Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 1, 1861.

Brethren and sisters, I have been called upon and requested to occupy a portion of the time this morning, and I can truly say that I always take pleasure, when I have an opportunity, to bear my testimony of the work of the Lord in which we are engaged. I hope that what little time I may speak I may be blessed with the Spirit of the Lord, that I may speak of such things as will be edifying to you; for there is certainly not much advantage in talking to the people for the sake of occupying the time, unless it will be beneficial to us.

I know that it is our duty in this Church and kingdom to live in such a manner that we may feel interested in the things of the kingdom of our God. I reflect a great deal upon the blessings which we are enjoying here in the valleys of the mountains, and I often think that I do not fully prize the blessings the Lord has imparted unto me. When I bring these things to bear upon my mind, I realize to a great extent the necessity of prizing the gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon me, and the same duty devolves upon all the Saints of God. If we can be made to rightly value the gifts which the Almighty bestows upon us, we shall certainly not do anything that is wrong; we shall not walk where we ought not to walk, but we shall be devoted to the building up of the kingdom of our God. If our eyes were opened to see things as they are, we should live and act as men of God. When my mind is quickened by the Holy Spirit to comprehend the things of God, I feel very thankful for the light and intelligence bestowed upon me by the Almighty. I feel satisfied that our President and leader would not be inspired to reprove and correct us as a people, as he is often moved upon to do, if we were living to our privileges. We should not be exhorted to turn from the course that we are in to some other, if we were all doing just right. But I can say truly, brethren and sisters, that we are a blessed people; yes, we are blessed above all other people upon the earth. We have the kingdom of God here with us; we live in a dispensation and generation in which the kingdom has been built up, and it will be permanently established, never more to be thrown down. In this dispensation the Lord has anointed men to preach the Gospel to every creature. In every other dispensation the powers of darkness have in a great measure overcome the kingdom of God, or, in other words, have had dominion—so much so that the kingdom could not live but a little while. It could not grow and spread itself upon the earth; and finally that power which was acting through the agency of the children of men, even the holy priesthood, was taken home to God, and it has remained there from generation to generation, and the world have been without these blessings for many hundreds of years. This has been the difficulty ever since the creation of the world. Even when Christ came and established the Gospel upon the earth, it was here but a little season before the Devil, the archenemy of the kingdom of God, overcame those who held the Priesthood, so that the Priesthood and authority of the kingdom was taken from the earth, and the Church went into the wilderness, leaving the people without any inspired men to say, This is the way, walk ye in it. From that time until the introduction of the fulness of the Gospel by the Prophet Joseph Smith in our own day and age of the world, there has been no Peter or Philip or any other man to teach the people the way of life and salvation; but they have had to live by the best laws of morality which they knew. Hence the division and contention that has existed in the sectarian world.

But we have had the privilege of living in the dispensation in which the Lord has promised that he would establish his kingdom, and perfect it ready for the appearance of the Great Bridegroom.

This is the privilege that we enjoy as Latter-day Saints. When the time had come, according to the decree of the Almighty, an angel visited the earth and committed the Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and gave them instructions and a promise that they should be inspired to lay it before the people. We have embraced this Gospel, and the Spirit of God enlightens our minds, so that we comprehend, by the inspiration of the Almighty, those principles that are necessary for our present and eternal salvation; and by receiving the principles of life in our minds, we were led to come to the Valleys of the Mountains. We can all now comprehend that this is the Church and kingdom of our God that he has established, to remain forever. Therefore, instead of being given up to those evil principles and practices that reign in the hearts of the children of men, we are walking in the path of life, and those truths are now uppermost in our minds. We are constantly striving to spread abroad this truth, that the hearts of the children of men may be inspired to take hold and help this kingdom to take root and spread abroad until it shall entirely overcome that power which has always in past ages overcome the kingdom of God. It is a blessing to us, to the whole house of Israel, and to the Gentile nations; it is a blessing that the world never before have enjoyed. It is true that other dispensations have had their Prophets and Apostles, but they never enjoyed the privilege that we do of having the kingdom of God continue upon the earth until it triumphs over all other kingdoms upon the face of the earth and stands forever. Former Apostles and Prophets had the unpleasant reflection that the Church which they had built up would fall away, or be overcome by the power of the Devil and wicked men, and that when they passed off the earth and went behind the veil, they would have to take the Priesthood with them, because there would be none living worthy to receive it from under their hands. They will be crowned with the Savior according to the promises, but in their lifetime they never had the opportunity of planting on the earth a kingdom that should remain until Jesus should reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Lucifer has gained possession of the earth by overcoming the children of men; but it does not belong to him, although he has had possession of it for a great many generations. I rejoice that the day is dawning when the principles of righteousness and truth will bear rule and bring forth fruit, until the kingdom and the dominion shall be given to the Saints of the Most High, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.

The very idea of our becoming coworkers with Jesus Christ ought to inspire every one of us with a determination to aid all we can in the dissemination of those great and glorious principles that are calculated to exalt the human family from their low and degraded positions to the favor of God, angels, and men. This is the way I feel in relation to the Church and kingdom of which we are members.

These blessings are above the blessings of the riches and comforts of life that we are all seeking after; they are far more valuable and more lasting than any other blessing in this life. Man may have earthly wealth and honor, but his life is not his own; he has not the power to prolong his life one day; and when he dies, his honor, his wealth, and all that he possesses in this life passes away. He receives nothing in this world of riches or honor that he can carry with him; and, except he stores his mind with knowledge and obeys the fulness of the Gospel, he cannot have the blessings of a clear conscience and the comforts of the Holy Ghost. The rich man, the rulers of the land, the kings and potentates of the earth, no matter what they possess, when they die, they can take nothing with them. They came into the world naked, and they go into the spirit world as poor as the poor man who lives and dies in rags. Then all their acts of greatness and affluence sink into oblivion; but still the Lord may hold the kings, rulers, and potentates of the earth responsible for their official acts.

When an Apostle, or President, Bishop, or any man holding the Priesthood officiates, he administers by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ; then that Priesthood has effect, and all the blessings that a servant of God bestows upon the children of men will take effect both in this life and in that which is to come. If I have a blessing given to me by the holy Priesthood, or if I receive a blessing from a Patriarch, those gifts and blessings will reach into the other world; and if I am true to my covenants through this life, I can claim every blessing that has been conferred upon me, because that authority by which they were conferred is ordained of God; and it is that by which the sons of the Most High administer unto the children of men the ordinances of life and salvation; and those official acts will have their effect upon those persons beyond the grave as well as in this life. These are the true riches; they are riches that will last to all eternity, and we have power through these blessings, conferred by the Gospel, to receive our bodies again, and to preserve our identity in eternity. Yes, we can claim this by virtue of the holy Priesthood; but it is not so in the world. There is not a priest in the world that has administered one of the ordinances of the Gospel since the Priesthood was taken away, because, properly speaking, there can be no ordinance of the Gospel administered without the authority of the Priesthood. Hence I say that, from the time the Priesthood was taken from the earth until Joseph received it again from the angel of the Lord, there were no Gospel ordinances legally administered. I admit, however, that all men will be rewarded according to the deeds done in the body, and they will be judged according to the light which was given to them. This will be the condition of all who are not called and ordained of God, notwithstanding they may have administered what they believe to be the ordinances of the Gospel; yet their ad– ministrations will have no effect beyond the veil.

When we bring this subject home and consider the difference between the blessings of the Gospel as revealed in its fulness and purity, and being shut out from the light of heaven, from the revelations of the Almighty, from the administration of angels, and from the voice of God, we ought to prize our privileges and blessings as Saints far more than we have done heretofore. Mankind in all ages search for happiness; they desire social and domestic peace; and when they think of the vast future, they desire to participate in the blessings that are spoken of as pertaining to that state of existence; but they know not how to obtain them, except a servant of God comes along and points out the way of life. We have the way open before us, and the gift of eternal life, which is the greatest gift of God, is promised unto us on condition that we will continue in welldoing; but we can attain to that through no other means than strict obedience to the commandments of God.

I refer to these things, brethren and sisters, because I think we do not sufficiently prize the great responsibility that we are under to God and to this generation. It is indeed a great responsibility which the Lord lays upon a man when he calls him to the ministry and sends him to declare to the people that he is commissioned to preach the Gospel and administer the ordinances by which they can be saved, secure a part in the first resurrection, and inherit thrones and dominions in the presence of God and the Lamb. We have received this Gospel, and many of the Elders have gone forth, having been called of God as was Aaron, and they have offered the truth to the nations of the earth. A few have received the message, but the vast majority have rejected it, and they are condemned. The Lord told Oliver Cowdery that if he labored in the vineyard and brought in but one soul, his reward should be great. Then consider how great our reward will be when you see hundreds and thousands gathering into these valleys every year—people who have been brought to a knowledge of the truth by the labors of the Elders that are now before me. Our brethren have preached the words of life to millions of people, and many thousands have given heed to their warning voice; still they are but few, compared with the vast multitudes who have been commanded to repent of all their sins, be baptized for the remission of them, and have hands laid upon them for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We are truly blest in the agency which God has given us to receive or reject whatever is presented to us, but we should remember that we shall be held responsible for the use we make of the teachings of the servants of God.

It does not make any difference how the Lord makes known his will, whether by the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, the administration of angels, or by his own voice; it is all the same; and he has told us emphatically that his words shall not pass away, but all shall be fulfilled which has been spoken of by the Prophets since the world began.

We have but a little time to labor and to exert ourselves in this kingdom. Thirty years have already passed away since the organization of this Church, and we see a numerous generation rising up before us that have been born in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is almost a generation, according to the usual reckoning of mankind, since John the Baptist came and conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery; and the kingdom has kept growing from that time to the present—perhaps not as fast as it might have done if all the Elders had been as faithful as our President has been; but still it is progressing rapidly, and it is where the Prophet had his eye upon when he said—“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” How much the Elders have talked of this and of the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands, that was to roll forth until it filled the whole earth. We are now fulfilling those predictions. We are planted here in the mountains in fulfillment of the promise of the Almighty.

In the early days of this Church the Lord told those who were first called to the ministry that they were laying the foundation of a great work, but they knew it not. They did not then understand the nature of the work to which they were called; still they felt, by the inspiration of the Almighty, and their minds were opened to see that they were called to take part in a great work—called to a high and holy calling; but still there was a veil over their eyes, so that they could not comprehend it in its magnitude and greatness, as we now do. If the Prophet Joseph had arisen up in 1831, 2, 3, or even 1834, when we went up to Jackson County in the State of Missouri—had he then told the people that this Church would be built up, and that this people would become a great kingdom, and that the United States would, in less than one generation, be in the lamentable position that we now find them, it would have required a stretch of our faith to have believed him. Our minds were not then open to that extent that we could fully comprehend the future. But we can now see that the words of ancient and modern Prophets are being fulfilled. This kingdom is rising in these Valleys of the Mountains, and it will eventually spread itself abroad through the length and breadth of North and South America. We may now look forward into the great future that lies before us, and it will require just as much of a stretch of faith now as it did in the beginning to look at the kingdom of God upon the earth as it is to be built up in this dispensation, so that the word of the Lord may go forth from Zion, the servants of God be clothed with the power of the Priesthood, to give counsel and to preside over the nations of the earth, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and his Christ. It is our duty to live in that way that we can have power to unlock and comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom of God; and we have got this to do in order that we may see that the Lord is at work among the nations for his own glory and for the permanent establishment of his own kingdom.

We ought to be enabled to understand that there is not a single law that has ever been issued from the great Eloheim but what will be fulfilled to the letter, and that not one of those Prophets who have spoken concerning the kingdom of God in the latter days and the overthrow of wickedness and establishment of righteousness will fail in their predictions in reference to the dispensation of the fulness of times. When we look back for thirty years, we can see the vast change that has taken place.

With regard to Babylon and the wicked nations of the Gentiles, I will say that all those things that have been spoken concerning them will be fulfilled. We profess to be the children of God, the friends of God; and if the Lord has not got some friends in these the Valleys of the Mountains, I would like to know where his friends are. I have spoken upon these things, and in reference to the position we occupy before the heavens and before this generation, that we may be stirred up in our minds and be awake to our duties. If we can be made sensible of that which is required of us by our leaders, we shall go to work and do those things that we know will be for our benefit and good, and for the advancement of the cause of the kingdom of God upon the earth. If we are faithful through this warfare in which we are engaged, we shall be satisfied with the reward and with the crown that will be bestowed upon us, and also with the place that we shall occupy when we pass from this stage of existence.

I will say then, brethren and sisters, with regard to those things we have been exhorted to attend to by President Young from day to day and from time to time, Let us attend to them. He has a desire to see the people in such a position that will secure to them the favor and approbation of the Almighty. We ought to strive to understand our high destiny—to learn the mind and will of our Father in heaven, that the heavens may be opened to us, that we may be filled with light, with truth, and be clothed with the power of God. It is with this desire and design that our President calls upon us to lay aside everything that has a tendency to prevent us enjoying the Spirit of the Lord and comprehending those great and glorious principles that we are seeking after. We all ought to make an exertion, when he makes a request upon us, and strive to lay aside all those things that are contrary to the principles of our holy religion; and then we ought to take hold with him and back him up, and sustain with him all the authorities of the Church, striving at all times to do whatever the Lord requires at our hands. If we do this, we shall be blest; and if we do not, we shall meet with a loss. Let us strive to be more attentive to our duties and to listen to the words of the Lord, remembering that if we have not got the Spirit of the Lord with us, we have not got the power of God with us.

Let us lay aside all evil practices—all those habits which will prevent our communing with God. We have not yet got power to occupy a throne and to govern according to the laws of heaven. Of this we are all sensible. Then if these little things have a tendency to hinder our enjoyments and debase us in the eyes of the Lord, we ought to lay them aside, and manifest a determination to do the will of our Father in heaven, and to accomplish that work which is laid upon us to perform. When we have any exhortation from those who lead us, we should ever be ready to carry it out, remembering that the Lord holds President Young responsible for the way in which he manages and directs this kingdom; and if we obey him, we shall be blest and prospered. But if he gives us commandments and we do not listen to them, the Lord will not hold him responsible for our acts. I think upon these things when I hear our leader giving us commandments to do thus and so, and I feel that I shall lose the Spirit of the Lord if I do not comply. We have got to rise up, as a people, and have the power of God constantly with us, or we shall not accomplish that which is required at our hands; for it requires faith, temperance, purity, holiness, and the power of God to be with this people, in order to fulfil our mission and perform the work of God. When our Prophets and leaders command us to do a thing, let us obey, and then we shall gain the victory.

I have often heard it remarked, when we have had preaching against merchandising, that the next day the merchants have taken three dollars to where they had previously only taken one. I hope this will not be the case with those who make a practice of drinking whiskey, and have been counseled by President Young to let it alone.

Brethren and sisters, I do not feel that I want to occupy much more of your time; but, before I conclude, I will say that when I do anything that prevents me from enjoying the Spirit of the Lord, as soon as I ascertain that, I immediately throw it aside, so that the Spirit of God may govern and control me in every act of my life. We came here to build up the kingdom of God, and we should feel the responsibility that is upon us. This is our home; and who of us appreciates the blessings bestowed upon us? We should appreciate them a great deal more than we do. If we were set down in New York or South Carolina for awhile, we should appreciate our home; for here we are not troubled with any of the difficulties which they experience in the States. We can meet together and worship God in peace. It is truly a great blessing to be assembled in these chambers of the mountains.

Let us try to prove ourselves worthy of our high calling as Saints of God. I pray that the Lord will give us power to lay aside everything that is wrong, to magnify our callings, and build up the kingdom of God. I feel to ask this blessing in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 20, 1861.

