6-8 Apr 1860, Annual
General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 10:45, 48, 4/11/60, p 5]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 10:45, 4/11/60, p5]
ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.
——
Convened in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Friday, April 6, 1860, at 10 a.m. - President Brigham Young presiding.
On the Stand: Of the First Presidency: President Brigham Young;
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow and Franklin D. Richards;
Of the First Presidency of Seventies: Joseph Young, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, and Levi W. Hancock;
Of the High Priests: John Young, Edwin D. Woolley, Samuel W. Richards, Phinehas H. Young, William W. Phelps and Samuel L. Sprague;
Of the Presidency of the Stake: Daniel Spencer and David Fullmer;
Patriarchs: John Young and Isaac Morley;
Bishops: Edward Hunter, A. O. Smoot and L. D. Young:
Reporters: George D. Watt and john V. Long.
The conference was called to order by the President.
Choir sung, "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."
Prayer was offered by Elder John Taylor.
Choir sung, "Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth."
[President B. Young]
President B. Young spoke of the church being thirty years old this day, and of the wonder-working hand of Providence that has hitherto preserved the servants of the lord, and the church of Christ through all the vicissitudes of a persecuted life. Said that the methodists, Presbyterians, Universalists, and all other sects of religionists have some truth amongst them, but that none of them have a perfect system, still the sincere and honest among them will have a better and a greater salvation than they anticipate; that the heathen and those who never heard the law of God will be redeemed, while those who have heard the law and rejected it will be condemned.
When the Lord brings again Zion and the watchmen shall see eye to eye, Saviors will come up on Mount Zion and officiate for thousands and millions of those who never heard the law, but who would have obeyed it if they had been blest with the privilege; that none will be finally damned or destroyed except the sons of perdition, that we may show mercy to and pray for our enemies, those who persecute us, for the Lord showed Joseph Smith in a vision that they would all be saved, except the sons of perdition, and for them we have no right to pray. The world will receive more happiness than they anticipate, and a better kingdom than they can hope for. The Lord will establish his laws and by them will his kingdom be governed.
Announced that the day would be occupied by the Twelve, Seventies and High Priests on the stand, who would make short speeches and bear testimony to the truth.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:81, 5/16/60, p1; JD 8:34]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, April 6, 1860.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
Yesterday
we had the pleasure of attending a meeting here, which, to me, was filled with
riches—with treasures of good. To-day we have met in the capacity of a General
Conference—the Thirty-first Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Thirty years ago to-day, the Church was organized with six
members. And we will occupy this day in serving the Lord by instructing and
encouraging each other, and by testifying of the things the Lord has revealed
to us.
Some may
suppose that I have the business of the Conference prearranged, but such
is not the case. I seldom take thought for to-morrow upon such subjects. When
morning comes, I try and be prepared for the business the Lord manifests should
be done. I came here in that mind this morning, and knew no more about the
manner in which this Conference will be conducted, with regard to its details,
than you do, until I came here. Since I came into the house, my feelings and
the circumstances have prompted me to say that we will hear further testimony
from the brethren. Yesterday, several in the body of the house had the
privilege of speaking; and this forenoon I wish to have the Twelve, the
Seventies, and the High Priests give us five or ten minutes' sermons from the
stand.
I can
testify to you, as I have to many congregations of Saints and sinners, that the
Lord has revealed his will from the heavens, bestowed the holy Priesthood upon
the children off men, and made us the happy partakers thereof. Most, if not
all, assembled here this morning have felt the Divine influence of the Holy
Ghost shed forth in their hearts: it has awakened them out of their sleep and
out of their ignorance, and begun to teach them eternal things. This work is
true. The Lord has bestowed the holy Priesthood upon the children of men, by
which alone they can be prepared to enter into the celestial kingdom of our
God.
How many
Gods there are, and how many places there are in their kingdoms, is not for me
to say; but I can say this, which is a source of much comfort, consolation, and
gratification to me: Behold the goodness, the long-suffering, the kindness, and
the strong parental feeling of our Father and God in preparing the way and
providing the means to save the children of men,—not alone the Latter-day
Saints—not those alone who have the Privilege of the first principles of the
celestial law, but to save all. It is a universal salvation—a universal
redemption. Do not conclude that I am a Universalist, as the term is generally
understood, although that doctrine is true in part, like the doctrines or
professions of all professing Christians. As was stated yesterday by one of
those who spoke, when he was a Methodist, he enjoyed a portion of the Spirit of
the Lord. Hundreds of those now present have had a like experience in a greater
or less degree, before they joined this Church. Then, when we inquire who will
be saved, I answer, All will be saved, as Jesus said, when speaking to the
Apostles, except the sons of perdition. They will be saved through the
atonement and their own good works, according to the law that is given
to them. Will the heathen be saved? Yes, so far as they have lived according to
the best light and intelligence they had; but not in the celestial kingdom. Who
will not be saved? Those who have received the truth, or had the privilege of
receiving it, and then rejected it. They are the only ones who will become the
sons of perdition, go into everlasting punishment, and become angels to the
Devil.
The
Priesthood the Lord has again bestowed upon those who will receive it, is for
the express purpose of preparing them to become proficient in the principles
pertaining to the law of the celestial kingdom. If we obey this law, preserve
it inviolate, live according to it, we shall be prepared to enjoy the blessings
of a celestial kingdom. Will any others? Yes, thousands and millions of the
inhabitants of the earth who would have received and obeyed the law that we
preach, if they had had the privilege. When the Lord shall, bring again Zion,
and the watchmen shall see eye to eye, and Zion shall be established, saviours
will come upon Mount Zion and save all the sons and daughters of Adam
that are capable of being saved, by administering for them. Is not this
pleasing? Is it not gratifying? Is it not a consoling feeling and influence
upon the mind of every intelligent being? Our former views were that the
majority of the inhabitants of the earth would not be saved in any kind of a
kingdom of glory, but would inherit a kingdom of damnation. Jesus said,
"In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am ye may be
also." In other words, "I go to prepare a place for you who have
received and obeyed the celestial law, which I have committed to you." The
celestial is the highest of all. The telestial and terrestrial are also spoken
of; and how many more kingdoms of glory there are is not for me to say. I do
not know that they are not innumerable. This is a source of great joy to me.
One of
the brethren, yesterday, felt so rejoiced, under like reflections, that he said
he could pray for the devils in hell, if it would do any good. It is not for us
to pray for them, because they have become sons of perdition. You may pray for
your persecutors—for those who hate you, and revile you, and speak all manner
of evil of you, if they do it ignorantly; but if they do it understandingly,
justice must take its course in regard to them; and except they repent, they
will become sons of perdition. This is my testimony.
The
vision given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon is the greatest vision I ever
knew given to the children of men, incorporating more in a few pages than any
other revelation I have any knowledge of. "This is the Gospel—the
glad tidings which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us,"
state Joseph and Sidney, "that he came into the world, even Jesus, to be
crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the
world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might
be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him, who glorifies
the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of
perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him; wherefore he
saves all except them: they shall go away into everlasting punishment."
Will the
Methodists be saved? Yes. Will other sects? Yes. I think you could not now find
an Elder in this Church who would rise up in a congregation and tell you that
John Wesley is weltering in hell. Have the Elders ever preached such a
doctrine? Yes, some of them have preached that all the Reformers, from
the days of Christ and the Apostles until Joseph Smith received the Priesthood,
must be damned. I do not think that you could now hear such doctrine from any
of them.
There is
a chance for those who have lived and for those who now live. The Gospel has
come. Truth and light and righteousness are sent forth into the world, and
those who receive them will be saved in the celestial kingdom of God. And many
of those who, through ignorance, through tradition, superstition, and the
erroneous precepts of the fathers, do not receive them, will yet inherit a good
and glorious kingdom, and will enjoy more and receive more than ever entered
into the heart of man to conceive, unless he has had a revelation.
My heart
is comforted. I behold the people of God, that they have been hunted, cast out,
driven from the face of men. The powers of earth and hell have striven to
destroy this kingdom from the earth. The wicked have succeeded in doing so in
former ages; but this kingdom they cannot destroy, because it is the last
dispensation—because it is the fulness of times. It is the dispensation of all
dispensations, and will excel in magnificence and glory every dispensation that
has ever been committed to the children of men upon this earth. The Lord will
bring again Zion, redeem his Israel, plant his standard upon the earth, and
establish the laws of his kingdom, and those laws will prevail. No law can
issue from man or from any body of men to govern and control in eternal things;
consequently, those laws must come from heaven to govern and control both Saint
and sinner, believer and unbeliever, and every character upon the earth; and
they will be issued according to the capacity, knowledge, and mode of life of
the people to whom they are promulgated.
I will
now call upon the brethren in the stand to speak, and let you have our
testimony, strength, and faith, as we have received yours yesterday.
God bless
you! Amen.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde bore testimony to the divine origin of our religion; said he knew that it came from God, and that the Lord spoke through Joseph Smith as he now does through Brigham Young. Testified that he was fully satisfied with all the organizations of the church; he knew that they were ordained of God for the work of the ministry and the perfection of the Saints.
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
Elder Wilford Woodruff rejoiced in the privilege of meeting with the Saints in general conference; referred to the Lord's prayer and made remarks on its peculiar construction and significant phraseology. He related, in brief, his experience with the sectarians before he heard the gospel of Christ, adverting to his researches after the true knowledge of God, and said that it afforded him great pleasure to bear testimony that he had lived to see the day when that knowledge was established with all its gifts, graces and blessings; contended that nothing could be aspired to by mortals that could equal the priesthood now restored to the earth. The wealth and power of the world he considered unworthy of comparison with it. He testified that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, the Book of Mormon a true record, and that the revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants were from heaven.
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt spoke of the vastness of the labors of the missionaries of this church; portrayed the wonders that have been wrought by them in the past thirty years and asked the question, "What shall thirty years in the future develop and bring to pass?" Said the progress of this kingdom will cause nations and thrones to totter and tremble with fear and the hearts of the righteous to swell with a fullness of joy; that the days of the wicked are numbered; the kings, rulers, governors and gentile nations have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Alluded to the many testimonies that are to be given in the last days, after the testimony of the servants of God.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor expressed himself pleased with the privilege and thankful for the honor of being numbered among the Latter Day Saints; he prized his standing in the church more than all the riches of the world, for he knew the Lord controlled the affairs of his people. Testified to the truth of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and that President Young is his lawful successor, and that the gospel as taught by the Elders of this church is the truth of heaven and the power of God unto salvation.
Choir sung, "Do what is right."
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson stated that he had been greatly strengthened while traveling among the Saints the past winter and telling them what he knew; briefly reviewed his experience in connection with the Methodist church and his first acquaintance with and introduction to the doctrine taught by the Latter Day Saints. Bore testimony that he knew the religion he had embraced to be true, for he had received manifestations of the spirit according to the promises made to the obedient.
[Elder Charles C. Rich]
Elder Charles C. Rich bore testimony to the saving nature of the gospel we have to advocate and testified that it will impart a present salvation to all those who obey it through life. He urged upon the people the necessity of considering their religion one of a practical character and of living by its principles, that we may attain all the blessings promised to the faithful; contended that we have no evils only those that spring out of our actions, and therefore if we strive to put away our follies and continue to practice our religion, we shall be saved with an eternal salvation. Bore testimony to the restoration of the gospel, with that authority which binds on earth and seals in heaven.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow adverted to the varied and trying scenes through which the church of Christ has passed during its thirty years existence on the earth; said that if we seek to do right, everything around us and that we put our hand unto will prove a benefit and a blessing and increase happiness within us. Reasoned on the propriety of doing as we are told by those having authority to instruct us in the ways of life.
Choir sung, "O ye mountains high."
Benediction by Pres. Joseph Young.
_____
[6 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 10:45, 4/11/60, p5]
2 O'CLOCK, P.M.
Choir sung, "I'll praise my Maker while I've breath."
Prayer by Ezra T. Benson.
Singing: "Come ye that love the Lord."
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow addressed the congregation on the evidence and testimony that have been gradually developed in this Church; bore testimony to the divine mission of Joseph Smith; that he had received the personal administrations of holy angels and by revelation had laid the foundation of this latter day work; that he holds the keys of the dispensation of the fulness of times. Rejoiced that he had been favored with the privilege of believing and obeying the doctrines of this Church, which he received twenty-eight years ago. Related some incidents connected with his experience since he became acquainted with the gospel. He could not say that he had comprehended all things at once; but, as his understanding increased, his mind became enlarged, so that the had grown in the knowledge of the truth.
[Elder Franklin D. Richards]
Elder Franklin D. Richards gave an account of his receiving the gospel in the State of Massachusetts; since that time his only theme had been to mingle with the members of the kingdom of God, and he would not wish to live upon the earth except in their society, and in the enjoyment of the Holy spirit. He bore testimony that this is in deed the gospel of Jesus Christ and that we are members of the kingdom of God. Recommended to the Saints hat personal and individual chastisement that will make them submissive to the will of heaven and one with the Presidency in all things. Alluded to the merciless frowardness of the wicked in causing the Saints to suffer torture and every kind of physical and mental affliction; also to the workings of God's power in the controlling of all events for the salvation of Israel. Advised the people so to live that they might dwell in the light of truth continually; for his own part he was determined to walk hand in hand with the Saints of the Most High.
[President Joseph Young]
Pres. Joseph Young observed that his brother Brigham was the first man who preached the gospel to him; at that time he was traveling in Canada preaching for the Methodists. He became acquainted with the Book of Mormon after about two months after its publication, but he never investigated the subject of its coming forth for two years, when his brother came two hundred miles to preach it to him; he received it with joy and went forth testifying to the truth; from that time to this he always has had a testimony to bear that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that the Book of Mormon was a divine revelation, and he could bear testimony that the keys of power were now committed to Joseph's successors.
[Elder Zera Pulsipher]
Elder Zera Pulsipher told of his having been in this church over twenty-eight years; that he had previously been looking for something strange to come upon the earth in the last dispensation; spoke of the marvelous works that had been performed in this generation and of the increase of disunion in the sectarian world. When he first heard of the Book of Mormon he experienced a shock that was very much like electricity, and when he saw it he felt well satisfied and enjoyed the good spirit while listening to the account of its coming forth. - He recited his experience in the church, alluded to the apostacies that had taken place at various times and the designs of the Wicked in trying to injure the Saints.
[Elder Albert P. Rockwood]
Elder Albert P. Rockwood bore testimony to the truth of the gospel he had received; spoke of having first received the truth from Presidents Brigham and Joseph Young in 1836; recited interesting items concerning his reading the Book of Mormon and investigating the doctrines of the church; said that he traveled to Kirtland to see the Prophet Joseph and that, the very day he was baptized, Joseph was arrested six times while traveling from Kirtland to the Lake. Made remarks relative to his ordination to the priesthood, and testified that he had been instantaneously healed from lameness in his limbs that had afflicted him for years.
[Prest. John Young]
Prest. John Young expressed himself grateful for the privilege of meeting with the brethren and hearing them speak of their experience, and if it were not so late in the afternoon he could tell some incidents of his experience of a singular character, that transpired before Joseph got the plates, and also many others that had occurred since; he always rejoiced in the society of Apostles and Prophets; he knew their testimony was true, and it afforded him great pleasure to be a witness to it. Many thins had been said that were measurably his experience, but he wished in addition to that to that to testify to the signal interposition of the Almighty, and the manifestation of his goodness and power during our sojourn in these valleys, but in a particular manner during the last two years; still he knew there were grumblers in our midst. This, however, he knew to be in consequence of those individuals having a bad spirit within them. - For his own part he could always receive with pleasure every doctrine that had been revealed in the church and, if it were proper, he could speak till twelve o'clock at night and tell of the great and glorious visions that had been opened to his mind, exhibiting in unmistakable plainness the truths of the everlasting gospel. Admonished the Saints to be faithful, to abstain from every appearance of evil and in all things to do right. As a Patriarch in Israel he blessed the people in the name of Israel's God.
[Prest. Brigham Young]
Prest. Brigham Young felt well satisfied with our Birthday Party; alluded to the great variety in the testimony of the brethren, although they had all spoken upon the same subject. He desired the Elders to try and understand men and women as they are, for there is a great variety of judgment, talents and of power to explain the things that are in their minds; therefore we should never judge only from the intentions and the act. He felt extremely happy in the good spirit that prevailed, and in many of the reminiscences of the past that had been brought vividly to his mind. It was twenty eight yeas since he went to Canada to tell his brother Joseph of the restoration of the gospel; Joseph was a spiritually minded may, and he had more confidence in his discretion than he had in his own. Though he had been brought up in the midst of those flaming, fiery reformations from his childhood, he had kept aloof from them and had prayed the Lord to keep him till he had good, common sense. Spoke of his acquaintance with the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers, and Shakers, but their extremes were nonsense to him; he always looked to see if the preachers had good, common sense to place with the Bible. Exhorted the Saints to trust in God and keep their own hearts clean. He blessed the people in the name of Jesus Christ.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:81, 5/16/60, p1; JD 8:37]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, April 6, 1860.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I feel
very well satisfied with our thirty-first anniversary. The brethren testify to
the goodness of our God, and we have had much excellent instruction.
There is
one principle I wish to urge upon the Saints in a way that it may remain with
them—that is, to understand men and women as they are, and not understand them
as you are. You see the variety of mind, dispositions, judgment, and talent,
and variety in explaining and communicating thoughts. There is an endless
variety, and I wish you to understand men and women as they are, and not to
judge your brother, your sister, your family, or any one, only from the
intention. When you know the intention of the act performed, you will then know
how to judge the act.
Some may
wish to know whether my religion is as good to me now as it was twenty-eight
years ago. It is far better. Twenty-eight years ago last February I went to
Canada after my brother Joseph. He was a very spiritual-minded man. You have
heard him say to-day that he did not laugh for a period of two years. I did not
know of his smiling during some four or five years. I well remember his calling
upon me, after he had been away preaching more than two years. Would he sit and
chat with me? No, because of his serious reflections. I knew that he was solemn
and praying all the time. I had more confidence in his judgment and discretion,
and in the manifestations of God to him, than I had in myself, though I then
believed the Book of Mormon to be true. Previous to this I had thoroughly
examined the Book of Mormon. In about eight days it will be twenty-eight years
since I was baptized. I brought brother Joseph home from Canada, and told him
what I had experienced of the power of God, and what I had observed of the
folly and nonsense so prevalent in the Christian world.
You have
heard the brethren state their experience before they received this Gospel. I
was not disposed to attach myself to any Church, nor to make a profession of
religion, though brought up from my youth amid those flaming, fiery revivals so
customary with the Methodists, until I was twenty-three years of age, when I
joined the Methodists. Priests had urged me to pray before I was eight years
old. On this subject I had but one prevailing feeling in my mind—Lord, preserve
me until I am old enough to have sound judgment and a discreet mind ripened
upon a good solid foundation of common sense. I patiently waited until I was
twenty-three years old. I do not know that I had ever committed any crime,
except it were in giving way to anger, and that I had not done more than two or
three times. I never stole, lied, gambled, got drunk, or disobeyed my parents.
I used to go to meetings—was well acquainted with the Episcopalians,
Presbyterians, New Lights, Baptists, Freewill Baptists, Wesleyan and Reformed
Methodists,—lived from my youth where I was acquainted with the Quakers as well
as the other denominations, and was more or less acquainted with almost every
other religious ism.
Upon the
first opportunity I read the Book of Mormon, and then sought to become
acquainted with the people who professed to believe it. Brother Pulsipher said
that he watched to see if he could find fault with the Elder who preached the
Gospel to him. I did not take that course, but I watched to see whether good
common sense was manifest; and if they had that I wanted them to present it in
accordance with the Scriptures.
When
"Mormonism" came, I was not under the necessity of hunting Scripture
arguments to contradict them, for I had all my life been more or less familiar
with the Scriptures. And I do not remember that I ever saw a day when I
attacked a sectarian priest with the Bible, for I was well satisfied that they
were in water too deep for them to fathom. I understood the Scriptures
tolerably well, and my whole mind and reflections were to seek for every
particle of truth with regard to doctrine.
I always
admired morality, and never saw a day in which I did not respect a good, moral,
sensible man far more than I could respect a wicked man. I embraced the Gospel.
I then had not the Priesthood, but my mind was susceptible of the Spirit of
Truth, and that truth I imparted to my brother Joseph. He caught its influence,
came home with me, and was baptized. I was not baptized on hearing the first
sermon, nor the second, nor during the first year of my acquaintance with this
work. I waited two years and a few days after this Church was organized before
I embraced the Gospel by baptism.
Up to the
time that "Mormonism" came to me, I did earnestly pray, if there was
God, (and I believed there was,) "Lord God, thou who gavest the
Scriptures, who spake to Abraham, and revealed thyself to Moses and the
ancients, keep my feet that they may not be entangled in the snares of
folly." So far as the Spirit went, its application and enjoyment were all
right with me; but with regard to doctrine, I did not then see any that altogether
suited me. I said, Let me pray about this matter, the Gospel, and feel right
about it before I embrace it. I could not more honestly and earnestly have
prepared myself to go into eternity than I did to come into this Church; and
when I had ripened everything in my mind, I drank it in, and not till then.
From that day to this, it is all right with me. I am more and more encouraged
because I can see the hand of the Lord more clearly and distinctly than I did
no longer than two years ago.
As I
frequently tell you, we can rise up, sit down, go here or there, act in this or
that way, trade here or there; but we cannot bring out the results of our acts.
God does that. I can see the results which he brings to pass by his handiwork.
I can discern his footsteps among the people, and his going forth among the
nations. His footprints are clearly discovered by his faithful Saints.
Brother
John Young says there are some complainers. Who cares for that? I have nothing
to do with them at present. Some are afraid there will be a good many
apostates. That we expect, for many receive the Truth who do not receive the
love of it. Do not be afraid, but take fresh courage and persevere.
Some
inquire, "Is this community going to be destroyed by thieves? No. But they
have their agency, and their course affords us an excellent opportunity to see
the operation of the benign influences of so-called "civilization."
Do you suppose that I am now looking upon thieves? No: they do not come to
meeting.
Those who
are for right are more than those who are against us. More will prove faithful
than will apostatize. A certain class of this people will go into the celestial
kingdom, while others cannot enter there, because they cannot abide a celestial
law; but they will attain to as good a kingdom as they desire and live for.
Do not
worry. All is right, for God reigns. Trust in him, keep your hearts clean, and
faithfully observe your prayers, that should the angel Gabriel appear in this
stand, you could calmly meet his gaze, and say "All is right with
me, Gabriel." That you may be able to look an angel in the eye and say,
"All is right," you require a clean heart. How many of this
congregation could do this? How many could look at an angel and say, "What
is wanting? I am ready." If you can do this, you can enjoy the spirit
of the Gospel and be Saints. This is the bread of eternal life.
I bless
you all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Choir sung, "Ye Elders of Israel come join now with me."
Dismissed by Patriarch John Young.
_____
[7 Apr, 10 am*]
[DNW 10:45, 4/11/60, p5]
SATURDAY, April 7, - 10 A. M.
The meeting was called to order by the President.
Choir sung, "Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning."
Prayer by Elder W. W. Phelps.
Singing by the choir.
[President Daniel Spencer]
President Daniel Spencer related his experience before and since he embraced the gospel; bore testimony that God has spoken from the heavens in this generation and communicated his mind and will to man; gave a brief account of the manner in which the gospel was brought into that part of Massachusetts where he resided; also related a somewhat singular vision that had been opened to his mind.
[Pres Brigham Young]
Pres. Brigham Young said: We shall now proceed to transact the little business that we have to do. I have not heard of any difficulties existing that should be presented to this general conference, therefore, I have none to present, neither do I expect there are any such matters of business to attend to. We will present the authorities first, and I sincerely request the members of this church to act freely and independently. You cannot call to mind whenever a person was injured in the least, either by word of deed, for speaking his honest sentiments; there has been no such case in this church. If a man has honest sentiments and thinks he has been injured, and his outward conduct shows that he is partially honest we regard his honesty.
He was aware that some complained that they dare not tell their feelings, but if they would examine themselves, they would find that it was because their feelings were vindictive. If the brethren present thought that any person whom he might present should not be in office, say so and at a proper time we will hear the case.
Brigham Young was sustained as President of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; also Heber C. Kimball his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second Counselors.
Orson Hyde was sustained as the President of the Quorum of the twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow and Franklin D. Richards, as members of said Quorum.
Prest. B. Young then said: There is a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve, and the First Presidency and Twelve have made choice of George Q. Cannon. Many of the brethren are acquainted with him, and some are not. He is a young man, well known to us; he has been raised in the church, and has been known to a great many as one of our chief men upon the Pacific, or Sandwich Islands. He went there when he was a youth, and no man has ever done better. Again, he has been known by many as the editor of the 'Western Standard,' a paper published in California. He is now in the States taking charge of the emigration. I will present his name to this congregation to have him become a member of this Quorum and should it be pleasing to you, you will give us your vote. He will fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Parley P. Pratt.
The vote was called, and the congregation were unanimous in sanctioning the selection.
John smith was sustained as Presiding Patriarch; Joseph Young, as President and Henry Harriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and Levi W. Hancock were sustained as presiding council of the Seventies.
President Brigham Young remarked: The first Presidency and Twelve Apostles have made a selection to fill a vacancy in this last named Quorum, and I will now present to you Jacob Gates to take the place of Benj. L. Clapp.
He was unanimously sustained by the conference.
John Young was sustained as President of the High Priests' Quorum; Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace his Counselors; William Eddington James A. Little, Claudius V. Spencer, Samuel W. Richards, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Gilbert Clements, Edward Partridge, Franklin B. Woolley, Orson Pratt, jun., and Joseph F. Smith, members of the High Council; John Nebeker, President of the elders' Quorum, Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, and Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little his counselors; Lewis Wright, President of the Priests' Quorum; McGee Harris, President of the Teachers's Quorum.
On the testimony of three brethren, Alexander Herron was dropt from the Presidency of the Deacons' Quorum, and from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; and on motion of Bishop Hunter, John S. Carpenter was elected President of said Quorum.
Brigham Young was sustained as Trustee in Trust for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works; Truman O. Angel, Architect for the church; Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund to gather the poor, Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund; George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant; who were all sustained by the conference.
A few names of persons going east on missions and on business were then read, and the Conference sustained the appointments.
[Prest. Brigham Young]
Prest. Brigham Young made some remarks on the subject of missionaries, and gave good counsel to those that are going the present season; he would like to have the elders go forth and preach the gospel instead of begging the last picayune from the poor; he wished to have them hunt up the broken hearted, and bring them home to Zion. If the Elders did not stop the game they had been carrying on he would expose them, for he was determined not to bear it any longer; when he went forth to preach the gospel his policy was to save the people and not to gouge them; it was his general practice while he was in the office in England to take money with him in his pockets to give to the poor that he met in the streets; this everlasting begging, squeezing and extorting money from the people he despised, and all who follow that practice will be come poor, but if they want to be rich, let them go and preach the gospel and trust in the Lord for their reward. Every time the Elders come home now they must have a new carriage, bring on goods and turn merchants, and they think they ought to be petted by everybody; but let them beware or the devil will pet them to their sorrow.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:97, 5/30/60, p1; JD 7:27]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, April 6, 1860.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I have
not inquired whether there are any cases of difficulty between brethren or
differences in doctrine that should be presented before the Conference. I have
heard of none; consequently I have not given an opportunity to present any. I
do not expect there is any such business requiring our attention.
We will
first present the authorities of the Church; and I sincerely request the
members to act freely and independently in voting,—also in speaking, if it be
necessary. There has been no instance in this Church of a person's being in the
least curtailed in the privilege of speaking his honest sentiments. It cannot
be shown in the history of this people that a man has ever been injured, either
in person, property, or character, for openly expressing, in the proper time
and place, his objections to any man holding authority in this Church, or for
assigning his reasons for such objections. Persons have frequently
ruined their own characters by making false accusations. Some say they dare not
tell their feelings, and feel obliged to remain silent. They, no doubt, tell
the truth. Why do they feel so? This, probably, arises from some vindictive
feelings against a certain man or men whom they would injure, if they could;
and they conclude that their brethren are like them and would seek their
injury, if they should avail themselves of the privilege of speaking or acting
according to their wicked sentiments and thoughts: therefore they dare not
develop the evil that is within them, lest judgment should be meted out to
them. They know that they have evil designs; they know that they would bring
evil on their brethren, if they had the power; and fear seizes them: they skulk
off, and in the midst of the enemies of this people they say they are
conscience bound—that they are tied by the influence, power, or authorities of
this people. What is it which thus binds them? It is the power of evil which is
in their own breasts: that is all that in the least abridges them in their
privileges.
When I
present the authorities of this Church for the Conference to vote upon, if
there is a member here who honestly and sincerely thinks that any person whose
name is presented should not hold the office he is appointed to fill, let him
speak. I will give full liberty, not to preach sermons, nor to degrade
character, but to briefly state objections; and at the proper time I will hear
the reasons for any objections that may be advanced. I do not know that I can
make a fairer proffer. I certainly would, if it were reasonable to do so. I
would not permit contention; I would not permit long argument here: I would
appoint another time, and have a day set apart for such things. But I am
perfectly willing to hear a person's objections briefly stated.
The first
name I shall present to you is that of Brigham Young, President of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If any person can say that he should not
be sustained in this office, say so. If there is no objection, as it is usual
in the marriage ceremony of the Church of England, "Let them for ever
afterwards hold their peace," and not go snivelling around, saying that
you would like to have a better man, and one who is more capable of leading the
Church.
[The
names of the authorities and the votes thereon were printed in the Conference minutes.]
The First
Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have made choice of George Q. Cannon to
fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve. He is pretty generally known by
the people. He has been raised in the Church, and was one of our prominent Elders
in the Sandwich Islands. He went upon that mission when he was quite young. He
is also known by many as the Editor of a paper which he published in
California, called The Western Standard. He is now East, assisting in
the transaction of business and taking charge of this year's emigration. I will
present his name to the congregation to become a member of the Quorum of the
Twelve, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Parley P. Pratt. If this
is pleasing to you, you will be so kind as to vote accordingly.
[The vote
was unanimous.]
As to
evil-speaking, I will say that if men will do the will of God and keep his
commandments and do good, they may say what they please about me.
[The
names of persons selected to go on missions were read, and the President
continued his remarks.]
We have
at times sent men on missions to get rid of them; but they have generally come
back. Some think it is an imposition upon the world to send such men among
them. But which is best—to keep them here to pollute others, or to send them
where pollution is more prevalent? Ten filthy sheep in a flock of a thousand
will so besmear the whole, that, to the eye of a stranger, they all appear to
be worthless, when nine hundred and ninety of them are as good as can be, but
for the outside smearing by the ten filthy ones. We have tried to turn the
filthy ones out of the flock, but they will not always stay out. A few such
defile, to outward appearance, the whole flock; and we have it to bear.
I wish
the Elders to go and preach the Gospel, instead of begging from the poor their
last picayune. I could say a good many things with regard to this subject, but
I dislike doing so. My feelings are keen upon this matter. I wish the Elders to
go and preach the Gospel, to bind up the broken hearted, to hunt up the lame,
the halt, the blind, and the poor among men, and bring them home to Zion. Do
they do this? Not always. My feelings have been sufficiently hurt by a
different course; and if the Elders do not stop it, I do not intend to bear it much
longer. Perhaps some of them may say—"Brother Brigham, I think our lives
and preaching and general deportment will compare very well with
yours." Yes, about as well as white will compare with black, blue, or red.
I ask the people of this Church, Who of you have helped me in the days of my
poverty? Sometimes a brother or a sister has given me a shilling or a few
coppers. The second time I went to Canada, which was after I was baptized,
myself and my brother Joseph travelled two hundred and fifty miles in snow a
foot and a half deep, with a foot of mud under it. We travelled, preached, and
baptized forty-five in the dead of winter. When we left there, the Saints gave
us five York shillings with which to bear our expenses two hundred and fifty
miles on foot, and one Sister gave me a pair of woollen mittens, two-thirds
worn out. I worked with my own hands and supported myself.
I have
borrowed money, but where is the man I have refused to pay what I borrowed of
him? If such a man can be found, let him come forward. I have supported myself
and my family, by the help of the Lord and my good brethren. Some of the
brethren have helped me very liberally, for which I thank them. After I was
ordained into the Quorum of the Twelve, no summer passed in which I did not
travel during the summer: I also travelled during much of each winter. Who
supported my family? God and I. Who found me clothing? The Lord and myself. I
had a large family, and in the States have paid as high as eleven dollars a
barrel for flour.
My business
is to save the people, not to oppress, plunder, and destroy them. It is also
the duty of all the Elders to labour to save the people. Who supported me when
I was in England? I was sick and destitute when I started for England, with not
a member of my family able to bring me a drink of water. When I was able to
walk ten or fifteen yards to a boat, I started. For an overcoat I had a little
bed-quilt my wife used to put on a trundle-bed. When I landed in England, I had
six shillings. Who administered to me? The Lord, through good men. The brethren
were good and kind to me; but they did not gather me five pounds in this, and a
hundred pounds in that Conference, and twenty pounds in another Branch. Have
our Elders gathered money in this way? Yes, too often, if not all the time; and
I am sick and tired of it; and if they do not stop it, I will expose them.
My
practice in England, when I went from my office, was to put a handful of
coppers in my pocket to give to the poor. Did I feed anybody there? Yes, scores.
Did I help anybody to America? Yes, to the last farthing I possessed. By
keeping the office and doing business myself, I had money enough to come home;
but brother Heber and brother Willard borrowed money and helped others. When we
arrived home, were we flush with means? No; we were nearly destitute. I had a
little clothing, and the most of that I gave away to poor brethren. I also had
one sovereign, and, by obtaining fifteen cents more, was able to buy a barrel
of flour. Brother Joseph asked me what I was going to do. I told him that I did
not know, but intended to rest with my family and friends until we ate it up,
and then I would be ready to walk in the way the Lord should open before me.
Joseph would often ask me how I lived. I told him I did not know—that I did my
best, and the Lord did the rest.
Do men
get rich by this everlasting begging? No. Those who do it will be poor in
spirit and in purse. If you desire to be rich, go and preach the Gospel with a
liberal heart, and trust in God to sustain you. If you cannot by such a course
come home with shoes, come with mocassins; and if you are obliged to come
barefooted, tar the bottoms of your feet: the sand sticking in the tar will
form a sole; and thank God that you have arrived here in that way rather than
in carriages. But no; many of our Elders must come in carriages: they must have
gold, and silver, and fine clothing to enable them to flirt around with their
wives.
Let my,
wives take care of themselves. "But," says one, "I have
gratified and pampered my wives so long, were I to go away, what would become
of them?" Leave them to plan and provide for themselves.
Will
those Elders I am talking to to-day take the hint? or will they follow the
practice of too many, and beg, and make that their chief joy and occupation? If
you take the hint, go from here without purse or scrip, unless the brethren
give you something: leave all you can with your families, and do not beg
creation dry. Preach the Gospel, gather the poor, and bring them home to Zion.
Return naked and barefoot rather than come in carriages procured with money
obtained from the poor and destitute. If the rich give to you, receive it
thankfully. Return with a wheelbarrow or hand-cart, and bring some of the
honest poor with you. If you do not pursue this course, I shall conclude that
we have made a selection of grovelling, worldly-minded men, whose brains, at
least in my estimation, are not as their should be.
[Bishop Edwin D. Woolley]
Bishop Edwin D. Woolley made remarks on the age of the church, and as he looked at it, the beginning of a new era; he had belonged to the church 23 years, and had striven to do the best he could; he was perfectly satisfied with the official members of the church that had been sustained by the conference that day. If there were things that he could not understand occasionally he let them rest until he could, being fully satisfied in his own mind that as the light of truth became developed all would come right, he felt first rate and was in good spirits, and wished to encourage the brethren to hold fast the beginning of their confidence, and continue unto the end. He bore testimony to the restoration of the priesthood with all the gifts, graces and powers pertaining thereunto.
[Elder Levi W. Hancock]
Elder Levi W. Hancock related some incidents of his experience and acquaintance with the Prophet Joseph, bore testimony that he knew him to be a servant of God, and the principles he taught to have emanated from the source of all light and truth. Said he was trying to acquire that patience that was necessary for the Saints to have in them continually; desired that his home, might be with the Saints in time and throughout eternity.
Elder Phineas H. Young dismissed the meeting.
_____
[7 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 10:45, 4/11/60, p5]
2 p.m.
[DNW 10:45, 48, 4/11/60, p5, 8]
Choir sung: "All hail the power of Jesus' name."
Prayer by Bishop Lorenzo D. Young.
Choir sung: "The Fall of Babylon."
[Elder William W. Phelps]
Elder William W. Phelps made remarks on the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, a copy of which he said he received on the 9th day of April, 30 years ago; that book he considered to be the foundation of all that which has brought so many of us together, therefore he rose up to bear testimony to its truth. He held in his hand a copy of the first edition of that Book, and declared it to be the truth of the Almighty; he had heard the testimony of Joseph Smith and that of the chosen witnesses in relation to the Book of Mormon, and he with them wished to give his testimony tot he world relative to its divine origin. Said he knew this to be the church of the living God, and that Brigham Young was the legally appointed successor of Joseph Smith, and that all who receive this testimony will be saved in the celestial kingdom, and he wished he had a thousand tongues to speak of the great things of the kingdom to the nations of the earth.
[Elder Levi W. Hancock]
Elder Levi W. Hancock gave an account of the Mormon Battalion.
[Elder Henry Herriman]
Elder Henry Herriman alluded to his experience in the church, and his early inclinations to serve the Lord; said that he first heard the gospel proclaimed by Samuel H. Smith and Orson Hyde, and it now afforded him great pleasure to bear his humble testimony to those principles that he had espoused, he knew that the work in which he was engaged was established by the Lord our God.
[Elder George D. Watt[
Elder George D. Watt said he had no disposition to say anything that was bad of himself neither did he feel disposed to tell how much good he had done, for he considered it to be his duty to do good at all times, and , if he had done any evil, he knew that he ought to be ashamed of it; he always tried to live so as to secure the love and fellowship of his brethren; said he embraced the gospel in 1837, and had rejoiced in it ever since; he considered there was heavenly wisdom manifested in the organization of the kingdom; he knew this to be the church of Christ, but he could not enter into an explanation of all the minutia by which he knew it, for it was spiritually discerned.
In regard to the question - "Shall we prevail?" he only conceived it necessary to call attention to the past; urged upon the Saints he necessity of doing right, paying their just debts, and, in shot, to observe the golden rule - "Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you."
[Bishop Lorenzo D. Young]
Bishop Lorenzo D. Young said he felt exceedingly happy to-day, and in regard to his testimony it was very similar to those already given; he felt one with his brethren - alluded to the revelation and proclamation of the gospel in this dispensation, to the darkness that pervaded the minds of many who professed to be Saints of the living God, and made remarks on the unanimity of feeling that prevailed in the conference which was self-evident to everyone who observed the voting for the several respective quorums of the church.
Choir sung: "Great is the Lord."
Benediction by Elder Orson Pratt.
_____
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 10:48, 4/11/60, p8]
SUNDAY MORNING, April 8, 1860.
Choir sung, "Great God attend while Zion sings."
Prayer by Elder E. T. Benson.
Singing by the choir.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde addressed the congregation on the establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth; argued that the testimony required by any earthly tribunal is that of two or more witnesses, but the testimonies that have been delivered during this conference in favor of the gospel of Jesus Christ, were superior to any that were on record, and their influence will be felt in the remotest corners of the earth. - Alluded to the vain and falsified predictions of the sectarians in regard to the length of time that 'Mormonism' would live; reviewed the deliverance of the children of Israel, told some interesting incidents of his travels to preach the gospel, and foretold the final triumph of the church and kingdom of God.
[Prest. Brigham Young]
Prest. Brigham Young gave notice that the Union Academy would be open for tuition to morrow morning, and urged upon the people the necessity of patronizing it, and of giving their sons a liberal education; said it was also in contemplation to open a female academy, which would be done as soon as convenient. In these academies the most useful sciences and foreign languages will be taught, and he would like to have those attend who are well advanced in the rudimental branches of education. This community, he said, should be men of profound learning, well skilled in foreign languages, in the sciences, and should study history and the manners and customs of the people of the various nations of the earth.
He was much pleased to hear the testimony of the brethren in regard to this work, and he realized that men and women knew many things that they could not explain to others; there is a way of communicating this testimony to the people, and that is by the power of the Holy Ghost in the speaker. When we touch an object with our hands, or see it with the eyes we know that it exists, but were it not for the sensitive power that God has placed in the creature these organs would be useless. Reasoned on the acuteness of the senses, and the delicacy of the mind,and said that if God had not placed the sensitive spirit in man the senses of the body would be of very little service. The great desire among men for miracles, he said, was from the devil, and was only for the gratification of a hellish appetite; that we have examples enough of this kind in the scriptures, the devil taking Jesus on to a high mountain, then upon the pinnacle of the temple, and calling upon him to turn stones into bread; he would not perform miracles to make the people believe, for that was not the design of the almighty; if he could turn the current of the Mississippi and make it empty into Hudson's Bay, or that of the Missouri, so that it would empty into the Columbia river, he would not do it to make people believe. From the time that he began to preach the gospel he had never had a disposition to preach hell and damnation to the people, for he always felt he had plenty of those subjects to talk about that pertain to the variety of kingdoms that God has prepared for his creatures. We shall put off our mortal bodies, and they will be renewed and be brought forth in the resurrection of the just, and we shall bask in the presence of our God, then our houses, our gardens our horses and carriages, and all we possess will be immortal.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:105, 6/6/60, p1; JD 8:39]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, April 8, 1860.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
Pertaining
to the school that brother Hyde has been mentioning, we shall devote the large
building on the east side of Union Square to school purposes. Tuition will be
free, and the school will begin to-morrow morning, with Orson Pratt, jun., and
James Cobb, teachers, under the supervision of Orson Pratt, sen. the Union
Academy is designed exclusively for boys and young men. So soon as we have a suitable
building, we intend to open an Academy for females, in which they will be
taught the common branches of English education, music, and probably some of
the modern languages.
We wish
those who attend the Union Academy to qualify themselves to be useful to
themselves and this community as speedily as possible. We shall urge the study
of mathematics, and more particularly their practical application, that as many
as have a taste and aptness may become familiar with surveying, which they can
fit themselves for in a very short time. There are but few here who are
practical surveyors, and we wish that number increased.
One of
the teachers will probably attend to the rudiments of education, though we
prefer to have scholars tolerably well advanced in arithmetic, writing,
reading, and grammar. Still it may be requisite at the start to admit some in
the elementary branches.
I give it
as my opinion that you may go to any part of the United States or of the world,
where parents are not obliged by law to send their children to school, and you
will find more schools in the midst of this people, notwithstanding their
poverty, their drivings, sufferings, and persecutions, and more persons that
can read and write, in proportion to our population, than in any other place on
this earth. You may select any community of the same number, and in this
particular we will favourably compare with the best of them, and I think we are
ahead of them. But this furnishes us no reason for keeping children from
school.
There are
many who are anxious to teach school, if the people will encourage them. The
people have the privilege of sending their children to school, for there are
plenty of teachers and plenty of rooms in every town and neighbourhood.
However, it is often the case that, when they have sent their children one or
two quarters, they neglect paying the teacher.
Some say
they are not able to send their children to school. In such a case, I think I
would rise in the morning, wash myself, take a little composition, and try, if
possible, to muster strength enough to send my children to school, and pay
their tuition like a man. When you have done this, if you are still unable,
apply to some of your neighbours to assist you.
Men able
to ride in their carriages, and not able or unwilling to pay their children's
tuition, ought, I think, to have a little composition, or catnip tea; and then
perhaps, they will be able to send their children to school! I know such
persons are weak and feeble; but the disease is in the brain and heart—not in
the bones, flesh, and blood. Send your children to school.
As I have
before remarked, there will be no charge for tuition in the Union Academy, and
we shall learn whether the young men will go to school and qualify themselves
for doing business and becoming useful in this world. Compare those who had
their education before they came here with the boys who were born and brought
up in this Church in the midst of our being driven, and I will furnish you ten
grey-headed men who cannot reckon up the simplest account in figures, where you
can find one of our boys fifteen years old that cannot. That is the difference
between this people, with all the ignorance alleged against them pertaining to
the learning of the day, and the professed learned world. I want them still to
advance and increase.
We should
be a people of profound learning pertaining to the things of the world. We
should be familiar with the various languages, for we wish to send to the
different nations and to the islands of the sea. We wish Missionaries who may
go to France to be able to speak the French language fluently, and those who
may go to Germany, Italy, Spain, and so on to all nations, to be familiar with
the languages of those nations.
We also
wish them to understand the geography, habits, customs, and laws of nations and
kingdoms, whether they be barbarians or civilized. This is recommended in the
revelations given to us. In them we are taught to study the best books, that we
may become as well acquainted with the geography of the world as we are with
our gardens, and as familiar with the people—so far at least as they are
portrayed in print—as we are with our families and neighbours.
I will
now make a few remarks upon testimony. I have heard a great many Elders in this
Church, and people who were professing Christians before this work was
revealed, testifying of the things of God. Men rise up here and say they do
know that this is the work of God, that Joseph was a Prophet, that the Book of
Mormon is true, that the revelations through Joseph Smith are true, that this
is the last dispensation and the fulness of times, wherein God has set to his
hand to gather Israel for the last time, and redeem and build up Zion on this
land. How do they know this? Persons know and will continue to know and
understand many things by the manifestations of the Spirit, that through the
organization of the tabernacle it is impossible otherwise to convey. Much of
the most important information is alone derived through the power and testimony
of the Holy Ghost in the speaker, revealing itself to the understanding and
spirit of the hearer. This is the only way you can convey a knowledge of the
invisible things of God. By way of illustration, though a meager one, suppose
that a man may discern in his mind how the principle of perpetual motion can be
made to operate, but cannot explain it to his neighbours.
Reflect
for a moment upon the sensitive faculty implanted within us. We know when we
touch anything with our hands. When we discern an object with our eyes, we know
that we see. How do we know? By a principle common to all intelligent beings—by
the sensations God has placed within us. Were it not for this, the eye could
not see, nor sensation be communicated by touch. Were it not for the
intelligent principle God has placed within us, we could neither feel, see,
hear, taste, nor smell.
It is
recorded that some have eyes to see, and see not; ears to hear, and hear not;
hearts have they, but they understand not. You who are spiritually-minded, who
have the visions of your minds opened—have studied yourselves, your
organizations, the power by which you have been organized, and the influences
that act upon you, can understand that the power that has given you physical
sensation is the power of the same God that gives you understanding of the
truth. The latter power is inward. My inward eyes see, my inward hands handle,
my inward taste tastes of the word of God. The Apostle used this language. He
spoke of tasting the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. Do
you taste? Yes, by the sensations God has planted within you. Thousands and
thousands know, by their inward and invisible sensations, things that have
been, things that are, and things that are in the future, as well as they know
the colour of a piece of cloth by means of their outward or physical vision.
When this inner light is taken from them, they become darker than they were
before, they cannot understand, and turn away from the things of God.
With
regard to evidence, testimony, the acquirements of the children of men
pertaining to the invisible things of God, who is it that requires a miracle
done? Brother Hyde says that when he has been out preaching, this Priest and
that Deacon would say, "If you are the servant of God, work a
miracle." I have had the same required of me a great many times; but if I
had the power of the Gods, I would not work for them a miracle. Why? Because it
would only be to gratify a hellish, worldly, corrupt, devilish disposition on
the part of the one requiring it. Have we not an example? Yes,—one expressly
for the benefit of the Saints who were to follow in the footsteps of the
Redeemer and pursue the path he walked in. The Devil taketh him up into an
exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the
glory of them, and saith unto him, "All things will I give thee, if thou
wilt fall down and worship me." Then the Devil taketh him up into the holy
city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, "If
thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his
angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee
up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." In other words,
If you are the Son of God, work a miracle. All this world is under my control,
and I will give it to you, if you will obey me and cast yourself down, that I
may go and be a preacher and testify that you are the Son of God. Jesus would
not do anything of the kind.
"Then,"
said the Devil, "make bread of these stones, that we may have a testimony
that you are the Christ; and I will go and tell the people of it." The
Saviour said unto him, "Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Then the
Devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. He would
not accommodate the feelings of the person that wished to tempt the Lord his
God.
At
another time Jesus exclaimed—"An evil and an adulterous generation seeketh
after a sign, and there shall be no sign given to it, but the sign of the
prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's
belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of
the earth."
In all my
preachings and teachings, my faith to-day is the same as ever, according to the
light I have had from time to time. If I had the power to turn the Mississippi
directly to the opposite course it is now running, and make it empty into
Hudson's Bay, instead of in the Gulf of Mexico, I would not do it with a view
to convince the people of the truth of the work of God.
The
Gospel plan is so devised, that a miracle to make people believe would only be
condemnation to them. When you hear people tell what they have seen—that they
have seen great and powerful miracles wrought, and they could not help
believing, remember that "devils believe and tremble," because
they cannot help it. When the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard, the honest
in heart believe and receive it. It is good to taste with the inward taste, to
see with the inward eyes, and to enjoy with the sensations of the ever-living
spirit. No person, unless he is an adulterer, a fornicator, covetous, or an
idolator, will ever require a miracle; in other words, no good, honest person
ever will.
If this
is the work of God, let us understand its beauty and glory. I do not say that
all are like myself; but from the day I commenced preaching the Gospel to this
present moment, I never had a feeling in my heart to occupy much time in
preaching hell to the people, or in telling them much about being damned. There
are the kingdoms and worlds which God has prepared, and which are waiting for
the just. There are more beauty, glory, excellency, knowledge, power, and heavenly
things than I have time to talk about, without spending my time in talking
about the hells prepared for the damned. I have not time to talk much about
them.
We have
heaven, eternal life, eternal existence before us. Behold the sea of faces
before me this morning, every one of whom God has organized to dwell eternally
in his presence. Is not this a theme that is worth the attention of all the
human family? We are alive. When shall we die? Never. Says our Saviour,
"Whosoever believeth in me shall never die." Shall we put on this
mortality? Yes, we will lay down these bodies in the grave. What for? That the
dust, our mother earth, that composes the house of the spirit, may be purified
by passing through this ordeal, and be prepared to be called up and united with
the intelligent heavenly body that God has prepared. This is nothing but a
change. It is not the dissolution of the creature; it is merely putting off the
flesh that pertains to this world.
The
particles of this earth that now compose this body will be re-arranged, and the
spirit will be clothed with an immortal tabernacle. Let the spirit reign
predominant over the flesh, and bring into subjection the whole man, every
feeling and every desire of his heart, and let him be devoted wholly, body and
spirit, to the end for which he has been created. When the flesh is brought
into subjection, it is made worthy through that means.
So live
every morning, noon, and evening, every moment, as to enjoy the Holy Ghost
continually. Do not deprive yourselves of this privilege, brethren and sisters;
then you can see, hear, and understand, and know things that are of God, the
visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth,—things past, present, and to
come. No power can deprive you of this privilege, and God will bless you, and
we will bask in his presence with our Elder Brother, and with all the sons and
daughters of Adam who have been redeemed from the four quarters of the earth,
to live for ever.
What a
pleasing thought!—what an entrancing idea it would be, if we had the privilege
of making a selection of one of the most beautiful locations on this earth,
where we could have our grounds, gardens, and walks laid out after the most
enchanting and beautiful order, with every variety of trees, with fountains of
water, and everything to make us happy and comfortable, with our carriages to
ride in, &c., &c., and then live ten thousand millions of years upon
that beautiful possession! Still that period of time would ultimately come to
an end; and when the last moment had come, the possession ceases to be worth a
groat, for it is not eternal. Boundless wealth and the most beautiful
possessions cannot give pleasure and happiness of that exquisite and heavenly
nature that is not in itself eternal.
I expect
to see the streets paved with gold, and our common utensils made of the
precious metals that the wicked now worship. There is no ornament, no beauty,
no excellency, nothing that you can imagine that is great, grand, and useful on
earth, but what is typical of the immortal and eternal riches that are in store
for all those who overcome.
Excuse me
if I speak loud. Were I to speak as I feel, I should speak like a Methodist for
a little while, and cry, "Hallelujah!—praise ye the Lord." Let his
praise ring aloud through the heavens, and swell in anthems throughout the
earth. Praise the name of our God, who, in the fulness of his mercy, hath
provided a great salvation and eternal life for all the Saints, without money
and without price.
I do not
hate any man on earth or in hell. The worst wish I have for the wicked is that
they may be obliged to live according to good and wholesome laws.
May God
bless you! Amen.
Choir sung: "Guide us O thou Great Jehovah."
Benediction by Prest. Brigham Young.
_____
[8 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 10:48, 4/11/60, p8]
2 O'CLOCK, P.M.
Choir sung: "Once more we come before our God."
Prayer by Wilford Woodruff.
"How happy every child of grace," was sung by the choir.
The sacrament was administered by Bishops Hunter, Smoot, Evans, Woolley, Hoagland and Winter.
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt delivered a discourse on the nature of the testimony possessed by the Latter Day Saints, and that which is and will be made manifest to all people. He knew of no other way by which the gospel can be preached only by the dictation and power of the holy Ghost; we may learn many things from the bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, but unless we read these books under the influence of the power and gift of the holy Ghost they will do us but little good, for no man knoweth the things of God but by the Spirit of God. Referred to the testimonies of the brethren who had spoken relative to their knowledge of the gospel of Christ, this knowledge was given them by the Spirit of God, and was manifested spiritually to the people. Took up the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew as translated by Joseph Smith, reasoned on the purity of the translation; spoke of the signs that are to preceded the coming of the Son of Man, the voice of the seven thunders, the testimony of angels, the sun being turned into darkness, the moon into blood, and the other mighty wonders mentioned by John the Revelator.
[Orson Pratt]
[DNW 10:121, 6/20/60, p1; JD 8:44]
DISCOURSE
By Elder ORSON PRATT, Tabernacle, Sunday Afternoon, April
8, 1860.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
Having
been requested, this afternoon, to address the congregation, I cheerfully do
so, praying with all my heart that the Lord may grant unto me his Holy Spirit,
that whatever I may say, whether much or little, may be dictated by that Spirit
that proceeds from heaven, and then it will be right.
We read
in the New Testament that the Apostles and righteous men in days of old
preached the Gospel by the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. I do
not know of any way by which the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed with
any beneficial effect, except in this manner.
We can
arise before a congregation of the Saints and make use of the principles of the
Gospel in our own words. We can say to the people, Repent. We can call upon
them to believe. We can tell them concerning baptism, show them the nature of
it, and the causes for which it was instituted. We may tell them concerning the
Holy Ghost, and preach many things in the wisdom and language of man, and yet
all this would not be acceptable in the sight of Heaven, unless we were
dictated by the power and gift of the Holy Ghost. Our words would have no
effect upon the hearts of the people; they would not be edified; the speaker
would not be edified: no good, perhaps, would be accomplished.
The
world, during the last seventeen centuries and upwards, have been engaged in
preaching what they termed the Gospel; they have been engaged in preaching many
principles that are true; they have preached many of the first principles, such
as faith and repentance; they have preached the ordinances and institutions of
heaven; they have reasoned with the people; they have portrayed many great and
glorious truths before the people; they have called upon them to receive those
truths, and yet they have taught without authority—without that Spirit that
giveth utterance,—taught without being called of God; and hence their teachings
have not accomplished that which an inspired man's would have accomplished,
when sent of God. So it is in reading the revelations of heaven. We may take up
the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Covenants, and commit them to
memory—at least the subject matter therein, and we may suppose that we
understand the doctrine of salvation, and conclude from our diligent study that
we have become altogether acquainted with the prophecies and revelations; and
yet, after all these things, without the gift of revelation directly to
ourselves, or the gift of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven to rest upon us
as speakers and hearers, we cannot expect to be materially benefited.
We may
learn many things from the Book of Mormon. We may learn how this great western
hemisphere was first peopled—how God brought the people from the Tower of Babel
and established them upon North America. We may be informed of their history,
of their numerous Prophets, concerning their wickedness and downfall. We may
learn these things naturally as natural men, whether in or out of the Church,
without the gift and power of the Holy Ghost and authority communicated from
heaven resting upon us.
We cannot
render ourselves any material service, or the world either, unless we have this
power and authority: hence the propriety of that passage of Scripture recorded
in the 2nd chapter of Paul's 1st Epistle to the Corinthians—"For what man
knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." All our exertions,
our reading, our meditations, and our endeavours to obtain the truth, without
we obtain it lawfully, and not as natural men and women, will prove, in a
measure, unavailing, though it may serve in some degree to remove darkness, to
manifest what has been done, or what is to be done.
I am well
pleased with the remarks that have been made upon this stand, more especially
in relation to some few of the testimonies that I have heard, particularly
hearing upon this matter. We were told by individuals upon this stand that they
knew this work to be true. We were told by brother Watt that he knew this to be
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How do you know it? Just the same as the
congregation know it. If the congregation have the gift and power of God to
unfold the revelations of heaven to themselves, then they can comprehend how it
is that the speakers know it is true. Though we may not be masters of language
to communicate to others, we can appeal to their senses upon this subject. Do
you know the things of God? If this question were asked, the whole
congregation, with few exceptions, would lift up their voices with one heart
and one mind, and say, We know these things to be true. How do you know
them? You know them by the manifestations of the Spirit to your own hearts. You
don't know them by having seen with the natural eye, or by having discerned
them with the natural understanding. You don't know them because you have seen
the sick healed, or the blind receive their sight. You don't know them because
you have seen the lame made to walk, or laid your hands upon the sick and seen
them raised to perfect soundness, but because God has made them manifest to
your hearts. Light has shone from heaven upon your understandings. You have
tasted of that light by the spiritual sensations, or the spiritual faculties of
your mind. You have understood and feasted upon the light that has come from
heaven; and by this you know that the principles you have received are true. Do
we understand clearly and properly that which is contained in the various
revelations that God has given through his ancient as well as through his
modern Prophets? Do we understand them in their true light? If we do, it is
because we have received manifestations to ourselves, by the gift and power of
the Holy Ghost.
What are
Prophets for? What are revelators for? They are to reveal the truths of heaven
for the benefit of the people. They bear testimony to the inhabitants of the
earth, as you have heard declared from this stand, that the Lord has spoken and
opened communications with men upon the earth, through the legitimate channel
of his Priesthood. They also declare that men have been called by revelation
from God, and sent forth with authority to baptize for the remission of sins.
You hear this testimony, which is calculated to increase your confidence and
your faith in the principles of life.
The word
of God which is planted in your hearts begins to grow, to produce joy, light,
and happiness; your mind begins to understand; you begin to receive revelation,
and to receive those communications from the heavens that cause you to enjoy
those blessings that you have heard spoken of by the servants of God. This
makes all the Latter-day Saints witnesses; and thus we have a cloud of
witnesses—a great army that can witness the truths of heaven as they have been
revealed in these last days. This Spirit of revelation gives the Latter-day
Saints boldness in their testimony.
What
would have been our progress, brethren and sisters, if we had gone forth to the
nations to publish these truths without the power of the Holy Ghost
accompanying us? Could we have borne up under the power of persecution that has
been heaped upon us? Could we have stood forth before the people and borne
testimony as natural men to the great truths revealed from heaven? No, we could
not. We should have shrunk from the task. It would have appeared too great for
us to perform. The powers of darkness would have been able to crush us before
them, without the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Lord foreknew this, and
consequently he never designed that the great principles of his Gospel should
be published to the nations, only by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven.
There are
many revelations that were given to the ancient servants of God that we never
can comprehend without further revelation, and perhaps some of them we shall
never understand in this state of probation. One thing is certain—that we
cannot comprehend them, unless God shall give more revelation and manifest many
things in their fulness which have heretofore only been revealed in part.
Many
things that were unveiled to the ancient Prophets have become very much
corrupted by men who have formed systems to suit their own darkened minds. The
revelations of John, now so obscure, so dark, and so intricate, that scarcely a
person can comprehend the great things that are pointed out to take place in
the last days, will be unfolded. Now there is scarcely a man living that can
discern the meaning of the Apostle.
When this
revelation was given to him, it was plain and simple, and easy to be understood
of men; and all people possessed of the Spirit of the living God could
understand it, so far as it was not sealed up. Some portions of it the Lord
designed that they should not comprehend in that day. For instance, what the
seven thunders uttered and several other things that are mentioned, no man
understands, and will not until the proper time shall come. Since the days of
John, it has been changed and altered by men who did not possess the Spirit of
revelation, and from them it has been handed down to us in its present
imperfect form, and we never shall understand it until God reveals it unto his
servants the Prophets in the last days. Then the things written in that book
will be plain, and we shall understand them.
So it is
with regard to many revelations contained in the New Testament. The 24th
chapter of Matthew, for instance, the sayings of Jesus to his disciples have
undergone the same change in translation and in alterations by corrupt men. It
is true, the Lord has given us information and bestowed upon us great favour by
new revelation, and the Spirit bears witness that they are from heaven. We know
them to be such. We comprehend them, we discern them, and say that God designed
to reveal them to his servant Joseph. There are many who can comprehend those
things and realize that they are from some superior source than the natural
mind of man.
I might
name some few things which may be found in the 24th chapter of Matthew, that
are much plainer and much more simple as they were revealed to the Prophet
Joseph in the new translation,—so much so that it would almost satisfy even a
natural-minded person that there has been a superior wisdom manifest in this
new translation. In speaking of the signs of the coming of the Son of Man, and
of the preaching of the Gospel to all the world, the new translation reads as
follows:—"Again shall this Gospel of the kingdom be preached in all the
world for a witness, and then shall the end come." Now, the word
"again" makes the thing all plain. It is as much as to say, You shall
go forth, you shall preach to the people and declare my testimony among. the
nations of the earth; and after this there shall come a falling away, and there
shall arise many false Christs and false prophets. Then shall follow many
judgments and tribulations upon the face of the earth. And after the world has
been in darkness for centuries, again shall this Gospel of the kingdom he
preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the
end come. What end? I answer, the end of the wicked world—the destruction of
the wicked from the face of our globe.
In
another passage to be found in that same revelation, the 24th chapter of
Matthew, Jesus says, in speaking of his second coming, "As the light of
the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth unto the west, and covereth the
whole earth, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." Now, how much
plainer is this to the natural understanding! and how much plainer is this than
the old translation as rendered by the wisdom of man! How does the old
translation read? It reads, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east
and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man
be."
The
lightning is more visible and more frequent in some parts of the earth than
others; and when it does appear, it is only visible for a few scores of miles
at once, and is not visible in all parts; and consequently, this was not a
proper figure to convey the idea. How much plainer is the rendering—"As
the light of the morning cometh out of the east and shineth unto the west, and
covereth the whole earth, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be."
How did
this Latter-day Work commence? It did not commence all at once. On the 6th day
of April, 1830, as it was justly observed by one of the speakers, there were
not enough members to form the Church; but it came forth like the dim twilight
of the morning, the darkness beginning by slow degrees to flee away as the
light slowly advanced. It is grown brighter and brighter from that time unto
the present.
Like the
light of the sun, the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will cover the whole
earth; it will speak from land to land and from kingdom to kingdom, until it
deluges the whole earth with the brilliancy of its light and the glory of its
power. The testimonies of the servants of God, as well as the testimonies of
his power, exhibiting his wrath and his sore displeasure, will go forth as has
been proclaimed from this stand. And instead of the testimonies of the servants
of God being smothered up by the persecution of our enemies, and the light
being hidden under a bushel in some obscure corner, the decree of Heaven is
that the light shall go forth, shining more and more glorious in the midst of
the nations, and it will penetrate the darkest corners of the earth—it will
visit the islands of the sea, until it has searched out every creature under
heaven. There is no ear but shall hear, and no heart but shall be penetrated by
the truths that shall be sent forth in this last dispensation.
Missionaries
have been called. If they go and magnify their callings, they will be filled
with the testimony that has been so freely manifested during our Conference;
they will be filled with the Holy Ghost, and be able to bear testimony of the
truths of the Gospel. It may be apparently in weakness. They may consider it so
themselves. Their language may be feeble, their words feebly uttered, their
sentences broken; but, after all, it will be the power of God unto this
generation.
If you
Missionaries will seek for the testimony of the Holy Ghost to go with you—if
you will seek diligently for the power of God to accompany you, you need not be
afraid of the nations; for your testimony will condemn the people who reject
it, and it will save all those who receive it.
I look
forward to the progress of this work through the Saints that are abroad and the
Elders that are ordained on Foreign Missions, as well as by those Missionaries
that are sent forth to their assistance. I look for this work to progress, and
I cannot get anything else into my heart. I do not look for this people to be
eternally assailed by their enemies, nor do I look for the Elders to be continually
asleep; but I expect that they will bear a faithful testimony among the people
of every nation where they are sent. And this testimony will be increased: it
cannot be otherwise. That prophecy of Nephi recorded is the Book of Mormon must
be fulfilled; the servants of God must be armed with righteousness, and with
the power of the Almighty, and with great glory among the nations, wherever the
Church is organized. It will be such a display as will excite the people
against the Saints, or they would not, according to prophecy, gather together
the armies of the wicked from among all nations to fight the people of the Most
High. This must take place. The wicked must be gathered against the Saints. It
is as it was stated by brother Hyde this forenoon about the dream. That dream
had reference to foreign persecutions.
One thing
is certain—that every nation under the heavens will array itself against the
kingdom of God. Inasmuch as some individuals among the nations receive it, they
wilt muster their forces and try to destroy the saints of the living God. To
prepare for this, we must increase in the Spirit of God as our enemies increase
in the spirit of darkness against us, and by the power of God proclaim in their
ears a testimony that will overcome the wicked. There is no possibility of the
wicked triumphing over this Latter-day Kingdom. There may be many who will have
to fall—many who will have to suffer materially; but when we get to the home of
the Saints of the living God, the wicked will cease from troubling us.
I look
forward to a day that is not far distant, with great rejoicing; and that is a
day when we shall all be engaged, as we are this afternoon, in partaking of the
sacrament—the symbols of bread and wine, or in other words, the symbols of the
body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I look forward with joyful
anticipation to that glorious time. I look around upon this assembly, and when
I see them partaking of this holy ordinance, and consider what Jesus has
done by his sufferings, then I look forward to the time when he shall be in our
midst, and we partake of these symbols in his presence.
Will not
this be a joyful time? Who can but rejoice in a scenery of this description!
Suppose you were expecting that this was to take place next Sabbath-day, who
are pure in heart? Who are ready for such an event? What would be your
feelings? Would you sorrow and mourn? Would it not be one of the most joyful
messages to your ears that ever saluted them, to suppose that the time was so
near at hand when you should partake of bread and wine with the ancient
Apostles, and meet with the Saviour and all the Saints of former days—those
that lived before the flood and those that have lived since the flood,—to think
that all this is to be made manifest to man—that we are to look upon the
face of our Redeemer and be crowned with glory as he is—would not this be
joyful tidings?
Although
this is not going to take place next Sabbath, yet we know one thing—that in
many of the revelations given to this Church, the Lord has closed by
saying—"Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give
unto every man according to his works." There are many revelations of this
kind, and these words are true and faithful, for the Lord does not speak in
vain; but he has thrown this out as an encouragement to those that fear him and
keep his law.
The day
is at hand, the morning has broken, the sun of the Gospel has arisen in
the eastern horizon, and is beginning to shine with a degree of splendour. The
time is near—how near, no man knoweth: the day and the hour when the Son
of Man shall come is a secret. In a revelation given to this Church, it is said
that no man shall know until he comes; therefore we cannot expect to know the
day nor the hour; but we know it is near at hand, and what a consolation it is.
There may be men that will know within a year—that will have revelation to say
within one or two years when the Lord shall appear. I do not know that there is
anything against this.
But the
great question is, brethren and sisters, Are we ready?—are we perfect enough
for this day? Are we honest enough? and are we filled with integrity enough to
be ready for the Saviour and his holy angels? Is there a sufficiency of union?
Have we that firmness in our minds that we can stand in their presence—that we
can look them in the eye and say that all is right? If we are pure, when we see
a pure and holy being, clothed with all the glory of the heavens, surrounded
with light that far outshines the sun at noonday, so much so that his eye
discerns all things and pierces the inmost recesses of the heart,—when we can
look him in the face, a, thrill of joy will run through our bodies, and we
shall be happy.
I tell
you, brethren and sisters, this would be one of the most glorious periods that
we could possibly imagine: it would be one of the most joyful there is in the
future. We know that men upon the earth have been so clothed with the glory and
power of God that the people could not look upon their countenances; and
why was this? It was because the people were wicked. When Moses had been
upon the mountain, standing in the presence of God, being in his presence forty
days receiving the tables of stone, and came down to teach the people, they
could not endure his presence. Why? Because that glory that was
manifested could not be endured by the wicked. But in this instance, the
Lord permitted it to be manifested for a while. And when the people looked upon
the countenance of Moses, they perceived that there were rays of light
emanating from him—that he looked different from what he formerly did—that he
was clothed upon with something which they had not been accustomed to see, and
they fled afar off. Moses, therefore, was under the necessity of taking a vail
and putting it over his face, for they could not endure it. They fled from the
presence of a mortal man when he was clothed upon with glory, or with a
reflection of the glory of God; therefore the only way was for him to cover his
face, and then converse with the children of Israel.
Now, if
a mortal being is permitted to have this power, how much greater will be
the terror to the wicked when immortal beings shall appear—beings who have not
simply been with the Lord forty days, but who have been with him thousands of
years, who were redeemed before the flood and after the flood, and who have
been in the presence of God more or less ever since,—who have beheld his
countenance, who have been seated upon thrones, swaying a sceptre of power, (as
Abraham,) and reigning over millions of individuals,—when they, as well as the
redeemed of all nations and generations, shall make their appearance, and when
they shall not attempt to put a vail over their faces as Moses did, but permit
all the glory that they have accumulated for so many years to be visible to the
human family! That will be a day of terror, astonishment, and dismay unto all
the wicked.
At times
when I reflect upon this subject, I try to portray before my mind the various
revelations that God has given concerning this matter. There is one in
particular which says, "Angels shall be sent forth to sound the trump of
God, crying, Lo and behold! the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him."
That will be a great time, independent of that of which I have been speaking,
when Jesus shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Before that time, angels are to be sent forth to sound the trumpet, so that all
the ends of the earth are to hear it, and all people are to be forewarned that
the time of the coming of the bridegroom is at hand—that the time of the coming
of the great Being has arrived. Then, when those angels have sounded, another
great and terrible thing is to take place.
I simply
mention these things to show how one thing after another is to precede the
coming of the Lord.
After the
angels have sounded this in the ears of all living, we are informed that there
will be a great sign in the heavens. It is not to be limited so that some few
only of the human family can see it; but it is said, "All people shall see
it together!" At least, it is to be like our sun seen over one entire side
of the globe, and then passing immediately round to to the other, or else it
will encircle the whole earth at the same time. But the bridegroom does not
come then. These are only the preceding events to let the Latter-day Saints and
the pure in heart know that these are the times that they may trim up their
lamps and prepare for the triumphant appearing of their Lord.
After
those angels that I have alluded to have flown through the heavens, this sign
is made manifest; and what next? Seven angels are appointed to give their signs
and testimonies to the truth of this proclamation of the Gospel, the Latter-day
Saints having previously given theirs. Thus we have the former angels sounding
their trumpets, then the great sign, and then comes the seven angels. The first
proclaims that great Babylon is about to fall, and her influence to be
destroyed. He proclaims that all who remain in Babylon are bound in bundles and
their bands made strong, so that no man can unloose them, and that they are
therefore prepared for the burning.
After all
nations have heard the proclamation, there will be silence in the heavens, and
I do not know but on the earth too; for the people will doubtless be
overpowered with astonishment to see an angel, the sound of whose trump shall
pierce the ears of all living. After this, I say, there will be silence in
heaven for half-an-hour.
