no matter whether they do or not they are never contented. This has been my experience, and this is the best, the fairest and the smoothest light in which I can view such cases and speak of them. This course of life, so far as it has an influence, disqualifies the young man from making a good, humble, faithful follower of Jesus; it disqualifies him from becoming a Saint of the Most High. This is my experience; you can look at the subject with your own eyes.

There are quite a number, and some good men among them, that want to know if it is counsel to go out on the road to trade. I tell them that I have no counsel of that kind to give, neither have I heard the President give such counsel to anyone. If I want to go out on the road to trade, taking butter and eggs and such like things, and my Bishop and President want me to go, then I should feel that I could be preserved. I should doubtless feel it to be a great burden, and as for seeking for such an opportunity it would be far from me, for I certainly would not wish to go unless I was wanted.

I mention this matter because many have asked me about it, and I have universally told them that I have no such counsel to give. It is a blessing to live in such a community as this, and I feel that it is not safe for anyone to use his own volition to go outside of this influence. This feeling is what has led my mind in this way, and I pray God to help us to stand upon this platform where we can be preserved from the influences of the wicked, and keep ourselves so that we cannot be led astray, nor be swayed to and fro by every wind of doctrine or example that comes along, but that we may seek for wisdom and knowledge, that our minds may be prepared to receive the teachings we hear from day to day.

May God help us to do right, and cause truth and good examples to sink deep into our hearts, that we may cultivate every virtuous and holy principle, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 25, 1862.

Our mortal existence is a school of experience. Could we improve every hour of our time in the best possible way until we attain a ripe old age, there will be still much to learn pertaining to this world, pertaining to our natural lives, to the organization of our bodies and spirits, to the object and design of our existence, and the will of Heaven concerning us.

Some of our speakers, in their public addresses, express themselves as seeing great reason to be thankful for the improvements we are making in self-government, and our rapid advancement towards the fountains of knowledge. Others have a long experience to relate of constant trials, tribulations, difficulties, and disappointments which they have now to pass through, and gloomy forebodings of more in the future; they dwell upon how we are tried with each other, and become dissatisfied with each other and with ourselves, &c. Now, this is all good, and if properly received is for our mutual edification and advancement, giving us much to reflect upon, and lessons to learn from the experience of each other. But should our lives be extended to a thousand years, still we may live and learn. Every vicissitude we pass through is necessary for experience and example, and for preparation to enjoy that reward which is for the faithful. Others consider it a lamentable fact that we have to send abroad and preach the Gospel, and gather the people, and then they will apostatize. We only understand in part why we are required to pass through those various incidents of life. There is not a single condition of life that is entirely unnecessary; there is not one hour’s experience but what is beneficial to all those who make it their study, and aim to improve upon the experience they gain. What becomes a trial to one person is not noticed by another. Among these two thousand persons I am now addressing there cannot be found two that are organized alike, yet we all belong to the one great human family, have sprung from one source, and are organized to inherit eternal life. There are no two faces alike, no two persons tempered alike; we have come from different nations of the world, and have been raised in different climates, educated and traditioned in different and, in many instances, in opposite directions, hence we are tried with each other, and large drafts are made upon our patience, forbearance, charity, and good will—in short, upon all the higher and godlike qualities of our nature—for we are required by our holy religion to be one in our faith, feelings, and sentiments pertaining to things of time and eternity, and in all our earthly pursuits and works to keep in view the building up of the kingdom of God in the last days. Our work is to bring forth Zion, and produce the Kingdom of God in its perfection and beauty upon the earth.

The impulses of our different natures present an almost endless variety of pursuit, manner, and expression, yet all this under a wise and judicious direction will accomplish the great end of our existence and calling as ministers of the Most High. “Br. Brigham teaches that it is essentially necessary to improve every moment of our time in some useful and profitable labor, and by frugality and honest care obtain property by cultivating the earth, raising useful animals, &c., and thus make ourselves wealthy and independent, surrounding ourselves with everything to please the eye, gratify the taste, and gladden the heart.” Now, both you and I are aware that there are persons in our midst who do not understand this kind of religion; but we hail them as good brethren. When they address us they are full of faith that the time will come when the earth and its fulness will be given to the Saints of the Most High, yet, should the Lord hand out a small portion of it now, they cannot endure it.