I regard it a distinguished privilege conferred upon me, whenever I have the opportunity of arising in this congregation and speaking to my brethren and sisters. The Priesthood which the Lord has conferred upon my head through his servant, and which in his abundant mercy he has enabled me thus far to magnify, is my joy, my theme, and the thoughts and reflections of my soul are how and by what means I may in the best possible manner make honorable all those blessings and ordinations which have been conferred upon my head. It is and ever has been, since I entered into this Church, my desire to be found among those who are valiant for the truth.

The light of the fulness of the everlasting Gospel which, through the voice of the servants of God in the last days, called through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith the Prophet, has been caused to shine or to glimmer in every part of the earth, gives me joy. It is still shining forth, and has caught the attention of thousands that are now here in this Territory, and caused them to come to Zion for the purpose of worshipping God under the instruction of the Prophets, that they might learn more fully the mind and will of Heaven, and the ordinances of the Gospel that are necessary for the living and the dead.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days,” saith the Prophet, “that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”—Isaiah, chap. 2, verses 2 and 3.

It is for this purpose that we may be taught of the ways of the Lord, and that we may walk in his paths that we have gathered from almost every nation under heaven.

It is well understood that the human race have been traditioned to the utmost extreme that tradition could possibly be impressed in the human breast, in the practice of covetousness, the worship of money, the love of earthly goods, the desire to possess property, to control wealth, has been planted in the breast, soul, and heart of almost every man in the world from generation to generation. It has been the great ruling Deity, and the object worshipped by the whole Christian world. It has found its way into the pulpit, into the monastery, into the cloister, and into every department of life. No man seems to desire an office, or is called upon to fulfil an office for the public good, but the first thing to be considered is, What will it pay? How much can we make? “Is there money in it?” The god of this world has dominion over the souls of men to an unlimited extent. Let an Elder go among them to preach without purse or scrip, and tell them so, and they will immediately say, “We can believe your religion a great deal better than we can believe that you come to preach without having your salary paid. Why, the assumption is ridiculous; do not think to stuff us with such a doctrine as that.”

With these traditions firmly imprinted upon our minds we have been gathered, and have brought along our schooling and notions that we have imbibed while at school; but with all these things we brought along a feeling in our souls to build up Zion, and to be faithful in all things so long as we remain in this life, that we may inherit blessings in the life which is to come. We came here inspired with a feeling to awaken in our breasts an unlimited desire to labor for the building up of Zion, and this desire exists in a great many Elders. Some of the brethren have desired to go to different parts of the earth to preach the Gospel, part of them for the sake of making it a matter of profit: yes, men who have been ordained to the Priesthood will dare to ask how much they can make of a Mission, when their business is to labor for the building up of the kingdom of God. This feeling of speculation has gone so far as to engross the attention of men in the ministry, so that wherever they have gone they have levied grievous contributions upon the people, and it seems to have been the first thing about which they have planned, and that every step they have taken has been with a view to a reward in gold! In some instances the poor have been taxed, those to whom the Gospel should have been preached freely, without money and without price, to furnish money to gratify the ambition that reigned in the breasts of certain Elders; I hope they are not many, but there are a few instances no doubt.

On the other hand, the Elders that have remained at home ever since the Church was driven from Jackson County, and that have continued to farm and perform different services at their business, have not by any means been idle spectators, but they have been pillars in the Church. For as soon as the Church was organized, Bishops, Councilors, and Teachers were necessary to give counsel and to preside in the temporal affairs of the Church, thereby sustaining the kingdom; and while these and many other Elders have not been conspicuous as Elders traveling abroad, they have yet been pillars at home in constructing and building up the kingdom of God on the earth.

While we take this into consideration we will again review, for a moment, the present acts of the Elders generally, for very few of the whole body of the Elders can be pointed out as having done a great work at a particular place. What the world call having done a great work, or big things, is somewhat different from the kind of work that the Elders in this Church are expected to do. For instance, it is said that Saint Patrick went to Ireland and banished all the toads and frogs, and then converted the whole of Ireland, and that he not only converted the people, but the best of it is that the greater part of them remain firm to the faith of Catholicism until the present day.

There are a few Elders who have baptized their thousands, and an account may be found in the records of the Church of some who have gone on Missions and baptized their hundreds; but as a general thing it is hard to find but few who were very distinguished in this respect. Constant labor, diligence, and humility may and does gather many; they are baptized and receive the fulness of the Gospel. But only a portion of those who have embraced the Gospel under the auspices of those successful Elders, have had faith and energy enough to gather with the Saints to take part in helping to build up Zion. By-and-by subdivision takes place, and the people spread themselves abroad upon the right and upon the left, forming new settlements all through this great desert. In this way the work has attained its present position, and the kingdom is being built up. It is like the laborer with his spade and wheelbarrow, who commences on a large hill and digs, and finally wheels it away. Well, says the passerby, that is small business; but by-and-by you pass that way and the hill is removed, and a fine city is on its site.

The Elders are steadily and quietly operating for the spread of truth and the advancement of the kingdom of God, and before the world are aware of it, their rotten dynasties and corrupt governments will be undermined and crumble to dust. You notice a bee, it carries a little honey to the hive, and continues to do so from week to week and from month to month, and lays up a store of the most delicious of earthly substance and the choicest of earth’s sweets, and this is the result of the little busy bee. So it is, and so it should be with the Elders in Zion. It is not that we are required to do and perform everything in a minute, but by using the minutes to do the little things that are within our reach, and striving always to do them properly. Zion is silently spreading her curtains, strengthening her stakes, and lengthening out her cords, and she will so continue until her wisdom, her influence, and her power circumscribe the globe. Who is doing this? The Lord is doing it and it is marvelous in our eyes. But in all this we have to contend with our tradition, we have to contend with the god of this world—the love of money—with our covetousness, and we have to contend above all with our ignorance. Men can sit in the congregation and be taught by the Presidency; yes, be taught to the easiest lessons ever taught, year after year, and these teachings seem to make no impression upon them. Those valuable instructions are, to a great many, like pearls cast before swine. Again there are numbers of our brethren who have had to go to the States and to California, in order to see the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the Devil. Then after a few years they come back and say, well I declare I never saw things in such a condition before, how wicked the world is becoming now to what it was before I came into the Church. We have another class of men who can go to ward meetings and say they would labor to build up the kingdom, and even to build a city upon a rock, and farm upon naked land, and settle upon the highest peaks, if counseled to do so. But there are extremes of expression and thought. To go forth and preach the Gospel, teaching faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and to contend against the arguments presented by the Gentile world, has been and still continues to be one of the most laudable employments in the kingdom of God, but a comparatively ignorant man can do it. It is not the learned, nor the wise men the Lord called to do this, but it is the reverse; he calls the weak things of this world to confound the wise and the mighty. It reminds me of a story that Bishop Hardy tells about Luke Johnson. When he went to preach the Gospel in Massachusetts, he was plainly dressed, his trousers were strapped down to his cowhide boots, because they were not quite long enough. One man said, have you seen the Mormon? No, was the reply, have you? Yes, said the man, I saw one and heard him preach, and he said, “the Lord hath called the weak things of this world to confound the wise and mighty, and by mighty I thought so.” It was but a little while till the only argument used against this doctrine was mobocracy, a row at the meeting, a coat of tar and feathers, a shower of mud or the lighted torch.

The man that exerts his power, his influence and understanding to guide Zion at home, to develop our resources, to shape, bend, and make useful the elements and facilities which lie dormant in these surrounding hills, has to possess superior wisdom, a greater degree of knowledge; and the Holy Spirit influences the leaders of this Church, those that are called to act as Trustees, or in any other department of the home affairs of Zion. It is required of us to seek wisdom out of the best books, that a foundation may be laid and all things properly prepared for the great future, that our institutions may be rendered permanent and self-sustaining, that all things may be properly carried on, according to the mind and will of Heaven. It is in this respect that the leaders of the people called Latter-day Saints have shown themselves to be the wise men upon the earth, and it is in this respect, too, that a large portion of the people have failed to see the grandeur and magnificence of the Counsels of the First Presidency, but have suffered themselves to remain in ignorance and stupidity.

I presume now that in speaking at the present time, I am addressing a considerable portion of those brethren who have been called on to strengthen the stakes of Zion on the southern borders of our Territory. The Twelve being called to act a part in organizing this Mission, has caused me to fall in company with a considerable number of those brethren who are counseled to go south and raise cotton, and I can realize to a great extent the feelings which exist in some of their breasts. A man who has come into this Valley to make Zion his home, has gone to work and by untiring industry has surrounded himself with comforts, and probably with wealth and an abundance of this world’s goods; he can proclaim himself an Elder in Israel who is ready for anything. Such a man would go into the mountains to hedge up the way of our enemies, go abroad and preach the Gospel, and in fact he will find himself constantly called to assist in establishing Zion.

The word of the Presidency is, brethren, it is necessary to strengthen the southern border of our thriving Territory, and this is for the general good of all. Now you go down south and raise cotton and you will be blessed more than you ever have been heretofore, and know that in doing this you are doing your part to build up Zion. But some do not feel so. Why, I have seen faces look as long as a sectarian parson’s face, comparatively speaking; I have seen diseases appear in men that had heretofore been considered healthy, and that too as soon at they heard they were wanted to perform any unpleasant mission. I have sometimes argued the case, and tried to persuade them, in regard to this mission that it would do them good. Oh, but they will reply I have always been sick in a warm country. Well, I have told them, we can, in the cotton country, in a few hours riding, give you any climate from the torrid to the frigid zone. But this is not the difficulty. This cotton mission rouses up covetous feelings, for it must be remembered that the prospects for a large farm are not very good there. We can make more here; we can get more wealth and get along faster if we stay here, than we can raising cotton in Washington County. And in fact a few of the brethren feel disheartened about going south to raise cotton, indigo, and such other articles as we cannot raise in this part of the Territory. A brother came into the office the other day and volunteered to go south to the cotton country, then he came in the next day and said he had been too fast in volunteering, that he had not got sufficient clothes to wear. I told him that it was a great deal warmer in that country than it is in this, and consequently he could do with less clothing. But he felt that he must go to work and get more clothing for his family before he could go. I replied that I considered the best thing he could do was to raise a quarter of an acre of cotton. I showed him some cloth that my wife had been spinning and weaving. Then he said his wife did not know how. I told him mine did not until she learned.

It has been my lot to take part in the starting of settlements in the southern portion of this Territory; I have assisted in settling the country from the cotton district in Washington County to Utah mountain. It used to be nearly as much work to get a man to go to Iron County as it was for Jetta Bunyan in the Pilgrim’s Progress to get poor Christians into heaven. When I got them started south, they would meet at every settlement on the road, men who would discourage them by saying, “you are going to a poor country, Oh how I pity you, you will starve in that miserable country, here is a good piece of ground close by me, you had better stop, I can sell you all the grain you will want for seed and to eat; you are going away out of the world.” In this way hundreds of those who were counseled to go to the far south were stopped in Utah County, or turned aside from fulfilling what was desired of them. When I led the first company to Parowan, some of the brethren insisted there was not grass enough to keep their cattle through the winter, when in reality there was an abundance of feed for thousands of stock, and in a few weeks they hardly knew their own cattle, they had improved so much. These incidents have been a lesson to me, and I felt that I wanted to preach to the brethren upon the subject of going south. We are going down there to raise cotton, and the Presidency want men who are called to go upon this Mission to let it have their undivided attention.

There are a few that have always allowed themselves the indulgence of whining and finding fault whenever they pleased. This is very wrong. A spirit to find fault is an enemy to your peace and comfort, and also to the happiness of those around you. It is a key to your destruction. It is so in our home affairs, when you go abroad and exercise this influence among the people you sow a spirit of dissension in the midst of Israel. If you have a portion of Priesthood upon you; you disgrace it in doing so. If you have been baptized for the remission of sins you dishonor that baptism in doing this. Some will grumble and quarrel, until they go into partnership with Satan to oppose the kingdom, lose the spirit and deny the faith. It is Satan’s business to oppose the Saints, but those professing to be Saints should labor for the good of the kingdom of God.

The southern settlements were at first considered rather orderly, more so than some of those nearer this city, but in the spring of 1858, there was an influx from California of a large number of persons, who had gone there because they were not contented to live in this country, and who could not enjoy the liberty that was here. Many of them went to California to get rich, but a spirit came over some of them that the Lord was going to destroy all the Gentiles, and that if they came up here for a while they could go back after the Gentiles were killed off, and find better diggings, and many others thought their brethren were in trouble, and if they could not live Mormonism they would fight for it anyhow. Several hundred persons came into the southern counties under these and similar influences, and intended to stay, no doubt, until the vengeance was over and the Gentiles swept off from the earth, then some thought they could go back and keep tavern. A man who had been among the Gentiles and served the Devil for several years, would come up to this Territory and expect to be respected as much as those who stayed at home and attended to their own business and labored for the good of the kingdom, when it was as much as an Elder could do who had stayed at home and helped to build up Zion, to retain the Spirit of the Lord and magnify his calling. In this way there was grumbling, and a kind of daredevil influence scattered all through the settlements. We saw much of it here, but where the settlements were small, an influence of this kind took deeper hold and had a far more powerful effect. The spirit of avarice was not gratified, the Lord had not designed to cut off the wicked to please a few avaricious Mormons. He designed those who professed to be Saints to live good and upright lives, and to exercise a holy influence over the children of men, that all who loved the truth might be converted and saved in the kingdom of God. As soon as this was ascertained many went back again.

Brethren, you who are going from here have been in the habit of hearing the President, Sunday after Sunday, and where you have been considered examples, here you have acted as Bishops, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, or Teachers, and your example should be a good one and worthy of imitation. A great many Elders have been called to go on this Mission to raise cotton, and they should consider themselves as much on a Mission as if they were among the nations preaching the Gospel. I advise every man to fortify his mind against becoming like Satan in accusing the brethren, or in grumbling, in faultfinding in word, in thought, or in your hearts. If the Mission was to go and build a city on a rock, my advice would be, go at it, for if you did not choose to do that you would have a chance to choose a sandy foundation which would not be proper nor beneficial.

I wish to talk to the brethren on this principle of faultfinding. If we are disposed to find fault with the Bishop, with our wives, with our neighbors, with the Priesthood, and the general authorities of the Church, we shall have all the influences of Satan necessary to help us to carry out our design. Those who practice these things will soon be full of hell and have plenty of devils to help them to carry it on. You are called upon to go and build up a city and villages for a stake of Zion.

When you first came here you dropped down into a desert, went to work and made it blossom as the rose. Then, when you have done this, you have to go to other places and make them blossom also. You have got to lay out the streets, make fences, and build houses, and do everything that will make a city pleasant, agreeable, and inviting. We can get up in our meeting and sing—

“The cities of Zion soon shall rise.” but how are they going to rise? We are going to build them, so that they will rise far above the clouds; and to accomplish this we are going to build them on the high mountains. We are not only going to sing about building them, but we are going to do the labor requisite to carry out our designs.

Now, I do not wish a solitary man to go down there to perform this service that cannot go with his whole heart. If he has got a splendid house, a mill, or farm, or carding machine in this part of the Territory and his heart is set upon it, his soul will be here. He will be like some Elders that are sent to England on missions; they say “yes, I will go and preach,” but when they get there it is, “Oh dear if I was but at home.” If I were presiding over such a man I would send him home, so that I might get rid of the poisoning influence of his company. I want a man that is going on a Mission to say wife, children, the Lord gave you to me, I will go and do my duty, and hereby show to him and to all men that I am worthy of you.