Then,
after the wicked begin to recover and get a little strength, beheld and lo! the
curtain of heaven will be unfolded as a scroll that is rolled up. You know how
our great maps are rolled out to expose their contents to the people; and the
Lord has said the heavens shall be unfolded as a scroll that is rolled up is
unfolded. What will be seen when this takes place? Our Saviour, our Redeemer,
will unveil his face. That Being who was born in Bethlehem—that being who has
saved the world by offering his own life, how will he appear? Will he come as a
common man? or how will he make his appearance? He will appear as a being whose
splendour and glory will cause the sun to hide his face with shame.
The sun
is a very glorious body and when you look upon it, so great is the light, that
you can scarcely see surrounding objects; but the light of the sun is nothing
to be compared with the glory of that personage who shall appear when the
heavens shall be unveiled, or unfolded like a scroll. The light of the sun will
dwindle away, and he shall hide his face with shame. Who will be with Jesus
when he appears? The decree has gone forth, saying, Mine Apostles who were with
me in Jerusalem shall be clothed in glory and be with me. The brightness of
their countenance will shine forth with all that refulgence and fulness of
splendour that shall surround the Son of Man when he appears. There will be all
those personages to whom he alludes. There will be all the former-day Saints,
Enoch and his city, with all the greatness and splendour that surround
them: there will be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as they sit upon their thrones,
together with all the persons that have been redeemed and brought near unto the
presence of God. All will be unfolded and unveiled, and all this will be for
the wicked to look upon, as well as the righteous; for the wicked will not as
yet have been destroyed. When this takes place, there will be Latter-day Saints
living upon the earth, and they will ascend and mingle themselves with that
vast throng; for they will be filled with anxiety to go where the Saints of the
Church of the Firstborn are, and the Church of Firstborn will feel an anxiety
to come and meet with the Saints on earth, and this will bring the general
assembly of the redeemed into one; and thus will be fulfilled the saying of
Paul, "that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on
earth, even in him."
About the
same time that the Latter-day Saints are quickened, (not immortalized,) there
will be Saints that have slumbered and slept for ages, and they are to be
quickened and taken up into the heavens. Now the wicked are to see all these
things; and if power of language could be given to them, what would they say?
They would turn to the rocks and the mountains, and say, O mountains and rocks,
fall upon us and hide us from the presence of Him that sits upon the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb. And I have no doubt but they will have the
power to say it. But they must endure the sight. After which, they must be
consumed according to that which is spoken, and the heathen nations must be
redeemed, and the way be prepared for the Lord to dwell upon the earth. The
mortal Saints will then be transfigured and sanctified, but not immortalized.
They will be prepared for the millennial reign. The tables will then be spread,
and the Latter-day and Former-day Saints will be together to partake of the
sacrament just as it is this afternoon, only more perfectly prepared.
This is
my object in thus portraying these things before you this afternoon, for as
often as we do this we show forth the Lord's death till he come. When that time
comes, he will partake of the fruit of the vine with us; and with him will be
Moroni, Mormon, and Lehi, and all the inhabitants of this vast American
continent who have been saved through the Gospel. There will be Enoch's city,
the Former-day Saints, and the vast throng of resurrected Saints to sit down
and partake of the supper of the great Bridegroom, and he will administer in
the midst of his brethren.
I hope
and pray that I may be prepared to be one of that joyful throng to be assembled
there with a pure heart, and one that is upright before God. I also hope that
my brethren will be with me, and that we shall have the privilege of
celebrating the marriage supper of the Lamb, for that will be a happy day.
May God
bless you! Amen.
[Pres. Daniel Spencer]
Prest. Daniel Spencer observed that he had been very happy during the conference in the society of the Saints and in h earing the testimonies and instructions of the brethren who have been speaking to us, and he considered it the duty of every one to profit by the instructions that had been given. he prayed the Almighty to give liberally of his Spirit to aid us in carrying out the instructions given, for they were such as will make us happy in time and in eternity.
The conference was then adjourned until the sixth day of October, at 10 o'clock, a.m., at this place.
Choir sung: "Lord dismiss us with thy blessing."
Benediction by Prest. Daniel Spencer.
Prest. Brigham Young blessed the people in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
J. V. LONG, REPORTER.
6-8 Oct 1860,
Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 10:253, 10/10/60, p5; MS 22:764, 778, 810]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 10:253, 10/10/60, p5]
SEMI-ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS,
Convened in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Saturday, October 6, 1860, 10 A.M. President Brigham Young, presiding.
On the stand: Of the First Presidency: Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H Wells;
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orion Hyde, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards;
Of the First Presidency of Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi. W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood and Horace S. Eldredge;
Of the High Priests: John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards;
Of the Presidency of the Stake: David Fullmer and George B. Wallace;
Patriarchs: John Smith, John Young and Isaac Morley;
Reporters: George D. Watt and John V. Long.
The conference was called to order by Elder Orson Hyde.
Choir sung, "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."
Prayer was offered by Elder Ezra T. Benson.
Choir sung, "I'll praise my maker while I've breath."
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball made pointed and spirited remarks on the organization of the kingdom of God in the last day; said it is a kingdom which differs from all others in one respect, viz: it concerns everybody in every nation, land and clime upon this earth. It is the duty of all members in this Church, to lay aside their selfishness, and let all their interests be in the kingdom of God, for the Almighty will bring every son and daughter of Adam to an account for their acts in relation to His kingdom. Remarked that we had come together to worship God, to speak of His purposes and bear testimony of His works, and all should feel that they have a portion of the responsibility upon their own shoulders. Counseled those holding the priesthood to honor their calling.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 10:265, 10/24/60 p1; JD 8:247; MS 22:785]
DISCOURSE
By President HEBER C. KIMBALL, Tabernacle, Saturday, 10
a.m., Oct. 6, 1860
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
_____
We have
come together this morning for the purpose of holding our General Conference,
and to attend to matters of business that pertains to the whole Church, not
only for the people in this Territory; but we have met to do business that
concerns all nations and people, both the living and the dead, or those who
have passed behind the veil; and I feel to rejoice in the privilege we now
have.
I know
that this is the kingdom of God. It is that kingdom which was shown to the Prophet
Daniel, as recorded in the second chapter of his book. This is the kingdom that
was set up in the days of Jesus, and it is the kingdom that our Father and God
set up after he organized this earth; and he is the King: but there are and
will be tens of thousands of kings this side of him, and will be a perpetual
increase of kings and priests in the kingdoms of our Father.
I desire
to express my feelings in a few words upon those things, that you may know how
I feel, and understand that I view this kingdom as something that pertains to
or that will affect all the creatures of God in this creation—yes, the
thousands and millions of beings who have not yet appeared upon this stage of
action. It is that kingdom that concerns every man that ever did or that ever
will live.
I wish to
encourage you Elders and all good Saints to live so as to get that Spirit that
is promised to the faithful; and let us lay aside our selfishness, and become
interested in the general welfare of the kingdom of God; for it is something
that should interest every man and woman in the world.
This
Church is that Church which has been spoken of by the Prophets, and this people
constitute that kingdom that was to come forth in the latter days. We are
members of this kingdom, and we proceeded from the King of this earth. We are
all his sons; and when, through our obedience, we become heirs of God and
joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, we in reality become princes, for we emanated
from that King; and he is our Father and God, and he will call every son and
daughter of Adam to an account for their deeds. It does not matter whether they
belong to the Church or are outside of the fold of Christ, our Father will call
them to give an account of the deeds done in the body; and the spirits of men
that were in existence before they inhabited these bodies have got to be
responsible for the acts that are wrought in the flesh. This is upon the same
principle that President Young commits to me the care and supervision of a
house,—for instance, the sanctum sanctorum—a holy place, where
the ordinances of God are administered. He commits that to me, and holds me
responsible for its safe keeping. So it will be with you and me; so it will be
with all men and women in regard to their works on the earth. There will be
thousands of men brought to an account for their conduct towards women, for in
many instances it is shameful.
We have
come here to day to worship God, to speak of his purposes and designs, and to
bear testimony of his work. It is rainy and rather wet and unpleasant, and
therefore we cannot do much else; and we shall stay here until the Spirit
indicates that it is best to adjourn; and when that will be I cannot now tell.
But I hope none of you will be troubled upon that point, for President Young
will hold it as long as it is interesting and the Spirit of God shall dictate
to him. In referring to the sons and daughters of Adam, and to this great work
which I have already said concerns us all, and especially the Elders that have
come into the Church in the beginning, and who hold this Priesthood which God
has revealed through his servant Joseph, I wish you to understand that all that
is connected with you—your wives and children—should interest you in their
welfare and in the prosperity of the work of God; and you will be interested in
proportion to the light knowledge, power, and spirit there is in the Elders;
and that spirit will rest upon the Elders, their wives, and children. Their
animals and all they possess will be quickened by it.
You can
read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that the Lord spoke to Thomas B.
Marsh and the Twelve Apostles, telling them that they held the keys of the
kingdom with the First Presidency and the fathers from the beginning of the
creation.
"For
unto you (the Twelve) and those (the First Presidency) who are appointed with
you to be your counsellors and your leaders is the power of this Priesthood
given for the last days and for the last time, in the which is the dispensation
of the fulness of times; which power you hold in connection with all those who
have received a dispensation at any time from the beginning of the creation;
for verily I say unto you, the keys of the dispensation which ye have received
have come down from the fathers, and last of all being sent down from heaven
unto you." (Doc. and Cov., sec. 104, par. 12.)
The Lord
told us there that the fathers are interested for us just in proportion to the
interest we feel for this work and for the Church and kingdom of God here upon
the earth. I want you to think of that and reflect upon it. You need not doubt
in relation to the truth of what the the world call "Mormonism," for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, established and organized
through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, is the true Church of
God. With it is the Priesthood and power of God; and you might as well try to
doubt that the sun shines, for it is truth; and although all hell may deny it
and all the men upon the earth, that will make no difference, for it is from
God. The Lord called that man, and sent his angels to ordain him and confer
upon him that authority necessary for the building up of the kingdom of God;
and it was through him that we received all the authority we hold, and through
us every soul of you who have received the truth received it—through that
Priesthood which came from God through Joseph Smith; and you grew out of that
Priesthood, and none of you have a particle of power except that which comes
through that medium. It came from Jesus to Peter, from Peter to Joseph, and
from Joseph to President Young and his Brethren, and from us to you. You hold
that Priesthood and authority in connection with them; and except you are
connected with them, you cannot have any Priesthood or authority. You must
honour that tree with which you are connected; for, if you dishonour that tree,
you dishonour yourselves, and I would not give a farthing for your authority.
These are
some of my views upon the subject; and I feel to say that this work will roll
forth with greater power hereafter than it has done in times past; and my
prayer to my Father in heaven is, Let thy work roll on, thy kingdom come, thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is the way it has got to be, for
things must eventually be done here as they are in heaven. We have got to do
right, and we cannot do this except we honour our callings and Priesthood; for
we are like a great tree, having roots, body, great and small limbs; and I want
to know what the difference is between one limb and another, so far as honour
is concerned? All should be honoured in their place and calling. Let every man
honour the head, the body, and every member that pertains to that body, if you
wish to honour God. Now, can I rise up and chastise the limb that I am
connected with? No, I cannot; and the limb will die quicker without my
interference, if there is anything wrong about it. Could a man rise up and
chastise President Joseph Smith when he was alive? No; no man had the right.
Well, then, can any man chastise President Young? No, sir; but it is the duty
of all to honour the head and the body with which they are connected. Upon the
same principle, the smallest member of the body should honour the part to which
it is attached. You know two feet are required to carry two legs, and two legs
to carry a body; and so it is in the Church of Christ.
The
Apostles and Prophets used to talk in this way, presenting figures and
comparisons for the purpose of conveying things to the minds of the people more
forcibly. Now, let every man take a course to honour one another and the
Priesthood they have received. "Well," says one, "I will honour
the First Presidency of the Church; but I don't want anything to do with the
Twelve: they are not of much account." That is the way some of you feel. Now,
if you treat these men in this way, how long will it be before you will treat
President Young in like manner?
The
course for us to take is to honour the Priesthood which the Almighty has given
to man. How can you honour God except you honour that Priesthood? This is well
worth your consideration. You all sprang out of that Priesthood as one limb of
a tree comes out of the main body. This is honourable in all men, and I feel to
say, Let every man honour his calling, and his fruit will appear.
Will a good
apple tree produce a thorn or a thistle? No, it never will. But notwithstanding
this, I believe there are a great many thistles that call themselves apples;
yes, many that are briars, thistles, and other useless things they ought not to
be. I frequently think of these things. I consider our Priesthood and the vows
that we have made with God. "But," says one, "we have made those
vows with our brethren, and not with the Lord." Let me tell you that it
was the brethren in authority in the Priesthood who called you into the house
of the Lord; but you made your covenants with God. The brethren were merely the
witnesses of those things which you did—of the covenants you made with the
Father, with the Son, with the Holy Ghost, and with all the heavenly hosts; and
your brethren stood as witnesses for God, and you will have to give an account
of the way and manner you keep and observe those covenants.
There are
many who think these things are of no account; but I will tell you, brethren,
that you will be straightened out when the Lord appears, taking vengeance upon
those that will not obey his Gospel. In that day the wicked will be as chaff or
stubble, and they will be destroyed from the earth, and their tabernacles
dissolved; but the righteous will receive new bodies, and they will inhabit a
new earth, and eternally enjoy the favour of that God who sent his Son that you
and I might be redeemed and brought back into his presence.
There is
a great deal for us to do, and I wish you would all think so, and have these things
before your minds continually. How can this evil be remedied? I say, in the
name of the Lord God of Israel, Wake up from your slumber, and get within your
souls the Spirit of the Most High God; and the more you have of it, the more
you will feel the necessity of being wide awake and attentive to your duties.
Your eyes
have become dim because of your dulness and inattention to your duties. The
Scriptures say—"Let thine eye be single, that thy whole body may be full
of light." The reason we do not see things as they are is because we have
become dull and stupid, and do not understand the things of God. It is said in
the Scriptures that the eyes of certain characters are like the fool's eyes,
reaching to the ends of the earth; and like the door upon its hinges, doing no
good, but just swinging backwards and forwards. Brother Benson, won't you shut
that vestry door, and open it again? [Which he did.] Now, don't you see,
brethren, that has neither lost nor gained anything; but it will soon wear out.
This figure I wish to apply to you indolent persons, and thereby show you that
you ought to go to work and improve—bring about something for the honour and
glory of God, and the adorning and building up of his kingdom. I do not want
you to be like the sow that has been taken and washed clean, and then as soon
as the door is open she goes into the dirtiest mud-hole there is in the
neighbourhood. But as you have been washed in the waters of baptism and entered
into the fold, I want you to remain clean and pure, and to labour for the
welfare of Zion and the upbuilding of the kingdom of our God. If you act like
the sow, then your last end will be worse than your first.
You have
entered into the kingdom, and should be like a little child, humble, meek, and
passive in the hands of your superiors.
You will
remember that when those commissioners came to make peace with us, we came up
from the South to see them, to find out what they wanted. The night we arrived
in the city, I dreamed that there was an awful flood, and that the flood-wood
had stopped up the stream. I watched it; and after a while the flood-wood gave
way, and it came down Emigration Kanyon, and went in a southwesterly direction.
I then looked round to see what the effects were, and all at once this whole city
and adjacent country became full of hogs. I spoke to the President and the
brethren who were with him, and said—"The country is full of hogs,"
and they were frothing at the mouth just like mad hogs do; and I saw them
running after the brethren, who got on the walls and fences in different
directions, and they were jumping up at them, but their mouths were full of
froth; and I was pleased to see that there was not one of those hogs could bite
any of the brethren. By-and-by our attention was called to other business, and
when I had a little leisure I looked round and said to the brethren—"Where
are those hogs gone?" We looked around us, and lo and behold there was not
a hog to be found in the country!
But while
they were here did they not froth at the mouth? They did, and they jumped and
made a terrible stew; but I do not know that they have ever hurt anybody. They
have not had the power to meddle with or hurt anybody except those who wanted
to be meddled with. Now I consider that those men and women who have suffered
themselves to be overcome by these hogs are no better than the hogs themselves.
This may
be considered a very good introduction, in my way, to this General Conference.
I do not
know that I ever felt better in my life than I do to-day. I feel that I can
touch a little thing here and another there, and I see before me ten thousand
times more than I speak of; and among the many things that I can see, one is,
that all the hogs are going to leave as fast as they can! If the Elders and
Saints will only do right, all will be right for them and with them; and they
ought to know that the responsibility is upon their shoulders.
If you,
brethren, go and sell your wheat, that will not be laid to the sisters,
excepting in those cases where the men are under petticoat government. Those
who do this are taking a course that will bring sorrow upon themselves; yes,
those who trade away the staff of life will suffer pain, sorrow, and nakedness,
and many things that have not entered into their hearts to think of.
Since the
Latter-day Saints have been in these mountains, there has never been such a
deep designing and well-got-up scheme to draw grain out of this Territory as
there is now; for there is a branch of a store in almost every settlement, and
they are buying wheat and sending it to Pike's Peak, and they are getting it at
a very low price, too. I am afraid this is going to bring trouble upon you,
brethren and sisters. President Young has talked and talked upon the subject of
saving your breadstuff, and the Twelve have borne testimony of it in all your
settlements day after day and year after year; and yet many of the people don't
care any more about it than if we had never spoken upon the subject. There are
some who have listened and laid up their grain. Look at the men who have done
this, and you will find men that have got power with God and man. Let us try to
improve, and get as many to do this as we can, and we shall do well. We cannot
get everybody to do it, but we can use an influence with a few. There are a
great many here who have lived from hand to mouth all their lives, they have
been accustomed to get their wages on a Saturday night; and let their wives
have them; then their wives would go and pay such a portion for the week's
provisions—so much for ale, so much for the priest, the tithing, and other
things; and they don't know how to get along any other way.
How can
you be saviours, except you lay up knowledge of the things of God? And how can
you be temporal saviours, except you lay up provisions? Jesus says, Seek first
the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all other things shall be
added unto you. The Lord is not bound to feed us, except we take care and do
our part. Do you imagine that the Lord will go and raise you a crop of wheat,
without your first going and ploughing the ground?
You have
heard President Young say that none of us know enough to make a spear of grass
grow, and this we all know to be true; but I will tell you what you can do. You
can obtain the ground, plough it, drag it, sow the seed, and dedicate it to
your Father and God. Then, when you find it necessary, you can irrigate it, and
you will be pretty sure to get a good crop of wheat, or corn, or whatever you
may choose to plant.
There are
a great many that are going into speculation now-a-days. Some of our Elders are
becoming merchants, taking the Gentiles' goods and peddling them off for wheat,
and then turning it over to our Gentile speculators who have persecuted us.
Well, you will see that pretty much every one of them will lose the Spirit,
except they repent.
Now, you
have been told again and again to take care of your cattle, and send back for
your goods. This has been done this year by a number of the brethren, and it
can be done by the majority of the people. There was a train of goods came in a
few days ago: the cattle started from here last spring, and they have come in
in better condition than any other cattle that have crossed the Plains this
season. The same thing has been done before. The year the pioneers came in, we
bought oxen, mules, and horses; and some of the cattle we brought in with us
went back to the Missouri river the same season, and they got through about
three weeks before we did, for we had to stay back and help our horses. When we
struck the Platte river on our return, we found that there was no substance in
the grass; the frost had killed it. But in the spring, when cattle go down from
here, the grass is fresh and good, and the cattle get fat; and then on their
return they get into the "bunch-grass country" before the frost
comes, and you know bunch-grass is good all the year round. I want to see the
people go into this business forthwith.
I cannot
do much, but I have had it in my heart ever since I have been in this Church to
do some good, not only to myself but to this people; and I want to honour this
Priesthood, and to see the day when this people will circumscribe and
circumnavigate the whole world; and I want to see the kingdom of God govern and
rule the world, and this I will see with mine eyes, if I am faithful; and if I
am not faithful, I shall be sure to see it, and that to my sorrow.
I desire
to be humble and faithful; but I am like you—I have my weaknesses to contend
with. We seem as if we must have something to excite us to good works—to
encourage us to press forward in the good work of our Heavenly Father; and I
consider we have everything to encourage us to do good—to practise virtue and
righteousness.
Brethren,
I feel to bless you with the blessings of Almighty God, that the Spirit of God
may run through your bones like blood running through your veins, to cheer up
your hearts. And I ask my Heavenly Father to bless you; and he will do it, if
you be faithful and diligent. He will bless the virtuous, the upright, and those
that honour their calling, and that honour this Church; and he will honour me
for ever, so long as I do right and honour the Priesthood; and he will honour
my wives, my sons, and daughters, if they will honour themselves; and I will
honour them. The men who honour this Church, and try to promote its interests,
God will bless; and if they honour God, they never will take a course to crush
their brethren: they will honour their Presidents, whether they be Apostles;
High Priests, or Elders.
Uncle
John Young is a Patriarch in the Church of God, which office he received
honourably, for he is an heir to it through his father; and he may bless all
the people with the blessings of the heavens and of the earth, and they will
only get what they live for. This is the promise of God to his Saints.
The
Spirit of the Lord giveth line upon line and precept upon precept, here a
little and there a little for the comfort of the Saints. These are given to you
to improve upon. I feel this spirit of improvement, and desire to advance and
see my brethren advance in the things of God.
I pray
God to bless you all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith bore testimony to the truth of the gospel he had received, and spoke of the great pleasure he felt in being able to meet with the brethren and sisters once more, after having been deprived of that privilege for over thirteen months, through lameness. Observed that if we are in the path of duty, we shall continually have the Spirit of the Lord to assist us to bear record of what is taught to us by the First Presidency of the Church; but if our minds are set upon earthly things we become darkened in our vision; reviewed the labors of the Saints in this Territory, since their first settlement here; he testified to the revelation of the fulness of the gospel, and the visible manifestation of the power of God in the affairs of this people; said that if the Saints will be faithful they will have a lamp to guide them in the ways of life.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 10:257, 10/17/60,
p 1; JD 8:253]
REMARKS
By GEORGE A. SMITH Tabernacle, October 6, 1860
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
It is
about thirteen months since I had the privilege of rising and speaking in your
midst. It is therefore with a heart filled with thankfulness to our Heavenly
Father that I now enjoy the privilege of bearing my testimony on the present
occasion of the things which pertain to the kingdom of the Most High. In his
kind providence we are enjoying a great multitude of blessings.
The
testimony which has been given to us this morning of the power and
manifestations of the Spirit of God in the midst of Israel is calculated to
make us rejoice. The Lord speaks unto us in his own way, and after his own
manner, and in our language, and after our understanding, and the light of his
Spirit which shineth in our minds, inasmuch as we will suffer it to do so; but
if our hearts are clogged with the things of this world—if our souls are
suffered to become enamoured of the earth and the objects that are sought after
by the wicked world, we lose the Spirit of the Lord, and by that means do not
understand when we are taught and instructed in the way of life.
The
object of obtaining wealth and the desire to handle or control a considerable
portion of this world's goods have blinded the eyes of many Elders, and caused
them to go astray in the ways of extravagance and folly. It has decoyed them
from the path of virtue, and by that means they have become totally estrayed
from the path of truth. If we can keep in view the one great principle, to
build up the kingdom of God, proclaim the fulness of the everlasting Gospel, to
labour for the sustenance of Zion, make that our first, our great, our only
object, and fear not for the earthly things we may need, we shall have the
Spirit of the Almighty to enlighten our minds and guide our feet in the true
path.
When the
Presidency bear their testimony to us, our spirits will then meet with theirs,
and we shall feel and enjoy the truth of the principles they proclaim to us.
But while our minds become concentrated upon earthly objects, we are dark, and
we begin to think we know better than other people; we begin to feel that we
can do something independently of God or his servants.
I will
relate an instance that occurred in 1849. I was talking with one of the
brethren who had been many years in the Church. He told me he wanted to situate
himself so that he could leave his family and be prepared to go preaching. I
said, "Are you not pretty well situated now you have a large farm, plenty
of cattle, and other property, and your family are able to take care of
themselves?" He said he did not feel as though he had ready means enough
to go. "I want to get myself in condition so that I can leave home; and in
order to do it, I have determined to go to California; and I think in the
course of five or six months I can there raise ten thousand dollars, and on
that means I can go to the .southern part of California, buy 1,000 head of
horses, and bring them to Salt Lake, and next year sell them for one or two
hundred dollars each. With that means in my hands I shall be able to leave my
family and go preaching." That was the design he laid out. I may say the
plan was very tempting: he went to California, but the tremendous' results
anticipated were never realized. There are a great many men in the midst of
Zion that have lost their power and ability to perform those works they seem to
wish to perform by endeavouring to take a wild goose chase to place themselves
in possession of wealth on their own responsibility. The circumstances which
have transpired in our midst for the last few years have been calculated to try
many men.
In
reviewing the history of ourselves as a people, we have encountered many things
which have been calculated to try some men. They have been compelled many times
to submit to the most cruel exactions—seeing their friends murdered, their families
driven from their possessions, and yet bearing up under it splendidly. They
have had to pioneer into the midst of a barren and hitherto unknown desert,
make settlements, rear their families in the midst of want, and toil, and hear
it patiently. Yet, after a few years of prosperity, you will see those very
men, when they become better situated, surrounded with the blessings and
comforts of life,—they begin to feel as though they were not doing quite well
enough, and their thoughts begin to wander like the fool's eye to the ends of
the earth. In some instances the scenes of the last few years have caused them
to turn again, as President Kimball expressed it, like the hog to the mire
after he had been cleanly washed.
It puts
me in mind of a compliment paid to Queen Elizabeth by an English farmer. Her
Majesty was out on a ride, and was caught in a storm. The farmer was very much
rejoiced that the Queen had called upon him, and she was pleased with his rough
hospitality. Being just after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, he complimented
her on the success of her arms by saying—"The King of Spain got the wrong
sow by the ear when he made war with your Majesty." The Queen was much
amused at this vulgar comparison.
Though,
really, the dream related by brother Kimball, describing the multitude of hogs
that were in the city, was so perfectly illustrated at the time the town was so
tremendously full of soldiers, teamsters, gamblers, and camp-followers, and
they floated off so suddenly, that it could almost be said it was dreamed
awake. That is the best way to dream: a man can many times dream wide awake
straigher than when asleep.
I
remember once (when in Zion's camp,) I was very thirsty, hungry, and tired,
that I dreamed when I was walking on the road I could see a loaf of bread, a
bottle of milk, and a spring of water. It was one of the pleasantest dreams in
the world, and I dreamed it while walking along the road. At the same time a
great many dreams, as men consider, are no more nor less than open vision, and
a great many dreams are the result, perhaps, of fatigue—of over-exercise—of
over-eating before retiring to rest, or some other cause.
When a
man's mind is illuminated by a dream, it leaves a vivid and pleasant impression:
when it may be guided by the Spirit of God, it leaves the mind happy and
comfortable, and the understanding clear.
I have
regretted, for the past year, that I have not been permitted to speak to you,
that my testimony to the truth might be heard in the midst of Israel, and in
this city particularly. It was owing simply to an accident which lamed me in
such a manner that I could not walk about—could not stand up, though after a
while I got so much better that I could ride. I have rode about the Territory,
and talked to the brethren in the settlements, generally sitting down; and many
of them heard my testimony, which is the same as it has been for the last
twenty-eight years—a testimony to the truth of the revelation of the fulness of
the Gospel to the Saints in these last days. It is the work of the Lord, and
the hand of God is visible in everything that is passing before us; his hand
and power have been over us. He has shielded us from the political machinations
of evil-designing men, and preserved us from the wrath of our enemies. He has
given wisdom to our President to guide, to counsel, to direct us; and if ever
revelation guided a people on the face of this earth, this people has been
guided by special revelation ever since we came into these valleys. The power
of the Almighty has been with us, his hand has been over us here, his wisdom
has directed us, his inspiring Spirit has been on our Presidency, his revealed
will has been given from, the lips of him God has given to lead us. Fear not to
do right ourselves, and let us be fully aware of our own follies and weaknesses
and corruptions, and listen to the watch-men of Zion, and we shall overcome and
inherit the blessings of glory. We shall rise above our enemies, light and
truth will shine upon us, peace will be on our path and the lamp of life that
will guide us to eternal glory.
This is
my testimony. You have it as I feel and realize it and know it, for these
things are of God. And may his blessings attend us, is my prayer, in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young expressed himself very thankful for the favorable circumstances that surround the Latter Day Saints at the present time; spoke of the wisdom, ability and talent that we see displayed among the children of men, and observed, that all they possess is the gift of God to them, although they do not appreciate those things as from the Almighty. He said that he had frequently been much pleased and gratified in hearing the Elders speak, in observing their manner of communication, feeling and testing their spirits, and learning what was in them. When the sound of this gospel goes to the nations, it carries conviction to the hearts of the people. In alluding to the travels of the Saints in these days, he remarked: We have been driven, and thank God, for the last time. We are here, and this is where the Lord wants us to be. Men who have within them that living testimony of the Holy Ghost, obtained through obedience, lose it when they deny the faith, but it is our duty to keep that constantly within us, to be able at all times to give a reason for our faith and hope. Gave an important lecture to the Bishops relative to their respective duties; related some circumstances that transpired in Nauvoo, with the Temple Committee, that every man seemed to look to his own interest instead of looking to the interests of the kingdom of God, which he contended was the first duty with every true Saint.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:257, 10/17/60, p 1; JD 8:315]
REMARKS
By President Brigham Young, Tabernacle, a.m., October 6,
1860
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I feel
quite thankful for the comfortable circumstances we enjoy—for our blessings,
spiritually and temporally, which I realize to be the free gift of our Father and
God. All the wisdom, ability, and talent displayed among the children of men
are the gift of God to them. He has given us ability to make ourselves
comfortable and happy, for which I am extremely thankful.
I am
happy in hearing the voices of the brethren, and would be very much gratified
if we had time, and it would meet the minds of the brethren, to give them an
opportunity to speak as the Spirit might dictate, and bear their testimony. It
has been a source of comfort to me to hear the speeches of my brethren, and to
observe the variety of capacity, of reflection, and manner of communication
displayed by them. I should be very glad if we could have the privilege of
hearing many of them speak during this Conference. Whether we shall or not, I
am not now able to say. Our Conference commences to-day. To-morrow is the
Sabbath, and probably many who have come from the country will wish to return
home on Monday. Whether we shall continue our Conference longer than to-morrow,
I do not know. We shall continue it until we finish the business to be
transacted and fully answer our feelings, and then we will close. I wish to
present several ideas; but I have been more edified in hearing the music in
brother Kimball's remarks this morning than I would have been in speaking
myself.
When the
authorities of the Church are present, if we are possessed of the true spirit,
we are ready to sustain the faithful, and to wish them to continue in the
faithful discharge of their duties. And the brethren who rise to testify of the
things of God, if they enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, know that
"Mormonism" is true. No person can receive a knowledge of this work,
except by the power of revelation.
All the
world are ready to tell you that this work is not of God. Kings, princes, dukes,
lords, and other great men of the earth are all combined in this testimony. Why
do they fear this work, if it is the work of men? The very sound of it carries
conviction to all the inhabitants of the earth—a conviction that it is ordained
of God. Were this not so, you would not see it contended against by the priests
in the pulpit, who are bitter against it, and are most vigilant in circulating
all manner of falsehood concerning it, picking up the sayings of corrupt,
debased, abandoned characters to swell their catalogue of lies against it,
which they publish throughout the world. All this would sleep, if this work was
not of God. They would never think enough of it to say one word about it. But
they are pricked by the conviction of its truth when they hear the sound of it.
When false reports go out against Joseph Smith and his brethren, against the
Book of Mormon, and the kingdom of God, a conviction goes with them to the
hearts of the people that this is the work of the Almighty. Were this not so,
we should not have been persecuted—we should not have been driven as we have
been. But we have been driven for the last time, thank God my heavenly Father.
But our persecutions are a subject that I do not wish to speak about. We have
the power in our own hands, if we live with our lives hid with Christ in God.
We are here where the the Lord wants us to be; and if we will be as he wants us
to be, the kingdom is ours—the greatness, the glory, power, excellency, light,
intelligence, and eternity of the kingdom of God are ours, and no power can
hinder it.
When men
lose the spirit of the work in which we are engaged, they become infidel in
their feelings. They say that they do not know whether the Bible is true,
whether the Book of Mormon is true, nor about new revelations, nor whether
there is a God or not. When they lose the spirit of this work, they lose the
knowledge of the things of God in time and in eternity; all are lost to them.
Contemplate the things of God and his kingdom, this earth, man in his present
condition, and you may clearly comprehend that we are now in the midst of
eternity. When we preach, or pray, or exhort each other to good works, if we
could realize it, we are in the midst of the kingdom of God, and his
all-searching eye is here. You may readily comprehend this; for, when I look at
you as you are now assembled, I can see several hundred faces at once. Now,
suppose that I had power to see as the Spirit sees, I could then look through
the earth and see our antipodes as well as I can look through what some term
empty space. My eyes would be eternal, and I could see the vast eternities of
God as I can now see your faces. God sees us; and if we had eyes like his, we
could behold him as we sit here as easily as we can now see each other's
faces,—no matter where he dwells, whether in Kolob or anywhere else; for his
glory and light fill the sun, and we could behold it as we now behold each
other's faces. God has the power to look at his vast works; and if we had power
and eyes like his, we could behold him as he does us. He is in the midst of
eternity. His kingdom is here, a portion of his glory is here, eternity is
here, and we are in the midst of them. Let us live worthy of them, and not
dishonour our being upon the earth.
There are
many of the Bishops here to-day, and my advice to them is for them to be honest
with me, to be honest with their God, to keep their covenants sacred, and to
make a clean breast of all their business transactions, that their consciences
may be void of offense towards God and man. I am not searching only the course
of the Twelve, or that of the High Priests and Seventies, but I am searching
after all the authorities whose conduct is not in accordance with the best
interests of the Church; and from this time forth, if they do not do different
from what many have done, they shall do wrong knowingly, with their eyes open.
I want the Bishops to remember the counsel I have given them. I shall learn
whether they are strictly honest or not; and if they are not honest, I will
expose them. If they come out and own things as they are, and honestly prove
that their past errors have proceeded from the head, and not from the heart,
they can be placed upon the right track and magnify their calling. Some may not
understand the cause of these remarks concerning the Bishops, and I will
explain. For instance, when tithing-chickens, butter, &c., are brought in,
a Bishop says to his clerk—"You need not trouble to take an account of
these chickens; my wife will keep an account of them;" and the Bishop's
wife takes the chickens, the ham, the butter, the cheese, &c., and puts
them away; and when the clerk wants to know what has been brought in by such a
brother, "O never mind," says the Bishop; "my wife will give an
account of it;" and the wife forgets it. "Are such things done?"
Yes, more or less, all the time. This example was set long ago, and some of the
Bishops have followed it.
At the
death of Joseph, when the Twelve returned to Nauvoo, to use a comparison, the
horses were all harnessed and the people were in the big carriage, and where
were they going? They did not know. Who would gather up the lines and guide the
team? No man would step forward, until I did. There was not one of the Twelve
with me when I went to meet Sidney Rigdon on the meeting-ground. I went alone,
and was ready alone to face and drive the dogs from the flock. When I got hold
of the lines, and began to direct the team, I found tithing-butter spoiled,
potatoes rotted in the cellars, and pork spoiled in the barrels, while the brethren
at work on the Temple would come to their labour without breakfast, and pork,
butter, beef, &c., rotting under the feet of the Temple Committee. Said I,
"Empty these barrels, or I will walk into your cellars and empty them for
you: let these workmen have something to eat." "Oh," said the
committee, "we are afraid there will not be enough to last a year."
Then, if we starve, we starve together; and if we live, we live together. I
ordered the wheat, the pork, the butter, &c., to be issued to the workmen. Too
many of the Bishops here have taken pattern from those who have gone before. I
have been to Bishops' houses when they had hams and eggs during months in the
year, while our hands on the works were not able to get one; for the Bishops
had eaten all the hams, every egg and chicken, and all the butter. I will trace
out those who conduct in this manner and expose them, unless they honestly
report their transactions and strive to do right. Brethren, you may think that
I am a little extravagant in my talk; but time will prove.
When a
good, handsome cow has been turned in on tithing, she has been smuggled, and an
old three-titted cow—one that would kick the tobacco out of the mouth of a man
who went to milk her—would be turned into the General Tithing Office, instead
of the good cow. If one hundred dollars in cash are paid into the hands of a
Bishop, in many instances he will smuggle it, and turn into the General
Tithing-Office old, ring-boned, spavined horses, instead of the money. I am
inquiring after such conduct, and will continue until I cleanse the inside of
the platter.
Brother
Heber has been speaking about discipline. Elders in Israel, I am as willing and
ready to be closely examined and scanned as I am to examine and scan you. Walk
into my office, examine my books, and scan every act of my life. I am as ready
to have it done as I am to search into your practices. You may say that you
have not been dishonest, or, if you have been, that you were ignorantly so. I
am glad, if such statements will prove to be correct. I never saw the day in
this Church that I could consider it honest to take one cent of tithing and
turn it out of its legitimate channel; but some of our smart men do not know as
much as that, though they would seem to know more of the great things of the
kingdom than I do. I want to instruct you in the little things. It is the
little foxes that spoil the vine; it is the little acts of men that make up the
sum of their lives and form their characters for eternity.
Some may
think that I am rather too severe; but if you had the Prophet Joseph to deal
with, you would think that I am quite mild. There are many here that are
acquainted with brother Joseph's manner. He would not bear the usage I have
borne, and would appear as though he would tear down all the houses in the
city, and tear up trees by the roots, if men conducted to him in the way they
have to me.
I am
required by those who sit here to-day and by the whole Church to bear off this
kingdom, to see that it is preserved inviolate, and that the Priesthood is
honoured; but it seems, on the right hand and on the left, as though there is a
concerted plan among nearly all the Elders and High Priests to keep every dime
of money out of my hands, make me pay the debts of the Church, do the work, and
they keep the means and use it for their own purposes. The ancient Apostles and
ministers of Christ could not live without eating. They had to eat, drink, and
wear,—to have sustenance while on earth. So do I, though I do not require the
rich luxuries of life. I am not so fond as many are of high living, but I have
to eat and rest. And when a Church debt comes from England, New York, Missouri,
St. Louis, or elsewhere, the money has to be paid. I cannot chew paper and spit
out bank-bills that will pass in payment of those debts, neither shall I
undertake to do it. I want the gold and silver that are paid on tithing, and
the identical horses, cows, and young stock that are brought in on tithing; or,
if stock and other products are retained, give us better than what you keep,
and not keep the good and give us the bad. Neither do I wish a person owing
tithing to offer an old hipped horse at forty dollars, and ask me to pay him
twenty dollars in cash and let the balance go to pay tithing, when the old
animal is not worth ten dollars.
Pour
means into the storehouse of the Lord, and prove him, and see whether he will
not pour out greater blessings than you can contain. You have not room enough
this year in which to store the abundance of grain the Lord has given you: you
have to store it in wagon-boxes, &c., and much of it goes to waste, and the
people are not blessed for it. You ought to carefully save every kernel. As for
prophesying that a famine will come upon you, I shall not do so. Should it
come, we will do the best we can. We have had a light famine here, and dealt
out provisions to the brethren as long as we could, and got along very well.
May God
bless you! Amen.
President B. Young pronounced the benediction, and the conference adjourned till 2 o'clock.
_____
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 10:253, 10/10/60, p5]
2 P. M.
Choir sung, "Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth."
Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young gave a brief account of the Church train that has come across the plains this year, in charge of Elder Joseph W. Young; he would like to have enough wagons go to the frontiers to bring all the Saints who wish to come here, and it can easily be done, if the people will send back their teams, as some few have done this year. Briefly referred to the travels of Zion's Camp, how that they traveled over 2,000 miles in three months; enlarged upon the facilities for gathering the poor, by sending teams from this place to the Missouri river in the spring, loading up and returning in the same season.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:258, 10/17/60, p 2; JD 8:192]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, p.m., Oct 6, 1860
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
Last
spring we called upon some of the Bishops to furnish a few teams to go to the
Missouri river and back this season, to prove to the people a fact that several
of us were convinced did exist. We obtained twenty teams from the Wards; I also
sent a few, and they have successfully performed the journey to Florence, N.T.,
and back, under the charge of Elder Joseph W. Young. Bishop Woolley also went
down with some mule and ox teams, and returned with the ox train. I want to
hear them both speak this afternoon on the subject of freighting with teams
sent from here.
The
handcart system has been pretty well tried; and if a handcart company start in
proper season, and manage properly, I will venture to say the most of them can
come in that way more pleasantly than they generally come with wagons. But
drawing their provisions, &c., is a hard task, and it would be more
satisfactory, if we could manage it, to bring in wagons the freight and those
who are unable to walk.
In 1834,
a company of us were called upon to go to Missouri, and in that trip the labour
of walking, so far as we averaged in a day, was very fatiguing. A great many of
that company walked, and we cooked by the way as much as do those who travel
across the Plains, and we carried a greater weight than is generally carried by
those who walk from the Missouri river to this city. This I know, for I was one
of those who walked the whole distance. In less than three months I walked two
thousand miles, as far as to Florence and back; and others of the company did
the same. And instead of having a healthy climate to walk in, we passed through
one of the most deathly and sickly climates in the United States, which proved
to me that most people can walk, if they will try.
We now
contemplate trying another plan. If we can go with our teams to the Missouri
river and back in one season, and bring the poor, their provisions, &c., it
will save about half of the cash we now expend in bringing the Saints to this
point from Europe. It now costs in cash nearly as much for their teams, wagons,
handcarts, cooking utensils, provisions, &c, for their journey across the
Plains, as it does to transport them to the frontiers. We can raise cattle
without an outlay of money, and use them in transporting the Saints from the
frontiers, and such freight as we may require. Brethren and sisters, save your
fives, tens, fifties, a hundred dollars, or as much as you can, until next
spring, (considering yourselves, as it were, a thousand miles from a store,)
and send your money, your cattle, and wagons to the States, and buy your goods
and freight them. Twenty dollars expended in this way will do you as much good
as several times that amount paid to the stores here.
If we can
convince the brethren that it is a successful operation, we shall endeavour to
engage in it largely next year. We wish to send two or three hundred wagons,
with two or three yokes of cattle to a light Chicago wagon. If you have not the
wagons, you can send the money and buy them. In this way, where we could
emigrate a hundred from Liverpool to this place by the old method, we can
emigrate some two hundred by going to the frontiers and bringing them. This
will facilitate, by almost half, the gathering of the Saints, and at the same
time enable us to procure, at cheap rates, such articles as we do not produce.
I wish the brethren to grasp in their faith the facts that will be presented,
and believe that we can do all that we can, and then be ready to do it. We have
plenty of cattle and can send them, and they will perform the journey as well
as horses or mules, with far less risk of their being stolen on the Plains.
I wish
the Bishops to improve upon the counsel I gave them this morning, receiving it
as kindly as it was given; for we only desire to turn the current of our
business transactions into the channel that will most conduce to the welfare of
the Saints. I also want them to present to their Wards the plan of sending
teams to the frontier; and I want the men who think and write to send to the
Editor of the Deseret News articles about sending teams to the States to
bring our poor brethren and our freight, and to take out and bring back our
Missionaries.
Last
spring our Elders went down with the trains at a saving of some two thousands
dollars in cash, and on reaching the frontier were prepared to go on their way
rejoicing. And when they return, I anticipate the honour of our teams bringing
them back as poor as they went—that they will not return as merchants; for if
they do, from this time forth, the curse of God will rest upon them, and they
will lose the spirit of their religion and apostatize. I want them to respect
their missions, themselves their brethren, their religion, and our God, as to
return poor in regard to gold, silver, &c., but rich in gathering the souls
of the children of men to this place, where we can chasten them and prove
whether they are Saints or not, and where the Lord will have the privilege of
proving them either to be Saints or unworthy of the kingdom.
I will
now call upon brother E. D. Woolley to preach a sermon about ox-trains going to
the States.
God bless
you! Amen.
[Bishop Edwin D. Woolley]
Bishop Edwin D. Woolley referred to his trip to the States; complimented Elder Cannon for his good management of the emigration. He was very grateful for having been preserved on his journey. Alluded to his visit to St. Louis, and other cities in the States. Admonished the Saints to keep their covenants, and to be diligent in all things.
[Elder Joseph W. Young]
Elder Joseph W. Young gave an interesting lecture on the science of ox-team-ology, explaining the art of preserving cattle upon the plains, and making them perform two trips across the plains in one season. He was glad to be at home again, in the society of his friends and brethren, and prayed that the people might be faithful in the performance of all their duties as children of the Most High.
Choir sung, "Rejoice ye servants of our God."
_____
[7 Oct, 10am]
[DNW 10:253, 10/10/60, p5]
BOWERY, SUNDAY,Oct. 7, 10 A. M.
Choir sung, "All praise to our redeeming Lord."
Prayer was offered by President Joseph Young
Choir sung, "Arise O glorious Zion."
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde said the testimony of the servants of God is destined to search the hearts of the people wherever it goes; bore testimony to the truth of the work of God, and gave an interesting account of the revelation given in Hyde Park Branch relative to the re-organization of the First Presidency, and remarked that the revelation was given some time before the subject was named in public, making the organization of the First Presidency Vox dei vox populi. Asked the question, who does not know that the voice of President Young is the voice of God? Whatever is spoken by the Spirit of the Lord is scripture, as much as that which has been written. Referred to a revelation which the Lord gave 27 years ago last December, speaking of the division of the American government, and specifying the place where it should commence, and commented upon this revelation at some length, adverting in a particular manner to the Democratic party having been broken to pieces at the late Charleston Convention. Quoted the texts: "Out of Egypt have I called my son." "Whosoever falleth upon this stone shall be broken to pieces." Said the Lord will visit the United State with famine, tornadoes and a thousand plagues that it has not entered into the heart of man to think of, and testified that all the words of the Lord will be fulfilled, whether spoken by his own voice, or by the voice of his servants.
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 10:266, 10/24/60, p 2; JD 8:232, MS 22:801]
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT
Feeling
thankful for the opportunity of meeting with you, this morning, in the capacity
of our Semi-Annual Conference, I cannot but express my gratitude to God
that I am a member of that Church which is everywhere spoken against, even the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am thankful to God, my Heavenly
Father, that he has revealed the everlasting Gospel in its fulness, and made
me, as well as many of you, the honoured instruments to proclaim it to all
nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, where-ever our lots may be cast.
Of all
people upon the face of the whole earth, none have so great reason to be
thankful as we. We are brought into the school of Christ to be instructed in
the laws, spirit, and policy of his kingdom.
Many of
you will bear in mind that at our last Conference, six months ago, many of the
speakers bore powerful testimony to the truth and certainty of the cause in
which we are engaged; and you will also recollect that I told you then that
that testimony would seriously affect all nations and people that it would be
felt throughout the entire world—that it would be borne by an invisible hand,
and its influence, like the frosts of autumn, blight the growing and
flourishing prospects of all political and worldly schemes and enterprises.
Contemplate now, through the glass of the public newspapers and journals, the
condition of the nations of Europe, of Asia, and of America! Our own favoured
land is in commotion. The political elements arc heavily charged with electricity,
and the louring storm-clouds are gathering in our horizon, threatening to
avenge the blood of martyred Prophets and Apostles, and the inhumanity and
cruelty practised upon the Saints of God. None of those things are forgotten.
They are written with imperishable characters in the memory of this people, and
their cries and their prayers have transmitted them to the sacred records
above, to be answered in their behalf by storms, by tempests, by whirlwinds, by
earthquakes, by famines, by the sword, and also by flames of devouring fire.
The
testimony of the servants of God, before alluded to, forcibly reminds me of a
certain class of men spoken of in the Revelations of St. John, who overcame by
the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. When our testimony
goes forth from this stand, we cannot always tell exactly where it may take
effect; but we know that it will not return void. It must fall somewhere. It is
like the seeds of plants and flowers, which are often carried high in the air and
wafted on the breeze to a remote distance; yet the laws of gravity will
ultimately compel them to a resting-place, where their effects may be seen.
For me to
testify to you that "Mormonism" is true—to declare its destiny and
final triumph—would be like telling you that the sun shines. It is something
that you see, and consequently know; yet it is not at all likely that the sun
now shines in the eyes of all people. Hence I volunteer my testimony. You may
regard it in the light of a ship-of-war taking in her shot and shells at a home
port, that are designed to batter down an enemy's walls on a foreign shore.
What is
called "Mormonism" by the world is the fulness of the everlasting
Gospel—the truth of God—the only way of salvation for all people to whom it is
made known or in any way declared, and destined to rule the world. While on
this branch of my subject, allow me to introduce a testimony given me, not long
since, under other and peculiar circumstances. Hear it, all ye people!
"Mormonism will win its way through the world, and triumph in the face of
any and all opposition. There is a God that never sleeps, an eye that never
slumbers, and an arm that never becomes feeble. This God is our God, and
through our agency he has decreed the triumph of his cause. 'Fear, not little
flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.' There is no
man on earth, no people on earth, no nation on earth, no kindred or tongue on
earth, or the whole combined, that raises the hand or voice against the kingdom
of God or its policy as now established, but that will be rejected of God,
dishonoured of men, and go to ruin with the wrath of Heaven upon them."
Having
the spirit of our calling, we wax bold in our testimony. When a few more
Conferences shall have been held by this people, compare the coming history of
nations with this my testimony, and you will be satisfied that I now tell you
the truth.
The
liberty of the Gospel, with your indulgence, will allow me to give some
political matters a passing and respectful notice. I am no politician, and it
cannot be expected that I shall treat such subjects as Messrs. Douglas, Bell,
Breckenridge, or Lincoln would. In such matters they are workmen. I am but a
bungler; yet in times of general election, when political speeches are flaming
all around, it is not to be wondered at that even a novice should attempt to
fire up a little on the importance of the times.
First and
foremost, I will briefly allude to some aspirants to office and honours in the
Church of which we are members. There have been aspirants to the Presidency of
this Church ever since the death of Joseph Smith, and even before. It may be
regarded as lost time to allude to these things at all by which any portion of
the day is consumed. But, brethren, bear with me. I have read the writings of
every aspirant to the presiding Priesthood in this Church since the days of
Joseph. I have marked their cold, dry, technical, husky, and spiritless
reasonings from the Book of Mormon, from the Doctrine and Covenants, Bible,
&c., quite voluminous, resembling the bile ejected from a disordered
stomach. I have never discovered one burst of the Spirit of God in all their
claims or publications.
Who has
ever read Brigham Young's writings in which he has laboured to establish his
right and claim to the Presidency of the Church? No one. God pleads his own
cause through Brigham, because he obeys him; but man has to plead the cause of
man who is sordid, illiberal, murmuring, and corrupt.
In the
month of February, 1848, the Twelve Apostles met at Hyde Park, Pottawattamie
County, Iowa, where a small Branch of the Church was established; and I must
say that I feel not a little proud of the circumstance, and also very thankful,
on account of its happening in my own little retired and sequestered hamlet,
bearing my own name. We were in prayer and council, communing together; and
what took place on that occasion? The voice of God came from on high, and spake
to the Council. Every latent feeling was aroused, and every heart melted. What
did it say unto us? "Let my servant Brigham step forth and receive the
full power of the presiding Priesthood in my Church and kingdom." This was
the voice of the Almighty unto us at Council Bluffs, before I removed to what
was called Kanesville. It has been said by some that Brigham was appointed by
the people, and not by the voice of God. I do not know that this testimony has
often, if ever, been given to the masses of the people before; but I am one
that was present, and there are others here that were also present on that
occasion, and did hear and feel the voice from heaven, and we were filled with
the power of God. This is my testimony; these are my declarations unto the
Saints—unto the members of the kingdom of God in the last days, and to all
people.
We said
nothing about the matter in those times, but kept it still. [After seating
myself in the stand, I was reminded of one circumstance that occurred, which I
omitted in my discourse. Men, women, and children came running together where
we were, and asked us what was the matter. They said that their houses shook,
and the ground trembled, and they did not know but that there was an
earthquake. We told them that there was nothing the matter—not to be alarmed;
the Lord was only whispering to us a little, and that he was probably not very
far off. We felt no shaking of the earth or of the house, but were filled with
the exceeding power and goodness of God.] We knew and realized that we had the
testimony of God within us. On the 6th day of April following, at our Annual
Conference, held in the Log Tabernacle at Kanesville, the propriety of choosing
a man to preside over the Church was investigated. In a very few minutes it was
agreed to, and Brigham Young was chosen to fill that place without a dissenting
voice, the people not knowing that there had been any revelation touching the
matter. They ignorantly seconded the voice of the Lord from on high in his
appointment. (Voice from the stand: "That is Vox Dei, vox
populi.") Yes, the voice of God was the voice of the people. Brigham
went right ahead, silently, to do the work of the Lord, and to feed his sheep,
and take care of them like a faithful shepherd, leaving all vain aspirants to
quarrel and contend about lineal descent, right, power, and authority.
Some
persons say that Brigham does not give revelations as did Joseph Smith. But let
me tell you, that Brigham's voice has been the voice of God from the time he
was chosen to preside, and even before. Who that has heard him speak, or that
has read his testimonies, or that is acquainted with his instructions, does not
know that God is with him? Who does not know, Jew or Gentile, that has come in
contact with his policy, that he possesses a power with which they are unable
to compete. He possesses skill, wisdom, and power that trouble wise men and
rulers. God will make him a greater terror to nations than he ever has been.
I will
now quote a few passages from the revelations of God as contained in the Book
of Doctrine and Covenants:—"My words shall all be fulfilled, whether by
mine own voice out of the heavens, or by the voice of my servants, it is the
same." Again, concerning his servants—"Whatsoever you shall speak by
my Spirit shall be Scripture—shall be the word of the Lord, the will of the
Lord, the mind of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." Again,
from the New Testament, Jesus says, "Whosoever heareth you (whom I send)
heareth me." You men of business do not empower and send an agent to
transact business for you unless you intend to honour his words and his doings.
The law will compel you to do this. The God of heaven does not send forth his
servants upon the earth but with the fixed purpose to honour their words when
they abide in the instructions given them.
I will
now pave the way for my political manifest. Jesus says, "Whosoever falleth
upon this stone shall be broken." What stone does he refer to? The Lord
says to his disciples, "Whom say ye that I am?" Peter
answers—"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus
indicated to Peter that he had spoken truly by saying unto him, "Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona: flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but
my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." This stone or rock was the word of God revealed unto Peter.
Present revelation from God, then, is the stone or rock which our Saviour spoke
of. Any church or any people built upon this foundation cannot be
prevailed against by any power, for one obvious reason: whenever a people are
built upon this foundation and they get into trouble and difficulty, they will
ask the Lord to show them the way out; and being built upon present revelation
and in communion with God, he will tell them what to do. His wisdom is greater
than the cunning of the Devil, and consequently the gates of hell cannot
prevail against them. Any people built upon this foundation are hard to head,
though their numbers may be small. The ancient church was never overcome until
they lost this principle of present revelation. Then they were prevailed
against and fell away, because they ceased to build upon this foundation—the
stone or rock of present revelation. Solomon says"Where no vision is, the
people perish."
Many
churches are built up in the world, professedly, unto the name of Christ. But
have they present revelation? No, they have not. They despise the idea of
present revelation, and kill the Prophets that give them, and persecute the people
that believe them. Will the gates of hell prevail against such? To whom will
our Saviour say—"Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity; I know you
not"? Will it not be to those who are not built upon this rock? Now for
politics.
To send
the army to Utah was the measure and policy of a Democratic administration of
the United States Government. This Democratic administration was the only
legitimate power that could send it here. It was the official channel through
which the flood was poured in upon us. Merchants, gamblers, whoremasters,
thieves, murderers, false writers, drunkards, and, to cap the climax, a
drunken, debauched judiciary, with plenty of bayonets to enforce their decrees.
Some decent men came, most likely; yet I know not one with whom I could safely
trust the virtue of any female in their power. They came to gratify their
basest passions; and they will leave, if they leave at all, with the wrath of
God upon them, candidates for damnation. They have burned strange fire upon the
altar of God, and with strange fire such will be consumed. The Democracy of the
country fell upon this stone by the military arm of their power. Are they now
broken? Let us see.
On the
25th day of December, 1832, the Lord spoke to Joseph smith, and
said—"Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly
come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will
eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come
that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place."
The Democratic party found it necessary to call a convention of delegates to
nominate a successor to President Buchanan. No place but Charleston, South
Carolina, could be agreed upon as the place for that body to assemble in. A
most unlikely place, indeed!—entirely out of the political centre—a small town
of about twenty or twenty-five thousand white inhabitants, accommodations very
limited for such a body of men, and at a half-dozen prices. But to South
Carolina they must go; for the prophecy, twenty-seven years before, said that
the serious troubles of the land should begin at that place. The Democratic
party or administration fell upon that stone of present revelation, and,
according to our Saviour's words, they must be broken. They had to go to
Charleston to break. They did go there, and there they did break into several
pieces—split asunder. It was said by the ancient Prophet "Out of Egypt
have I called my son." Joseph and Mary took the young child by night and
fled into Egypt to elude the cruelty of Herod, and God called his son out of
Egypt. It was necessary, equally, that the Democratic party go to South
Carolina, being urged there by a silent prophetic influence; and though they
had hearts to understand, they understood it not. They had eyes to see, but
they saw it not There they broke—there the trouble began, "which will
eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls." They sent
their army to fall upon this stone—to fall upon God and upon his people and
upon their policy. They sent their corrupting influence—their demoralizing
principles and practices—among us; and God will make the nation heirs to the
penalty for all these offences. "It must needs be that offences
come," but God grant us grace that we may endure manfully to the end.
This is
my political speech to the Saints of God. Will the Democracy continue in power?
The sequel will show. They are trying to "fuse," but the iron and
miry clay will never permanently unite. But they are in the hands of God, and
they know it not; they are under his influence, but they acknowledge not his
hand.
What was
the immediate outside pressure that caused the army to come to Utah? Was it not
the multitude that wanted to speculate out of the army—out of the citizens of
the territory, traders, freighters, merchants, and sutlers, doctors, lawyers,
and devils? Anybody may answer these questions. How many have got rich at it?
How many have realized the object of their hopes and wishes in anything? God
blesseth not unrighteous designs. Is the whole train of speculators broken?
They fell upon this stone, or were ready to back those that did. Are they
broken? If they are not, they are almost. Their creditors in the East will find
this out in due time. Our gold, our virtue, and our blood is what most of them
came to traffic in, and their reward is sure. This outside pressure cannot be
confined, in truth, to the class of men alluded to. What was the voice of the
nation through their public journals, priests, and people? What the popular
clamour? Crucify Crucify him! Away with him! The "Mormons" are not
fit to live! Let the race be exterminated! With the exception of now and then a
Joseph of Arimathea, this was the popular cry. Will the nation be broken? It
has fallen upon this stone to all intents and purposes. The signs in the
heavens and upon the earth, the political feuds or factions, the seditious
tendency of the people, were never more portentous over Jerusalem, previous to
its destruction, than they are now over the United States of America. Who so
blind as not to see it?
This
picture is held up as a mirror to reflect the condition and fate of any and
every other nation or people that slays the Lord's anointed—that persecutes his
people—that sends its armies to corrupt, annoy, or lay waste the heritage of
God. I have no apologies to make. I tell you that God Almighty sits upon the
throne of his kingdom. He has decreed its onward march, and it will march
onward; and the power to stay it exists not on the earth. We were driven out
into this wilderness, and here we are. Our friends will find us here, and our
foes also. They made us cross the Mississippi pretty lively. They pressed us
and pricked us with their bayonets. Was there any mercy shown to the sick,
aged, or infirm—to women and children? No. The fever of frenzy and rage had
dried up the fountain of compassion in their hearts. We had to fly, and to what
place Heaven only knew. The timid wife, the tender daughter, the widowed mother
and her children were forced into the flat-boat like so many cattle or swine.
By casting an eye back to their once pleasant and peaceful habitations, they
could mark the lurid flame and smoke curling up to heaven from the crumbling
walls of their desolated homes. One widowed lady, while seeking her little boy
among the mob on the margin of the river, was cursed and damned because she was
not sooner aboard of the boat. When she found her child, she went aboard, and,
turning round and looking them full in the face, said to her
persecutors—"You shall yet dearly pay for all this." I dined with
that same lady not ten days since, and she told me that she should live to see
her prediction fulfilled. I said, God grant it. Jesus says—"With the same
measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again." God will not speak to
them much more by Prophets, for they have persecuted and slain them. But he
will speak unto them yet more. It will be, however, by the voice of thunder, by
the voice of lightnings, by the voice of whirlwinds, tempests, and
tornadoes,—by the voice of hail, fire, flood, and famine,—by the voice of
hostile forces in deadly combat—by the wailings of widows and orphans—by
pestilence and decrease of both man and beast. The horrors of the scenes will
be lighted up by the incendiary's torch. In this way will God make requisition
for the blood of his anointed, and for the cruelty practised upon his people.
With these arguments will God plead his cause at the nation's bar until the
builders seek the stone which they have rejected, even present revelation, and
place it at the head of the corner. This will be the Lord's doings, and it will
be marvellous in our eyes. The Supreme Creator of all, the Almighty Sovereign
of the universe will assert his rights and maintain them, and reign King of
nations as he now does King of Saints. The power that attempts to check his
designs will be ground to powder.
The
present aspirants to presidential henours in the nation appear to be in good
heart and firm in faith that they shall triumph. They seem to spare no labour
or effort; they lack no zeal, and are full of hope, full of expectation, strong
in spirit, strong in will, and strong in assurance. But the days are near at
hand when all such will be weak as water. Their voices will be feeble, their
arms palsied, their knees tremble, and they will no sooner aspire to that
station than they would to the berth of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego in the
fiery furnace. They will no sooner aspire to that summit of fame than would the
Israelites approach the crest of Mount Sinai when the thunders of heaven rolled
in awful majesty, and the lightnings flashed in forked lines as arrows from the
bow of the Almighty. At the appointed time in Heavens's will, the capstone,
long rejected, will be brought forth with shouting, crying Grace, grace unto
it! Remember the words of the Lord where he says—"All my words shall be
fulfilled: whether by mine own voice out of the heavens or by the voice of my
servants, it is the same." And again—"He that heareth whomsoever I
send, heareth me." Forget not these things.
I covet
no man's silver, gold, or apparel; neither his goods, wares, or merchandize. I
covet not the honours of this world, neither the good opinion of ungodly men;
but I do covet the Spirit of the living God. I covet grace equal to my day, and
earnestly pray God, my heavenly Father, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ,
that I may have power to honour my priesthood and calling, to bear a faithful
testimony to the truth, and by no act spot or stain the testimony which I bear.
God bless
the people and his servants, and roll on his mighty work, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said that he realized there were hundreds and thousands of Elders present, who would like to have the privilege of speaking to the people and bearing testimony to the truth; he considered the testimony borne in the morning was full of meaning, of matter and of spirit. Reasoned upon the question of authority and the necessity of having the proper credentials. The world of mankind suppose that they are persecuting us with the same effect and result as they persecuted Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Knox, and all the reformers, from the fifteenth century till now, but it is now so; they will have to pay every debt they contract with the Latter Day Saints. The Lord gave a revelation 27 years ago, in which it was stated that they would be divided in the United States, commencing just where they have. All we can do is to preach to them, plead with them, and offer them the words of eternal life. The present government will be broken - the adhesiveness has already gone from the nation, and it is fast departing from the people.
The Lord will consummate his work where he commenced it; He commenced here, the garden of Eden was upon this land, but in the floating of the Ark of Noah the Lord took the family of Noah to another land, and now he has brought back Zion to this continent, and here he will consummate his work, and come and reign with his people. Made a few remarks upon the figure of the Potter's vessel, and the parable of the ten virgins, and asked the question, where did the five foolish virgins go? Spoke of the kingdoms that are prepared for the Saints of God, and also of the different degrees of glory in store for those who know not God - who live and die and go into the spirit world without receiving the gospel in its fulness and power.
Remarked that the centre stake of Zion is Independence, Jackson county, Missouri, and that the Saints will be gathered there, and rear a temple to the Most High. The religion we profess is fulfilling the words of Jesus; it is calling the people out from the nations, causing them to leave fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives and children for the gospel's sake, and thus having their relationship in the gospel of Christ exclusively; the love that this gospel produces is the love of eternal lives, and hence it prevails over every other feeling.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:273, 10/31/60, p 1; JD 8:194]
REMARKS
By President brigham Young, Bowery, a.m. October 7, 1860]
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT
_____
You have
heard the testimony of brother Hyde: it is full of spirit, full of matter, full
of marrow. He has spoken words of truth—the words of the Lord.
There are
hundreds and thousands of Elders who would be glad to bear their testimony to
the truth. Be faithful, walk uprightly before God, deal justly with all, love
mercy, shun every appearance of evil, and magnify your Priesthood, and you
shall have the opportunity of speaking, bearing rule, dictating, guiding, and
directing, to your full satisfaction, the things that pertain to the kingdom of
God. This promise is to all who are faithful. They shall receive a fulness of
kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, and all the fulness
pertaining to the Godhead, to their full satisfaction and capability. This
should be a satisfaction to all.
At the
first impression, the testimony of one man is equally valid with that of
another; but when people are filled with understanding to discern and
comprehend the principles by which the worlds were made, and by which they are
governed and controlled, they realize that there is a vast difference between
the man who assumes his authority and the one who is appointed by his master,
to go and transact business. Suppose that a number of individuals having no
appointment, credentials, or authority, should come from any foreign country to
the capital of our nation, and pretend to be ministers of the government from
whence they came, what attention would be paid to them by our Government? None,
officially; though they would probably be treated kindly, and as gentlemen, if
they behaved themselves. But when a minister from the English or any other
European court comes with his appointment, credentials, recommends, &c.,
the President of the United States, the Congress, and officers of state are
ready to receive him with the respect due to his position. So it is in the
kingdom of God, and in regard to this people.
Our
persecutors have supposed that they persecuted us upon the the same principle
that the Reformers were persecuted in the days of Martin Luther and others; but
in this they are mistaken. Tell the world—sound it in the ears of kings and
rulers, that they are persecuting a people to whose God they will have to pay
every debt they contract: they will be brought into judgment for every act
against this kingdom. This is the kingdom of God; these are the people of God,
as are all who receive the truth and follow its principles. As to parentage, we
are no more the children of God than are the rest of the inhabitants of the
earth. Originally, as to our parents, as to our organization and that which
pertains to our life, we are all the children of one Father, whether we be Jew
or Gentile, bond or free, black or white, noble or ignoble. The difference we
see arises in consequence of the different use made of the agency given to man.
Be careful, all the world, and touch not the anointed of the Lord. Afflict not
the people who have the oracles of salvation for all the human family. Will the
world believe this statement? They can if they choose; but the great majority
of the inhabitants of the earth will reject life and salvation when it is
presented to them, and in the end it will be like the gleaning of grapes when
the vintage is done. A few here and a few there will receive the truth, and the
Lord will empty the earth of the wickedness that now dwells upon it.
As
brother Hyde has stated, the "harmonious democracy" that undertook to
destroy this people, broke in pieces in the State where the Lord, twenty-eight
years ago, on the 25th of next December, revealed to the Prophet Joseph that
the nation would begin to break. But I do not wish to make a political speech,
nor to have anything to do with the politics and parties in our Government.
They love sin, and roll it as a sweet morsel under their tongues. Had they the
power, they would dethrone Jehovah; had they the power, they would to-day
crucify every Saint there is upon the earth; they would not leave upon the
earth one alive in whose veins runs the blood of the Priesthood. Yet they are
our brethren and sisters—bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh—sprung from one
parentage. God is our Father—Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother. If the world
would understand this, and take warning, and be cautious, it would be far
better for them. Will they? No: they do not and will not realize facts as they
exist, and we cannot help it. All we can do is to plead with them, preach to
them the words of eternal life, and offer it to them as it has been offered to
us. If they receive it, blessed are they. If they reject it, it is their
privilege. The powers and faculties of their organizations are for themselves
to use as they elect; for they, as well as we, are agents before God, and can
choose or refuse according to their own pleasure. But they are broken in
pieces. Do I wish to predict this? No, for it was predicted long ago. The
nation that has lifted itself against the kingdom of God is already shivered to
pieces. Touch it, and it will crumble under your touch. The cohesiveness of its
particles is gone—they cannot cling together, and they will be sifted as with a
sieve of vanity. God's controversy with them has commenced; he has commenced
with this nation, and in its turn he will sift every nation there is upon the
face of the earth.
In the
beginning, after this earth was prepared for man, the Lord commenced his work
upon what is now called the American continent, where the Garden of Eden was
made. In the days of Noah, in the days of the floating of the ark, he took the
people to another part of the earth: the earth was divided, and there he set up
his kingdom. Did they receive his kingdom? No; they rejected it. Afterwards he
called a man, and ordained him, and showed to him the inhabitants of the whole
earth, and gave to him a promise that his offspring should be the people of
God. He spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their children, as his covenant
people. The Jews rejected Jesus Christ, who came to redeem the world. They
cried—"Crucify him, crucify him!" Let his blood be upon us and upon
our children!" God has removed the kingdom from Jerusalem again to Zion,
and here he will wind up the scene. Righteousness will go forth, and the
wickedness upon the earth will be swept from it. Will I prophesy evil? No; let
us prophesy good. But the justice and mercy of God must have their demands. Let
everything have its place and its just due, both the good and the evil; and we
will not curse the wicked, for they are already cursed; the wrath of the
Almighty does not slumber upon their track; their condition is lamentable, They
live and flourish, and may have a few days of prosperity, as the enemies of the
Prophets did anciently. They flourish like a green bay tree, and may so
flourish for a few days; but they will become withered and dried and prepared
to be cast into the fire, while the kingdom of God will stand; and if we do not
remain faithful, others will take our places.
This is
the kingdom of God, set up for the last time; and whosoever persecutes it
persecutes the Son of God and the Father who sent him. Here is the Priesthood
(the keys of power and wisdom) that unlocks the storehouse of knowledge. These
keys and this power the world know nothing of. It is marvellous to the world
that the things that are known here—the very things that God reveals here—are
often at once known by portions of this kingdom in other nations. To many it is
marvellous that intelligence can be so rapidly communicated by means of the
electromagnetic telegraph, but our method of communication is from heaven.
We know
and understand the nations of the earth, the power by which they exist, and
their rise and downfall: the facts are before us. Reflect upon those powerful
nations that have existed, but are now nationally as though they had never
been: so it will be with the nations that now exist—they will pass away, others
will come, and God will reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints. It
is a glorious thought, my brethren,—a thought that should touch the heart of
every being on the face of this earth, that God is going to reign Lord of lords
and King of kings—that he is coming to the earth again. His kingdom is growing,
and his grace is bestowed upon his children, and they are coming to
understanding and growing in grace.
It is not
pleasing to a potter, after he has a batch of clay mixed, ground, and made
smooth and pliable for working into vessels, to have an apprentice throw rough,
unbroken, unground stuff into the prepared clay; but, comparatively speaking,
we have to bear this. When we are getting the clay into fine condition, a mass
of unprepared material is mixed up with it, and it is our business to continue
to grind, to prepare the whole of the mass together. I suppose the Lord wants
to prepare all the good clay that can be found upon the face of the earth, that
when he comes he can make up his jewels. Then you who have oil in your vessels
will go and meet the Bridegroom. Are we going to be prepared? Let every soul of
us strive to be found among those who will be counted wise at his coming, for
we can go into the highways and hedges and find plenty of the foolish. Let us
try to be wise—to obey the servants and commandments of the Almighty, doing his
will continually, that we may be prepared to enter at the marriage supper.