We believe the earth is to be renovated, purified, glorified, celestialized, and prepared for the habitation of the Saints, who will possess not only the silver and gold now held by the wicked nations of the world, but every good thing, for “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” This “any good thing” will embrace horses, chariots, houses and lands, gardens and orchards, promenades and places for recreation, and everything to amuse and delight the heart of man. We are now beginning to get these things together and devote them to God, but, as I have remarked, some of this people cannot endure this kind of blessings. It is written, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Again, “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: his glory is the fulness of the whole earth.” He will give this fulness to the Saints. But the actions of some of this people speak in language like the following: “If you give me any of this riches and glory, Lord, I will apostatize; if you fill my lap with gold, I will cease serving you, and go to the Devil.”

The revelation that Br. James Cummings read is true. The people, at the time that revelation was given, were slow to remember the Lord in the day of their prosperity, and were covetous. I was not there, but was acquainted with many who were. I knew them before they went there, and I know they were covetous and filled with greediness. I know, if the Lord had blessed them with the good things of this earth, which he had prepared for the Saints at that day, not any of them would have stood. It would have been as Joseph said to me in Kirtland, “Brother Brigham, if I was to reveal to this people what the Lord has revealed to me, there is not a man or a woman would stay with me.” In the day of prosperity now the people are slow to follow the Lord. If he were now to bless this people with gold and silver, houses and lands, with everything to make them wealthy and comfortable here in Deseret or Utah, a great many would turn away from him to worship their idols.

“But,” says one, “this will not do for us; if we are the children of God we must be poor, we must see sorrow and affliction, and pass through much tribulation.” I have no fear but that every child of God will receive all the suffering he can bear while passing to his exaltation. Those who have suffered from sore eyes, I am satisfied, are contented not to suffer another moment with that dreadful malady, should they live on the earth a thousand years. The sisters who have been afflicted with sick headache never want to suffer from it another moment. Do you wish to have any more toothache? No, you think that you have suffered enough from that ache, and never wish to have it again while you live. So we may say of fevers, pains, aches, and diseases of every kind to which the human body is subject. I might inquire of the Nauvoo Saints whether they ever want to endure another chill and fever while they live. I am satisfied there is not one of them that would wish to pass through another day of their Nauvoo experience in sickness. Again, I ask the brethren who have come from the different nations of the earth, who have there suffered hunger, nakedness, cold, and oppression, are you satisfied with what you have suffered, without passing through the same in this land? I think you are. I have seen the time that I had not food to satisfy the craving of my nature, and I have suffered enough in this line of suffering. I know what it is to be hungry, and need not suffer hunger again to give me that kind of experience. I know what it is to be in poverty, and to be destitute of the raiment necessary to keep anybody warm. Many of you have also had this kind of experience, and we do not wish to pass through it again. Many of us know what it is to be in the midst of false brethren, which is the most hateful thing of all. Are you satisfied with what you have suffered from tattlers and busy bodies? Yes. Do you wish any person to bear false witness against you, to take away your liberty, and turn you out from your houses and possessions, and thirst for your life? Do you wish to see the Prophets and servants of God imprisoned, bound in chains, and sacrificed in blood? When you are brought face to face with suffering, you see nothing in it that is desirable, then why cultivate a morbid desire for suffering? You will find all you can bear, though you surround yourselves with all the comforts and conveniences of life, and enjoy them as gifts from the Lord, acknowledging his hand, offering unto him constantly the incense of a grateful heart. Leave this kingdom, and I will promise you more suffering than the tongue of man can utter, until you are consumed soul and body—until you are wasted away—the body in the death pronounced upon it, and the spirit in the awful sufferings and torments attending the second death. Then stick firmly to the kingdom, and be satisfied with the pains, aches, and afflictions you have already suffered.

The time has come for us to begin to glorify our Father in Heaven with the earth and its fulness, and let the gold and the silver, and the fruits of the earth, and all precious things produced by the industry of man praise God, and let all men acknowledge his name, honor his character, bow to his divinity, glory in his supremacy, and admire the wonders of his providence over the earth and its fulness. The time has come for us to put forth our best efforts to bring forth the Zion of God and gather all things in one, even in Christ Jesus.