In this case the Mission to which you, brethren, are called is to build a city; it calls for wives, children, for machinery, for mechanics, for everything that is calculated to add to the comfort and happiness of the citizens of a city. We are not going to be a great while isolated from our brethren, but we are going to assist in building up Zion. We want all necessary and important improvements, and if we build a telegraphic line from here to Santa Clara, it won’t cost more than fifty thousand dollars. But you need not be afraid of leaving headquarters, for although we cannot all live at headquarters we expect that headquarters will be connected with every part of the world, and when Zion is not big enough for us, the Lord will be willing to stretch it so as to make room for his Saints. Oh, says a brother, I am perfectly willing to go, but I understand that we are only to cultivate three acres of land each and I cultivate thirty at home. Remember the Lord has said that it his business to provide for his Saints, therefore if we cultivate a small farm when we are required to do so, he will give us a big one, for there is plenty of land in the hands of those who do not respect him, and if we are faithful we may expect to be made rulers over many things.

I want our sisters that are called to go with their husbands, to cultivate a spirit of joy, cheerfulness and satisfaction, and feel a pleasure in going. They ought to feel that they are honored in being called to go and build up the cities of Zion. This is the advice that I give to the brethren and sisters upon this subject, and I do not want the Californians in the southern settlements to say, brother George A., is this a specimen of Salt Lake City grumblers? They can beat us, who have been to California, in murmuring, for although we would rather live here than anywhere else, we should discipline our minds to live where we can be the most useful to the cause of Zion. We should manifest our joy that we have had the high privilege of helping to enlarge the borders of Zion, to inspire them with a spirit of faithfulness and industry. I was pleased when brother Spencer asked me to speak.

May the blessings of Israel’s God rest upon you all. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1861.

The matter has been plainly presented before us in regard to the Temple, and the question for us to consider is, “Does this people, or this Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with all its authorities that are present here today, want to build the Temple?” (The congregation responded, “Yes.”) “Is it your feeling and desire as a people that we shall go to work and build a Temple?” (All the Conference with one united voice responded in the affirmative.) I now want to put another question, for I do not understand or know of anything that lives but what has got a spirit and a body, and I know that to separate them here on the earth is death, so it is with us without our works, our faith is dead. Now, then, I am coming to the point; “Will you pay your Tithing?” (All answered, “Yes.”) “Will you attend to the calls of the First Presidency of this Church?” (One simultaneous “Yes” burst forth in answer to this question.)

What is the use of talking about things; let us go to work and do them. We as a people must go to work, beginning at the head or root of this branch of the house of Israel. We must go to work and build a Temple, and everything that pertains to it that is necessary for this day and time that we have to stay in these mountains. Is there any lack of means? No, not a particle. (President Brigham Young: All the lack is the will, brother Heber.) If we say we will do it, God will help us to do. There is no other way for this people to prosper, except for every leading man holding the Priesthood in this Church and kingdom to go to work unitedly, and except we are one in purpose, and all of us become like clay in the hands of the potter, we can do nothing. Every vessel has to be turned and become pliable in the hands of the potter. Do you know this, brethren? I have worked at the potting business, and I have made twenty dozen milk pans in a day, and I could not make one stand for the other; but I had to take each for itself, every bowl had to stand for itself. It is so with us in the kingdom of God; if we are saved at all, it must be by subjecting ourselves to the principles of salvation and eternal life, by observing strictly the law of Christ; and it is precisely so with regard to this people and the building of that Temple. It is one of the easiest things for us to do, if we will only go to work and do it in the way that we are commanded. When we start to do it in good earnest, our means will increase in proportion to what we do. Some will turn round and say, if by building that Temple we shall be prospered, we are ready; but if I tell you that by going at it, you will be able to send four hundred teams next year, if required, you will think this is extravagant; but I see it just as it is, and that by the Spirit of the living God, even by the Spirit of revelation. I am of opinion that if President Young had not started that theater, there would not have been half so many improvements here as we now see. Men increase their efforts frequently because of the examples of others. When boys lay down a snow ball, if it is not rolled it does not increase in size; but when it is rolled then it is the time that it increases. It is so with this Church and kingdom, the progress of the work of God is in proportion to the labor performed and the diligence of the people in the Church. We are all required to be diligent and to labor faithfully for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God; we have all got an interest alike in the triumph of righteousness, and it should be our meat and drink to assist all we can in this great work of human redemption.

But to return to the subject of the building of the Temple, which is closely connected with the salvation of both the living and the dead. There is quite a quantity of rock on the ground now, about enough to make one tier all round about sixteen inches high. Now, if you will go and look at the quantity of rock there is on the Temple Block, you will think there is far more than enough to build one tier, for it looks a tremendous pile. We have to carry the walls a little over eighty feet high from the basement. The theater is forty feet high from the water table, so you can readily form an idea of the height of the Temple when completed, and you can also imagine the immense mass of stone that will be required to rear it ready for the roof, when you consider that all the stone we have got on hand will but raise the building sixteen inches. Shall Great Salt Lake City do it all? No, all the people from north to south, and from east to west, have got to take a hand in the work, and by exerting ourselves we shall be enriched tenfold in our property and in our righteousness.

By-and-by President Young will call upon us to build a Tabernacle that will hold from 15,000 to 20,000 people, and it will be so constructed that the congregation will be able to sit and hear full as well as they can in the Tabernacle behind us, and it gives us a good idea of erecting another one, for the people can hear him when he speaks at a very moderate tone of voice; he does not have to speak one third as loud in the Tabernacle as he does here. Speaking here feels as if it would destroy a man’s lungs, for the voice is scattered or wasted through the bushes, while a tight room will hold the sound. We shall commence that large Tabernacle when President Young says so. Can we build that Temple by building that Tabernacle, of which I have been speaking? Yes, I say we can, and that too much quicker than if we do not build it.

I know these things. For years I heard Joseph tell the people to put in their means to help, and he, under the direction of the Almighty, would push forward the work and make the people rich. But Joseph could not do it, for the people were not filled with the Spirit of revelation, but if the people would partake of the same attributes as the man who stands at their head, which they can do by living the religion of Jesus Christ, they will prosper abundantly. Brother Brigham may talk all the day long, expecting that we have got the same spirit, and that we are blessed with the same sap and nourishment as he is, which comes from God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. You must be alive in Christ in order to partake of his Spirit, power, and authority. The principle is true and the rule is good; just let us hand over twice as many teams to go east next year as we sent this, and then we shall be able to do more work than we have ever done in the mountains before, and we will be better off.

Now, remember, we shall want you to come on with your teams, hauling rock, and take an active part in the good work. The people in the country must remember that the workmen will require butter, eggs, meat, cheese, and lots of strong clothing.

Brethren and sisters, remember all your duties and perform them, and the Lord Almighty will bless you and prosper you in all things which you set your hands to do.

May the choicest of our Heavenly Father’s blessings attend you, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 29, 1861.

It will be remembered by the brethren that, about a year ago, there was a Missionary fund started in this city, which was very liberally subscribed to. This fund was commenced for the purpose of sustaining the families of the Missionaries who have gone on Missions. The calls upon the secretary of that fund are now very numerous. The subscriptions are not all paid, but many of them have been partially paid. It is now proposed to replenish this fund; and as this is a good time for getting wood, it is a good time to bring some in for this object. Those who feel to subscribe and donate, can report to brother John T. Caine at the President’s office. This invitation has also been extended to others who have not contributed; and we now wish to give an opportunity to those who live in the adjoining settlements. We wish to give all an opportunity and a privilege of assisting the families of those who are appointed to go on Missions. Brethren, let us pay up and continue our subscriptions to the fund, that the poor may be provided for, and the hearts of the Saints made glad.

The instructions given seem to turn upon political economy, and the pecuniary and temporal circumstances of this community. It is the burden of the instructions from time to time, and it seems not so much by way of gaining political advancement or influence, but those who have labored, and still are laboring to lay the foundation for a great and mighty nation, are looking and striving for the improvement of this people, to teach them how to be self-sustaining. It is the wish and desire of those who stand at the head of this people, to pursue that course which will be the most profitable to the kingdom of God, for that will be for their benefit, and that is the burden of the instructions day by day. We are counseled and taught by our brethren to prepare ourselves for self-existence, to look after those things which are calculated to make us free and independent. It appears by the great commotion in the world that we are liable to be cut off at any time from foreign trade, for we are so situated in these distant valleys, that we may be cut off at any time from all distant markets; and it seems to be in the economy of Heaven that this should be so in order that we may become free, and also that we may develop the resources of this our mountain home. By our united efforts we can produce from the elements those things that will be for our best good, and for the general interests of the kingdom of God. The burden of the instructions given by the servants of God from day to day, is for us to labor to draw from the elements for our support. Here are the richest elements that are to be found upon the face of the globe. There is no grain, no vegetables, neither anything that grows upon the face of the earth, that contains that sweetness or nourishment in a greater degree than it does here in this mountain country. The fruit, the vegetables, and all we grow, are of the sweetest and richest kind, and the most nourishing in quality. The fabrics made here will likewise be of the most refined and durable kind. If we labor for it, the finest flax, hemp, and wool, can be produced in this Territory. It is our duty to strive to raise everything we need for our own consumption. The tea, the coffee, the tobacco, and the whiskey (if we must have such articles), can all be produced and manufactured here. I am willing to make a bargain with this people to leave off all those things that I have mentioned, if all the people will agree to do likewise. These are things that we can do without; in fact, we are better without them than with them; we are better in our bodies as well as in our purses. The sugar that is needed, and other sweetening, grow here in these valleys of the mountains, and it only needs a little skill and labor to bring it into a more refined state than we have yet been able to produce. Hundreds of wagons and teams would not be able to bring the amount of sweetening from the States that will be raised and manufactured here this season, and the quantity and quality can be increased and improved every year.

It is a measure of political economy for us to strive to promote the general interest, and to study to do the most good for the community we live in. If we cannot abide the appeal to our consciences, let us abide the appeal to our pockets. (Voice: You have caught us now.) We must not suit our ways to strangers, but we must look to the welfare of Israel.

Brethren, there is a glorious work before us, and great and glorious blessings will be poured out upon us. Peace and plenty surround us, and we are far from the power and corruptions which are now disturbing the enemies of God’s people. The Almighty has wisely placed barriers in the way of his enemies, and by them they are now kept back, otherwise they would endeavor to swallow us up in their anger and rage.

We are now in a position that we can do those things of which I have been speaking. We can provide for our future necessities. We can raise up a great and mighty people, who will be led and governed by the principles of righteousness, and we have now an opportunity of doing it in these valleys. The nucleus is formed, the people are here, and we can do everything that is required if we have the disposition to labor for its accomplishment. Let us take hold like men and women of God, like those who are filled with his Holy Spirit, in order that we may accomplish the important work required at our hands. It is a work that should engage our most earnest attention. It is not a thing of a moment, and then to pass away; but it is the kingdom of God that shall remain forever and forever. This is what we are striving to build up; and let us take hold of it in such a manner as we can carry it on, and at the same time sustain ourselves. To do this, we must produce those things that are necessary for our temporal existence; and let us be careful not to destroy what the Lord has given us before we produce another supply from the elements around us. It is our business, and duty, too, to take care of all that the Lord has put into our hands, and not because a word has been said about tea, to go and burn it up or throw it away; but we should put all we are made stewards over to the best possible use.

Now, I have no objection to our keeping things in our possession that are necessary for sickness, but let the whiskey and the tobacco be put to their legitimate uses, then all will be right. Where coffee is produced, the people do not use it, but they raise it for the barbarians. In the East Indies and wherever coffee is grown, the inhabitants consider it poison and wonder that it does not poison the outside barbarians, as they term all those whom we consider the civilized and enlightened nations. Some of our physicians will, however, say and contend that it is perfectly harmless, when the facts before us show the effect of coffee, tea, opium, tobacco and other stimulants, and various other foolish and expensive indulgences to be the cause of reducing the average of human life, so that not one half of those born into the world live to attain the age of seventeen years. Apart from this, it would be a great saving to this people, for they have to bring these things from abroad. Everything that we cannot produce within ourselves, it would be best for us to do generally without, then we would have means to aid us in producing those things that are necessary to more fully develop the resources of the mountains and valleys of Utah. I mean that we could then use our means to bring the machinery here that we cannot so well manu– facture, but which, by bringing in a little, we will be able to manufacture after a while.

While we are professing to be righteous, let us take a course to prove to God, angels, and men that we are in earnest, and will live and produce those things that are needed for our own sustenance, and build up cities and make Zion the joy of the whole earth. It is not a mere theory that we have to do with, but it is the building up of the kingdom of God, and it is for those who have the principles of the kingdom in their hearts to seek to permanently establish the Zion of God upon the earth, whether they will be able to maintain the kingdom or not is the Lord’s business. We know that the Devil seeks to thwart and overthrow the kingdom, and in all the enterprises that this people engage in, they may expect his opposition.

We often see that people are frustrated and afflicted; and we frequently suffer in our health, and in things which we seek to accomplish, we meet with such opposition that we have to give them up, but still we should try again and strive to bring stronger influences to bear and thus succeed in the accomplishment of the object we have in view. There is a contention here among the influences we have around us which is—whether the Latter-day Saints will maintain themselves independent of the Devil and his co-adjutors, or whether they will forever be dependent upon their enemies.

I firmly believe that, with the blessings of the Almighty, we can produce in a short time everything we need, if we will use the proper exertions. The thing now is to commence and go ahead with an earnestness, and not allow ourselves to be easily thwarted or frustrated. If we fail at one time, let us try again, and bring greater influences and more union, strength, and power to bear, that we may succeed the next time. We have the Devil, as well as every natural obstacle to contend with, but we will finally triumph, which is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George A. Smith, delivered at Logan, Cache County, September 10, 1861.

I love to hear the teachings of the servants of God, especially those whom God has appointed to preside over his people in all the world. I love also to contribute my testimony, or to speak to the Saints by way of encouragement, illustration, and instruction. For twenty-eight years past, it has been the feeling of my heart that if there was anything on the earth that I could do to advance the work of the Lord in the last days, I wished to do it; and if I have let anything slip that I ought to have done, it has been for want of understanding and a proper knowledge of the circumstances at the time. I entertain the same sentiments and determination today upon this subject that I have entertained for twenty-eight years past.

I am gratified and rejoice exceedingly in beholding the faces of my brethren and sisters in this valley. From the manner which the people here have received the President and his escort, it is plain they are wide awake. A band of music met us on the mountain side, and they played with a free goodwill. The drummer seemed as though he was determined to beat the head of his drum in; and when the brethren undertook to sing in the meetinghouse at Wellsville, it seemed as though their united voices would tear the house to pieces, so loud were their rejoicings. The spirit in them inspired them to do as they did.

We do not realize to the full ex– tent what we are doing. We are actually settling a portion of the earth that has been considered uninhabitable. We are reclaiming it from a desert, and building upon it a foundation for an immense State; and that State is composed of a united people, who are almost universally of harmonious sentiments. The foundation of this settlement of the “Mormon” people in the mountains really attracted the notice of the Federal Government. We had been mobbed and persecuted and driven from place to place, from city to city. On that kind of treatment we have flourished; our numbers have increased, although many of our brethren have laid their bones in the grave prematurely, and many of our wives and children have perished through persecution; yet from their ashes have seemed to spring thousands.

When we fled into the wilderness, our enemies said, “Now, let the Mormons alone; they will encounter so many difficulties and so many natural objections to their growth, they must come to naught; they will quarrel with each other, and they will soon break up, and we shall have no more trouble with them.”