The
scripture concerning the five wise and five foolish virgins will be fulfilled,
as will also the revelation that was given to Joseph about the nations breaking
to shivers. I wish some of the world's learned theologians would tell us what
became of the foolish virgins. Call up the wisdom and knowledge there is in
Christendom, and learn whether they can tell anything about those foolish
virgins. I have not time now to tell what became of them, but I think they did
not go to the bottom of the bottomless pit. Is it not a glorious thought that
there are kingdoms, mansions of glory, and comfortable habitations prepared for
all the sons and daughters of Adam, except the sons of perdition? All will not
have part in the first resurrection, and perhaps many will not appear in the
second; but all will be resurrected, and, except the sons of perdition, enter
kingdoms, the least of which I presume is more glorious than ever John Wesley
saw in vision. All the inhabitants of the earth will enter a glory, except the
sons of perdition, or angels to the Devil. But where will they dwell?—what
shall be their fate before they are prepared for a kingdom of glory? They will
be cast into prison, and there remain until they have paid the debt they have
contracted; wherefore it is better to make peace with the officer while in the
way with him, as Jesus has said. After they have been thrust into prison and
paid the uttermost farthing, then perhaps they will receive a life, a glory, a
kingdom that will be in accordance with their feelings, desires, and doings
while they were on the earth.
The
kingdom that this people are in pertains to the celestial kingdom; it is a
kingdom in which we can prepare to go into the presence of the Father and the
Son. Then let us live to inherit that glory. God has promised you, Jesus has
promised you, and the Apostles and Prophets of old and of our day have promised
you that you shall be rewarded according to all you can desire in righteousness
before the Lord, if you live for that reward. As Patriarch Joseph Smith, the
father of Joseph the Prophet, said—"If I have not promised blessings enough
on your head, and stated enough in the blessing I have given you, sit down and
write every good thing you can think of, and every good thing your neighbour
can think of, and put all into your blessing, and I will sign it and promise
the whole to you, if you will only live for it." But suppose a person does
not live for the promised blessings, will he receive them? No. And we say to
the Elders of Israel, Be faithful, and you shall see the day when you will have
all the power you can wield and manage to advantage. I can call Thos. B. Marsh,
who is now in the congregation, to witness: he was once the President of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Soon after the selection of that Quorum, brother
Marsh felt to complain. I said to to him, brother Thomas, if we are faithful,
we will see the day, in the midst of this people, that we will have all the
power that we shall know how to wield before God. I call him to witness if I
have not already seen that day. Look at the rest of my brethren, and have they
not all the power they can wield?
Brother
Hyde, in his remarks, spoke about the voice of God at a certain time. I could
tell many incidents relating to that circumstance, which he did not take time
to relate. We were in his house, which was some ten or twelve feet square. The
houses in the neighbourhood shook, or, if they did not, the people thought they
did, for they ran together and inquired whether there had been an earthquake.
We told them that the voice of God had reached the earth—that they need not be
afraid; it was the power of God. This and other events have transpired to
satisfy the people—you, and all who belong to the Church and kingdom of God
upon the earth.
When I
met Sidney Rigdon, east of the temple in Nauvoo, I knew then what I now know
concerning the organization of the Church, though I had told no man of it. I
revealed it to no living being, until the pioneers to this valley were
returning to Winter Quarters. Brother Wilford Woodruff was the first man I ever
spoke to about it. Said he—"It is right; I believe it, and think a great
deal of it, for it is from the Lord; the Church must be organized." It
then went to others, and from them to others; but it was no news to me, for I
understood it then as I understand it now.
The
policy of God is not the policy of man: his wisdom and power are above the
wisdom and power of man. Be faithful to your calling and magnify it. The
kingdom and the greatness thereof under the whole heaven are ours. The yoke is
broken, the fetters are burst, and the Lord Almighty will assert his right; and
his will will be done by the Saints on this the land of Zion, to purify and
cleanse it. And those who are expecting to receive the benefit and blessings of
Zion never will, but will receive the judgments of Zion, unless their hearts
are as pure as the angels. The man that is acting according to his ability, as
are the angels, must be pure and holy in heart, must not have an evil wish or
desire reigning in his mortal body, but must be sanctified through the truth to
the God of heaven. What do you think, Elders,—will any of you receive blessings
upon any other grounds? No, not one of you.
There are
a great many who profess to be still in the faith, neglecting to gather, and
waiting for the time when Zion will be redeemed. George W. Harris, whom many of
you remember, was going to wait in Kanesville until we returned. Brother George
A. Smith told him that the nearest way to the centre Stake of Zion was through
Great Salt Lake City. Harris has gone to the spirit-world, and where his circuit
will be I neither know nor care, though I am well convinced that brother George
A. Smith was right.
Where is
the centre Stake of Zion? In Jackson County, Missouri. Were I to try to prevent
you from going there, I could not do it. Can the wicked? No. Can the devils in
hell? No, they cannot. Zion will be redeemed and built up, and the Saints will
rejoice. This is the land of Zion; and who are Zion? The pure in heart are
Zion; they have Zion within them. Purify yourselves, sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts, and have the Zion of God within you, and then you will rejoice
more and more. Pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Is it not a
hard task to live this religion without enjoying the spirit of it? Such a
course worries the feelings, fills a person with sorrow and affliction, and
makes him miserable. The easiest life to live, by any mortal being on the
earth, is to live in the light of God's countenance, and have fellowship with
his Son Jesus Christ. I know this by my own experience. In this course there is
no darkness, no no sorrow, no grief. The power of the Spirit of God has
preserved me in the rigour of youth, and I am as active as a boy. How is it
with you who do not enjoy the spirit of your religion? It is a hard life for
you to live; and you had better, from this day, take a course to enjoy the
Spirit of the Lord; then you will be numbered with the wise. Let us all so live
as to have oil in our vessels, our lamps trimmed for lighting, and be ready to
go in with the Bridegroom to the marriage supper. I could tell you the meaning
of that portion of Scripture, but I have not time now.
The most
ignorant of our Elders, with the Spirit and power of God upon them, can, in
knowledge of Scripture, lead the smartest of the Gentile priests into deep
water, and dip them under, and draw them back again at their pleasure, and
confound the Scripture knowledge of the priestcraft that is on the earth.
During our return from England, brother Heber C. Kimball was beset by a number
of Baptist priests who had been attending a conference. He read them all down
out of the New Testament. Brother George A. Smith sat beside them with a pocket
Bible, and brother Heber would say—"Brother George, turn to that."
"Oh," said the priests, "you need not turn to it, for we
recollect it," when there was no such passage in the Bible. He sat for two
hours and advanced much Scripture that never was in the Bible, as did Benjamin
Franklin, when he was conversing with a man who opposed him upon the subject of
charity, and was particularly in favour of justice. "You remember the
Scripture," said Franklin, where it reads like this:—Once on a time an old
man came at eventide to Abram's tent. Abram bid him welcome, but as he entered
the tent he gave not God thanks. He said to Abram, Canst thou give me meat? And
Abram said, Thou art not a servant of God, and thou shalt not have meat. The
old man said, Let me have meat, that I may live and not die. And the voice of
the Lord came to Abram in this wise: Abram, Abram, beholdest thou this aged
servant of mine, with whom I have borne ninety-nine years, and canst thou not
bear with him one night?" When Franklin got through, the man had yielded
the point, and asked him where he read that; to which Franklin replied,
"You will find it in the 51st chapter of Genesis!" and there are only
fifty chapters in that book. Our Elders may tell the priests that there are
fifty-one chapters in Genesis, and but few of them, if any, will know that
there are only fifty. With regard to true theology, a more ignorant people
never lived than the present so-called Christian world.
Saints,
live your religion faithfully, and you will enjoy life; and when you are as old
as I am, your hair will be as bright as mine is. If I live to the first day of
next June, I shall be sixty years old, though I do not look or feel as though I
had reached that age. What preserves me? The spirit of my religion—the power of
God that is upon me and through me. I love it; it is better to me than meat and
drink—than my temporal life. Many a man will lay down his life for his
religion, but will not live it one day. Live your religion, and have no desire
but to build up the kingdom of God on the earth. The love of God is bestowed
upon this people, and what is its effect? Persons in foreign lands, for the
Gospel, for the sake of Jesus and the kingdom of God, have left fathers,
mothers, children, wives, husbands, and every other relative they had, and come
to this distant region. The Gospel will take two of a city, and, once in a
while, one of a family; it will take one here and another there. Fathers,
mothers, brothers, and sisters are no more to me than are any other persons,
unless they embrace this work. Here are my fathers, my mothers, my sisters, and
my brethren in the kingdom, and I have none outside of it, neither in any part
of the earth, nor in all the eternity of the Gods. In this kingdom are my
acquaintances, relatives, and friends,—my soul, my affections, my all.
I will
carry this idea a little further, for the sake of those who are unmarried.
Since I was baptized into this Church and kingdom, if all the female beauty had
been simmered down into one woman not in this kingdom, she would not have
appeared handsome to me; but if a person's heart is open to receive the truth,
the excellency of love and beauty is there. How is it with you, sisters? Do you
distinguish between a man of God and a man of the world? It is one of the
strangest things that happens in my existence, to think that any man or woman
can love a being that will not receive the truth of heaven. The love this
Gospel produces is far above the love of women: it is the love of God—the love
of eternity—of eternal lives.
May God
bless you! Amen.
Choir sung, "Come listen to a prophet's voice."
Benediction by Elder george A. Smith.
_____
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 10:253, 10/10/60, p5]
2 p.m.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
Choir sung, "Behold the Savior of mankind."
The sacrament was administered by Bishops Hunter, Hardy, Little, Smoot and Mc.Rae.
[Patriarch John Young]
Patriarch John Young next addressed the meeting. He dwelt at some length on the great blessings enjoyed by the Latter Day Saints; he rejoiced in the society of the people of God, and felt as willing to share with them their afflictions as he was to participate in their blessings. Reasoned upon the passage of Scripture which says, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation." He felt satified that the Saints never had such good times as they now have, and they ought to show their appreciation by their faithfulness and integrity; said the gratitude of every Saint ought to be called forth by the plentiful harvest they are reaping this season. Testified to the truth he had received, to the revelation of the fulness of the gospel, the restoration of the priesthood and the patriarchal order; prophesied that the ship Zion will move forward despite all opposition; it will ride triumphant over all its enemies, and every man and woman what wants to go with it must keep on board the old ship. Encouraged the Saints to be faithful in all their duties, and blessed them by his authoity as a Patriarch in Israel and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[President Hebere C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball bore testimony to the discourses delivered by Elder Hyde and President B. Young in the morning, and to that just preached by uncle John. He knew the power of God was in the Conference; it was exhibited in every discourse; it was manifest in every countenance, and enjoyed by every Saint. He felt to prophesy that the gospel will go forth in greater power to the nations than it has done heretofore, and eventually the Scripture will be fulfilled which saith, "A nation shall be born in a day," and if the people will wake up from their slumbers, the work of God will spread abroad and shortly commence in all nations; the power of God manifested here is felt by the Saints in the nations afar off, in as short a space of time as pain in a man's foot is felt in the head.
Made some appropriate remarks on the cares of this life, the responsibilities of the holy priesthood, and the necesssity of constantly walking in the path of rectitude and duty. counseled the people to multiply in the knowledge of God, as well as in the good things of this life; contended that whatever is spoken by the Holy Ghost is Scripture and essential to the salvation of the Saints; alluded to the power displayed in the days of Elijah, how the Almighty overturned the wicked and established his truth, and in a similar manner will he magnify his servants in the last days.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells said he had rejoiced exceedingly in the good things he had heard from the brethren since the commencement of the conference, especially that part which pertained to the practicability of sending 200 wagons and teams to the frontiers next season to gather the poor; the practical duties of the Saints always interested him. Called the attention of the brethren to the fact that the Lord's Store House is empty, and if the people feel an interest in the building of the temple next year, let them bring in their tithes and their offerings to feed the hands that are expected to be employed in this work, that those who have the supervision of the public works may not have their hands tied, as has been the case heretofore. The nations of the wicked are offended because of the interference of the Almighty in their affairs, and hence they seek to overthrow his kingdom. counseled the brethren to assist the President by their means, as well as by their prayers, to carry on the work of the Lord.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 11:249, 2/5/62, p1; JD 9:118]
REMARKS
By President DANIEL H. WELLS, Bowery, Oct. 7, 1860, p.m.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
I have
been highly gratified during this Conference in hearing the teachings which we
have heard. I felt (as I always do when hearing of the greatness and goodness
of God, and the great work in which we are engaged,) to rejoice in the
blessings of the Almighty. This Gospel is meat to my soul; it affords me
continual pleasure; I contemplate it with delight. If I had the tongue of an
angel, or of the most eloquent upon the earth it would be my delight to speak
of the goodness of God and of the work he is performing; for it appears very glorious
to me. The building up of Zion and the establishment of the kingdom of God are
to me interesting in the highest degree: the work in which we are all engaged
is a constant solace to my soul.
I was
well pleased with what I heard yesterday afternoon in regard to the ox-train
telegraph, or whatever you may choose to call it. Is this the Gospel of Jesus
Christ that I am alluding to? It is because it is in relation to the gathering
of Israel, and that which will accomplish the gathering of Israel is the salvation
of the people; and for this reason I was pleased with what I heard from the
President, and also from Bishop Woolley and Elder J. W. Young. The President
observed that he did not often make a requirement of the people without giving
a reason for it. I thought yesterday that the reasons were very good, great,
and numerous, why he should require the Saints to furnish two hundred wagons
and teams to go to the States and bring home the poor and meek of the earth.
We hear
of the great and glorious. things of the kingdom; but when we go home, do we
look about ourselves and look after the interests of the cause of our Redeemer?
Will we receive the teachings which we hear from this stand? Will we put forth
our hands to enable the President to roll forth this great work? This is for us
all to answer and act upon. Will the Bishops bring forth those wagons and
teams, three or four yoke of oxen to each wagon? If they will, we can then
accomplish much towards bringing the poor to these valleys next year. Will the
Bishops answer this call from Bishop Hunter, and he from the President? The
President is the Lord's mouthpiece, and it seems to me that; be should only
have to say to Bishop Hunter, We want two hundred wagons and teams to go to the
Missouri river, and it should be done. I feel in my heart that this will be
done. I believe the brethren will take an interest in the matter. I feel
satisfied that there is cattle enough in the country, and we can easily do
this. We only need to be united, and the work will be accomplished.
There is
another matter of vital importance for us to consider. The Lord's storehouse is
almost empty, and we should see to this, for the President says he wishes to
begin to fill up that house, that in the spring he may begin to build up the
walls of the Temple. To carry on this work, much means will be needed, and we
shall expect that the Lord's storehouse will be filled up with grain and
provisions for the sustenance of the hands that will be called to work upon the
Temple. We shall expect; this to be in the hearts of the people, and that they
will furnish the means to buy cloth, or the clothing ready made; also the
butter, eggs, cheese, beef, and all things necessary for the brethren that will
labour upon the Temple. Let us be gathering things together this fall and
winter, for these are things that are necessary to help in sustaining this
kingdom, and accomplishing and bringing about the purposes of the Lord.
It is
meat and drink to me to see the work of the Lord roll forth and prosper. I have
no doubtful feelings in regard to the glorious future of the kingdom to which
we belong, but I feel assured that all things that have been spoken concerning
it will come to pass. I have no fears in regard to the blessings promised to
the Saints, nor anything that pertains to the welfare of the kingdom of our
God. I shall get all the blessings I deserve, and in all probability a great
many more, for I have some confidence in the goodness of God, and I think that
the will not only give me all that I deserve, but a great deal more.
I feel to
be active and energetic in the discharge of the duties I have to perform, and
not let the time and opportunity pass without accomplishing those things that
are required of me. If we omit anything that we can do, it is an opportunity
let slip that will not return. In order to get a reward, we should labour to
accomplish a great deal of good, try to do more, and to increase the knowledge
of God; we should strive to increase continually and to be faithful in all
things. We are connected and bound together by a single motive—by the
principles of salvation which we have received; and why not manifest this in
the building up of the kingdom of God, and thus have an interest in all that
pertains to the faithful in Christ, till we can wield an influence in all
things that will promote the prosperity of Zion? By doing this, the nations
will feel the distant tread of Israel; the nations will know it and feel it.
Israel is on the increase, while the nations are crumbling. We can see it and
feel it.
Then let
the people take warning and make friends with their God and with the people of
God. It is for their interest to do so. We should have no fears as to the final
result. It is as the President said this morning, Zion will be built up, and
the laws thereof go forth to all people; and if we were disposed, we could not
hinder it. This is a cause of offence to many. They axe angry because we
rejoice in the things which the Lord reveals unto us. It is for this cause that
they seek to destroy us from the earth, because the Lord through us forewarns
them that he will send his destroying angels to speak to them in a way that
they cannot misunderstand.
We know
that if the people had the influence and power, they would dethrone the
Almighty and crucify Jesus again, and that without a cause; but what do we cry
to them about it? We command them to repent of their sins, and turn unto God
with all their hearts, might, mind, and strength; but they will not hearken.
Brethren,
let us be faithful and energetic in the performance of our duties; let us go
forth, conquering and to conquer. Let us draw from the elements those things
that are necessary for our support, to aid in building up the kingdom of God,
doing all things necessary temporally as well as spiritually, work
righteousness, and reject evil from our midst. If we pursue this course, those
that seek to destroy the people of our God, who seek to tread upon the wine and
the oil, will have no influence nor power; but we shall be enabled to establish
the true principles of righteousness upon the earth.
It is our
mission and duty as Saints to do all that lies in our power to build up the
kingdom of our God upon the each, to overthrow error, destroy wickedness and
iniquity. These are the purposes for which we are gathered together, and let us
be diligent therein. In our own sphere, let us act well our part as Saints of
the Most High God.
This is
my exhortation, brethren and sisters, and these are my feelings upon the
subject. While we rejoice in the great and glorious work of our Heavenly
Father, let us be active in the performance of the duties required of us.
I pray
the Almighty to give us health and strength to enable us to accomplish the work
we have before us as fast as it shalt be wisdom for us to do so, which I ask in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke of the duties and responsibilities of the Presidency of the Church, and the duties of the Saints to assist them; said the Presidency, Twelve Apostles and Elders have traveled thousands of miles to preach the Gospel, that the nations might be brought to the knowledge of the truth; reviewed the folly of men politically, religiously, physically, morally and philosophically; observed that all their systems are as corrupt as the devil wants them to be, and all their movements show their feebleness and imbecility. The people pray - Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and to accomplish this, much labor is required, and to do it completely and fully, he knew of no other way than that of implicit obedience to the truths of heaven, to the will of God made known through his servants; and here is the neuclus where the spirit, the light, the intelligence that God has revealed to man in all ages, is to be gathered together, for the perfection of the Saints and for the effectual carrying on of the ministry in the last days.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young made a few encouraging remarks, and blest the people in the name of the Lord, and all the congregation said Amen. He remarked that when the earth is sanctified and pepared for the abode of the righteous, it will be brought back into the immediate presence of the Father, and the earth will be like a Urim and Thummim.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:274, 10/31/60, p 2; JD 8:200]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Bowery, p.m., Oct. 7, 1860
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I wish
the people could realize that they walk, live, and abide in the presence of the
Almighty. The faithful shall have eyes to see as they are seen, and you shall
behold that you are in the midst of eternity and in the presence of holy
beings, and be enabled ere long to enjoy their society and presence. You are
greatly blessed. How many there are who say—" God bless you!" How
many times it is said to the Saints—"I bless you, and may the Lord bless
you!" You shall be blessed all the time. Good is poured out on the people,
and we say Amen.
The
brethren have done nobly in their contributions to the Missionary Fund, and we
expect to continue to do nobly. How much do we expect to do for the kingdom of
God? The talent, ability, and everything placed in the hands of this people
shall be devoted to his cause and kingdom on the earth, in the name of the God
of Israel. These are my feelings. As far as I have control, and as far as I
have influence in this kingdom, all within its pales shall be devoted to its
upbuilding. When Elders are called to go and preach, they go; and when we
want means we shall have it.
To morrow
morning we expect to meet you here again. When shall we meet to part no more?
Never, never; no, never. That is a curious idea, and I have not time to give
full explanations. We shall go and come; and when we are in the eternity, we
shall be on this earth, which will be brought into the immediate presence of
the Father and the Son. We shall inhabit different mansions, and worlds will
continue to be made, formed, and organized, and messengers from this earth will
be sent to others. This earth will become a celestial body—be like a sea of
glass, or like a urim and thummim; and when you wish to know anything, you can
look in this earth and see all the eternities of God. We shall make our home
here, and go on our missions as we do now, but at greater than railroad speed.
It is
time to close our meeting; and, by the power and right I have in the Priesthood
of the Son of God, I bless the Saints of latter days. Amen.
Choir sung, "Guide us O thou Great Jehovah."
Benediction by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
_____
[8 Oct, 10am*]
[DNW 10:253, 10/10/60, p5]
MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 10 A. M.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Bishop Abraham O. Smoot.
Choir sung, "O happy souls who pray."
President B. Young desired the congregation to keep as quiet as possible while the business of the conference was presented.
Elder Orson Hyde then presented the authorities of the Church as follows:
Brigham Young, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Heber C. Kimball, his first and Daniel H. Wells his second counselors;
Orson Hyde as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon as members of said Quorum;
John Smith, as Patriarch of the Church;
Joseph Young, as President of all the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood and Horace S. Eldredge as his counselors;
John Young, as President of the High Priest's Quorum, and Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors;
William Eddington, James A. Little, Samuel W. Richards, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Gilbert Clements, Edward Partridge, Franklin B. Woolley and Orson Pratt, Jun., members of the High Council;
John Nebeker, President of the Elders Quorum;
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, and Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors;
Lewis Wight, President of the Priests' Quorum, and William Whiting and Samuel Moore, his counselors;
Mc. Gee Harris, President of the Teachers' Quorum;
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacon's Quorum, and William Cook and Warren Hardy his Counselors;
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works;
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church;
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor, Heber c. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund;
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant. The foregoing quorums and authorities were all voted for separately, and each and all were unanimously sustained by the Conference.
Elder John T. Caine then read a report of the cash tithing received during the last four years, and of the cash disbursements of the Trustee in Trust during the same period.
The following named persons were then appointed Door Keepers, to preserve order in the Tabernacle and Bowery during the holding of meetings for public worship:
Israel Ivins, Albet Dewey, Andrew Burt, Hiram Mikesel, John W. Woolley, Ephraim Green, Ansel Harmon, Solon Foster, William Carter, Lewis Robbins, Robert J. Golding, William P. McIntire.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young made a few remarks on the duties and responsibilities of the Trustee in Trust. In relation to the public hands he said: "My policy is to let the men who labor hard have the beef, and those who sit in their easy chairs and do nothing, can do very well with lighter food. Said he wished to build the Temple, not for the people to meet in, but for the priesthood to meet in and receive instruction in the things of God."
Elder John T. Caine read a financial report of the Missionary Fund.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young discoursed on the subject of sending missionaries to the nations; observed that if the Elders when abroad got more money than was necessary for their immediate wants, they were henceforth expected to give it to the people, and understand that they go to the world to save the honest in heart and not to fleece them. Made some observations upon the conduct of the government officials; complimenting some two or three of them for their gentlemanly deportment and honorable treatment of the Saints.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 10:305, 11/28/60, p 2; JD 8:201; MS 23:49]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Bowery, October 8, 1860.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
By the
cash manifest just read by brother John T. Caine, you perceive that there has
been expended, during the years 1857, 1858, 1859, and to Oct. 4, 1860, $70,204
in excess of what has been received in money and Tithing. This excess has been
derived from cash received for lumber sold to the army to the amount of some
16,000 dollars or 18,000 dollars, and from the sale of sheep, horses, mules,
cows, wagons, harness, &c., to various persons for cash. It has been rather
difficult to raise the large amount of cash we have expended over the amount
received on money-Tithing; but when it comes time to sleep, I do not stay awake
contriving how we are to financier. I can understand in a very few minutes all
that is necessary and possible to be done, without taking very great thought in
the matter.
At times
it seems as though all hell and earth are combined to keep money out of my
hands. A great many of the people would give me millions, if they had it; but
most of those who have it will not part with it. Those who are liberal have
nothing, and they would give me all they have. Scarcely a man comes into this
Church., having much of an amount of money, but what spends his money before he
gathers with the Saints. Persons would conceal from Joseph that they had any
money, and, after they had spent or lost it all, would come to him
and—"Oh, how I love you, brother Joseph!" If you think you can keep
the money from me, you will be mistaken, for I shall have what is necessary to
carry on this work; and those who take a course to hedge up my way in business
transactions, pertaining to carrying on this work, will go to the Devil. They
shall have that promise, with my blessing. I do not curse people, but I bless
that class with a plenty of devils.
For four
years past we have not had much money pass through our hands. In previous years
merchants here have received as much money from me yearly as you have heard
read here to-day. During the past few years we have had to manage and plan
pretty closely in our business transactions. Those who bring coal to sell want
money, and the brethren who labour on the Public Works need a little money now
and then. Some think that brother Wells, who is our Superintendent of Public
Works, is hard and close in his public dealings; but he is not. I have
explained all that is necessary in regard to this matter. We traffic and trade,
we drive cattle to California, and trade here and there, and do everything we
can to carry on this work. You know, and my wives and children know, that it is
my mind that those who do nothing but sit in rocking-chairs can live on
potatoes and buttermilk, while those who do the labour should have both the
substantial food and the luxuries. My friends know that this is my mind all the
time.
Some may
think that my individual business is so mixed and combined with the public
business that I cannot keep them separate. This is not the case, as you can
learn by asking brother David O. Calder, or brother John T. Caine, who has been
reading a manifest to you. Hiram B. Clawson, John T. Caine, and Thomas
Ellerbeck are the clerks who keep the books of my private business; and the
Trustee-in-Trust has his clerks, of whom David O. Calder is the chief. Horace
Whitney, Joseph Simmons, and Amos M. Musser are his associate clerks, and they
keep the books pertaining to the public business. My own private business is
kept distinct from the public business. If brother Calder wishes one hundred or
a thousand dollars, if I have it, he borrows it of Hiram B. Clawson and pays it
back; and so also brother Clawson borrows of him and returns it. The teasers
who come all the time after women, and soon get tired of them and want to
divorce them, I make pay ten dollars for each divorce, and that is my
individual bank. If I want five dollars or fifty cents from Hiram B. Clawson,
it is charged to me; and if he receives money from me, it is credited to me;
and not a dollar (except what I hand out or give away out of my private purse,)
goes out of my office, either in private or public capacity, without passing
through its appropriate set of books. I tell you this, that all may know that
my private affairs are not amalgamated with the public affairs. Brigham Young
and the Trustee-in-Trust are two persons in business. When you speak of Brigham
Young as Trustee-in-Trust, he is one man; and when as Brigham Young, he is
another; and the business between these two names is kept as strictly separate
as is the business of any two firms in the world. If you want to know anything
about the money, item by item, how it has been obtained and how expended, our
books are open.
We do not
ask anybody to pay Tithing, unless they are disposed to do so; but if you
pretend to pay Tithing, pay it like honest men. And Bishops who have it in
their power to gather money-Tithing, it is their duty to do it; and if they do
not, they do not magnify their calling. And brethren that have money, pay your
Tithing on it while you have it; and when you turn your property, upon which
Tithing is due, into money, pay your Tithing in money. Here are thousands of
men wearing good bats, coats, pantaloons, &c., &c., that I have paid
the money for. And women with costly ribbons on their bonnets, I pay the money
for these ribbons; and I pay the money for the slippers on their feet, for
their stockings, their garments, &c. I have paid the money for these
articles, year after year. Is it not your duty to see that I have a little
money? Were the Lord to reveal to me where the ancient Jaredites hid their
hundred of millions of dollars' worth of treasure, I should not take it and
hand it out to the people, unless the Lord directed me to do so; otherwise, it
would perhaps seal the damnation of many; for at present you are better off
without those treasures than you would be with them.
If I am
under obligation to see this Gospel carried to all the nations of the earth, so
also is every Elder of Israel. If it is my duty to see the poor gathered, so it
is the duty of every Elder. There is no excuse for any man: every one ought to
put forth his hands and means, and do according to his ability.
We have
often told you that we want to build a Temple, but not for convening
promiscuous congregations. I inform you, long before you see the walls reared
and the building completed, that it will be for the purposes of the Priesthood,
and not for meetings of the people: we shall not hold public meetings in it. I
should like to see the Temple built, in which you will see the Priesthood in
its order and true organization, each Quorum in its place. If we want a larger
building than this Tabernacle for public exercises, here is the ground already
planned, and has been for years. We can, if we choose, build a Tabernacle that
will accommodate fifteen thousand people. The Temple will be for the
endowments—for the organization and instruction of the Priesthood. If you want
to build a Temple on these conditions, you can have the privilege. But I never
again want to see one built to go into the hands of the wicked. I have asked my
Father to give me power to build a Temple on this block, but not until I can
for ever maintain my rights in it. I would rather see it burnt than to see it
go into the hands of devils. I was thankful to see the Temple in Nauvoo on
fire. Previous to crossing the Mississippi river, we had met in that Temple and
handed it over to the Lord God of Israel; and when I saw the flames, I said
"Good, Father, if you want it to be burned up." I hoped to see it
burned before I left, but I did not. I was glad when I heard of its being
destroyed by fire, and of the walls having fallen in, and said, "Hell, you
cannot now occupy it." When the Temple is built here, I want to maintain
it for the use of the Priesthood: if this cannot be, I would rather not see it
built, but go into the mountains and administer there in the ordinances of the
holy Priesthood, which is our right and privilege. I would rather do this than
to build a Temple for the wicked to trample under their feet.
There are
great and glorious things yet to be revealed. We are but babes and sucklings in
the knowledge of God and godliness. With all we know and understand by the
Priesthood here in the midst of this people, we are mere infants before the
angels in heaven. We want to instruct the people and prepare them to enter into
the presence of the Father and the Son. We want to gather the poor, send the
Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, and do a great many other good
things; and we will do so. We will turn the world right side up, for it is now
wrong side up, and we want to turn it over, prepare it, and present it to Him
who owns it, in a more goodly form and attitude than it has been for many
centuries.
[Here
Elder John T. Caine read a list of the subscriptions to the Missionary Fund.]
We will
send our Elders forth to preach, and will furnish, as we have now, wagons,
mules; harness, &c., to those who are not able to provide those things for
themselves. When our Missionaries reach the frontiers, they will place a fair
valuation upon their animals, &c., the money will be paid to them, and they
can at once proceed to their different fields of labour. I pay them the money
for the property they have at the frontiers, and when they return I want them
to come home as poor as they go away. If any one wishes to get rich, let him
stay here and get rich, and not enrich himself from the labours and means of
the poor Saints abroad. You may think that I am severe on that course. I am,
and I mean to be, until I stop it. It has been growing and growing, becoming
tall—almost ungovernable and out of my reach; but my foot is set upon it, and I
will walk it under and the influence of any one who promotes such a principle.
If I want to become wealthy, I will stay here and accumulate property. If
brother Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, or the Twelve Apostles want to
accumulate wealth, stay here and do it, and not go into the world be become
rich. When you go into the world, go to preach the Gospel; and if you have a
sixpence, give it to the people. Give your time and talent to the people; and
if the Lord puts money into your pockets, it is not yours, only for you to use
to save the people spiritually and temporally.
We are
going to fit out our Elders from here, asking no odds of the world: we have
proved them enough. The gold and the silver belong to the Lord Almighty, and he
will hand it over to us as fast as we know how to use it to his name's glory.
Some say,"If we had a gold mine, we would do well." If I knew where
there was a gold mine, I would not tell you. I do not want you to find one, and
I do not mean that you shall; or, if you do, it shall be over my faith. We have
gold enough in the world, and it is all the Lord's, and we do not deserve more
than we get. Let us make good use of that, and send out the Elders.
Brother
Woolley stated, yesterday, that he wished to see men and women who are too lazy
to cook their victuals come with handcuffs. They are the ones that will not
come with handcarts; they have to be conveyed in wagons; and when they arrive
here they will apostatize. It seems impossible to have them to do so anywhere
else; and we want them here as soon as possible, that they may apostatize and
leave—get out of our way—that we may go on with our labours; and in this we are
making a few devils for future use, to carry on our kingdoms.
Let the
brethren who pretend to be Bishops be so indeed, and gather Tithing. And if the
people pretend to pay Tithing, pay it properly and fairly, so far as you do
pay, or let it alone entirely. Keep your dollars and cents, your horses and
mules, your grain, &c., if you choose; but if you pretend to pay Tithing,
pay it like men: act like men and Saints. We want to build a Temple on this
block. Don't you think that hell will howl? What did we tell you when we laid
those foundation walls? We told you that all hell would be on the move. That
has transpired, and still they say, "We have not persecuted
you;" but they are liars. Who among them have stepped forward and said,
"Let those men alone?" Only a few. Our friend who came here in the
dead of winter, having left his wife sick nigh unto death, is one of those who
will yet have a celestial crown; he is on the road to it. When Judge Kinney was
in Washington, he spoke well of this people. So far as I know, he has never
spoken evil of this people, but every time he met an Elder in Washington he
received him as a friend, spoke to him kindly, and was not ashamed to walk
arm-in-arm with him in the streets of that city. There is a kingdom for him—a
kingdom of glory. When they wanted him to come here as a Governor, I am told
that he said, "Yes, if you send no soldiers there." He has a heart;
and I say, God bless him and every other good, honest man, whether he is a
"Mormon" or not. Who ever walked more correctly in his sphere of
business than Judge Shaver? No man. He was as upright as a man could be. He
came here as a Judge, and he honoured the people, he honoured his office, he
honoured the President in his appointment, and he honoured the laws of the
Territory and the laws of the Government. There is a kingdom for him; he will
have his reward.
There is
a great difference between persecuting this people and the people of other
sects. God will make persecutors pay every debt they contract with this people.
This is the Priesthood of the Almighty. God has set his hand the second time to
gather the people. It will not do to trifle with this people. "Touch not
mine anointed," saith the Lord. O ye inhabitants of the earth, be careful
how you infringe upon the Latter-day Saints. They are the anointed of the Lord,
and are like the apple of his eye, and he will bring you into judgment for
every act and move you make against them. This nation will be shivered to
pieces. There is no cohesion in the particles that compose it. If you touch it,
it will fall to pieces, for it is shattered from its centre to its
circumference. They think it so strange that the "harmonious
democracy" can divide. You might as well try to put out the sun as to make
them united. God is working with them; he is taking his Spirit from them. They
are like water spilled upon the ground; there is no soundness nor stability
left in them; they are devoid of good sense. God has called away the
intelligence he bestowed upon them, and every move they make will sink them.
deeper and deeper in the mire, until they are lost and gone for ever. We wish
them no evil; we heap no coals of fire on their heads, only by doing them good
and exhorting them to refrain from meddling with this people. The time is nigh
when every man that will not take up his sword against his neighbour must needs
flee to Zion. Where is Zion? Where the organization of the Church of God is.
And may it dwell spiritually in every heart; and may we so live as to always
enjoy the Spirit of Zion! Amen.
Moved by the President, seconded and carried that this Conference adjourn till Saturday, the 6th day of April, 1861, at 10 o'clock a.m.
Choir sung, "Praise ye the Lord."
President Heber C. Kimball pronounced the following
BENEDICTION:
O God the Eternal Father, in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, we ask thee to look down from the heavens upon us, thy servants and handmaidens who have assembled together at this time to worship thee in a conference capacity. Sanctify what has been done in accordance with thy holy will; grant that every one may go home rejoicing meditating and contemplating upon those thing that have transpired. Sanctify our hearts and our affections, and all that is within us unto thine own self. Fill us with wisdom, light, knowledge, discernment, and clothe us with the power of God that we may do right, walk in the holy commandments of our Father and God, do that which will please thee at all times, and worship thee in spirit and in truth.
Let thy blessing rest upon all those that have attended this conference, that they may not receive any harm from the changeableness of the weather, and where any have received colds rebuke them, and bless thy people with health. Bless thy Saints throughout the valleys of these mountains, and also all those scattered among the nations of the earth, and upon the islands of the sea.
Take us into thy kind care and protection, dismiss us with thy blessing; help us to be humble and faithful. Let the light of Christ be in us, and let the Holy Ghost take up his abode with us - with all thy servants, from the presidency down to the lowest member in thy kingdom, not only here but throughout the world.
Hear us, O Lord, in these things, for into thy hands we commit ourselves, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ our Redeemer: Amen.
J.
V. LONG,
Clerk of conference.
6-7 Apr 1861, 31st Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 10:253, 4/10/61, p 4; MS 23:363]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/10/61 p 4]
Thirty-First
Annual Conference
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.
The General Conference of the Church convened in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Saturday, April 6, 1861, 10 a.m., President Brigham Young presiding.
There were on the stand: Of the First presidency, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells;
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, and Franklin d. Richards;
Of the First Presidency of the Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, and Horace S. Eldredge;
Of the Presidency of the Stake: Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace;
Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little;
Of the Patriarchs: John Smith and Isaac Morley;
Reporters: George D. Watt and John V. Long.
The Conference was called to order. The choir sung "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."
Elder Lorenzo Snow offered Prayer.
Choir sung "Praise ye the Lord, 'tis good to praise."
[Elder E. T. Benson]
Elder E. T. Benson was called upon to address the congregation. He expressed himself highly pleased with the opportunity of meeting the Saints in general conference; he bore a strong testimony to the truth of the gospel of Christ, revealed to this generation by Joseph Smith; testified that the people had no need to search for any other, or any stronger testimony than that which they have already received. He exhorted the people to faithfulness, that they might win the prize, and said he rejoiced to know that the Almighty is just as ready as he ever was to bestow His spirit upon his chosen people.
[Ezra T. Benson]
[DNW 11:57, 4/24/61, p 1; JD 8:369]
REMARKS
By Elder EZRA T. BENSON,Tabernacle, Saturday Morning, April
6, 1861
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
_____
I feel
truly thankful, brethren and sisters, for the opportunity I enjoy this morning.
I trust that we have come together with prayerful hearts before the Lord our
God, that his Spirit may be upon us, and that our prayers and all our devotions
during this Conference may be acceptable in his sight. If I understand my duty
as an Elder in Israel, this should be my object and my desire, not only in
coming to Conference meetings, but also in all my associations with the people
of God. I feel well in beholding your faces and in having the privilege which I
now enjoy of standing before you. I feel that it is a blessed opportunity, and
one that should be appreciated by us all. We have the privilege twice in each
year of coming up to headquarters to visit the First Presidency and leading
authorities of the Church in G. S. L. City; and inasmuch as we have come with
pure hearts and clean hands, we shall all have confidence before God and his
people who reside here. Our anticipations will be realized. We shall receive
such instructions and counsels from our brethren who are called to preside over
us as will be for our best good.
I do not
feel competent to teach this people; hence I merely rise to bear my testimony
to the truth of the Gospel of the Son of God. I testify that Joseph Smith was a
Prophet of the Most High, that he was a minister of life to the nations, that
he revealed the will of the Father concerning his sons and daughters, that many
of the revelations which he gave concerning this nation have already been
fulfilled, and that others are being fulfilled before our eyes: I know that he
revealed the future destinies of the nations of the earth, and his predictions
are being fulfilled to the joy and satisfaction of every Latter-day Saint, and
there is no doubt upon our minds in regard to those that are still unfulfilled.
Then what shall I do? Shall I cease to bear any further testimony? or shall I
continue to aver the truth of the Gospel we have espoused, and the teachings we
have received from Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H.
Wells? Yes; these counsels and teachings have been just as good, just as true
as the as the counsels given by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I now
want to ask you a question. What more do you want? What greater things can you
ask for than those gifts and endowments which you have received? If we have
rejected, or treated coolly and walked underfoot the blessings of the Almighty,
remember that we are on the Devil's ground.
While
some are grovelling in the dark, drying up in the things of God, and striving
to lead into other channels, and doing that which will gratify their own
corrupt dispositions, we should be endeavouring to increase in the light and
knowledge of the truth, and to set an example that is worthy of all imitation.
Seeing
that I have been called upon to make a few remarks, I feel disposed to take for
my text, "Latter-day Saint." If you take up the character of an Elder
in Israel—one who has received the Gospel in humility, been ordained to the
Holy Priesthood because of his faithfulness, who has preached to the nations of
the earth, borne a faithful testimony to the truth of our holy religion, what
more do you want? and what more can you ask in proof of that man's integrity?
Do you want to search in the kingdoms of this world for any other testimony
than that which we have received? No. Neither do we want to inquire, except in
the household of faith, respecting the character of our brethren. The very
moment that a man lets go his testimony and the spirit of his religion, where
is his faith? and where is his power? They pass into the shade: the testimony
first given is laid by; it is put aside—his faith, his wisdom, the power—to
receive something else; and the vacuum is filled up with darkness. Is not a man
in that situation a suitable subject for the Devil to work upon? Yes, he is.
Having set aside the Gospel, closed up the channel of light and the medium
through which he received intelligence, he cannot comprehend the things of
eternity. He has turned his attention to something else, gone after other gods,
become subject to other spirits, from which he receives dreams and visions that
lead him on to destruction.
If we who
profess to be Saints expect to keep the light of heaven within us, and the
candle of the Almighty shining round about us, we must hold fast the beginning
of our confidence and strive to increase in the principles of life and
salvation.
If I were
to go and pray to another God, I should expect that he would give me revelations
to suit his own purpose, and that he would lead me out of the path in which I
am now striving to walk. He would lead me away from the true and living God,
and he would lead me into doubt and darkness.
If we are
led by the Spirit of the true and living God, we are always led aright, we are
always happy—always cheerful, we rejoice evermore, and pray without ceasing. We
need not fear in regard to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is as true to-day
as it was when we first heard it. We have more light, more faith, more
knowledge, and consequently more power than we ever had before; and God has
just as much right, and he is just as willing to reveal his will unto us as he
was twenty years ago.
Let us be
prayerful, let us cleanse our hearts from every impurity, and sanctify
ourselves before our Heavenly Father, and we shall surely win the prize; but we
cannot upon any other condition. This is the promise made to us by the Elders
who brought the Gospel to our doors. We were told to cultivate brotherly
kindness, virtue, and charity. We were told to nourish and cherish the spirit
of wisdom, and to be constantly striving to add to our faith virtue, to virtue
knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to temperance godliness, to godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity; and we were told that,
if these things were in us, we should neither be barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
May God
bless us all, and enable us to do these things, is my earnest prayer, in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells, said that Elder Benson's text was a very good one, and well worthy of consideration by all, it was "Latter Day Saint." It was highly necessary that we should learn what it takes to constitute a saint. It is the duty of every one to study to be virtuous and true, to be God-like in all our acts. This is certainly a work of time, but we should be constantly progressing in the knowledge of the truth, and strive to gain light, through that channel of communication that is open between the heavens and the earth. He spoke of the power, the glory and the eternal reward that lie before the true hearted saint; the promises of reward and exaltation are enough to enwrap in bliss and glory every thought of the human heart, and every idea we have received. What more could we have to induce us to pursue the right way, he asked, inasmuch as it carries its own reward with it. He regretted that the blessings were so little appreciated by the wayward, and even by the saints of the Most High, in comparison to what they should be. It appeared that the people often forgot their duties, and suffered darkness to creep into their minds, and cover up the little light that was there. We should all see and realize the importance and greatness of the work in which we are engaged. It is our duty to draw light from the fountain of wisdom, and then extend it to others. We can all see the distress of nations, the confusion of the wicked and the distracted condition of all the governments of the world, hence how thankful we should be that the light of this gospel has reached our hearts and opened our understandings, and that we have been plucked as brands from the burning, and have been brought into this blessed inheritance.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 11:57, 4/24/61, p 1; JD 8:371]
REMARKS
By Prest. Daniel H. Wells, Tabernacle, Saturday morning,
April 5, 1861.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG]
_____
The text
taken by brother Benson, I think, is a very good one; and he has portrayed
before us what is necessary to enable us to be one in following out those
virtues and principles which are Godlike, and which are calculated to make us
one, that we also may become like God. This is our duty and our privilege—to be
Godlike, in our ways, to imitate the virtuous, the true, and the good, and,
inasmuch as it is possible, to become ultimately as pure and holy as our Father
and God. This is the privilege of the human race in our day and generation. We
have the light of revelation to guide the souls of men aright—to make ourselves
like our Father in heaven.
We have
not known these things until within the last few years, since the revelation of
the fulness of the Gospel. It is one of the greatest privileges and blessings
ever made known to man, clothed with the light of truth and knowledge from the
heavens, having a channel of communication opened up, through which we get
intelligence from the Father of light, with whom there is no variableness nor
the least shadow of turning. This light and knowledge has been imparted to the
children of men, and by obedience to its directions they can make themselves
like Gods in the eternal worlds. What beauty, what love, what greatness and
power, and what exceeding great glory lie before the true-hearted Saint! Let
your minds open up to behold in vision the greatness thereof for the moment
that you can see what light, greatness, and glory are strewn in, and now
illuminate your pathway to cheer you onward through the shifting and varied
scenes of life, to the haven of bliss and glory hereafter, continually
enlightening your minds, solacing you through life, and enabling you to
overcome every difficulty which you may have to encounter in life's journey.
As sorrow
and distress are in the world, we expect that every one will, more or less,
have to drink of the bitter cup. This light, these great gifts, this promise of
reward, of happiness, and exaltation, the lovely principles that are unfolded
to our view are enough to inspire in the human heart, every day, joy that could
not be conceived of by the natural man.
As was
asked by brother Benson, what more could we ask to prove to ourselves that this
is the work of the Almighty? What more could we have to induce us to pursue the
right way? Still, how little are these blessings appreciated by the world at
large—yes, and by the Saints of the Most High, in comparison with what they
should be. It seems as though we often forget what our real blessings are, and
thereby let darkness creep into our minds and cover up the little light that is
in us. We should remember that our religion is designed to redeem a lost world
from sin, from the bondage of iniquity, and also from the rule and thraldom of
Satan, which have enveloped it for generations, and covered it, as it were,
with a thick pall, and well nigh desolated the earth. it is designed now to
restore it to and place it in the light, to fill it with intelligence and sanctify
it through the truth. Our religion teaches us to draw wisdom from the fountain
of wisdom, and to extend it to the minds of others; it opens up to its
adherents every privilege which the heart of a righteous man can desire, and it
leads on the faithful to glory and honour in worlds of light.
But what
is the reverse? What is the other side of the picture? It is confusion,
distress of communities, division in families, distress of nations, a fearful
looking forward into the future because of the judgments of the Almighty, which
they apprehend are near at their doors. Have they any desire to do any better?
No. But the wicked are striving to see how they can get more advantages over
their neighbour, and thus do worse and serve the Devil better, and almost with
railroad speed, that they may see wickedness predominate throughout the length
and breadth of the land. The conduct of the wicked leads to darkness and misery
in the present as well as in the future.
How
thankful, then, we should be that this Gospel and the light of revelation have
reached our minds, and caused our bosoms to vibrate with the inspirations of
the Holy Spirit. The welcome sound and accompanying power have plucked us as
brands from the burning, Then do you not feel thankful that we have this
blessed privilege, and that we had understanding enough left with us when this
Gospel reached our ears to embrace it? It has been the privilege of the world
to do the same; our contemporaries in all nations have the opportunity of
becoming acquainted with its blessings. The light of this Gospel has been shed
forth, more or less, among all nations of the globe; thousands and millions
have heard it, but many only to reject it, because of the pride of life and the
lust of the world. Friends and relatives who have dared to differ in opinion
with their connections, and to join themselves to an unpopular people, have
found that it has cost them their name in society, their character among their
fellows, their fortune, and all they possessed. This view having been taken of
it by many who have examined its principles, has caused them to reject it.
It is the
privilege of the people of this nation, as much so as it has been ours, to
receive the benefits of this Gospel: it is also the privilege of our Government
to do good to this people; but it is left with them to act according to the
dictates of their own consciences. It is not only their privilege, but it is
their duty to foster this kingdom; and it was one of the main objects of the
Government in laying the whole structure thereof, that it should afford succor
and support to the kingdom of God. It was the wish of the Almighty that the
principles of liberty and of righteousness should underlie the flag of the
Union and the institutions that flow from that Government. "Who could dare
to question the rights of conscience?" was a question often asked in
revolutionary times. How has the Government of our country performed that
important duty towards this people? We only need refer to our past history to
answer this question. It ignored the privilege that we claimed, and refused to
do its duty. That neglect on the part of our Government caused thousands to be
ruined—to be driven forth into the trackless wilds, and for want of ordinary
subsistence many weakened and died. The wilful neglect of our Government caused
the best blood of this generation to be shed; it caused hundreds to die through
exposure, and in every respect it has failed to come out and maintain the
rights of conscience towards the Saints of the Most High. It would have been
far better for us if we had had no pretensions to government at all, than for
it thus to have encouraged the hand of the plunderer and of the murderer. We
should have fared much better than we did, to say nothing of their finally concentrating
their power and their influence to wipe us out of existence, after we had
gained a foothold in these dreary deserts.
Then, so
far as we are concerned we should have been better without a government than
with such an one. It is a principle in political economy that no government
shall be bound together any longer than it is good for its subjects. Whenever
any government fails to protect and preserve the rights and interests of its
people, they can no longer be expected to render unto it their allegiance and
support; hence we see the people occasionally shaking off the chains of tyranny
that bind them. Through all this abuse and neglect on the part of the present
Government, this people has shown the most devoted loyalty, and they never have
breathed a word or exhibited a desire to throw it off. When administered in its
legitimate channel, it is one of the best governments upon the face of the
whole earth; and if it had been used for the purposes for which it was
originally designed, it would have been both stronger and better.
We find
no fault with its institutions, neither do we particularly object to its form
of government; but it is its administration, and the way its institutions and
laws have been abused. The way it is now and has for years past been
administered has founded the cause of complaint. It recognizes the principle of
self-government, that the people have the right to control. Of that principle
we have long been apprised, but it has never been extended to us as a people.
Through the arts and plans of politicians, they have managed to deprive
Territories of that which is given to the States. This is contrary to the
genius of the Constitution which gives the people the right to choose their own
rulers: taxation should only be exacted where representation is allowed. These
privileges have been withheld from this, as well as from other Territories; and
the pattern given for this Territory in the organic act is not materially
different from any other. Our offense has been that we have asked for those of
our own choosing to rule us. It has been the case, it is true, that they have
chosen persons from the States to hold offices in all the Territories, and
ostensibly they have made no difference; but this should be considered, that
the appointing power has given others the opportunity of making known their
preference, and such wishes have generally been considered, with the exception
of the people of this Territory.
I am now
speaking of the past. Hitherto it has been as I have now mentioned. This
Government has been partial in this and in many other respects, and has no real
claim upon our affections; but still we seek to preserve those institutions and
to keep sacred those wise provisions which are embodied in the Constitution as
it was formed by our fathers; and perhaps we are the only people that do seek
the salvation of our country at the present time; and it will finally be shown
that we are the only people that will stand by its principles, and make it what
it was intended to be—an asylum for the oppressed of all nations.
It is
truly a strange crisis to which the country has now arrived. It is something
like a statement I saw the other day, very truly depicted, though very
humiliating to receive, to be compared with an old rotten government like that
of Austria—a government naturally crumbling to pieces—a government notorious
for its oppression of its subjects for many generations. Another and a new one
that has not yet attained its full size presents the same picture to the
enlightened world; it also is crumbling to pieces from the same
cause—corruption from the centre to the circumference. I do not think there is
a more corrupt government upon the face of the earth. It seems that when they
commenced their war upon us, they commenced to glide the downward road to
destruction.
It is
patent everywhere that the Government does not look for anything from their
public servants but corruption and robbery. They settle all their accounts with
this understanding of the subject, and the whole machinery has become corrupt
in the sight of Heaven and all good men.
In
departing from the principles of truth, of life and mercy, in rejecting the
message of salvation that has been sent to them, through the instrumentality of
Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Most High God, who was chosen to open up the
work of this last dispensation, they paved the way for their own destruction.
They have rolled up against this people in their wrath and in their hatred, and
have striven to destroy the Priesthood from the earth. We now begin to see the
results. In the days of our tribulations they said to the mobs, "Go
on." Yes, they encouraged our enemies in the perpetration of all their
abominable acts. The Prophet of the Lord spoke and told them they should have
mobs to their heart's satisfaction, but it should be among themselves, one
State against another, until the whole land should be deluged with the blood of
its inhabitants.
When our
people applied to the Government to compel the State of Missouri to restore us
to our lands, they pretended they could not interfere with a sovereign State;
and, as a reward for their conduct, they have now got State's sovereignty to
their heart's content; and this will continue to be poured back upon them: they
will have to walk in the road which they laid out for us, and that which they
would have put upon us is now fast coming upon their own heads. What more
striking illustration could be brought to bear upon the minds of this people?
What course could the Lord pursue that would seem to satisfy mankind more that
these are his people, and that this is his work, than that which is being daily
acted before all the world? It is as was said of old—this work is as a light
set upon a hill. This cause and kingdom are a living, perpetual, and final testimony
to the nations that God is with us, though we are despised by the world.
The
wicked reject this Gospel and this message from the Almighty, which is given in
much mercy for their salvation. The fault must rest upon their own heads; they
have certainly been warned time and again. They live in the time of final
warning, and they begin to feel the reaction which is coming upon them. They
have sent forth their thunderbolts against the Lord's anointed ones, and the
rebound is beginning to take effect upon their own heads. It does seem to me
that, if they were honest, they would acknowledge this. But we do not expect
them to do it at at the present time: they are too far steeped in the follies
and wickedness of the world to confess that God has thwarted their designs.
Many, perhaps, do see it; but the pride of life and their own wicked desires
may prevent them from acknowledging the hand of God in the midst of this
people.
We have
been sent forth into the world to preach the Gospel, and the Almighty has been
with us to take care of us. We need not fear when nations are crumbling to
pieces; we need only press on in the way of our duty, and there will always be
sufficient light given in this kingdom to lead every Saint of God in the path
of duty and of right. It is, then, for every soul to cleave to God, walk in the
way of righteousness, to be united in doing good, to be one in heart and in
mind—one in purpose and in faith, to live our holy religion, and let outside
things take their course; and let us be true to the cause we have espoused, and
be ready at a moment's notice to do anything that may be required of us. Let
our hearts and minds swell with thanksgiving to God, strive to obtain his
Spirit, and we shall see the propriety of his working among the children of
men.
Did any
of you ever do anything contrary to your own feelings because you were set to
do it? I have one request to make, which is, that when he whom we have all
known to be the chosen of God to lead this people requires anything at our
hands, let us not only do it, but strive to see a propriety and a consistency
in all his plans, that we may thereby increase in our faith to work with his
for the redemption of Israel; and we shall soon see the benefit and beauty of
doing things with our whole heart. It is very easy to find fault with an
enterprise—much more so than to introduce one that would be better. It is much
easier to object than to originate. There is evil growing out of this: it
breeds division, encourages contention; and hence the necessity of striving to
get a right conception of all things.
Let us
seek for light from on high, that our actions may be more productive of union.
Do you not know that when the earth is redeemed from sin and iniquity, and from
the degradation that desolates the whole face thereof, that this people have
the promise of inheriting it forever, and that they have now the privilege of
establishing the principles of truth upon a firm foundation, never again to be
thrown down? Do you not know that it is the privilege of the Saints to take the
kingdom and possess it as an everlasting inheritance? And how is this to be
done? Is it to be by going forth in martial array, and taking it by force of
arms? No. not so fast: wait a little. It is to be done by snatching from the
Devil every inch of ground that we can, and then keeping it. It is to be
brought about by observing the principles of salvation which have been revealed
from the heavens for the exaltation of the people; it is to be by uniting
together that we may become a mighty phalanx against which the surges of
iniquity may strike in vain.
I always
feel happy by going into a settlement and seeing a few faithful Saints. They
are more precious to me than would be the crowns of nations. All this fearful
and dark influence that is being gathered together among the wicked, for the
purpose of destroying God's kingdom, is going to be rolled back upon the wicked
nations that dwell upon the earth's surface; and they will be swept off, and
the light of truth and the knowledge of God will increase among the faithful
inhabitants that remain, until the whole earth will be illuminated by the
righteousness of the Saints, and the elect of God will enjoy all the benefits
of redemption, unmolested for a thousand years. This, then, is a great and a
glorious work—one that will cheer the heart of man; and there is nothing that a
man can be engaged in that will at all compare with it.
Let us be
faithful before the Lord our God; let us live our holy religion, and be cheered
with these heavenly ideas, and with this influence that emanates from our
Father and God. Let us go on our way rejoicing; let us be faithful and true,
virtuous and holy; and let us, above all things that we do upon the earth,
strive with all our power and might to advance the interests of the kingdom of
our God. That this may be our purpose, and that in the end of our probation we
may be found worthy of the society of the sanctified and redeemed of all ages
and nations, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball said that the feelings of his heart were - God bless the Saints, and peace be multiplied unto them; he respected and loved good men and women who were striving to do the will of heaven. He reasoned upon the subject of the vine, as spoken of in the gospel of St. John. Spoke of the necessity of the people praying that the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles might be baptized into one spirit. He quoted the text - "Resist the devil and he will flee from you," and said that he had only to add that, although the devil would flee when resisted, he would watch every faithful saint; the adversary may, and doubtless will, overcome some of this people, but that will not effect the kingdom of God - it will stand forever.
He also counseled the people to be of one heart and one mind; to do as they were told; to be united in all things for the building up of the church and kingdom of God, of which we are members. He told the saints to go to work and adorn the earth; to strive to make themselves happy and independent, both in food and raiment.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 11:65, 5/1/61, p 1; JD 9:6]
REMARKS
By Prest. HEBER C. KIMBALL, Tabernacle, Saturday morning,
April 6, 1861.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT]
_____
I am glad
to see you, and the feelings within me are God bless you, peace be multiplied
upon the Saints; and those that are not Saints, may they be blessed with that
which they love to that degree that they cannot stay in this land. (A voice in
the stand —"And I say amen.")
I do
respect and love good men and women. It has been natural to me all the days of
my life to do this; and the more of the Good Spirit that dwells in a man, the
more that love of those that are good accumulates in him. I often speak by figures,
and so did Jesus in his day. He said, "I am the true vine, and my Father
is the husbandman: every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away,
and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more
fruit. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing."
Again, he says, "If a man abideth not in me, be is cast forth as a branch
that is withered; and men gather them, and they are 'east into the fire, and
they are burned." When a branch withers and dies, the avenues of the sap
and nourishment from the root is cut off, and the branch is cut off after it
ceases to live and draw nourishment from the roots.
No branch
is cut off from the tree while it is bearing fruit and cleaves to the tree. We
cleave to the vine by our works of righteousness, and by our works of
unrighteousness we become dead and unfruitful; then it is necessary that the
unfruitful branch should be taken away, and another branch that is more
fruitful should be grafted in. We should all be one, like unto a tree, and
receive intelligence from heaven as the tree receives its nourishment from the
roots.
My prayer
is from time to time, Father, baptize the Presidency into one spirit, and let
them partake of the same element; and then, Father, baptize the Twelve, and the
Seventies, and every officer in the Church and kingdom of God, and also every
Branch connected to them, that we may all be baptized into one spirit; then we
need not fear earth or hell.
Brother
Wells was speaking of the extension of our settlements, that every inch of
ground that is consecrated to God and the Use of his Saints is redeemed from
the power of Satan. That is verily true; and when the people of our settlements
act like one man in all things that are revealed unto them, it will truly be
so. But I presume, brethren, you will find many devils in all these places; and
they will be there until they are east into hell with all those that forget God
and turn away from him. It is for us to keep them out of our own bodies. If we
do that, they will not trouble us much. Resist the Devil, and the Scripture
says he will flee from you; that is, he will stand back a little until he can
get better chance at some future time to make an attack upon you. That it is
his business, and it is ours to avoid him and keep him far from us. Our calling
is to do right, and to teach righteousness and virtue, industry and economy,
that we may gain power over the world, over the flesh, and over the Devil, and,
over all that is combined to overthrow this work. Do you think they will
overthrow it? They may overthrow many of you, but they will never overthrow
this Church while the world stands. But when a man loses that Good Spirit, he
looks upon this work as the world look upon it. He sees no beauty in it; he is
opposed to it in his heart.
As for
the condition of the nations that brother Wells has been speaking of, we shall
never secede from the Constitution of the United States. We shall not stop on
the way of progress, but we shall make preparations or future events. The South
will secede from the North, and the North will secede from us, and God will
make this people free as fast as we are able to bear it. They send their poor miserable
creatures here to rule us. Why, it would be upon the same principle that this
Church and authority should send some poor curse to rule me and my family in my
own house. We need good men that are capable of ruling us, and we have them in
our midst. Take any man there is here, and I would rather have him come and
rule me and this people than have any of those poor creatures that come here.
What do they know? Nothing, only to come here and undertake to lead this people
astray and pollute them. They would pollute every one, if they had the power,
or every one that would yield to them. We have to submit to this, and to bear
it with patience. But let me tell you, the yoke is now off our neck, and it is
on theirs, and the bow key is in.
'The day
is not far distant when you will see us as free as the air we breathe, and we
will be ruled by those men whom God Almighty appoints. I live above the law,
and I am above them, and mean to keep so by doing right, as the Lord requires
us through those who dictate and lead us.
President
Young is our leader, and has been all the time since the death of Joseph Smith
the Prophet. He can govern this people with his hands in his pockets, and they
are not governed one whit by the men that are sent here. I want to tell it, and
I want they should know I tell it. We are going to be ruled by our Father in
heaven, and the agents he sends and appoints for us, from this day henceforth
and forever.
Let us
all go to work and cultivate the earth, beautify and adorn it with trees and shrubs
and plants that never die. Let us preserve and sustain, and make ourselves
independent both for clothing and for food, and also for herds and flocks; and
we will be free, and our enemies will not trouble us much more. I am a witness
to what the nation has done to the people of the Saints for thirty years past.
They have killed some of the best men that ever lived, and the whole nation
sanctioned it, thinking they had got rid of the worst men that ever were upon
the earth. I know this to be true. They now look upon President Young as they
looked upon Joseph Smith as one of the greatest curses that could come upon the
earth. They have driven us, robbed and plundered us; and when we sought for
redress, they said our cause was just, but they could do nothing for us. Let a
man come into my house or into yours, and serve us as the United States have
served this people, and would there not be a scrambling? We would soon decide
whether the cause was just or not. I can do it in a family capacity; but
Territories and States have not got; as much governing power as a man ought to
have in his family. I do not wish to say any more at this time. Amen.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said he was thankful for the privilege of meeting with so many brethren and sisters in general conference. He hoped yet to see a house large enough to hold the people, but did not know that we should ever see a building capable of holding them on this side of the day of rest. We have generally had the privilege of meeting in the open air, but the state of the weather now precludes our doing so.
He observed that the Book of Mormon was translated in the immediate neighborhood where himself and br. Kimball resided, still it was two years before they were baptized into the church. Since then the people have passed through a great deal, and have learned much of the things of God. He reasoned upon the subject of miracles, and asked - if he saw a man turn a stick into a serpent, sand into lice and water into blood, what proof such things would be that the man was sent of God; and answered that it would be no proof of that at all, for there was only one reliable kind of evidence that a man is sent by the Almighty and that is the Spirit which Jesus diffused among his disciples.
He alluded to Saul, who in his darkness and sin went to the witch of endor for information. We can now realize, more fully, the blessings attendant upon our being driven to these valleys, for had we remained we should have been obliged to mingle, to some extent, in the turmoil and strife that now afflict this nation. We can see the nations of the earth gradually gliding to the orders of the precipice of eternal ruin. Sad how much he had reflected upon the subject of our being called back to the centre stake of Zion, and he felt to counsel the Saints not to be too anxious for the Lord to hasten his work, but to turn their attention to the sanctifying of their own hearts, and thereby prepare themselves for the great things that await the people of God.
His counsel was, seek not to bring destruction upon the wicked, but let the Lord have his own way and his own time, and let us be diligent in preparing ourselves for those times that are coming. Let each and every one be true to their covenants, and to each other. He longed to see the time when the people would be ready to receive the counsel of God, and live by it. If the counsel of the servants of God is harsh, and is not acceptable, it is either because it is not the truth, or that we are not right before God. If the Almighty speaks from heaven and we are not pleased, and therefore do not receive it, we are not in the enjoyment of the Spirit of truth.
He remarked that he sometimes wondered if the great men of our nation ever asked themselves the question, how can a republican government stand. There is but one way in which it can endure, and that is as the government of heaven endures upon the eternal rock of truth and virtue. Said if Martin Van Buren had ordered the State of Missouri to restore the Latter Day Saints to their property, the nation would have been much stronger to-day than it is. Although he had no reason to doubt that President Lincoln is as good a man as ever sat in the chair of state, yet he is powerless, because of the corruptions that have been introduced and fostered by the chief men of the nation. They have put aside the innocent, justified thieving, and every species of debauchery, and have fostered every one that plundered the coffers of the people, and have said let it be so.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 11:65, 5/1/61, p 1; JD 9:1]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, a.m. of April 6,
1861
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
We have
always had larger congregations on such occasions as this than we have had
buildings to accommodate; and had it not been that I requested the brethren of
the city to tarry at home, so as to give room to these who should come from a
distance, the house would have been crowded to overflowing, and there would
have been a large congregation outside. I do not know that, this side of the
day of rest that we are looking for, we shall ever have a building large enough
to accommodate our congregations. When we have overcome the enemy to
righteousness and have a thousand years to work unmolested, I think that we
then can build a room that will contain as many people as can hear the
speaker's voice. We have the privilege, it is true, of assembling in the open air,
where most of our Conferences have been held.
We now
enjoy the anniversary of our General Conference. The Church is thirty-one years
old to-day. It seems but a short time—but a few days, since there were only six
members in this Church. It seems but a short time since I desired most
fervently go see some one who was a foreigner baptized into this Church. I well
remember how anxious I was that an English preacher belonging to the
Independents, and with whom I was acquainted, should come into the Church, that
he could go to his native land and preach the Gospel there. What were the
feelings of the few; thirty-one years ago to-day?
Brother
Kimball observed in his remarks, that he could recollect the history of this
Church from its beginning, and understood the persecutions against this people.
The Book of Mormon was translated near where we then resided, as we might say,
in our own neighbourhood. It was translated about as far from where brother
Kimball then lived as it is from here to Little Cottonwood; and where Joseph
first discovered the plates was about as far from where I then lived as it is
from here to Provo. Here we would have considered the discoverer of those
plates and the translator of the Book of Mormon as one of our neighbours. We
are in the habit here of travelling more frequently and further than we were
there. From the time that Joseph had his first revelation, in the neighbourhood
where brother Kimball and I then lived, appears but a few days. Since then this
people have passed through, experienced, and learned a great deal.
If there
is a person in the midst of the Latter-day Saints—one who has named the name of
Christ as a Latter-day Saint, that can ask for any more literal testimony than
we have, I do not know what he would ask. He might wish to see some person that
had power to bring fire down from heaven. Should such a person appear, the
exercise of that power would by no means prove that he was a messenger of
salvation. Or suppose that I should see a man capable of raising the dead every
hour in a day, could I merely for that believe he was sent of God? [No. Some
may think it strange, but should I see a man come along here and cast his cane
on the floor, and it became a serpent and ran out of the door, would I any more
believe that man to be sent of God? No, I would not. Were I to see a person
fill the air with living creatures, turn the dust into life, or the river
Jordan into blood, do you suppose I would any more for that consider that man
sent of God? Not in the least. There is but one witness—one testimony,
pertaining to the evidence of the Gospel of the Son of God, and that is the
Spirit that he diffused among his disciples. Do his will, and we shall know
whether he speaks by the authority of the Father or of himself. Do as he commands
us to do, and we shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God or not. It is
only by the revelations of the Spirit that we can know the things of God.
Suppose
that we should see a man capable of raising the dead and he should say,
"Consequently I ought to be the leader of the Church —the legitimate heir
that God has appointed to perform his work in the last days," would I for
that believe him? No. I have never seen the day, since I arrived at the years
of discretion, when it would have made any difference in my feelings. Almost
one of the first things I read in the Bible was that Saul in his darkness and
unbelief called on the Witch of Endor for a revelation, and she had power to
raise Samuel from the dead. What proof was that that she was a Saint of God? If
the people want any more witness than they have, I do not know what they would
call for. Seek for the Spirit of Truth, and that will bring all things to your
remembrance that Jesus spake and performed,—all that has been, is, and that
which is to come, so far as may be necessary. That is the Spirit by which
Joseph spoke.
I am
thankful that we live to free this day, and have the privilege of assembling
ourselves in these valleys. We are not now mingling in the turmoils of strife,
warring, and contention, that we would have been obliged to have mingled in,
had not the Lord suffered us to have been driven to these mountains—one of the
greatest blessings that could have been visited upon us. It has been designed
for many generations to hide up the Saints in the last days until the
indignation of the Almighty be over. His wrath will be poured out upon the
nations of the earth. We see the nations steadily driving along to the
precipice. The Lord has spoken from the heavens, and he is about to fulfil the prophecies
of his ancient and modern Prophets. He will bring the nations into judgment,
and deal with them and make a full end of them. Do you wish to see it done
to-day? Are you prepared for the crisis that will eventually come? No.
I have
frequently thought upon the preparation that is necessary. Suppose the word
should come, "Return and build up the centre Stake of Zion," are we
ready for it? No. I have often alluded to our mechanics. We have not a mechanic
that would know how to lay the first stone for the foundation of the wall
around the New Jerusalem, to say nothing about the temples of our God. Are you
prepared for the day of vengeance to come, when the Lord will consume the
wicked by the brightness of his coming? No. Then do not be too anxious for the
Lord to hasten his work. Let our anxiety be centred upon, this one thing, the
sanctification of our own hearts, the purifying of our own affections, the
preparing of ourselves for the approach of the events that are hastening upon
us. This should be our concern, this should be our study, this should be our
daily prayer, and not to be in a hurry to see the overthrow of the wicked. Be
careful; for if they were all to be overthrown at once, how many would there be
left that are called Saints? Not as many as I would have remain. We are
prepared for the day that is approaching: let us then prepare ourselves for the
presence of our Master—for the coming of the Son of Man. The wicked and the
ungodly are preparing for their own utter overthrow, and the nation in which we
live is doing so as fast as the wheels of time can roll, and ere long sudden
destruction will come upon them. Seek not to hasten it, but be satisfied to let
the Lord have his own time and way, and be patient. Seek to have the Spirit of
Christ, that we may wait patiently the time of the Lord, and prepare ourselves
for the times that are coming. This is our duty.
We are
blessed in these mountains. This is the best place on, the earth for the
Latter-day Saints. Search the history of all the nations, and every
geographical position on the face of the earth, and you cannot find another
situation so well adapted for the Saints as are these mountains. Here is the
place in which the Lord designed to hide his people. Be thankful for it; be
true to your covenants; be faithful, each and every one. How frequently we hear
from each other, "Be ready to receive the truth. If it is contrary to our
feelings—let it be ever so opposite to our own feelings or affections—receive
the words of counsel from those who are appointed to lead us." How my
heart longs to see the brethren and sisters in a condition that when the words
of truth and virtue—righteous words of counsel—are poured upon them, they will
meet like drops of water meeting each other. How I long to see the brethren,
when they hear the words of truth poured upon them, ready to receive those
words because they are perfectly congenial to their feelings, and every soul
exclaim, "Those words savour of the Spirit that is in me; they are my
delight, my meat, and my drink; they are the streams of eternal life. How
congenial they are, instead of their being contrary to my feelings."
If I or
any other man give counsel that meets with opposition, that intrudes upon the
affections, meditations, and feelings of the people, and is harsh to their
ears, bitter to their souls, it is either not the words of truth, or they have
not the fountain of life within them, one of the two. If the Lord speaks from
the heavens, reveals his will, and it comes in contact with our feelings and notions
of things, or with our judgments, we are destitute of that fountain of truth
which we should possess. If our hearts are filled with the Spirit of truth,
with the Spirit of the Lord, no matter what the true words from heaven are,
when God speaks, all his subjects shout "Hallelujah! praise God! We are
ready to receive those words, for they are true."
Much has
been said in regard to the Government in which we live. We say that it is the
best form of human government upon the earth. The laws and institutions are
good, but how can a republican government stand? Did you ever ask yourselves
this question? I wonder whether our great men of the nation have ever asked
themselves this question. The heads of different departments—governors, judges,
cabinet officers, senators, representatives, presidents, —I wonder whether they
ever ask themselves the question, "How can a republican government
stand?" There is only one way for it to stand. It can endure; but how? It
can endure, as the government of heaven endures, upon the eternal reek of truth
and virtue; and that is the only basis upon which any government can endure.