There is a great variety of talent among this people, but as a people they know but little as to the uses of the world in which they live, and the design of God in its creation. There is not one in a million of mankind that is filled with that intelligence that an intelligent being should be filled with, but they pass from this stage of action, are no more, and are apparently forgotten. This is decidedly the case with the world outside, and, very much so with many of this people who have been gathered out from the world. Here they have to think and do a little for themselves, which gives them a course of useful experience. This is not so much so with the outside world, for the great masses of the people neither think nor act for themselves, but are acted upon, and act accordingly; and think as they are thought for; it is, as with the Priest so with the people. I see too much of this gross ignorance among this chosen people of God.

I will now portray a little of the feelings and conduct of the laboring classes. When a man can only earn a dollar a day, and has no way of increasing his finances only by his labor, he is obliged to be frugal, if he is honest, and he manages to keep a wife and a few children comparatively comfortable. By-and-by the times improve and wages rise so that he can earn ten dollars per week instead of six. “Now, wife, we will allow a little more for the bread, and more for the meat, and more for the tea, the coffee, sugar, fruit, spices, &c. We must buy our daughter a pair of fine shoes, and our little boy must have a whistle, and the baby a doll, and you shall have a new bonnet by-and-by, and I must have a pair of fine boots, and a new coat and other things in keeping, for you know, wife, I am now getting ten dollars per week, and by-and-by I may yet double or treble that amount.” In this way they manage to live out all their means. This is a peculiarity in the majority of the old country people, and you can see the same thing here. You say you would rather hear something else than this. I would rather hear this. I am as far ahead in the Gospel and power of God as any of you, I know as much about it as any man in the Church, yet I need to know more. I think it is necessary, however, that you should learn to live today, and tomorrow, this year, and next year, and learn to honor your lives continually. We must prepare for that which is coming, and be ready to receive that which the Lord has in store for us.

I know how you live. Do we see poverty here? We do. How many are there who declare that they cannot pay their emigration expenses, and cannot give anything to bring their friends? You could, if you had a disposition to try. Use just enough of your earnings to make your bodies and your families happy and comfortable, and save the residue. I probably support more than any ten men in the Territory or in this State. I feed and clothe multitudes of men, women and children—and I like the man that gets me in debt to him. I consider that such a man has calculation and management, and is preparing himself to be useful, and to have something in his hands to use and to devote to noble purposes. But I pay men nine, ten, twelve, and twenty-five dollars per week, and when the year comes to a close they are owing me hundreds of dollars, when, if they had managed properly, there would have been a large credit in their favor. There is a class of men here who do not know but what they will apostatize by-and-by, and they do not wish anybody in debt to them, nor do they wish to owe anybody. You had better be about square, the whole of you that wish to apostatize and go off, for you cannot leave the country with your debts unpaid. The better way is to keep in the faith, and pay your debts. When some men are doing well they will become anxious for a change, and they want to raise stock, or possess a farm in Weber or Cache Valley; they go and stay year after year until they are reduced to poverty in consequence of their inexperience in that class of industry, and by-and-by they come back deploring their lack of sense in not knowing when they were well off. I have such persons here to deal with, and I have to keep along with my brethren at this slow rate of progression, until we know how to gather the heavens and the earth.

If there was impatience in heaven they would be impatient with the slothfulness of the Latter-day Saints. The heavens are waiting to be gracious, and are ready to shed forth all the blessings heaven and earth can bestow on the Saints, as soon as we can receive them and make use of them to the glory of God. If we do not first learn the little things, we cannot learn the greater things. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”

Every moment of human life should be devoted to doing good somewhere and in some way. We are all dependent upon a Being greater than ourselves, and we owe our talent, time, and every pulse of our nature to the Supreme of the Universe. We have nothing of our own, and ought to devote ourselves to usefulness; we ought to learn to be economical, which, coupled with industry, will make us wealthy. And while we are handling the things of this world, let us not neglect to become rich in faith, in humility, and to learn the ways of God, and be constantly and actively devoted to his service and the building up of his kingdom upon the earth, or the riches of this world will do us no good.