When James K. Polk, President of the United States, was told that the “Mormons” had occupied the Great Basin, and were making settlements on the borders of the Great Salt Lake, “Why,” said he, “that is the key of the continent.” When the wisdom of the venerable Senator, the late Sec– retary Cass, was brought into requisition on the subject, “What shall we do with the Mormons?” said he. “Send a small army among them, under the command of an intelligent officer; send good-looking, companionable, sociable officers, and a few strong-minded women; yes, send men who are calculated to win away their females, and thus civilize them, by introducing among them habits of modern Christian civilization; and in a short time you will reduce them to the necessity of being satisfied with one wife.” Colonel Steptoe was sent here to fulfil that mission with the gentlemanly officers and soldiers who composed his command. The object of their errand, however, was not accomplished.

In a short time afterwards they came to the conclusion that it was necessary to take a step that should make an utter end of “Mormonism” at once, by a decided and bold stroke of “our gallant little army.” The nation was proud of so grand an undertaking. The press lauded the project, and the members of the Government were proud of the zeal in which this enterprising war was undertaken. The delusion passed current that the “Mormons” would now be broken up. Their first hope was that famine would reduce us to destruction; but this had failed.

And while they were looking for tidings that in the hard winter of 1856 the “Mormons” had all perished of starvation, our Delegates suddenly appeared at the Capitol, asking for admission into the Union as a State. This astonished them.

Do they not remember that from the earliest period of our history, the nation and the different States have recognized us as a separate people? In 1834, Daniel Dunklin, Governor of Missouri, said in an official document that the constitution and laws of the State of Missouri made ample pro– visions for the protection of the Mormons; but the prejudices of the people of Missouri were so great against them, that they could not be enforced, and consequently the Mormons could not be reinstated in the possession of their lands and protected in their rights.

If my friend, Attorney General Blair here, will allow me, I will quote Blackstone, who says that “Allegiance is that ligament or thread which ties or binds the subject to the sovereign, and for which the subject is entitled to protection from the sovereign.” Now, the very minute that the sovereign, king, or government, republic, or whatever form of government it may be, shall cease to extend protection to their subjects, whether they be many or few they necessarily become independent, and are compelled for self-preservation to protect themselves and to look out for their own wants and provide for their own necessities. That is the situation we were in in Missouri when Governor Dunklin declared that the constitution and laws of Missouri could not be enforced so as to protect this people. It was virtually declaring us independent of that State, and acknowledging our right to protect ourselves in that capacity. The truth of this position was further illustrated by the imposition upon us of a treaty by Major General Lucas in the fall of 1838, which treaty was approved by Major General Clark, and subsequently by L. W. Boggs, Governor of the State; and thus, contrary to our will, and at the point of thousands of bayonets, were we compelled to be one of the high contracting parties to a treaty—an exercise of power which belongs alone to independent sovereignty.

From that day, and I do not know how long before, so far as allegiance is concerned, we were cast without the pale of the jurisdiction of the Government in which we lived. It was not we that did this: it was forced upon us. We were law-abiding citizens, and wanted the protection of the laws, the constitution, and the Government of Missouri: we wished to remain quietly in our homes, and have the privilege of eating the bread of industry, and to rear our children in virtue’s ways. But no, “these institutions [constitution and laws] are not for you Mormons.”

We found the same doctrine held good in Illinois, and the same principle has been carried out precisely by the action of the General Government towards us.

I was told at Washington that if we were not Mormons, we should be hailed with generosity and friendship; and the prestige of having subdued this country and brought it into use would have placed us foremost in the rank of Territories. But we were “Mormons.” These are the sentiments, the spirit, and the feeling all over the country and with the Government.

We look at this matter as it is. The General Government is not going to donate land to us, while they were ready to give the settlers in Oregon six hundred and forty acres of land each, half as much for their wives, and a quarter as much for each one of their children. Oregon is located on the seaboard, possessing the advantage of large navigable rivers. It has a flourishing commerce growing up, providing the people with exchanges at comparatively little cost.

Utah is in the heart of the desert. It requires persons of the most undaunted courage and energy to possess it at all. Then, why not give them chance to occupy the land? Why not encourage the settlers of Utah, to reward them for their energy and toil in reclaiming a desert, by giving them six hundred and forty acres of land apiece? Because “they are damned Mormons!” That is the reason they do not give them an acre.

What do we find in the administration of Mr. Buchanan? The very first step he took was to gather the flower of the American army—the finest and best appointed army that ever the United States fitted out. This was the declaration of the members of the Cabinet and the press throughout the whole country. The army under Washington that captured Lord Cornwallis hardly amounted to twelve thousand men; the army that was sent to Utah and actually marched for this Territory numbered over thirteen thousand soldiers; but altogether, with the attaches they employed, it amounted to upwards of seventeen thousand men. Even this vast army was not allowed to pass through the inhabited parts of the Territory until the High Commissioners sent by the President of the United States, exercising, though disclaiming the authority of the treaty-making power, negotiated for their passage into the settlements. Many attempts were made to violate this compact, and in many instances they did so to a limited extent, but they found dangers beset them. An old Frenchman said they would damn the “Mormons” when they would get up, and when they would go to bed, when they would drink, smoke, and gamble, and they would say, “Why not go to work and destroy them?” Then they would reason, “We are here right in the midst of the Mormons: there are only a few thousands of us; and if we commence the play, we shall all go under: then the people will come from the States and kill all the Mormons; but what good would that do us if we were all dead?” God fought our battles.

To conclude the argument that we are an independent people, acknowledged by the United States, and that our Territory was no longer tenable to their armies, but must be evacuated, orders were given by the Presi– dent to destroy everything that could be of use to us here. “Burst your cannon, blow up your magazines, and waste everything you cannot carry away and that would be of any use whatever to the Mormon people; for in vacating a Territory we cannot conquer. We must let nothing go into the hands of our enemies that will in any way benefit them.” The destruction of property in this way is an evidence of hostilities. This is the practice of nations that are at war with each other, to destroy what they cannot carry away.

We have had to protect ourselves and sustain the expense of Indian wars, make our own laws, regulate ourselves in our own way, and no nation, kindred, tongue, or people has the right to say, Why do you so? This right so far has been conceded; the army has been withdrawn from our country, and they have gone away, in a manner acknowledging their defeat. To be sure, many of the officers went away saying, “We will come by-and-by and wipe you out.” But as God would have it, they are employed in paying such compliments to each other as they had designed to inflict upon us.

I have friends in what is now termed the Northern and Southern Confederacies, for now the Federal Union is one of the things that has ceased to be. Such a thing as the Government of the United States as organized by our fathers has ceased to exist. The North claims to be it; but the United States as a Government, as a nation, as organized by our fathers, is among the things that were. Fragments of it, in the shape of separate governments or combinations, may be able to inflict national chastisement upon each other, or make war with foreign nations; but it is only as a fraction, and not as a whole. The State of Kentucky declares that neither the North nor South shall march armies into their Territory. You find in the history of the wars of Europe that an armed neutrality is not an uncommon thing. Kentucky is observing the same. She is a powerful State; she may be drawn into the great vortex of war; she may take sides with the North or with the South, or most likely be divided on both sides; but she is no more in connection with the General Government, as it is called, than with Tennessee or Virginia.

Turmoil and mob power rule. They are destroying each other, demolishing public improvements: printing presses have been destroyed in Missouri and most other States. Blackstone says that a press that publishes falsehood and licentiousness is a nuisance, and that all corporations should have power to abate it. We abated the Expositor in Nauvoo according to law on this ground. Both the North and the South have been doing the same thing: hundreds of papers have been suppressed. Gov. Ford said it was right to abate the Expositor, but it would have been better by mob than by municipal authority; and now mob law rules the whole country and destroys printing presses without let or hindrance.

We will now speak of our mountain home. The Lord has smiled upon these valleys. Colonel Fremont was in the Bear River Valley in August, 1843, when the mercury stood at 29 degrees, showing conclusively that grain could not be ripened here. People in the States would pick up that report and say, “Everything will freeze to death there.” A few years passed away, and you find eight or nine hundred families of Saints in Cache Valley, and they can raise the finest wheat, flax, and wool. I saw yesterday as fine a specimen of tobacco as can be raised in Virginia. Every nation feels it is their best policy and their duty to adopt such a system of political economy as will provide for their own wants, and protect themselves against the exactions of other nations.

We need not expect to get cotton from the Southern States, for they are fighting with the North, and have not time to raise it and communication is cut off by a blockade. We need not expect to get tobacco from the South, for the negroes are at work digging entrenchments and raising corn for the Southern army.

We have got to provide for ourselves as a great family and as a nation. All enlightened nations have endeavored to get control of a northern and southern climate. The God of heaven, in his abundant mercy, has given us the control, in these elevated valleys, of a northern and southern climate.

There are a great many persons among us that use tobacco, and there are some reasons why they use it. For instance, our young men see a Gentile with a stove pipe hat on, a pair of big whiskers, and a cigar in his mouth. Oh, it looks so pretty, think our young men; and if they cannot get a cigar, they must have a pipe. Many of our boys see an old man that has been educated among the Gentiles, and has contracted, unfortunately, a habit of chewing tobacco. While walking along, he spits upon the snow; it colors the virgin snow as though a calf had been there. The boy looks at it, and says he, “That looks nice;” so he gets his tobacco, and spits on the snow also. “There,” says he, “that looks as though a man had been along here.” This habit has become stubborn with many people. You may be astonished when I tell you that it takes about sixty thousand dollars in cash out of our Territory every year for the article of tobacco. Within the last ten years we have paid in the neighborhood of six hundred thousand dollars for this one article.

It is entirely against our interest to pay out this yearly sum for an article we can raise in our own country, and a violation of the true principles of political economy. I will appeal to our individual pockets. I will say I have got to pay for me and my boys for twenty-five pounds of tobacco in a year. Suppose a taxgatherer comes, and my tax is twenty-five dollars, I say I have not a red cent, and I cannot pay it. It cannot be had; I cannot raise it; but twenty-five dollars in tobacco must be raised: there are no two ways about that.

Now, as a State, in this item of political economy, let us raise and manufacture our own tobacco, and learn to think and believe that tobacco of our own raising is just as good and a little better than that brought from abroad.

We sent brethren to the South to raise cotton in 1857. Something like thirty-three of them went, and the next year many more went, so that in 1858, the vote of Washington County amounted to one hundred voters. Many of them were Southern men, who had been gathered from Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and other parts of the Southern States. They were accustomed to raising cotton. The President advised them to go there and supply the Territory with cotton. It had the appearance of a barren country generally. The mountains were barren and bleak in their appearance; red sandstone, and black volcanic rock, and a variety of grey-colored clay prevailing, altogether giving it a kind of somber, deadly appearance. The brethren went to raising cotton in small patches as they could find the land, and every year they cultivated it they found the cotton to improve in quality. They raised better cotton last year than the year before, and so they have continued until it has become a certainty that cotton can be raised there.

I have seen men load up their cotton and start this way to trade it off. Say they, “I want to get a few bushels of wheat, and pay in cotton.” The answer has been, “I can do nothing with your cotton; but if it was spun, I would buy it.” So the cotton raiser has considered it of little use to raise cotton, and went to raising wheat. They did not know what to do with their cotton when it was raised. You may go to those same persons that would not buy from the cotton raiser, and their women say—“Husband I have got to have some cotton batting from the store, to make some quilts of. Now, husband, you need not try to dodge; the batten has got to come.” It costs fifty cents a pound, and one-third of it is paper when you get it. Sister, why did you not buy that brother’s cotton the other day: you would have got two dollars for your wheat you sell at the store for one? “Oh, his cotton was grown at home, and that bought in the stores is made into nice sheets, all ready for spreading in the quilt.” You can take a pair of hand cards and prepare our homemade cotton for the quilt with but a little trouble, and you would have the clean cotton instead of one-third brown paper. For your bushel of wheat, after hauling it to the store, you get a pound and a half of cotton; whereas, if you sell your wheat to the home producer for cotton, you have laid at your door four pounds of cotton for a bushel of wheat.

To buy the foreign cotton in this manner, and discourage home production, is very far from good political economy. Quite an amount of raw cotton is wanted in this Territory for filling quilts and other purposes by every family. The wool answers a good purpose, but it is not plentiful enough; and even if it were, there are many kinds of quilts and comforters for which cotton is far preferable. Did we only encourage this home production of cotton to this limited extent, it would save thousands of dollars of money that is now thrown needlessly into the pockets of merchants to supply this article from abroad. Let us stop this suicidal practice of sending away our money. It would be better to braid our bed covering from oat straw, until we can supply our wants from the elements and soil of our own mountain valleys.

In 1857, the brethren had began to raise flax. I speak particularly of Provo. In 1858, the army came, and there was a chance for a man to make a few dollars by licking the dust of their feet and bowing down to them; so the flax was left to rot. I can find perhaps a hundred places now in the city of Provo where flax is suffered to go again into the ground, while the owners considered they ought to go and do something for the Gentiles to get money to buy clothes.

Some man says, “I worked up some flax, and it was worthless—it was rotten.” It is known in all flax countries that if you get flax too much rotted by laying it up a year or two, it will recover its strength. In Pennsylvania, which is a good flax raising country, some farmers will have five or six years’ flax laid up, and each year they select out of it that which makes the best thread. When you find your flax a little too rotten, you are at once discouraged, and straightway make up your minds to go and work for the Gentiles to get some of their rotten rags.

A great many “Mormons,” when they become wealthy, want to go back to show their former comrades and friends what an amount of property they have got. But with all this bombast and vain show, we do not really possess anything. A man says, “I came into Cache Valley two years ago, I got forty of acres land, and I have raised a good deal of wheat by very hard labor, and that wheat is mine.” You ploughed the ground and watered it; but who made the seed grow that you threw into the ground? The Lord. Then it is his: he let you have a little of it, to see what you would do with it. Have you a right to abuse the Lord’s means which he permits you to use? No. But, as a member in the kingdom of God in the last days, you have a right to use it for the advancement of that kingdom, and the triumph of righteousness, and for doing good in every possible way.

I have heard men say that they have a right to do wrong. In one sense, a man has such a right; and, in another sense, he has no such right. We possess, in reality, very little; and that little the Lord has given us, and that is the power of choice. We may choose to do good, and, if we do good, we get the reward of good; we may also choose to do evil and reap the penalty. A man may knock another down because he has a right to, and have to pay a fine of fifty dollars because he is obliged to. I deny that a man has a right to make thieves of his children and prostitute his family. If he does this, the Lord is justified in cursing him, and he will be obliged to endure it. This power of choice goes a great way. A young man says, I have a notion to go on the road and work for the Gentiles, carry the mail, or anything else. All right. But your friend suggests that it would be better for you to make a farm, build you a house, raise some flax, etc. “But I have a right to work for the Gentiles, if I choose, and I am going to.” You go and build them up with your labor. This young man comes home after a while, he sports a cigar in his mouth among his comrades, he has made thirty dollars per month, he has a few dollars in money in his pocket; it has seemed to come easy, and his soul is contaminated with wickedness. In a little while his money is gone, and he has nothing. Then he must go again among the Gentiles and make a raise. I hope the “Mormon” girls know how to measure such fellows. A sensible girl would much rather marry a young man, dressed in homespun, who will stay at home and mind his business, and never suffer a cigar to come near his mouth, but seek with all his might in every respect to be a good, faithful Latter-day Saint.

Speaking of cigar smoking makes me think of an anecdote of a sick man and his doctor. The doctor asked him how many cigars he smoked in a day; the answer was, Six. That is too much; you must quit smoking. You will allow me to smoke a little. Yes, you may smoke two a day to begin with, and finally quit altogether. The next day the doctor called to see his patient, and found him smoking a cigar two feet long. What are you doing, inquired the doctor? Just doing as you told me; I went down to the cigar maker and got two made two feet long, and they answer first rate.