Let the people become corrupt, let them begin to deceive each other, and they
will all deceive themselves, as our Government has. When we made application to
the General Government for a restoration of our property and rights in
Missouri, if Martin Van Buren had said, "Yes, I will restore your lands to
you, and will defend you in the possession of your rights, if I have power; and
if I have not, my name shall not remain as President of the United
States," he could have reinstated us in our rights. A few words from the
General Government to the Government of Missouri would have restored to, us our
lands and stayed the operations of the mob. If Van Buren had said, "Be
still, or I will chasten you and keep sacred the oath of my office," we
should not have been mobbed, and the nation would not have been as it is
to-day.
Our
present President, what is his strength? It is like a rope of sand, or like a
rope made of water. He is as weak as water. What can he do? Very little. Has he
power to execute the laws? No. I am an American-born citizen—born under the
Green Mountains in Vermont, from whose summits you can look down upon the
Atlantic States; and I feel chagrined and mortified when I reflect upon the
condition of my nation. Of late, at times, I have almost wished that I had been
born in a foreign nation. I feel disgraced in having been born under a
government that has so little power, disposition, and influence for truth and
right; but I cannot help it. What is the cause of their weakness and
imbecility? They have left the paths of truth and virtue, they have joined
themselves to falsehood, they have made lies their refuge, they have have
turned aside the innocent from their rights, and justified the iniquitous
doers. They have justified thieving and lying and every species of debauchery;
they have fostered those who have purloined money out of the public
treasury—those who have plundered the cotters of the people, and have said,
"Let it be so; you secrete my faults, you assist me to plunder and
deceive, and I am with you to Cover up your iniquity." Shame, shame on the
rulers of the nation! I feel myself disgraced to hail such men as my countrymen,
though I think I shall live through it. I Will endure it as well as I can; but
the corruption, the iniquity; and the deception of men in high places no man
can tell.
I have
previously related one little circumstance, which occurred not long ago,
illustrative of the mode in which payment of claims against the Government is
sometimes secured. A certain gentleman had attended many sessions of Congress,
trying to get payment of a claim due to widows and orphans; but could not. In a
short time, the claim was adjusted. Brother George A. Smith, when in
Washington, saw a gentleman who had been years in endeavouring to get a claim
allowed and paid; one thousand dollars more to grease the wheels, and through
it went—the claim was paid. We have long been trying to get our claims paid for
expenditures in quelling Indian disturbances in 1853. When the appropriation
had reached the last move to be made, it could not go. "What is the
matter?" "Somebody is throwing sand on the axletree, and the wheel is
stuck." "What must be done?" "Thirteen hundred dollars must
grease it." It then moved through—the appropriation was made. It is so all
the time—every day. These instances are comparatively of little moment, and I
merely allude to them to show how minutely corruption prevails where justice
should exist.
These
corruptions flow very naturally from the indebtedness contracted to attain
power. In elections, the successful become indebted to their friends; and they
promise them the patronage of the President, that they shall be sent as a minister
to such or such a country, or be appointed a judge here or there, or a governor
yonder. They cannot obtain their election without paying largely for it, both
in promises and money; and to recover the means, they must either become
thieves or repudiate their debts. "Such a one owes me so much for
contributing to his election, and he will not pay me." It often happens
that he cannot, unless he steals it.
The whole
Government is gone; it is as weak as water. I heard Joseph Smith say, nearly
thirty years ago, "They shall have mobbing to their heart's content, if
they do not redress the wrongs of the Latter-day Saints." Mobs will not
decrease, but will increase until the whole Government becomes a mob, and
eventually it will be State against State, city against city, neighbourhood
against neighbourhood, Methodists against Methodists, and so on. Probably you
remember reading, not a week ago, an account of a Conference being held in
Baltimore, in the course of which they seceded from their fellow churches in the
free States. It will be the same with other denominations of professing
Christians, and it will be Christian against Christian, and man against man;
and those who will not take up the Sword against their neighbours must flee to
Zion.
Where is
Zion? Let us be prepared to receive the honorable men of the earth—those who
are good. Are there any good people among them? Yes, hundreds and thousands and
thousands right in our Government, rotten as it is; but they are so
priest-ridden that they have no mind of their own—they have not strength and
fortitude. And I ask you, and I can appeal to your own experience, place any of
us back in the midst of our old neighbour's, would it not be hard to break out
and say, "We are Latter-day Saints and followers of Joseph Smith; we
believe 'Mormonism': good bye?" Them are hundreds and thousands in this
situation in the States, who desire to see truth, righteousness, and right
prevail; but they have not strength and power of mind to break loose and
say," We will be for God and none else." They follow the customs of
their fathers, and more or less cling to the faith and religion of their
fathers. They are bound down with priestcraft. I took forward to the days when
their bands will be broken. I pray this people to do right. Purify yourselves,
sanctify yourselves, and prepare to receive those persons into everlasting
habitations.
It is
time to close our forenoon meeting. This afternoon, probably, we will take up
the business of the Conference, and continue our meeting; and when we are
through and wish to adjourn, we will do so. We all feel like praying for the
prosperity of the kingdom. The whole body is continually seeking the welfare of
each individual part. The eye wishes the foot well, the foot wishes the head
well, and will walk to get food for the head and stomach, and they are united,
and we shall become more and more united. And I pray that the Lord will pour
out his grace on his sons and daughters, and I pray the Saints to improve upon
it until we are Sanctified. God bless you! Amen.
Choir sung, "Arise O glorious Zion."
Benediction by Pres. Joseph Young.
_____
[6 Apr, 2 pm*]
[DNW 4/10/61 p 4-5]
2 P.M.
The meeting commenced by the choir singing "Great God attend while Zion sings."
Prayer was offered by Bishop Lorenzo D. Young
Choir sung another hymn.
President Young requested the attention of the congregation till the several quorums of the church were presented for their sanction and approval.
Elder John Taylor then presented the authorities of the Church as follows: -
Brigham Young, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselors;
Orson Hyde, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen. Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, as members of said Quorum;
John Smith, Patriarch of the whole Church;
Daniel Spencer, as President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors;
William Eddington, James A. Little, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Gilbert Clements, Brigham Young, Jun., Franklin B. Woolley, Orson Pratt, Jun., and Howard Spencer, as members of the High Council;
John Young, as President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley, and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors;
Joseph Young President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and Jacob Gates, as members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies;
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young arose and gave the following instruction:
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 4/10/61 p 4]
We will
readily perceive that the Quorums of the seventies are somewhat different from
other Quorums in the Church. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one Quorum,
they are the apostles to all the world. The High Priests' Quorum is strictly
but one quorum, though many quorums of High Priests are made to accommodate
members of that quorum living in different localities. The Seventies are
definitely multiplied by Seventies. The first Seventy was called in the winter
of 1835, the winter after we returned from Missouri. What is called Zion's camp
went to Missouri in 1834. The next following winter the Twelve Apostles were
chosen. The Prophet Joseph also then began to organize quorums of Seventies. He
organized one quorum, then h e told the brethren to call up other Elders and
ordain them into the Seventies, forming another Quorum of Seventies, and then
another, and then a fourth quorum, and a fifth, and a sixth, etc. How many
quorums are there now, brother Joseph? [Brother Joseph, "62"] There
are now sixty-two Quorums of Seventies.
The first
Quorum of Seventies, where are they? Seven of them are here as First Presidents
of the Seventies, and sixty-three of them now stand at the head of different
quorums of Seventies. Sixty-three of them now stand at the head of different
quorums of Seventies. Sixty-three of them have been made presidents over
quorums. It works very differently to what it does in other quorums in the
Church. That leaves the first seven men, apparently isolated, over the body of
the first Seventy. The quorum they were called to preside over have been taken
and made presidents of other quorums, consequently there are only seven men now
belonging to the first Quorum. Do we say that is a fact? No, only apparently,
for, when the seven presidents over the first Quorum wish to call their quorum
together (they meet in quorum meetings such as you attend frequently in the
Seventies' Hall,) they call the presidents of the various quorums together, and
that is virtually their quorum. There are now seven presidents to transact
business, to guide, dictate, and direct the presidents of all the Seventies,
and to call and ordain other quorums, of Seventies. This virtually makes them
the presidents of all the Seventies. What is their true position in the kingdom
of God? They are the first seven presidents of all the Seventies.
Bro.
Joseph is the senior president over the first seven presidents of the
Seventies. Bro. Orson Hyde is the senior man now in the quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, of those first chosen into that quorum. This calls him, by his age,
to be the president of that quorum. Now, I will go a step further for your
consideration. The oldest man - the senior member of the first Quorum will
preside, each in his turn, until every one of them has passed away. The next
quorum that comes into action may take the senior man for a president, but not
until the first Quorum is gone. Bro. Orson Hyde and br. Orson Pratt, sen., are
the only two that are now left in the Quorum of the Twelve that br. Joseph
Smith selected. Perhaps there are a great many here who never thought of these
ideas, and never heard anything said about them.
I will
remark a little further. When br. Lyman Wight was ordained into the Quorum of
the Twelve he was an older man than I, and yet I was the President of the
Twelve. He and others believed that he ought to be the president, but you can
read the revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord said to
Joseph, I ave given to you my servant Brigham to be the President of the
Twelve. Lyman could not be the President of the Twelve. This will explain all
that is now necessary on this point.
To return
to the Seventies. The first seven are now presented. They are a body of men
presiding over all the Seventies, and they are all presidents; but in all
organized quorums in the kingdom of God there must be a head, or a presiding
officer, as well in the first Quorum of Seventies as in others, as you can read
in the revelations.
Elder Taylor then resumed presenting the authorities as follows:
John Nebeker, as President of the Elders' Quorum, and Elnathan Eldredge and Joseph Felt, his counselors;
Edward Hunter, as Presiding Bishop; :Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors'
Lewis Wight, as President of the Priests' Quorum; William Whiting and Samuel Moore, his counselors;
McGee Harris as President of the Teachers' Quorum; Adam Speirs and David Bowman, his counselors;
John S. Carpenter, as President of the Deacons' Quorum; William F. Cook and Warren Hardy, his counselors.
Brigham Young was presented as Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
Daniel H. Wells, as Superintendent of Public Works;
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church;
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor;
Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund;
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
The foregoing quorums and authorities were all voted for separately, and each and all were unanimously sustained by the conference.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor made some pertinent remarks on the principle of union among the Latter Day Saints. He said there was a little difference between the Church of Jesus Christ in its actions and the democrats of this nation: the saints are united, but they are divided against themselves. Where all the people are seeking to do right, that makes one of the best governments in the world. He gave it as his opinion that there is no people under the heavens capable of governing themselves, and no man is able to govern the human family aright without the wisdom that comes from God. He recommended secret prayer, especially to the stubborn and self-willed; said that by that means they would gain the favor of the Almighty, and be able to act as sons of the Most High. He thought that the following poetic sentiment would apply to many who were fond of talking about their dignity and their rights:
"Were
half our time in reasoning spent,
To heaven in supplication sent,
Our cheerful songs would oftener be,
On what the Lord has done for me."
[John Taylor]
[DNW 11:73, 5/8/61, p 1; JD 9:8]
REMARKS
By Elder JOHN TAYLOR, Tabernacle, Saturday Afternoon, April
6, 1861.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
We have
got through presenting the various Quorums comprising the authorities of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has seemed to be a little
difficult to get some of the names right, and also to get them in their proper
places; but we have now got them straight, and I believe there has been a
unanimous feeling to sustain all those officers presented in their respective
positions.
The
question very naturally occurs to me, Would there be the same unanimity of
feeling in sustaining the same number of officers anywhere else in the world? I
do not think there would. In fact, I know there would not. There is a principle
of union with us: at least, in outside show we are united; and in our actions,
to a certain extent, far more so than any other people; for other communities
cannot even be persuaded to vote alike. If there are those among us that, feel
a little crossways, thinking that some other way might he better; yet there is
so much of the feeling to the contrary that the opposition is readily brought
to acquiesce in the popular vote, whether they really feel so or not; but they
generally feel like it. But still there is a lesson that we have been learning
that none of us are perfect in. Our judgment is not perfect; and as we are not
perfect in our sphere, we need not expect to find others perfect in theirs; and
as we are not perfect ourselves, we may have need to come to the throne of
mercy an I ask for wisdom and support, and we can come to the Lord with faith
and full assurance. If we have need to come to the Lord, so have you. Be
careful, then, how you judge. We can say to all, With what judgment ye judge,
ye shall be judged; and with what measure, ye mete, it shall be measured to you
again.
In regard
to our criticism on the acts of public men, whatever we may feel in regard to
their acts, it is best to let it be laid aside for the general good of all; or,
in other words, we do not think, or should not think, we are, the smartest men
in the world. It appears natural to us to think that we are as competent to
judge as anybody else, and yet we think that those who dictate matters ought to
have the Spirit of the Lord to guide them, and consequently yield our judgment
to theirs, and we strive to carry out the principles of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ in our actions. We do it to a great extent, but not so fully as we might
do. It is all voluntary on the part of the people; but generally, out of
respect to the superior intelligence of those that are associated with the
dictation of affairs, we act with them. Although we may feel an uncertainty in
regard to the views of some, yet with those feelings we act in unison to a
certain extent, and we yield to the judgment of the majority, and to that of
those whose right it is to nominate and dictate in the kingdom of God.
So far,
then, as we have made progress in those things, so far have we advanced in the
knowledge of the Gospel of Christ, and so far have we become strong and
powerful as a people upon the earth.
There is
a little difference between our principles, or, I should say, the principles
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and what are called
democratic principles. Democracy governs by the people alone; and, as was
stated this morning, where the people are pure and living under the influence
of correct principles, and are seeking to do right, it is one of the best
governments on the earth. But where the people are wicked and corrupt, that
alters the case very materially. It is not with us as it is with democracy. We
do not believe that any people are capable of governing themselves. There is no
need of entering into an argument upon the matter before this congregation; but
it is my opinion that there are no people under the heavens that now exist, nor
are there any that ever did exist, that are capable of governing themselves.
There
have been a variety of governments on the earth, and very powerful ones too
have existed, in different ages of the world. Those governments have generally
been established and maintained by force of arms—by power. Thus many submit to
the few, and the majority have had very little to say in the matter. We have
generally been in the habit of supposing that our republican institutions are
the most perfect of anything can exist among men—the ne plus ultra of
human government; and hence we have had a very favourite motto ready always
upon our tongue's end—Vox populi, vox Dei. I do not believe that
the voice of the people is the voice of God, but would ask, Is it the Northern
or Southern States that are governed by the Almighty? We have one of the best
human Governments upon the earth governed by the voice of the people, and yet
we are divided, torn asunder, and confused, and appear to be on the eve of
having two governments, and both republican in their form; but which of them is
governed by God? Neither of them have anything to do with the Lord. They are
not under his guidance or direction, and without his dictation it is impossible
to govern correctly. The principles of human government, as now practised, are
wrong; for what man knows the things of God? What human wisdom can dictate to
the inhabitants of a world? Human governments have always been fluctuating and
changeable. They have their rise, their progress, and fall, and have always
contained within themselves the elements of their own destruction. The proper
mode of government is this—God first speaks, and then the people have their
action. It is for them to say whether they will have his dictation or not. They
are free: they are independent under God. The government of God is not a species
of priestcraft, after the order of the Church of Rome, where one man dictates
and everybody obeys without having a voice in it. We have our voice and agency,
and act with the most perfect freedom; still we believe there is a correct
order—some wisdom and knowledge somewhere that is superior to ours: that wisdom
and knowledge proceeds from God through the medium of the holy Priesthood. We
believe that no man or set of men, of their own wisdom and by their own
talents, are capable of governing the human family aright.
These are
our opinions. We believe that it requires the same wisdom that governs the
planetary system, that produces seed time and harvest, day and night, that
organized our system, and that implanted intelligence in finite man,—that it
needs the same intelligence to govern men and promote their happiness upon the
earth that it does to control and keep in order the heavenly bodies; and we
believe that that cannot be found with man independently. It is a principle
that exists with God, and he will not confer it upon the wicked and ungodly,
neither will he sustain those that trample under foot his authority and his
laws. Hence he has organized his kingdom with the express intention of
governing his children himself according to the wisdom that dwells with him,
through the medium that he has appointed; and hence, having appointed a medium,
he brings it before the people, that they may have an opportunity of expressing
their sentiments. Then, if they do not like the method which he has adopted, or
any plans that he may introduce,—if they do not like his officers, they have a
voice in it, and can say so. There is no man or government under the heavens
that has so strict a scrutiny as we have in the Church of Jesus Christ. All the
authorities of this Church have to be acted for twice a year by all the Saints
throughout all the world. This is very rind sentry, more searching than that of
our democratic rulers; but these men with whom we associate in the kingdom of
God do not take it upon themselves alone to dictate and regulate these
important matters pertaining to the kingdom of God and the salvation of man,
because they do not consider they have got the intelligence. Hence my remarks
so far, and hence the course of procedure pursued to-day in the presentation of
the authorities of the Church in bringing all leading matters before the
people.
We can
acquiesce generally in the guidance of the Lord, and with pleasure obey the
dictation of his servants. Have we by doing this progressed in a knowledge of
the law of God, and the rule and government of his kingdom upon the earth? If
we have any intelligence, we shall show that we have learned a great and
important lesson—one that we might have learned some time ago. But I will tell
you what it is: When God dictates through the channel. that he has placed won
the earth, he directs through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and this
way manifests his will to those whose right it is to know it. In this way he
makes known the things of his kingdom and the principles that are necessary to
the salvation of the people. Then all the congregation lift up their hands as a
token before God that they sanction what is presented, and then the voice of
the people is the voice of God. He first dictates, and then we sustain his
nomination. Thus we have the wisdom of God associated with the concurrence of
man; and God being governed by the Spirit of truth, and the Saints possessing
and being guided by the gift of the Holy Ghost, it is the voice of God and the
voice of his people under his direction, and God and his people are one, as
Jesus said—"I in them, and thou in the that we all may be one." This
is the way we look at things, and by pursuing this course we have made great
progress in the principles of eternal life, and all those things that devolve
upon us to attend to.
What is
it that we are after? Is it to revolutionize these States of America by force,
by physical power, by the sword, and by treading underfoot their rights? No.
Are we striving to overthrow the nations, and to put our feet upon the necks of
men? No: we care but very little about them or their concerns. But is there not
a kingdom that God should set up? Yes. Is not this the stone hewn out of the
mountain without hands, that is to grow into a great kingdom and fill the whole
earth? It is. Then how are you going to accomplish this great work? We answer,
Precisely as the Lord tells us. We have existed for thirty years, and we have
used a great deal of our time and labour for the promotion of this kingdom. But
have we at any time interfered with the rights of others? We have been outraged
and abused in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois; but whom have we interfered with?
We are at the defiance of the world to point out a single instance. Have we
attempted to overrun Texas or New Mexico—to trample underfoot the people of
Nebraska and Kansas, and make everybody tremble and succumb by the power of the
sword? Have we interfered with California, Oregon, or Washington Territory? No,
we have not.
Then what
have we done to cause people to be so jealous of us? Why, we have just let
everybody else alone; we have preached peace and salvation, built up Zion, and
proclaimed the kingdom of God. They would not, however, let us alone; but we
could not help that, The very move that they have made and all the steps that
we have taken have brought us before the nations, and manifested the power of
God in a way that never could have been done otherwise. They may say what they
will, but this is the result of it. We did not kill them when we had a chance.
They came upon us and sought to destroy us, and why did they do this? It was
because the Lord was with us. We could not help them doing as they did, and I
suppose they could not resist the power that prompted them to do as they have
done. However, it is all right; the hand of God is in it and has been from the
beginning. Do we rejoice at the present time over the difficulties of our
enemies in the States? No, we would be glad to do them good, if they would only
let us; but they are unwilling to receive the truth.
Have We
forsaken our covenants? or have they violated the law in their treatment to us?
It was shown very clearly this morning, by President [p.12] Wells, that they
hunted us like the wolves in the desert. They came with their armies fully bent
on our destruction, but a barrier stood in the way. The Lord said; "Thus
far shall you go, and no farther. You can now stop. You can shiver and shake
out there in the mountains, during the cold, chilling blasts of a dreary
winter; but touch not my anointed, and do my Prophets no harm."
They have
now got the difficulties at home which they intended to create among us. We
have not injured them—we have not hurt a hair of their heads, and we still feel
willing to assist them. We feel willing to help to preserve, the nation; and
our Elders have travelled thousands of miles to bless the people. Yes, we feel
to bless everybody; and what will we not do to benefit our fellow-beings?
Brethren, let, us try to conquer ourselves. Let us try to understand our own
position, to magnify our calling, that, we may be prepared to act in that
sphere in which God may call us to operate. The Lord has chosen his servants,
he has lifted up his standard in Zion, he has proclaimed peace and happiness on
earth, he has taught us how to live and how to die; the way is pointed out
whereby we can obtain salvation in his kingdom. He has made manifest unto us
his will, and we feel glad; we rejoice and sing Hallelujah! the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth!
Brethren
and sisters, we have a great mission to perform—we have to try to govern
ourselves according to the laws of the kingdom of God, and we find it one of
the most difficult tasks we ever undertook, to learn to govern ourselves, our
appetites, our dispositions, our habits, our feelings, our lives, our spirits,
our judgment, and to bring all our desires into subjection to the law of the
kingdom of God and to the Spirit of truth. It is a very critical thing to be
engaged in the upbuilding of the kingdom of God—a nucleus of which we have
here.
Whatever
good feelings we have originate from the Spirit of the Lord, and from the light
and intelligence that come from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For all we owe our
oblation of thanksgiving to the great Giver of all good.
We are
assembled here from different nations, having a variety of prejudices,
different kinds of education, having imbibed different feelings, notions, and
ideas; and we have now come together to learn to bend our minds, to yield our
opinions, and not to follow our own notions, not to cling to our peculiar whims
and caprices, but to bow to the holy Priesthood, which is the rule of God upon
the earth. You should understand that when you have been voting here to sustain
the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Twelve
Apostles, the High Council, the Bishops, and other Quorums, you have been
voting to sustain the legitimate and authorized officers of the Church and
kingdom of God; whose right it is to rule and govern whenever and wherever the
Almighty has a people upon the earth.
Now,
then, brethren and sisters, do not go away from here, and run against those
very parties whom you have covenanted to sustain; because, the very moment you
do, every sensible man will set you, down as hypocrites. You have a free
opportunity here of manifesting your choices, and I will here say that so far
you have manifested good sense in being united in regard to those principles we
have to carry out. Let the principles of union and faith be observed at your
homes; and if you are men having families, let there be a daily incense arise
from your family altar, and let your constant and daily prayer be, "God
bless the Presidency of the Church, God bless the Twelve, the Bishops, and all
the constituted authorities of the Church, and the the Lord give me wisdom to
act according to their dictation, and the Lord bless all those that believe on
their words." Then there will be a feeling of union in all our small
districts; and instead of its being, "Tom wants to do this, and Jim wants
to do the other," it will be, "I don't want my way, but I want the
mind and will of God. I want to know what my duty is, and then I will pray God
to give me grace and power to do it." This is the feeling of every good,
intelligent, Latter-day Saint at the present time, who is seeking to do the
will of God upon the earth. Never mind if somebody is trying to encroach; never
mind about your independence and your rights.
I was
talking to a man, the other day, who said—"I must have my rights." I
replied to him, "I have no rights only those that God gives me." But
I have been imposed upon," said the man. Well, what if you have? It is a
great deal better than if you had imposed upon somebody else. Just say, Why,
that man don't know any better; and if he can stand it, I can.
These are
our feelings in regard to rights. There was a time when I thought I had a great
many rights of my own, but now I have got to understand that I have all the
rights that God will give me, and I don't want to have any more. I want to live
in the light of his countenance, to ask him to give me his Spirit, and then I
know I shall prosper. When you feel like talking about your rights, let me
advise you to go into your closet, forget your imaginary rights, and ask the
Lord to give you wisdom to guide you aright, that you may act before him as
children of the light, and not be the means of throwing a stumbling block in
the way of others. By pursuing this course, you will get along much easier, and
there will not be near so much of that spirit of grumbling and complaining.
It would
be first rate for many Latter-day Saints to consider the following sentiment of
the poet:—
Were half our time in reasoning spent,
To heaven in supplication sent,
Our cheerful songs would oftener be,
Hear what the Lord has done for me.
I
believe what he has done for me and for this people to be saving in its nature,
and to be the best that could have been done for us. Let us all seek to do
right, get the Spirit of the Lord, and allow that to govern and dictate us.
Suppose
there are some who do not do exactly right in some places, what of that? There
are many things that are not right. Never mind; everything that is wrong will
in due time be righted. Permit me to bring a figure before you. A year ago last
winter there was a very severe frost, and it injured the fruit trees. Some who
professed to be judges thought it best to cut down the peach trees; some
thought that if left alone they would still grow, and therefore they left them
alone to see how many would live: There was quite a difference of opinion upon
the subject, and some adopted one plan, and some another. The general
impression was, I believe, that it would be best to cut off those limbs that
were frost-bitten and that did not appear to have much sap in them.
Now, my
doctrine is, Prune the trees, or, in other words, the branches of the great
tree to which we are connected, just at the time when it will do the least
injury. It requires great wisdom, however, to prune and regulate the Church of
Christ. There were a great many of our people got frost-bitten—a kind of dead
in their spirits, and some were for going right to work and pruning; but hold
on. Said Jesus, "The wheat and tares must grow together until
harvest." Perhaps you would pull up the wheat with the tares, if you were
to do it when you think best. If there is nothing good in a man, he will
by-and-by develop the evil that is in him, and then everybody will agree that
the pruning ought to be done, and the branch ought to be cut off; but if the
good preponderates, it would be wrong because of prejudice or ignorance, to
destroy the good. It is best to leave it to the husbandman, and then all the
congregation will say Amen.
There are
a great many things that might be spoken about to further illustrate this
subject, but the same principle applies everywhere. For instance, there were
two or three of us went up to Salt Creek a few days ago to attend to some
business; and by the accounts given and the reports circulated, a stranger
would have thought that we had got one of the most mean and contemptible of men
for a Bishop: but when the matter came up for investigation, there was not one
solitary charge that could be sustained; the man was innocent. Now, I would
rather be found at some other business than to be finding fault with and
accusing my brethren. If people would leave such things alone a little more
than they do, and leave the management of them to the proper authorities, it
would be better. Suppose a corrupt man is presiding in a certain place, his corruptions
are soon known. People need not strive to turn good into evil because they
think that some man does wrong. They need not turn calumniators and defamers,
for all will come right in its turn. Then attend to your own business, work the
works of righteousness, sustain the constituted authorities of the Church until
God removes them, and he will do it in his own time. Bishops, be afar such men
as speak against the Lord's anointed. The Priesthood is placed in the Church
for this purpose, to dig, to plant, to nourish, to teach correct principles,
and to develop the order of the kingdom of God, to fight the devils, and
maintain and support the authorities of the Church of Christ upon the earth. It
is our duty all to act together to form one great unit—one great united
phalanx, having sworn allegiance to the kingdom of God; then everything will
move on quietly, peaceably, and easily, and then there will be very little
trouble. I never want to interfere with anybody else's business: I always find
enough to attend to of my own.
There was
a man came to me, a short time ago, and wanted me to do something about a
decision of High Council. I told him I would have nothing to do with it. It was
presumable to me that they had done right—that twelve disinterested men were
more likely to judge correctly than one man who was evidently interested. I did
not want to be entangled in affairs that did not belong to me. I like people to
attend to their own affairs.
Am I an
Apostle? I would like to magnify my calling. Am I an Elder, a Bishop, a Priest,
a Teacher? If I am, I would like to magnify my calling, that I might secure the
honour and glory of God, and promote the welfare of his kingdom, and be a
co-worker in the establishment of the principles of righteousness, and become a
blessing to my neighbourhood. What do we see our President at? Is he sitting
down at ease, allowing the time to pass unimproved? No: he is stimulating us to
good works. He is saying to the Elders, Go forth and preach the Gospel, gather
the poor, send out your teams and your young men, and thus show that you can do
something for the gathering of scattered Israel. Get the Spirit of life, power,
and energy within you, that you may be able to do something to make you feel
fit to hold the Priesthood of the Most High God. The poor Saints are watching
you, the First Presidency and other authorities are watching you, and they are
watching with Argus' eyes over the interests of the Church and kingdom of God.
Where
does this spirit come from? It comes from the Lord. Where does it flow to? It
finds access to every man that has the spirit of honesty within him; and hence
when the teachings come, "Send your wagons, go here, go there," the
reply is, "Yes," we are all one in the Church of Christ; we have
dedicated ourselves; spirit and body, to the Church and kingdom of God; we are
on hand to furnish anything for its advancement. This is the feeling that
governs the Latter-day Saints. They all feel to say—"Do you want teams? Do
you want wagons? Do you want men, wheat, or corn?" The response is,
"Yes, we are all on hand." Brethren, this is the way to make
ourselves rich and strong, and secure the favour of God and of the holy angels.
This is the way to have peace in our own bosoms, to preserve peace and happiness
in our own families, by engaging in doing the work of the Lord, by striving to
accomplish his purposes upon the earth, and by preparing, as President Young
said, for the events that are approaching.
Let us be
prepared to become co-workers with our the leaders, and then all will be well.
Brethren, God bless you! Amen.
[Patriarch Isaac Morley]
Patriarch Isaac Morley made a few remarks, expressive of the rejoicing he felt in the blessings of the everlasting gospel; it had been saving to him both temporally and spiritually. His prayer was that the blessings of the everlasting hills might come down upon the inhabitants of these valleys, and that we might enjoy all the blessings of the heavens and of the earth.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith arose and said that he designed to preach from the text "Sectarian religion, sectarian God, and the democracy of our country." Showed the folly of men worshiping a God without body, parts or passions, for such being, if being he might be called, must be destitute of principles and power. He argued that the God worshiped by sectarians could not be the being that wrestled with Jacob, that conversed with Moses and wrote with his finger upon tables of stone. In speaking of democracy, he graphically described the present condition of the government of our nation. He remarked that Joseph Smith had prophesied when the Saints were driven from Jackson county, that if the government did not redress our wrongs they should have mob upon mob until mob power, and that alone should govern the whole land.
He bore testimony to the truth of the work of the Lord in which he was engaged, and said if the Latter Day Saints would listen to President Young's instructions as they ought to do, they would soon be the wealthiest people upon the face of the earth.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 11:81, 5/15/61, p 1; JD 9:15]
REMARKS
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, Tabernacle, p.m., April 6, 1861.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
I arise
before you to offer a few remarks, and to preach from a text. I do not know
that you will find it recorded in any particular volume, and it is not exactly
possible for me to tell the chapter and verse, but it will be found in the
Gospel according to Saint Brigham:—Sectarian religion, sectarian God, and the
democracy of our country compared together.
We find
in the Methodist discipline that the God worshiped by John Wesley's followers
was a very singular being, without body or parts. In the platforms of the
Presbyterians, Baptists, and other denominations, it is declared that he has
neither body, parts, nor passions. This is John Knox's old platform. I never
was very much posted in these systems of piety, but I remember, when quite
young, looking at the book containing the articles of their faith, and
wondering what sort of a being it was that had neither body, parts, nor
passions, and I might perhaps, with propriety, add principles or power.
Lindley
Murray says a substantive is the name of anything that exists; but if a being
had no body, parts, or passions, its existence could only be imaginary. I
suppose it would be a noun, but not really a substantive. I understand a
substantive, according to Kirkham, to be the name of a substance.
The God
that Moses saw wrote With his finger upon the tables of stone. (See Ex., ch.
31, v. 18.) The God that Jacob saw walked with him. Jacob was, no doubt, an
expert wrestler, and in the habit of throwing anybody that came along. (See
Genesis, chap. 32, and chap. 25, v. 21.) He was wandering about one night, and
met a stranger, with whom he wrestled all night; and when he found he could not
throw him, he said, You are something more than a man, or I could throw you.
But I will not let thee go, except thou bless me; for thou art more than
mortal, or I could throw thee. And Jacob said, I will call the name of the
place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. The
God with whom Jacob wrestled had some body and some parts. I need not go to
investigate this subject, only to say that the God worshiped by the sectarian
world is not the being that wrestled with Jacob.
We also
learn from the old book that the Lord created man in his own image and in his
express likeness. Man possesses body and parts: the result is, he is a being in
the express image of the Father. The Father of the God that the sectarians
worship is not the being who created man. But this imaginary deity, or myth of
nothing at all, whose centre is said to be everywhere, and whose circumference
is nowhere, (I have heard it described in that language,) which is worshiped by
the sectarian world, can simply be expressed by using the words of the
Methodist discipline and the creeds generally, and with the addition of two or
three other words, without body, parts, or passions; then add principles or
power. What is the result of worshiping such a being? It is a most
indescribable religious confusion—a confusion that our language is inadequate
to express. One of the old Prophets says—"Woe to the multitude of many
people that make a noise."
I once
went to a Methodist camp meeting, and heard some thousands of men and women
praying, shouting, screeching all at once. At that time I looked round, and
thought of the words of the Prophet—"Woe to the multitude of many people
that make a noise like the noise of a sea." It was like a perfect bedlam
of confusion. About midnight I got tired of the noise, and thought I would go
away. I had tied my horse about a quarter of a mile from the camp. When I went
to get him, he had broke the girth of the saddle, drawn the halter so tightly
that I had to cut it and to lead him some distance before I could quiet him so
as to ride him.
This will
give you an idea of the confusion that can be created by a thousand voices in
the extreme of enthusiasm and confusion of a Methodist camp meeting. The
different sects differ about almost everything that pertains to their religion.
Harper's
Magazine tells the following story:—
" A
Mormon Elder from Salt Lake, by the name of Randall, not many years ago, while
on a visit to his friends in the State of Ohio, was requested to attend a
Campbellite meeting—a society to which his relatives belonged. He went, and
listened to an eloquent discourse. The preacher was more charitable than many
of the clergy of other denominations; and, in the course of his remarks, said
that each denomination or branch of the church formed a link in the chain with
which Satan will be bound, and thus usher in the reign of peace. After the
sermon was ended, many of the brethren expressed their approbation of the
discourse, and bore testimony to the truth of what the preacher had said.
Finally, the friends of the Mormon Elder requested him to speak. He hesitated.
But, after much solicitation, he arose and said—"I believe what your
preacher has said in regard to the different denominations—that they each form
a link in the chain with which Satan will be bound; and when bound, both Satan
and chain will be east into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, according
to the testimony of John the Revelator;" and sat down. He was not called
on again."
But now
for the second part of my text—the Democracy of our country. I was reading the
remarks of a gentleman, who was insisting that the young men of our country should
learn to spout—that is, to make a speech on politics, and be prepared to take
the stump. A gentleman commenting on it says gold will ruin the country and
destroy the Union. The people being the government, having no recognized head,
and having to express itself through the belly, if you please, it takes a long
time; and by the time the sentiment comes to the head, it is so confused and
divided that the fact, is, it would have you to suppose that the greater
portion of the brains were in the boots! Read the proceedings of Congress for
the last year, and you will see one constant stew. Every man that could get the
opportunity would get up and pronounce a solemn speech, or have it printed at
the public expense—at any rate, to send home to his constituents, to let them
know that he did or must say something to prevent the dissolution of the Union,
without ever reflecting upon or seeing the real cause of the difficulty. It is
a species of maddening fury that rolls along like the waves of the sea—a kind
of universal confusion. Take, for instance, those who have been the most
devoted to the Constitution of the United States, and they, like the ancients
who shouted "Great is the goddess Diana of the Ephesians!" would
shout "Great is the Constitution!" "A great and glorious thing
is the Union!" And every step they would take, every single effort they
would make, would be to tread on the rights of others. What is the matter? What
causes all this confusion? Why, those men who are placed in authority, from the
President down, looked silently on, and saw the laws trampled underfoot, the
Constitution violated, the rights of the innocent trifled with, the blood of
innocence poured upon the ground like water, and the little insignificant body
of people, the "damned Mormons," as they pleased to call them, driven
from their homes into the wilderness, and so peace was taken from their midst.
Suppose you get the Christians now together and fetch them up here, and ask
them to tell us which is the pure religion; take, say a dozen of the leading
sects, and let each one tell us which is the pure religion of Jesus Christ, and
they would get up such a quarrel, such a confusion, such a hubbub, that it
would be impossible to tell anything about it. Go to work and gather up the
different factions of our country, politically, and let them undertake to tell
what the matter is, and it would only have a tendency to show a specimen of
that ignorance; stupidity, weakness, and universal confusion which reigns
throughout the land. When the Latter-day Saints were driven from Jackson
county, in 1833, Joseph Smith prophesied that if the people of the United
'States would not bring to justice that mob and protect the Saints, they should
have mob upon mob, mob upon mob, until mob and power and mob rule should be all
over the whole land, until no man's life or property should be safe. This
prophecy is being literally fulfilled.
The laws
of the country are trampled upon with impunity, and there is nothing but a
general and universal mob rule. There is really a combination of corruption
which exceeds anything which the world has witnessed for generations.
Take, for
instance, the officers of the army; go into any little detachment of the army,
and they get together in solemn conclave, and condemn a whole lot of
provisions—sell them for a mere trifle. Some of them will buy them in again,
and pay twenty times as much as they sold for, and thus bleed Uncle Sam. Such
men are in office every year. Men in office think it a fine thing to swindle
the Government, which is only a miserable goose for them to pluck.
Now I
will put the text together. The religious and political organizations of the
country. Abe Lincoln, the present President of the United States, that was—at
any rate he occupies the seat and claims the title, and presides over a portion
of the Union at Washington in name,—this man is the representative of the
religious enthusiasm of the country. For the last thirty years there has been a
constant stirring up and firm exertion on the part of the North to get up a
crusade against slavery—to make the men who live in the Southern States turn
over their slaves.
I was
raised in the State of New York, and recollect the early movements in this
matter. At that time a great many men held slaves. We drove our slaves to
Virginia and sold them for the money, and got full pay. We immediately began to
feel sorry for them, and began to feel that it was very wicked to keep negroes,
seeing we had got the money for ours. Our State was free from slavery, and we
desired all the Virginians to turn their negroes loose. We grew more and more
conscientious about it. The pulpit, took the lead—the Sunday schools and every
other religious influence that could be brought to bear. Mr. Lincoln now is put
into power by that priestly influence; and the presumption is, should he not
find his hands full by the secession of the Southern States, the spirit of
priestcraft would force him, in spite of his good wishes and intentions, to put
to death, if it was in his power, every man that believes in the divine mission
of Joseph Smith, or that bears testimony of the doctrines he preached.
There is
no spirit more intolerant, cruel, and devilish than a spirit of religious
persecution. It carries its cruelties to a greater extent; and when the civil authority
becomes mingled with the religious, and that power is united, and the sword is
placed in their hands, it is the most bloody weapon that was ever wielded.
Infidelity is almost harmless, compared with it. The bloodthirsty power that
has been exercised under such influence exceeds anything that history records.
It is a union—a combination of civil and religious power in the hands of
corrupt men, and that brought to bear, and turned loose upon us, with a
determination to annihilate every Latter-day Saint. But God is our shield and
our protector.
It was
this influence that brought us trouble during the administration of Mr.
Buchanan.
The
Republican organs whipped Mr. Buchanan into the Utah war, and they then whipped
him for getting into it; and they whipped him until he got but of it the best
way he could, and then they whipped him awfully for getting out. They meant to
keep him there until the work of destruction was done. But, thank the Lord, the
Latter-day Saints yet live, and yet have an influence, and they are yet felt.
Now,
brethren, this is the word of the Lord. And that contention which exists
throughout the country, and which by its actual division is rendered powerless
to injure us, is really our protection; God uses it to protect us. He has said,
"The wicked shall slay the wicked." The time shall come when the
vengeance of the Almighty will fall upon the heads of those that have persecuted,
slain, driven, and rejoiced over the destruction and affliction of the Saints.
I know that ibis is the work of the Lord Almighty. I bear my testimony to it.
And I say that if we were as we ought to be, if we would listen to the counsel
of President Young as we ought to do, if we would obey his instructions as we
ought to obey them, we should be the wealthiest people upon the face of the
earth. I suppose, however, so far as the necessaries of life are concerned, we
are so now. I presume you cannot find a community throughout the United States
as large as ours but what the present distress, growing out of the present
financial panic, from political disorganization, the failure of men to pay
their debts, the refusal of the South to continue in the Union,—among these
influences you cannot find a community so large as this but what would be more
or less actually in a state of suffering for want of bread. There is no
Latter-day Saint in these mountains but what can get good bread, and eat that
which is good and wholesome. Hence, I may say, we are the richest people; and
if we had listened as we ought to have done for the last four years to the
counsel of the Presidency, we should have possessed millions of property which
we do not now. The fear there is in the breasts of many that the Presidency
will exercise an influence over their business affairs, that would not give
them as good a chance as they ought to have, has been all the while a plan to
entangle our own feet, and has caused us to grope like blind men in the dark,
and scramble for the picayunes when we might as well have picked up the eagles.
I have been sorry for this. I know that a wise head to guide us in our
movements in our different settlements—to tell us what we should cultivate,
what kind of things we should improve in, and the advantages to be taken of the
climate and productions of our several localities, and the way we should
exercise our labour to produce the necessaries of life, is of vast importance
to us. We have our brethren scattered all over the world, far and near, and
many of them have been struggling for years to come to Zion. We should be awake
while we are here, and try to release them from their bondage, for ere, long
the terrible storm will break loose; every man's hand will be let loose upon
his neighbour, and blood and distress, turmoil, sorrow, misery, war, and
destruction will sweep the whole face of the earth as with the besom of
destruction.
Let us,
then, exert ourselves to deliver our brethren, that they may flee from the old
barn like rats from a building on fire, and escape in time, and escape unhurt.
Be wide awake and diligent in these things; and, when we are called upon to go
after the poor, regard it as a most important mission. I do not want to bread.
There is no Latter-day Saint go as teamsters, select some that are of no
account. If you send our's team round which you expect to have gathered fifteen
or twenty Saints to cross the Plains, send a man that will be a father to them,
and teach them righteousness, and inspire them with good sentiments and exalted
feelings. And you that go on such missions, remember you are sent to bring home
the sheaves: therefore take care of them; strengthen and encourage them in
regard to the things they should do and understand; stir up in their hearts a
spirit of obedience, and they will come in hare with the light of the Spirit of
the Lord burning brightly within them, that their passage over the Plains may
be a school to them of principle and doctrine and truth, that they may inherit
all the blessings that are in store for them—blessings that will endure for
ever.
I believe
I have got entirely from my text. Excuse me, and may the Lord bless you. Amen.
Choir sung "The standard of Zion."
Patriarch Morley pronounced the benediction.
[6 Apr, evening]
[DNW 4/10/61 p 5]
In the evening the Bishops and High Priests met in the Thirteenth Ward Assembly Rooms. Reports were received from most of the Bishops in the Territory, relative to tithing, the condition of their Wards and the preparations they were making for sending teams east to gather the poor, after which President B. Young delivered a discourse, that was full of important instructions to Bishops, High Priests, and to all true saints.
_____
[7 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/10/61 p 5]
SUNDAY MORNING, April 7.
The Conference was called to order at 10 o'clock.
Choir sung "Come, all ye Saints who dwell on earth."
George A. Smith offered prayer.
Choir sung I'll praise my Maker while I've breath."
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow addressed the audience on the subject of the blessings this people enjoy, and the great privilege they have of meeting together in a Conference capacity to see and learn how much improvement each other have made. He said it was impossible to point to the day, the hour, or the moment that a child grows, but yet it is visible that the child is increasing in stature, and it is just so with this people - they grow imperceptibly. We would all, doubtless, like to be wise and happy, but we do not know how to become so, but the gospel is giving us power to attain to these things; it shows us how to be both happy and good. When a man receives wisdom and intelligence from God, the spirit of truth prompts him to communicate it to others, and when he has learned to be happy it prompts him to teach others to be happy. A man may have power to make the thunders roll and the lightning flash, but he asked the congregation what that had to do with making a man happy. Men may be very good and yet not be half so useful as they might be if they were more wise. He asked how we know that the brethren who preside over us are men of God, and that their designs are pure and holy, and answered because the Deity is within us; because the Holy Spirit given through obedience to the gospel, reveals these things to us, and every man and woman who are in the line of their duty, live in the light of revelation continually.
[Lorenzo Snow]
[DNW 11:81, 5/15/61, p 1; JD 9:20]
REMARKS
By Elder LORENZO SNOW, Tabernacle, Saturday morning, April
7, 1861.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
It is a
matter of rejoicing to me, brethren and sisters, that I have the privilege of
assembling here with you in a Conference capacity, contemplating the growth of
the kingdom of the Almighty which has been upon the earth for the past
thirty-one years, and considering the progress that this people have made in
knowledge, power, and intelligence. We meet together in this capacity from time
to time. Twice in a year we have always the same privilege.
After
considering the past, and seeing the improvements we have made, as a people and
as individuals, it is a matter of importance to us to consider ourselves, to
see whether we are making such progress as is required of us—to learn if we are
keeping pace with the times and the improvements that are being made by the
leading men of the Church—to find out whether we, as individuals, are improving
in the principles of the Gospel, whether we are improving in the practice of
righteous' and holy principles, and whether we are gaining knowledge, wisdom,
virtue, and getting a more full understanding of how to make ourselves happy,
and thus prepare ourselves for that situation that we expect to occupy in
future.
As has
been said by our President, we can clearly see the rapid improvements and
advances that this people are making from year to year. It is a pleasure to us,
and we ought to feel grateful to our Heavenly Father for the strength that he
has given to this people in consequence of the union, the knowledge, and wisdom
that we are continually gaining.
We can
easily see the improvements that the people are making. It is like the babe
that passes from a state of infancy to childhood, and thence to manhood. You
cannot tell the particular moments of its growth and increase in stature; you
cannot point out the particular day, hour, or minute in which it increases; but
you are all the time perfectly aware that it is gaining, growing, becoming
greater continually. It is precisely so in regard to ourselves spiritually. If
we are doing our duty, though we cannot point out the moment, the day, or the
particular time when we receive the increase of knowledge, wisdom, or power,
yet we know and feel conscious, as we reflect back, that we have gained. This
is a blessing, and for this we should feel deeply grateful to our Heavenly
Father. We are where we want to make ourselves happy, and the nature of the
objects around us are such as to cause us to bear some fruit, be it good or
bad, sweet or sour.
We are in
the world, but we are ignorant. We do not know what will make us happy, or
whether we shall receive what we anticipate. We know little or nothing about
these things. We seek happiness and that which will make us comfortable, but we
do not really understand what will make us happy for time and happy for
eternity.
The
Priesthood has been restored. It has been bestowed upon man, that through that
medium all who would like to be good and happy might have the privilege. The
Gospel tells us how to be great, good, and happy. The Spirit of the Gospel of
Christ teaches all things that are necessary for our present and future
welfare.
We have
these objects in view today, and we should continually keep them before us. Look
back for twenty-five years, or look back ten years only, and a great many have
been in the Church that length of time, and see what we have accomplished. We
see farther and comprehend things better; hence we are better prepared for the
thing's that are coming on the earth than we were ten, fifteen, twenty, or
twenty-five years ago to know how to be useful—to know how to do things as they
should be done.
A man may
be a very good man, and yet not have wisdom to do things right; but we have got
the Spirit that will enable us to know how to put them ill the best channel, so
that they will be best calculated to roll on the kingdom of God, to make us
happy, and prepare us for the scenes that lie before us. Is not the Gospel a
good thing? Is it not worthy of a man losing his substance and even his life to
gain the blessings that are promised to the faithful in Israel? The man who has
the priesthood, who is filled with the Holy Ghost, is to be guided and dictated
by it in the way of happiness and life. It is very necessary for us to have
these things laid before us frequently, that we may be put in remembrance of
our duties.
The
organized spirit which God gave us is the one which conceives through the
revelations that are given from on high. The nature and the character of those
teachings that come from the Priesthood are such that we comprehend them: the
Spirit manifests them unto us as they are, By it we learn our duties to God and
man. We are taught by it to shun the evil and cleave unto that which is good. We
understand this, if we are in the path of duty. It is not miracles that produce
within us that living faith of which President Young so frequently speaks; but
we learn the nature and character of our religion. We learn that which is
calculated to enable us to shun all evil power and to make us happy.
When a
man receives knowledge, he is prompted to impart it to others; when a man
becomes happy, the Spirit that surrounds him teaches him to strive to make
others happy. It is not so in the Gentile world. If a man attains to any
important position, he does not strive to elevate others to participate in the
same blessings. In this respect there is a great difference between the
Latter-day Saints and the world of mankind. The object of the Priesthood is to
make all men happy, to diffuse information, to make all partakers of like same
blessings in their turn. Is there any chance of a man's becoming happy without
a knowledge of the Gospel of Christ? A man may make the thunders roll, the
lightnings flash; but what has that to do with making a can happy? Nothing.
Though in the world they try to make themselves happy, still they are not
successful in what they strive to accomplish. They cannot be happy except upon
one principle, and that is by embracing the fulness of the Gospel, which
teaches us not to wait till we get into eternity before we begin to make
ourselves happy; but it teaches us to strive here to make ourselves and those
around us rejoice in the blessings of the Almighty.
This,
then, should be our aim and object—to learn to make ourselves useful—to be
saviours to our fellow-men—to learn how to save them—to communicate to them a
knowledge of the principles that are necessary to raise them to the same degree
of intelligence that we have ourselves.
Men may
be very good, and yet they may not be very wise, nor so useful as they might
be; but the Gospel is given to make us wise, and to enable us to get those
things in our minds that are calculated to make us happy. The time that we have
to meet together here and compare ourselves with the principles of our
profession is a great blessing,
We are a
Territory; we have our own Government; we have our own dispenser of light and
knowledge, who is supported by our united faith; and the Spirit within us
teaches to sanction their proceedings, and how to walk in the path of life.
I dare
say that some of us do not sufficiently reflect upon the good things that are
in our minds, nor do we have that gratitude that we ought to have to our
Heavenly Father.
I see
some of my brethren around me who hold the holy Priesthood that has descended
out of the heavens in these last days; I behold their faces multiplied around
me; I see them appointed to become saviours among men—to be always on hand to
officiate in the Priesthood. They are destined to become saviours on the
earth—rulers among the children of men, to teach mankind how to increase in the
principles and likeness of Deity—how to increase in those principles of power
that will enable them constantly to ascend in the path of eternal life—to be
like the child that grows when in infancy, gradually increasing in the
knowledge of God.
This is
the condition in which they are placed, if they are acting in their proper
positions, and if they are upholding and sustaining those who are in our midst,
and who are appointed to lead and guide this people to eternal life and
exaltation. We may increase in knowledge and power, and in our ability to build
up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and that, too, by our diligence, our
humility, and faithfulness to the covenants we have made. We do not require
miracles [p.23] to enable as to perform the duties of to-day. We know, from
defending the teachings of the servants of God, that we are right—that the
Spirit from on high accompanies us. We knew that we are right as well as the
Lord does. How do we know this? Because Deity is within us, and that Spirit of
Deity that is within us teaches us that we are the sons of God; it teaches the
sisters that they are the daughters of God, and by it we are all taught that we
are the children of our Father in heaven. Therefore we know if we are in the
line of our duty; for the Spirit of the Gospel teaches every man who lives in
the line of his duty that he is in the path of right, and so it does every
woman. By it she knows she is walking in the path of truth and life. It is this
Spirit which teaches the sisters as well as the brethren the right from the
wrong; and she has a perfect fight to know the truth of her religion—to have a
knowledge for herself that the principles of her Profession are divine. Is
there anything wrong or mysterious, in this? No. It is because she is a child
of God, and therefore she is capacitated to know as he knows—to comprehend the
principles of her religion, its divine origin, and its tendency onward and
upward.
This is a
good and glorious principle, and we are uniting ourselves together, and
continually striving to form a nucleus of power, and getting round us that
support that will endure forever; and we will stand shoulder to shoulder, and
break in pieces and subdue that which would strive to overcome us, and then
plant the principles of righteousness over all the earth. This we will
accomplish, for it is given to us to do; and this is the period in which it is
to be done, and we will do it. We will gird up our loins and rejoice, in the
work given to us, and in erecting constantly around us that which will enable
us to increase in wisdom in experience, and in the knowledge of God.
Brethren
and sisters, short sermons is the doctrine of the day; therefore I say, The
Lord bless you! and I bless you with all the power that I possess President
Young blesses you, his Counsellors bless you, the Twelve Apostles bless you,
the Seventies bless you, the High Priests bless you; and we all bless each
other; and hence we are a blessed people, inasmuch us we live for each other's
good, and the building up of the kingdom of God.
Brethren,
who can overcome us? Who can place a stumbling block in the way of our feet as
we are wending our way to celestial glory? Is there any need of tears? No, not
much. Need we have any fear of the result? No. There is no need of crying and
mourning, for we are the saviours of men, appointed to be the kings and queens
of the earth. We cannot always do what we would like to do, but we shall have
the power to do that which we should do. The Lord will give us the power to do
this.
The Lord
bless you! Amen.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball discoursed on the progress of the human mind in knowledge, and the necessity of advancing in the understanding of the principles of truth. Said it was the duty of the Saints to appreciate their gifts and blessings more than they do, and they should appreciate and honor the giver more than the gift. This principle he illustrated by alluding to Jesus being given by his Father to die for the world, and asked if he should appreciate the son or the father the most. He reasoned on the subject of obedience, and said he belonged to that tree of life of which the Eternal Father was the head; that he was a son and an heir of God, and that he knew he should come off victoriously, if he did not do anything worse or more sinful than he had done.
He wished the people to understand that, if a son turned away from his father who is walking in the path of his duty, he turns away from God. He delighted in speaking facts in figures, for by that means he could the more easily get the people to understand the mind and will of our Heavenly Father. He commanded the people to make honorable their election and their endowments. Spoke in strong terms against adultery and lasciviousness, pointing out the punishment of the transgressor. He made some excellent remarks on family government; the importance of union, love, kindness and mutual affection in every household of the Latter Day Saints. Prophesied that the First Presidency and the Twelve will be together in Jackson county, in the flesh, and will help lay off the inheritances of the Saints.
He then made some remarks on the subject of "home manufactures," and the success that had attended his exertions to manufacture linseed oil, by which, he was happy to say, the importation of the foreign adulterated article will be rendered unprofitable, as we could now make a better article at home and sell it at $5.00 per gallon.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 11:89, 5/22/61 p 1; JD 9:24]
REMARKS
By President HEBER C KIMBALL, Tabernacle a.m. of April 7,
1861
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
The
remarks of brother Snow are all very good and brilliant to every intelligent
mind. We have to increase the same as a child that goes to school and commences
with his A, B, C. When that child obtains a knowledge of the letters of the
English language, he can then put them together, and make words and sentences.
He then wants a second reader, and by-and-by he will call for a third, and a
fourth. Upon the same principle, you and I can improve by degrees; and there is
no other way by which any man can improve, except by experience. There is no
man in this Church who has lived his religion and walked in the light of truth
these twenty-eight years past, but who knows a hundred times more now than he
did at the beginning of his career; and that knowledge comes by experience.
We should
appreciate our blessings and the gifts that God has conferred upon us, and our
affections should be stronger for the Giver of the gifts than they are for the
gift. Is it my duty to think more of Jesus the Son of the living God, than of
his Father who gave him as a sacrifice for the, sins of the world? Which is the
greatest—the Giver of that gift, or the gift? Where people would think more of
the gift than the Giver, I have known hundreds of times of those gifts being
taken from them because they did not appreciate the Giver. Remember the Father,
in the name of Jesus, and then appreciate those men God has given you to be
your servants, and your enemies cannot move you.
Everyone
that is not for God is bound for destruction; and if all our enemies combine
and come against us with all their armies and munitions of war, they cannot
hurt us, for God our Father will fight our battles, as he has dent up tot his
day. He will sustain those who remember the originator of the great work of God
in the last days. I am now telling what I know; I am telling what I have
experienced. Sometime this month, it will be twenty-nine years since President
Young and myself were baptized.
I have
been all the time in the midst of this people with the Prophet, and with the
Apostles, with Patriarchs, and with sinners; and I know all about the
persecutions we have passed through as a people. All this has given me an
experience that has proved to a demonstration that the world and all hell
combined cannot budge this people one hair, only as they please to go. God
dictates them, and that you have seen more particularly within a few years
past.
Did that
army hurt us? No, not as a people; but there are some persons who are injured,
and will be eternally. Who injured them, the army? No: they did it themselves;
they fostered the enemy that would have destroyed this whole people and laid
the knife to President Young's throat, mid to the throats of his friends, and
all the friends of God. But the Lord Almighty will make them pay for it. You
will feel the rod for this. If it is not in fifty years, it will surely come,
and you need not think you will escape it. You may do good works enough to
overbalance it, and then perhaps you will not be found wanting.
Those in
the days of Joseph who were traitors to him and tampered with the mob are
guilty of his death and they will have to pay the debt some day. You that have
not done wrong, happy are ye. Do not do any wrong in the future. You that have
done right, continue to do right. You that have not betrayed your brethren, see
you do not do it; and you that have not turned away from the Lord and from your
covenants, do not do it, but hold them sacred the few more days you have to
live in the flesh, and the Lord will let you live many days, and you shall be
the ones the Scriptures speak of, to whom the Lord Will grant long life, even
that child that shall be subject to his father and to his mother. That is the
blessing promised to them.
I will
say to you, young men, you children of the Saints, and you, young women, Repent
of your sins, and turn to your fathers and mothers and listen to their counsel,
if they are good and teach you good principles; and if they are not good, but
teach you good principles, cleave unto those principles. When my son turns away
from me, he turns away from God; and if he does not turn away from God, he will
not turn away from me. I am a son of God; I came from him. I belong to the
family of Christ, and I am an heir to all the promises with my Saviour Jesus. If,
I am faithful, and do not do anything worse than I have done, I shall come off
victoriously.
A great
many may condemn me, and say, I am not as affable and kind as I should be; I do
not kiss you and pet you enough, and you condemn me for it, and you would
condemn me if I did.
I am a
branch of the vine that came out of the root that Jesus dwells in; and when my
son or my daughter turns away from me, they turn away from God; and if they do
not turn away from God, they will not turn away from me; and when my wife turns
away from me, if I am a righteous man, she turns from the tree she is connected
to; and if she has done it unrighteously, she turns from God—she transcends her
bounds, and the Spirit of the Almighty will not dwell with her; and all you
sympathetic persons will fall in with that spirit and condemn me. Let me turn
away from President Young and this Church, should I not turn away from God? Of
course I should.
It should
be with a family as it is with this Church. As this Church is compared to a vine
or tree, so a family should be like a tree; they should be one, concentrating
their feelings in their head from whence they spring; and if they cannot
respect the father they came, from, how can they respect grandfather? I am
alluding to fathers and mothers—to the Elders of Israel—to men of God that
have, been anointed with a holy anointing, to be what? To be Priests of God.
Live for it, and honour your present calling, and keep your election sure. If
you were not elected in eternity, here is the place to be elected, and to
enlist under the banner of Christ; and finally we will all be elected, if we
will only take a course that is proper. It is going to be a difficult thing for
the elect to be saved, according to the Scriptures, and there will not any of them
be saved only by taking a course to do right and by honoring their calling and
Priesthood, No man will become a king, only by honoring his calling, and by
obtaining a crown by experience, and continuing in well doing. Where is no
woman that will ever be a queen except she is a good woman and well attached to
a good king.
Now
honour that calling and Priesthood, and that sacred endowment that will bring
you into the presence of God, if you will observe it. How unrighteously many
act that have received a holy and sacred endowment! They will many of them
violate those sacred and solemn obligations. They have gone to the nations, and
there committed adultery; and those who have been led astray by them think that
the First Presidency of this Church and the Twelve Apostles do the same things,
and they go down to the pit; but the Lord God Almighty will raise those persons
yet, and he will make those men do it, and they will have to pay the debt. They
are not going to get through with it in this time and more than those men who
fostered that army. They have committed sin they have kept men and women out of
this Church that probably would have been in it. We generally conclude that
those who are kept out ought to be out. I tell you that a great many that are
out are better than many that are in. And then look at your covenants, ladies!
Ye mothers in Israel, cleave unto your husbands; love them more than your
lives. If you have a kind, benevolent feeling; bestow it on them; and then, if
the brethren have any kind, benevolent, sweet, compassionate feelings, confer
them upon your wives, and appreciate your Father and God, who gave you both,
more than all the rest.
I can
recollect a circumstance of seeing a man and woman who had a very fine son: the
father took the son in his arms and wanted to embrace him and carry him around
and show him, he delighted so much in his son and thought everybody else
delighted in him. Because he did this, the nether stepped forward and pulled
the child out of the arms of his father. I said, God my Father will take that
child from your arms quicker than you took him from mine, and not more than ten
days afterwards it was in its grave.
Let us
put everything in its proper place and nourish it properly. And a good man that
is inspired of the Almighty, a good calculator and financier, knows how to
govern and minister better than the person who never knew anything, and never
will, only to waste and destroy all a man has got. You see things, and I do;
but you say in your hearts you do not care for anything, only my dear little
self.
Father
says, in this book, what joy has a man in bestowing a gift upon a person, when
the receiver of the gift has no joy in the giver? The joy should be in the
giver as well as in the gift. Take the gift and use it for the purpose for
which it was designed, and do not worship it, but worship the giver and the
proper authority. Now, we will say, here is an Elder; we will say he is a
Teacher, and he says, I respect brother Heber above all other men on the earth,
and I will not submit to anybody else but to him; and here are scores of men
between him and me that he ought to submit to; but he runs over everyone of
these choice gifts to get to me;—what will become of him? He will go down to
the pit, as sure as he came out of it. When a man is attached to a tree, he
should appreciate, honour, and respect every branch pertaining to that tree
that is honouring its calling, living its religion, and receiving the true
nourishment from the root.
If you
can draw any good conclusions from these few hints, receive them and reflect
upon them, if they do come from brother Heber. He is just as capable of
teaching the truth, when he has the Spirit of truth as any man in the world.
Supposing I communicate truth to you by a figure, an illustration, or a
representation, is it not the more easily understood?
Drs.
Sprague, Dunyan, and Hovey are Thomsonians, and I like them the best. I ask
them why they put Greek names on their medicines which I am familiar with? Does
it change the nature of those herbs by coming here to the mountains? No. Then
what do you do it for? They reply, People will appreciate a false name better
than a true name; hence we give to one man, at one time, powder-falbin; at
another. May-apple; and then mandrake. Why do they not call May-apple
'mandrake' at once? The doctor gave it to me every way. It is mandrake,
May-apple, and then it is powder-falbin. This is done because people have an
itching for something new all the time.
I may be
detaining you too long; but, brethren, I feel kind to you. As for blessing you,
there is not a day of my life but what I bow before my Father alone and before
my family, and I pray, Father, bless all Israel, from the President of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the last member connected with
it, and that tells the whole story. Let us do right, and God will lead us off
victoriously.
We are
richer now for moving to the south than we should have been if we had not
moved. What did we save by it? It saved that difficulty that would have brought
you into sorrow, probably, all the days of your life, if you had withstood that
army and shed blood. But by that move you saved your blood and the blood of
your enemies, and in this you did a good deed. It cost considerable, but Father
booked it against them, and he will make them pay the debt. We might have to do
such a thing again. I do not know anything about it, but I am pretty sure of
one thing —we shall go to Jackson county, Missouri; that is, those who do right
and honour their calling, doing what they have been told to do. You will be
blessed, and you will see the day when Presidents Young, Kimball, and Wells,
and the Twelve Apostles will be in Jackson county, Missouri, laying out your
inheritances. In the flesh? Of course. We should look well without being in the
flesh! We shall be there in the flesh, and all our enemies cannot prevent it.
Brother Wells, you may write that. You will be there, and Willard will be
there, and also Jedediah, and Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and David; and Parley;
and the day will be when I will see those men in the general assembly of the
Church of the First-Born, in the great council of God in Jerusalem, too. Will
we want you to be along?
I heard
Joseph say twice that brother Brigham and I should be in that council in
Jerusalem, when there should be a uniting of the two divisions of God's
government. Now, you have got to live for it. What would you not do to attain
to those blessings? You would give all you have in the world. You may give all
you have got, and then keep it; and if you keep the Commandments of God and
live faithful, you shall every one see it, and that is what will bring you to
it.
When you
are called upon to do a thing, do it with all your heart, and God will add a
hundredfold to your glory and exaltation. When seed-wheat is sown, if it is not
too thick, one seed will produce thirty stalks, and a head on every stalk. Like
the mite that the woman gave, it will increase to you thousands, and much more
to them that have more in proportion to the kernel.
You
Elders of Israel are the very men that will have to bring the sons and
daughters of Israel from afar, and nurse them at your side; and you mothers
will have to be those very queens that will have to take care of them when they
are gathered, if you will honour your calling. It is the pride of my heart to
see this people do right, and to do right myself.
There was
a man came into the mill the other day—he is a painter, carpenter, joiner, and
everything almost. He said I can tell you how to reduce that oil and mix water
with it, and no man can detect it; and, says he, you must do it by adding lye
to it. I said I would rather have a clear conscience than all the lies in hell.
Said I, You and my brethren shall have the pure oil from the flax-seed, and it
shall be as pure and as holy as brother Brigham's gold. You need to be a pure
man to cry holiness to the Lord God Almighty. Have our gold pure, without
adulteration, have our silver and brass pure, and you shall have the linseed
oil pure from me, as pure as it is in the seed; and I will undersell our
merchants. I will do it, if I come down to a dollar a gallon. We will stop,
that leaching out of our gold, and let all Israel say Amen.
Some said
there was not any oil in the flax-seed, because the Country is dry; but I can
get over a gallon of oil from a bushel of seed. If you have money, I want it,
and you shall have the oil. I will supply the Public Works and let brother
Brigham have what he wants; and if the Gentiles bring oil here and sell it at
three dollars per gallon, I will undersell them. If you pay me money for oil, I
will pay you money for seed. If you do not pay me money, I cannot return the
compliment, but I wilt give you oil for your seed. I am going to send back and
get something I cannot, make. I will tell you what I am going to sell the oil
at—five dollars per gallon, and pay two dollars and a half per bushel for seed,
or two quarts of oil. That is fair and honourable—as fair for you as for me. If
I sake a gallon, I get two quarts, and you two. And that is three dollars per
gallon cheaper than that which comes from the States.
I believe
brother Clements is selling linseed oil at six dollars; but he cannot sell
long, for he has not got it. Brother Wells has established a nail machinery,
and God has blessed him in the operation, He has introduced the nails into
market, and he is now making them by the ton, and has put them at twenty-five
dollars per hundred; and at the same time, instead of paying their money and
good things to him, some men are carrying their money to the States to buy the
nails. Why do you not patronize brother Wells? Those I am speaking of are men
in authority. I am using the hydraulic presses brother Taylor brought into this
country, and they are performing wonders. They will each press equal to a
hundred and twelve tons weight.
Now, you
go to work, brethren and sisters, and get out something of home manufacture,
and be as faithful as President Young and his counsel have been in this matter,
and then you shall be blessed more than you are. We admit you are a good
people, but you can be more useful; and the more useful you are the better you
are. If you can feel ten men, you are better than the man that can only feed
himself. Would you not rather have him for a husband, sisters, than the man
that could not feed himself?
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young made a few remarks upon the same subject.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 11:89, 5/22/61, p 1; JD 9:29]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, a.m. of April 7,
1861.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
I have no
objections to the tenor of the remarks we have just heard pertaining to our
temporal affairs, though they are rather more appropriate, according to custom,
in such a meeting as we had last evening with the Bishops, High Priests,
&c. I wish to say a few words on the subject last spoken of by brother
Kimball. I think he will be very successful in obtaining oil from flax or
linseed. For a beginning, and for persons that never saw oil made before, which
is the case with the workmen who are making it—they knew nothing about making
oil—I think they have done extraordinary well. If I remember correctly, in the
States five quarts of oil from a bushel of seed was considered a good yield.
There I was some little acquainted with making oil, and very much acquainted
with using it.
Brother
Kimball spoke of the oil that is imported to this country. I am doubtful
whether there has ever been a gallon of pure linseed oil imported into this
Territory; and the person that told brother Kimball that he could reduce his
oil so that the adulteration could not be detected, is mistaken, for I could
detect it by rubbing it between my fingers. Before I knew anything of
"Mormonism," I knew how to adulterate oil. Brother Kimball says that
alkali is often mixed with linseed oil. In my young days I had to quit the
business of painting purely because I had either to be dishonest or quit; and I
quit. I will venture to say that, let me have the oil that is made at, brother
Kimball's mill, and have pure white lead of our own manufacture, and I will put
a coat of paint on to the outside woodwork of buildings that will last twenty
years, better than the materials we import and now use for painting will last
two years. When you buy the oil that is imported and make putty with it and
what is commonly called Spanish white,—if you set glass in windows with that
putty, in a year or two the glass wilt be falling out; but when you use the
pure oil, in two years you could scarcely get the glass out without the use of
a knife or chisel to first cut out the putty. Let it stand ten years, and
probably you would have to cut the sash to pieces to let the glass out. The oil
we get from the East is worth but little, only for present show. That which we
make here will last in this climate.
Our
painters tell us that it is the climate that, destroys the paint. I do not
think there is a painter in this Territory that knows what pure linseed oil is.
They tell us that the climate destroys the paint. That is a mistake; the paint
is not good. Can you tell whether there is alkali mixed with the linseed oil? I
can. I can also tell whether there is Spanish white in the paint. Plaster of
Paris (by some called Paris white) is also mixed with white lead, and our
houses are painted with it. Other paints are adulterated. I pay from thirty to
fifty dollars to have a carriage painted, and in three months it needs painting
again. Let it stand six months, and you would hardly suppose that it had been
painted in sixteen years.
We ought
to have Spoken last night in regard to raising flax in this Territory, and I
will now say to the brethren that we wish them to return the flax seed they
have borrowed at the Tithing Office. We also wish you to raise flax and make
linen cloth. We have as good workmen at this business as there are in the
world. The American brethren do not generally know how to raise flax for making
fine linen, but they can easily learn. Instead of sowing five peeks to the
acre, sow five or more bushels, and you will raise flax as soft as silk; from
such flax fibres can be hatcheled as fine as spinster's webs. Most of the linen
we import is more than hair cotton. The flax is put into machines and cut and torn
to pieces; it then goes through another rotting process, is then mixed with
cotton, carded, spun, and called linen. I once in a while see a genuine piece
of linen, when will as well last six years as the most we buy will last six
months, if it is not washed to death. This you know, if you have been
accustomed to using tow doth. In clearing out brush cutting down trees,
logging, and all kinds of rough work, the one or two pairs of genuine, tow
trousers and a couple of tow frocks will last through a summer; but put on that
heavy so-called linen you buy in the stores and do nothing but come into a
pulpit, and before you have had it three months it is cut to pieces and
entirely done. But I will not detain you longer upon this point.
Brother
Kimball mentioned about some of the brethren's sending to the States for nails.
Send to the States, go to the stores, buy where you please, and do you think
that you can get better nails than you can get at our nail factory? I know what
nails are; I have driven a great many. There is not a better nail made at
Boston or in Germany than there is at this factory. I never saw a better nail,
nor better nail machinery than that which we have running.