I heard it said to a young lad, “I will give you a dollar and a half a day and board you.” After a little reflection the young lad said, “If you will pay me three dollars a day, I think I will work for you a spell.” The principle of the thing flashed before me, like a flash of light, that such a course would be ruinous to this people. I could see, under such circumstances, that the lad could not live here two years before he would not know how to secure himself a pair of pantaloons; he might receive great wages, and yet be in the depths of poverty; he might be paid more than he earned, and still be needy. “I am getting three dollars a-day,” says a brother. What next? He must have as fine a pair of boots as any man wears in this community, and he will have them. When I was a boy a young man in our neighborhood went into a hat shop to buy a five dollar beaver. He said to Mr. Merrill. “Have you any five dollar hats?” “No, but I have some very nice three dollar hats.” The young gent did not want such a hat; he would not wear such a hat, but said, “I want a five dollar hat.” “Can you make me a five dollar hat?” “Yes.” “When shall I call for it ?” “In two weeks.” Merill took a three dollar hat that fitted the young man, marked it, and put it by. In two weeks the young man called for his hat, when the hatter reached down the same hat the young man had tried on before, saying, “that is a five dollar hat.” “Ah, that is the hat I want; what is the price?” “Five dollars.” He paid five dollars for a three dollar hat, and was perfectly satisfied. That is the case with hundreds of my brethren; they do not know the difference between a three dollar and a five dollar hat. I do not wish to tantalize anyone’s feelings, though I know that I often use extreme cases in comparison.

We have had to feed, clothe, and find house, room, firewood, &c., for quite a number of people in this community. The first place we set apart and devoted to the poor, was a house built by Enoch Reese, in the 13th Ward; we bought that place, and the Bishop prepared it for the poor to live in. We appointed Dr. Doremus to take care of that house. Could we get anyone to occupy it? No, but “if you will build us a house close by the Temple block we will live there, otherwise we will live with our neighbors where we can, and be at liberty to go where we please; we will not have your charity unless we dictate.” Is this not about so, Bishops? (Voices, “Yes.”) Unless a Bishop will suffer himself to be dictated by those who need his aid, they will not have his charity. This, I know, is the extreme in such cases.

What causes poverty among this people? It is the want of discretion, calculation, sound judgment. I am paying men more or less by the day, and where do you see those who get the least wages? Seated back in the barber’s chair three or four times a week. Next at a store to get a box of blacking to put upon fifteen dollar boots, if they can get them. They must have four or five dollar hand– kerchiefs, as fine things for their wives and children, and as much in quantity as any other man has. At the end of the year there are two or three hundred dollars on the debit side of their accounts. This is not good policy in them. Suppose that they want to go on a mission to California after gold, or to apostatize and go away, they have debits upon them that will perplex them. Other poor men want a yoke of cattle, and must have the best yoke that can be had; they want the best wagon that can be bought; and there goes two hundred dollars more. Then they must hire a man to drive the team, and the hired man goes to the canyon with the model team and wagon, and returns home with one of the wheels on the gearing, and a pole under the axletree. “Well, where is the wood?” “Oh, it is yet in the canyon.” “Where is the new axe I bought?” “I forgot it, it is up in the canyon, I expect.” It costs him ten dollars to get the wagon repaired, he pays his teamster a dollar and fifty cents a day, has lost a new axe, and has no wood.

With us the Bible is the first book, the Book of Mormon comes next, then the revelations in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, then the teachings of the living oracles, yet you will find, in the end, that the living oracles of God have to take all things of heaven and earth, above and beneath, and bring them together and devote them to God, and sanctify and purify them and prepare them to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Gold and silver, houses and lands, and everything possessed by the Saints will be purified and cleansed by the power of God, and prepared to enter into the new Jerusalem when the earth is sanctified. We have to learn to handle all things which pertain to the heavens and earth in a way to glorify God, and devote all to the building up of his kingdom, or we cannot magnify our Holy Priesthood and calling.

Some go away because they are poor, some because there is no revelation, some because they have too much revelation, and others because they have gathered gold and silver and enriched themselves by filching from the Saints. I say to all such, go, but first pay your debts, and then steal nothing.

May God bless the righteous. Amen.