When a man begins to adopt Gentile habits, a cigar two feet long is only a patching to the extravagance he will become addicted to.

I see in this valley large fields fenced out. In some places, there have been four or five acres ploughed; in some, ten acres: pass on a little further, and there are a few acres more. How is this, brother Maughan? Men enclose more than they can cultivate, water, and improve, and a very large portion must necessarily be vacant, for it was difficult to get water on it. Many acres of grain perish, and the grasshoppers devoured much that remained from the drought. I advise you, brethren, to stop this scattering method of cultivation, and gather your farms together, and make fields well fenced, plough, and put in your grain well, and give it a sufficient amount of water, and you will have three times as much wheat as you got in the start of your settlements in this valley.

President Young is acknowledged by us all the master builder in Zion or, if you please, the master workman. If the master workman walks in among the timber laid out here for your big Tabernacle as the grand architect, planning and assorting the different sticks of timber for certain places and purposes, he does not expect to meet with opposition from the material out of which he designs to make a temple of worship. He comes to a stick of timber, and says, I will make a post of this; and the stick rises up in the dignity of its strength and will not be made a post, but will be a sleeper, and so on with all the timbers of the building: they are not subject to the will of the master builder. Will not this comparison represent a large portion of this people? The master builder points to the South and says, Go and raise cotton; but many reply, It is no cotton country; it is the most wretched, barren, Godforsaken country in the world. This is not submitting to the will of the master builder.

This puts me in mind of Jefferson Thompson, now a Brigadier-General in the secession army in Missouri. After he had been in this country, his comrades got around and inquired, Well, Mr. Thompson, how do you like that country? Any good land there? He replied, It is the most Godforsaken country in all creation. How did you find the Mormons living there? How do they live? Why, they raise plenty of wheat, and the best wheat I ever saw in my life. Can they raise anything else? Yes. The finest potatoes (I never saw finer), and every kind of garden stuff, and very good corn. Any fruit? They are beginning to raise some fine peaches and other kinds of fruits. But you said it was the most desolate, barren, Godforsaken country in creation: how is it, then, that they can raise such good stuff? Well I cannot account for it in any way, only it is a damned Mormon miracle!

That is the correct idea: the Lord is doing it. I have learned that in the county of Harrison, Western Virginia, they have not raised ten bushels of apples, peaches, plums, or a pint of strawberries in the whole country, although I dare say there are a thousand orchards in it, and their crops have failed; their glory has departed. The Lord blesses the land in proportion as they are willing to do good. Last year, the word of the Lord came to this people, Send down two hundred teams and bring home the Saints. The teams were sent down. Some said we could not do without them at home; if so many teams went, we could not raise crops sufficient. But there has not been such a crop in all the Territory as was raised this year. The very sending of the teams seemed to be the assurance of the bountiful blessings of God on our crops. As the President remarked this forenoon, we say all we have is upon the altar: but let it begin to burn, and they begin straightway to pull it off. We are all united in our faith; but when the word comes, Brother, you have a good farm here; but the interests of Zion seem to require you should go to Santa Clara to raise cotton. But, says he, it is no cotton country, and he is awfully discouraged. What does it matter in what part of the building the master builder places us? Every person is placed in a position he is the best qualified to fill, and which he will enhance the most the interests of the kingdom of God.

As the President and his company were going down south, a brother wanted us to go and breakfast with him: he said he could not do very well by us, for he was sent on a mission, and he was not as rich as some of the people. When we went to breakfast, it was not ready. An apology was made that the women had to milk twenty cows: he had ten more on the Plains running with their calves, and he had not time to get them up. He said he wanted to accompany the President, but he had only two animals up; but he had two span of mules on the Plains that he thought would keep up with the President. I have had a hard time of it this season, and had but little time. I had to do all my farming with three-year-olds and four-year-olds. I sent four yoke of cattle to the States this season; yet I have thirty acres of wheat—the best wheat you ever saw. What a poor man! But he was on a mission, and the idea of being on a mission made him think he was poor.

If a man feels rich, and has not a dime in his pocket, if he is righteous, he is rich indeed; but if he has a penurious disposition and is miserly, though his hands are full of riches, he does not turn it to a good account, and in a little while he is like the child that takes an apple in each hand, but undertakes to hold another; he is apt to drop the two to secure the third.

When you raise flax, hemp, wheat, cattle, wool, etc., let everything be placed in the best position to increase the creature comforts of life. Seek the means to manufacture the textile productions into clothing, etc., that nothing may be lost or wasted, and thus learn to do without those things that have to come from abroad. Let us make our own crockery. Let us be willing to drink out of a brown mug or go without. We want to see every man and woman ready to do that which is for the general welfare more than for the individual interest.

We boast about being one, pray about it, and rejoice about it every minute; but let the Lord’s servants try to dictate us how to manage our property in the best possible manner for the general good and the accelerated growth of the wealth and influence of this great people, we declare by our works they shall not touch a dollar. Zion is going to be a great empire, and seeing God has trusted us as stewards of the property we hold, we must use it to build up his kingdom and cause. And when the authorities advise us to put that property into a mill or carding machine, into this or that, for the welfare of Israel, do it cheerfully with a good heart and ready hand, and not with fear and whining.

I pray the Lord continually to inspire President Young with wisdom and knowledge, and judgment above all men upon earth, to dictate the affairs of Zion in a manner that shall be the most approved by his heavenly Master. I really do want to see a feeling of contentment manifested by the brethren who are sent into Washington County to raise cotton there, and make the mission honorable, and gain for themselves credit and the blessings of God and his servants. If a man is instructed to raise flax, and introduce machinery to manufacture it, I like to see him do it cheerfully. In all our works and labor, our first great interest should be the building up of the kingdom of God, and be so gritty that we will actually go without buying a paste– board bonnet or a pair of paper shoes, when we can have something we can produce ourselves that will answer the purpose. All these articles are produced by labor and ingenuity. Let the knowledge of these arts be communicated from one to another, and be the property of the whole to benefit the whole. There is a man in Pinto, Washington County, that makes cheese so skillfully that he never has any trouble with it in summer; he only has to turn it once in a while. Well, brother, how do you make that cheese? “That is a secret.”

Now, brethren, if you know anything that is for the welfare of Israel, instruct others. If a sister knows how to get her up a tablecloth, let her show it to her sister, and let the knowledge pass round. If she understands the process of spinning cotton and flax, communicate that knowledge to others. Let us learn wisdom from our leaders.

The power of the Almighty has been manifested in gathering this people out of the midst of many nations. A greater miracle never existed. It has been done by his wise counsel and fatherly care, and a nation has been established without the shedding of blood. Zion has been travailing and has brought forth. I have traveled this season to preach to the Saints twenty-five hundred miles and stopped with the Saints every night. I have preached to hundreds of congregations, large and small, in houses and out-of-doors.

May the blessing of Israel’s God attend you and your crops, and herds and flocks; and everything that pertains to you, may it be blessed continually. Amen.

Discourse by President Daniel H. Wells, made at Logan City, September 10th, 1861.

I appear before you this morning with grateful feelings to our Heavenly Father for the privilege we mutually enjoy in beholding the dawning light of so good a day for Israel.

Brother Kimball, when he bade me goodbye, as I started from the city on this visit, wished me to say to the people for him, “God bless them!” and brother Brigham blesses the people continually; our Father in heaven blesses them; the heavens are full of blessings for them. Why, then, should we not be the most happy of all people? While the earth is full of turmoil and strife, the people in these mountains dwell in peace, and are blessed with unparalleled prosperity. They have that joy and peace, that satisfaction and quietness that proceeds from God, which could not be enjoyed in any other part of the world, or among any other people under the most favorable circumstances.

We have been called together from different parts of the world for the great and special work of building up the kingdom of God upon the earth, to establish a nucleus of righteousness from which shall radiate every great, good, and holy principle to all parts of the habitable world. It is our privilege to bear an important part in this great work. The Gospel of salvation has been promulgated—has reached our ears where we dwelt among different nations and countries, and has brought us to these mountain regions. And now what is our duty? Shall we be like the world from which we have been gathered out? If this is our intention, we might as well have stayed in our native country, where we could have ripened for destruction as well as here. But if we have essayed to be servants of the Most High, to be his children, to be his chosen and peculiar people, and for which purpose we are gathered out from among the Gentile nations, let us not do as they do, but let us do according to the high behest of Heaven, who has given us an appointment, and called us forth to build up his kingdom in these last days. Let us follow implicitly the instructions of those whom God has appointed to guide our minds and direct our steps; or, to use other words, let us believe our religion and faithfully live it. Do we believe fully that God our Father has appointed men whom he influences day by day to lead forth his people, and direct them in all their spiritual and temporal labors? And do we so order our course as to correspond with the instructions given us? Or do we suppose we can entirely take our own way in temporal matters, according to the traditions of our fathers and the dictations of the spirit of the world, and at the same time please high Heaven, and do our duty faithfully in the building up of the kingdom of God? We think in spiritual “Mormonism,” we need direction and constant instruction by the authorized servants of God; but we think we know as much about temporal affairs as anybody. We rejoice in the knowledge that has been revealed from the heavens to us; we rejoice in the word of the Lord that has gone forth; we rejoice that God has spoken in these last days, and that we have received these most valuable instructions—that we have received the knowledge that leads to life and salvation, and to exaltation in his kingdom. But do we realize that God’s kingdom in the latter days is to all intents and purposes a temporal kingdom? And do we realize that if we had stayed in the world we could have served him spiritually there as well as here? But what kind of a kingdom would that have been for the Savior to rule over when he comes? When he comes, he is going to reign over a temporal kingdom, composed of men and women who do his will on the earth. Everything that pertains to us in our life is temporal, and over us and all we possess our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ will reign, as well as over all the kingdoms of the world when they become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.

To build up Zion is a temporal labor; it does not consist simply in teaching: teaching is to instruct us how to properly apply our labor, the sooner and better to accomplish the end in view. Bone and sinew is required to build up the kingdom of God in the last days. When Jesus Christ was upon the earth, he said—“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.” It was not of this world, then; but it remained to be in the latter days, and then his servants will wage a warfare against the powers of Satan, both visible and invisible. The Saints are now engaged in that warfare; they have to fight against the evil influences that attend upon their footsteps day by day, and then have to fight against his inclining them to do evil, and against all evil powers, and to root them out from their midst. They have also to contend against the powers of darkness which appear in human beings, causing them to come up in the shape of mobs to fight against the Saints of the Most High. This is a temporal warfare as well in which we are engaged. The Devil has held the control of the earth. Under his influence the people have built up cities, colleges, and institutions of every description, and traverse the earth and seas to amass money to sustain them. We have been gathered out to form a nucleus of power to take the kingdom, overcome evil with good, tread wickedness under our feet, and exalt righteousness upon the mountain tops, that the power, the wealth, and earthly prosperity may be taken from the powers of the Devil and placed within the power and control of a righteous people where it belongs. What can we do to promote this great cause, to redeem the earth from sin, from hell, and from the Devil, and make it a habitation for Saints and angels? This is a question that comes home to us all. The best answer that can be given to it is, Do according to the instructions of him whom the Lord has appointed to lead us. He says, “Go to with your might and build up the kingdom of God, by quarrying the rock, by bringing the timber from the canyons and making it into lumber, by making adobies, mixing the mortar, burning the lime, and drawing from the elements around us the material neces– sary to beautify and build up, and to exalt in every way those principles that essay to establish righteousness over the whole earth.” If the word is to build forts, build them; if to raise grain, raise grain. It is needful to do these things because our society is composed of men, women, and children, the same as other communities of people. Like other people, we must have food and raiment, houses to live in, and the common creature comforts. We have come to these distant valleys to improve, not to debase ourselves to the level of the savages around us: we have come here purposely to advance, not to take the retrograde path—to exalt ourselves in the knowledge of God, and seek to exalt others to our standard of holiness and goodness. It is, then, for us to aspire constantly to a still higher standard in the scale of human existence, exalting with us those with whom we are associated. We need everything that other people need, except sin, and no people need that. We need everything else that is necessary to build up any other kingdom, and we have to produce it from the elements with which we are surrounded. We have been brought far from the wicked world, to give us an opportunity to show that we will do it, or that we will not do it—to prove our integrity to the cause of righteousness and to God—to prove to him that we will struggle to obtain the knowledge and the ability to create the means of our own subsistence—that we will struggle to subdue the elements, to sanctify the earth, chase unholiness from it, and beautify it by building up beautiful places, ornamenting our grounds, cultivating fruits of every variety that will flourish in our country, and thus bless ourselves with the blessings the Almighty has placed within our reach, and prove to him that we are willing to abide his high behest, acknow– ledging that he throws in our way all these advantages, and by our works show that we are willing to make all our efforts point to the building up of the kingdom of God, and prove to the world that we are more exalted in our attainments and more elevated in our notions than they are; and finally we will make ourselves independent of every people and nation upon the earth.

When our Father in heaven finds he has got a people who stand as a unit in favor of his kingdom, and have made themselves free and independent, will he not be pleased with that people? It is a long time since he has had such a people. It is our privilege to be that people, and be acknowledged of God as his people. Then it becomes us to be watchful, careful, energetic, and diligent in endeavoring to bring to pass his purposes according to his mind and good pleasure.

Here are the fat valleys of Ephraim. From the elements that are strewn around us in rich profusion we can gain our entire support. We can raise the flax, the wool, the cotton, the bread, the fruit, and sugar. We can dig out the iron ore, and the copper, and the lead, and mold these minerals to our wants, and make them administer to our comfort and convenience. One can accomplish one thing, and another can accomplish something else. When our labor is properly directed, one man will go at this employment, and another at that, to bring forth the things necessary for our mutual convenience and comfort. When we are willing to abide the instructions of our leaders, and bring to our aid the knowledge we have received in the countries from which we have been gathered, all will then conspire to one end—namely, for the building up of the kingdom of God. In the northern parts of this Territory we can produce things that they cannot so well produce in the southern portions. Last spring we visited the southern settlements. There they can raise choice fruits that alone will flourish in southern climates; they can also raise cotton better than we can, and you can raise wool better than they. In this way we can create an exchange of commodities between the north and the south, make our cotton and woolen cloth at home, and not be too proud to wear it when we have made it.

In the revelations of God to Joseph Smith, Jun., we read—“And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands; And let all things be done in cleanliness before me.” We can get the furs in these mountains to make the most beautiful hats, and the most durable. From the countries northwest of us, the Hudson Bay Company supply nearly all Europe with the choicest of furs. Shall we first send the furs to hell, and then have them freighted back to us by Gentile speculators at a great expense, in the shape of hats for us to wear? Get the fur and make our own hats. And so with our leather, and our boots and shoes, and so with everything that is necessary for our happiness and comfort.

Heretofore we have been sorely taxed; our life blood has been drawn from us—our circulating medium is continually drawn away for those articles which we can produce ourselves. That woman that makes a yard of cloth accomplishes a good work towards building up the independence of the kingdom of God, and by her works her faith is made manifest.

That man who raises a small patch of flax, prepares it for the spinning wheel, procures the wheel and loom, and is diligent in having his wives and daughters learn to convert the flax into thread and cloth, is laboring in the right way to permanently establish the kingdom of God. This will not only apply to flax, but wool, and every other production natural to our country. In this way both men and women and children are accomplishing the purpose for which they have been gathered out from their native places into these distant valleys.