We should
now make our own iron. We have already spent about one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars to make iron here, but we have failed, not for want of ore or
for want of skill. Where is the difficulty? There has not been union enough in
the men who engaged in that work. After we had spent about one hundred thousand
dollars, an ingenious man, named Peter Shirts, would have brought out the iron
as good as ever was made, and that, too, by means of a small furnace of
trifling cost; but they ran him out of the county. The citizens pronounced him
a nuisance, confiscated his property, and drove him out. Every man
said—"I will have the name and honour of making the first iron made in
this Territory, or I will destroy the work." That is the difficulty. We
have the best of iron ore, and we have coal close by it; and some man will go,
to work, by-and-by, who is not worth fifty dollars, and make iron. Go into
Vermont, and you will there see a farmer, when he has a little leisure, take
his wagon, get the ore, smelt it, hammer it out, and make two or three hundred
pounds of iron in a day. He takes care of it, and by-and-by some one comes
along and buys it of him. Travel through that country, and you will find
hundreds of such little iron forges. Men who do not pretend even to be
blacksmiths get some person to teach them how to use a trip hammer to draw out
the iron after they have put on their blast and run out some two or three
hundred pounds. On a rainy day a farmer has his ore ready and makes iron when
he cannot work in the field. We have shown you that we can make nails. I cannot
do everything. Who has brought carding machines and other machinery here? Who
has entered into every kind of mechanism that has been started in this
Territory? Twelve thousand dollars we have spent to get the manufacture of
pottery under weigh. By-and-by some man will come along, not worth fifty
dollars, and take the felspar, which enters so largely into our granite rock,
and make the best of chinaware.
We want
glass. Some man will come along, by-and-by, and take the quartz rock, rig up a
little furnace, and make glass.
Choir sung, "Come, O thou King of kings."
Dismissed by Elder Levi W. Hancock.
The improved state of the weather this morning caused a vast concourse of people to assemble on the Temple Block, and, at the time of meeting, there were over 1,000 persons who could not get into the Tabernacle. On seeing which, the President appointed Elders Orson Hyde and John Taylor to go and preach to the people in the open air.
_____
[7 Apr, pm]
[DNW 4/10/61 p 5]
Afternoon. - Choir sung, "Before Jehovah's awful throne."
Prayer was offered by Elder W. W. Phelps. Choir sung, "Arise my soul, arise."
The sacrament was administered by Bishops Hunter, Hardy, Stewart, Kesler, Raleigh and counselor Earl.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young delivered an interesting and instructive discourse, addressed to the Bishops and Presidents from a distance, and also to all who call themselves saints. He spoke of the great blessings that we enjoy in having the ability to build ourselves houses and make ourselves comfortable in this like; of being able to produce every thing that we need - the wheat, the apple, the peach, the apricot, the silk, the cotton and all the necessary comforts for this mortal life. He said it was our duty to remember, first of all, the Giver of those gifts, and people who do not do this will meet with losses. The time will come when this people will be obliged to stand isolated from the nations of the earth, hence the propriety of endeavoring to increase our home manufactures.
He told the people that machinery for the manufacture of paper had been brought into the Territory at a great expense, and he wished the sisters to save their cotton and linen rags, and the brethren to grow more flax and hemp, so that we may be able to print our own school books, and also to print the history of Joseph Smith in volumes. He observed that it might seem strange to some that he should speak of such things on the Sabbath day, and when the sacrament was being administered; he would like to speak upon the spiritual things of the kingdom, but this appeared to be the best opportunity of getting the subject before the brethren from the country settlements; and, if we were to neglect our temporal duties, we could not enjoy the spiritual. He urged the brethren to raise more sheep; to take better care of them; and to preserve the wool; make clothes of it; and stop going to foreign markets. He made some appropriate remarks on the subject of domestic economy. Alluded to the attempts to manufacture iron having cost us over $150,000, and said that the only difficulty was - there was a lack of union in those who professed to know how to make it, and instead of uniting their abilities and making the iron that we so much need for the nail factory and other purposes, they all contend for and are determined that they will have the credit of making the first iron in the Territory.
After speaking of the manufacture of sugar, the raising of cane, and tobacco growing, he took up the subjects of the word of wisdom and celestial marriage, the particulars of which will appear in the verbatim report.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 11:97, 5/29/61, p 1; JD 9:31]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, p.m. of April 7,
1861.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
I wish to
speak upon what pertains to our temporal affairs, which I would very well have
liked to have been brought before the Bishops meeting without detaining a
congregation like this on such matters. I wish to urge upon the people the
necessity of providing for themselves, and not being dependent entirely upon
others.
The Lord
has given us ability to do a great many things. What a blessing this is! Do you
ever think of it? A man has ability to take the raw materials and build a good,
comfortable habitation for the accommodation of himself; his, wives, and
children. The wife can spread a table with wholesome food, and in a manner
pleasant to the eye, while the food is gratifying to the palate; They have the
ability to provide, if they choose, downy beds upon which to rest their weary
bodies. Do you ever think of this? I presume the greater part of the
inhabitants of the earth have lived and died without reflecting much upon
whence they derived this ability, to whom they were indebted for the ingenuity
they possess, or the capability that is organized within them to gather around
them the comforts of life. Do you, brethren, think of it?
We have
ability to cultivate the earth; we know how to raise stock, how to make
clothing, and are not obliged to go naked like the Indians. We are not obliged
to lie down in the open air with perhaps a few sage brush around us, as do many
of the natives. We have ability to make ourselves comfortable as to the
physical wants of this life. Where did we get that ability? Are your hearts
lifted to the Donor of those blessings? Do you remember from whence your
ability came? Who organized these tabernacles? Who put into them these thinking
powers? Who has placed the spirit in the body, and organized them together, and
made us capable of reflecting? Where did you get this ability? A well-read
historian and geographical scholar can contemplate his antipodes, and in his
mind see what they are doing. He can also behold the various exhibitions of
human skill in different nations; both in their social and political capacity;
for they are in the vision of his mind. Who gave the ability to reflect and to
behold the earth and the inhabitants thereof? Is not this a blessing? How
cheering, how comforting, how consoling, how exalting! I would be glad if we
could realize the blessings we possess.
The Lord
has placed in our possession the elements pertaining to this earth. As I told
the people, when we first came into this Valley in 1847, there is plenty of
silk in the elements here, as much so as in any other part of the earth. Here
is also the fine linen. Were there any sheep here when we came first here? No.
Were there any silk raisers then here? No. Were there any flax misers here? No;
neither was there a stalk of flax growing, except what was growing wild. The
elements are here. Bring the seeds, the eggs of the silkworm, raise the trees
for feeding the worms, and let us see if we cannot produce silk here. It is in
the elements. We have the elements to produce as good wheat as grows. The elements
here will produce the apple, the peach, the pear, the plum, the apricot, the
cherry, the currant, and every kind of fruit in abundance, and every variety of
plant and vegetable we desire. Have you the ability to bring any of these
things forth from the native element? Yes; here are men who know how to raise
fruit, and here axe the women who know how to dry and cook it. Here are the men
who know how to raise sheep, and how to take their fleeces and deliver them
into the hands of their families to be manufactured. Here are women who know
how to spin, weave, and make the finest of cloth. So with the flax, and so with
every material calculated to make us comfortable. Where did we get this
ability? We got it from our Father who is in heaven. Be thankful for these
precious gifts. As brother Kimball justly said, "Remember, first of all,
the Giver;" worship and adore the Giver. Some will lose a great deal by
neglecting the Giver and by worshiping the gift. Such will find that they will
meet with losses.
I look
forward to no distant period when this people, called Latter-day Saints, will
be obliged to sustain themselves. We must prepare to gather around us every
necessary of life, to make every implement we may wish to use, and to produce
from the earth every grain, vegetable, and fruit that we need, and not go to
any other place to buy. Produce every article of clothing that we need, and
stop this importation that we are now encumbered with. We must produce all we
can enjoy. I expect that I soon shall do so.
I will
now make a request of the sisters—one which I wish them to hear, remember, and
put in practice. Carefully save all cast-off linen and cotton articles of
dress, all old shirts, wagon-covers, sheets, and every article of cotton and
lines fabric, instead of letting them go to waste in your door-yards or in the
streets; for we want those rags to supply the paper mill we are now putting up.
We have as good machinery for making paper as there is in the United States or
in the world. We have brought it here at a heavy expense—it has cost us some
twenty or twenty-five thousand dollars. We are now putting it up, and we want
the sisters to save rags, and we want the brethren to raise hemp, flax, &c.
We want to make our own paper. The inquiry is, "Will it pay cost?"
How much paper do we want to use? There is annually imported into and used
in this Territory some thirty thousand dollars' worth of paper. Were we making
our own paper, much more would be used, for we could then fill the Territory
with school-books printed here, and could supply all the paper required
throughout; the Territory, thereby saving a great many thousand dollars now
paid for transportation. We are not able to print a book for want of paper. Now
we are prepared to go to work and make our own paper. As I have remarked, we
have most excellent machinery; we also have good paper-makers; and what hinders
our making the best of paper, and all the paper we want to use? Then we can
print, in book form, the History of Joseph Smith, and do it in a respectable manner.
Then we can print the Church History for ourselves and for the world, and every
book we need. To aid in accomplishing so laudable an object, I want the sisters
to gather the rags and hand them over to the Bishops, and we will pay for them
with paper. We also want hemp, flax, and every material suitable for making
good paper.
There are
a great many things we wish to talk about; and I do not wish, if we could well
avoid it, to bring such things before the Conference, especially on the
Sabbath. The sacrament is being administered, and we would like to talk about
the spiritual welfare of the people; but if we cannot save ourselves
temporally, we may despair of saving ourselves or the people spiritually. The
first thing is to save our natural lives and devote them to building up the
kingdom of God on the earth.
Place
ourselves back ten centuries, read the prophecies, and behold by prophetic
vision what the Lord was going to do in the latter days. "The time is
coming when the Saints are to be called, and they will assemble themselves
together." "Can it be possible?" "Yes; for the
Prophets have foretold it." "The time is coming when the Lord will
speak from the heavens and send his angel to administer to men on earth, when
the Priesthood will be restored and bestowed upon the children of men. Look
forth in vision and behold these events." They would appear far more
beautiful than they appear to the natural man while acting in them. I sometimes
think that we are far beneath our, privileges in a spiritual point of view. The
Prophets and other ancient holy men saw our day. They did not look at the human
family now upon the stage of action in all their weaknesses; they did not see
every little trifling affair, every little quarrel that more or less embitters
life; they did not see our darkness and contentions, sorrow, pain, anguish,
grief, and strife. No; they beheld the glory of God resting upon the people, as
we now enjoy it.
Many
sects and societies of people have at different times tried to assemble
themselves together, because it was in the prophecies that the Saints should be
assembled in the latter days—that the Lord God would gather his people. They
have tried to gather their societies, but what have they effected?
Comparatively nothing. If the Lord had, spoken from heaven to them and revealed
only this one privilege, and no more, that Christians might assemble themselves
together, and live, walk, talk, and commune with each other uninterruptedly,
without being obliged to mingle with the world, they would have esteemed it one
of the greatest blessings that could have been bestowed upon them.
I shall
repeat my request to these my sisters. We wish you to save every article about
your house that will make paper, instead of throwing it away. Put the rags in a
way that they will get to the paper mill, which is four rules from here. We
have taken the Sugar House and converted it into a paper mill, and we will try
to make paper, if we did not make sugar. And I urge it upon the brethren to
raise sheep, save the wool, and put it in the handset their wives and
daughters. And I enjoin it upon the sister, old and young, to make clothing for
their husbands, brothers, children, and themselves, and stop running after
imported goods.
In regard
to the qualify and utility of calico, by some called prints, I can speak from
actual knowledge. Take a good seamstress who has four children, and let her sew
from Monday morning until Saturday might, and she can scarcely make up the
calicos as fast as those four children will wear it out; and let her do her
washing to please her, and she will want help in the house, or the children
will have to go dirty and ragged. What axe these imported rags good for? They
are hardly worth making up. There is not half the calico that comes here that is
worth making up, if you give it to the people free of charge, if they could do
better. Now we can do better.
Raise
flax, brethren. There is no place in the world where flax and hemp will grow
better than they will here, though they will not do well in every locality.
Hunt out places and soil most suitable for flax and hemp, and there let them be
grown: also raise and take care of sheep. It is thought by some that this
country is unhealthy for sheep, but it is not. There is not a climate or soil
better adapted to sheep raising than are these mountains. Some may think that
other countries are better, but they are not, so far as I am acquainted. But
keep hundreds and hundreds of sheep in a small pen, shut them in there nights,
with hardly room to lie down, and let them remain there until ten or eleven
o'clock in the day, before they are turned out to grass, as has been done here
more or less, and it would kill every sheep in England or Scotland. Let them
have plenty of room by day and by night, and they will not become diseased.
Give them well-ventilated pens, proper exercise, and proper food, and you will
not see them diseased. The disease that is among our sheep is not natural to
the climate; it was brought here, and has been fostered by bad management.
When you
find the soil that will produce the best and greatest amount of sugar—that best
adapted to raising cane, let the cane be raised these, and there let the
molasses and sugar be made. Just now we want our quarter-of-an-acre of cane,
our quarter-of-an-acre of flax and hemp, our proportion of wheat, corn, and
everything else; but by-and-by our labours will be systematized, and we will
find the place where we can raise the best cane, and let that place be devoted
to raising it, and make sugar, and stop importing it. The English brethren and
the brethren from the Eastern and Northern and Western States and from the
Canadas know nothing about making sugar from the cane; and when they see
newly-made cane sugar, they say if, is not good. I have never seen a purer
article of sugar made than is made here. Eat the new cane sugar that is made in
the Southern States, and it has a very unpleasant taste. Take our sugar and
cleanse it as they do, and let it stand until it is ripe for the market, and
you will find as good an article of cane sugar as ever was made. The Chinese
sugar cane is a better plant to produce sweet than is the cane they raise in
the South and on the West India Islands. We can make our own sugar. We send out
a large amount of money to buy sugar, and we want this practice stopped. Now,
farmers, raise what sugar you want: you can do it as well as not. Go into the
business systematically.
You know
that we all profess to believe the "Word of Wisdom." There has been a
great deal said about it, more in former than in latter years. We, as
Latter-day Saints, care but little about tobacco; but, as "Mormons,"
we use a vast quantity of it. As Saints, we use but little; as
"Mormons," we use a great deal. How much do you suppose goes annually
from this Territory, and has for ten or twelve years past, in gold and silver,
to supply the people with tobacco? I will say $60,000. Brother William H.
Hooper, our Delegate in Congress, came here in 1849, and during about eight
years he was selling goods his sales for tobacco alone amounted to over $28,000
a year. At the same time there were other stores that sold their share and drew
their share of the money expended yearly, besides what has been brought in by
the keg and by the half keg. The traders and passing emigration have sold tons
of tobacco, besides what is sold here regularly. I say that $60,000 annually is
the smallest figure I can estimate the sales at. Tobacco can be raised here as
well as it can be raised in any other place. It wants attention and care. If we
use it, let us raise it here. I recommend for some man to go to raising
tobacco. One man who came here last fall, is going to do, so; and if he is
diligent, he will raise quite a quantity. I want to see some man go to and make
a business of raising tobacco and stop sending money out the Territory for that
article.
Some of
the brethren are very strenuous upon the "Word of Wisdom," and would
like to have me preach upon it, and urge it upon the brethren, and make it a
test of fellowship. I do not think that I shall do so. I have never done so. We
annually expend only $60,000 to break the "Word of Wisdom" and we can
save the money and still break it, if we will break it. Some would ask brother
Brigham whether he keeps the "Word of Wisdom." No: and I can say
still further, as I told one of the teachers in Nauvoo, I come as near doing so
as any man in this generation. It is not using tobacco that particularly breaks
the "Word of Wisdom" nor is that the only bad practice it corrects;
but it is profitable in every path of life. If our young persons were manly
enough to govern their appetites a little, they would not contract these bad
habits; but they must have some weaknesses; they must not be perfect and
exactly right in everything. It is a loathsome practice to use tobacco in any
way. A doctor told an old lady in New York, when she insisted upon his telling
her whether snuff would injure, her brain, "It will not hurt the
brain: there is no fear of snuff's hurting the brain of anyone, for no person
that has brains will take snuff." I will say that the most filthy way of
using tobacco is to smoke it. "What is the neat way? If you are going to
direct any course for the people to use tobacco, let us know what it is. Cannot
you who have used it for years point out a neat, modest, judicious way of using
it? The "Word of Wisdom" says that tobacco is good for sick cattle;
and widen you want another chew, down with it as you would a pill. It may make
you vomit a little, but that is soon over, and it is good for sick cattle. That
is the nearest way you can use tobacco·
I will
now speak a little in regard to people's making themselves happy. We heard
something upon that subject to-day and yesterday; and we frequently hear people
preaching about heaven, paradise, and Zion; and if there is a comfort, a
felicity, and good feeling, I want to say a few words about them; and I shall
begin upon the doctrine so much beloved by Saint and sinner, and that is the
plurality of women. The, Saints like a plurality of wives, and the sinners like
a plurality of men and women. I will say to the sisters that I have heard but
very few women, and not a great many men, ever talk sensibly upon the plurality
of wives. When they begin to talk about it, they exhibit, almost without an
exception, passion instead of principle. Were we to appeal to passions of the
people, we should promote the doctrine of a plurality of men and of women. But
when we address ourselves to the Saints of the Most High God, it is very
different and in a different light. It is for my sisters to be mothers of holy
men and holy women—it receive and conceive in the name and by the power of the
Holy Ghost—to bring forth their fruits to the praise and honour of the God of
heaven. But what are the people doing here? "I want another wife," and
almost universally passion is exhibited instead of principle.
If the
plurality of wives is to pander to the low passions of men and women, the
sooner it is abolished the better. "How far would you go in abolishing
it?" I would say, if the Lord should reveal that it is his will to go so
far as to become a Shaking Quaker, Amen to it, and let the sexes have no
connection. If so far as for a man to have but one wife, let it be so. The word
and will of the Lord is what I want—the will and mind of God. He has revealed
his mind and will. The time is coming when the Lord is going to raise up a holy
nation. He will bring up a royal Priesthood upon the earth, and he has
introduced a plurality of wives for that express purpose, and not to gratify
lustful passion in the least. I would rather take my valise in my hand to-day,
and never sees wife or a child again, and preach the Gospel until I go into the
grave, than to live as I do, unless God commands it. I never entered into the
order of plurality of wives to gratify passion. And were I now asked whether I
desired and wanted another wife, my reply would be, It should be one by whom
the Spirit will bring forth noble children. I am almost sixty years old; and if
I now live for passion, I pray the Lord Almighty to take my life from the
earth.
I know
the weaknesses of humanity, and I understand the passions of men and women. I
am sorry for them. I wish they had grace according to their day, creating such
fortitude in them that they would determine to suffer unto death rather than
violate a holy command of the Almighty, or transgress the bounds God has set.
"Is that the way you have lived?" It is. It is the example I have set
before my family from the day the Lord opened my mind to see the Gospel. Ask
these sisters (many of them have known me for years,) what my life has been in
private and in public. It has been like the angel Gabriel's, if he had visited
you; and I can live so still. But how are we to be made happy? There is one
course—love the Giver more than the gift; love Him that has placed passion in
me more than my passions. Let passion lie at the feet of judgment, and let
every attribute that God has bestowed on me be devoted to the righteous cause
he has commenced upon the earth. This, and, this alone, produces happiness. He
has brought us forth, and we live and see this day that Prophets, kings, and
millions of great and good men have prayed to see, but died without the sight.
When they looked at it in vision, it cast a halo, around which was like the
dawning of heaven to their souls, and they shouted, "Hallelujah!"
beholding the spirit and glory of these times that we now live in. And we yield
to passion? I say, Shame on the individual that says passion has anything to do
with his life. It is crucified. It lies, as it were, at the foot of the cross.
That is my faith, and it has been my life.
How will
you be happy? Love the Giver more than the gift. Delight yourselves in your
duties, mothers. Here are the middle-aged and the young. I am now almost daily
sealing young girls to men of age and experience. Love your duties, sisters.
Are you sealed to a good man? Yes, to a man of God. It is for you to bear fruit
and bring forth, to the praise of God, the spirits that are born in yonder
heavens and are to take tabernacles on the earth. You have the privilege of
forming tabernacles for those spirits, instead of their being brought into this
wicked world that God may have a royal Priesthood, a royal people, on the
earth. That is what plurality of wives is for, and not to gratify lustful
desires. Sisters, do you wish to make yourselves happy? Then what is
your duty? It is for you to bear children, in the name of the Lord, that are
full of faith and the power of God,—to receive, conceive, bear, and bring forth
in the name of Israel's God that you may have the honour of being the mothers
of great and good men—of kings, princes, and potentates that shall yet live on
the earth and govern and control the nations. Do you look forward to that? or
are you` tormenting yourselves by thinking that your husbands do not love you?
I would not care whether they loved a particle or net; but I would cry out,
like one of old, in the joy of my heart, "I have got a man from the
Lord!" "Hallelujah! I am a mother—I have borne, an image of
God!" Let your prayers ascend to God, and that continually, that he will
overshadow the child by the power of the Holy Ghost before and after its
birth—that the Holy Ghost may attend it continually. The mother should inquire
what her duty is. It is to teach her children holiness, prayer to God, and to
trust in Him. Teach them the holy religion and the commandments that are
calculated to sanctify the people and bring them into the presence of our
Father and God. But no; too often it is passion. If my passion is served, I am
in heaven. The fire will have to burn them up. We must live by principle; and
if we do, we shall attain to perfection—to being crowned with crowns of glory,
immortality, and eternal lives. I would rather be purified here than to live
ten thousand years to attain the same point in another existence. The man that
enters into this order by the prompting of passion, and not with a view to
honour God and carry out his purposes, the curse of God will rest upon him; and
that which he seems to have will be taken from him and given to those, that act
according to principle. Remember it.
The world
cries out against this obnoxious doctrine, that I should have more wives than
one. And what would they do? Destroy the virtue of every woman in this
community if they had the power. What do they care about virtue? With
comparatively few exceptions, no more than do the devils in hell. Most of the
officers who have been sent here would have defiled every bed in this
Territory, had they have had the power. Tell about this doctrines being
obnoxious to their delicate feelings! Yes, it is, in one sense. It keeps them
at bay; it is hell to them; it is burning them up; and I say they may burn up,
and they will.
Elders of
Israel, have you entered into the doctrine that has been revealed, through
passion? If you have, you will find that that course will take that which you
seem to have, and the Lord will say—"Let this man, that man, or the other
man go, for he has acted on passion, and not on principle. Take that which he seems
to have, and give it to him that has been faithful with the five, the two, the
three, or the one talent." That is the way it will be, by-and-by.
Sisters,
do not ask whether you can make yourselves happy, but whether you can do your
husband's will, if he is a good man. Teach your children; for you are their
guardians, to act as father and mother to them until they are out of your care.
The teachings and examples of our mothers have formed, to a great extent, our
characters and directed our lives. This is their right, when they act by the
power of the Priesthood, to direct the child until it is of a proper age, and
then hand it over to the husband and father, and into the hands of God, with
such faith and such love of virtue and truth, and with such love of God and its
parents, that that child can never suppose that it is out of the hand and from
under the control of the parent. Do not call it "mine." Let your
maxim be, "This is not mine," whether you have one child or a dozen.
"It is not mine, but the Lord has seen fit to let me bear the souls of the
children of men. It is from my Father and God, and I will do my duty and hand
it over to him," and have that faith that the child can never wring itself
out of the hands of a good father and mother—can never stray away,—no, never.
That is the privilege of mothers. It is you who guide the affections and
feelings of the child. It is the mothers, after all, that rule the nations of
the earth. They form, dictate, and direct the minds of statesmen, and the
feelings, course, life, notions, and sentiments of the great and the small, of
kings, rulers, governors, and of the people in general.
Now,
mothers, act upon principle, and see whether you can do anything to promote
happiness in your families; see whether you can guide the minds of your
children, teach them their letters, &c. I thought to speak upon the
last-named point, but I will omit it. You can, at least, teach your children
faith, and pay attention to knitting their stockings, making their clothing,
&c.; see that the chickens, are taken care of, that the milk is cleanly
milked from the cow, and that the children are made comfortable. And if your
husband is here or there, do not fret yourselves, whether he leaves you or not.
If he is a good man, he can take care of himself, and will safely return to you
again. The mother that takes this course will be a happy mother—a happy woman.
But where you find women jealous of each other, and "I am watching my
husband," I would ask, Where are your children? They are nearly all the
time in the mud, or in some mischief. And what are you doing, mother? You are
"watching that man." "Who is he?" "He is my
husband." I used to tell the sisters in Nauvoo that they did not care
where their children were, if they could only keep in sight of their husbands.
A
traveller in the Eastern country overtook an old gentleman walking towards a
town, and asked him, "Who is the great man of that little town? Who is
your leading man? Who is the governor and controlling spirit of that little
place?" The old gentleman replied, "I am the king of that
little town." "Really," says the traveller, "are you
the leading man?" "Yes, sir, I am king in that place, and reign as
king." "How do you make this to appear? Are you in affluent
circumstances?" "No, I am poor; but in that little village there are
so many children. All those children go to my school; I rule the children, and
they rule their parents, and that makes me king." I frequently think of
this. Let the children rule the mother, and the mother the father, and that
makes the children kings. How frequently you find this. How is it, my brethren?
When you call your families together for prayers, where are your children? Were
this question asked me, I should say, "I do not know." Mothers, where
are your children? "We do not know; it is as much as we can do to be
here." Why do you not have your children together? It is your duty to look
after them; their should not be running at random in the streets. Some mothers
will put a ten-dollar frock on a child and let it go straight into the mud,
while they are watching the father and trying to keep him in bounds. Take care
of your children, clothe them comfortably, and avoid all extravagance.
I am
ashamed, not only in my own family, but others, to see the gewgaws that are so
often put upon children, when an antelope skin or a piece of blue factory would
make much more suitable clothing for them. Dress them in strong, durable cloth,
and that, too, made by your own hands. But no; the finest fabrics must be put
upon them to play in. Some, if they could get it would put fifty dollars' worth
on a child, and send him, into the streets to ride upon rails, climb trees,
&c. And when prayer-time comes, the husband inquires, "Where are your
children?" "I don't know." It is your duty, mothers, to look
after them; and when you have your children in the prayer-room, tell them that
their father is coming to pray with them. Also, let it be your delight that
your children do not waste bread and other food. If you have bread to spare,
give it to the poor, and see that your children do not destroy it. Do not let
them destroy valuable clothing, but put strong, durable cloth upon them, and
save where you can, and give it to gathering the poor. I do not rule my family
with an iron hand, as many do, but in kindness and with pleasant words; and if
soft words would teach them, they would know as much as any family on this
earth. See that your children are taught every principle of goodness and
virtue, and do not let them run uncontrolled in the streets, with expensive
food in their hands to waste and expensive clothing upon their backs to tear
and destroy. If you get a frock worth three dollars when a two-dollar one will answer,
and maybe last longer, you might have saved a dollar to give for gathering the
poor. Treat your children like children.
Some
mothers try to make father believe that a child five years old knows as much as
the father. Another great cause of dissatisfaction is that so many women are
such noble women, and know so much more than their husbands. They say,
"This man is not capable of leading me." That is a positive proof to
me that that man does not know his ability and calling. I will acknowledge that
many women are smarter than their husbands. But when people are married,
instead of trying to get rid of each other, reflect that you have made your
choice, and strive to honour and keep it. Do not manifest that you have acted
unwisely, and say that you have made a bad choice, nor let anybody know that
you think you have. You made your choice; stick to it, and strive to comfort
and assist each other.
There are
other things that I would like to speak about, but I will now stop speaking.
God bless you! Amen.
Elder Jafferson Hunt made a few enlivening and interesting remarks.
The conference then adjourned till the 6th day of next October, at 10 a.m.
President Brigham Young blessed the people in the name of the Lord, and told them to go in peace, and the blessings of the heavens should go with them.
The choir sung, "The Spirit of God like a fire is burning."
The concluding benediction was given by President H. C. Kimball:
O God the Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ thy Son, we thy servants and handmaids, offer up to thee the gratitude of our hearts for thy loving kindness. We thank thee that we still live upon the earth, and have the privilege of coming together at this conference to worship thee, to call upon the name of our Father and God; we also thank thee for the information we have received through thy servants; we pray thee to forgive all our sins, to sanctify our hearts and all that is within us, that our whole spirits and bodies may be subject to thee, and we be in thine hands as the clay is in the hands of the potter, that our whole lives may be spent to the honor and glory of thee, our Father who art in heaven.
Wilt thou endow us with every necessary qualification, that we may honor ourselves, our God and his Son Jesus Christ, that the Holy Ghost may take up his abode with us and dwell with us, that he may be our companion and show us things to come.
We pray that all this people, yea, in all the settlements in the State of Deseret may be filled with the power of God, and that all thine Elders in every land and nation may be filled with the revelations of thy spirit and with desires to do thy will. May thine indignation be against our enemies and the nation that has made war with thee and thy kingdom, in the latter days. Let them be broken to pieces like a potter's vessel.
Now, O Father, bless this land; let thy choicest blessings be upon the hills and mountains; upon the fountains of water; upon the valleys; our wheat; our grass, and the timber that is in the kanyons; and, finally, our Father, let thy blessings be upon our families; upon our wives and children; bless also every person upon the earth that favors Zion and helps to build up the kingdom of God.
Hear us in these things; accept our thanks, and the glory and honor be to God and the Lamb forever and ever: Amen.
J.
V. LONG,
Clerk of the Conference
6-8 Oct 1861, 31st
Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 11:185, 10/23/61, p 1]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 1]
Semi-Annual
Conference.
_____
The Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, convened in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, on Sunday October 6, 1861, at 10 a.m., President Brigham Young presiding.
There were on the stand: Of the First Presidency, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells;
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow and Franklin D. Richards;
Of the First Presidency of the Seventies: - Joseph Young, sen., Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and Jacob Gates;
Of the Presidency of this stake of Zion: - Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace;
Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little;
Of the Patriarchs: John Smith and Isaac Morley;
Reporters: George D. Watt and John V. Long.
The conference was called to order by the President, after which the choir sung a hymn.
Elder Wilford Woodruff offered prayer.
Choir sung "I'll praise my Maker while I've breath."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said when the Latter Day Saints came together in this capacity, they generally wish some instructions which they have not previously had, but he desired to impress the principles upon the minds of the congregation that they had no right to require of the Lord, of a Prophet, an Apostle or other servant of God, any further intelligence until they had improved upon that which they had already received. If we could come to the standard, our lives would be filled up with righteousness, and we should manifest in our every act that the kingdom of God and the building up thereof, was the first thing in our hearts; then the Lord has an abundance to pour out upon us, of knowledge, power and the good things of this life. When we have sought the kingdom of God and its righteousness with all our hearts, then we can attain to the rest, and assist in the building up of the kingdom temporlly; we can then go forward and build the temple. We wish to lay before the conference the necessity of the people paying their labor tithing and of assisting the kingdom, instead of taking out of the pockets of the Church. As the first day of our conference is on the first day of the week, which is set apart for the worship of our Father, we will devote it to teaching the spiritual things of the kingdom, and then to-morrow we will attend to the business.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke of the ignorance and darkness in which we were shrouded before the gospel came to us, and the light and intelligence it has brought to our minds. - Reasoned upon faith and obedience, and the necessity of increasing therein, and said that nothing could secure us the greater blessings of the gospel, but complete submission to the mandates of Heaven.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball made some pointed remarks on the principle of obedience; briefly alluded to the subjects of tithing and consecration, and referred to the Apostolic consecration and the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the apostles. He next alluded to the gifts of the Spirit as bestowed upon the faithful. Upon the first principles of the gospel, he said, we are united, and asked if we were also united in temporal things, and remarked that if we do not become one in temporal matters, we cannot long remain united in spiritual things.
Choir sung: "Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth."
Benediction by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 1]
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde.
Choir sung "How happy every child of grace."
The sacrament was then administered by Bishops Edward Hunter, Lorenzo D. Young, Abraham O. Smoot and Jonathan Pugmire.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde made a few remarks about the crops, and the general prosperity of the people in Sanpete County where he had been living.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young showed the propriety of the elders correcting themselves and not always be dinging at the people to do things and perform duties which the themselves neglect. Explained to the conference the principles relative to the people being one in all things. Briefly referred to the present warlike state of affairs in the States.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde gave some valuable and interesting lessons on domestic economy.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells urged upon the people the observance and reverence of the Sabbath, and the necessity of keeping it holy. Said that if we obey the Lord in the days of our prosperity we can the better call upon him in the days of our affliction. It is the duty of the people to strive to see a propriety in the counsels that are given by the servants of the Lord. He referred to the late agricultural fair, and expressed himself highly gratified with what he there saw, and said we ought to take courage and endeavor to improve and increase in all that is good; we should strive to add to the number of home manufactured articles; we should also encourage those who are engaged in the manufacture of leather, nails, hats, bonnets, soap; we should likewise consider the propriety and justice of paying as good pay to the home manufacturer as to the stores. He counseled the Bishops to lead forth in doing these things.
We are laboring to accomplish the union of the people and the concentration of our efforts and means for the bringing about of the purposes of the Almighty. Let us then strive with our mights to fear God, keep his commandments, love, serve and obey him and respect all his institutions, and let us not strive to walk them under our feet as a vain thing.
He counseled the brethren to bring in their tithing to the store house of the Lord, the grain, the vegetables and the molasses. Instructed the Bishops how to organize companies of men and teams and sent them all through the winter to haul stone from Little Cottonwood for the temple. The presidency wanted to engage all the masons who felt disposed to come along and work to prepare the rock for laying up in the spring. The Lord has saved these valleys of the mountains for his saints and not for the world. It is the duty of saints to work only for the building up of the kingdom of God.
Choir sung "O happy souls who pray."
Dismissed by Elder W. W. Phelps.
_____
[6 Oct, evening]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 1]
EVENING, in the Tabernacle.
Choir sung "Praise ye the Lord, 'tis good to raise."
This being the first meeting in the Tabernacle since it was repaired, enlarged and made suitable for public worship, President B. Young offered the following dedication prayer:
[Brigham Young]
[Dedicatory Prayer]
Our
Father, and our God, we present ourselves before thee on this occasion, in the
name of thy Son Jesus Christ, in whose name we dedicate ourselves unto thee and
to thy service, for building up thy Kingdom upon the earth, for the promotion
of righteousness, for gathering the House of Israel, and for establishing thy
Zion, until the laws of Zion shall become the law of all nations. We also
dedicate unto thee our friends, our families, our brethren and their families
and friends, with our flocks and our herds, and our possessions as thy people.
We dedicate unto thee thy kingdom in every nation, and among all people where
thy gospel has been preached, and thy kingdom established. We dedicate unto
thee this house that we now occupy, and the ground upon which it stands; as it
has before been dedicated unto thee, we again dedicate it unto thee with the
addition and improvements that have been made upon it. We dedicate to thee the
foundation walls, the foundations upon which the timbers and floors rest; we
dedicate to thee the walls above the foundation, the adobes, and all the wood
work, the timbers, and the lathing and plastering on the walls, the doors and
the hangings thereof, and we desire that they may be opened and shut by the
Saints of the Most High; we dedicate unto thee the timbers of the roof, with
all the appurtenances thereunto belonging--the brace timbers that strengthen
and sustain the roof, with the lathing and plastering of the ceiling, also the
shingles, and the board upon which they are fastened, and the nails and bolts
of iron that bind the whole together; we dedicate unto thee the window frames,
and the sash, and glass, and the trimmings thereof, and all the conveniences
pertaining to this building, both those that are on the ground and those that
are in the ground; we dedicate unto thee the sleepers and the flooring above
them, and the nails that bind them together, and the seats that rest upon the
floor; we dedicate unto thee the pulpit and the platform upon which it rests,
and the seats, and everything that pertains to the stand; we dedicate unto thee
the organ and the foundation upon which it rests, and all its appurtenances and
conveniences; we dedicate unto thee the new portion of this house, the
foundation upon which it rests, and its conveniences above and below, together
with the former portion of this, our place of worship, which thou hast
permitted us to erect, wherein to worship the name of the Lord of Hosts. We ask
thee, our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ thy Son, to let thy presence and
thy power dwell in this hall, and suffer not thine enemies to ever occupy it
Thou art
acquainted with our faith and our hopes, with our labors of love, with all that
we possess for all things are open before thee. Let righteousness and peace
dwell here, that thine holy angels may take up their abode here and dwell with
us. Let great peace, the peace of God that passeth understanding, dwell upon
thy people that enter this house; may the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost
rest upon male and female, old and young and middle aged, that come here to
worship thee in spirit and in truth; and let thy servants who speak to thy
people in this house be inspired by thy wisdom and with thy power, and be
filled with the revelations of Jesus Christ; let them thus be blessed at this
time, and in all time to come
Bless thy
Saints in every land and clime, and all that pertains to them. We pray thee to
bless thy Priesthood in all their abiding places and in all their fields of
labor. Pour out thy Holy Spirit upon the faithful of thy servants, and preserve
those who are laboring in foreign lands, who travel from nation to nation, from
people to people, and from land to land, to gather and save the honest in
heart. May great peace and great power be upon them and round about them by day
and by night, and let them not be hurt by any power. Give them every
qualification that is requisite to their respective calling and standing before
thee and the people among whom they minister. Give them money and means, food
and raiment, and the hearts of the people. Give them abundance to gather up the
poor and bring them home to Zion
Bless the
inhabitants of this Territory. We thank thee for the land in the chambers of
these mountains; we thank thee for the mountains, for the canyons and the
rugged rocks, for the sandy deserts, and salt wastes, that surround and embrace
these hiding places for the poor and meek of the earth; we thank thee for the
pure streams of water that flow from the canyon gorges, that gush forth in the
mountain tops and come to us a healing, cooling, reviving beverage; we thank
thee for the healthy thriving vegetation of these fat valleys of Ephriam, for
our bread and meat, for our habitations and our raiment, for our families,
friends, and connections, for the society of thy people, for useful animals,
and for all the conveniences and creature comforts of life, all of which we
dedicate unto thee our Father and our God
We ask
thee to bless the quorums of thy servants who have assembled this evening with
the High Priests' Quorum; may we all feel one in Christ; and let thy spirit of
wisdom be continually with us as thine Elders, that none may feel in their
hearts some of Heber, some of Willard, some of Jeddy, some of Daniel, some of
Joseph, and some of Brigham, some of John, some of Paul, and some of Christ.
Bless us with understanding, that our capacities may reach to the heavens and
our minds be opened to behold heavenly things, and things upon the earth, and
things under the earth, that we may be acquainted with the power by which thy
works are organized and sustained. When we meet as High Priests, as the Twelve
Apostles, as Seventies, as Bishops, as Elders, as Priests, as Teachers; as
Deacons and as members of this thy great latter day kingdom that is growing
upon the earth according to the words of thine ancient prophets, may we meet as
members of the same body. And in all our communications may we have the spirit
of intelligence to receive as well as to give, and all be benefited together
We
dedicate all unto thee, and ask thy blessing upon all the subjects of our
prayers, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord: Amen.
Choir sung another hymn.
[Bishop E. D. Woolley]
Bishop E. D. Woolley arose and said that we had met in the name of the High Priests' Quorum, but as there was no business calling for the immediate action of that body, the meeting would be devoted principally to peaching. He regretted that br. John Young, sen., the President of the Quorum could not be present, owing to a recent accident by which he had been so unfortunate a to sprain his ankle, but it afforded him pleasure to communicate Uncle John's blessing and good wishes for the brethren of the Quorum and for all Israel.
[Elder Phineas H. Young]
Elder Phineas H. Young remarked that through his whole life he had not felt a more striking interest in the things of the kingdom of God than at the present time. Spoke of the power and authority of the Melchisedec Priesthood to regulate and preside in all spiritual matters, and the duty of the Aaronic Priesthood to control temporal things, under the direction of the Melchisedec. Gave his views upon the doctrine of consecration.
[Elder Samuel W. Richards]
Elder Samuel W. Richards observed that he had met many times with the High Priests' Quorum, and the brethren knew his feelings and sentiments in regard to those things that belong to the building up of this kingdom, and the establishment of peace and truth upon the earth. Endeavored to show the propriety of striving to learn from the experience of others, as well as from our own, and prayed the Lord to assist us to perform every duty required at our hands by the servants of God.
[Elder George D. Watt]
Elder George D. Watt reasoned upon the inseparability of our temporal and spiritual existence. He spoke in strong terms of the necessity of the Latter Day Saints observing the law of consecration, and said that all our means should be laid out and expended with a view to an increase. He alluded to the influence and power of wealth.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young made some remarks on the vibrations of sound, the advantages and conveniences of the Tabernacle now over what we enjoyed before it was repaired.
Spoke of the natural body having to go into the grave in order that it might be purified and prepared for the resurrection; desired to see the people become of one heart and one mind, and said it was truly gratifying to know that the Elders were, in some degree, learning to put their means in the right channel. - Reviewed the history of Elders coming home from missions, some coming rich, others as merchants, some as teamsters and some with handcarts.
Made a few appropriate remarks on the gathering of the poor Saints from the nations of the wicked.
Choir sung "All hail the glorious day."
Benediction by Elder F. D. Richards.
_____
[7 Oct, 10 am*]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 1-2]
MONDAY, Oct. 7, 10 a.m., Bowery.
Choir sung "Come ye that love the Lord."
Prayer by Elder Ezra T. Benson.
Choir sung "Arise O glorious Zion."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said we would now take up the business of the conference, such as the building of the Temple, sending teams east next spring, and many other little items that were necessary to be considered. - Said it was his intention to call upon a number of Swiss and other brethren to go into the Southern part of the Territory, probably about two hundred families, to raise cotton, indigo, grapes, figs and such other articles as cannot be raised in the northern counties. Flax, hemp, wool and silk, he observed, we can raise here as well as they can be raised in any other part of the world.
It was also his desire to have something done respecting the Missionary and Perpetual Emigrating Funds. The first business in order was the presentation of the various authorities of the Church.
Elder John Taylor was called upon and he presented the authorities of the Church as follows: -
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselors;
Orson Hyde, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Chas. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, as members of said Quorum;
John Smith, Patriarch of the whole Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fulmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors;
William Eddington, James A. Little, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Gilbert Clements, Brigham Young, Jun., Franklin B. Wooley, Orson Pratt, jun., and Howard Spencer, as members of the High Council;
John Young, President of the High Priests' quorum, Edwin d. Woolley, and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors;
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Elderidge and Jacob Gates, as members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies;
John Nebeker, President of the Elders' Quorum, and Elnathan Eldredge and Joseph Felt, his counselors;
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors;
Lewis Wight, President of the Priests' Quorum; William Whiting and Samuel Moore, his counselors;
McGee Harris, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Adam Speirs and David Bowman, his counselors;
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacons' Quorum; William P. Cook and Warren Hardy, his counselors.
Brigham Young was presented as Trustee in trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works;
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church. Elder Truman O. Angell resigned the office of Architect in consequence of poor health, and recommended br. Folsom for his successor.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor;
Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for such fund;
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
The foregoing quorums and authorities were all voted for separately, and each and all unanimously sustained by the conference.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball commenced his address by asking the question, shall we go to work and build a temple? Voices: yes. Is this the feeling of the people here to-day? Voices: Yes. As the body without the spirit is dead, so also is our faith without works. He then asked the people if they would pay their tithing, and the congregation responded yes. He said there was no lack of means, all that was required was the will; and if the people will do it God will help us. spoke of the importance of the Latter Day Saints concentrating their means and their energies for the purpose of erecting a temple to the name of our God.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 11:401, 6/18/62, p 1; JD 9:264]
REMARKS
By President HEBER C. KIMBALL, Bowery, Monday Morning, Oct.
7, 1861
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
_____
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 to-day, 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
theatre, 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 labour performed and the diligence of the people in the Church. We are
all required to be diligent and to labour 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 .theatre 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-bye
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.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young made a few timely remarks on cash tithing. counseled the people to make heir investments in the kingdom of God, and then they will see the benefits resulting from it.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells called for fifty teams to go to work and haul rock from Little cottonwood, for the building of the temple, that number to be on hand for service from this time until the temple is completed. He wished the hauling to be done on labor tithing, Each settlement is expected to furnish its quota of men, teams and wagons, to be provided with suitable camping equipage, so that the work can be prosecuted through the winter season.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith took up the subject of improvement, and metaphorically presented the Latter Day Saints as one great building and our President as the great master builder; argued that it is our duty to unite our strength and build that temple. If we do right it is for us to follow him, and if he says brother, go south and raise cotton; go to these flats and make adobes, into those hills and get lumber, we should do it with our whole hearts. We have come here to build up Zion, and we should be willing to go and do what we can, and to do it when and where he dictates us. Touched briefly luon the subject of paying cash tithing, and exposed the conduct of some; contended that it is the duty of every man to strive and do his share towards the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. He was in favor of sending down two or three hundred families to the cotton country this fall, to raise cotton, indigo, figs, grapes, etc.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 3/25/63, p 1; JD 10:121; JD 10:121]
REMARKS
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, Tabernacle, Wednesday morning,
Oct 8, 1862
[incorrectly dated, should be October 7, 1861, per content]
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG]
_____
Brethren,
there is a subject which has been spoken of during this Conference in regard to
the mission to the cotton-growing district of our Territory, to which I desire
to again call your attention.
We have
been instructed in the principles of the kingdom to a wonderful extent during
this Conference. The instructions which we have received have been of a
character that they may be reduced to practice by every person whose feelings
are so disposed.
The
President remarked that he desired to strengthen the missions to the cotton
country by sending down two hundred more families. It will be recollected that
a request was made last year for the brethren to volunteer to go on that
important mission. There were a few who came up and gave in their names, but
the great mass of the brethren did not feel to do so. They were aware that it
was the wish of the Presidency that certain things should be done, but they
seemed as though they needed taking by the ears and shaking to make them
sensible of the great importance that ought to be attached to this mission. It
appeared as if some of the brethren (to use a figurative expression) had become
fastened to the earth with tremendous roots, so that it was with considerable
difficulty that they could be got up, but they had to be taken up root and
branch.
We, as a
Conference, voted that the President should call, but none of us felt like
volunteering. [President B. Young: I volunteered, on the condition that the
people would consent to it.] Yes, the President volunteered, but it is well
known that the Presidency are required here; most of the time they must he
present to superintend the building of the Temple and direct the affairs of the
Church in all the world, but the Elders are set apart to go into all the earth
and labor as directed by the Presidency. It is also well known that the master
builder has influence and power here and that he understands how the
foundation, the walls, the timbers, the roof and all connected with the Temple
of our God should be put together. It is likewise well known that the
Presidency never ask men to do a service except that their labors are required
in that new position. One particular remark which I wish to make is, that
notwithstanding the unprecedented high water in Washington county and the
damage and disappointment consequent upon the flood, the settlements made by
the last year's mission have proved a decided success. That mission has proven
the nature of the climate more perfectly than it had before, it has tested the
soil, and accomplished many other things of immense advantage and worth. It was
stated by many that the mission would prove a failure, that there was no
country there, but the truth is, that the elements, including the water, the
soil and all that surround them are actually aching for the brethren to combine
them together and make them into good cotton and other choice productions of a
mild climate; all these elements are ready to render aid to build up Zion.
I
consider that we should feel ready and willing to do anything that may be
required of us, to lend our exertions to establish the kingdom of God
permanently upon the earth.
When the
people first settled in San Pete Valley some were discouraged, they never
thought that wheat could be produced in such a country as that; they did not
believe that anything would grow there; the white-colored soil alarmed them,
but it is now the granary of the mountains. Now, there has recently been just
such a feeling in regard to Washington county, but the past year's experience
has demonstrated more fully that most excellent cotton, sugar cane, grapes,
peaches and many other commodities of life can be successfully raised there in
that desert-looking country.
There are
quite a number of men who have remarked to me that they would willingly go if
they were called on. I wish to say to such brethren that they are called on
now, and I sincerely wish that two hundred brethren would volunteer to-day by
giving in their names to me at the Historian's office. By going this fall you
have all winter to prepare, and the advantage can be taken of the early spring
season, thus giving the brethren an excellent opportunity to raise a crop of
cotton the first year. By sowing wheat in October tolerable crops can be
raised, and by planting corn early in March two crops can be raised in one
year, or one good crop of cotton. The fact, in brief, is, that so far as the
country has been tried it has proven a success, and many of the brethren have
said that the country is a great deal better than they expected to find it.
I hope
all that has been said by the brethren in reference to the culture of hemp,
flax, indigo, and in fact all that will tend to build up Zion will be attended
to, for let it be remembered that it is coming to this necessity of producing
for ourselves or to go without, and the question resolves itself into the
simple proposition, "Clothes or no clothes." We must make our
own woollen, flax, hemp and cotton goods or we must go naked. We cannot get
these articles much longer from the States, according to the present prospect.
The vengeance of the Almighty is sweeping the land with the besom of
destruction; millions of men are forsaking their industrial pursuits for the
purpose of destroying each other. Let us each and all attend to this, that the
beauty of our garments may be the beauty of the workmanship of our own hands,
or we shall find ourselves without many of the necessaries of life altogether.
May God
bless the people, in the name of Jesus: Amen.
Choir sung a hymn, after which F. D. Richards pronounced the benediction.
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 2]
2 p.m.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Bishop Edwin D. Woolley.
Choir sung "Come let us anew our journey pursue."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young made pointed remarks on the science of music. Alluded to his late visit to the extreme northern and southern settlements of the Territory, and their adaptation for producing every thing that is necessary to sustain human life.
[Elder Albert Carrington]
Elder Albert Carrington was then called upon and read an address which is being sent to all the Bishops of the Territory, calling upon them to use their best endeavors to husband the tithing now being placed in their hands, so that all may be preserved to assist in building the temple the coming season.
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson felt thankful for the present opportunity of speaking to the brethren and sisters in Great Salt Lake City. He ever felt anxious to discharge those duties that were required at his hands. Spoke of the general duties and responsibilities devolving upon the Latter Day Saints. Advocated the doctrines of tithing and consecration; and the necessity of the saints being liberal with their means and doing all in their power towards the building up of the kingdom of God. He said the temple would cost one million of dollars, and one half of that sum was wanted for the next season's operations. Admonished the brethren and sisters to be faithful in all things, and said many other good things.
[Eldere Mark A. coombs]
Elder Mark A. Coombs, being invited to make a few remarks, told his experience in the Church, and described the way and manner of his receiving the gospel, in Jackson county, Missouri. Related avision which the Lord gave him to open his mind ready for the reception of the "Word of Wisdom," which was revealed through Joseph Smith.
President B. Young called for volunteers to go to Washington County and raise cotton, indigo, figs, grapes, sugar, olives and all the products of a southern climate.
[Patriarach Isaac Morley]
Patriarch Isaac Morley made a few remarks, in which he bore a strong testimony to the truth of the latter day work now being accomplished by the saints of God. Offered some pertinent remarks on self government, and the saving effects of being submissive to the powers that be. In conclusion, he said, "Let us strive to understand our relationship to each other, and never neglect to harken to counsel. I feel to leave my blessing upon the people as it is my right by virtue of the patriarchal office. I bless you, brethren and sisters, with the blessings of the heavens and of the earth and the fullness thereof; also with the blessings of eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ: Amen."
Brother Daniel Bonelli then read the names of the Swiss brethren who were selected to go and settle in the southern part of the Territory.
President Brigham Young said that as the brethren did not choose to volunteer for this mission the Presidency and Twelve would make the selections, and they would expect the brethren to go and stay until they are released.
Choir sung "The spirit of God like a fire is burning."
Benediction by Elder George A. Smith.
_____
[7 Apr, 6:30 pm]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 2]
At half past six in the evening the Bishops held a meeting in the Tabernacle for the transaction of business, Bishop Hunter presiding. Nearly all the wards and settlements in the Territory were represented, the house was densely crowded and a good spirit prevailed.
[Presiding Bishop]
The presiding Bishop delivered a short address, during which he briefly touched upon the important items of business upon which he desired them to express their minds.
[President D. H. Wells]
President D. H. Wells then arose and delivered an excellent discourse on the building of the temple, the gathering of the poor saints from all the nations of the earth, the necessity of sustaining the families of missionaries while they are abroad preaching the gospel to those who sit in darkness.
Several enlivening songs were sung by Messrs. Wm. Willis, George goddard, Andrew Sprowl and Charles W. Penrose, after which the congregation was dismissed with benediction by President B. Young.
_____
[8 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 2]
TUESDAY, Oct. 8, 1861, 10 a.m., Bowery.
Choir sung "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."
Prayer by Elder Jacob Gates.
Owing to the disagreeable change in the weather which took place during the opening ceremonies, the conference adjourned to the Tabernacle.
Tabernacle, 10.30.
The choir sung "I'll praise my maker while I've breath."
[Elder William W. Phelps]
Elder William W. Phelps read and commented upon several passages and revelations contained in the Evening and Morning Star, a paper published in the early days of the church. He bore testimony tot he restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith. Quoted Matthew and Mark on the promise of "a hundred fold" to him that forsakes houses, lands, mothers, wives or children; he also made numerous other quotations, and comments in his usually eccentric style.
Elder Wm. Willis sung "The city I love so well."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young preached a highly interesting and instructive discourse upon the important subject of marriage for time and all eternity.
[Brigham Young]
[CDBY 3:1913-1916]
I will give you a few words of doctrine upon which there
has been much inquiry and with regard to which considerable ignorance exists.
Br. Watt will write it, but it is not my intention to have it published,
therefore pay good attention and store it up in your memories.
Some years ago I advanced a doctrine with regard to Adam
being our Father and God. That will be a curse to many of the elders of Israel
because of their folly with regard to it. They yet grovel in darkness, and
will. It is one of the most glorious revealments of the economy of heaven, yet
the world hold it in derision. Had I revealed the doctrine of baptism for the
dead instead of Joseph Smith, there are men around me who would have ridiculed
the idea until doomsday, but they are ignorant and stupid, like the dumb ass.
Relative to the doctrine I shall now make known, if anyone
should wish it otherwise, it will not alter the fact in the least. It is the
principle of sealing. We are continually sealing women to men, and continually
giving divorces. I now inform every one of my sisters that when they come to
get a divorce, paying me ten dollars for it, you may just as well tear off a
piece of your shirttail and lay it by and call it a divorce so far as any good
that piece of paper called a divorce will do you. I express myself in this wise
not because I admire course figures of language, but my object is to use
language that will rivet the idea I wish to convey upon your memories. Can a
woman be freed from a man to whom she is sealed? Yes, but a bill of divorce
does not free her; there is no such law given by the God of heaven to the
children of men. Moses gave a law to the children of Israel as follows:
"When a man hath taken a wife and married her and it come that she find no
favor in his eyes because he hath found some uncleanness in her, then let him
write her a bill of divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his
house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another
man's wife." Jesus, in the gospel by Math. says, "It hath been said,
whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement,
but I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause
of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery, and whosoever shall marry her
that is divorced committeth adultery." In the gospel by Mark it is said,
"And Jesus answered and said unto them (the Pharisees) For the hardness of
your heart, he (Moses) wrote you this precept (refering to the law on
divorcement) but from the beginning of the creation God made them male and
female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to
his wife and they twain shall be one flesh. So then, they are no more twain,
but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together let no man put
asunder." I am suffered to give bills of divorcement unto you because of
your blindness, ignorance and hardness of heart, otherwise it would be a sin in
me. How can a woman be made free from a man to whom she has been sealed for
time and all eternity? There are two ways. All the elders in Israel will not
magnify their priesthood, that are now in the habit of taking women, not caring
how they get them. They get them frequently by stealth. I will diverge a little
here to comment on the way some get their wives: they will actually commit
adultery for the sake of getting a woman sealed to them. But they will probably
find in the morning of the resurrection that they have not attained their end;
wives obtained in this way will be given to those who are more worthy. This I
mean to apply to you elders on my right and left who forefit your covenants and
violate the regulations of this holy order of matrimony which is to live godly
in Christ Jesus every hour of our lives.
To return to the thread of the subject before us: if a man
magnifies his priesthood, observing faithfully his covenants to the end of his
life, all the wives and children sealed to him, all the blessings and honors
promised to him in his ordinations and sealing blessings are immutably and
eternally fixed; no power can wrench them from his possession. There is,
however, one provision that must be added here. You may inquire, in
case a wife becomes disaffected with her husband, her affections lost, she
becomes alienated from him and wishes to be the wife of another, can she not
leave him? I know of no law in heaven or on earth by which she can be made free
while her husband remains faithful and magnifies his priesthood before God and
he is not disposed to put her away, she having done nothing worthy of being put
away. If that disaffected wife could behold the transcendent beauty of person,
the godlike qualities of the resurrected husband she now despises, her love for
him would be unbounded and unutterable Instead of despising him she would feel
like worshiping him, he is so holy, so pure, so perfect and so filled with God
in his resurrected body. There will be no disaffection of this kind in the
resurrection of the just. The faithful elders have then provided [proved ?]
themselves worthy of their wives, and are prepared to be crowned gods, to be
filled with all the attributes of the gods that dwell in eternity. Could
disaffected ones see visions, even of the future glorified state of their
husbands, love for them would immediately spring up within you and no
circumstance could prevail upon you to forsake them.
The second way in which a wife can be separated from her
husband while he continues to be faithful to his God and his priesthood I have
not revealed except to a few persons in this church, and a few have received it
from Joseph the Prophet as well as myself. There is another path a woman may
take if she can get a choice. If a woman can find a man holding the keys of
the priesthood with higher power and authority than her husband, and he is
disposed to take her, he can do so, otherwise she has got to remain where she
is. This is the second way in which a woman can leave her husband to whom
she has been sealed for time and all eternity. In either of these ways of
separation you can discover there is no need for a bill of divorcement. To
recapitulate: First, a man forfeits his covenant with a wife or wives, becoming
unfaithful to his God and his priesthood--that wife or wives are free from him
without a bill of divorcement. Second, if a woman claims protection at the
hands of a man possessing more power in the priesthood and higher keys, if he
is disposed to rescue her and has obtained the consent of her husband to make
her his wife, he can do so without a bill of divorcement. Then a piece of blank
paper will answer just as good a purpose for a bill of divorcement as the bills
the wives get from me. If after she has left her husband and is sealed to
another she shall again cohabit with him, it is illicit intercourse and
extremely sinful.
In a few words I have laid before you the important items
of doctrine. I have not time to give you an elaborate discourse on it that will
answer the thousand and one questions that may occur to your minds and show its
workings in social life. To do this would require much time. I will, however,
extend my remarks a little further. I do not wish any of the elders to
speculate upon what I have now advanced, but ponder these words in your hearts
in silence. There may be only a few that can understand this item of doctrine
and retain it in their memory, as I have spoken it.
A few
remarks on woman: She is the glory of the man, but she is not at the head in
all the creations of God pertaining to his children on this earth. She is not
accountable for the sins that are in the world. God requires obedience from
man, he is lord of creation, and at his hands the sin of the world will be
required. Could the female portion of the human family fully understand this
they would see that they are objects of tender mercy and greatly blessed. This,
no doubt, on a casual view, appears to my sisters a glorious doctrine for them,
and some might be tempted in their ignorance to take unwarrantable liberties,
corrupt themselves with sin and then take shelter under the doctrine that man is
culpable for the sins they commit. There are, however, restrictions placed upon
woman. I will quote a passage of scripture to illustrate this, "And the
man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth
adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adultress shall surely
be put to death." When the crime was thus atoned for, then was she free
and prepared to receive in full the blessings she otherwise would have received
had she not committed sin. Woman must atone for sins committed by the volition
of her own choice. But she will never become an angel to the devil and sin so
far as to place herself beyond the reach of mercy. She will suffer all that she
has strength to suffer according to the venality of her sins. The woman is the
glory of the man. What is the glory of the woman? It is her virginity, until
she gives it into the hands of the man that will be her lord and master to all
eternity. She in many instances trifles with her virtue, and will be damned for
so doing, if it were not for more than five minutes. When a woman can say truly
to her husband who magnifies his priesthood, "I am as pure as you."
She ought to remember that she is the glory of that lord. Is it her glory to
have illicit intercourse with a gentile and then be sealed to a good elder and
faithful servant of God? No, she will be damned for it and suffer the pangs of
hell. It is her duty to let wickedness alone. Our sisters are very tenatious
with regard to a man's having more than one wife. Says the wife, "Husband,
I am capable of making your dinner, I can make your bed, I can tend to your
fiscal wants, you do not need another woman in this house." Do you not
know that is a curse placed upon the woman? Why so? That she may not become an
angel to the devil. It is the order of heaven she should suffer in the flesh.
Will you say you will not suffer in the flesh? that you will not be cursed?
that you will have the fullest satisfaction of this life and let the next life
take care of itself? "And now Mr. Husband, if you do not make a heaven for
me I will leave you." You have a curse upon you that the male portion of
the human family have not got. Their curse is to toil for subsistence for
themselves and wives and children, to obtain from the ground by the sweat of
their brow, bread and fruit etc. "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast
hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree of which I
commanded thee saying Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy
sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the
field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread etc." Now notice the
curse that is placed upon the woman: "Unto the woman he said, I will
greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring
forth children and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over
thee." Yes, your desire shall be for him, and it is one of the hardest
things you can think of to consent that your husband should take another wife.
And when you bring forth, it shall be in extreme pain. Were it not for this
curse woman would not have suffered pain in child bearing. She has taken the
lead in committing sin and she will fill her days with sorrow. She shall desire
this and that and the other, and her disposition and affection and her whole
being shall be afflicted as much as the man, but his afflictions are of another
kind. Let me say one thing to the young girls, and what I shall tell you I wish
you to ponder in your hearts and say nothing about it, for the wicked world has
no business with these things, nor half-hearted mormons, and if there is any
here who will not make a good use of what they hear, the evil shall be upon themselves.
I wish to say to my young sisters, if you can go into the hands of a man that
will lead you into the kingdom of heaven and exalt you there, to become an Eve,
a queen of heaven, the wife of a God, and you can remain with that man whom
your soul delights, and you take to him your virginity, you have obtained a
treasure that millions of worlds like this could not buy from you, for there is
your glory to all eternity. Trifle with this matter and you will reap sorrow
and affliction. When you make your choice of a husband for time and eternity
and you are sure you have got your choice, hang on to him and not come to me
for a bill of divorcement which amounts to nothing at all. I have told you the
only ways that a woman can be freed from a man. There are other items
pertaining to this doctrine you will learn from time to time. Many have asked
for this matter which I have opened to you. You have got it. Let it envail your
noble hearts, expand your capacities, aid subduing your ungovernable passions
and encourage everything within you that is godlike and enables you to live a
pure and holy life. The whole of mankind according to the words of the prophets
anciently, have gone a whoring after strange gods. They worship they know not
what. Men can sin with their wives by violating the law by which we are. This
law is pure and holy, and every act of our lives should be to promote that and
not destroy it. We should preserve the life that is within us and permit it to
multiply. If any other course is persued in the midst of this people, the curse
of God will come upon those who do it. We will now adjourn. Amen.
Choir sung "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah."
Benediction by Elder G. D. Watt.
[8 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 11:185, 10/23/61 p 2]
2 p.m.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
Choir sung "O, say what is truth."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young called the attention of the bishops and people to the importance of gathering up all such worn out fabrics, articles of clothing and other material suitable for the manufacture of cotton and linen paper. He said twenty-five thousand dollars had been expended in the paper machine, and it was a good one. The only thing now lacking, he observed, is material to make into paper, and he wished the people to save their rags and to gather up all suitable refuse material for making paper. Said we ought now to print our own school books, works on science, &c., and if we can get the rags and the flax together we can soon make the paper and print our own books.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow next addressed the congregation. He spoke with energy and spirit upon the principles of tithing and consecration, and the necessity of always holding everything ready and upon the altar of sacrifice. Counseled the saint to be faithful and diligent in the discharge of those duties devolving upon them as children of God.
William C. Dunbar was called upon and sung the favorite hymn "O Zion, dear Zion."
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt introduced the Missionary Fund, and said that it had been determined that the missionaries should be sustained in this Territory, and their families be supported here so that the brethren could go forth with the spirit of their missions upon them, instead of striving to get means to sustain their families at home. Referred to his missions abroad and the course he had taken in publishing pamphlets on the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. spoke also of the doctrine of consecration; advocated the building of the temple in which to administer ordinances for the living and for the dead, and stated his willingness to do anything in his power for its erection. He then dwelt upon the subject of the gathering of the poor from all nations; was of opinion that a servant of God had no right to plead ignorance in regard to his duties, but he ought to learn what his duties were and then do them.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball reviewed the early history of the church; alluded to his connection with Zion's camp and the promises of the Almighty to the Elders at that time. Bore testimony to the truth of the work in which he was engaged.
Choir sung "Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation."
The conference adjourned till the 6th of April next at 10 a.m.
President Daniel H. Wells pronounced the concluding benediction as follows: -
"O God the eternal Father, at the close of this our conference we render unto thee our unfeigned gratitude for he blessings thou hast poured out upon us, and the instructions thou has given us duriing this conference. We thank thee that we live in this age and generation of the world in which thou hast revealed thy holy gospel, and that we have become the happy recipients o the blessings thereof. Qualify us to perform the duties required of us with pure hearts, willing minds and ready hands, walking uprightly before thee all the days of our lives. Direct our steps day by day;, enlarge our capacities, and strengthen us to discharge our duties in a manner acceptable unto thee, filling up all our days in usefulness in thy kingdom, bringing to pass thy purposes according to thy good mind and pleasure. Accept of us now, while we devote and dedicate ourselves and our efforts unto thee in the building up of thy cause; this we desire to do in the days of our prosperity while the hand of mercy and blessing is extended over us, that we may labor to accomplish thy purposes with credit to ourselves, and honor to thy cause, producing all things necessary for the building up of thy kingdom and the maintaining of thy people in these mountains, according to the directions we may receive from thy servant Brigham, from time to time. May the instructions which have been given us this conference be acted upon by us in all our avocations of life. Bless thy people in all their settlements in these mountains, and throughout the world, and in all the avocations and enterprises they may be engaged in that have for their object the building up of thy kingdom and cause upon the earth, may they be abundantly prospered; shield them from the powers of the adversary, and from evil influences that may attend upon their footsteps, and let them be made aware that thy power is over them. Bless the rising generation; enable thy people to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to rear up thy kingdom in their day and generation. Bless the earth and the elements that they may bring forth in their strength for the sustenance of thy people. Thwart the plans of our enemies, and may they waste and destroy each other, while thy people shall abide in power and in strength. Gather out from our midst the workers of iniquity, and let thy people dwell in righteousness, and build cities and temples and public buildings in these valleys of the mountains, wherein they shall worship thee, and none make them afraid, and finally receive us to thyself, and unto thee be ascribed all the glory world without end. All these blessings we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Amen.
J.
V. LONG
Clerk of the Conference.
6-9 Apr 1862, 32nd
Annual General Conference, Tabernacle..
[Deseret News Weekly 11:332, 4/16/62, p 4-5; MS 24:465, 481]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 4-5]
Thirty
- Second Annual Conference
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.
_____
The General conference of the Church convened in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, April 6, 1862, at 10 a.m.; President Brigham Young presiding.
There were on the Stand:
Of the First Presidency - Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells.
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow and Franklin D. Richards.
Of the First Presidency of the Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Zera Pulsipher and Albert P. Rockwood.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests: John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards.
Of the Presidency of the Stakes: Daniel spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace.
Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.
Of the Patriarchs: John Smith and John Young.
Reporters: George D. Watt and John V. Long.
The Conference was called to order by the President, who said that he had reason to be thankful for the privilege of meeting with the Latter Day Saints, in the capacity of a general conference, and he hoped that ere long we would have the happy privilege of meeting together in the centre stake of Zion.
Br. Smithies' choir sang, "All hail the glorious day."
Elder John Taylor offered the opening prayer.
"With all my powers of heart and tongue," was sung by br. C. J. Thomas' choir.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said the object of our meeting together was the furtherance of the kingdom of God. He had frequently given texts and pointed out the subjects that he wished the brethren to speak upon during the sitting of the conference, but instead of doing this now, he would simply state that every man who should be called to occupy the stand, might speak just whatever came into his mind. He fully realized that this people had more faith for him than they had for themselves, and that they exercised a great deal more faith for him and his brethren than they did for their own families, but he wished them not to neglect to pray for the blessings which they individually stood in need of. We meet here, he observed, in order that the kingdom of God may be advanced upon the earth, and we ought to prize the opportunity. The Apostle Paul, in reasoning upon the principle of charity, said without it, we are nothing, and he would say that without the Spirit and the pure love of God to purge out all evil from our nature, we shall be consumed. We meet together in order that we may increase our faith that we may approximate a little nearer to the pure and holy kingdom of our God; we want to be a little further advanced; to know more of God and the things of God, that we may be better prepared to build up his kingdom than we were last year or a month ago. If the Bishops of the Wards cannot judge more impartially now than ever they did before, they had better look about themselves, or they will be left behind. We are here expressly that the whole man may be regulated by the Spirit that is here, free from every entanglement that is around us when we are at home, and better prepared to lead and guide Israel.
The President then adverted to the natural susceptibility of the human mind to prejudicial influences; if he were prejudiced against a person he always strove to tell his prejudice to that person, and to show the reason of such prejudice, for it was his desire to base all his feelings towards his brethren upon facts. He next made a few remarks upon the sealing ordinances of the kingdom of God, showing that then we are free from mobs we shall find that man will be sealed to man clear back for ages, to form a chain and family connection with father Adam, but at the present it would not be salutary to develop the fulness of this glorious principle, for in times past when men got but a faint glimmering of this doctrine, it really seemed as if they would run to hell for the purpose of getting the devil sealed to them. He did know by the spirit of revelation, that the Lord wanted to pour out blessings upon this people which, at present, they would not know what to do with, if they had them.
You do not want your leaders to get drunk do you, brethren? O, no. Well then cease to drink yourselves; in short, that which you want your leaders to do, that do ye; and I require it at your hands and so does God. There are hundreds who are continually in trouble for fear we shall be driven, and for that reason, they have never planted even a peach tree in this Territory. There has been more improvements with reference to planting, raising and eating the fruits of our labors within the last two years than there has ever been since we have been in these valleys.
If this people will cease their bickerings and follies, they will never be driven from their homes again. The Lord wants us to go up as the nations of the earth go down; he wants us to increase as they decrease, in the capacity of statesmen, wise men and noblemen; also in the knowledge of both science and art. This is the desire of our Heavenly Father.
On the practice of giving and receiving bribes, he spoke in condemnatory terms. He said he would rather never have another coat while he lived than to receive one as a bribe from any one, but how many are there who can be bribed with a coat or other article of clothing to give judgment against the right? There were far too many for the good of Israel.
The peculiar and choice blessing which the Lord wants us to have, is to return and build up the center stake of Zion. He gave some excellent counsel relative to the practice of morality, and the necessity of the officers of the Church setting a good example before the people.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 11:401, 6/18/62, p 1; JD 9:266]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, a.m. of April 6,
1862.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
Instead
of giving a text in be dwelt upon by those who may address us during this
Conference, as I have done on some occasions, I say to the Elders, speak upon
such subjects as may be in your minds. Open your mouths, and have faith that
God will fill them with useful and instructive information, that all who hear
may be blessed and built up in the strength of God. If we meet as we should,
conduct ourselves as we should while we are assembled, and live as we should
when we are separated, our meetings will certainly advance the kingdom of God
on the earth.
As
formerly, I present myself before you this morning in the capacity Providence
has lead me to occupy, acknowledged and sustained by you as the dictator,
counsellor, and adviser of the people of God. Hundreds and thousands of the
Latter-day Saints exercise faith for me, and pray for me and my Counsellors,
and for the Twelve Apostles and others who are leaders and dictators in this
Church and kingdom, but neglect to pray for themselves. They apparently have
more faith for me than they have for themselves. Apparently, they will be more
fervent in spirit while in prayer before God for the leaders of this people, than
they will be for themselves. They wish their leaders to be far more holy, to be
filled with more light, more intelligence, more faith, more compassion, more
charity, more love, more humility than they themselves are. They wish their
leaders to be filled with the patience of Job and the integrity of the angels,
while they themselves neglect to attain to all this fulness. They do not
sufficiently control themselves; they give way too much to passion and the idle
follies of life.