I have said that we have a warfare to wage. Guns and pistols are brought here, and can be had sometime at low prices. Such weapons are necessary in the warfare in which we are engaged. We have attempted to make powder, and with perseverance and skill I have no doubt a plentiful supply can be produced here.

We are now successfully making paper. You will soon receive the Deseret News printed on paper made here. You can aid and assist in this species of home production by saving carefully your rags for the paper manufactory. In the manufacture of paper we check the outward flow of one stream of gold that has heretofore gone to enrich the Gentiles.

We are also successfully making nails. Our machinery is of the most approved kind, and can produce them in great quantities.

We can also produce our linseed oil from the flax seed. The oil made here is of fine quality.

President Young has imported several splendid carding machines for the carding of wool. He has taken no little pains in importing the most useful machinery to meet our present wants. Is it not better to spend our means in this way than to spend it for imported goods of an inferior quality?

I wish to say a few words to those engaged in the military in this valley. There are many who are subject to perform military duty. Many of them are ignorant as to the proper care, proper handling, and proper use of firearms. They should be taught to handle firearms in a way not to accidentally injure themselves or their companions in arms. I care more about their knowing how to handle their arms, and how to keep them in good condition than I do their knowing how to perform “Eyes right, eyes left,” &c. Not but what strict discipline and a maintenance of perfect order in military ranks is essentially necessary, as in all other departments of the community, though I would rather they would learn to shoot correctly. And it would not be amiss to secure a little extra supply of ammunition to practice how to shoot, rather than trade off the arms and ammunition that is put into their hands to use when necessary. Learn how to clean a gun well, how to take it apart and put it together again, and how to keep it in good condition. Learn how to lead a gun properly, learn what is a proper charge, and then learn to throw the ball to the spot where you wish it should be lodged. It would be presumption to call a person to go forth bearing arms that could not use them with proper effect: this would prove an injury instead of a benefit. We would be relying in vain upon that person to perform for us an important duty. We wish the military officers to lend their instructions in this way. Teach the ignorant how to use and take care of their firearms, and how to keep them safely, that they may be in continual readiness, and that their families and friends may not be injured by them. Let your military organizations be kept up, and enroll newcomers into some company, that they may know their officers and their place when they are called upon to act. Let your organizations be perfected as far as possible, that every man may be ready when called upon to go on foot or on horseback.

I have seen your little girls herding cattle and sheep. I would not let even small boys do it, to say nothing of girls. It is unwise, for the sake of the influence it has over their minds. In one sense it is a cause of idleness. Our boys and girls would be better at school. Men should herd stock. Those boys who are now about on horseback, with pistols slung to their sides, who are butchering your cattle and stealing your horses, were many of them herd boys? Herding is a poor school for your boys and girls to attend. They are on the wild plains, and among the swamps and brush, away from the influence of their parents and schoolteachers; and there they receive bad impressions upon their minds, whereas good impressions should be made. Let men herd your stock.

The building up of this kingdom is a work of progress; and where some things are necessary to be done, other things must not be neglected. If you have a great deal of work on your hands of one kind, do a little less of that kind, and more of some other kind, and bring all things together. You have not time, you think, to send your children to school, you have so much work to do. I like that you should have plenty to do; but should you neglect to instruct your children while you are busily engaged in other pursuits? It is not wisdom to neglect this very important part of our duty, while at the same time it is good to be diligent in every other duty that necessarily devolves upon us in every department of life.

We raise a great amount of wheat, and crop our land year after year with the same crop. This is a pernicious practice for our land. It would be much better to introduce a rotation of crops suited to the land and the climate. Let intelligent farmers pay attention to this. Let crops of useful roots be introduced and fed to sheep and other stock. It is as necessary and as profitable to raise good wool and plenty of it as it is to raise good grain.

Do not run into an extreme in raising wheat, but let there be an equality in our productions, which will give greater scope for exchange among ourselves, and less encouragement to the importation of foreign productions. These are a few of my ideas with regard to the economy of living and building up the kingdom of God. This is a lifetime matter, and we must take it in hand wisely and with moderation, so as to bear up and carry it through.

We are now in our probation, and the work in which we are engaged will reach into a world to come. Then let us act like men and women who are determined to be for the kingdom of God or nothing, progressing steadily, unitedly, and firmly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year, as long as we shall live, and never falter in our feeling, in our faith, and good works. Never strike hands with the Devil; never seek to make friends of Christ and Baal. They cannot be friends. If we do not let go the hand of the Devil, we must the hand of Christ. Christ has long ago refused to hold communion with Satan. We cannot hold one with one hand, and the other with the other hand. If we try this, the first we know we shall find ourselves entirely on the side of the Devil.

What are our children given unto us for? To raise them up to be angels to the Devil? I think not. None of us would wish that. Still, many take that course which is calculated to lead them in that direction, for want of understanding. We would not do this intentionally. Many a person does a thing that will lead to death and destruction unintentionally. They do not pay attention to the wise counsels and excellent instructions that are almost daily given to them, in a temporal point of view, but think they are of no particular use to them.

It is a temporal kingdom that we are engaged in building up for our God upon the earth; and it becomes essentially necessary that we should be one in regard to temporal matters, as well as in spiritual. There is no disunion of feeling upon the subject of baptism for the remission of sins, in all the valleys of the mountains, or upon the subject of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We all believe alike on these subjects. But when it comes to using your surplus property for the building up of the kingdom of God, instead of selling it to the Gentiles for almost nothing, when it is advised to cease trading with them—to cease going on the road to do this and that to build up Gentile interests, you consider it infringing upon your liberties and rights as American citizens. You say, “Have I not a right to dictate my own property that I have worked for?”

You have nothing except that which the Lord God has entrusted to your care. It belongs to him. The earth and the fulness thereof are his, and we are his. There is only one principle that may be considered our own, and that is our will. You can do as you are told, or you can refuse to do it. You can seek good and do it, or you can seek evil and do it. In this you are left to be your own judge. You can show to God that you are for him, or that you are for the Devil. You can become elect to do evil and be an angel of the Devil, or you can become elect to do good and be a Saint of the Most High. For your own sakes, be true to yourselves and live your religion which you profess to believe, and train up your children in the principles of righteousness which the Lord God has revealed to you, and in which the faithful so delight, and which is so great a comfort and consolation to them. Bring your children up so that they will be an honor and a credit to you in your old age—so that they will walk in your footsteps, inasmuch as you walk in all obedience before the Lord. The Lord made great promises to Abraham. Why? “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment,” &c.

You can do your duty as Abraham did, and influence your children in every possible way to work righteousness in all their days. Every person has his agency; and how grand the idea, when the strong will of man is used for the promotion of the kingdom of God, to set forth as first and foremost the principles of truth and righteousness, and thus finally lead to exaltation in the kingdom of God, with power to preserve in it to all eternity our identity, walk into the presence of God, and be able to bear the scrutinizing eyes of our Father in heaven!

What an exceeding great blessing to be able to do all this if we will, and save those with whom we are associated, and go forth and become the Gods of eternity. Let us prove to God, to angels, and to all holy beings that we are for the kingdom—that we are for God and holiness. Let us put aside our contentions and bickerings and little notions: they will not add any weight in the balance in our favor, but it will weigh against us, and will continually thwart our onward progress. You say a person has done you an injury. Suppose he has, what of it? It should not affect you. Overlook it and pursue steadily the upward path to righteousness, and it will not hurt you a particle; but it will hurt the person that has inflicted the injury. It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong. If a person steals anything from me, it does not make it right for me to take something that belongs to another. If a person gets angry with me, and I go about my business and pay no attention to it, but rather take an occasion to soothe and control his feelings, and finally gain the mastery over them, and over myself in the first place, it gives me a victory, although he may have done it on purpose to injure me.

When the Almighty is blessing us with bountiful crops, how foolish it is to quarrel with our neighbors for a little water. Perhaps it may be we have some reason; but if we cannot obtain the water with good feelings and kind words, let them have the water.

Let us go forth in our daily transactions with an enlightened view of things, and feel that we will not be moved from the path of righteousness by every little thing that may cross our track. Let us go a considerable distance round anything that would annoy us, rather than make a fuss about it. Let us suffer a great deal before finding fault with our brother or causing him to do wrong. Try and cherish courtesy and good feelings to each other, that you may attain that command over yourselves, and that elevation of sentiment and feeling that is worthy of you as Saints of the Most High. When your Bishop or President chooses to lead out in a certain direction in righteousness, follow after him and sustain him. If he is not doing right and walking in the path of his duty, let your faith be of that strength that will cause him to be removed, and a man placed there that will do right. An unfaithful President cannot stand in his place long, if the people will do right. May God bless us, and help us to do our duty, live our holy religion, and build up his kingdom, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 28, 1861.

When I came into this Church, I started right out as a missionary, and took a text, and began to travel on a circuit. Truth is my text, the Gospel of salvation my subject, and the world my circuit. I presume I shall not soon go all over it, but I am still preaching and traveling occasionally. I expect to be here about every other Sabbath, as I have been for a few weeks or months past, except when I was in the south.

While I am here with you, I want to talk to the Saints. I like to look at them; I like to instruct them, and to be instructed. We pray continually for the redemption of Zion, for the Lord to hasten the time when we can return and establish the Center Stake of Zion, and build up the great temple of the Lord upon which his glory will rest as a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. We pray that we may be sanctified, that we may be made pure in heart; and we pray that the Lord will teach us his will continually, and reveal unto us precisely his mind, so that we may have the mind of Christ, and know precisely what to do.

When will Zion be redeemed? When will the Savior make his appearance in the midst of his people? When will the veil be taken away, that we may behold the glory of God? Can any of you answer these questions? Yes, readily, when I tell you. The redemption of Zion is the first step preparatory to the two last-named events. Just as soon as the Latter-day Saints are ready and prepared to return to Independence, Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, North America, just so soon will the voice of the Lord be heard, “Arise now, Israel, and make your way to the Center Stake of Zion.” Do you think there is any danger of our being ready before the Lord prepares the other end of the route? Do you believe that we, as Latter-day Saints, are preparing our own hearts, our own lives, to return to take possession of the Center Stake of Zion, as fast as the Lord is preparing to cleanse the land from those ungodly persons who dwell there? You can read, reflect, and make your own calculations. If we are not very careful, the earth will be cleansed from wickedness before we are prepared to take possession of it. We must be pure to be prepared to build up Zion. To all appearance, the Lord is preparing that end of the route faster than we are preparing ourselves to go there.

His grace is here, his judgments are here, his wisdom and Spirit are here, and every qualification that Saints can require is here ready to be poured out upon the people, if they are prepared to receive them. Are we prepared to receive those qualifications? Are we prepared to march back and take possession of the Center Stake of Zion, build up the great Temple of the Lord, and gather in the nations of the earth?

There are hundreds and thousands coming here this season. We are gathering the people as fast as we can. We are gathering them to make Saints of them and of ourselves. Probably many of them will apostatize, though some will not apostatize until you give them their endowments; and then, if you do not speak out of the right corner of your mouth, they will apostatize; and if you do not laugh out of the right corner of your mouth, they will go. We are gathering a few that will be faithful in the midst of this people, and prepare themselves to be crowned kings and priests unto God. By-and-by you will see the Saints flock together. Will they come merely by one or two shiploads? No; it will require many more ships than we have heretofore employed to bring home the gathering thousands to Zion. Millions of people that now sit in darkness—that are now, to all appearance, in the region and shadow of death, will come to Zion.

When Joseph first revealed the land where the Saints should gather, a woman in Canada asked if we thought that Jackson County would be large enough to gather all the people that would want to go to Zion. I will answer the question really as it is. Zion will extend, eventually, all over this earth. There will be no nook or corner upon the earth but what will be in Zion. It will all be Zion. I remember that the lady was answered by asking her whether she thought the ark was large enough to hold those that were to go into it in the days of Noah? “Yes,” was the reply. Then of course Zion will be just large enough to receive all that will be prepared to possess it, as the ark was.

We are going to gather as many as we can, bless them, give them their endowments, etc., preach to them the truth, lay the principles of eternal life before them, inform their minds all we have power to do, and lead them into the path of truth and righteousness; and those who will not abide the truth will apostatize. A few will remain, and a good share of them will cleave to the promises of the Lord, will be true in every respect, and will be accounted worthy to enter in at the strait gate. Strait is the gate and narrow is the path that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it. Millions will come and live in Zion when the laws of Zion reign predominant over creation; but will all be prepared to be crowned kings and priests unto God? No. You cannot imagine anything that will not be in Zion, except sin and iniquity, and reviling against God and against his kingdom. All classes of people will come to Zion. Will there be Methodists there? Yes; and they will have the privilege to worship a God without body, parts, and passions, just as they do now, if they choose to. Every person and every community will receive according to the extent of their capacity and ability. Every person then will be blessed, will be filled with joy, will be filled with peace, with light, and intelligence according to the endowments with which they are endowed. Will all become kings and priests? No; not even all that will embrace the fulness of the Gospel.

There are only a few shiploads of Saints coming this season. They will come thicker and faster, by-and-by, and will begin to inquire after the wisdom that is in Zion. The Lord is coming out of his hiding place, and is beginning to scourge this nation with a sore scourging, and vex it with a sore vexation. He is coming forth, and the sound of the report of what is coming on the earth and the power of God that is made manifest will vex the wicked and the ungodly, and will bring great joy and rejoicing to the Saints. There are millions of people, both among the Christian and heathen nations, that are still in darkness, and exclaiming, “Oh, how glad we would be to have some knowledge of the Gospel of salvation!” By-and-by, when the Lord sends forth his servants and his angels to gather them, they will be brought home to Zion and be taught the peaceable things of the kingdom; and those that abide a celestial law will receive a celestial glory, and those that can abide the next law in order can abide the glory pertaining to it, and so on. Were I to enumerate thousands of different degrees of glory and kingdoms, I probably should overenumerate the kingdoms God has prepared and will prepare for the people according to their capacities, endowments, and what they can receive and arrive to.

We ought to be careful and not lay down our Priesthood. The brethren and sisters ought to hold fast to their covenants, and walk in that way, in that path, which is pointed out by the Gospel. Shall we love the world? In one sense, we should. Should we love it with a divine love? Not yet. Should we love the world and the things of the world according to the nature of the world? We should. We are commanded in this Bible not to love the world and the things of the world; and then you read a little further in the same book, and you are commanded to love the world and the things of the world. How shall we understand these things? With the divinity that is within us we should love divine things. Our spirits are born of our Parents in heaven, divine, heavenly, angelic. Shall these spirits condescend to love an earthly object, to worship it? If they do, they become inferior to their calling and station before God. The body is framed for the tabernacle or house in which the spirit has to dwell. This tabernacle is formed expressly to hold its spirit and shield it. Should we love this tabernacle? Yes, enough to nourish it, cherish it, and treat it kindly, and foster and nourish and cherish it by the power of the spirit, and make this body divine. The spirit must overcome the body in the flesh, and the flesh become subject to the spirit in all things; then we will love the world as it ought to be loved—not with a divine love, but with a human love, a moral love, loving all things according to their worth and capacity.

We love our wives and children—we love that which is calculated to make us happy and comfortable; but the divine spirit is to overcome the body and continue so to do, looking forth until the body also becomes divine; and then, when all has become divine, we may love all with a divine affection, but not till then. After the body and spirit are separated by death, what, pertaining to this earth, shall we receive first? The body; that is the first object of a divine affection beyond the grave. We first come in possession of the body. The spirit has overcome the body, and the body is made subject in every respect to that divine principle God has planted in the person. The spirit within is pure and holy, and goes back pure and holy to God, dwells in the spirit world pure and holy, and, by-and-by, will have the privilege of coming and taking the body again. Some person holding the keys of the resurrection, having previously passed through that ordeal, will be delegated to resurrect our bodies, and our spirits will be there and prepared to enter into their bodies. Then, when we are prepared to receive our bodies, they are the first earthly objects that bear divinity personified in the capacity of the man. Only the body dies; the spirit is looking forth, as you read in the Bible concerning the souls or spirits of those who lay under the altar, as John saw on the Isle of Patmos, and they were crying to God to know how long it would be before they would again have their bodies. Were we turned out-of-doors, and not permitted to go into a house for six months or a year, we would look forward to the time when we could build a house, and reflect, “I wish I had a good house wherein I could be free from the inclemency of the weather, as I once had.”

When the body comes forth again, it will be divine, Godlike, according to the capacity and ordinations of the Lord. Some are foreordained to one station, and some to another. We want a house, and when we get it and our spirits enter into it, then we can begin to look forth, for what? For our friends. We want them resurrected. Here is this friend and that friend, until by-and-by all are resurrected. And the earth is resurrected? Yes, and every living thing on the earth that has abided the law by which it was made. Then that which you and I respect, are fond of, and love with an earthly love, will become divine, and we can then love it with that affection which it is not now worthy of.

Here is matter we see organized in ourselves. We look upon each other, and we are matter organized. Look upon the brute creation, the vegetable creation, and both are matter organized. Who knows how much of this is going to abide the law of its creation and the law by which it is made? Man is the only object you can find upon the face of the earth that will not abide the law by which he is made. When he abides this law, he is prepared for a glorious resurrection. Are my wives and friends going to be prepared to receive this resurrection? Are my children going to be prepared to receive this resurrection? They all have the power of choice, the same as I have; the same power of divinity is in them that is in me and you. I cannot love them with that sacred, divine love, until they become immortal and prove themselves worthy of such a supreme affection. I do not suffer myself to love a wife or a child with that divinity that is within me, until they, with myself, are immortalized and glorified, and they are given to me as my own in that future state. I am fond of them; I will nourish, cherish, and guide them, and do all I can for them, so that they can prove themselves worthy to receive their bodies in a glorious resurrected state, and be prepared to enter into the joy of their Lord with me: then they are worthy of my supreme love, and not before.

When I tell the truth, that is enough, and I care not whether those who hear it believe it or not, for that is their business. If you had lived in the days of Jesus, Peter, John, etc., and had seen men called to be Apostles of the Lord Jesus, every time they taught the people, every time they preached, every time they prayed, and every time they administered in the house of God, if they did not do it by the Spirit of revelation and by the power of God, they did not magnify their calling. There are not many who know this. If we do not speak to you by the Spirit of revelation and the power of God, we do not magnify our calling. I think that I tell you the words of the Lord Almighty every time I rise here to speak to you. I may blunder in the use of the English language; but suppose I should use language that would grate on the ears of some of the learned, what of that? God can understand it, and so could you, if you had the Spirit of the Lord.

I had brother Kimball ask me if his mode of communication pleased me. Yes; for I know what he means. I read his spirit when he preaches; and if he preaches by the power of God, I can understand it, if he speaks it back end forward, as well as if he spoke it straightforward and in picked and choice language. The Spirit of revelation is the best grammar you ever studied. As I was telling you this morning, let the power of God come upon this congregation and open the vision of your minds, and an angel of God appear here, and you would be in the light of eternity and in vision in a moment, without a word being spoken, and volumes would be revealed to this people. What do we care about words? Chiefly to speak and to hear others speak so as to be understood. We have our language; but if a man speaks by the power of God, it is little matter to me what his words are, or the language he uses. If I understand the spirit of it, that is the way I find “Mormonism” to be true. The brethren who came to preach the Gospel to me, I could easily outtalk them, though I had never preached; but their testimony was like fire in my bones; I understood the spirit of their preaching; I received that spirit; it was light, intelligence, power, and truth, and it bore witness to my spirit, and that was enough for me. I have received it, and I have tried to improve upon it.

If I do not speak here by the power of God, if it is not revelation to you every time I speak to you here, I do not magnify my calling. What do you think about it? I neither know nor care. If I do not magnify my calling, I shall be removed from the place I occupy. God does not suffer you to be deceived. Here are my brethren and sisters pouring out their souls to God, and their prayers and faith are like one solid cloud ascending to the heavens. They want to be led right; they want the truth; they want to know how to serve God and prepare for a celestial kingdom. Do you think the Lord will allow you to be fooled and led astray? No.

Brother Kimball said, today, when he was speaking, if you suffer yourselves to find fault with your Bishop, you condescend to the spirit of apostasy. Do any of you do this? If you do, you do not realize that you expose yourself to the power of the Enemy. What should your faith and position be before God? Such that, if a Bishop does not do right, the Lord will remove him out of your Ward. You are not to find fault. As brother Wells has said, speak not lightly of the anointed of the Lord. But you say they are out of the way. Who has made any of my brethren a judge over their Bishop? You read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, in a revelation to Joseph Smith (brother Kimball and myself were present), that it takes twelve High Priests to sit in council upon the head of a Bishop. Can they judge him? No; for they must then have the Presidency of the High Priesthood to sit at their head and preside over them. Yet many rise up and condemn their Bishop. Perhaps that Bishop has been appointed expressly to try those persons and cause them to apostatize. A great many will not apostatize until they arrive here; and who knows but what the Lord has prompted a Bishop to do so-and-so to cause somebody to apostatize. One of the first steps to apostasy is to find fault with your Bishop; and when that is done, unless repented of, a second step is soon taken, and by-and-by the person is cut off from the Church, and that is the end of it. Will you allow yourselves to find fault with your Bishop? No; but come to me, go to the High Council, or to the President of the Stake, and ascertain whether your Bishop is doing wrong, before you find fault and suffer yourselves to speak against a presiding officer. I want you to have faith enough concerning myself and my Counselors for the Lord to remove us out of the way, if we do not magnify our calling, and put men in our places that will do right. I had the promise, years ago, that I never should apostatize and bring an evil upon this people. God revealed that through Joseph, long before he died; and if I am not doing right, you may calculate that the Lord is going to take me home. He will not send me to hell, but he will take me home to himself. “I will take you up here, Brigham, and give you a few lessons.” I am going where He is, for I have that promise, and so have many others. I am telling you these things for your comfort. In all this there are no new principles and doctrines, though it is new to many of you. You must have faith in God that he will lead his people right, in a way to preserve them from every evil.

You can read in the writings of the ancient Prophets that the Lord is going to bring again Zion. The Prophet said that very quickly: it took him not more than half a minute. Let me ask the Latter-day Saints, How long will it take this people to fulfil that short sentence? How can they, unless they live in the light of revelation, and God leads them day by day? Then can they do it in a moment, in an hour, in a week, in a month, or in a year? No. It will take years to perform that saying of the Prophet that he wrote down so soon. And it will take more than one Prophet or person; it will take hundreds and thousands of them to fulfil that saying; and they cannot begin to fulfil one part of it without the power of revelation.

You may read another text—“The Lord will empty the earth”—I will not say whether of wickedness or righteousness. How is this to be understood, and how are the people going to fulfil this saying of the Prophet? How is the Lord going to empty the earth? Will it be done in a week or a year? No. He has begun to do it. President Lincoln called out soldiers for three months, and was going to wipe the blot of secession from the escutcheon of the American Republic. The three months are gone, and the labor is scarcely begun. Now they are beginning to enlist men for three years; soon they will want to enlist during the war; and then, I was going to say, they will want them to enlist during the duration of hell. Do they know what they are doing? No; but they have begun to empty the earth, to cleanse the land, and prepare the way for the return of the Latter-day Saints to the Center Stake of Zion.

Have we inheritances there? When I left the State of Missouri, I had a deed for five pieces of as good land as any in the State, and I expect to go back to it. Do we own anything in Illinois? Yes. In Ohio? Yes. The Lord will call back the Latter-day Saints, although it is written in the revelations, speaking of the Saints being driven from Jackson County, that they should be driven from State to State, from city to city, and but few would remain to receive their inheritance. I did not receive any inheritance in Jackson County, Missouri. I never was there, and I do not think of anyone present who was there, except Judge Phelps. There are also a few others in the Territory who received theirs. A few will remain and receive their inheritance. Will we return and receive an inheritance there? Many of the Saints will return to Missouri, and there receive an inheritance. This is not worded exactly as is the revelation, but it is according to the nature of things. The earth will also be emptied upon natural principles: it cannot be done otherwise.

The South say, “We could not bear the insults and the affliction heaped upon us by the North. We cannot help revolting from the rank Abolitionists that would destroy us and our negroes; we will not hold fellowship with the North any longer, but we will come out from them and be separate.” The Abolitionists would set free the negroes at the expense of the lives of their masters; they would let the negroes loose to massacre every white person: that is the spirit of many of the Abolitionists that I have conversed with. Proslavery men are determined to hold their negroes, and the North reply—“It is false language to say that we are in a free and independent government that holds four millions of persons in abject slavery: we do not believe in it, and they shall be free.” How natural it is for the two parties to come to the sword, to the cannon’s mouth, and fight. “We of the North are fighting to emancipate four millions of people that are in bondage,” and “we of the South are fighting for our liberties;” and the right will continue until the earth is empty. Will it be over in six months or in three years? No; it will take years and years, and will never cease until the work is accomplished. There may be seasons that the fire will appear to be extinguished, and the first you know it will break out in another portion, and all is on fire again, and it will spread and continue until the land is emptied. Will they all be killed? No.

I shall see the day when thousands will seek succor at the hands of this people. If you say, “Husband, I shall leave you, if you take another wife,” you had better leave now when you may stand a chance of getting another husband. You cannot read in the Bible that women take the lead—that the responsibility is upon the women, for it is not so. What was the saying of Jesus, when the woman caught in sin was brought before him? That publicans and harlots should enter into the kingdom of heaven before the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees. I do not like to associate with such characters, but that Scripture will be fulfilled.

The responsibility is upon the men, and they will be used up, for they go to war, and will fall in battle by hundreds and thousands, until the earth is emptied. Young men, prepare yourselves; for a greater responsibility will come upon you than you have ever dreamed of. Millions will seek to you for salvation. Are you prepared for this? No, you are not. There are but very few men, old or young, that are capable of taking proper charge of themselves, to say nothing of a Ward, a community, or a nation.

It is said that woman is the weaker vessel, and that an Irishman whipped his wife because she carried too much sail. The nations have been led by the weaker vessel; but, by-and-by it will not be so. It is impossible to guide ships that carry too much sail, and have too little ballast in proportion to their hulls. I should trim off some of the spankers. You sisters who have crossed the sea know what I mean. You must also cut off part of the jib, and then you can guide the vessel a little easier. When you come to the mainsail, reef it, tie it up, and not have it quite so large.

You can scarcely find a man that knows how to properly treat himself, and it is worse when you come to his directing others. You will see the time when thousands will seek salvation at the hands of this people, and say, “Guide us in the way of life; the earth is emptied of wickedness, and it has come to an end.” The Lord knows whether or not the Elders of this Church will be ready to step forward and take upon themselves these great responsibilities.

Let these remarks remain with you; take them home with you, and wait and see what the result will be. The Lord is building up Zion, and is emptying the earth of wickedness, gathering his people, bringing again Zion, redeeming his Israel, sending forth his work, withdrawing his Spirit from the wicked world, and commencing to build up his kingdom. Can this be done without revelation? No. You will not make a move, or do anything—plant corn, build a hall or a temple, make a farm, or go to the States—no, not a thing towards building up Zion, without the power of revelation.

May the Lord bless you, brethren and sisters. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, July 7, 1861.

The ideas that have been advanced by President Young are strictly true, and they will so appear to everyone who has a knowledge of the condition of this world, and they will especially appear so to those who have a knowledge of the kingdom of God as it has been established in these last days. In regard to the United States, Great Britain, and European nations generally, they have a knowledge or a history of this people.

I was in England and commenced preaching the Gospel twenty-four years ago last June, and of course there were only a few Saints in that land; but the Gospel has spread among most of the nations of Europe. It has also been sounded in Asia, Africa, Australia, and in hundreds of the islands of the sea. The people generally look upon us as a set of fanatics, and they do not consider us worthy of their attention; still there are some who occasionally become convinced and embrace the truth. When the Church was first organized in Manchester, in the State of New York, the people rose up against us, and were determined that we should not stay there, and consequently we went to Kirtland, in the State of Ohio, where we had peace for a little season. And then we went to Jackson County, Missouri; but the brethren found we could not stay there, and hence we had to move over into Clay County. We stayed there a short time, and afterwards went into Caldwell County. We re– mained in those counties but a short time before the spirit of mobocracy raged to such a degree that the people considered we were not fit to live upon the earth. Fourteen thousand troops were called out, and took a few of us prisoners, and made us sign a deed transferring all our property to our persecutors in the State of Missouri, to pay the expense of our persecutors. They commenced their cruelties, and perpetrated the most diabolical outrages upon our people that were ever known among civilized nations: men, women, and children were indiscriminately despoiled of all they possessed; they were mobbed and whipped; some were tarred and feathered, and those who could not readily escape, were massacred, irrespective of age or sex; and if the Almighty had not interfered, they would have killed us all. We then went into Illinois, and had not been there long before they began to serve us in like manner. They gave us a city charter, and then took it from us again, and that too without any just cause. They gave us a charter for a Masonic Lodge, and then went to work and killed some of the men to whom the charter was given. The rage and ferocity of our enemies did not cease there, but it soon manifested itself in mobs assembling by thousands, who finally succeeded in driving us out of that State also, leaving us in the wilderness to perish. But the Lord assisted us; his protecting hand was over us for good, and by his power we were preserved.

After all these hardships and trials we started for this country, and what did the Government then require of us? Five hundred men were called to go and take part in the Mexican war, and that too at a time when we were all living in our wagons: many were sick, and some were dying; and in fact hundreds and thousands have died in consequence of the hardships and privations brought upon them by our ruthless persecutors. Joseph Smith lost his life by the hands of assassins, and he was one of the best men that ever trod the footstool of the Almighty. He was the man called to open up this last dispensation, but the world at large would not receive him.

We have passed through many grievous trials; but I do not feel that I want to say much about our sufferings this morning, but simply to remind you of some of the prominent acts of our enemies, that you may know that we have nothing to expect from them in the future but persecution and misrepresentation. Many of you are strangers to these things, both members and Elders, because you were not baptized into the Church until afterwards; but still you can see what the world have done to us; and everything in the shape of persecution or affliction which the world have brought upon us, will come back upon their own heads tenfold, and this nation in particular will reap what they have sown, and their troubles have already commenced; but I shall live to see them broken to pieces a great deal worse than they are now, and so will thousands of you. Our sons and daughters will live to see the complete overthrow of the nation, and they will avenge our wrongs. Many of them were born while we were undergoing those afflictions, and the blood of retributive justice is in them, and I know this as well as I know that I live and dwell upon this earth.

Our enemies know not what they are doing when they persecute and mob this people. It is true they are doing no more than was done by the wicked Lamanites who once lived upon this continent, and who were a flourishing and prosperous people. They persecuted the people composing the Church of Christ, the Nephites departed from the faith, and the two parties wasted each other away until only a remnant was left, and as such we now see them wandering about in filth, darkness, and the very lowest state of degradation. The Jaredites, who preceded the Israelites upon this continent, did the same things. They fought and contended with each other until the whole people were destroyed, and we are going to live to see similar things befall this nation. Although many may fall away from the truth, and others may embrace it, yet the destruction of this nation is sealed, except they repent, which is not very probable. Notwithstanding this nation has been favored with the revelations of heaven, yet they never knew God, they never knew that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Most High, and they do not now know that the leaders of this people are inspired from on high.