I seek as
diligently as you do that the leaders of this people may be and do precisely as
God wishes them to. I pray as fervently as you do that the will of God may be
done on the earth as it is in heaven, and that we may be moulded and fashioned
in all goodness, after the image of Christ. I have the same faith that you have
for the leaders of this people, and I have all the fervency of desire I am
capable of, that God will maker the people just as pure as they want their
leaders to be.
This is a
great and good people. I am well acquainted with their inmost wishes and
desires, for what they pray, and what they labour and toil to accomplish. Is
their labour fully effectual, and their toil altogether calculated to bring
them that which they desire? No matter what our exercises may be before the
Lord for the advancement of truth and the power of the kingdom of God upon the
earth, if our every day life does not accord with our profession, our religious
exercises are all in vain. We may have all faith so as to remove mountains, to
pluck up trees by the roots and plant them in the sea, and be enabled to
perform greater wonders than have ever been performed by man in the name of
Jesus Christ with his Priesthood upon us, yet if we are not pure in our
affections, true and fervent in our love for God, and holy in our spirits, all
this will avail us but little. Our spirits should reign supreme in our bodies,
to bring the flesh into subjection to the will and law of Christ, until the
carnal, devilish spirit that fills the heart with anger, malice, wrath, strife,
contention, bickering, fault-finding, bearing false-witness, and with every
evil that afflicts men, is entirely subdued. If this evil power is not
vanquished by the power and love of God, the whole course of nature will be set
on fire with the fire of hell, until the whole body and spirit are consumed.
This is the way I read the order of God, the will of God, the law of God and
his holy Priesthood, the love of God, and all that pertains to his kingdom on
the earth.
The
Apostle Paul says we are nothing without charity, whatever else we may possess.
Using my own language I should say, without the pure principle of the love of
God in the heart to subdue, control, over-rule, and utterly consume every vestige
of the consequences of the fall, the fire that is kindled within the nature of
every person by the fall will consume the whole in an utter and irretrievable
destruction.
We meet
to be instructed; and at the termination of our Conference we should be a
little farther advanced toward the holy kingdom of our Father and God, and be
better prepared to build up his kingdom on the earth, than we were at its
commencement.
In
speaking of the tongue the Apostle says, "But the tongue can no man tame,
it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." If the tongue cannot be
tamed, it can be bridled. "If any man among you seem to be religious, and
bridle not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is
vain. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also
to bridle the whole body." If this unruly member is not held in subjection
it will work our ruin, for "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, so
is the tongue among our members, and it. defileth the whole body, and setteth
on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell." If the
tongue is unbridled and uncontrolled, it sets in motion all the elements of the
devilish disposition engendered in man through the fall. The Apostle has
represented it well, in comparing its influence to the fire of hell which will
eventually consume the whole man.
We are
met in this Conference, expressly for the purpose of enlarging our views upon
the importance of our Priesthood and duties; that our love for God, truth and
the household of faith may be increased; that our sensibilities may be
sharpened to a keen relish for goodness and a just sense of right; that our
judgments may become more impartial and discreet in all their conclusions, so
that when we go from this Conference whether as Bishops, Elders, High Priests,
High Counsellors, or as members of the Church and kingdom of God in the last
days, we may find ourselves sensibly improved, our aspirations more elevated,
our natures more divested of low selfishness, and in every way Better prepared
to judge in Israel, and to lead the sheep of the fold of Christ in a manner
more acceptable to the Great Shepherd.
It would
be a matter of great satisfaction to me if all the Bishops were perfectly
impartial when sitting in judgment on their brethren, and completely
invulnerable to the influence of bribes and selfish leanings to the dictates of
prejudices formed in favour of this or that person. I may not be entirely free
from such prejudices, but, if I am required to sit in judgment upon an
individual against whom I have entertained a prejudice, it has ever been my
manner to inform that person of it upon the first opportunity that presented
itself. Will you do this Bishops, and frankly acknowledge that you are
unqualified to sit in judgment upon any person against whom you are strongly
prejudiced?
So far as
I have power, and with all the understanding God has given me, I seek to base
all my conclusions upon facts when I am judging my brethren. When they are
penurious, covetous, and for a trifling gain of some kind will overlook right,
frown upon the majesty of truth, disregard justice and in all their actions
manifest a strong preference for the good and glory of this world, I am
prejudiced against their unrighteous preferences, but not against them as
individuals; for if all the good and the evil, the strength and the weakness of
which they are capable will range within the limits of a few square inches, as
individuals they require my sympathy, while I abominate their sins.
I am not
ignorant of the weaknesses of mankind; and in many instances when they would do
a good act, the Devil, by some means, takes the advantage of them and leads
them to commit an evil; as the Apostle says, "when I would do good, evil
is present with me." There is a number of people in this Church, who, when
they would correct their lives, and conclude to perform the greatest good in
their power, do that which brings disgrace upon them—the very thing they did
not want to do. This weakness we should struggle bravely to overcome. We hold
them in full fellowship in the Church of Christ because they design in their
hearts to do right, but do not at all times manage to perform it. All men are
not equally afflicted with these weaknesses. We have Bishops, Presidents, men
of standing and experience in the kingdom of God, who, according to my
judgment, do very wrong in many instances, but they may be blinded through
selfishness.
I will
here refer to a principle that has not been named by me for years. With the
introduction of the Priesthood upon the earth was also introduced the sealing
ordinance, that the chain of the Priesthood from Adam to the latest generation
might be united in one unbroken continuance. It is the same power and the same
keys that Elijah held, and was to exercise in the last days. "Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord: and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the
earth with a curse." By this power men will be sealed to men back to Adam,
completing and making perfect the chain of the Priesthood from his day to the
winding up scene. I have known men that I positively think would fellowship the
Devil, if he would agree to be sealed to them. "Oh, be sealed to me,
brother; I care not what you do, you may lie and steal, or anything else, I can
put up with all your meanness, if you will only be sealed to me." Now this
is not so much weakness as it is selfishness. It is a great and glorious
doctrine, but the reason I have not preached it in the midst of this people,
is, I could not do it without turning so many of them to the Devil. Some would
go to hell for the sake of getting the Devil sealed to them.
I have
had visions and revelations instructing me how to organize this people so that
they can live like the family of heaven, but I cannot do it while so much
selfishness and wickedness reign in the Elders of Israel. Many would make of
the greatest blessings a curse to them, as they do now the plurality of
wives—the abuse of that principle will send thousands to hell. There are many
great and glorious privileges for the people, which they are not prepared to
receive. How long it will be before they are prepared to enjoy the blessings
God has in store for them, I know not—if has not been revealed to me. I know
the Lord wants to pour blessings upon this people, but where he to do so in
their present ignorance, they would not know what to do with them. They can
receive only a very little and that must be administered to them with great
care.
A portion
of this community will not improve, will not plant out a fruit tree nor a shade
tree, expecting to be driven from their homes. Such neglect of duty is the very
way to bring the power of the Devil upon us. Let every man go to with his might
and build a good house for his family to live in, and make them comfortable and
happy, and gather around them an abundance of the blessings and comforts of
life, and do it by the power of God and the Spirit of the Holy One, in all
diligence and faithfulness, and let us preach the Gospel, send the Elders to
gather the poor and the meek of the earth, each one doing all the time all he
can to accumulate means to accelerate this great and glorious work in the name
of Israel's God, being full of faith, humility, and charity; then we have done
our duty, and all we can do to further the kingdom of God.
When we
are doing the work of the Lord with all our might, and the evil within us is
subdued by the power of God, and the light of Christ so shines within us that
we can see clearly the things of God and men truly as they are, and all is
judged by a righteous judgment, then we may look at and talk about the faults
of each other without in the least disturbing our peace. When we do this,
working faithfully for the building up of God's kingdom, we are ready to
acknowledge all things we possess to be the Lord's, holding them for him in
time, not knowing what he will do with them in the future. Let us teach our
families the principles of righteousness by our conduct, which will go further
than mere words. Let our private life be worthy the imitation of the best on
earth, for it preaches a more lasting sermon than the tongue can preach. If we
pursue this course the Lord will never suffer us to be driven from our homes.
"I always thought," said one, "that you were driven from Jackson
county for your wickedness?" Yes, and I always, acknowledge it; it was to
bring us to our senses.
The Lord
wants us to live up to the spirit of the times, and in the ratio the wicked
nations are going down, he wants his people to rise in intelligence and
importance as statesmen, noblemen, and rulers; first learning to govern and
control themselves.
I will
recur again to the sealing power I have already glanced at. If men are sealed
to me, it is because they want to be; and if they will be good, and hearken to
my counsel and live a righteous life, I will agree to dictate and counsel them;
but when men want to be sealed to me to have me feed and clothe them, and then
act like the Devil, I have no more feeling and affection for them than I have
for the greatest stranger in the world. Because a man is sealed to me, do you
suppose that he can escape being judged according to his works? No. Were he
sealed to the Saviour, it would make no difference; he would be judged like
other men. Let us do what we do from a pure and holy principle, desiring only
to promote the kingdom of God and be as nigh right as possible, that when we
judge, we may judge in righteousness.
One great
blessing the Lord wishes to pour upon this people is that they may return to
Jackson county Missouri, and establish the centre-stake of Zion. If our enemies
do not cease their oppression upon this people, as sure as the Lord lives it
will not be many days before we will occupy that land and there build up a
Temple to the Lord. If they would keep us from accomplishing this work very
soon, they had better let us alone. "I will purge the land," saith
the Lord, "cut off the evil doer, and prepare a way for the return of my
people to their inheritance." We pray for this, but are we preparing
ourselves, to live according to the laws of Zion? This I will say, to the
praise of the Latter-day Saints, there are hundreds and thousands of them who
have been in the Church, some longer and some shorter, who, when you inquire
about them, are paying attention to their own business; this proves that they
live in peace with their God and their neighbours, doing, as well as they know
how. But when we speak of the of officers of this Church, a great deal is
required of them by the Lord and the people.
I wish to
endure, and live the doctrine I preach to the people; to live with them, and
with them fight the Devil until we kick the last one off from the earth.
If a
Bishop does not want drunkenness in his Ward, let him be a sober man. If he
does not want gambling, he must not be a gambler. If he wishes the truth always
spoken, he he should not lie. If he wishes the rights of the people respected
in the holding of property, he should not steal. We wish to see the kingdom of
God advance, that we may be prepared for the blessings the Lord is anxious to
give to us.
May the
Lord bless you. Amen.
[Elder John Taylor[
Elder John Taylor bore testimony to the President's instructions, and expressed a desire to see them observed and put into practice.
[John Taylor]
[DNW 11:409, 6/25/62, p 7; JD 9:275]
REMARKS
By Elder JOHN TAYLOR, Tabernacle, Sunday Morning, April 6,
1862.
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
_____
I have
felt very much interested in the remarks we have heard this morning. In
anything that I may advance now, I pray my Heavenly Father that I may be
inspired by the same spirit that I may lay before you such things as will
conduce to your happiness and well-being. We enjoy privileges here that are not
enjoyed by any other people under the face of the heavens. I do not care what
country they inhabit, what their advantages have been in point of education, or
what facilities they may have possessed in position and wealth; or in
political, scientific, mechanical, or literary acquirements. There are no
people under the heavens that are situated as we are. There has been one great
difficulty always in the world, with very few exceptions, and that is, that men
have been left to pursue their own course, to follow the dictates of their own
individual feelings, to pursue a course which is dictated alone by a false
philosophy, a false religion, and false politics. These persons have not
understood, nor have they been able to understand, neither have they had the
means within their reach to comprehend correct principles. A great many very
sincere men in the world have prayed earnestly to be guided by the Lord, but
they have had no priesthood, no organization, no intelligence communicated to
them from on high further than that which would simply govern their moral
actions. Nations have risen up and kings have set to work to benefit the people
by establishing governments, on their own responsibility, without the dictation
of the Lord, without priesthood or authority from Heaven. They have not
professed to have any legitimate right to the priesthood, but with a blind
fatality to the example that has been set by others, they have followed in the
wake of tyrants and oppressors or adopted the notions of vain philosophers
without any teachings from on high. Governed by the lust of conquest, the
acquisition of territory, the fascinations of sceptres and dominion, and
dictated alone by the wild chimeras of their own brain.
Men have
also risen up as religious teachers and reformers, many who have conceived that
something has been wrong in the world socially, morally, and religiously, but
what that wrong has been they have not been able definitely to tell. They could
tell something about a crucified and risen redeemer, as gleaned from the
scriptures, but they knew nothing, or comparatively nothing in regard to the
relationship that exists or that ought to exist between man and his Father in
heaven. They knew nothing in relation to the pre-existence of man; or his
future destiny, the organization of the world, the object of its creation, or
its destiny. The designs of God in relation to the redemption of man, and the
world's and man's eternal exaltations, and progressions they were profoundly
ignorant, like the kings without Priesthood and authority, they were blind
leaders of the blind, unsent, uninstructed of the Lord. They could not
comprehend anything of this kind and consequently they were divided in their
feelings, and hence all the wildness of sectarianism. And yet a great many of
those men have been just as sincere as we have been. A great many philosophers
have risen up in the world unaided by the Almighty, and they have introduced
their systems of morality and different laws of life, morality and politics for
the well-being and happiness of the human family and with a desire to promote
their welfare but they have accomplished very little. All these powers combined
have done very little to ameliorate the condition of mankind. They have
signally failed to regenerate the world. It is true they have taught the
existence of a God and of our responsibilities to him. They have taught many
good moral precepts and sought to imbue them with good principles and
influences. But not possessing a knowledge of the laws of life themselves, they
bare been unable to teach them to others. There has always been wanting some
principle and leading influence; they have all of them lacked a reliance upon
God and proper touching and instruction from him. And this has been the cause
of great difficulty that has existed in every day and age of the world. There
has been very little change comparatively in the world in regard to the
condition and practices of the human family. In former times they used to
worship idols of various forms and possessing certain supposed powers, some
thousands of gods of various forms was set forth for mankind to worship, and
men have just the same foolish notions now only varying in form. There has been
all kinds of theories introduced by philosophers and religionists. Instead of
gods of wood, iron, brass, stone, and gold, they have theories, notions, and
ideas. They have commenced various systems of religion and philosophy, just as
the ancients practised only varying in form. They have now their gods that they
worship the same as religious enthusiasts had in former dispensations. Many of
the religionists of the present day have just as much confidence in their
foolish theories as the ancients bad in their deities, made with their own
hands. This is true also of modern philosophers. Our politicians are also as
much confused as men were formerly notwithstanding our professed superior
enlightenment. If you go to the States, to the North for instance, don't you
think that the North believe that they will make the South submit to their
will? The North think they will, and in fact that is now very nearly
accomplished and that the war will soon be wound up. And don't you think that
the South are strong in the belief that they are in the right and will succeed
in carrying out their designs. But what will either of them accomplish more
than has been done in former days? Nothing. What does this arise from? For want
of correct teaching from the servants of the Most High God. If any or all of
these men in their day and age of the world could bare obtained the blessings,
the light of revelation communicated unto them they would readily have received
the Gospel provided they could have understood as we do. It has been customary
among men to seek only to the wisdom of men, and to the knowledge of men to be
enabled to govern their course of life and conduct. This has been the general
pursuit of the human family. All mankind have acknowledged a Supreme Being that
governs and controls the world, but they have always believed that he was
inaccessible. Do you think that those old professors felt about God as the
religious professors do in these days? Most assuredly they did. How was it with
Daniel when the King Belshazzar said to the astrologers and soothsayers, that
he wanted and demanded of them to find out the dream which had gone from him
and then to give the interpretation? The astrologers said, "why no man can
tell this thing which the king demandeth but that being whose dwelling is
not with flesh." But Daniel prayed to him that revealeth secrets and
his prayer was answered, and the king's dream and interpretation were revealed
to him, so that when he went in before the king he unfolded that which the king
had dreamed and then forgotten. How was it with the old Grecians? Among other
things they had an unknown God, and when Paul visited them he saw an
inscription to this unknown Deity of theirs, hence when addressing them he
said, "That God whom ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."
They believed in the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and so do the world now, but
still they worship a God without body, parts, or passions. We can say the same
of kings, princes, rulers, and philosophers, for these have all believed in a
Supreme Ruler of the Universe; but for the present, suffice it to say, that
there has been little or no improvement in these flyings.
You go
into the United States, to England, and if you please go throughout the
European nations and see if you can find anything in relation to God, more than
there was a hundred or a thousand years ago. There is no increase there in the
knowledge of God. Then how is it possible for them to get any knowledge of the
future? How is it possible that they can understand anything pertaining to
their temporal or spiritual existence, either past or future, without the
Spirit of revelation from on high? There is no power or influence that can
reveal these things in their proper light, but that God "whose dwelling is
not with flesh." But all men of the world, politicians, philosophers, and
all classes and grades of men have been ignorant of these teachings, and they
have had no means of obtaining any correct knowledge of those principles of
which I have been speaking. It was to do away with this ignorance that has
existed for ages, to reveal the purposes of God and establish correct religion
and morality, and the only true form of government that God revealed his will
to the human family through Joseph Smith; it was for this that he opened the
heavens and communed with man upon the earth, and it was for this that he drew
away the veil that had obscured the world for ages. By and through Joseph Smith
he revealed the law of life, the relationship of God to man, and how to secure
individual happiness of friends, relations, and associations, and also that
which would be for the well-being and renovation of a world. This is what we
are after, and it is this, as I understand it, that God is after. It is to
introduce correct principles among the human family; it is to do away with
these abuses that have so long existed and prevailed in the world, and that
mankind may be taught the ways of life and salvation, to qualify them to teach
correct principles to their progeny, and in due time stand forth upon Mount
Zion as saviours in these last days, and that the servants of God may be able
by his aid and assistance to usher in a new era of life, of peace, of
happiness, glory and exaltation to the inhabitants of a fallen world, and
likewise of renovation to the world itself.
This, to
us, I was going to say is almost new; it is strange at least. We have been
awakened by the voice of inspiration, and glory has filled our hearts when we
have been saluted with the message which the great Eloheim has revealed for the
redemption of the sons of men. And we have felt blessed and inspired, yielding
obedience to the laws of God, and our souls have rejoiced in the Holy One of
Israel; and yet, like the Israelites who left their homes in the land of
oppression, we are all the while looking back to Egypt. We bare drawn in our
traditions, as it were, like our mother's milk. Our education, our training and
teaching in general, not merely in regard to religion, but upon every subject,
have been in opposition to or a perversion of the pure principles of the
kingdom of God. There is not a correct principle in relation to that which is
calculated to conduce to the happiness of ourselves and the world at large that
has been understood and properly applied, or that man without the Spirit of God
has known anything about. And how could we understand aright, if all the world
were ignorant? Our statesmen and philosophers who have professed and still
profess to know so much are shrouded in darkness, and there was no one capable
of teaching us elevated principles, simply because no one bad recently revealed
nor knew any Letter than ourselves. I ask is it surprising that we should waver
and act ignorantly? And seeing that the whole world have been in such a slate
of gross darkness, is it surprising that we should, in many instances forget
our high calling's glorious hope, and forget the situation we occupy, the
blessings, ordinances, powers and gifts that have been bestowed upon us? Is it
surprising that we should look back like the children of Israel did when they
made h golden calf and other idols and said "These be thy gods, O
Israel?" I leave you to answer for yourselves.
When we
become inspired by the Spirit of God, and the truths which flow froth his
servants, we are enabled to comprehend our position and relationship to the
Most High. It is no small affair that we are engaged in; we are striving to
sweep away the rubbish and error of ages. Our peace with God is what we are
trying to feel after, if, peradventure, we may find the correct way of life, of
religion, of government, of everything that is calculated, to enoble, to bless
and exalt us in time and in eternity. Having believed that we have got this, we
are trying to feel after our Heavenly Father and be is trying to have us feel
after him, and he is pouring out his Spirit upon us from time to time, and
causing us to cry "Abba, Father," and to feel that we are his
children, and therefore we feel to bow with reverence before him as our Father,
our God and deliverer, and to put our trust in him. We are constantly trying to
feel after this kind of spirit and to be able to say the Lord is our God
"the Lord is our King, the Lord is our Lawgiver, and he shall rule over
us," and we do sometimes get a little glimmering of this Spirit and it
does produce a certain effect upon our minds, but we slide back again.
Sometimes though we are like the boy that went to school who said that he
slipped two steps backwards for one forward, but I do not believe this as a
general rule, for I believe with President Young, that we have made and taken
many steps in the right direction. I feel also that there are thousands who
have not bowed the knee to Baal, but who feel that God is their Lord, protector
and deliverer. What is it that we have got to do? It is to let this spirit increase
within ourselves and before God; part with our faults and vanities, and if
things don't go according to our judgment and feelings and notions of flyings,
we must recollect that our notions are not correct, and that our wisdom has
been proved to be folly, therefore, there is more that is correct but that
which flows from the Great Eloheim, and that will deliver us from our folly and
bring us out of the labyrinth of mystery into the light of truth. And the
Almighty has commenced to gather his people from every nation, kindred, and
tongue, and to impart wisdom and knowledge for his Saints. And, if we are
governed by the Almighty and walk in his footsteps, we may know not only how to
save ourselves but the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and introduce
a reign of righteousness, and do that which philosophers, kings, governors and
statesmen, in their day and age have failed to accomplish. The Lord will do
this by having a people that will be obedient to his law.
Brethren,
may God help you, and I bless you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Calder's choir sung, "Sweet is thy work my God, my King."
Benediction by Elder George A. Smith.
_____
[6 Apr, pm]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 5]
AFTERNOON.
The Choir sung a hymn.
Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde.
The sacrament was then administered by Bishops Hunter, Hardy, Kesler, Davis, Hoagland and Sheets.
[President Orson Hyde]
President Orson Hyde was thankful for the privilege of meeting with and speaking to the Saints; for to him it was truly gratifying to look upon their faces. He did not feel to enter upon any particular subject of instruction, but, as the people would doubtless like to know something of the people where he had been living, he would give an account of the condition of the people in Sanpete county. He contemplated the principles of the gospel as he did a fine orchard that was full of luscious fruit, the first tasted is considered the best, then the second will be thought superior to the first; and just so with every successive fruit tasted, and he felt it was just so with the principles of the gospel. It is a good thing to trust in the Lord, and it is important for us to take that course by which we can secure the confidence of the Almighty on us. If we secure his confidence, then whatsoever we ask of him will be granted.
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 12:1, 7/2/62, p 1; JD 10:47]
REMARKS
By Elder ORSON HYDE, Tabernacle, Sunday Afternoon, April 6,
1862
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
Brethren
and sisters, I am called upon and requested to make a few remarks to you this
afternoon, in which privilege I feel thankful to my heavenly Father, and also
for the privilege of meeting with the Saints in general Conference.
The
representatives of every part of the Territory are here, and to be privileged
to speak, though perhaps but a few minutes, still it is a gratification; and to
look upon you and your countenances is a privilege that I prize If we were
prepared to crater info heaven, to do according to Our ideas of heaven, or as
we have been used to believe, and should get up there in the presence of God,
or in the presence of the spirits that are greater than we are, and undertake
to teach and instruct them it would not seem exactly in place, and yet perhaps
it might be in place, for those spirits might wish to know what was in us. It
is in this manner that I do it at this time; it is not with a wish to instruct
those that bear rule in the kingdom of God, but I suppose that they would like
to know from us who have been at a distance, to know what kind of spirit we
possess. Therefore as liberty is given to speak upon whatever subject is
desired by the person addressing you, it may be supposed that every speaker
will speak upon some favorite theme, that our spirits may be weighed in the
balances and compared with the principles of the Gospel. I feel when I
contemplate the principles of our holy religion very much as I do when I go
into a very nice orchard and get hold of a good ripe peach, I naturally
exclaim, this is excellent! I taste another, and say that is very good; of
another I say it is luscious. Then I meet with some apples; I get hold of a
Rhode Island Grening in the season thereof, and of course I say this is the
finest going; then I get hold of a golden pippin and I think this is the finest
of all. So I think with the spirits of great and good men in the Gospel; they
are all best, and I do not know which to select of the principles of life ant
salvation. President Young gave us a key some time ago, to certain principles,
and I thought I would make a few remarks upon a principle that seems to present
itself to my mind. Suppose that there is in this town a man of honor, a man who
fulfils his contracts, who never was known to cheat the laborer or cut him down
in his price. His character is known; you enlist in his employment, and you
have no doubt but you will be rewarded, and you know be is abundantly able and
qualified to fulfil his word and promise, and you have no doubt or hesitancy in
regard to receiving pay for your labor. You go on working and laboring, and you
are confident that you will get your pay; not the least doubt in the world.
Well, really, that is no more than we should do; it is no very high compliment
to us, if while trusting in that individual and believing that we will get our
pay and get justly rewarded unless we turn the tables and ask the question to
ourselves, "Has that individual who has employed us got confidence in us,
that we will execute and perform according to his wishes?" It is good to
trust in the Lord, to repose confidence in what he has said to us, but it is
better to secure and be sure that we have the confidence of the Almighty. When
a man that you have employed in this service has proven that he is worthy, that
he is faithful, wise, discreet and understands what belongs to his duties in
every branch of his profession, and who understands well how to keep all things
in order, then he can be trusted and promoted according to his master's
pleasure.
Your
employer has looked down upon you and seen your wisdom and the interest that
you have taken in his affairs, till by-and-bye it comes to something that is
wanted to be done, then the employer goes to his master and says, "Sir,
how shall I execute this piece of work? In what manner shall I perform this
branch of business?" "Why," says the master, "you
understand my policy, and you understand that I have full confidence in you,
therefore go and do it in a manner that will suit. yourself." Now, an
employer won't say that to every individual, but he might say it to one in whom
he had the most unlimited confidence. May we not arrive at a point where we can
secure the confidence of the Almighty, so that he will say, "Whatever you
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven You know my policy; I have full
confidence in you, indeed the light of Heaven shines in your hearts, and with
this go and do as seemeth good unto you?" Arriving at this point may we
not get the entire confidence of our heavenly Father in regard to all the duties
that lie before us.
Now, it
would not be a very high compliment for us to trust in that wealthy man who has
plenty of means and who never violated his word, still it is good to trust in
him; it shows that we consider him abundantly able and willing to fulfil his
contracts. It is good to trust in the Lord, but what fool would not? There are
some men who would not, especially if that trust touched their pockets. The
gold, the silver, and everything that we own belongs to him, and we cannot
trust too much in him. It is no very high compliment for us to say that we
trust in the Lord; still it is good, it shows that we appreciate his policy and
goodness; but when we can take a course of life to cause the Almighty to bust
in us, and whenever he can find us to be a people in whom he can trust, then
all those blessings referred by the President this morning will be poured out
upon us. What will he put upon us when we show our obedience to his laws? He
will take from the world their sovereignty and leave only desolation and
confusion, and he will take the power which they claim to have and will
transfer it to his chosen and anointed ones, just so soon as he can feel safe
in doing so.
Well,
brethren and sisters, I just wanted in impress this idea upon our minds. I say our,
because I take it to myself, and it is my determination to pursue that
course in all my teachings and in all my operations that will secure to me the
confidence of our heavenly Father, the Lord being my helper. My heart is fully
set to secure the confidence of the Almighty, and, also of all the just ones.
May this
be the desire and determination of every heart, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow felt thankful that he had come to the conference, for he had the approbation of his own conscience in meeting with his brethren in this our beloved city. - He spoke of the present conditions of the brethren in Southern Utah, who had gone there to raise cotton; gave a brief history of what they had done since their arrival there; and peach trees were in full bloom and looking fine when he left there on the 27th ult. He then spoke in high terms of the contentment and good feeling that existed among the brethren in that part of the Territory. If we are to be a State or nation, he remarked, we must possess within ourselves those things that will make us independent of all other people, in regard to every article of both food and clothing. It behooves us to be diligent in the manufacture of iron and steel as well as cotton. He made some appropriate remarks on the necessity of introducing machinery into the country.
"The morning breaks, the shadows flee," was sung, after which -
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young made some remarks relative to the former feeling of the people in reference to the raising of fruit and grain in various parts of this Territory, and said the authorities had been constantly urging upon the people to raise flax; and, if they had done as they had been counseled for the last eight years, we should have had all the gold requisite to have bought one quarter of the State of Missouri; but the people seem determined to pay their money to others for flax, cotton, tobacco and almost every thing else they need. A man who uses his energies and means to produce those articles that we need in this Territory does his duty, but that man who builds up any city, or encourages and helps to do it, or to do anything out of the kingdom of God, operates with his strength against that kingdom which he has covenanted to build up. He showed the evils of priestcraft in keeping the people from embracing the gospel among the nations, and said the kings, presidents, governors and other rulers of the common people, would be held accountable for their oppression of their subjects.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 11:402, 6/18/62, p 2; JD 9:271]
REMARKS
By Prest. BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, p.m., of April 6,
1862.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
When we
first came to these valleys, we urged the brethren to believe that they could
raise grain here, for but few of them believed it; and raising peaches was
supposed by nearly all to be entirely out of the question. It is now proved
beyond a doubt that we can raise in these mountains, not only the best of
grain, but the finest of fruit.
If the
Elders of Israel had taken the counsel which has been given them for eight
years past, we would have had gold enough on hand to buy one quarter of the
State of Missouri; which we might have owned as well as not, and lived in it
when we pleased. There is one practice among this people that I am at war with,
and I pray God to give me strength and ability, with the faith of the
righteous, to root it out from our midst, and that is, they would seemingly
rather be damned than not give their money to their enemies. Will they raise
flax, cotton and fruit? No; but they will put fortunes in the pockets of
strangers, to import from a distance what we can produce at home. If this
people had followed the counsel given to them, there is not a man in Israel
would have raised a bushel of wheat for our enemies who came here to cut our
throats, without making them pay from five to ten dollars a bushel for it. I do
not wish to scold, but still I do most cordially dislike the conduct of certain
men with whom we are obliged to associate in a Church capacity. It is
impossible for me to speak pleasantly of their conduct while they, in their
feelings and affections, lean toward the wicked who will take the name of God
in vain and curse the chosen of God. Even now, many of our brethren are running
after them begging for a little job of hauling, for a little employment here
and there, and apparently would lick the dust of their feet for five cents.
While
brother Erastus Snow was speaking upon our being under the necessity of
importing various articles from abroad, I tried to think what there is that we
cannot make here. There is as good material in this Territory for making hats
as there is in any part of the world, and we hare the mechanics who can put it
together. We have an excellent button machine, erie capable of producing as
good buttons as these I now wear in the Bosom of my shirt. There are tons of
bones and horns bleaching upon the prairie, which can be manufactured into as
good buttons as any man need to wear, if some of our button-makers would take
hold of the machine and work it. We also have men here who can make pressed
buttons which will do very well.
I see
here, to-day, many who are dressed in homespun, and they look comfortable and
comparatively independent. Some of the sisters I see, wear home-made shawls,
and to me, they appear far more appropriate than do the gaudy trappings of
foreign make. I cannot see why we should send to buy from strangers that which
we can manufacture ourselves, if it is not to satisfy a disposition to please
and pamper that power which is opposed to the kingdom of God on the earth.
When the
Lord cuts off every resource from this people, only that which is immediately
around them, they can then live as well if not better than they do now, and
attain to a state of self sustenance much sooner than if he should continue to
plead with them to rise up in their strength and do as they ought toward
becoming independent before all foreign temporal facilities are entirely cut
off. Enoch was three hundred and sixty-five years in getting a people ready to
receive the blessings the Lord had to bestow upon them, but in the latter days
his work will be cut short in righteousness. Were the Lord to be as indulgent
with us as many want him to be, and continue to bear with the sins of the
wicked, I presume it would take him fully as long to prepare the people in his
day, but he will not wait so long. The Lord can oblige this people to come to
the standard he wishes them to reach, but I have very little faith that many
will attain to it in the flesh.
If we
could not buy imported hats, we would make them of the material we have here.
If we could not buy a yard of cotton cloth, we would raise cotton and make it.
We can make spinning wheels and jennies; but brother Erastus inquires where are
we going to get the spindles, if we do not import them. That we have need to
import spindles is not correct. We have plenty of men here who know how to make
iron, and steel, and spindles. Brother N. V. Jones has produced specimens of
iron from magnetic ore. He has not made east iron from that ore, but the best
of wrought iron can be made from it. Do our brethren make it? No. They want to
go to California after gold, or they wish to freight for this man or that man
who has nothing in common with the interests of the kingdom of God. In the same
proportion that men operate to encourage the importation of foreign
productions, so far, according to their influence and means, they operate
against the advancement of the kingdom of God on the earth. Many may not
believe this statement, though to me it has become an established fact. Any man
of this Church and kingdom who exerts his influence, strength, and means to
promote any community, or to build up any city, except the people and cities of
Zion, is exerting his strength and means against the kingdom of God.
Our
speaker this afternoon commiserated our friends in the east who are now
destroying each other, but who were once united in taking from us our homes and
possessions, and winked at the shedding of the blood of our best men, and who
have taken the lives of our brethren and sisters, of our fathers and mothers,
of our wives and children. The tottering gray haired sire excited no
commiseration in their breasts, neither did the aged grandmother whom they
deprived of her children—her last prop and stay, except her God, and left her
to fall into the grave without a relation to speak an encouraging word in her
dying moments. Our history records hundreds of such eases in consequence of the
persecutions, mobbings, and drivings to which this people have been exposed.
Infants, the youth, and the middle-aged have dropped into untimely graves by
hundreds. They have taken our lives from the earth and swallowed up our
substance, and forsooth we feel very much to pity them in their present
condition. I will inform sympathisers, that if the fountain of pity and
commiseration keeps pace with the increasing calamities that will come upon our
enemies, where they only have yielded drops, rivers will flow, for the press is
only just beginning to come down upon rim ungodly—they can only just begin to
feel its pressure; but there is a weight hanging over them that is ponderous in
its crushing and desolating force. Would I lift it off from them, if I had the
power? No, but I would let it crush the guilty, ungodly wretches—the priest in
the pulpit, the judge on the bench, the governor, and the rulers," and
would let the common people go free.
After a
long struggle we expect to be able to redeem Zion, to establish the centre
stake thereof, and from thence spread abroad in the vastness of our increasing
numbers, and in the greatness of our power and infinitude of our wealth, build
hundreds and thousands of cities and magnificent temples to the name and honour
of our God; and we will enter those temples and officiate for our forefathers
and our relatives who have died without a knowledge of the Gospel, and for
those ignorant thousands who are paid for killing each other in the present
war, and we will give them a salvation—All who have not sinned against the Holy
Ghost, or shed innocent blood or consented there to. The priests have rivetted
their fetters and chains around the millions, and they more or less influence
every, political man in our Government, to ridicule and fight against God and
every holy principle that comes from heaven. If these fetters were broken
asunder, and every man and every family permitted to judge for themselves,
hundreds of thousands would embrace the Gospel as soon as they could have the
privilege of hearing it, receive their ordinations and endowments, and be ready
to go forth and hasten the work of building Temples wherein to officiate for
those who had not in their lives the privilege of going into a Temple to
receive their washings and anointings. Were it not for priestcraft and
political-craft, I am satisfied that scores of thousands on this continent
would now embrace the Gospel.
I would
like to see the footsteps of the Almighty (and they are now beginning to be
visible) in his going forth to cut; off the bitter branches; and by-and-bye the
stone cut out of the mountain will begin to roll, and if it does not soon crush
some of the toes of the great image, I am mistaken. From present appearances I
think the toes will be pretty well mutilated before the stone reaches them. I
pray for this constantly, for I would be glad to see the inhabitants of the
earth have the privilege of believing the Gospel for themselves, and not any
more be bound by the blighting influences of priestcraft. In this country and
in the old countries politicians and wealthy men, who have any influence
whatever over their neighbours, or over a family, or district, exert that
influence to keep the people from embracing the Gospel the Lord has restored
again to the world, by threatening to injure them, to stop their wages, turn
them out of employment, or out of their houses, if they embrace
"Mormonism," and thus the masses are bound down.
Will we
still continue to build up and foster our enemies, and give them our life's
blood? It we intend to cease doing so, we will cease trading with them in the
way and manner we have done and are doing. You may enquire what we are going to
do, I will tell you what I have not done; I have not sent to the States this
season for any factory cloth, nor for any calico, and I shall say to my family
you must make your own clothing or go without. "What are we going to do
for pins and needles?" Do without them, or use thorns. When we cease
importing them, necessity may become the mother of invention in this as well as
in many other cases. I have often wished there was not such a thing as a pin or
a needle when I have found them sticking in garments, in my shirt, on my
pillow, in the chairs, on the door rugs, strewed over the floors and passages,
and in the streets I will venture to say that the quantity of pins and needles
that has been brought into this Territory has not done one-tenth part of the
service they would, if they had been properly taken care of and not wasted.
People will hardly stoop down to pick up a needle or a pin, but they will go to
the stores and buy them. Ladies will take a dollar ivory comb, put it in water,
and then comb a child's hair with it; it is never dry, the ivory softens, and
the comb is used up in a very short time, when a good comb of that description
ought to last five years in a common family. Mothers have not learned that
water will spoil an ivory comb. There are some combs made of gutta percha, that
comb the hair better than horn, but they are brittle and require to be used
with care; but the first you know, one is on the floor and the rocker of the
rocking-chair has passed over it and rendered it useless.
Where do
you keep your needles? On the floor, in the cradle, on the bed, up stairs and
down stairs, in every nook and corner of the house. Where are the pins? All
over; you can pick up one wherever you are. Do we answer the end of our
creation in thus wasting, with a prodigal hand, tire good things which our
Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us? The people are ignorant and careless
touching these matters, and in them do not answer the end of their creation,
and will not without prudently making the best possible use of that which God
gives us.
We can
make everything we want; and that is not all, we can, if we are disposed to,
cease to want that which we cannot make. The moment we do this, and are
satisfied with our productions, we are an independent people.
Choir sung - "Arise, my soul, arise."
Benediction by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
_____
[6 Apr, 7 pm]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 4-5]
EVENING MEETING.
At 7 p.m., the High Priests held a meeting in the Tabernacle, President John Young presiding, at which much valuable instruction was given by Prest. Brigham Young, on the order of the priesthood.
Several spiritual songs were sung after the transaction of the business before the meeting. Elder McAllister sung - "Do what is right." Elder Charles W. Penrose sung - "Stand firm, and be faithful and true," and James McGhee sung the following sweet sentimental "Mormon" song:
TUNE - "Scotland yet."
Come,
heavenly muse, with fresh'ning dews,
My gentle lay inspire;
In strains divine, my heart incline
To sing, with noblest fire,
The Heroes' praise, of Latter Days,
And while I sing, sing ye -
For
Mormon's right will Mormons fight,
While Mormons true
there be;
When tyrants -
slaves - find nameless graves,
We'll triumph and
be free.
Give
wealth and ease, to whom they please,
The slave his servile chain;
Who'd seek to bind a Mormon mind
Would ill requite his pain,
And ere subdue a Mormon true
Might Mormon valor dree
For Mormons' right, &c.
On
wings of flame, with loud acclaim,
Go tell from shore to shore
That 'Church' and 'Crown' have failed to drown
The Mormon Lion's roar:
The Lion's roar stll echoes o'er
The earth from sea to sea.
For Mormons' right, &c.
From
other lands come Mormon bands,
With Mormon hearts the same:
The lands of song and tyrant wrong
Have caught the sacred flame:
In songs of praise this theme they raise,
While swell the chorus we.
For Mormons' right, &c.
In
spite of foes who dare oppose,
Let Mormon hearts advance;
Nor yet in vain our toil and pain
Our glory that enhance;
And as we go let tyrants know
We'll chant the sacred glee;
For Mormons' right, &c.
Benediction by bishop Lorenzo D. Young
_____
[7 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 4-5]
MONDAY, April 7, 10 a.m.
Choir sung, "Come, O thou king of kings."
Prayer by Bishop Edwin D. Woolley.
Choir sung, "I'll praise my maker while I've breath."
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith preached from the 12, 13 and 14 verses of the 5th chapter of Paul's epistle to the Hebrews, which read as follows:
"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye
have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles
of God; and are become such as have need
of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in
the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them
that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil."
It was important, he said, that the Elders should go abroad and preach the gospel, and have a chance to test, by actual experience, the power of the principles of truth, when brought in contact with the fanaticism of the world, which is dignified by the title of religion. Made some important remarks on the order of the priesthood, and showed that in consequence of the ignorance of the people each settlement has to be content with a wheelbarrow instead of a four-horse coach; in other words a bishop has to do every thing himself; whereas, if the people were not so full of tradition, they might just as well have a president also. Exhorted the presiding officers to show common courtesy to each other instead of contending which shall be the greatest man.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 12:17, 7/16/62, p 1; JD 10:59]
DISCOURSE
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, Tabernacle, Monday, April 7,
1862, 10 a.m.
_____
REPORTED BY J. F. LONG.]
_____
"For
when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you
again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such
as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one, that useth milk,
is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat
belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have
their senses exercised to discern beth good and evil."—Hebrews v. 12, 13
and 14 verses.
It may
seem to my brethren and sisters a little surprising, that I should introduce
the remarks which I have the privilege of addressing to you this morning, by
reading the sentiment which is conveyed in this text. For when for the time we
ought to he teachers, we have need that one teach us again the first principles
of the oracles of God. But how often is it necessary, and has it been
necessary, for those who are inspired of the Lord to complain Of the brethren
making such slow progress in the things of the kingdom of God? How often do we
hear Our Presidency lament the ignorance, folly and vanity that are exhibited
by many of those who are called upon to be and who should be teachers indeed. I
have thought that in some circumstances there was a neglect in the Branches of
preaching to and rehearsing in the ears of the rising generation, those first
principles of the Gospel which were taught to us when we received the Work of
the last days, and especially the principle of faith. We grow up in this
community and the principles of the Gospel become, to a great extent, natural
to us. But many of the young are untried and without experience, and they lack
the power to contrast the principles of truth with those of error, and hence it
is regarded as important by the Elders that they should have the opportunity,
at some period, of going abroad to preach the Gospel and have a chance to test,
by actual experience, the power of the principles of truth when brought in
contact with the wild fanaticisms which the world has dignified with the title
of religion.
It was
remarked yesterday, that the progress of the people was so slow, that the
Presidency could not develop those principles which were for the benefit of the
people, for their glory and exaltation, only at a very slow rate, powerful as
we may think the "Mormon" mill to be. The President tells us that he
has to regulate the feed very moderately, or injure the weak minded. Some of
the brethren, for want of a more perfect understanding perhaps, give way to
temptation and turn away, and become to a considerable extent like a man who
comes out of the dark into a well lighted room, he is blinded with the light,
his eyes are unprepared to meet such brilliancy. This is illustrated very
clearly in the organization of the several Branches, settlements, and stakes of
Zion throughout Deseret. To use a figure, in almost all the Branches containing
from one hundred to three hundred families, it has been found necessary to
combine all the authority of Presidency in one man, at least I will say this
has been the ease in many instances; there are a few exceptions to this rule,
but not many. A Bishop while he presides at the meetings locks after the
spiritual welfare of the settlements; he preaches on the Sabbath day, gives
counsel to the people, spiritual and temporal; he gives counsel in relation to
the donations, public buildings, the erection of school-houses; and almost
everything is made to devolve upon the head of the Bishop.
In the
first instance many of these places were organized with a President and Bishop
who were expected to act in concert, and, with their counsellors, work and
exert themselves for the general good of the people, and with a strong hand all
pull together and strive to strengthen each other. And when for the time
these men ought to have been teachers they have proven that they required to be
taught, for the very first question that would arise, was "which of us is
the biggest man, for it is important that we should know the precise line
between our authority, to know where the jurisdiction of the one ends and the
other begins." A man of this disposition and feeling would want a rule and
tape-line to draw his line of jurisdiction on the ground and stake it out. Then
it would be, Bishop you must toe this line, and President you must keep your
side of it. No familiarity. You must not tread on my toes, remember that.
Now, I
have had experience in these matters to some little extent, by visiting and
attempting to regulate, explain and set in order these difficulties. At one
place, containing about three hundred families, the President held the doctrine
that the Bishop was a mere temporal officer, and therefore he had no right or
business to talk on the Sabbath day on temporal matters. If he wished to talk
about donations, emigration, teams, building meeting-houses, or of Tithing, he
was told that that was temporal business and that he must call a meeting on a
week day. Elder E. T. Benson and myself went to that place after they had been
contending upon this subject, and it had become well understood that no man
must talk there on temporal subjects on the Sabbath day. But we occupied the
whole day in telling how make bread, build cities, make farms, fences, and in
fact we told them how to do every useful thing that we could think of. We
asserted that a certain amount of temporal preparation was necessary in order
that a man might enjoy his religion. We also asserted, that if a man made no
preparations for the future he was constantly subjected to annoyances. For
instance, a man lives in one of our agricultural villages, and he makes little
or no preparation for taking care of what he has around him; he neglects to
fence his field and stack-yard. Now, I have thought that a man could not enjoy
his religion as he should do unless he had a good fence around his field and
stack-yard; for if he has no fence, or only a poor one, when he gets ready for
praying there is perhaps a rap at the door, and when the door is opened, the
message delivered is, "there are twenty head of cattle destroying your
wheat in your stack-yard." "The Devil there is," says the man,
"and whose are they?" He puts them in the astray pound, and he puts
an exorbitant tax upon them, and charges the pound-keeper not to let them go
until he gets this pay, say, damages to the amount of $50. The next thing is,
another neighbor who is religious also, but perhaps a little later in his
devotions, is aroused by the report, "your cattle are all in the astray
pound and there is $50 damage against them." "The Devil they are, who
put them there?" Why brother—; his feelings of reverence and devotion
having been badly shaken by this report, he rises from his prayerful mood in a
rage and uses very violent language; and, suffice it to say, that much trouble
is caused by men not having a good fence, and it is exceedingly doubtful
whether many men can preserve an even temper of mind under such circumstances.
Now, all this was the result of ignorance. If that Presidency had known their
duties they would never have closed a meeting without asking the Bishop if he
had anything to say, or any business to attend to; it Was a matter of courtesy
and of duty also; and instead of pulling against each other they should have
united and all pulled together for the accomplishment of the same object. For
this reason we have had to organize several Branches with a Bishop and his
counsellors only, and, as I express it sometimes in the settlements where I visit,
we have had to use a wheel-barrow instead of a six horse coach. The Bishop must
do this, that and the other, in fact everything. He must preach, collect the
Tithing; for if we set another man to assist him, men are so ignorant, they
have learned so little that they will immediately start up and strive for the
mastery, and hence contentions have risen among the brethren acting in the
capacity of Bishops and Presidents.
In most
of the settlements there have been quorums of High Priests organized, and they
call meetings and watch over each other, blow the coal and keep the fire alive
within each other's bosoms, and see if they can keep one another wide awake.
The same thing has occurred in reference to the Seventies, and the
organizations are very numerous. Well, the question arises have these Quorums a
right to call meetings at the same time the President has called a public
meeting of the whole Branch? Here comes a question of jurisdiction. For
instance, when half of the males in a Branch are Seventies, the President of
the Mass Quorum notifies that they are to have a meeting at 10 or 11 o'clock,
the very hour that the President of the Branch has his meeting. Has the
President of the Seventies a right to do this? No, he has not; it is a
discourtesy. Every Quorum should so arrange its appointments that there will be
no difficulty, no necessity for any law to regulate the matter, but that of
common decency and common manhood, and it does seem that a man with less than
half a share of discernment Could see that while the meeting called by the
President is going on all the Branch ought to be there, and therefore that
there should be no other meeting holden at the same time.
Brethren,
we should so arrange our appointments when our High Priests and whatever other
Quorums meet, as not to conflict, and in this way have and show our respect to
the President of the Branch. Have our meetings of course, but submit to the
President of the Branch, as the first to be attended to, and then have our
other meetings subordinate in point of time.
Well,
now, almost any man in the world would say that a man is a feel that would
raise such a question, but men that have been ordained Elders, High Priests and
Seventies are just such teachers, for when, for the time that they should be
teachers, they have need to be taught, for they seem to operate like children
and pull against each other; they labor to define each others duties, to mark
out the whereabouts of the line of demarcation, whereas they should each and
every cue strive to build up the kingdom of God, and so live as to enjoy the
Holy Spirit; each man should strive to be humble instead of exalting himself;
instead of drawing the line and saying I belong just, here and nobody must
interfere with my rights, he should feel to sustain the hands of his brethren.
I will here say that there have been places where these two organizations have
existed for years without any difficulty, and there are other places where the
two have existed at the same time, and the matter has been taken up by the
people and worked at until it has been found necessary to reduce the
organization by uniting the Presidency and Bishopric in one person, or, as I
term it, the wheelbarrow arrangement, or if you please, a three wheeled coach.
There was
one settlement where the people got so very wise that the Bishop had to have
two sets of counsellors, and they had to be selected according to the wishes of
the parties that took sides with the President, or rather that were in favor of
having one, and then those who were willing to be contented with a Bishop had
is have their choice, and thus was formed what I call an unlimited democracy.
The fact
is float as soon as the brethren can realize that they are to be servants of
God, and that it is their individual duty, to sustain each other and put away
that jealousy which in many cases, exists at the present time, and which
in fact is the chief cause of all this trouble; and so soon as they find that
they are not to be as large as they desire to be, and as they think they ought
to be, it will be found that these organizations will be increased in numbers;
they will also increase in faith, in good works and in power and influence with
the heavens, and if they will be faithful the idea will be fairly illustrated
that a man with a wheelbarrow cannot travel as fast nor accomplish as much as
the man who drives a four horse coach. Still, I know, that owing to the
ignorance and short-sightedness of the people, a case of this kind will
occasionally occur. There seems to be a disposition to put everything in a nut
shell. For instance, a few years ago, there were some Bishops sent out of Salt
Lake City to explain to the country Bishops their duties. These brethren would
go into a settlement where there were both a Bishop and a President, and they
would go on and tell the Bishops what their duties were, and in doing so,
embrace the whole circle of duties required of both Bishop and President, and
never think that in that Branch of the Church those duties were not united or
centred in one man but divided between two. And in some instances, there would
be a sort of half sharp-looking fellow get up and ask what the President was to
do, if all those explained and fully defined duties were centred in the Bishop.
"O," they would say, "we were not sent to instruct anybody but
the Bishops;" and as might be expected, the result was a contention, if
not among the authorities, among the people, and I had some of these
difficulties to settle, and I found that the best way to do it was to dispense
with one of the officers.
There are
several stakes of Zion in the Country, where High Councils have been organized,
composed of twelve Councillors and a President of the Stake and his two
Counsellors, in settlements where, in the commencement, the inhabitants were
very small in numbers, and it was natural that some member of the Council
should represent or be personally interested in each and every party in the
town that might be litigant before that body. In some such instances it has
become necessary to dissolve the High Council altogether. The fact is, that
every High Council should have enough of the Spirit of the Lord with them to
investigate every ease, so that when the decision is given, it will be the
decision of Heaven. Instead of this, little petty disputes arise among the
brethren, and two or three members of the Council, perhaps, would have their
minds made up beforehand what they would do. There is one thing I have noticed
in regard to High Councils; the organization is well understood. One portion of
the Council takes the side of justice and investigates the facts in the case,
presenting them as they should be presented by an honest attorney; then the other
portion of the Council brings up the defence and shows what the side of mercy
is, in an unprejudiced manner. After the Council have investigated the subject
before them thoroughly, the case is submitted by both complainant and
defendant. There have been eases where men have tried to drag in attorneys to
plead their cause before these councils, and in some instances, it has been
permitted. If this kind of practice were allowed, and petty-fogging, contriving
lawyers allowed to practice before the High Councils, the organization of
heaven would soon be superseded altogether. I wish to see all High Councillors
magnify their own callings. I do not know that I would carry out this rule
strictly myself, but I believe that, if I were a judge, and a lawyer were to come
before me and assert an absolute lie, and I should find it out, I never would
allow him to plead in my presence again; I should set him down as a lawyer not
of good moral character, and not legally entitled to be a member of the bar. It
appears that I have got off from religion to law, still I believe that however
a man may try to pour on the oil and soft soap, the decision of the High
Council will be according to the principles of equity. If there is to be an
investigation before a council of this kind, it is the duty of that body of men
to strive to learn the truth for the sake of doing justice to both parties; and
if a man for the sake of a fee, for the sake of gain, if bound and will come
into court or council, and state a lie, he has no business there, and I am
sorry to believe; if this principle was tried, it would pinch some of our
brethren who have dabbled in the law. (President B. Young: I wish it would
pinch them to death.)
I believe
that there never was a more correct organization of a court on earth than our
High Councils, for these men go to work and investigate a case, hear the
testimony pro and con, the Councillors for each party litigant
present the case, it is submitted to the President who sums up, gives his
decision and calls on the Council to sanction it by their vote, and if they are
not united, they have to go to work and try the case over again in order that
they may ascertain more perfectly the facts in the case and be united in their
decision. Why, all the courts in the world are boobies compared to it. It is an
organization that shows its own authenticity and divine origin.
Perhaps
it is not well for me to further describe the operation of the High Council,
but I will take the liberty of saying that men occupying this high position in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should constantly cultivate the
principle of justice and study to know what is right and what is wrong, always
keeping within them the Spirit of the Almighty. If they have got prejudices
against anybody, they should do as the President said yesterday. And so long as
a man acts upon this principle upon which President Young gave us instruction,
he has me for a friend, and just so sure as a man comes up without envy or
prejudice, simply to learn what is right, and I understand my position and my
duty, and so long as I can vindicate myself, I will put that man in the path of
right and in the way of salvation.
What has
caused the corruption and wickedness that exist in the world at the present
day? It is the feeling that exists among the people that one man cannot tell
another his faults, because he tells them to everybody else to the injury and
prejudice of the guilty party. The Prophet Joseph in his day would tell a man
of his faults to save him from error and destruction, but he offended many
Because he told them of their faults; they thought he wished to injure them,
because they were unwilling to forsake their follies, but his purpose in thus
reproving was to redeem, to bless and to save. It frequently happens that men
who commit faults are not aware of it. The man who can and will show you your
faults, your follies and blindness, and make you fully aware of your position,
can awaken up in your mind those reflective powers that will cause you to
square yourselves up with correct principles and cause you to prepare
yourselves to inherit life, light and glory. But the very moment that a
"Mormon" Elder can be instructed by the wicked, and allow those acts
of folly and vice to creep in in all their hideous deformity, that man is on
the road to destruction. The Elder, Priest, Teacher or any man in this kingdom
that will suffer position to cause him to compromise principle for wealth, is
blind and cannot see afar off, and is bound to destruction.
We have
got to turn right round from that track, if we have been walking in it; if we
have coveted other men's goods, if we have suffered or caused our hearts to
fall in love with property that is not our own, we are laying the foundation
for destruction.
I can
look over the history of this Church, the great apostacy there has been from it
at different periods, and I can see that the apostacy of many has been the
result of dishonesty, adultery, selfishness and wickedness in general, and this
has been the key to the whole trouble.
These are
my sentiments, the honest convictions of my heart, drawn from long experience
and attentive observation; and I know that the man who would stand upon the
holy hill of Zion, his hands must not be filled with bribes.
Brethren,
I know these principles to be true, and it is my desire to walk so that I may
be prepared to stand upon the holy hill of Zion. This is what I labor and
strive for. I can tell you, if you encourage a spirit of fault-finding and
complaining, you will suffer the canker worm to gnaw at your vitals, to cause
you to distrust everybody, and you will begin to say that you have not been
respected, put in office and encouraged as you ought to have been. Suffer these
feelings to come into your bosoms, and they will speedily gain possession and
control of the whole passion.
What a
glorious thing it is for men to meet the Elders of this Church, as some met me
in the States in 1856! They would say, we should have been with you still if we
had been treated right! What a glorious consolation it will be when a man lifts
up his eyes in hell and says, I should have been up there in heaven If I had
been treated right!
Brethren
and sisters, let us ever remember that it is our business to tread ourselves
right.
May the
Lord enable us to do right, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said the people must have the living oracles within themselves, and the spirit of revelation, or they cannot keep in the track which leadeth unto life eternal. Showed that the belief in a messenger of life is a spiritual matter, while baptism for the remission of sins is a temporal act, hence the importance of understanding the temporal and the spiritual. Pointed out the law for the government of the bishoprick, and the legal mode of getting Bishops who are not literal descendents of Aaron. In speaking of the office of Bishop, he said, that a Bishop could baptize but not confirm by virtue of his bishopric; showed how a president should act in a ward; pointed out the duty of each member in a ward in both temporal and spiritual things, and that when a man is ordained an apostle, he can then officiate in all the offices of the priesthood.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 11:409, 6/29/62, p 7(2); JD 9:279]
REMARKS,
By Prest. BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, a.m., of April 7,
1862.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
Without
revelation direct from heaven, it is impossible for any person to fully
understand the plan of salvation. We often hear it said that the living oracles
must be in the Church, in order that the kingdom of God may be established and
prosper on the earth. I will give another version of this sentiment. I say that
the living oracles of God, or the Spirit of revelation must be in each and
every individual, to know the plan of salvation and keep in the path that leads
them to the presence of God.
How true
is the text that brother George A. Smith has quoted. There are thousands of our
Elders who ought now to be teachers, and to know enough to commence the kingdom
of God on the earth, and establish it, and continue to lead, guide, and direct
it, leading the people directly through the gate into the celestial kingdom of
our Father and God, and yet they need to be taught like children.
From what
has been remarked it appears that, in some instances, the President and the
Bishop of a Branch infringe upon the rights of each other, perhaps honestly;
and they think that they possess this power and that authority, and thereby
contention arises in the midst of this people, creating alienation of feeling
and apostacy. What a pity it is that such circumstances should exist; they
create sincere regret in the soul of every person who desires to see the
kingdom of God prosper on the earth.
The
spiritual and the temporal cannot be separated, and, in the economy of the
Framer of the Universe, are not designed to be. For example, were we a
congregation who had not heard the plan of salvation and knew nothing of the
kingdom of God upon earth, and were listening patiently to a stranger opening
the plan of salvation to us, our hearts would be touched by the fire in the
speaker, the eyes of our understandings would be opened, and we would begin to
comprehend, admire, and rejoice in the truth. This is a spiritual work, an
internal work, a work upon the heart and affections. This is what we call
spiritual impressions. The speaker has portrayed before our minds the beauties
of the kingdom of God on earth so rationally, and in a manner so congenial to the
feelings of all honest persons, that they are all influenced to believe the
Gospel. What is the next step? You next ask the preacher to baptize you, and
here you commence a temporal labour with both body and spirit. The preacher has
been labouring with his body, exercising his lungs, and his whole spiritual and
temporal system, and this labour produces a spiritual and temporal benefit on
those who believe and practice his teachings. It is so extremely nice a point
to draw the line of demarcation, between the temporal and spiritual acts of
man, that it is impossible to separate the two. There is a class of men who do
not believe anything in religion to be temporal; they are baptized in their
hearts, partake of the sacrament in their hearts, preach in their hearts, and
worship the Lord in their hearts, while their bodies are constantly scrambling
after the dimes. To be baptized, change your wet clothes for dry ones, go to
meeting to worship the Lord, and to bring the body into subjection to the will
of Christ, is all a temporal labour aided by the Divine Spirit.
I will
Say a few words with regard to a Bishop. Except we find a literal descendant of
Aaron, a man has to be ordained to the High Priesthood to administer as did
Aaron and his sons. Suppose we then plane the same man also as a President in a
Branch, how are we going to divide his duties and labours? I said a few words
in this subject last year, and can say more about it. Can the Bishop baptize
the people, according to his Bishopric? He can. When the people he has baptized
assemble for confirmation, can the confirm them? He cannot, under the power of
his Bishopric; but as he has been ordained to the office of a High Priest,
after the order of Melchisedek, to prepare him to act in the office of a Bishop
in the Priesthood of Aaron, when he has baptized the people under the authority
of his Bishopric, he has a right as a High Priest to confirm them into the
Church by the laying on of hands. Bishops begin a contention in their Branch,
where they operate in, their calling, when they amalgamate with their Bishop's
office the office of the High Priesthood, when they try to bring the authority
of the High Priesthood in the kingdom of God. down to the capacity of the
Priesthood that belongs to the office of an acting Bishop; here they make a
grave mistake, and fall into perplexing errors.
What are
the duties of a President and a Bishop? We will first notice a duty that
belongs to a President. For instance, he wishes a comfortable place prepared
for the people to meet in, and he calls on the Bishop to marshal his forces to
gather the material to build a house, and the house is prepared for the
comfort; and accommodation of all. In this instance you observe the duty and
office of a Bishop is attended to. In his capacity the Bishop knows nobody only
as a member of the kingdom of God, and in the performance of this duty he calls
upon the President and everyone else to aid in accomplishing the wishes of the
President, to go to the kanyon to get out timber, to quarry rock, make adobes,
&c., &c., for everybody is entitled to pay Tithing. When the house is
put up according to the President's direction, then the President calls on the
Bishop to see that it is well seated, lighted and warmed, for the convenience
and comfort of the congregation. Then in like manner he sees that the sacrament
is prepared and administered, for it is the right, and privilege, and duty of
the President to baptize, and confirm, and administer the sacrament, and do all
things for the spiritual building up of the kingdom of God; and also it is the
right of the Bishop to preach, baptize, and administer the sacrament.
On Monday
morning the Bishop calls upon the President and everybody it concerns, to send
their Tithing to the General Tithing Office. The President, who officiates as
presiding officer on Sunday, is as subject to the Bishop on Monday as anybody
else. My Bishop has just as good a right to come to my house and demand of me
my Tithing, as he has to demand it of any other person in his ward, also to
inquire into the state of my family, whether I attend to my prayers, whether I
have contention with my neighbours, &c., in his capacity as a Bishop.
So these
callings and Priesthoods are interwoven one with another, for the convenience
and furtherance of the kingdom of God, in the absence of a literal descendant
of Aaron. A Bishop sometimes officiates as a High Priest, and sometimes as a
Bishop. In his High Priesthood he can act, when called upon so to do by the
proper authority in every calling in the Church, except that of an Apostle;
there are still keys and powers that can be conferred upon him; but when a man
is ordained to the office of an Apostle, he is ordained to the fullest, extent
a man can be on earth.
May the
Lord bless you. Amen.
[Elder Hyde]
Elder Hyde followed with some suitable remarks upon the same subject.
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 12:1, 7/2/62, p 1; JD 10:47]
REMARKS
By Elder ORSON HYDE, Tabernacle, Sunday Afternoon, April 6,
1862.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
Brethren
and sisters, I have been highly edified this morning, as I presume you all
have, and I doubt not but the seed has fallen upon good ground, and when we
return to our homes we shall feel sensibly that the seed sown has done good.
It has
been in my mind to remark that the office of both President and Bishop are in
our President, and therefore he has the undoubted right to place those two
offices on one man, or to ordain two separate men as he may see proper. There
may possibly arise circumstances that may appear to cause the authority of the
two to conflict, and thus to be incompatible one with the other, but this is
only on account of the ignorance of the people. We ought so to live as all to
be capable of being Presidents and Bishops, for there is certainly ample room
for us all to do all the good we can; but I have thought in the present state
of our limited knowledge it would be better to dispense with the office of
President in the country settlements. I am happy to inform you that I have
never heard of any feeling of difficulty between the President and Bishop at
Spanish Fork. Brother Young did not know of a single exception to the rule, but
I am informed by all parties that these brethren have never conflicted.
[President B. Young: I wish I had never heard anything to the contrary.] My
reason for desiring to have this matter brought here was to have the duties of
Bishops and Presidents defined, thinking that probably the result of the
investigation would be the abolishing of the office of President for the
present in the country Branches, and I can truly say that I feel thankful,
brethren and sisters, for what I have heard, and I can say with regard to the
people in the region where I have labored there is a good degree of union there
among the people. In fact, I rejoice to say that there is no schism in that
region; we have no difficulty there with our High Priests, none with our
Seventies, only what we have been enabled to arrange. A good feeling exists
there, and I am glad and happy to know that there is an increase of good
feeling with the people of Sanpete. I feel thankful that when the people from
all quarters meet here the spirit and the atmosphere seem to bear witness to
what I have said.
Well,
brethren and sisters, I have spoken before, and I do not wish to occupy much
time at the present, but the spirit that is here is good, and all things that
have been done feel like a balm to my soul.
God bless
you all. Amen.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball said he felt a pride in seeing this people doing right and being an example to all people. He took up the subject of the true vine, and reasoned upon it. With all our faults, he said, there are good men and women enough to preserve this people in the unity of the faith. Recommended mercy, humility and charity, and argued that we should be one in all things.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 7/23/62, p 1; JD 9:298]
REMARKS
By President HEBER C. KIMBALL, Tabernacle, G. S. L. City,
April 7, 1862
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
I am
constantly exercised in my desires for the welfare of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world. My whole interest is in this
Church and for this people. I am proud of this people when they do right, I am
proud of my wives and children when they honour their God and his Priesthood,
and set a good example before all people. I am proud to see all the officers of
this Church and kingdom lively members in the body of Christ. Brother Brigham
has said that the living oracles or the revelations of the Holy Ghost should
dwell in every man, and in every woman. We are a branch of the house of Israel,
and the Priesthood we hold came from the Father, and we should be alive like a
lively branch of a thrifty tree; for every branch that bringeth forth fruit the
Father purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit; and every branch that
bringeth not forth fruit he taketh away. It is necessary that every person
should possess the Spirit of revelation, in order to understand and properly
appreciate the teachings and instructions given to them by the living oracles
of God on earth. Those who are not thus inspired need again to be taught the
first principles of the doctrine of Christ. Were we all thus inspired we should
become one in Christ Jesus; and Jesus says "Except ye are one ye are not
mine." As long as we are one, and every man doing his duty before God we
have no cause to fear anything the world can do against us; but if we are
divided, it will be with us as it was with the people of God of old, he
suffered their enemies to come upon them and overthrow them because of their
sins. But there are good men and good women enough among this community to
preserve it, and all the powers of hell combined cannot overthrow it. The power
of God will preserve us, through our righteousness against any power that may
come against us. It is easy for us to do right. Let us do right and stop doing
any thing wrong, cease tattling and lying, and trying to injure one another by
bearing false witness against our neighbour. Let us guard ourselves against
becoming prejudiced against an honest, person, and strive to become honest,
upright and generous, doing as we would wish to be done by, for we are sons of
God and heirs to his fulness. He has said to his children ask and ye shall
receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
But we may ask as much as we please if our works do not correspond with our
petitions. Let us be guided by the conclusions of one mind in all our great
movements, operating constantly together on the square of righteousness and God
will bless us for ever. Amen.
[Prest. Joseph Young]
Prest. Joseph Young said he wanted to speak a few words of general instruction to the quorums of Seventies. He proceeded to give the history of the mass quorum, and stated that all the members of mass quorums in the country were required to report themselves quarterly to their respective quorums, so that their standing might be understood here at headquarters.
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson next addressed the conference, and said he was pleased to have the opportunity of speaking to the brethren, and he rejoiced in the great progress of the work of our God. He felt to exhort the brethren and sisters to faithfulness and humility, and to a determination to carry out the designs of the Almighty. Testified that all the organizations of the priesthood in Cache valley were a blessing to the settlements, and that harmony and peace prevailed there.
[Ezra T. Benson]
[DNW 12:18, 7/16/62, p 2; JD 10:65]
REMARKS
BY Elder EZRA T. BENSON, Tabernacle, Monday Morning, April
7, 1862.
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
_____
I have
the privilege of making a few remarks to my brethren and sisters, upon the
condition that I stop speaking or pumping when the pond is out. This may seem a
singular introduction, but I feel perfectly free and at home when I meet with
you in general Conference.
I have
enjoyed myself very much during this Conference, and I really feel that we have
been well instructed on the great principles of our holy religion. I am fully
satisfied that our brethren who have spoken from this stand have laid before us
the things that we need, and especially for the benefit of those that are
laboring in the different portions of Utah, or, as I was about to say, in
different portions of Deseret.
I am
proud of the name of being a Saint of God, for there is something that is
sweet—there is something that is glorious about it.
I rejoice
that we have the privilege here in Deseret of naming our own children when they
are born; it is not so in the nations of the earth, but here we have organized
a State Government; the child is born and we have given it a name, and it is
one of our own choosing. We are a blessed people. How are we blessed this
morning? We are blessed by being taught of the Lord; we are instructed in those
things that pertain to our peace; we are in possession of those heavenly
principles that have been so plainly laid before us; they are things that
immediately concern us as Saints of the Most High. If we have been gathered
here to these valleys of the mountains to be taught of the Lord, if we do not
have the spirit of humility, how can we be taught? and if we are taught, what
good will it do us? We require to be in that state of mind that will render us
susceptible of instruction; then, at the close of this Conference we shall all
have it to say that we have been well paid for coming together to worship the
Lord, and we shall also feel that the teachings and instructions have been applicable
to our organizations and circumstances in the different departments of the Holy
Priesthood, which the Almighty has conferred upon his servants in these last
days.
I feel
that it is indeed good to be here; it is good to listen—to dwell and rejoice in
the midst of this people, for this is the work of the Lord; and we are the only
people upon the face of the earth that are so highly favored at the present
time. We can meet together in peace, as we are doing to-day, and worship God
according to the dictates of our own consciences; yes, here we can do this,
where the true liberty guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States is
fully carried out, and extended to all people who wish to reside in our
community.
I feel to
take up the admonitions and treasure them up in my mind and carry them home in
my bosom. Every time that I come to a Conference, I can see where I can do a
little better, and discover where I have been a little slothful in regard to
the duties of my calling.
You are
aware that I hail from the northern part of our flourishing Territory, (Cache
Valley,) and I am really proud of the county and of the people who live there,
and of the desire they have to aid and assist in building up this kingdom.
With
reference to the Quorums of High Priests and Seventies, I have to say that we
have them with us, and we try to make them a blessing to the people. We have
the piety, the principles and order of the Gospel among us, and I feel that
such doctrine as was taught yesterday is a blessing to the people who hear, and
I know it. But where people are trying to get all the honor, influence and
power to themselves it is then a detriment instead of a blessing. Well, then,
it behooveth us as Elders, Presidents and Bishops to lay these principles to
heart and have them riveted to our minds; to lie down and sleep and wake up
again with them fresh in our minds in the morning, and go forth attending to
the duties required of us by our callings in the Priesthood; and then we will
profit by these instructions. Do not let us allow these wholesome teachings to
go in at one ear and out of the other.
I do not
wish to make many remarks this morning, but I feel truly thankful to God and my
brethren that I hold a standing in this kingdom, and I intend to labor and do
all I can for the spread of truth, and strive to the best of my ability to
endure unto the end. And may this be our happy position and desire is the
sincere prayer of your brother in the New Covenant, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The President followed with a few encouraging remarks.
Choir sung, "Come all ye sons of Zion."
Benediction by Wm. W. Phelps.
[7 Apr, 2 pm*]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 5]
2 P.M.
Choir sung a hymn.
Prayer was offered by Elder E. T. Benson.
Choir sung, "My God the spring of all my joys."
President Heber C. Kimball then presented the authorities of the church as follows:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Walls, his second counselors.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith;, Patriarch of the whole church.
Daniel spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fulmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Gilbert Clements, Brigham Young, jun., Howard Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, Thomas B. Broderick, and James H. Hart, members of the High council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley, and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and Jacob Gates, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squires, President of the Elders' Quorum.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel A. Moore, President of the Priests' quorum.
McGee Harris, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Adam Speirs and David Bowman,his counselors.
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacons' Quorum; William F. Cook and Warren Hardy, his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor.
Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
The foregoing quorums and authorities were all voted for separately, and each and all unanimously sustained by the conference.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells addressed the meeting upon the several subjects previously spoken of to-day and yesterday. He also called attention to the necessity of people ceasing their contentions with each other as to who shall hold the authority and be the greatest man in Israel, but instead of doing this, he said, let us each and all be in our place, ever ready and willing to do what we can for the furtherance of the cause of our Redeemer.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 12:25, 7/23/62, p 1; JD 9:299]
REMARKS
By President DANIEL H. WELLS, Tabernacle, Monday Afternoon,
April 7, 1862.
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
_____
I hope to
have the power and ability to speak loud enough for all to hear what I have to
say.