Now, I will say one thing that is in this good old book, the book that they won’t have in the Congress of the United States, for you remember it is only a short time ago that they would neither have a priest to pray for them, nor receive the Bible as evidence. This book, the Bible, says: “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” The nation of the United States have got to reap that which they have sown, and to receive that measure which they meted out to us, pressed down and running over; and as they designed to wipe us out of existence “with the flower of the army” which they sent here, that destruction shall come upon themselves. I am perfectly willing that they should know what I think of them. That army was sent here by James Buchanan to wipe us out, but they might as well try to move the sun out of his place; still we know that that was their design, and brother Brigham declared it at the time. Yet, although you know that those poor creatures came here for the purpose of cutting our throats, you will feed them at their own price, instead of making them pay handsomely for all they get. If the brethren had acted wisely, they might have helped themselves a great deal, and have got together means for the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth; but some were determined not to take counsel. Now, as feeble and poor a creature as I am, I would like to know where there is a man who could bring up one circumstance to show that I have ever violated the law of the land. I know that I have been true to my country, to my Masonic brethren, and also to my brethren in this Church. Are there any of my countrymen who would injure me? Yes, scores, hundreds and thousands of them.

They have now got Masonic institutions against Masonic institutions, and Presbyterians operate against Presbyterians, and Episcopalians against Episcopalians, and, finally, it will be every man against his neighbor. But while they are being divided one against another, this people are raising the standard of King Emmanuel, and we will sustain the Constitution of the United States, and also all good and wholesome laws. You may tell it to the nations, for as God lives this people will do it, and I say, Amen.

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 9, 1861.

Brethren and sisters, I feel to bear my testimony to what we have heard this morning. I have accompanied the President upon this trip, an account of which he has so ably laid before you; and I do not feel that I could add anything in regard to the description which he has given of our journey through the southern settlements. He has given you a full descriptive account of the journey and of the things that have transpired, and I can truly say that I never enjoyed myself better upon a journey or pleasure excursion that afforded me greater satisfaction than this has done. I have accompanied him many times on trips of this kind, and I think I have enjoyed this a little better than any other.

It seemed that new ideas and new scenes arose before us all the time; it seemed that the Lord was multiplying and increasing the people called Latter-day Saints. They were scattered through the country in almost every nook and corner where they could take advantage of a few acres of fertile land. There they were busily engaged endeavoring to subdue it. This was pleasing to behold.

We were everywhere met with kindness and hospitality, and all the people seemed glad to see us and to have us tarry with them. When we left one place, many of the brethren would follow us to the next, to hear of the word of the Lord. In fact, in all of the southern settlements, our hearts were continually rejoiced in seeing the thousands that flocked around us, and in seeing their endeavors to learn what would best promote the cause and kingdom in which we are all engaged. It seems as though the Territory was enlarging and the places fit for the habitations of men were becoming more numerous, and, as the people have frequently been told, that when they began to crowd together, other places would open and fountains of water spring up, sufficient for the increasing wants of this people. We now feel that it is so—that the places are multiplied—that fertile spots and fountains of water are springing up and being discovered in these valleys of the mountains for the habitations of the Saints of the Most High God.

This land is choice above all other lands for the Saints of God, for there is no other land that I know of by travel, by description, or by report, that combines so many and such great facilities and advantages to benefit the Saints of the Most High. Here can be produced the things that are necessary for the comfort and benefit of man; and with these elements that have lain dormant so long is combined the blessings of the most secure places and the most formidable barriers against interruptions from any foreign foe. I feel every time I think of it, as I stated south, that every mountain ridge, the wide and extended plains, and even sagebrush, I look upon as a friend to the Saints, and that they are thrown around them as an insurmountable barrier against those who desire the overthrow of the kingdom of God upon the earth. But here we are, where can we draw from the elements those things that we need—where we are protected from those that seek our overthrow and destruction.

The Lord our God has done this, and has brought this people to it. Here is a land prepared for us, where we can build and inhabit, multiply and increase, and become a great and a mighty people. My heart has rejoiced when I have reflected upon those things—when I have reflected and looked at the facilities put into our hands for the improvement and advancement of this people. The olive, the cotton, and all those things which come from warm climates, can be raised in abundance. The soil is very rich, light, and loose, and suit– able for the growing of those fine provisions and commodities of life that are grown in southern localities, such as indigo, tobacco, cotton, and many other articles that cannot be raised in this northern part of the Territory: they can be cultivated in great abundance in the southern portions of Utah.

It will not do to abuse it like we do heavier soils: it is light and will easily waste away; but, if properly cultivated, it will produce very abundantly. It is not so well adapted to wheat as the soil in this and the other northern counties. The willow, if planted alive like fence stakes, will grow like a hedge, and make a beautiful appearance. That country is also very suitable for the peach culture. True, we can raise very good ones here, but the climate is far more suitable in Washington County. Apricots also do well there, and apples and plums come to maturity very early. Take that in connection with this part of the Territory, and see what we can do. We can raise the flax, the pork, the beef, and the sheep, and we can get up an exchange of commodities with the people in the southern settlements, and furnish them the things which they cannot produce so easily, and in exchange receive what they have to dispose of, and thereby establish an international trade between the people of the north and south in this Territory.

It will not be long before there will be a string of towns and villages on each side of the present settlements of this Territory, from Skull Valley on the west to the Sevier Lake, Lower Beaver, and the sink of Coal Creek to the Mountain Meadows; on the east, from the headwaters of the Rio Virgin to the headwaters of the Sevier, and by way of Sanpete to the head of the Provo, Weber, and Bear Rivers, and to Cache Valley.

There is land and locations, with water privileges in abundance, and then we are finding more continually: the people are extending their settlements on all sides, making a complete cord of settlements on the east and west of our present locations.

It rejoices my heart to see Zion spread herself abroad in these valleys of the mountains—to see her lengthening her cords and strengthening her Stakes. What else rejoices me? It rejoices and makes glad my heart to see that righteousness predominates in the midst of the Saints of the living God. This, I am happy to say, is the case, although there are some who do very little towards building up the kingdom of God, while there are many that do things towards building up the Devil’s kingdom; but this is not as it should be. We have come here to get rid of doing that; we have come to establish peace and righteousness upon the earth; we have come here because the Lord wanted us and all his people to form a nucleus where his chosen ones could rally round and build up a kingdom.

All nations are in darkness and are corrupt before the Lord, and he has set his hand to establish a kingdom that shall be righteous—to establish the principles of truth and virtue, that will form a nucleus for his kingdom, which we have so much desired to see in our day and generation. This is the nucleus in these valleys of these mountains. The Lord has done everything upon his part that seems to be necessary. I do not know what more he could have done, but he is willing all the time to help us.

Those who profess to be Saints of the Most High God—those whom he has chosen to guide and dictate his people are the men that we should uphold by our faith, prayers, and means. The Lord has said, “Here is the land which I have preserved for my Saints, and here is my servant Brigham whom I have appointed: he will preside over you; he will lead you.” Therefore let us abide the counsels he imparts unto us, and go to and develop the resources of this land; and in doing this in righteousness before the Lord we build ourselves up temporally and spiritually, and the principles we have so dearly loved will be sustained.

Let us be united and go forth at the word as we shall be dictated to do, and let us drop everything that is the least displeasing at the sound of our President’s voice. Inasmuch as we have done wrong heretofore, let us do it no more, but let us get hold of the same spirit by which he is actuated. Let us, then, follow our leader, and not pursue any other path; for he that followeth not with us scattereth abroad.

May the Lord bless us and enable us to live our religion, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 12, 1861.

I feel today, as I do a great many times, as though it was considerable of a task for me to attempt to speak. There are thousands of things to speak about for the edification of this people, and every truth is like the root of a tree; it has many branches. Many of you have probably observed that the top of a tree is much like the root in this particular; it has many branches, and from those spring thousands of twigs and leaves; and it is just so with the truth. Then, again, it is a good deal so with the English language. Words have their roots, and some of our linguists can give us the etymology of almost all the words used in the English language.

In regard to the ideas that were advanced by President Young this forenoon, they are just as true as it is that you are all here. I was thinking what a blessing it would be if this people would keep these things in view, treasure them up in their minds, and live so that their conduct will correspond with the religion they profess. Then they would honor that Priesthood which is conferred upon them. When I reflect upon this, I pray that we may all so live that God our Father may endow us with every necessary qualification to prepare us to honor our calling. What powerful, what mighty men the Elders would be, if they would live in that way! The Almighty is willing to bestow upon us every necessary gift to enable us to honor our high callings in an acceptable manner, and to qualify us to magnify the holy Apostleship that is conferred upon us.

Although you do not consider yourselves Apostles, yet there is not a soul of you that holds the Priesthood but has received a portion of the Apostleship, for you all sprang out of the Apostleship. This Priesthood comes from the Father to the Son, from Jesus to Peter, James, and John, and from them to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and from Joseph to us; and it still continues in one unbroken chain through all the members of the body of Christ. Now, is not that directly from our Father? Does it not originate in the heavens? It certainly does. Then is it not necessary that we should all be like one man or one tree? Every one of us is most assuredly connected to the Gospel tree, and we are branches and members thereof. I merely bring up this figure so as to bring the principle more forcibly to your minds. I wish you to understand that we should be like a family connected to their head or benefactor. We also should be one, as our Father and his Son are one—all that have received the Priesthood from the beginning of creation down to the present day.

Now, the Lord has said that all old covenants have I caused to be done away in this thing, and this is the new and everlasting covenant, even that which was in the beginning. Where did he begin this covenant? Why, he placed it upon Adam in the Garden of Eden. Is it not so? This is the new covenant that is ordained and sealed upon man in the beginning of this creation, and we are here imitating it, or should.

We believe with all our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God, and we imitate him by going into the waters of baptism and being buried in the likeness of his death, and then being entitled to come forth in the likeness of his resurrection. Then, when we have complied with this, the Holy Ghost is bestowed upon us by the laying on of hands by one having authority.

These things have come to my mind, and I consider that they are very good. And it is for you and me, when we rise from the water, to lead a new life—to go forth walking in the newness of life. It is a birth—a baptism for the remission of sins—a preparatory work to the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost, that it may bring all things to our remembrance that are past, and show us things to come; yea, that those things that we have forgotten may be brought to our remembrance. Now, I know that, when the Holy Ghost is upon me, all things look natural to me, and as if I had been familiar with them before.

By the Spirit of prophecy you can become acquainted with things to come, and declare them to the Saints by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. When men prophesy with this Spirit upon them, they will come to pass, for the Holy Ghost cannot lie. Brethren, let us take a course to live that we need not commence again to repent from dead works; but let us continue in the new covenant, and be faithful in all our duties, and increase in integrity one towards another and towards our God. This should be uppermost in our minds continually.

You all remember what was said this morning. Strive and improve upon it. The world hate us, and hated Jesus before us; and wicked men have killed almost every Prophet that has been upon the earth. Have not the United States done their best to make a final end of us? They have tried all in their power to destroy this people from the earth. The only reason they did not do it was because they had not the power: the Lord was on our side.

Brethren, it is for us now to be industrious, live our religion, lay up our grain, and prepare for the times that are coming upon the earth. Do any of you think that this war is going to be over in a few days? If you do, you are greatly mistaken; but when it is over, they will be ten times more fierce and wicked towards this people than ever they were before.

By fighting, they become angry, they lose the Spirit of God, and they then take pleasure in killing and slaying each other; and when they become hot in this way, they will combine to serve us the same way.

Do not dally or trifle with President Young’s words, nor with the words of his brethren; for those who do, trifle with the Almighty. After all that has been said about selling wheat, flour, and grain in general to our enemies, does it stop it? No: they are still at it. And in what condition does it place them that do it? Why, they become like a barren tree—they bring forth nothing; whereas it is their duty to strive to bring forth fruits of righteousness. I know that some will be ready to say that brother Heber is on his old strain again, but I do not mind that. If you trifle with brother Brigham and with his words, or with the words of the Apostles, the Seventies, or the Bishops, by-and-by you will feel it, and learn the effects of it in due time. You may not feel that today, but you will ere long suffer for slighting the words of the servants of God. I know this people are advancing in knowledge; they have got more light and intelligence than they ever before enjoyed. They are a blessed people, and ought to appreciate their privileges as Saints of the Most High. And as we are growing in light and knowledge, the wicked are growing more wicked every day: they are becoming ferocious; they are full of death and destruction; they are becoming just as the Nephites of old. They got so desperate that they would sing and howl all night for the blood of their brethren; and it will be just as bad in the United States. When our enemies seek to kill us, they seek the destruction of their saviors.

If this people will do as they are told, we shall soon be independent of all importations from foreign markets. To do this effectually, we must set ourselves to work to make everything we need ourselves; then we shall not need to bring goods from the States, from Great Britain, or any other nation upon the earth, excepting perhaps a few articles. But so long as we allow ourselves to sustain a foreign market instead of our own, we shall be poor indeed. I desire with all my heart that the way may be shut up, so that we may be taught by experience the necessity of clothing ourselves. See how dependent we are, when we have got no bread, clothing, sugar, tea, or coffee; and those who possess these articles hold us in servitude. It is the duty of every man to go to work and raise or make what he needs for his own consumption. This is one thing that causes President Young to go down south, so that he may ascertain if that country is capable of producing our cotton, sugar, coffee, and grapes. I know that we can make the sugar as well in this country as they can in the Southern States. The reason it is not done is because we have got men here who are so anxious to get a large quantity of molasses from their crops of sugar cane. I am satisfied that we can make good sugar here, if we will only take a little time to do it. I design to do it myself, if nothing happens to prevent. We make our flour, we saw our lumber, card our wool, we spin a great deal of yarn, and make a great deal of cloth; but still there are but very few of this people who dress in homemade cloth. We are dependent upon the States and the various nations of Europe for our clothing.

Now, you all see these things just as I do, and I have an anxiety for you as a people. I want you to take this course, for I know it to be necessary for our salvation.

When I go to my Father and God, and to Joseph, he will say, Come in here, sit down with us, and enjoy yourself. Would not this be a happy time? Yes. And what would you not give to be in the society of Joseph and Hyrum and his brethren? You would all give everything you possess in the world. Then see that you live for this day by day.

Not a man, woman, or child need to suffer in this Territory, if they will do just as they are told. The Lord will provide for his people, and bring them off victoriously. Industry and perseverance will enable us to manufacture the most of what we want. At present we have but just commenced in home manufactures; but if we are faithful and diligent, we shall increase rapidly in our ability.

One of the most grievous things we have to endure is the evil practices of some who profess to be Saints; but I feel to rejoice that these are only the few. Brethren, I rejoice in spirit and in speaking to you this day. Although I am feeble in body, I am buoyant and strong in spirit, and I feel that I am going to live a great many years yet. But if I am called to pass behind the veil, all will be right with me. If we are faithful and humble, the Lord will bring us off conquerors.

I feel to bless this people, that their hearts may be comforted in the things of God. I rejoice in the performance of all my duties, and I never feel weary in doing good, in blessing and comforting my brethren. Some seem to take pleasure in finding fault with everything around them; but they would not do this if they had done right. When men neglect their prayers and other duties, they lose the Spirit of the Lord and get into the dark.

You have the privilege of saving men temporally and spiritually. Into your hands is committed the power to become saviors of men. We have to save ourselves and others temporally, and then spiritually.

I feel to say, God bless you! Peace be with you, and peace be multiplied to the righteous, and to their seed after them forever! This is my blessing upon you, brethren and sisters, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.