I have
been very much instructed during this Conference. I have been enlightened to a
certain extent with regard to the authority of certain persons holding office
in this kingdom. I have reflected much upon the Holy Priesthood and its various
offices, but I feel that I have become more fully educated in the knowledge of
the rights of men holding the Priesthood during this Conference. I rejoice in
being where we can receive a correct education in regard to the things of the
kingdom of God. I might truly say that I am astonished at some developments
which are made before the people at different times. Brother Joseph Young
remarked that there was no law against doing good.
There
were remarks made last evening in regard to the mass Quorums of Seventies that
are organized in the different settlements, and also in reference to the High
Priests, of which there are Branch Quorums in the various settlements. It has
been found that where there has been a President and Bishop in a Branch, it has
been a cause of difficulty, and it was considered by Elder Hyde and others that
this practice ought to be abolished. I have asked myself the question whether
when we have received such blessings as have been conferred by the Priesthood
of the Most High, we should come down from our exalted position, or whether we
should not have the spirit of forbearance, the enlightenment of the Holy Ghost
in our midst to expand our minds, to enable us to understand our duties, or
shall we take a course to deprive ourselves of the blessings of the
Melchisedeck Priesthood, as did ancient Israel? This is what you are virtually
doing in your neighbourhoods where you exclude the Presidents of Branches. We
are a people who expect to expand in our minds, to establish on the earth the
kingdom of the Great God, and we are a people that never expect to retrograde,
but to have all the keys of the Priesthood; to go forward conquering and to
conquer until the whole of the inhabitants of the earth shall be redeemed and
brought into subjection to the will of God. It is very natural that the
Presidents of the Seventies should feel after the condition of their members.
These Quorums are divided up and scattered through the different settlements;
one man belonging to one Quorum—another to another; therefore, we find various
Quorums represented in the different branches of the Church throughout this
Territory, and it is right and proper that the Presidency of these Quorums
should have some organization by which they can feel after their members and
know their standing, that they may be reported up to head-quarters from time to
time. There is no law about this; it is by permission, and it is right. Now is
it not possible that these organizations can be kept up without causing
friction or difficulty between the brethren? If we are guided by the right
spirit, I think they can.
Is it
impossible to have a President and a Bishop in the same Branch without there
being strife and contention among the people? There has been too much of this,
but with the instructions that we are receiving we can improve.
I would
not bring this before the public, if it had not been brought there already, for
I am ashamed of such things, and I dislike to see them exhibited before the
public, only as it becomes necessary for their correction. It appears to be the
opinion of some that these flyings must be so, but I contend that it need not
be so, and it is only the ignorance of the people that gives rise to this
spirit of contention in certain places. And I feel now that after attending a
Conference of this kind and receiving correct instructions upon all these
points, there need be no more contention. It has been necessary to bring this
before the Conference that we might receive instruction in reference there to.
Well,
brethren, it is evident to me that we have not progressed as far as I thought we
had in the knowledge of the Priesthood, its officers and their respective
duties. We have many blessings bestowed upon us by our Father in Heaven, and he
is willing to bestow more, if the people were willing and capable of receiving
them. I feel the same as brother Heber said that there is a great majority that
are willing to do right, and that the predominating influence is for God. I
feel it is so, and I bear my testimony to it. Then let us step forward and take
hold, prove to God and angels that we will strive to overcome this spirit of
contention that is in the world, and each and all magnify our callings, get
together and consult for the interests of the kingdom and for each other's
welfare, that we may act in unison in all things that there may be union
throughout the house of Israel, and in all the branches and settlements of
Zion.
This
kingdom is a school to all of us; we are learning our duties, and we should
strive to improve and progress in everything that is good, and I think the
great majority are improving, and it should be our determination to reduce
those things to practice that are for our benefit and salvation.
When we
came here we resolved to do this, and let us now carry it into practice in our
daily lives. Let us consult the general welfare, and do what we do for the
benefit of the kingdom of God. We can shutout the blessings of the Almighty by
our own acts, by our strife for power and influence. But this is no way to gain
permanent influence, and as we have seen to-day, and during this Conference, by
the instruction that has been given, we are the individuals who shut out the
influence of the Holy Ghost and the blessings which we might otherwise enjoy.
My advice
is to have no contentions about who holds the most authority, for if you contend
about your Bishops and Presidents, the first thing you know is that you have no
President at all, and instead of going a-head (it is as brother George A. Smith
said) you have to come down to a wheelbarrow arrangement. I do not like that
kind of doctrine; it is contracting instead of expanding. I want to see Israel
expand and become capable of receiving those blessings which are in store for
the faithful.
We have
to commence this work in our own bosoms, for this spiritual warfare is like the
temporal, which was so beautifully illustrated by brother Hyde yesterday. The
first fruit he tasted in the orchard he thought to be the best, but it got
better and better as he tried the pipping and greenting, and these principles
are like the fruit trees in the orchard, they require digging about and
cultivating, in order that those principles may dwell in our bosoms continually
for our social welfare. Let us labour to eradicate the tares, the chaff and the
miserable traditions which control our nature and acts to a great degree, and
let us see, if we cannot get a little of the Holy Ghost to dwell in our minds,
to enable us to live according to the principles of our holy religion; let us
strive to expand and go a-head in doing those things that are necessary to enable
us to progress in the way of intelligence, to gain that knowledge of the truth
which is in readiness to be poured out upon us from the Almighty.
Shall we
spend our time like the world, or shall we live and labour to build up the
kingdom of our God? Now all you that freight for the Gentiles, that go out on
the road in the employ of the Gentiles driving stage, or trading and working at
the beck of the Devil, to promote the Devil's kingdom; let me exhort you to
turn about and not continue to mingle with the wicked. You had better never
seed dime in the world. Need I say anything else when there is the pride of
Israel, of those who have enlisted in the cause of King Emanuel engaged in
trading and doing the works of the Devil, and thereby encouraging and aiding in
the building up of his kingdom? Need I say a word against, our brethren going
and engaging themselves to do thins when they so well understand that it is not
the Mission of the Latter-day Saints to labour for anything but the upbuilding
of the Church and kingdom of God? Here is the Mission of the Saints to go and
aid in the gathering of the poor, to labour here for the building of the Temple
wherein we can officiate for the dead and prepare to redeem Zion and to build
up the waste places thereof, and to establish the principles of righteousness
and truth upon the earth. Let our enemies learn their true position; let them
herd their own cattle, delve in the earth for themselves, gather their own
straw, make their own mortar, build up their own cities, but let us
raise our own cotton, indigo, tobacco, build up our own cities—even the cities
of Zion for the honour and glory of God; if all our labour be in the right
place we shall become independent of our enemies, make the desert become
fruitful and blossom as the rose. Here is work enough for the Saints without
working for the Devil or his agents or imps. The Lord has commenced his work
and has planted the standard of Zion and there is plenty of business to do
suppose that all Israel should go into it. If it, were correct for men to go
and devote their time, talents, and strength in working to build up Gentile
cities where would be the interests of the kingdom. If it is good for you to do
this it is good for others, and if it is good for you to sell whiskey it is
good for me. The truth is that we can exercise a better influence without
having anything to do with these things. I have no desire or wish to do any
such thing. But some will put the cup to their neighbour's lip, ruin their
neighbour's children by such practices. It is not in the economy of Heaven made
necessary for any one to take such a course. There is plenty to do to occupy
all the talent, ability and intelligence of all Israel without taking any such
course as this, and of that nature too, which instead of promoting evil will
tend to virtue and righteousness and finally to exaltation, things which will
tend to the enlightenment of the mind and to the advancement and spreading
abroad of the principles of salvation and eternal lives. It is for us to be
engaged preparing ourselves for those ordinances which we look forward to with
such earnest anticipation, and anxious desire to administer and officiate for
our dead, that they may come forth in the first resurrection, and enjoy the
blessings purchased by the Redeemer of the world.
I do not
know but we are now building up a Temple in which may be revealed the keys of
the resurrection of the dead. We are building up a Temple to the name of the
Most High, and there is plenty of business for every individual who lists to do
his part. Do not let us pander to the Devil, nor strew our ways to strangers,
but let us take that course that will be best calculated to establish the
principles of righteousness upon the earth, to establish the reign of the kingdom
of God.
The
sceptre of this Church and kingdom has been wielded by the Almighty power of
God, and it will so continue, for the time has come when the Lord has commenced
to get a foothold in the earth, and we have been called from the midst of the
Gentiles to establish a nucleus of power for the benefit of the pure in heart.
What better are we if we go on in wickedness encouraging the power of the
Devil, than those who know not God? We might as well have stayed in the world.
Then let us understand our high and holy calling, and also strive to understand
the calling of the servers of God, and keep ourselves unspotted from the world
and its wickedness, and keep in our possession the Spirit of the living God. We
see the judgments of the Almighty spreading through the land, and what
assurance have we that we shall not be afflicted unless we live so as to be
without condemnation? Do we think that we shall be shielded from, the judgments
of the Almighty if we lay ourselves liable by the same acts as the world? If we
do we are mistaken, for if we are guilty of the same crimes and wickedness the
results will be the same with us as with the world, with the exception perhaps
that the judgments will overtake us a little quicker, for they will commence
with us. For it would thwart the purposes of the Almighty to let the wicked get
a foothold and predominate in the midst of Israel, where he intends to prepare
his people for the building up of Zion and the New Jerusalem.
Brethren
and sisters let us be energetic in the discharge of our duties which now
devolve upon us in our various locations. Let us be industrious and useful in
our day and generation, and not lend our means or talents to build up interests
opposed to the kingdom of God, but let every—thing that we can command be
devoted to the upbuilding of that kingdom, and in this we will meet with the
approbation of our Father in Heaven, and then will be found place for the
power, the knowledge and intelligence which the Lord will take from the world
and bestow upon us if we are worthy to receive them. The times are pregnant
with great events, and the Lord has no desire to take back this knowledge from
the world, if he can find a place to bestow it. Then, let us be wise and
faithful that this knowledge may not be taken back, but see that we do those
things that are good, not wasting our time with the vain philosophy of the
world. Let us prepare to enjoy all those things that have been conferred upon
man from the beginning of time, that we may secure the truth that has been revealed,
that this intelligence may find place in the midst of the Saints of the Most
High God, and that we may improve and advance from one point to another until
we shall combine all the knowledge and intelligence which have been revealed,
and receive that which the Almighty is ready to bestow upon us, that we may
thus perfect our own being and progress in the knowledge of God and in the
things pertaining to our existence here and hereafter.
The
Apostle said, "If in this life only we have hope we are of all men the
most miserable." That might be true then, but I hardly subscribe to it
now, but I contend that the course which the Lord has marked out tends to
happiness and exaltation here, saying nothing of the life which is to come. The
Gospel is calculated to make good men of bad men, it introduces good instead of
evil, happiness instead of misery generally, and it is also calculated to draw
out the capacities of men to the fullest extent for the benefit of man. Let us
participate in those enjoyments that we may prepare for the life to come, is my
prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Wm. Willes was called upon, and sang the following song:
MY OWN LAND, DESERET.
_____
The land of my home I fondly cherish in my breast
The land of the mountain valleys, where the saints are blest;
Here let my home be, free from worldly strife;
'Tis here I can feel free, and lead a peaceful life.
CHORUS.
My own land, Deseret, here I love to dwell;
Deseret, my own land - home I love
so well.
The world with its strife and anger brings no fear to
me;
It only makes my faith the stronger, that we'll be free;
Roll on, ye dark clouds, o'er the troubled world;
The wicked from their high thrones shortly will be hurl'd.
My own land, Deseret, &c.
Frowns from the proud and lofty ne'er can me appall;
Lies from the base and crafty - I can bear it all:
When Truth and Liberty smile upon my way,
I need not their anger, do whate'er they may.
My own land, Deseret, &c.
When strife and dread commotion fill the world with
woe,
Here we'll enjoy the portion Heaven will bestow;
Here we will make our heaven bright and fair,
See the wicked driven to darkness and despair.
My own land, Deseret, &c.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young remarked that this was the place to give instructions, and therefore he felt to improve the present opportunity. He then spoke of the authority of a Bishop to baptize and administer the sacrament, and also to look after the morals of the people. When a bishop confirms a person in the Church he does it by virtue of the High priesthood which he holds and not by virtue of his bishoprick. He then reasoned at some length on the true order of the church organization, and showed that the authorities had to guide the people in the channel that is now necessary for them to walk in.
When speaking of the subject of preserving grain the President observed that it was a question with some whether we should supply the mail company with grain or not He was in favor of supplying them and helping them if necessary. He considered our mail and telegraphic facilities a great blessing to us and to any other community; they are two of the greatest blessings that we can have, and by and bye we shall have the London news, the news from St. Petersburg of the night before, in print when we get up in the morning He had helped the telegraph company some in the commencement here, and he was ready to assist them again if they needed it. but in supplying grain he would like it to e done by counsel, then it would be right, and if he could have his way he would furnish that mail company not only with grain, but he would supply the entire route with good men and boys that could be depended upon. The present company have a million dollars per annum for carrying the mail, but as they are now going on they will fail, and that too because they have got so many thieves on the road. If it were left with him he would put men on that road that if a passenger lost his purse it would be safe in the coach. The mail company should be helped, they need assistance and they should have it.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 12:1, 7/2/62, p 1; JD 10:96]
REMARKS
BY President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, p.m. of April 7,
1862.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
This is
the place to give items of instruction to the people. I am satisfied that it is
my duty to improve this opportunity, and should be very happy if I could speak
with ease; if I could do so I should talk a great deal more than I do.
Ask a
Bishop by what authority he is acting as a Bishop; "I suppose I am a
Bishop according to the Priesthood." By what Priesthood do you act as a
Bishop? "I really cannot answer that question." Are you a High
Priest? "Yes." Why do you so officiate? "Because I have been
ordained to so officiate; the First Presidency ordained Bishop Hunter to ordain
me a High Priest, and set me apart to be a Bishop in this district." After
a person is ordained a High Priest he then has authority to act in all the
duties of the lesser Priesthood, when called upon by the proper authority so to
do. Some of the Bishops understand their true position and some do not, for
which reason a few remarks in addition to those I made this forenoon will,
perhaps, not be amiss.
There is
no retrograde movement in ordaining a High Priest to the office of a Bishop,
for, properly speaking, he is set apart to act in that office. When we ordain a
man to officiate in a branch of the Church as a Bishop, he does so according to
the best of his knowledge; and now and then one believes that he has a right,
when ordained as a Bishop, to officiate and preside over every temporal and
spiritual interest in his district by virtue of his Bishopric; he believes that
he ought to go into a Seventies' Council in his Ward and preside because he is
a Bishop: and under this impression he dictates, guides and directs all flyings
in his district; he baptizes, confirms and administers the sacrament as a
Bishop, performing, under this impression, every spiritual and temporal duty.
Were we to inquire of the Bishops of this Church what duties, are assigned to
the Aaronic Priesthood they hold, and what are assigned to the Melchisedek,
those who could answer correctly are in the minority. I am satisfied of this,
for I have been placed in positions that made it necessary to propound
questions to some of our most intelligent Bishops relating to misunderstandings
and difficulties that have occurred in their districts touching their
authority, when their answers convinced me that they knew little about it;
perhaps from not having an opportunity of finding out, or, in a word, they have
not so lived that the heavens have been opened to them to teach them so fully
and effectually their duties that they need no man to teach them. The duties
and powers of a Bishop cease the very moment he steps over the Aaronic
Priesthood, which is to officiate in temporal things; when he passes this he
immediately begins to officiate by the authority and power of the Melchisedek
Priesthood, though he may not know it.
We have
scores of branches of this Church in different parts of this country, and had
we better now place officers, helps and governments in these branches, or wait
till the people come to understanding, and learn to appreciate and honor such
appointments? It is chiefly because of the ignorance of the people that we
often concentrate in one man these different offices and callings, but when the
people are sufficiently informed and have advanced further in the knowledge of
the truth, it will not be so, but every branch will have its fall quota of
officers—a Patriarch, President, Bishop, High Council, and all officers that
are necessary for the work of the Ministry, and the edifying of the body of
Christ. Until the people can receive and honor these helps and governments, and
be benefited by them, the different offices will be concentrated in as few men
as possible, for men will contend for power, and as to which shall be the
greatest, until they are better informed.
If the
people fully understood and would observe the relationship these offices have
to each other, there would never be a word of altercation. In this city we have
no altercation about authorities. We but seldom get up a trouble for a High
Council case. When the people come to sufficient understanding, we shall not
put the onerous task upon one man to act both as President and Bishop, but we
will give you a full organization of helps, governments, &c.; but at
present we shall take a course to confine the offices of the Church in such a
manner as to give the least cause for contention and trouble. There are men who
have a contentious disposition; they will contend against a Bishop, a
Magistrate, a Judge, or any man holding an office; in short, they wish to
destroy every power in Heaven and on earth that they do not hold themselves.
This is the spirit of Satan that was made so visibly manifest in Heaven and
which proved his overthrow, and he now afflicts this people with it; he wants
to dictate and rule every principle and power that leads to exaltation and
eternal life, and those whom he influences wish to walk underfoot every person
who stands in authority over them.
I now
wish to say a few words about assisting the mail and telegraph companies. It
has been asked, "Shall we assist these companies? Shall they be supplied
with grain and that help which is necessary to facilitate the expeditious and
safe carrying of the mail?" I say, yes. Shall the telegraph company
receive favors at our hands? Yes. I do not know of two greater temporal
blessings of the kind that can be bestowed upon this people. If we happen to
lay in bed a little later than usual, by the aid of the telegraph wires we can
read the news of the morning from Washington and New York; and by-and-by we may
be favored with the news of yesterday from London, Paris, and St. Petersburg,
and all the principal cities in the old world. We are among the people of this
world; our bodies are of the earth, and our spirits are like the spirits of
corer people and from the same source, only we are trying to establish the
kingdom of God on earth, to introduce righteousness, and prepare the people for
the reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. One man says, "I have agreed to do
thus and so." Then go and do it. Fulfill your contracts and sacredly keep
your word.
What
should be the course of this people in these matters? Let them act by the
counsel of the men who understand such things better than i they do. When I say
supply so much labor, or so much grain, or do so much hauling, you will be
justified, otherwise you will not. If I might dictate this matter and get my
pay for it, I would fill this whole mail routs with "Mormon" boys who
would labor faithfully, conduct honorably, and see that the mails were carried
safely and promptly. If it were left to me, I would fill this whole route, as
we would have done a few years ago if the contract had not been unjustly taken
from us, with a line of conveyances, wherein men might sleep by day or by night
in perfect safety as to their persons and property; and if a pocket book
dropped out of a pocket it would be as safe as though it were under lock and
key, so far as its being stolen is concerned. How is it now?
If A, B
and C say they will begin to sell whisky, then if it is right for them to sell
whisky in the streets of this city, it is right for me. Whisky is useful in
making vinegar, and we need it for cutting camphor gum, for medicine, washings,
&c., but is it necessary to keep a whisky shop? No. and if it is right for
one man to keep a whisky shop, it is right for another, until all become whisky
peddlers and whisky drinkers, and all go to the devil together. It does not
require much illumination of mind to comprehend that unless the selling of
spirituous liqours is managed by proper persons, it will result in the
ruination of many of the community. So with the selling and disposing of our
produce to outside interests; for those who expend their means and labor in a
way that does not enrich and build up Zion will apostatize and go out; of this
kingdom, sooner or later. When you are appointed to haul grain here or there,
you will feel justified. Or, if you wish to drive a train, or to go as a guard
on the mail route, or to attend to this or that, and the counsel is yes, go,
and be honest and upright before God and man and deal justly with everybody,
and if you do not so conduct, you will be brought home and dealt with, then, if
you go in this way, you will be justified. Whatever is done let it be done by
counsel and common consent; then we can be paid for our labor and our produce;
wealth will increase around us, which we can put to use in gathering home the
poor Saints from all nations by hundreds and by thousands. In the course the
people have taken they will make themselves poor, while we might be rich. I
feel very friendly towards Mr. Street and many others connected with the
telegraph line. They have treated this community as gentlemen will. I have
rendered them some assistance, and am ready to render them more; and they have
been very accommodating to us. The Overland Mail company brings our letters,
books, magazines, &c., and is as great an accommodation as can well be
until we have a railroad through here, which I hope we shall have ere long, if
it is right. They should be assisted, and that by the Counsel of the Kingdom of
God in these mountains; and let it be done by common consent, or no longer say
that we are one with the interests of this kingdom. If you are one with the
vine, you are one with the main branch; if you are not thus one, you will be
severed from the vine and will wither and die.
May the
Lord bless the Latter-day Saints, is my prayer all the time. Amen.
Choir sung "How beauteous are their feet."
Benediction by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
[7 Apr, 7 pm]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 5]
7, P. M.
The Bishops held a meeting this evening for the transaction of local business, Bishop Hunter presided. The meeting was a highly interesting one, and a great deal of good instruction was given. From the reports made it appeared that three hundred teams were ready to start East about the 25th inst., to bring the poor from the frontiers the coming summer.
[Elders Hyde and G. A. Smith]
Elders Orson Hyde and George A. Smith gave some good advice relative to agricultural pursuits, the herding of cattle by men instead of boys, the taking care of our grain and the procuring of good seeds.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 12:25, 7/23/62, p 1-2; JD 9:304]
REMARKS
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, Tabernacle, Monday evening, April
7, 1862.
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
_____
I arise
simply to call the attention of the brethren of the Priesthood now present to
an item of counsel, which was disseminated among the people a year ago by the
Presidency, and while they travelled through the Territory north and south
during the summer and fall. It was enjoined upon the people and Bishops to make
a change in the policy of herding cattle.
The
manner of herding cattle has been to gather the horses add cows together and
let some boys drive them out; then the boys would go and gamble, or get into
some kind of mischief while the cattle went astray, and those boys would plot
and get up some ill-conducted scheme so that our herding proved to be a nursery
for thieves to be planted amongst us and eat up our vitals, the vitals of the
whole people. The counsel was given to have the system of herding changed and
put into the hands of wise, judicious men, and have the boys sent to school or
kept at industrial pursuits under the control of their fathers, and not any
longer make this system of herding our stock, which has been adopted in the
different wards of this city and Territory; a school of hell.
This has
been impressed forcibly upon our minds, not only here but north and south, and
in some instances attempts were made and perhaps in a few instances it may have
been carried out, but as a general thing, so far as last season was concerned,
proved a failure. Perhaps the Bishops would announce what the counsel was, but
did not, see that it was carried into effect. But now that the people have got
the counsel and we are now opening a new season and getting ready for the
spring and summer's operations, I therefore feel anxious to remind the brethren
in regard to this important item, for I tell you if we do not look after our
boys and lay a foundation for keeping them in the right way they will go to
destruction. It is therefore important that all the brethren should unite in
carrying out this instruction according to the advice given.
I felt to
make these remarks, and I will further say that I am delighted to hear and see
so many together at this time, and I consider it is a good opportunity of
disseminating good instruction throughout Deseret.
May the
blessing of God attend you and all the inhabitants of Deseret, who desire to do
right.
There is
a proposition that we put it to vote, and that we carry into effect this
counsel. [The motion was put and the brethren voted unanimously to obey this
counsel.]
The meeting was dismissed by Bishop Davis a little before 10 o'clock.
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 5]
TUESDAY, April 8, 10 a.m.
Choir sung "How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord."
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
Choir sung "Come all ye saints who dwell on earth."
Elder Wm. Clayton read the Trustee-in-Trusts' financial report, showing the present condition of the finances of the Church.
A list of the names of brethren called to go on foreign missions was then read by the clerk; and also the names of those called to go and assist in building up the cotton growing district of Deseret.
President Brigham Young nominated Seth Taft to be ordained a Patriarch, which was seconded by President H. c. Kimball, and on being put to the Conference was carried unanimously.
[Elders O Pratt and G. A. Smith]
Elders Orson Pratt and George A. Smith addressed the conference on the claims of Utah to be admitted into the Union as a free and sovereign State.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 11:378, 5/28/62, p 2; JD 9:262]
REMARKS
By Elder GEO. A. SMITH,Tabernacle, G. S. L. City, April 8,
1862
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
The
remarks of Elder Orson Pratt are founded upon Constitutional principles. I have
long been aware that he was a profound mathematician, but I was not aware that
he was so thoroughly read in Constitutional law, as his remarks this forenoon
so fully evidence.
I went to
Washington with Elder John Taylor in 1856; we were the bearers of the
Constitution of Deseret adopted by the unanimous vote of the whole people, and
a memorial to the great men of the nation for the admission of Deseret into the
union of States upon an equal footing with the original States.
When we
arrived at the capitol we found the gates closed against our admission by the
acts of a national convention, pledging the great and rising party of the
country to united opposition to our admission in consequence of an item of our
religious faith being objectionable. Notwithstanding this flat refusal before
we had asked we conferred with many of the principal men of the nation—of all
parties by whom it was generally conceded we had a constitutional right to
admission, and that we had manifested that energy, perseverance and
intelligence in exploring, settling, and subduing this country, which clearly
proved that we were capable of self-government, and able to sustain ourselves
as a State. We had organized a civilized community, framed a Constitution,
republican in form, and unexceptionable in principle and called into order an
efficient government. But, said Congressmen, there is an objection, and
although we ought not to name it, the religious views of your people are
objectionable to the great body of the American people—Constitutionally this is
no objection, but politically it is an impassable barrier. For any member to
vote for the admission of Deseret, or advocate it would entail upon himself,
what we all dread, a political grave. "You must know, yourselves, you
cannot help but know," said Senator Douglas, "that there is an awful
prejudice against you—ahem! ahem! an insurmountable objection. We have no right
to talk of religious tests or institutions—ahem! ahem! but I know of but one
objection; your peculiar religion, your domestic institutions!"
Well
might Congressmen use interjections while trembling between the influence of
priestcraft, and a solemn oath to support the Constitution of the United
States, and faithfully perform those duties required by it.
The
Constitution declares "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prevent the free exercise thereof." "No
religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office of
public trust under the United States."
General
Hall, of Missouri, who was at that time somewhat distinguished far his prowess
in knocking down the doorkeeper of the Democratic National Convention, at Cincinnati,
for refusing admittance to the delegation of the Benton Wing of the Missouri
Democracy, raised a new and somewhat novel objection to our admission while
canvassing the subject with a company of gentlemen at the National Hotel in
Washington, he declared it would never do to admit Deseret, for it would
recognize polygamy, and that would ruin all the houses of ill-fame in the
country, in a short time. Why, said he, no woman would ever consent to become a
prostitute if she could have a husband, who would honour and protect her and
maintain and educate her children; and under this new arrangement every woman
could obtain such a husband and protector, and every house of assignation would
be closed, and the gentlemen of the country undone.
I went on
my Mission to Washington in full faith to ask for the admission of Deseret,
never asking myself the question whether I would accomplish it or not, striving
to believe with all the power and faith I could command, that we would
accomplish our Mission.
I
sometimes sat in the gallery of the House of Representatives and heard the
members wrangle, and asked myself if it was possible that the Lord wished us to
join hands with such unhallowed confusion and political chicanery. After my
return home, some of the brethren asked me how much faith I had that we should
be admitted. I concluded my faith had been like that of a certain pious lady,
whose minister called upon her and inquired concerning her religious welfare.
She replied that she was well satisfied with her spiritual progression, but in
her temporal welfare she was not equally prosperous. She was destitute of bread
and had nothing to sustain life. The minister kindly told her to exercise faith
and she could make stones into bread. She thanked him for his timely advice,
she had never thought of that, and accordingly went and procured some stones of
suitable size for loaves of bread, washed them, put them in pans, heated her
oven in which she placed them, closed the door, exclaimed "I have firm
faith, that when these stones come out of the oven they will be good
bread." After patiently waiting the proper time, she opened the oven door
and looked anxiously in; "there!" she declared, they are stones yet,
and I knew they would be all the time.
Elder Erastus Snow argued the necessity of raising and preserving the best of every kind and variety of seeds. The Sorgum seed, he said, was not sufficiently valued by the people, neither were any other seeds cared for as they should be.
President B. Young followed with some very instructive remarks on the same subject, and also on the raising of fruit in the settlements. Exposed the folly of those brethren who have never planted a peach or apple tree in this territory because they are afraid that we shall be again driven from our homes.
Choir sung "Let Zion in her beauty rise."
Benediction by Patriarch John Young.
[8 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 5]
2, P. M.
Meeting opened by singing. Prayer was offered by President G. B. Wallace.
Choir sung "Go ye messengers of glory."
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
Elders Lorenzo Snow and Wilford Woodruff spoke upon the practical duties of saints, importance of obeying counsel and striving to be one in all things.
[Wilford Woodruff]
[DNW 12:33, 7/30/62, p 1; JD 9:324]
REMARKS
By Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF, Tabernacle, Tuesday Afternoon,
April 8, 1862.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
The
Church of Jesus Christ has had a vast amount of teaching, especially of late.
We have Lad a great deal of good counsel and instruction in this Conference;
the truth has been simplified, doctrine elucidated and made plain to our
understandings through the revelations of Jesus Christ, and I really feel that
we have great cause to rejoice. There is one truth that becomes still moral
evident to my mind, and I think to the minds of this people generally, and that
is the importance and necessity of our being governed and controlled day by day
by the revelations of God. Now, we may take the Bible, the Book of Mormon and
Doctrine and Covenants, and we may read them through, and every other
revelation that if as been given to us, and they would scarcely be sufficient
to guide us twenty-four homes. We have only an outline of our duties written;
we are to be guided by the living oracles. The ten commandments are very good,
and the great and glorious principles pertaining to the redemption of man, the
revelations pertaining to events that are past and to the things of the
mysterious and unborn future, and there are also many choice and precious
things relating to the redemption of man, to the present and future greatness
of the Saints; but where can we find one revelation that tells us that we
should raise three hundred teams, or twelve hundred yoke of cattle, to bring up
the poor from the Missouri river. We have been informed by the revelations of
the Lord Jesus Christ that there should be a Temple built in Jackson county;
but has there been a revelation to tell us how long or how high it should be?
No, we have get to he governed by the mind and will of God, and this must be
apparent to this people; it shows itself more and more. President Young tells
us that the living oracles should be our grade, that, in fact, we should have
the living oracles within us always. Every man and woman has the privilege of
being baptized, but it is not the privilege of every man to lead the Church. It
is my privilege to have revelation to know truth from error, and I should also
have power to cast out Devils and to heal the sick, if I magnify my calling;
and not only these gifts, but tongues, interpretation of tongues and the spirit
of prophecy, and of course that is revelation.
It is the
privilege of every man and woman in this kingdom to enjoy the spirit of
prophecy, which is the Spirit of God; and to the faithful it reveals such
things as are necessary for their comfort and consolation, and to guide them in
their daily duties.
I can say
that I rejoice before this people and before the Lord our God, in the great
blessings which he has poured out upon us; I rejoice that he is carefully watching
over his kingdom and people, and it is manifest unto us. There has never been a
time when a doctrine has been presented to us by the servants of God that has
appeared new or mysterious, but what the Spirit of God has been ready to bear
testimony to the truth of the same. When there have been cases of contention to
know who was the biggest man, the Spirit of God has always made known who was
in the wrong, and this is a great blessing unto us, one of the greatest that
ever was given unto the children of men, to be able to discern the right from
the wrong in all cases that may come under our observation. We can perform this
work that is given unto us to do, for we know how to take the first step, and
then we gradually advance as we are inspired from one degree to another; and if
we have that portion of the Spirit of God which it is our privilege to enjoy,
and magnify our calling, we shall have that testimony we ought to have within
us when any new doctrine is brought forth, or old doctrine more fully
explained. In this way we shall profit by the preaching of our brethren, and be
able to treasure up the principles of eternal life, and we should be ready at
all times to carry out the principles that are revealed to our Presidents and
Bishops from time to time, as they receive the word of the Lord from the
President of the whole Church. For instance, a certain number of wagons and
teams are called for, and we should understand that whenever a Bishop wants
anything for the public good, that we should be on hand to do what is wanted.
President Young requires nothing but what the Lord requires of him and
manifests unto him; and I know that if we carry out those principles that are
brought forth by our President and leader, we shall be blessed in so doing.
This is
the way I view our position as a people upon the earth, in the dispensation of
the fulness of times. We are truly engaged in a great and mighty work, one that
is sustained by the Almighty. It is like the mustard seed which grows from a
small particle to a large tree. The commencement of this Church was very small,
but it is now grown into a mighty kingdom. No matter what our station and
callings are when those who are over us rise up and call upon us to do
anything, we should be ever ready to respond when, for instance, we are
instructed to stop selling whisky, or drinking it, we ought to do it, and then
our minds will be enlightened by partaking of the Spirit of God, and the spirit
and power of our high and holy callings will rest upon us when we listen to
that instruction that is given, and carry it out. This kingdom has got to rise
up and take its stand in majesty, in strength and power among the nations, and
all that the Lord has promised will be realized.
Our
President has frequently told us that we cannot separate the temporal from the
spiritual, but they must go hand in hand together, and so it is, and so must we
act in reference to building up the Church and kingdom of God.
We should
foresee the evil, and then foreseeing it we should hide ourselves, and preserve
ourselves in purity and holiness. Our President has tried from the beginning to
instruct us in these things, and we should listen to the counsel that is given
unto us. You have all heard President Young give instructions to the Elders
from time to time; and point out the course that we should pursue in order to
sustain ourselves. We should all strive to so manage our grain as to turn it to
the best account. We have had counsel in regard to this matter, but how slow we
are to carry it out. I have sometimes marvelled at the course that has been
pursued in regard to the duties that devolve upon us.
Let us
lay these things to heart, and profit by those instructions, and if we do, we
will bring forth fruit abundantly. Let us be of one heart and one mind, in all
things.
I rejoice
to meet here in this Conference with my brethren and sisters, and I esteem it
as a great privilege. I have been associated with this Church ever since the
year 1833, and I have been looking over the Quorum of the Twelve, to-day, and
reflecting that in our first acquaintance, we were mere boys together, while
now, most of us are beginning to have gray locks. The time is passing rapidly
along, and the purposes of the Lord are fast hastening forward. If we will do
our duty I know that God will sustain us and bring us off conquerors; and he
will open the way whereby we can be delivered from our enemies, and there will
be room fear us to spread out. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will spread and do
good, and it will prove a blessing to the children of men. The Almighty
requires his servants to maintain their integrity in righteousness and truth.
We are called upon to build a Temple to the name of the God of Israel, and let
us try to do our duty; let us lay these things to heart, and return home from
this Conference refreshed with the Spirit of the Lord, and let us do those
things that are of benefit to us, and the settlements where we live.
God is
merciful to us, and if we do our duty, we shall be blessed. We have been
informed that the heavens are fall of blessings for the faithful. We have not
yet arrived at the fulness, but we are progressing in the great work of the
dispensation of the fulness of times; and I pray that the Almighty will give us
power to overcome and do his will, which I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.
The cases of about fifty persons were brought before the conference, some had apostatized, and others were found guilty of frequent and numerous transgressions for which they were all excommunicated from the fellowship of the church.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young wished to see the Latter Day Saints so live as to overcome every passion that is contrary to the spirit and plan that God has devised to bring about the salvation of the people. We may rest assured that we shall not be afflicted any more than we are well able to bear. If we do right, then all that our enemies can do will not amount to any more than the king of France marching his army up the hill, and then marching it down again. We may talk about priesthood, about redeeming Zion, ready for the coming of the Son of Man, but it is all in vain unless we sanctify ourselves before our God.
Said we wanted to go on with the building of the temple this summer, and if the people will be faithful to do their part the Lord will give us a fruitful season. Brethren bring on the rock, and let boys and young men that have no trade, or business, come and learn to cut stone. The President said he began to feel anxious about it, for he wanted to get it pretty near done before we are called to return to the Centre stake of Zion.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 12:1, 7/2/62, p 1; JD 10:32]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Tabernacle, April 8, 1862
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I wish to
inform all the inhabitants of the Territory of Utah, Jew and Gentile, bond and
free, male and female, black and white, red, copper-colered and yellow, that,
in organizing a State Government, we shall not infringe in the least upon the
Constitution of our country, upon any principle contained in the Declaration of
Independence, nor upon any constitutional law that has been enacted by the
Congress of the United States. Will this step bring upon us the disapprobation
of the Government of the United States? That is not for me to say; it
will be as God may direct.
As the
kingdom of God rises and advances upon the earth, so will the power of Satan
increase to impede its progress until God shall purge that power from the
earth, and so give the Saints the victory, that they can bear off his kingdom
triumphantly in spite of the powers of Satan and wicked men. But so far as the
power of Satan extends, just so far will be seen his operations to overthrow
all righteousness. There is nothing that would so soon weaken my hope and
discourage me as to see this people in full fellowship with the world, and
receive no more persecution from them because they are one with them. In such an
event, we might bid farewell to the Holy Priesthood with all its blessings,
privileges and aids to exaltations, principalities and powers in the eternities
of the Gods.
I can say
with confidence, if we will live so as to enjoy the revelations of the Lord Jesus
Christ to ourselves day by day, overcoming every passion, feeling and desire
that has been sown in our nature through the fall, overcoming all that is
contrary to the law of Heaven and the principles of salvation that is purchased
by Jesus. Christ for us, which is the plan of God has devised to exalt the
human family to immortality and eternal lives, if we will let that Spirit and
power of God reign within us; we shall never be afflicted more than we can
bear, and that is as far as I can promise.
We have
seen the power and wisdom that have been displayed by our enemies since we have
been in these mountains, which has all amounted to but little toward
accomplishing what they desired. No more will be accomplished than has been.
Brother
Orson Pratt's remarks on the powers of the Congress of the United States are
strictly correct. It is well known that the Congress of the United States has
no power granted in the Constitution to organize a Territorial Government, and
every power that is not named in the Constitution for Congress to act upon is
reserved the people. But Congress assumes powers that does not belong to it,
and if it continues to do so, soon the last vestige of the free, independent,
Republican and Democratic Government we have enjoyed will be merged in a
military despotism, if there is anything left.
Our
Government is at present engaged in an expensive war. It has been supposed that
the South would soon be subjugated, that they would yield the point and submit.
They will not, and the war has scarcely commenced.
The slave
States do not as yet appear to be whipped or conquered. Both North and South
are in the hands of the Lord, and so are we.
Let us
from this time strive more diligently to overcome our own evil passions. We may
talk about Priesthood, about power and authority, about blessings and
exaltations, about the kingdom of God upon the earth, about gathering the house
of Israel, about redeeming Zion and enjoying its fulness, about preparing for
the coming of the Son of Man and enjoying celestial glory with him, but all
this is vain if we do not sanctify ourselves before God, and sanctify the Lord
our God in our hearts. We wish you fully to comprehend this; and when you go
from this Conference, we do not wish to hear of contentions. and as soon as
Elders have wisdom sufficient to magnify their calling and Priesthood, we will
give to every Branch, no matter how small the Ward, both a Bishop and a
President.
It is our
privilege and duty to sanctify our own hearts. Perhaps I have as much acknowledgment
to make as anybody for sometimes suffering my feelings to be a little ruffled.
I cannot say that I felt entirely free from vexations at remarks made, by one
of the speakers this morning, upon the impurity of seeds in our Territory.
Notwithstanding so much has been said upon that subject, there does not seem to
be care enough in the heads of Israel to provide even for themselves, to say
nothing about setting a proper example to the people. If it were left to such
men, there never would be a grain of pure sugar cane seed in the country. Where
is your care for Israel? You will preach the spiritual things of the kingdom,
and let your bodies and the bodies of the people go into the grave. Before you
preach to a starving man to arise and be baptized, first carry him some bread
and wine; first unlock his prison house and let him go free. Is there a Bishop
in this Territory that knows whether there is a particle of pure cabbage seed
in the Territory, or in his Ward? whether there is a bushel of pure buck-wheat,
or California barley? whether there is a peck of clean, pure flaxseed, &c.
Bishops, how much flaxseed is going to be sown in your respective Wards this
season? "Don't know." How much wheat, oats and barley? "Don't
know. I have a little speculation on hand, and I wish to provide for my own
family, for the convenience and comfort of my own household, for this I esteem
to be my first duty."
There was
a Bishop in Far West, who, as Trustee-in-trust, held the property of the
Church; no other man had the means he had to help the poor Saints. I tried to
get my voice to his ears for days, and could not. At last I accosted him and
said:—"Bishop, what are you going to do toward helping the poor Saints out
of the State of Missouri, as we agreed?" He was irritated in a moment. I
supposed that he thought it was none of my business, but I knew that it, was,
and calculated to attend to it. He did not speak good naturedly, although
naturally a mild-tempered man. At last he said, "I am going to take my
family and leave the State, and the people may take care of themselves."
Many of our Bishops feel like that; they will plant their potatoes, take care
of their calves and themselves, and the people may go to the devil for ought
they care.
I,
perhaps, ought not to find fault about such things; but why not my brethren of
the Twelve take an interest in such matters, and not leave everything of that
kind for me and my Counsellors to attend to?
I ask the
Agricultural and Manufacturing Society of this Territory, if they have one
ounce of pure cabbage seed on hand, or know who has. It is doubtful whether an
affirmative answer could be given to this question. But if you have a few
excellent peaches, or a basket of choice apples give them to eat, they will be
as proud as a little boy with a new top, and boast long and loud about what
nice things we have in this Territory. I cannot complain of the vigilance of
the tasting committee, but what do they do for the benefit of the people? To
eat the people's fruit and praise them for raising it, calling them
"beloved brethren, and won't you bring us in a little more next
fall?" &c., may be well enough, but what does this Society do? What do
the Twelve and the First Presidency do in teaching this people to sustain
themselves? We all take care of ourselves, do we not? Is that all? No. There is
not a thing my eye is not upon, that will enhance the welfare of this people.
Who imported the first carding-machine to this country, and the only good ones
that have been brought here? Who imported the nail-machines, the paper-machine,
steam-engines land other valuable machinery? I use everything I can rake and
scrape together for the interest of this people. I only need a little food and
a small amount of clothing, and as for the rest the people are welcome to it.
I wish
the other brethren to look after the welfare of the people, as well as myself.
I do not wish to again hear any of the leaders of Israel complain that there is
not any pure sugarcane seed, flaxseed, cotton seed, &c., in the country,
but I wish them to be fully informed as to where pure seeds of all kinds can be
had, and as to what is going on among the people in every part of each Ward or
district; and then I want to inform the Bishops, and direct their tongues to
speak and their hands to act. I wish this particularly to apply to those who
preside where the First Presidency do not go.
The
Agricultural Society ought to make arrangements to have and keep on hand the
best varieties of all kinds of garden seeds, the best varieties of fruits, of
grain, and every useful product of the soil, that all may be able to procure
the purest and best seeds, scions, fruit and shade trees, shrubbery, &c.
Brother T. W. Ellerbeck and a few others have done considerable in introducing
several valuable varieties of fruits and seeds.
Brother
Lorenzo Snow says, that the Lord will bless my brethren and sisters. He says
that all the mules in the Territory can not haul away the gold that is
concealed in these mountains. Riches do not consist of gold and silver. It may
be said that with them we can buy all the comforts we need for the body. That
may be so under certain circumstances; still gold and silver are merely a
convenient means of exchange. Earthly riches are concealed in the elements God
has given to man, and the essence of wealth is power to organize flora these
elements every comfort and convenience of life for our sustenance here, and for
eternal existence hereafter. The possession of all the gold and silver in the
world would not satisfy the cravings of the immortal soul of man. The gift of
the Holy Spirit of the Lord alone can produce a good, wholesome, contented
mind. Instead of looking for gold and silver, look to the heavens and try to
learn wisdom until you can organize the native elements for your benefit; then,
and not until then, will you begin to possess the true riches. All the riches,
wealth, glory and happiness that we shall ever possess in heaven will be
possessed on and around this earth when it is brought up into the presence of
God in a sanctified and glorified state; and the sanctified ones who enter
through the gate and pass the sentinel into the New Jerusalem, and into the
presence of the Father and the Son, are the ones who will inherit the new
heavens and the new earth in the presence of God, for here is the eternity, the
glory and the power. When We possess all things, it will he when we possess
power to organize the native elements that fill the immensity of space,
bringing forth and organizing, bringing forth and organizing, again and again,
dealing out the providence of God, dictating, guiding and directing the
kingdoms that will be made for ever and for ever. This is eternal riches—it is
eternal life.
"What,
did Jesus mean, when he said, Lay up treasures in heaven, &c. What mortal
ever went there to lay up treasures? Is there an apartment, a business house
there, a Dr. and Cr. account, &c.?" Ask the Lord yourselves, what he
meant by that expression, and if you have the Spirit of Christ, you will find
out the truth. I think that the Savior referred particularly to laying up in
pure and sanctified bodies, holy principles that belong to the heavens, until
we are brought back into the presence of the Father, and we, with the earth
upon which we stand, are cleansed and sanctified beyond the power of Satan.
I will
now say that we wish to go on with the Temple this year; we shall also send out
teams to bring home the poor, send Missionaries to the nations, &c.,
&c. If the hearts of this people are right, if they are filled with faith
in God; if they act with an eye single to his glory and the building up of his
kingdom on the earth, they will lock up their teams, secure their seed grain
and farming utensils, will look and live for rain, for water in abundance to
irrigate their lands, for sunshine, for day and night and everything, that
will give us a fruitful season this coming summer. What will you do with the
increase of your fields? Will you strew it to strangers? Some complain at the
hand of Jehovah for giving them wheat. I have heard it said, "It is a
curse to us; it annoys me to see so much wheat." There never has been a
land, from the days of Adam until now, that has been blessed more than this
land has been blessed by our Father in heaven; and it will still be blessed
more and more, if we are faithful and humble, and thankful to God for the wheat
and the corn, the oats, the fruit, the vegetables, the cattle and everything he
bestows upon us, and try to use them for the building up of his kingdom on the
earth.
There will
be no lack of teams for doing our work, if we will go to with our mights to
bring the poor Saints here and to build this Temple. There will be teams to
bring us the rock from the quarries; and let the young men come and learn to
cut stone. I wish to hurry the building of the Temple, for I would like to have
it completed before we are called to more important duties.
God bless
the righteous. Amen.
Choir sung Redeemer of Israel."
President B. Young pronounced the benediction.
[9 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/16/62, p 5]
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 10 a.m.
Choir sung "Arise O Glorious Zion."
Prayer by Elder George A. Smith.
Another hymn was sung, after which Elder F. D. Richards made remarks on the privileges of the saints, and the good instructions and counsel given during the present conference.
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball exhorted to union, faith and good works, that we might become more fully of one heart and one mind. Referred to the brethren going to redeem Zion, and how wonderfully the Lord had scattered abroad our enemies, and said if we would be alive in CHRIST JESUS our Lord, he will preserve us and bring us off victoriously.
Choir sung.
On motion of President Orson Hyde the conference adjourned until the 6th of October next, at 10 a.m.
Elder John Taylor dismissed the congregation by benediction.
J.
V. LONG.
Clerk of the Conference
6-8 Oct 1862, 32nd
Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 12:124, 10/15/62, p 4-5; MS 24:753]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 12:124, 10/15/62, p 4]
SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
_____
The Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, convened in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, on Monday, October 6, 1862 at 10 a.m., President Brigham Young presiding.
There were on the stand: Of the First Presidency, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells;
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards;
Of the First Presidency of the Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and Jacob Gates;
Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum: John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards;
Of the Presidency of this stake of Zion: Daniel spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace;
Of the presidency of the Bishoprick: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little;
Of the Patriarchs: John Young;
Reporters: George D. Watt and John V. Long.
Conference was called to order by the President, and the Choir sang "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."
Elder John Taylor offered the opening prayer. Choir sang "All ye that love Immanuel's name."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said the mission of the Latter Day Saints will not be through with until Jesus has finished his mission, men may have intervals of rest, but only for a short time. Jesus has sealed his testimony with his blood, but he has not accomplished all the work for which he was sent into the world, and how long it will take him I do not know, but he will never cease from his labors nor yield one particle until he brings into subjection all things pertaining to this earth. Quoted the text "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you," and remarked that he would seek to have it organized in its purity and holiness. The Saints should know first of all that the kingdom is organized and that they have an interest in it, and that is an internal work; then they should know that they love it more than anything and everything else. Know then that this Spirit of the Kingdom is ours and hat we enjoy it day by day; that is the first lesson for you and me to learn.
The people have received and embraced the gospel, but now comes the temporal warfare. We have to cross the plains; we have to organize a company, and here let me ask how many there is that is capable of leading a company across the plains. Independent companies are generally too independent for the good of the people. When we find an independent company we find a republican form of government, which can alone be sustained upon the principles of truth and virtue. Made mention of his experience in traveling with the Saints, first in Zion's camp, then in leading the pioneers to this valley. Some may ask, what good was there in going to missouri. He would say that he was well paid with the experience he obtained in traveling with the Prophet of God; others might form their own conclusions. The Saints might stay in England, France, Germany, Switzerland and the Islands of the Sea, and organize and build up the kingdom of God, but is Zion organized? No, it is not. There is not a Ward in this Territory that is organized according to the order of Zion, but the time would come when this order would be established in every town, village and hamlet throughout the land of Joseph. He felt and knew it to be his business to teach the people to preserve and take care of this present life, for it is just as valuable as any that is enjoyed in all the eternities of the Gods. The faithful Saints may rest assured the Almighty will restore all the fertility to the soil that is necessary for the benefit and blessing of the people.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 12:177, 2/3/62, p 1; JD 10:17]
DISCOURSE
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Bowery a.m. of Oct. 6, 1862.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
We have
opened our Conference to present before the congregation such principles and
doctrines and to transact such business as may be necessary for the instruction
and edification of the Saints and the advancement of the cause of truth.
It has
been remarked by some of the Missionaries who have lately returned, that though
they had arrived at home, they did not consider their missions at an end. When
persons become subjects of the kingdom of God they enter upon a mission that
will never end. They may turn away from the holy commandments, and forsake the
kingdom, but so long as they remain faithful so long will their missions as
advocates for God and his righteousness be continued. There may be intervals of
rest, of relaxation from the more arduous duties of their missions, but in such
times they are not by any means to consider their missions ended. Christ will
not cease his labors pertaining to this earth until it is redeemed and
sanctified ready to be presented spot, less to the Father.
Luke
records the words of Christ as follows:—"But rather seek ye the kingdom of
God, and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew records the
saving still fuller:—"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Jesus Christ
did not exhort his followers to seek something they could not find, something
that was not within their reach. He did not exhort them to ascend up to heaven
to bring the kingdom down, nor to descend into the deep to bring it up, but he
came to establish that kingdom, and it was nigh unto them. I would say to the
Latter-day Saints, seek to know that the kingdom of God has been organized in
our own time. When this kingdom is organized in any age, the Spirit of it
dwells in the hearts of the faithful, while its visible department exists among
the people, with laws, ordinances, helps, governments, officers,
administrators, and every other appendage necessary for its complete operation
to the attainment of the end in view. Seek to know that the kingdom of God is
organized upon the earth, and be sure to know that you have an interest, in
that kingdom, and enjoy the Spirit of it day by day, for this is, or ought to
be, nearer to our hearts than all earthly considerations. This privilege is
within the reach of all, when the Gospel is proclaimed to them. When men truly
and heartily repent, and make manifest to the heavens that their repentance is
genuine by obedience to the requirements made known to them through the laws of
the Gospel, then are they entitled to the administration of salvation, and no
power can withhold the good Spirit from them. Cornelius is an instance of this.
The Holy Ghost fell on him and his household, through their faith and earnest
repentance, before they were baptized.
That we
may understand things as they are, and thereby learn to sanctify ourselves before
the Lord our God, it is essentially necessary that we practically bye our
religion. Every true believer of this Gospel is anxious to gather to the home
of the Saints. I think I am safe in saying, that if there was a highway cast up
flora England to the shores of the continent of America, there are men who
would be willing to measure the ground with their bodies to reach this place.
Even this does not tell their anxiety to be here; it must be seen in the
spirit, to know it as it really is. We are agreed in gathering the Saints, as
well as in the initiatory ordinances of the Gospel of peace.
It may be
said that the tug of trials has commenced when the Saints begin to cross the
plains to this place. This temporal duty puts all their spiritual attainments
to the test. Them are but few persons who thoroughly understand how to organize
and lead a company across the plains, and in this alone arises many
inconveniences and trials to the immigrants. How many hearts are prepared to
meet the difficulties, privations, trials and labors to be encountered on the
plains, without murmuring and complaining? I should think but few. To believe
the Gospel and embrace it, to believe all that is written in the Bible, Book of
Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, is but a small matter compared with
giving up comfortable homes, friends and relatives, being tossed upon the
boisterous ocean, confined in narrow limits, and being jostled in railway cars,
exposed to the insults and ridicule of rude and wicked persons that always
assemble on the public highways, and suffering the hardships and privations
incident to travelling over the plains.
I wish
the people not to lose sight of one thing: that every day's labor, every
moment's toil, every prayer and exertion which they make points to the building
up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. Let us seek daily to know that the
kingdom of God is established among us, according to the pattern in the
heavens. Under this knowledge our actions will constantly point in the right
direction, and every move we make will enhance the interests of the general
cause. When this kingdom is established in its two-fold capacity—spiritually
and temporally—then it is given unto us to know how to secure everything else that
is necessary to enjoy on the earth. But it is our duty first to seek to know
that the kingdom of God is established and organized upon the earth, that we
have an interest in it, that that interest above all others is the nearest and
dearest to our hearts, as our present and eternal welfare is embraced in it,
and that we possess the Spirit of this kingdom and enjoy it day by day.
Remarks
have been made relating to the Saints travelling in independent companies. When
an independent company undertakes to travel across the plains, they are
generally too independent for their own safety and good. There never was and
never will be a people in heaven nor on earth, in time nor in eternity, that
can be considered truly and entirely independent of counsel and direction. Our
independent companies entertain the same mistaken views of independence as
people generally do of the independence of a Republican Government. Man in his
ignorance is impatient of control, and when he finds himself from under its
influence he supposes that he is then independent, or, in other words, that he
is a free man. Independence so viewed and so employed, either individually or
collectively, religiously or politically must open a wide arena of action for
all the evil, selfish and malignant qualities of depraved men, introducing
distraction into every ramification of society, destroying confidence, checking
the onward progress of industry and universal prosperity, and bringing in
famine, pestilence and destruction everywhere. An independent company of
immigrants can appoint their own captain to guide them across the plains, and
they can also dispute every act of his for their good. They can find fault with
him for camping too soon or too late; for camping in this, that or the other
place; and if he offers them good advice, reject it because they are
independent and free, as they suppose. Individual self-government lies at the
root of all true and effective government, whether in heaven or on earth. Those
who govern should be wiser and better than the governed, that the lesser may be
blessed of the greater. Were this so, then the people would willingly repose
their dearest interests to the trusts of their rulers or leaders, and with a
feeling of pleasure bow to and carry out to the letter their instructions and
conclusions on all matters that pertained to the general good. this will apply
to great kingdoms and mighty nations, to small companies of immigrants crossing
the plains, or to the home circle. A Republican Government in the hands of a wicked
people must terminate in woe to that people, but in the hands of the righteous
it is everlasting, while its power reaches to heaven.
I had the
pleasure of leading the first company of Saints to these valleys, assisted by a
few of my brethren. In this business we have had a good experience.
I will
here take the liberty of relating a little of my first career in
"Mormonism." In 1834, brother Joseph Smith the Prophet, started with
a company from the State of Ohio, picking up others as he passed through various
States on his route until he arrived in Missouri. We had grumblers in that
camp. We had to be troubled with uneasy, unruly and discontented
spirits. This was the first time we had ever travelled in the capacity of a
large company, and it was my first experience in that mode of travelling.
Brother Joseph led, counselled and guided the company, and contended against
those unruly, evil disposed persons. When we arrived in Missouri, the Lord
spoke to his servant Joseph and said, "I have accepted your offering,"
and we had the privilege to return again. On my return many friends asked me
what profit there was in calling men from their labor to go up to Missouri and
then return, without apparently accomplishing anything. "Who has it
benefited?" asked they. "If the Lord did command it to be done what
object had he in view in doing sow I was then comparatively ignorant, to what I
am now, in regard to the spirits and actions of mankind But I then learned that
those persons who asked me such questions were weak in the faith and,
like a faulty column in an edifice, could not bear up under the burden designed
to rest upon them. This has since proved to be the case. I wish this fact to
sink into your hearts, that when men or women have doubts, they also have fear;
and when they have fear they are in danger of what? Of themselves. Want of
confidence is the parent of moral imbecility and intellectual weakness. Hear
it, ye Saints, that man or woman that is crowned with crowns of glory,
immortality and eternal lives will never be heard to grumble or complain. I
told those brethren that I was well paid—paid with heavy interest—yea that my
measure was filled to overflowing with the knowledge that I had received by
travelling with the Prophet. When companies are led across the plains by
inexperienced persons, especially independent companies, they are very apt to
break into pieces, to divide up into fragments, become weakened, and thus
expose themselves to the influences of death and destruction.
I
sometimes think that I would be willing to give anything, to do almost anything
in reason, to see one fully organized Branch of this kingdom—one fully
organized Ward. "But," says one, "I had supposed that the
kingdom of God was organized long ago." So it it is, in one sense; and again,
in another sense it, is not. Wheresoever this Gospel has been preached and
people have received it, the spiritual kingdom is set up and organized, but is
Zion organized? No. Is there even in this Territory a fully organized Ward? Not
one. It may be asked, "Why do you not fully organize the Church?"
Because the people are incapable of being organized. I could organize a large
Ward who would be subject to a full organization, by selecting familes from the
different Wards, but at present such a Branch of the Church is not in
existence.
I am
satisfied that the mechanical ability of the people of this Territory will rank
with that of any other people, but there is not one in five hundred that knows
how to husband his ability and economize his labor when he first comes to this
new country. They are for a time like a feather in the wind, until some
circumstance occurs to settle them in some position where they can begin to do
something to provide for themselves. It is not easy to find a Bishop that knows
how to settle, in a proper way, the smallest difficulty that may occur in his
Ward. There are but few men that can guide themselves, and gather around them
the comforts and wealth of this life. In the settlements I passed through
during my late visit south, I saw comparatively. little wisdom manifested in
the style and extent of their improvements. Men who have been in this Church
ten, fifteen, and twenty years, and in this country from the first settlement
of it, possessing flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and horses running upon
the plains, what kind of houses have they? Log hovels and mud buts. What have
they in their houses? Two tin plates, a broken knife, and a fork with one
prong. If a person calls for lodgings, "O yes, you can stay and welcome.
Come wife, bake some potatoes and squash, and roast some meat, bake some
biscuit, and stew a little of that fruit I bought at the store," and all
this the poor woman has to do in one little bake kettle. A good natured man
enough, an easy going sort of person, and his hair looks as though it had not
been cut or combed for years. After supper you retire to bed, and before
morning you are made fully satisfied that you are a man of feeling. Is such
enterprise worthy of Saints? Is this the way to build up cities and make the
earth like the garden of Eden? Do such people know that the kingdom of God is
set up on the earth? "O yes, I have it in me." You have the spiritual
kingdom within you but there is a literal kingdom to build up.
There are
scores of Elders in this Church who can preach, baptize and lay on hands for
the reception of the Holy Ghost, that do not know how to produce a livelihood
for them selves, a wife, and one child. It requires but little experience to do
this, and much less do they know how to build a good house, how to lay out and
build up a city, how to lay the foundations of Zion, &c., &c. Can they
lead a company of Saints cross the plains? They can try, and very likely the
company will break to pieces, unless the power of God is among them. This gives
us a striking proof of the necessity of he people's having faith and power with
the heavens, that if their Bishop tees not know what he ought, their faith will
keep him in the right path and the Spirit of the Lord will open to the vision
of his mind the things hat be should do. That is the duty of the people.
We have a
kingdom to organize, and I say, Seek to know that you have the kingdom within
you and that you are in it. Seek to establish the kingdom of God upon the
earth, for that will give you wisdom to add to yourselves everything necessary.
The Lord will not himself plough our grounds, sow our grain, and reap it when
it is ripe. The man that understands the kingdom of God will seek to understad
the elements in which he lives, and to know something of his own organization,
the design of it, and the designs of Heaven in it. Is the kingdom of God in its
perfection on the earth? It is not. True, we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we believe in his ordinances. We believe that the Lord called Joseph Smith and
ordained him an Apostle and Prophet to this generation, giving him the keys and
power of the Holy Priesthood. We believe in the gathering of the house of
Israel in the latter days, in the redemption of Zion, in the building up and
establishment of Jerusalem, and in the gathering of the Jews from their long
dispersion; in short, we believe all that the ancient Prophets have spoken, but
where is the people that is willing to build up the visible kingdom of God and
that is capable of dictating this great work.
The Lord
will make the people willing in the day of his power. This cannot refer to
making the people willing to acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ; it must refer
to something else. Shall we wait until we are whipped from among the wicked
before we are willing to gather out from among them and flee to Zion? This has
been the case with some, and what are such persons good for when they get to
Zion? I do not, however, wish to disturb anybody's feelings; I am glad to see
them come to a place of safety when they are obliged to; but I would rather
have seen them come in the beginning, when they could have helped to kill the
snakes, build the bridges, make the roads, and manifest their faith that we
could raise fruit, grain and every staple necessary of life in this country,
help to open the kanyons, build the mills, bring out the lumber and build towns
and cities. But we are glad to see them as they are, and we will do the best we
can with them. There are more coming.
Which
will be best eventually, to go to with our might, to build up the Zion of God
on the earth, or wait until we are whipped to it? I can only broach the subject
of building up the kingdom of God as it must be built up in the latter days; I
will leave it for others to talk upon during the Conference, or not, as they
please. I know what I have to do, and that is to teach this people to
appreciate their own present lives. There is no life more precious than the
present life which we enjoy; there is no life that is worth any more to us than
this life is. It may be said that an eternal life is worth more. We are in
eternity, and all that we have to do is to take the road that leads into the
eternal lives. Eternal life is an inherent quality of the creature, and nothing
but sin can put a termination to it. The elements in their nature are as
eternal as are the Gods. Let us learn, under the guidance and direction of
Heaven how to use these eternal elements for the building up, establishment and
sending forth of the kingdom of God, gathering up the poor in heart to begin
with, and the further things we will learn as we progress.
Some of
you may ask why the Lord did not perfectly organize at least one Branch
of the Church? When a great blessing is bestowed upon a people, and that
blessing is not strictly honored and lived to, in proportion to the greatness
of that blessing, over and above what has been previously enjoyed, it will be a
curse to them. I recollect that Joseph once said to me, when he was talking
upon the principle of the Lord's raising up seed to himself upon the earth—a
royal Priesthood, a holy nation that can offer sacrifices acceptable to
God"Brother Brigham, it will damn many of the Elders of Israel."
There are but few men in this kingdom that are now worthy of that blessing, yet
all who are in full fellowship must enjoy it.
We will
wait patiently until we can get the people to know how to secure to themselves
the comforts of life, good houses, for instance, and know how to raise fruit as
well as bread. the best fruit I ever saw in any country I saw exhibited in our
recent fair. It has been told the people, from the first of our coating into
this country, there existed in these elements as good material for fruit as can
be found anywhere. Then let us go forth in faith and plant seed in the ground,
and cultivate mother earth and pray over the earth and over our crops and over
all we possess, and the curse will be removed, and God will restore genialty to
the atmosphere and fertility to the soil.
I wish to
teach the Elders of this Church how to lead a company across the plains, as
well as how to preach the Gospel; to learn them how to be a Bishop, a father to
the people, as well as how to kneel down and pray, or to rise up and preach. I
wish to learn them how to reconcile the people one to another, how to build
cities, how to beautify and redeem the earth, how to lead and guide this people
to life eternal, how to preside over their families, and how to conduct
themselves in the common avocations of life. I have, all this and more
constantly before me.
Brethren
is your Mission ended? No, it is as much upon you here as when you are out in
the distant parts of the earth preaching the Gospel. Jesus Christ made water
into wine by calling together from the elements the properties of wine. He fed
thousands of people with five loaves and two small fishes by calling the
elements together to compose bread and fish; and he says, "Greater works
than these shall ye do, because I go to the Father." It is our privilege
and our duty to continue to learn, until we shall have wisdom enough to command
the elements as he did, and until the earth is brought back to its paradisaical
state. But we must first redeem ourselves from every root of bitterness that
may be in our nature, striving daily to overcome the evil that is in the world
and in ourselves, sanctifying our hearts and affections until there shall he
nothing abiding in us contrary to the Holy Ghost in its perfect and full
fruition of enjoyment to the creature.
I think
it likely that after a while I may be able to so humble myself and become like
a little child, as to be taught more fully by the Heavens. Perhaps, when I am
eighty years of age, I may be able to talk with some Being of a higher sphere
than this. Moses saw the glory of God at that age, and held converse with
better beings than he had formerly conversed with. I hope and trust that; by
the time I am that age I shall also be counted worthy to enjoy the same
privilege.
I pray
you not to forget what I have said to you this morning, but lay it up in your
hearts, and pray that it may bring forth fruit for the more perfect
establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth. Amen.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball made remarks on the necessit of continual progress in the knowledge of God, and said if a man be too old to improve, he is too old to live. Bore testimony to the doctrines taught by President Young. Referred to the traveling of the first company across the plain; also to Zion's camp which traveled under the immediate guidance of the Prophet Joseph.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 12:249, 2/4/63, p 1; JD 10:75]
REMARKS
By President heber C. Kimball, Bowery, Monday Morning, Oct.
6, 1862
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
I wonder
if there is a person in this vast congregation to-day but what feels that all
those instructions given apply to himself. I feel disposed for one to take what
has been said to myself, and I do not think there is a man here who is so
righteous that he cannot apply the greater portion of what brother Brigham has
said to himself. I know it is very common for us to make observations like this
when any of the brethren have been chastised: Well, I guess some of the
brethren have received a pretty good chastisement to-day, but it don't touch
me. Don't you know that this is very common? That jacket does not suit me, says
one. Why did it not suit you? Because you did not put it on. If you had put it
on, it would have been like a piece of raw hide or a piece of India-rubber,
then it would have pinched when it became dry. Now I do not believe that there
is a person here who might not be benefited by these lessons of correction and
instructions, for we can all make improvement in ourselves, in our daily walk
and conversation. I know that I can cultivate myself and improve in many ways,
and I feel that I am improving and advancing in the things of God.
Some will
say, are you not too old to learn? I say no, for I consider if I am too old to
improve, I am too old to live. When a man has done learning, he had better
leave and go hence.
I think I
understand correctly what President Young has been talking about, and he wishes
every one of us to accept of it and put it in practice.
In regard
to those independent companies alluded to, I really do not know whether I would
lead them or not. I know that the first company that I was gathered with, of
which President Young has spoken to-day, and which embraced nearly all the male
members there were in the Church, brother Joseph said, come brethren, bring
your money with you and bring all you have. We gathered brethren from Nova
Scotia and from all the States where we had any, and then we travelled forty
miles in an independent condition, that is, every man had his money in
his pocket and was calculating to have, but when we got to Portage, Joseph
called upon that independent company and organized it with captains of
hundreds, of fifties and tens, with officers to lead and control them. Then he
nominated and we accepted a pay-master and treasurer, and every officer
necessary to a permanent organization. Then he said, Brethren, I want you to
come together, and bring your money with you. I do not want any donations, but
I want every one to bring every cent he has got. Some had not any, some had a
hundred dollars; some had a shilling, and the brethren handed over what they
had to the pay-master. We were then taught that we should be subject to the law
and government of God.
It is an
important thing for a man to lead the people of God, and unless they will
subject themselves to him and to the officers of the Church a Prophet cannot
lead them; it is an impossibility. This course of obedience is the one we have
to take. Talk about building up the kingdom of God on the earth, how can you do
it except you go to work with your might to practice as well as preach, and
labor and toil with all your might by day and by night, and by this means every
man in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will become independent.
I was reflecting upon these things when brother Joseph brought things to terms.
Then if we are ready to do as we are told, to follow the counsel of the
servants of God, won't our offerings be accepted? I say they will.
When we
went on that journey, Joseph told us there was an endowment laid up for us; for
what? Because we had done just as we were told; and I can bear testimony that
we received that endowment. Have we got through with our endowments? No, we
have not; we have only just commenced, merely received the initiative
ordinances, and we are only children in these things yet, but if we are
faithful, we shall receive all that our hearts can desire, for the Almighty
will withhold no good thing from them that love him and keep his commandments.
You will
doubtless recollect reading of a certain woman in the Scriptures who was rather
ambitious, and therefore wished to have her sons occupy a conspicuous place
about the Savior's person. The account of the circumstance is related by St.
Matthew in the following language:—"Then came to him the mother of
Zebedee's children, with her sons worshiping him, and desiring a certain thing
of him. and he said unto her, what wilt thou? She saith unto him, grant these
my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in
thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able
to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with: but, to sit on my right hand, and on my left is not
mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my
Father."—Mat. xx 20—23.
Here we
find set forth by the Savior the doctrine that it belongs to the Father to give
each one his place in that kingdom, hereafter to be inherited by the faithful
Saints. Now let me ask, can we walk with Jesus in the regeneration that is
spoken of? But before I proceed further, let me ask, what is the regeneration?
I should call it an improvement, or an advancement in the things of God. By
some it is said to be the change and renovation of the soul by the Spirit and
grace of God. Then again, it is called the new birth. Titus is somewhat more
explicit upon the subject. He says, "But after that the kindness and love
of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us
abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." and our
Savior speaking to Nicodemus, says, "Verily I say unto thee, except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." In another place Jesus
says:—"Verily I say unto you, that ye which followed me in the
regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."—Matt.
xix. 28.
Many
other passages might be quoted to show how the doctrine of regeneration was
taught by Christ and his Apostles, but these will be sufficient for my purpose
at the present. I know that we, the Elders of Israel, are walking with Jesus in
the regeneration, and we are becoming regenerated in Christ Jesus, and the
blessings of the kingdom are being multiplied unto us day by day, and we shall
continue to be enriched for ever and for ever. What! in property? Yes, and in
every thing that is good. If it were not so, how could you possess all things,
which are certainly promised through progression and faithfulness.
I suppose
I felt as the Apostles did anciently, when I went with the Elders into the
State of Ohio, and through the New England States to the State of Maine. We
called the people together and organized them into Conferences, and we went to
work and selected wise men to receive and take the moneys of the brethren and
purchase lands in Missouri. We performed our duties and were faithful unto the
Lord, and if all the people had been as faithful as we were we should have
gained an advantage; but as it is, I know that the day will come when we shall
possess that land, and I can tell you that I expect to have and possess all
that I merit, in the own due time of the Lord. When the kingdom triumphs, every
man will be rewarded according to his works, and will receive that which is
designed for him, and in all things be blessed according to his merits. By
merit I mean that which a man earns, and you will see the day when you will get
nothing but what you earn by your works and your integrity to God and your
brethren.
I
recollect when we returned from our mission to Missouri, Joseph said,
"Now, brethren, it is a good time to get property; now is the time for you
to get rich." Well, it was one of the most trying times the Church ever
saw. Most of the Twelve went into speculation, and half of them turned away. I
went to Joseph and asked what I had best do, and he replied that it was a good
time to get an education, or, said he, you may go a preaching, just as you
please, and God will bless you in either. I went out preaching, and also some
others and some went to speculating, and we have never seen them since,
excepting one or two of them. It was so with the ancient Apostles. When Jesus
was crucified his disciples said, "Come, brethren, let us go a
fishing," and off they went fishing. But their did not make much till
Jesus came along by the sea side, made a fire and broiled some fish, and when
he asked them if they had any meat, they answered him, No. Then he said unto
them, cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.
In regard
to this work, I know that it will roll on, and the kingdom will be built up,
the elect gathered, and the chosen ones go back to the centre stake of Zion.
There are a great many that are remaining in the States till we go back, but I
can tell them they will have to come here, for this is the only way there is
for the true Saints to get to Jackson County, and they will find it out to be
so in due time. Let us serve God, brethren and sisters, with all our hearts,
minds, might, souls and strength, and all will go well and we shall triumph. As
it was anciently, so it is in this age, the Saints must come to the mountains,
the depot of the kingdom of God to get their blessings and, prepare them for
the future glory of Zion.
Let us
take that course which will make us independent of all other people upon the
earth; I know that this is the course for us to take all the time. Then we
should put our minds together, and our mites also, to build up the kingdom of
God; and if we will do this, being of one spirit, we shall prosper in all
things. I know of no other way for us to become of one heart and one mind in
regard to the things of the kingdom of God. By pursuing this course we shall
increase in the knowledge of the truth, and ere long the angels will come to
visit us, and Father will talk to us in relation to his purposes and the
introduction of his government. Let us endeavor to attain these blessings, for
they are ours through faithfulness and diligence in well-doing.
No good
man wishes to force anybody into heaven, but it is for every one of us to
strive and labor in righteousness to secure an interest there for ourselves.
The righteous have no reason to fear, though all the combined powers of the
wicked, visible and invisible, be arrayed against them; faithfulness will
preserve them.
Brethren
and sisters, we should all be like clay in the hands of the potter, and I want
the people to learn that we shall all be rewarded according to the amount of
our works, just as the potter is paid for his labors, in proportion to what he
does.
God bless
this people for ever. Amen.
Choir sang "O Lord responsive to thy call."
Benediction by Elder Orson Hyde.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 12:124, 10/15/62, p 4]
2 p.m.
Choir sang "Hark the song of Jubilee."
Prayer by Elder Ezra T. Benson.
Choir sang "The glorious plan which God has given."
[Elder Charles C. Rich]
Elder Charles C. Rich said he felt truly thankful for the opportunity of meeting with the Saints in Zion. He had been on a mission ever since he entered the church, and while he had been in England, of late; he had been engaged in preaching the gospel of salvation the people. He reasoned upon those principles of salvation that pertain to the saving and preserving of the natural life of man. In the past ages of the world, or rather from the time the Apostles fell asleep, there was no man who had authority to dispense the words of life, but not so with us. Heaven has been looked upon as being very distant from the world, but when the servants of God touch the principles of the kingdom it is brought near unto us, and all the principles which the Almighty has revealed bring a present salvationl If the will of God were done on earth what would be the great difference between us and heaven? If we do not live the truth in this life what is there to show us that we shall live it in another life? That which will not produce good in this life I would not like to trust in the world to come.
[Charles C. Rich]
[DNW 12:273, 2/25/63, p 1; JD 10:90]
REMARKS
By Elder CHARLES C. RICH, Bowery, Monday afternoon, Oct. 6,
1862.
_____
[REPORTED BY J V. LONG.]
_____
I feel
great pleasure in meeting with the brethren and sisters, having just returned
from a mission. I do not speak of this because of a feeling that I am now
relieved from a mission, for I feel that I have been on a mission all the time,
and I expect to remain a Missionary from this time henceforth and for ever.
This is the height of my ambition, that I may have the pleasure of laboring to
build up the kingdom of God on the earth.
The
instructions we have had today have been joyful to my heart, for they are those
principles that are calculated to save, to exalt and to prepare us to dwell
with the Gods in the eternal worlds. I have often said that of all the people
upon the face of the earth the Saints of the Most High God have the greatest
reason to be thankful. This is my feeling and has been ever since I embraced
the Gospel; and the longer I live, the more I see and experience, the more I
feel and know that we are the favored people of the Lord. If we can appreciate
this as it is, it will lead us continually to take that course theft will be
right and proper in the sight of Heaven.
While I
have been absent from this Territory I have been laboring wherever my lot has
been cast to convince the inhabitants of the earth of the truth of the
principles of our holy religion, and to point out to them the path of life, and
how far I have been successful I shall leave for a higher power to judge.
I find
that we are all like children, so far as knowledge is concerned: that is, we
know nothing, excepting what we have learned from others or by observation, and
inasmuch as we do not now know anything but that which we have learned, the
prospect is that what we may know in the future we shall have to learn. We are
in a school, one which our Father has prepared for us, and in which he designs
to instruct us, to give us counsel and point out the course that we
should take day by day, in order that we may be saved. If we adopt the
principles that have been revealed they will bring to us happiness and an
abiding joy, and that, too, at the time and in the place where we are in need.
One
reason why I consider that we are so much more highly favored than other people
is simply this, that in generations that are past and gone there was no man
capable of rising up and pointing out the way of life and salvation—there was
no man to dispense the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them that
were willing to embrace the truth. But it is not so now, for the kingdom of God
has been established upon the earth, a knowledge of the ordinances of the kingdom
has also been committed to man upon the earth, and the keys of that kingdom
have been given, and the principles which pertain to that kingdom can now be
taught to us. We have now the power to embrace the principles of life, because
they are presented to us by those having the authority to teach. The principles
of our religion have emanated front our Father and God, with whom there is no
variableness, nor the least shadow of turning; and these principles have been
revealed for the express purpose that we might embrace and practice them and
thereby bring about our own salvation and secure that happiness which is
promised to the faithful sons and daughters of God.
When we
are in the world and hear the sectarians teaching their peculiar dogmas about
heaven, hell and many oilier topics, their discourses sound empty, foolish and
incomprehensible. Their subjects are generally very distant; in fact altogether
beyond this world. When we hear individuals talking about having a father and a
mother we do not then understand them to be talking about anything that is very
remote, but it is something that is right here with us, and so it is with the
kingdom of God. When the servants of the Lord commence to teach the
human family principles pertaining to that kingdom, it is brought right home to
us, so that we can understand it in this present life. This is the way the
Gospel came to us when it was first sounded in our ears; it was brought home to
us, no matter what kind of place we were in, and it set before us salvation,
not after this life particularly, but it offered salvation to us at the time we
heard it. The kingdom of God being established on the earth, the salvation of
that kingdom was announced in our ears, and we had the offer of its benefits.
If we saw proper to embrace the doctrines presented, we had the privilege of
doing so; and inasmuch as we adopted and do now adopt the principles of that
kingdom it brings to us a present salvation; and if we do not have a present
salvation it is for want of adopting the principles that have been revealed.
This is a matter that we should inquire about, and see and know for ourselves
whether we have adopted those principles which the Almighty has made known for
our salvation. If we have adopted them in our lives, then we are in the path of
life and truth, which gives us salvation all the time; but if we have not, then
we do not partake of that present salvation which is offered.
When the
Savior was upon the earth he told his disciples to pray that his kingdom might
come and that his will might be done upon the earth as it is done in the
heavens. We might with the same propriety ask in our prayers, that the will of
God might be done upon the earth in our day as angels do it in heaven. Is there
anything upon this earth that will prevent the establishment of the same
principles and the imparting of the same blessings that are enjoyed in the
eternal worlds? If there is, the prayer of the Savior which he taught his
disciples could not be fulfilled, and we know that our Father in heaven would
not set us to do that which could not be accomplished. We can adopt the
principles of that kingdom and practice them in our lives, and this will make
us precisely what we are praying for.
Happiness
is what we are striving for in this life, and this is what we want in the life
which is to come. That happiness is obtainable upon the principles of truth and
right that have been and that will be revealed from heaven. As I before
remarked, we are in a school, and it is our business to be industrious in that
school. It is our business to work diligently to learn that which is taught in
the school of Christ, to make ourselves acquainted with the principles of
salvation as far as revealed unto us. I can say truly and bear testimony that
the people have never had to wait for the knowledge of God; the time never has
been when it has not been poured out faster than the people were ready to
receive. Principles of light and truth have all the time been taught faster
than the people were ready to adopt and practice them. It has always been the
good pleasure of the Lord, and it is still his wish to enlighten our minds and
enlarge our understandings in reference to the things of his kingdom, that we
may have just conceptions of his ways, and understand correctly the principles
that pertain to the development of all that wisdom and knowledge necessary for
our present and future advancement in the principles of eternal life. We should
endeavor to appreciate and continually feel thankful for the blessings bestowed
upon us, and strive to improve upon all the girls of God that are bestowed.
There are
a great many people, and I have met with some of them, who are very anxious to
know all about heaven, the other worlds, and all about the people that dwell in
eternity; but I will tell you how I feel, it is that I want to discharge the
duties that devolve upon me, and strive to comprehend the object and design of
everything that is required of me. We should all seek for a knowledge of those
duties that pertain to us at the present time, and we should practice
principles that will bring present salvation, and we should labor to learn that
which will be both for our present and future good.
What we
have been told to-day is good and strictly true, and we ought to understand that
we are as much in the midst of eternity as we ever shall be, and our chances
and opportunities for gaining knowledge and salvation here are as good as they
will ever be. We have all the opportunities of learning the principles of h
even just as good as we shall ever have. Then if we do not improve upon these
opportunities we are certainly to blame, and we are injuring ourselves more
than anybody else, and the time will come when, if we are deprived of any
blessing, we shall blame ourselves only. We will have it to say that the
blessings and salvation pertaining to the kingdom of God were presented and we
despised them. Then we will find that the scripture is true which says,
"Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant." in view
of this, then, it is for us to be awake to that which we have presented to us,
to those principles which God has revealed from the heavens, for he has
revealed them for the express purpose of having us practice them upon this
earth. Those principles were not revealed with the intention that we should
wait till we got to heaven, but everything is for us to practice in this life.
Now, if we do not adopt the truth in this life, what is there to make us
believe that we will adopt it in the life to come? I look upon our
opportunities as being as good to know things in this life as they will be to
know them in the life to come, for light and truth are before us, and they will
only be before us there. We have no time to spare; all out opportunities should
be laid hold of. If we have not adopted the principles of salvation in this
life, there is no assurance that we shall adopt them in the life to come. What
is there to make you and I think that we shall have power to apply them to
ourselves hereafter? We ought to think of this, in order that we may be ready
day by day for the performance of any duty required of us; we ought to know the
principles so perfectly that we can apply them to the performance of evers duty
and feel and know that we are right—understand them for ourselves that we may
be capable of applying them both in this life and in that which is to come. If
we could do this, it would be a very good sign that we could apply these
doctrines in the future life; but if we are to be told every day what we have
to do, the probability is that we should be in the same situation in eternity.
We have
the privilege of working out our salvation before God, and we have the
opportunity of testing the practical workings of these principles, and in doing
this our minds would expand to see the necessity of our words and our actions
being right. Supposing the actions of every man and woman were right and in
strict accordance with the doctrines of our religion, where would be the evil?
If everybody always said and did right, the evils that we now find in the world
would no more afflict the human family.
The evils
that we do find grow out of two causes, and mostly out of one, and that one is
ignorance. But there are some who are fast to do wrong; others do it ignorantly
There must be means adopted for teaching such persons the way of life, that
where they do not know how to do right they may be taught; and then, when they
are taught the right and embrace it with full purpose of heart, they can act
upon the principles that are right and proper for them in this great school, in
which we are being taught by the servants of God those duties that are required
of us day by day, even those principles that will produce happiness,
contentment and salvation. These things are being pointed out to us from week
to week and from time to time, just as they have been this forenoon. How rich
these instructions! They will be worth nothing unless we practice them in our
lives. We read of a time when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the
waters cover the great deep; and we live in a time when that knowledge is being
taught by the Prophets of God, and when it is the privilege of all mankind to
he exalted upon principles of obedience to the laws of heaven.
Why are
we not divided and distracted as the world are? and especially the country
round about us? The reason is, we are and have been taught correct principles.
How easy it would be to put the world of mankind right, if they would be set
right and if they would hearken to the voice of God. In this age, as in all
others, the inhabitants of the earth have been told what would come upon them,
but they heed not the warnings of the servants of God. When we view the kingdom
of God in the heavens we view it as an eternal kingdom. This is its condition, because
truth and nothing but the truth exists with the inhabitants; they are governed
by it in all their actions. Let the same principles be with us, and we shall
find that the effect produced will be a oneness of purpose; our labors will be
to promote happiness upon the earth and our lives will be peaceful ones. It is
a good sign for us to adopt those principles that we can test and prove to be
good or bad. I am perfectly willing to trust all in this kingdom, and to look
to the world to come for an exaltation with the sanctified, and I know that all
will be right if I continue faithful.
I can
hear testimony that the Saints of the Most High God have not been waiting for
labor; there has always been sufficient laid out to occupy their attention, and
if they have attended to their duties they have no time to complain of anybody
else. There is nothing very difficult for us to do, but there is enough to keep
us busy all the time. And there are a great many safe-guards which our Father
has placed in his Church for the purpose of taking care of the sheep and
pointing out to us those individual duties which are daily required at our
hands. We find Presidents, Bishops and counselors in every direction, ever
ready to impart to us a word of comfort and consolation; and if we are not
taught we are to blame ourselves and nobody else. God has always spoken through
his anointed servants, through those holding his Priesthood and authority, and
he will be obeyed; and it is our duty and the duty of all men to give heed to those
instructions and to receive knowledge from God by his servants as well as by
his Spirit, for unless we do enjoy that Spirit and be guided by its influences
we shall lack the perfection we are destined to arrive at.
We have a
great labor to perform, and we have a great enemy to meet and overcome, and
therefore it will be well for us to take a safe course and do a few things
right, for should we attempt to do many things and fail we shall be sorry for
it. I feel to rejoice in the plan of salvation, and I rejoice to have the
privilege of laboring to establish these principles upon the earth. The more we
do the better we feel. While we see mankind going to ruin because of their
wickedness, I rejoice in the prospect of seeing the kingdom of God rising in splendor
and greatness, and I do feel that we have abundant reason to be thankful, for
we have been led by the hand of the Almighty from the first organization of
this Church.
It is our
business as Saints to put away from us everything that is wrong, that tends to
corrupt the people of God. We are called upon to honor our callings and to
labor to perform what the Bishops and Authorities of the Church require of us.
Evil will produce evil, and good will produce good, and a bitter fountain will
produce bitter water, and so it is throughout all the ramifications of the
kingdom to which we belong. I trust that we shall all so live as to secure
happiness and obtain peace with ourselves, so that we may live in peace at
home. I do not want to see any of us neglect our own welfare, but I wish to see
every Saint live as a man of God, as one who is striving to secure eternal life
in the kingdom of our heavenly Father.
If I
understand the principles of life and salvation, and with this understanding
should lay down this body, I should then continue the good work which I have
commenced here. All that wisdom and knowledge which we have obtained we will
carry With us to the spirit world, and this, you can readily perceive, would
make just, about such a heaven on the other side of the vail as we have made on
this side. I do not think we would make it much different. Of course we will
have to learn beyond the vail as much so as we have need of learning while
here. Then, let us endeavor to feed upon those principles of life and salvation
day by day, and labor to put them in practice while in this life, then we shall
have joy, happiness, peace and a present salvation right where we are. We have
the power to prove these principles all the time, and we can bear testimony to
their truth, for we experience their benefits and blessings in our everyday
life.
Let us be
faithful and love the truth more than we love anything else, for there is a
fulness of it offered to us; and we ought to know that there are no other
principles or system that has a fulness of truth to offer to us. Now, there is
not any of us that would be satisfied with anything short of a fulness of all
that knowledge and wisdom which are hid up in the eternal worlds. But we need
not think of attaining that position upon any other principles than those
offered to us by our heavenly Father, for if we do, we deceive ourselves and
are preparing for ourselves disappointment, and at the great day of reckoning
we shall find ourselves disappointed, simply because we have not adapted the
principles that alone will secure what we want in time and in eternity.
I do not
feel to occupy more than my share of the time, but I feel exceedingly well,
and, as some of the brethren have remarked, I always intend to feel well, for I
intend to do the best I can all the time. When I first embraced the Gospel, I
had a testimony of its truth and I have had evidence increasing with me all the
day long. I have often remarked to individuals that I would pursue the course
that I was pursuing if there was no other life than this; I would do this
because it brings the most good, the most happiness, more than anything else I
know anything about. Let us be humble and faithful in keeping the commandments
of God and in performing the labors that are allotted to us; and sanctify
ourselves before God that we may constantly have within us the light of the
Holy Spirit; be guided by his Priesthood, that when we come to lay down these bodies
we may be prepared for that which is to be enjoyed on the other side of the
vail, having been faithful and diligent on this side, Which I pray may be the
case, in the name of Jesus: Amen.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young made some instructive remarks on the spirit world. We shall then be free, he said, from the power of Satan,yes, as free as ever we shall be, but we shall not be satisfied for our happiness will not be complete. We shall not be perfect, nor can we be until we receive our bodies again. Then reasoned on the beauties and glories of the celestial kingdom.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 12:178, 12/3/62, p 2; JD 10:24]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG. Bowery, G. S. L. City, p.m. of
Oct. 6, 1862.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT]
_____
I will
offer a few remarks in relation to the difference between this and the next
state of existence. The next state of existence is a spiritual one. The spirit
which is now clothed with mortal flesh will be set free from that encumbrance,
and the spirits of Saints will be free from the power of sin and Satan.
This
state is a state of trial, wherein the spirit clothed upon with flesh labors to
sanctify, redeem and save the flesh, that in the resurrection the spirit and
the body may be made eternally one, through the power of the atonement and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The next
state of existence is the paradisaical state of the spirit, a state of waiting
until the body shall pass through the purification and refinement given to it
by passing through death and the grave; then cometh the resurrection which
bringeth to pass the reunion of the body and the spirit. "O, how great the
plan of our God. For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the
spirit of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous;
and the spirit and the body are restored to each other again, and all men
become incorruptible and immortal, and they are living souls," &c.
From the
state of embryo to the time of birth, and from infancy to ripe old age, unseen
dangers lurk in our path to mar our bodies or to render our senses inefficient;
hence we see the lame, the maimed, the blind, the deaf, dumb, weak, sickly and
so on.
I think
it has been taught by some that as we lay our bodies down, they will so rise
again in the resurrection with all the impediments and imperfections that they
had here; and that if a wife does not love her husband in this state she cannot
love him in the next. This is not so. Those who attain to the blessing of the
first or celestial resurrection will be pure and holy, and perfect in body.
Every man and woman that reaches to this unspeakable attainment will be as
beautiful as the angels that surround the throne of God. If you can, by
faithfulness in this life, obtain the right to come up in the morning of the
resurrection, you need entertain no fears that the wife will be dissatisfied
with her husband, or the husband with the wife; for those of the first
resurrection will he free from sin and from the consequences and power of sin.
This body "is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown
in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in
power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body."
"And, as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the
image of the heavenly."
God has
done his part towards putting us in possession of celestial glory and
happiness, by providing the means whereby we may attain to it; and if ever we
possess it, we must do so by conforming to the means provided. God has given
the children of men dominion over the earth and over all things that pertain to
it, and has commanded them to subdue it, and to sanctify themselves before him,
and also to sanctify and beautify the earth by their industry, and by their
wisdom and skill which cometh from God. Learn, for instance, how to yoke
together a pair of oxen, how to manage and drive them across the plains, how to
get timber from the kanyons, how to make brick, and how to hew stone and bring
them into shape and position to please the eye and create comfort and happiness
for the Saints. These are some of the mysteries of the kingdom. To receive the
Gospel and believe and enjoy it in the spirit, is the simplest part of the work
the Latter-day Saints have to learn and perform.
God has
made man lord of all things here below, and it is the labor of man to bring all
things unto subjection to God, by first subjecting himself to the will of God,
and then subjecting all things over which he has control, in their time and
order. The will of God is eternal life to his people and to all they control.
May God
bless you. Amen.
[Hon. William H. Hooper]
Hon. William H. Hooper felt well in being at home again, and said he rejoiced in the society of the Saints, and that if he knew there was nothing beyond this earth he would still adopt the principles taught and the doctrines believed in by the Latter Day Saints. What, he asked, are the great objects of our lives from the time we breathe the breath of life? The pursuit of happiness. He then made some excellent remarks on the application of our talents, and the necessity of making proper use of our time. Contrasted the present condition of this Territory with its condition twelve years ago. Argued in favor of rearing the great superstructure upon the foundation which we have already laid, in order that we may all receive the benefits of the one grand co-partnership, and we shall have in return a thousand per cent profits. spoke of the importance of raising cotton, flax, wool, of the manufacture of iron, steel, and everything else that we need for our welfare and comfort.
Choir sang "Happy the man that finds the grace."
Elder George A. Smith dismissed the meeting.
[6 Oct, evening]
[DNW 12:124, 10/15/62, p 4]
Evening.
At half-past 6 the Bishops held a meeting in the Tabernacle, which was called to order by the presiding Bishop, and the Choir sang "Glorious things are sung of Zion."
Bishop L. W. Hardy offered prayer.
Choir sang "How great the joy that promised day."
The Bishops transacted some little business relative to the incoming emigration, counseling and directing the brethren who had not got homes. Bishop Hunter then made a speech on the subject of flax, arguing that propriety of classifying our labor and producing flax and such other articles as we need in these localities which are found to be the best adapted to their successful culture. Gave good instruction on the proper method of settling difficulties, how to make peace and how to create good feelings in the house of israel. Elder John D. T. McAllister was called to the Bishops' stand, and sang "Do what is right."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young arose and said that he had a few matters to lay before this priesthood and the people, an while he attempted to do this he wished them to be quiet that they might hear him. One thing which he wished them to consider was the propriety of our brethren being dictated in their labor by the priesthood. Made a pathetic appeal on behalf of our brethren in foreign lands, that are desirous of coming to the land of Zion - to the gathering place of the Saints. He remarked that we had thousands of head of stock roaming at large on the prairies, and what can we and what shall we do? Argued the importance of producing and making all we want for our consumption.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells took up the text contained in John, 9th Chapter, 4th verse: "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." Brother Wells reasoned upon this text, showing the propriety and necessity of the Saints of Latter Days going to work to produce the common necessaries of life.
Choir sang "Let every mortal ear attend."
Elder Lorenzo Snow dismissed by prayer.
_____
[7 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 12:124, 10/15/62, p 4-5]
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.
Choir sang "Know this that every soul is free."
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
"Come all ye Saints that dwell on earth," was sung, after which
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde addressed the Conference, taking for a text: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." Matthew XIII., 44. He also spoke of the subject of tithing, showing the brethren their duties in regard to it. We are required to do our part, and we must not expect something for nothing; no matter what the cost of the field, or the price that we pay for the kingdom, it is the kingdom we want. Said if the Saints will be faithful to their calling and position, the cup of trembling which has been in the hands of the people of God will pass away for ever, and be and hang over the enemies of God's people. It will be as the Prophet Isaiah has predicted "Thou hast drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. Behold I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again, but I will put it into the hands of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over."
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 12:257, 2/11/63, p 1; JD 10:70]
DISCOURSE
By Elder ORSON HYDE, Bowery, Tuesday morning, October 7,
1862
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
Brethren
and sisters, being invited to address you, I cheerfully arise to make a few
remarks, for I truly feel thankful for the privilege I enjoy of speaking to you
this morning. Be patient, my friends, I will start on as high a key as I can so
as not to break down. I feel thankful for the opportunity of meeting with the
Saints in General Conference, and of mingling my testimony with this vast
number of Saints in endeavoring to advance the interests of the kingdom of God,
according to the intelligence I possess; and I feel truly thankful to the Lord
for the experience I have had. I do not know that I can feel thankful for all
the experience I have had, but suffice it to say that I am spared by our
heavenly Father.
I do not
at present know what I shall select for the foundation of my remarks. Sometimes
I take my text from the spelling book, sometimes from the Bible, also from the
Book of Mormon and from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, besides another
Book which seems to be above all other books—the Book of Nature; one page above
and the other beneath. There we behold the finger of God; it is plain and
legible to every heart that is inspired of the Almighty, that is filled with
the love of God, and burning with the light of truth.
On this
occasion there is a scripture that occurs to my mind, where our Savior in his
parables puts forth a sentiment like this, "Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he
hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that
field."—Matt. xiii., 44. The Savior taught a great deal in parables, and
the servants of God in these days teach by parables and comparisons in order
that we may understand the more clearly, and that we may take a larger view of
things than we should or could from the plain, simple statement of facts in
common language.
Now,
brethren and sisters, we are all seeking the kingdom of our God, we are seeking
to become heirs of that kingdom, to be lawful and loyal subjects of the same.
With this a question arises, whether we shall attain to a place in that kingdom
at any less cost than did those I have quoted the Scripture about in your
hearing. The man purchased the field and hid his treasure there. He went
silently, lest, if he made a great bluster, some other individual might go and
steal the march upon him and purchase the field of treasure, then the bargain
would have been complete; but no, he was wide awake, and sold all that he had
and purchased that field, for he was determined to have that treasure. It took
all that he had to purchase it, but the treasure concealed there was far beyond
the cost of purchase in value, and in purchasing it he knew that it would
increase in time and throughout all eternity, for that treasure was the kingdom
of God, and salvation to that man's soul.
A
question comes up in the minds of some; I have frequently heard persons say,
"What becomes of our Tithing? and what is the propriety of paying so much?
The calls come from this quarter and calls from that; and what are we doing
when we are buying that field in which the treasure lies concealed?" Did
we ever think, when responding to the calls on the right and on the left, that
we were purchasing that field, and that having gone to the extent of our power
and ability in that transaction, that there is our deed and title to the
kingdom of God, signed, sealed and delivered?
Look back
upon our privations that we have undergone, and there is joy and gladness,
there is hope which is full of immortality. The kingdom is ours. We have
purchased it, and by it our salvation is secured, by faithfulness in the
kingdom. Now do we expect to get something for nothing? If we do, the
transaction is not suspended upon an even balance. To expect something for
nothing is just what many in our community want to do in their trading and
trafficking, and putting on prices that are far above the standard. You
naturally call such persons dishonest, and such they truly are. If you expect
to gain the kingdom of our God without purchasing it by your labors, with me
the question is, Will you not be mistaken in your calculation?
This
parable to which I have invited your attention is a good lesson for all of us,
and we should endeavor to so conduct ourselves as to show that with us the
kingdom of God is all in all. This parable is an ensample for us to copy and
adopt. A word to the wise is sufficient on this subject. You have considered
this matter having read about it, and by reciting it over it may be of service
to you. It is no matter what that man did, or what the other said, so far as
the field spoken of is concerned, for I do not suppose the purchaser gave him
any trouble whether he paid out his money for this, that or the other. It was
the field that he paid it for; he wished to have the field containing the
treasure. It is not the price we pay for the kingdom, it is the kingdom of God
we are bound to purchase at any price.
Enough
upon that subject. As short sermons seem to be the order of the day, I may be
allowed to touch upon that which will benefit myself, that which will increase
our faith and tend to our education and good, that we may go to out homes
rejoicing in the truth and in the privileges of the new and everlasting
covenant.
Now with
regard to the poor, I have a few words to say. I have a text about sending to
the Missouri river to bring home the poor. The Lord says, "Blessed is he
that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The
Lord will preserve him and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the
earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies."—Psalm
xli., 1, 2. Such an one will be blessed of the Lord for sending out his beasts,
and for taking the poor, even the stranger to his house; his light shall shine
in darkness, and shall appear as at the noon-day. Now then we have considered the
poor, we have sent our teams, our oxen and all that was necessary to bring them
to our houses. and I will here observe that I wish, that inasmuch as they have
come to our mountain home, to the thresh-hold of Zion, that every man would so
conduct himself as to meet with the approving smile of Heaven, then their light
would break forth and shine in the darkness as resplendently as the noon-day
sun. We all want our brethren and sisters at home; then let us lend a helping
hand. Now just go down there to the public square and see what you can do. Take
the poor home to your houses, and God Almighty bless you from this time
henceforth and for ever. It is our imperative duty to walk in the light, to see
that our pathway is clear and plain before us, and let us so live that it may
be clear.
Bishops,
allow me to say a word to you. In the vicinity where I have been laboring for
the last two years and-a-half, I have seen the evil of spreading out so far. We
are and have seemed to be anxious to take up all the land that we could find,
and then keep putting in seed until the first we put in is ripe and ready for
harvesting. This has been the case with all of us, more or less, in fact it has
been so much so that neither man nor woman has had time to clean out the filth
and bedbugs, so much so that they have got the upper hand of us. We talk of
subduing nations, of becoming kings and priests unto God, but amidst all our
great talk we have not subdued the vermin with which we are pestered in our
newly created homes. We sometimes talk about messengers coming from heaven to
visit us, but I doubt whether the angels will come to commune with us until we
are in a different situation.
I will
now go back to the wheat field, and speak a little of that. The brethren in our
section thought they would not plant so much grain but let the ground rest. In
process of time the wheat came up in large quantities; we had water plenty, and
we had such immense crops that we had not men enough to reap the grain that was
raised, and hence we hall all the work to do ourselves. We did all we could,
but much of the grain has gone back into the earth because we had not help
enough to gather it. Our wives and sisters volunteered to assist their husbands
and fathers, and they did all they could. We hear a great deal of talk about
women's rights at times, but if you will come down to Sanpete you will see
women's rights conventions, and they take especial pleasure in doing as they
like.
To return
to the subject of grain, I can truly say that we can sustain our present
population and all the emigration that is coming this year. We have this to say
of our blessings in return for sending all our teams to gather the poor; no we
did not send them quite all, there was one yoke of oxen left to five farms,
after filling up the bill for the Missouri river. In addition to these we had a
few first-class horse teams, and thus we managed to put in a little grain, but
a great deal of it grew without our doing anything to it ourselves, and thus
the Lord blessed us with the desires of our hearts, and with a rich reward for
what we had done towards the gathering of his people.
We are
now showing that we can raise fruit down there, and by-and-bye I may have the
satisfaction of dating the fruit of my own raising in Sanpete, for I have no
doubt but our apple trees will produce good fruit in due time.
Our teams
are now returning; I met some of them as I was coming to Conference, and I felt
to say the Lord be praised, you have performed a good mission, and the Lord has
blessed our labors and also the labors of those who have been out on the
plains. I feel that the crops that have been raised in such great abundance
with so little labor have been by the goodness of the Almighty, and I feel that
we have worked ourselves almost into life everlasting.
You may
think that I am going into a great many things, but I do not expect to hit them
all, but I shall touch a few of them as they come up before me. I want to say
to the Bishops, that it is their business to direct the energies of the Saints,
and where they see a man who is inclined to spread out and sow some forty or
fifty acres of wheat, I want them to tell such men to go to work and build good
houses. Tell the blacksmiths to go to blacksmithing, the carpenter to his
trade, and every other mechanic to his business, and do not let us be as we
have been heretofore. When a man has wanted anything doing by a mechanic it has
been almost impossible to get it done. For instance, I would go to a
blacksmith's shop and say I want a horse shod, "Oh," says the smith,
"I can't, I must go and cut my grain, or I must go and irrigate it ;"
and there are perhaps half-a-dozen men that are in this manner cut short of
their labor, by one man refusing to work at his trade, and all men being
determined to be farmers. Then I say let the blacksmith attend to his
blacksmithing and let him charge a reasonable price for his labor, and not, as
has been the custom, charge three or four prices. Let the joiner do likewise,
working constantly at that which will most conduce to the building up of Zion,
and let the farmer raise the grain. Where you find a man who has plenty of
grain to serve him from three to five years, and plenty of teams and wagons
too, tell him to go to work and build for his family a comfortable dwelling
house, and point out to him that he is in this way finding employment for the
mechanics, making his family comfortable and building up Zion. Teach each man
to work at his trade and calling, and let the farmer take hold with his might
of that which is his profession, but have a little time to breathe and rest. As
it is now, we go into the garden and we work like Sam Hill, leaving no time for
rest. "By-the-bye that means me," but I must hew to the line, no
matter who is hit. (A voice: Never mind yourself, just go ahead.)
Now then
for the flax. Have we got it on hand that we can make our own ropes? No, only a
very little in comparison to the demand. We have a rope factory, and we
have hemp growing in our county, and we have made many attempts to raise flax,
and we do raise a little but we never use it. It is either left in the sun till
the coat is burnt off, or we allow it to be trampled down in the yard by the
cattle. In this country we cannot rot the flax in the dews, we must put it into
water, a shallow pond is the most suitable, so far as I understand the matter.
Now, it is better for each of us to raise about ten acres of wheat, and then
devote the rest of our time to the flax and hemp. I was raised to wear a tow
frock, but the tow would wear off in a short time. If we would raise some and
devote a little time to the proper culture of it, attend to each department in
its season, the rotting, the hetcheling and the spinning and weaving we should
be much better off than we now are. But no, it takes us the whole time, and it
seems that we must devote the entire season to raise and take care of our
grain, and especially the wheat. The time has now come for us to classify our
labor and change our policy. I believe I have said as much as is necessary on
these subjects, as I wish to say a few things concerning the times and seasons.
Now
concerning the times and seasons in which we live. The Lord says by the month
of Isaiah "Thus. saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the
cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of
trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it
again: but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have
said to thy soul, bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as
the ground, and as the street, to them that went over."—Isaiah li. 22 and
23. What are you going to do with this text, my friends? I will put it into the
hands of them that have afflicted thee. What was that army up here for? They
were sent as agents of the Almighty to take away this cup of trembling, which
had afflicted us for so many years, and they carried it away with them down
yonder, and they then began to drink of it and have been drinking of it ever
since. Do you know that there was a kind of tremor with some of us at that
time? But I tell you what it is, the nerves have become settled, and those who
sought to make us drink the dregs are drinking them now, and they will continue
to do so until the dregs are all drunk out. I have no feeling against any one,
and I regret exceedingly that these of whom I speak should have brought upon
themselves these terrible calamities which now afflict our once happy country.
If I
understand the spirit that I am of, those that do the will of God will not
hereafter feel that pitta-pat of trembling which they have been accustomed to
feel, for the Lord says, "I will take it away from them," and he has
done it, and we feel it. If they have not got the cup full yet, and do not get
it in 1863, all I can say is I will wait till they do, for the Almighty will
make them that have afflicted his people drink the dregs of that bitter cup of
trembling. and this is not all, I can look very far into the future, but as far
as I can see it is a dark and gloomy picture. I could not but be forcibly
struck with the remarks of brother Young in relation to the nation growing more
guilty and more corrupt, therefore are they being scourged so severely. The
Prophet and Revelator John says, "and I heard a great voice out of the
temple, say to the seven angels. go your ways, and pour out the vials of the
wrath of God upon the earth. and the first went, and poured out his vial upon
the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the
mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image. And the second
angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead
man; and every living soul died in the sea. and the third angel poured out his
vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters: and they became blood. and I
heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous O Lord, which art, and
wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood
of Saints and Prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink: for they are
worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, even so, Lord God Almighty,
true and righteous are thy judgments."—Rev. xvi. 1—7.
Did not
the enemies of the Lord attempt to feed the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum Smith with
the flesh of their brethren? Look at the testimony of Hyrum Smith. Now they
have set the example of war, of cruelty, and it will come double upon their own
heads; but, says the Lord, upon my house shall it begin. And now these
afflictions have been rolled off from our shoulders on to them, and they will
be sorely punished for their iniquity. These things will come to pass. I need
not predict anything about these calamities, greater men than I am have
predicted in reference to these things, therefore I only need to bear my
testimony to the truth of that which has been predicted. In the fierceness of
the battle the fainting soldier will bow down to slake his parched thirst with
the blood of his fellow. If this has not transpired it may in the future, for
the horrors of war will be terrible to contemplate. Many curious things lie hid
in the future which will astonish the world.
It is now
a great time for digging gold; and this reminds me that I had a dream, in which
I learned how to dig gold. I saw the gold where-ever I went, lying about on the
ground; I could pick it up in the night, but in the day time it could not be
seen by anybody. While contemplating this, the Spirit said unto me, "Don't
you know that light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it
not?" Now here it is, in the form or shape of a reward that cometh to the
faithful, and with our purified gold we are called upon to buy that field, even
the kingdom of God. Never ask yourselves what the seller of that field does
with the price of it; this is nothing to you or me. and if there are
liabilities upon the President of this Church let us raise them from his
shoulder, and let the servants of God go as free as the lark of the morning.
Brethren
and sisters, I do not wish to occupy more than my share of the time, therefore
my remarks I bequeath to you with the best feelings of my soul, and I feel that
if the services of such an humble individual as myself can be of use, I shall
feel ever ready to render this service.
God bless
you for ever. Amen.
[Elder Amasa M. Lyman]
Elder Amasa M. Lyman followed with an eloquent discourse on mental and physical culture. He remarked that he had been upon a mission, but did not feel that he had returned from one, for he realized that he was always upon a mission. His text was furnished him in the people he saw before him. Why all this mixed multitude, he asked. The mere gathering of the people is not an intellectual operation; it does not particularly inform the judgment or enlighten the mind; but that there might be something connected with this constituting a community, the gospel was preached. The people are to acquire a knowledge of God at home, where they live, they are not required to go abroad to learn the character of the Almighty. He then reasoned upon the proper method of acquiring a knowledge of the truth; the way he did he commenced living in the world without quarrelling, and his compliance with the laws of the gospel had saved him from quarrelling with his wife, or his child, his brother, his neighbor or with any man. In this way he found that so much of the gospel was true. Argued in favor of the development and education of the intellectual man, and the necessity of laboring for the building up of the kingdom of God. Admonished the Saints to live so as to woo the spirit of God, not to be a casual visitor merely, but a constant and abiding friend. Instructed the sisters to remember when they were implanting in the minds of their children principles of truth and virtue, that they were determining and fixing their destiny in that great future of happiness, glory and ineffable bliss which we are all looking for; and it is our business to continue our labors in this great work until untold millions of earth's children shall repose beneath the banner of King Immanuel.
[Amasa Lyman]
[DNW 12:265, 2/18/63, p 1; JD 10:83]
DISCOURSE
BY Elder AMASA M LYMAN, Tabernacle, October 7, 1862
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I do not
know that it is necessary for me to tell you that I am glad to be here. If you
have but a little of the feeling that influences me, you know very well that I
am glad to be here. I am not glad to be here because my mission is ended, for
such I do not consider to be the case at all. We often say we have been on a
mission, and have fulfilled a mission, and have returned as though that
something had been completed and accomplished. I have been on a mission, but I
have not come from a mission, or from that mission. I have been on a mission; I
have come home on a mission; I am still on a mission. The obligations of that
mission, I feel, are not ceasing, not becoming less, but they increase from day
to day and from year to year with the increase of knowledge and understanding
and the apprehension of the principles of truth. I am here to-day for the same
purpose, for the prosecution of the same labor that I have been in, in every
place that I have occupied as a minister of the truth since I first became acquainted
with its principles, and by such acquaintance I became connected with the Work
of God.
My text
is furnished me in the people that are before me to-day. Who could look upon
this assembly and be so dull, so stupid that the inquiry would not arise in his
mind, What are we here for? Why all this gathering together of this mixed
multitude of people; people from so many nations; people of different tongues,
of different customs, different traditions and notions, yet having one and the
same feeling in reference to a few of the details that make up the great
aggregate of life's actions? For what purpose have we been gathered together
from distant nations? Some may have thought that our gathering here was only
for the sake of being together, for the sake of creating a multitudinous
community. The multitude we see assembled here to-day are here because the
kingdom of God is to be built up; for if the kingdom of God is to be built up,
there must be people to constitute it; there must be a people to be ruled, or the
rulers would have nothing over which to rule. If the mere assembling of the
people together constitutes the kingdom of God now, why has it not constituted
the kingdom of God at other times? People have assembled together before;
communities have existed before, yet the existence of such communities has not
and does not now constitute them the kingdom of God. One reason why the
gathering together of the people does not constitute the kingdom of God is,
that the more gathering of the people is not particularly art intellectual
operation, it does not of itself particularly inform the judgment or enlighten
the mind in reference to God, and man's relationship to God and his purposes.
We
commenced our labors with you in lands far distant from this we preached the
Gospel to you; listening to that, and receiving the testimony of the servants
of God and following the course that was indicated by them, you have become
changed in your circumstances and locality. You were located in other parts of
the globe and were citizens of other nations, but now you are here located in
the peaceful vales of Utah. It is now time for the gathered Saints to begin to
learn still more, if they have not already begun to do so; and if they have
begun to learn, to continue to learn something of the reason why they are
gathered together, that they may be able to discover the true
relationship between the actions they perform, the labors, duties and services
that are required of them, and the development, increase and growth into
strength and power of the kingdom of God on the earth. When we talk about the
kingdom of God our thoughts are apt to travel away from scenes of earth, as
though it were a matter of the ideas alone and not connected with our earthly
operations, labors, duties and services.
There is
no action in life, no labor that we perform, no relationship that we sustain to
God and one another, but what should be connected directly with the development
of the kingdom of God. Says one,—"We must become perfect and holy; we must
become God-like; we must become like the angels or like the spirits of the just
who dwell with God." This is true; but where is that transformation, that
change in our condition, feelings and circumstances to be wrought out—in heaven
or on earth, at home or abroad? Where is the school in which we are to be
taught the plain, simple, unvarnished administrations of truth in a way to
bring it within the range of our feeble comprehension of truth that we may
understand it? Are we to learn it in any one place to the exclusion of all
others? No. Are we to learn God and truth where we live? Yes. If not, where in
Heaven's name do you expect to learn of him? Do you live in heaven with God and
his angels? No; you live here on the earth, here in Utah among the rugged mountains
that are around us. All you know you know here, and all you can learn you must
learn here while you are here. To acquire a knowledge of God is eternal life.
That appears to many to be a great something. I say something, because people
know nothing of God. Where are you going to obtain a knowledge of God.
People
talk about going to heaven, but when we find ourselves in heaven we shall find
that we have reached it, without going to it. Heaven is a development of
internal powers and external changes. We learn to know God now as human beings,
influenced by the effects of sin and folly, degraded and surrounded with
darkness, misery and wretchedness. Shall we wait until these are pat off before
we can learn of God and get to know that which will constitute in us that
knowledge which is eternal life? No. We came here to the valleys of Utah in
obedience to the requirements of the Gospel, simply that we might here continue
to be taught. We came to this distant region to learn of God. How? By, in the
first place, learning ourselves. Can we know God in this way? Yes; we can know
him in no other way. We cannot go to where he is, to be taught of him
personally and to associate with him. What have we in this world that gives a
truthful indication of his character to the mind that is open to the light of
truth? We have ourselves been made in the image of God. Then it is essentially
necessary that we should learn ourselves as an all-importuner step to the
knowledge of God. We must learn to correct our lives and our actions; we must
learn to govern ourselves and sanctify our affections, that we may be prepared
to hold communion with heavenly intelligences.
The
kingdom of God is established now for the development and increase of its
principles within us, to reflect light on the darkness that surrounds us and
reveal to our understanding the true relationship we sustain to God, and the
reason why the requirements of the Gospel are laid upon us and why we can be
saved by listening to them, and why we are not saved if we refuse to listen to
them.
When the
sound of the Gospel first reached me, I used to have this childish idea, that
if I ever knew the truth it must be because the heavens would be opened for me
to gaze upon the glory that is within the vail, and this would be the only
assurance I could receive that the Gospel is true. I lived under the influence
of this idea until I passed measurably from the condition of childhood, of
hearing as a child and understanding as a child. When I began to approximate
towards a riper condition of mind, I became satisfied that it was not by merely
looking at something that the mind became enlightened; that it was not by
merely guessing at something that is incomprehensible that knowledge is
developed in the soul. I learned that the Gospel was true in a very simple way.
The Gospel required me to pursue an upright, just, virtuous, honest course of
life with all the world around me and to live at peace with all men. I
commenced living in the world without quarreling with anybody; I followed the
dictation of the Gospel and its requirements, and it has saved me from war,
contention and strife with my fellowman, from quarreling with my family, with
my brethren, with my friends and with my neighbors. In this way I found out
that so much of the Gospel was true, and I did not have to go to heaven to find
this out neither. This is the way I want you to begin to learn God, and the
consequences will be peace and the joy that springs from peace. Then heaven
will be in the home where you dwell, in the land and country where you live, in
your associations with year friends and neighbors and kindred in all life's
varied relations. And or consequence will be constant in-dwelling of the Spirit
of God; that Spirit that brings life and light, and knowledge and understanding
to the soul of man, that quickens the intellect of man and sanctifies every
power to hold communion with still higher and holier principles.
We say we
want the Holy Spirit; then let us so live our religion that we may have the
Holy Spirit, which will improve our condition continually, making us better and
better citizens of the kingdom of God with every degree of gain over ourselves.
In this way we may cultivate and develop in us individually the principle of
immortality that will constitute, when applied to the great body of the people
of God, the immortality of his kingdom, the basis of its eternal and deathless
perpetuity. Then the development of the kingdom of God in power on earth,
temporally, depends upon the self-culture of its members, upon the culture of
the feelings that rule the soul and that give character to the action of the
creature. When we consider that purity of life is necessary and requisite to
qualify a man to be a citizen of the kingdom of God, we shall cultivate that
quality and labor for its development and increase. To how many of the
infinitesimal details of life's actions does this principle extend? It should
extend to them all. We cannot do any wrong that will render us acceptable to
God and make us better. That is right which improves and gives life. There is a
right way and a wrong one to all we do.
If we
cultivate the ground there is a way which, if pursued, will be fruitful of
consequences the most disastrous, while an opposite way will produce profit and
reward us for our labors. There is a way that is fruitful of noxious weeds
where something better should grow, and this is as truthfully the result of the
conduct of the farmer as is the rich harvest of healthy grain that affords him
bread and sustenance. Some people think they can pray the weeds out of their
fields and gardens, but their prayers can only be effectual when accompanied
with a reasonable amount of honest labor rightly and wisely applied. I am in
favor of praying. I love to pray myself, and I love to have the Saints pray.
But when you have a great many weeds growing on your land, pray for your land,
and do not forget to go out on to that land and pull up, remove and destroy by
your diligent labor the weed-plants that so much annoy you.
We have
been told that the Lord will not plant our grain for us and cultivate our
fields. We are here to learn how to do that for ourselves, if we do not know.
This part of our education we have to gain, if we have not already gained it;
and this will enable us to aid in the building up and development in its
greatness and power of the kingdom of God. Let our labor be so applied, that
when we bow down before our heavenly Father to ask him to bless anything we
have or do, that we can do so consistently. Let us hoe up the weeds and enrich
our fields, and ask God to give us a bountiful crop to reward our toils. We
will do all we can do, and then ask God to bless that labor and leave the
result with him. If your wagon has been fixed in the mud get hold of the wheel
yourself and lift all you can, and then ask somebody else to help you if you
need help.
There is
another field that is equally taxed with the support of a noxious growth: I
refer to ourselves at home. We carry about with us our notions, our habits of
thought; and our habits of thought give character to our actions. When, for
instance, the storm of passion is aroused in our bosom, we yield ourselves up
to it without an effort and unresistingly allow ourselves to be carried away by
its influence from a course of propriety and right, and we do wrong and say
wrong things. Let rising anger be suppressed; let the place where it had its
incipient being become its grave. Never let the mouth utter the word that
should not be spoken. This counsel is just as applicable to myself as it is to
you. I have learned long since that I was not called to preach the Gospel
because I had no improvement to make on myself, or because I could not become
any better. I have come to the conclusion that the more I talk about the right
and the less I talk about the wrong, and the more I become occupied with the
right the less danger I shall be in of becoming occupied by the wrong. This is
good for me, and, being good for me, I recommend it to the Saints. I want them
to live peaceably and quietly with one another and learn to do the little
things in life's duty right. That we may learn to do this, it is necessary that
we should control our passions, for if we do not control them they will control
us, and under such control we do wrong. When we control ourselves, the result
is equanimity of feeling such as is necessary to the exercise of an enlightened
judgment, if such judgment exists within us. Cannot God help us? It altogether
depends upon whether we are disposed to help ourselves or not. God will help
and bless us when we pursue the course that is acceptable to him. If we strive
to subdue stormy passions within us, he will assist us in the good work until
the Spirit of God is not merely a casual visitor, but a constant dweller within
us to increase our store of knowledge, extend our views and make our
conceptions of God and truth more as they should be. Let us live in this way
and we shall speak kindly of one another and be more charitable to all men.
The
result of our education is differences of feeling and differences in our way of
life; we have brought these differences with us from our distant homes. We have
brought with us to Utah more or less of the old notions that have grown with
our growth and strengthened with our strength; throughout our lives their
influence has been upon us. So far as these are in opposition to the truth and
the right, they must be overcome, for as we learn the truth we must exchange
our incorrect notions for notions that are correct in reference to living with
one another and in reference to our general conduct in life. It is not some
service we have to perform at some remote place from where we are now living
that will benefit us, but it is how we deport ourselves here towards one
another and towards God; how we shall make our farms, cultivate our grounds,
and how to use that which we have been blessed with as faithful stewards of the
manifold mercies of God. We have much yet to learn; the improvements we have
not yet made are all to be made, whether they relate to the cultivation of our
fields and gardens or to the cultivation of our minds; it is our duty to
garnish and embellish them and make them beautiful and lovely as the residence
and heritage of intellectual men and women. This will bring into existence
God's temporal kingdom on the earth; then the sanctified and holy and
acceptable of his children will dwell in palaces, will be surrounded with
wealth, and there will be no desire of their hearts but what may be satisfied.
There will be a fountain opened to them where they may satisfy their thirst,
however intense it may be for ought that is good, great and ennobling.
Learn,
sisters, when you teach the truth to your children who prattle around your
knee, and are trying to cultivate a love of it in them, that you are determining
their destiny and your own, and their relationship un-changeably with the
increase, perpetual and eternal growth of God's kingdom. Think of this, and do
not for a moment pass by those labors of love to your children as matters of
comparatively little value, for in them are your hopes of glory, heaven,
happiness, bliss and joy in that great future of glory we are looking for. How
can a mother teach her children the Tight if she is reckless of it herself? How
can a father do that if he neglects to set before his household the example of
propriety that should constitute the constant and ceaseless labor of a father?
Then, let us remember that all this work is upon us; it is to redeem the earth,
to be learning how to cultivate and improve its condition; it is to bring into
existence a holy nation of men and women before God.
Who are
they which constitute the bright hosts that worship around the throne of God?
They are men and women and children, such as we see here to-day; intellectual
beings like ourselves, who have been educated, taught, trained, led onward and
upward from a condition of ignorance to the possession of that infinitude of
knowledge that makes so incomprehensible a difference between us. As we are, so
were they; and as they are in all their brightness and glory around the throne
of God, so may we be with our wives and children, friends and associates in the
kingdom of God on earth, when we have travelled along to that state of
exaltation to which they have attained, when we have learned to vanquish the
monster of Sin and death, rising above him to live in the elements of truth and
holiness in a state free from corruption and sin. This has had its beginning
here, in all our life's labor, care and relationship to one another; the
existence beyond this is only the finished constellation of the glory which is
commenced here, an advanced stage of its development. We are not so blind and
dumb that we cannot comprehend the difference between the household where the
words of righteousness are uttered, where examples of purity are set, and that
household where such noble examples are not seen. Would you see your children
around the throne of God? Would you see them clad in glory and crowned with
immortality and eternal lives? Then teach them truth while they prattle around
your knee; learn them to lisp the truth, teach them to love it ere they can
fully know its worth, and as they grow in capacity to reason and understand
they will then, bless the father and mother that taught them truth and purity,
and to hate and despise the wrong and choose the good. Truth will regulate all
life's details; I care not how numerous they may be, all will yield to the
saving, sanctifying, hallowed influence and supreme love of truth. When we
teach the truth to our children, it is one of the best proofs that we love the
truth ourselves with all our minds, might and strength. If we take this course
we shall see the kingdom of God growing; its outward embellishments will
appear, its wealth will increase and its power will spread abroad on the right
hand and on the left until untold millions of earth's children will repose in
security, safety and happiness, and be blessed beneath its banner. Then, its
temples will rise in beauty, grandeur and glory, and the home of every Saint will
become a temple where God will delight to reveal the richness of his blessings
to his faithful children. If our God shines as the perfection of beauty out of
Zion, Zion must reflect that beauty; it must have an existence in Zion
reflecting its beauty outwardly upon the world around. The glory of Zion must
be created by the children of Zion. We cannot attain to this all in a moment.
We first begin to make our homes tidy and to subdue every enemy to our peace,
that we may have more comfort. If we wish our children to have an exalted taste
for the lovely and beautiful, create something lovely for them to look upon,
let them behold a practical example and exhibition of the beautiful and lovely
when they are at home; when they go into the garden let them see the
development of beauty, and when they come to maturity and remove far away they
will think of the paternal home with delight and pleasure as the place where
peace reigns, where joy is developed, where the odor of sweet flowers are
inhaled by the visitors, greeting our early rising or cheering us when we
retire to our rest. This is the picture of the home of a Saint, of him who
loves to beautify Zion and exalt the children of Zion above all other people on
the earth.
It does
not fellow of necessity that the poor man must possess broad acres. If your
garden is no larger than this stand, cultivate it properly, plant fruit trees
and other useful plants, and rivet the attention of your growing family to the
contemplation of their duty; let them see an example in you from day to day and
from year to year which will exercise a salutary influence upon the minds of
your children throughout their future lives. If I have not myself been able
hitherto to make such a home, it is the home that lives in my mind. I show you
the ladder over which you may travel from any condition of degradation and
ignorance to all that is noble, exalted and Godlike. We must start from where
we are, and we shall soon see better houses, more fruitful and lovely gardens;
the residences of the Saints will grow into beauty and the cities of the Saints
into magnificence.
The
Prophet Joseph once took me by the arm in the street, and said, "I have so
many blessings, and there is nothing but what you can enjoy in your time and
place the same as I do, and so can every man." But I have prayed this
prayer, "If the bestowal of wealth upon thy servant, O Lord, will make him
a fool and cause him to forsake the truth, may I remain poor until I can bear
it." We might as well complain that we were not all born at the same time
as to complain of any disparity that may exist between us in pecuniary matters.
Let the Saints who have just come to these valleys from their fatherland learn
to be contented in whatsoever position they are placed in, that is, when you
are in circumstances that neither you nor your friends can change for the
better. To complain of circumstances that cannot at the present be improved
would simply be a waste of your time, and your time is precious, for we are not
going to live many years according to the common course of things to improve
ourselves here. It will be to our advantage to live in this world as long as we
can improve, and the longer we live here and improve, the stronger grow the
ties that bind us to this existence. I want to see the kingdom of God grow from
this small beginning that is right around us, until the whole earth is filled
and blessed with its glory as it now blesses and fills the valleys of Deseret
in a degree. We are connected with an enterprise that is great, noble and
honorable, with an enterprise that is not satisfied with a limited acquisition,
with a small victory over sin, but it is an enterprise that grasps the world's
emancipation from sin, darkness and death; it looks at no smaller object than
the world's freedom from sin and its consequences.
Being
connected with so great an enterprise, I do not feel any more that I am a worm
of the earth, but that I am associated with the Gods of eternity, and that
angels are my kindred and of my family. This is the way I want the Saints to
feel If they feel this way they will shun all wickedness, and seek for right
and try to do it all the time. I for one am engaged in the great work of
building up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and I want to get the Saints to
see the value of that practical purity of life that will utterly destroy the
power of sin, purge out the transgressor from our assemblies and render us more
and more acceptable to God all the time, because better calculated to bless the
world.
God bless
you: Amen.
Choir sang "On the mountain's top appearing."
Benediction by Elder J. V. Long.
_____
[7 Oct, 2 p.m.]
[DNW 12:124, 10/15/62, p 5]
2 p.m.
Choir sang "O God, thou great, thou good, thou wise."
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
Choir sang "Ye wand'ring nations now give ear."
[Elder Wm. C. Moody]
Elder Wm. C. Moody gave a brief account of his late mission to Europe, and of his experience in the Church of Christ. Made some remarks on the importance of those who have means assisting to gather the poor from the old countries.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young observed that with regard to the poor he would say if there was any man that would take is property, which consisted of mills, houses and lands, and give him one half of what it was worth he would donate every farthing of it towards the gathering of the poor. Some might say that he was perfectly safe in making such an offer, for there was nobody able to buy his property, but he knew and contended that the Lord was just as capable of raising up a man to do it, as he was to give him the property. Some of the elders are anxious to go on missions, but it never enters into their hearts to think that they are called upon to gather the poor, and help to build up Zion. Referred to the Perpetual emigrating fund, the principles upon which it is based, showing that the brethren who were in debt to that fund should do all in their power to square up their accounts, so that the Presidency might be able to send the money to Liverpool to help to gather others. Spoke of the doings of the Almighty in regard to the people in their first settlement here; when they were destitute he caused the gold in California to be discovered, a vast emigration to come from the east, bringing with them large quantities of clothing and other necessaries of life, which they sold here at less than St. Louis prices. The Latter Day Saints should remember the maxim, "He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord," for it is a true one. It is for us to strive to gather the poor, to exert ourselves all we can for the attainment of this desirable object. The Lord deals with, dictates and brings forth the result of the acts of the children of men. Called attention to the Scripture which says, "They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born." As Joseph was a Savior to his father's house, so is Ephraim to the house of Israel, and, said he, this congregation I am looking upon, are nine-tenths of them Ephraimites, yes I will say 999 thousandths. We shall glather them first, then others, until they are all gathered from the nations of the earth. It is all folly to suppose that there are Jews in this Church; they will not believe the gospel at present; they are in the same position as the Cainites are, they cannot come in until the rest of the family come in and receive their blessings, then they can have an opportunity. Let us not trouble about our trials, but be determined to overcome them. counseled the brethren to look at their blessings, and not occupy all their time in looking at their troubles and trials. He had been in the habit of using tobacco, but he had left it off; he did not drink whisky, brandy, rum, wine, tea nor coffee, and he felt so much better for his abstentiousness that he would ecommend others to follow his example.
[Brigham Young]
[CD 4:2069]
This is
the second day of our protracted meeting, and some of you may be anxious to
return to your homes and to your business. Be contented, for wealth and comfort
for the saints are in the hands of God, and he will bestowed them when and
where he pleases. If we live so as to be worthy of earthly riches we shall
obtain them, otherwise we shall not.
I will
say a few words in behalf of the poor in foreign lands, I do not know that I
can portray their condition better than it is already known to those who have
been there and have endured for years what the saints there are now suffering.
If they could tell their condition to you precisely as it is, I have no
question but what the hearts of this people would say "take what we have
got and emigrate the poor saints."
I have
already said, on former occasions, and will now say again, if any man will take
the property I have now in my possession at one half its cost and pay in means
that I can handle, I will devote every farthing of it to the gathering of the
poor, and prove that "He that giveth to the portion of not lack;"
That giving doth enrich a man, and that in withholding a man will be
impoverished. It may be said, that I can safely offer my property for sale, as
there is no man in the community able to purchase it; but if you will reflect a
moment you will readily understand that the Lord is able at any time to raise
up a man with of means and a disposition to take up my offer. The Lord is as
able to raise up somebody to do this, as he is to give me property. I am not in
possession of a single blessing that the Lord has not bestowed upon me. Shall
we continue our labors to gather the saints, or shall we become slack in this
department of our calling? I think you will all say, "let us continue to
gather home the Saints."
Here are
brethren on my right and on my left who are anxious to take missions abroad,
but it is almost impossible to get them to reflect one moment upon the fact
that it is as much their duty to build up Zion at home, when required, as it is
to travel and preach the Gospel abroad. Some said they would like to be sent on
a foreign mission to preach the gospel. Are you going to build up Zion any
faster by going on such a mission? "I do not know; perhaps if I were sent
on a mission I could do more good than by staying at home." Yes, and
perhaps you would do more hurt than good. Some people said they would like to
assist in building up Zion, to see how it looks. But there are a great many
into whose hearts it does not enter that they are expressly called to build up
Zion, and to gather the Saints have you donated anything to assist the
Perpetual Emigration Fund? That Fund is based upon one of the best principles,
upon a foundation that is in every respect reliable; and if carried out
according to the rules of that institution it will accomplish all we expect it
to and more. If those who are brought here by that Fund would be prompt in
refunding that means it has expended for them, our emigration of the poor would
be much more extensive than it now is. But many who have reaped great benefit
from that institution, in being taken out of poverty from which it was
impossible for them ever to be delivered by their own exertions, and who are
now in a state of comparative wealth, when asked to settle their liabilities to
that Fund, reply, as a general thing, "Really we do not see that we have
anything we can spare for this purpose," when he took one possesses
several hundred dollars worth of property that could, without much discomfort,
be devoted to paying his indebtedness, and increasing the fund for gathering
the poor, and the poorer brethren who owe that Fund have the privilege of
working for means to pay their debts, if they will do so. Were the dues paid
into the Fund then we could send to Liverpool and bring out more of the Poor
saints; but we do not get the means to do it with. We have two or three man
traveling year after year to collect debts, and they scarcely collect enough to
pay their expenses. I do not wish to find fault, but I wish the people to live
so as to understand things as they are great
How hard
is it for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven! It is no matter whether a
man possesses five dollars, or 5 millions of dollars, if while he clings to
that in his affections he cap never find his way into the Celestial kingdom of
God. The Latter-day Saints have yet to learn that God gives to them all they
possess. We have the ability to plow, sow, water, and reap, but God gives the
increase; he causes the growth of the wheat, grain and all the fruits of the
earth. Without the blessings of God upon the air, the water, the earth, our
labors, and the seeds we plant in the ground, we could not possibly receive any
crops in return. If the Latter-day Saints fully realized this, they would not
be too covetous to pay there just debts and contribute towards him a great the
poor, and towards the general advancement of the kingdom of God. The people
have yet to learn that the Lord can send an abundance here when he pleases.
Br. Heber
C. Kimball prophesied, at an early day in the settlement of these valleys and
when the people were in great need of clothing, that clothing would be sold in
Great Salt Lake City cheaper than it could be bought in St. Louis. He said this
while the companies of 1848 were on the road here, and after we arrived here.
This was at the time a considerably hard to believe, but one year had not
passed away before this prophecy was literally fulfilled. There was a cause for
this, as there is for everything. Gold was discovered in California; this caused
large numbers of gold seekers to cross the planes, and in their inexperience
they loaded their wagons with everything that was useful for this people. When
they arrived in this valley they were satisfied that they could not prosecute
their journey was so heavily loaded, and they sold out what they could not take
for what they could get, and the saints were clothed and comforted. The Lord
has power to produce still greater results for the benefit of his people by
simple, natural means.
Those who
help to roll on this kingdom, whether it be by contributing their mites, or by
contributing out of their abundance, are blessed of the Lord; still, that which
we contribute is the Lord's, and in strictness we own nothing. When this can be
fully understood, then can we be perfectly free from coveting and idolizing
that Which does not in reality be long to us. It is written, "He that hath
pity upon the poor, Linda unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he
pay him again." If we will go to with our might to gather the poor saints,
God will abundantly bless all our labors. If we do not take a course to secure
to ourselves the blessings of Heaven, we may expect the earth, the air, and the
water to be so unproductive as to make it impossible for man to live here.
That, however, will not be, for we will gather the poor saints, and obtain the
blessings of God upon our labors.
This life
is most precious to us, let us honor it, and reap every advantage we can in it
by devoting every day of it to the building up of the kingdom of God. By
donating this we shall add life to life, strength to strength, and truth to
truth; gathering to ourselves all the knowledge and all the power God has in
store for the faithful to subdue the earth, and redeem it and ourselves, and prepare
all for the presence of God. When we learn our true position before the Lord we
shall then be willing to faithfully do our duty.
Ephraim
is mixed with all the nations of the Gentiles, and with all the tribes of
Israel. Ephraim is scattered over the face of the whole earth. I am now looking
upon the children of Israel. The children of Manasseh are also here. Ephraim
must be gathered first. Joseph became the savior of his father's house.
In the
latter days Israel will bless in Ephraim; and he blessed them that day, saying,
In the shall Israel bless, saying, God made me as Ephraim and as
Manasseh." The old patriarch Jacob said of Manasseh, "he also shall
become a people, and they also shall be great: but truly his younger brother
shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of
Nations."
We are
gathering the Ephraimites, for they are the children of him who holds the birth
right, and they must first come from the Nations. You, my brethren and Sisters,
are the descendents of Ephraim.
When we
have gathered from England all we can, we have not yet done. We may then go on
to the Continent and prosecute our labors eastwardly until we reached the
Pacific, then we may travel North and South to the polls and gather up the
house of Israel, for they are mixed among all nations. We must not sit down
here in Utah in self-security, building our houses, planting our vineyards,
enjoying our mountain homes and eating the fruits of our gardens and vineyards,
paying no attention to our brethren who are still scattered abroad. There are
yet outside more to enter the Church than have already entered it. We are all
children in this great work.
We have
only just commenced the work, which will continue until the house of Israel is
gathered to the land of their fathers. The law will go from Zion to all nations
long before we have done gathering the house of Israel. Will Jerusalem be
established? It matters not. The Jews are transgressors against the Law of God.
They said "His blood be on us and on our children." There are some in
this Church who claim to be Jews, but there is not a full blooded Jew in this
Church that will remain in it, neither will there be. They cannot receive their
inheritances until the whole family of Jacob have first receive theirs. And in
the case of the descendents of Cain, they cannot receive their blessings until
all the children of Adam have first receive theirs, then will the seed of Cain
receive their inheritances with their brethren.
I think
there are persons here who are conversant with my first career in Mormonism.
When I gathered with the saints, there were few who had less of this world's
goods to gather with than I had. I tarried with Joseph five years, preaching
the Gospel, attending conferences, and laboring with my hands. At the end of
that time I had accumulated property worth five thousand dollars, besides
sustaining not less than eight persons in my small family. All my brethren have
the same privilege of working as I used to. Every time they came into my
possession as a gift from God, and I asked wisdom of him to dispose of it to
sustain myself and family, and to do good to his kingdom on the earth. I did
the best I could with the means put into my hands, and what I could not do the
Lord supplied. We shall yet learn that twenty five cents in the hands of a
righteous man we'll go farther in sustaining a family, then twenty five dollars
in the hands of a wicked person.
I wish
the congregation to listen to the Council br. Amasa has given us, viz: to
always keep before us the bright side of life. We are in a world of sin,
darkness, unbelief, temptation and trial, and if we ever expect to get into the
Celestial kingdom of God, we must learn that the people of God must be tried in
all things, even as his servant Abraham was tried, "Four by faith Abraham,
when he was tried, offered up Isaac." It is well to be prepared to meet
every trial through which we may be called to pass in our journey to our
Celestial inheritance, then we may meet them with cheerful, and not with sad
countenances, saying, "God and his kingdom, or nothing." for us.
However I do not wish to measure others by my standard in regard to power and
ability to meet trials.
All of us
have weaknesses, and we shall continue to have them more or less so long as
this mortality continues, and there are always some who are weaker than others.
It is good for all to keep in remembrance the good which God has done to us;
and as to the evil the devil has sought to bring upon us, let Satan step
behind, and let the mercy of God be constantly magnified in our eyes. Some
suppose that they have greater trials than they can possibly as bear, when in
comparison their trials are nothing. Think of persons who are in a state or
starvation, hated, reviled, buffeted, scorned, cast out and despised, with not
a friend to speak a comforting word to them, compare your present circumstances
and condition with theirs, and then will you say that the Latter-day Saints
have trials that they cannot bear? It is not so. I have so many friends here
that if I were to gratify them with a shake of my hand till they were
satisfied, it would tire my arm exceedingly. I would not be able to get home to
my house for hours, and talk of trials! We know nothing about trials in these
peaceful vales of Deseret.
It may be
well to here inquire how many of these my brethren would be tried in laying
aside their tobacco. It has been feared by some that we should have to stop
work on the temple of God, for want of a supply of tobacco. I would not neglect
so important a duty, if I was never again permitted to see a piece of tobacco.
I should say to this foul weed, You are not my master. Further, a man that
quits our public works solely with a view to better his condition, will sooner
or later find that he has made it worse. No man who and lists to build up the
kingdom of God, and to observe the counsel of God, can obtain the blessings he
seeks by deserting the standard he has engaged to sustain.
Let us
quit using tobacco, or if any continue to use it they ought to raise it. Our
soil and climate are also well adapted to raising keys; and if you raise it, I
do not object to your drinking it; it is a good medicine.
That kind
of food or drink which is the least liable to create an ungovernable appetite
is the most helpful. If you are acquainted with this fact. You may chew lobelia
as long as you please, and you cannot acquire an appetite for it as you can for
tobacco, opium, tea, coffee, etc., etc. More poison can be extracted from one
ounce of tobacco and can be found in tons of lobelia. I have been in the habit
of using tobacco a great deal in my life, but it is now almost two years and a
half since I have tasted it. Has the forsaking all of it cost me much
suffering? Do I look unusually wrinkled, great, pale and wan? It is a year and
a half since I have tasted tea. Do you think that I have suffered much through
the want of it? Do you think that I am less influenced by the gift and power of
the Holy Spirit then formerly? I do not drink tea, Coffee, nor intoxicating
drinks. Does my abstinence from these injured my health or improve it? My
appearance will answer this question. Do you think that my mind is less active
and clear in consequence of not using these drinks? Brethren, why not abstain
as I have done, in abstaining from these hurtful luxuries? I cannot ask this of
the sisters, While a man longs for his tobacco and feels as though he cannot
live without it, I have no disposition to say to his wife cease drinking tea,
and if you drink tea do not drink it strong. You Elders of Israel, if you
acknowledge that tobacco is you master, then hide your faces and say you are
not men, but simply human beings dictated and led by appetite instead of sound
sense, reason, and the revelations of God.
Now,
brethren and sisters, remember your blessings, and murmur not against the Lord
your God in the day of your prosperity, lest worse may betide you. There is not
a man, woman, or child in our Territory that is without bread, and this
congregation of over two thousand people are well clad. I behold some who are
clad in material made with their own hands. This is indeed praiseworthy.
Substantial home-made clothing will yet become more popular and universal among
us, for it bids fair to soon be sheep or no coats, cotton or no shirts. I
sincerely desire to see that time, and then merchants will cease to bring goods
from abroad to this market. I much desire to see the labor of the people
classified, to see this kingdom established socially and politically. We are
fast advancing towards the condition in which we shall see every man in the
most suitable position, and doing that which is called to do.
You who
desire to go and preach the gospel, bring on your cattle and grain, and sell
them for cash, and put one half of that money into the P. E. Fund to gather the
poor. We want about two hundred more families to go to the cotton district. We
wish to strengthen the settlement already formed there, and raise to all the
cotton we need for home consumption.
Let us contemplate
the Greatness of our blessings, and not be continually thinking that our
condition is one to be mourned over. "O br. Brigham what shall I do? I
cannot respect my husband; I wish I had? I could respect and look up to."
I wish you had. "My husband will not do as I wish him to." All I mean
to say about this is, Let us so walk as to know and be satisfied that we are
doing right, that we are in favor with the Heavens, and then if anybody is
dissatisfied we cannot help it. When we have taken a course to please our
Heavenly father, then are we pleased with ourselves and with our labors, and it
is little matter who else is pleased or displeased. Where in I can please a
wife or a child I will do anything they ask, if they ask anything which does
not please me to give, then it is no, I am the master here, and in my house God
must reign. I endeavor to look at the magnitude of my blessings more than that
the greatness of my troubles.
I do not
lay down a single night to sleep, without the sweet joy and satisfaction of
knowing that God is my friend, that all good persons in the kingdom of God are
my friends, and that I am their friend and a friend of all good men. My path
through life has been strewn with blessings; I have nothing to complain of; my
path to God is light and cheery, and my life is one continued of round of
favor, mercy and kindness from the hands of my Heavenly Father. I do not know
that a person lives who has greater reason than myself to be thankful to God
and to worship and praise him. I desire with all my heart to be his faithful
son, and I ask him to assist me to be so.
I wish to
live until the earth is redeemed, to see the time when Jesus can reign without
a murmur or complaints from anyone; when there shall be no voice raised against
his reign, and none to complain when the earth and its fullness shall be
delivered into the hands of the Savior and holy beings. Then shall my soul be
satisfied. But until then, O Lord, let me live to contend against the wicked
until every poor unrepentant rotten hearted person shall be swept from the
earth, and the righteous and the good take their places.
The
wicked will go to hell, because they are determined to do so. They are
determined to fulfill the prophecy is of Joseph Smith. No man need lift up his
heart in prayer to God to turn away the prophecies of Joseph, nor to stop the
great work of the Almighty, for his inscrutable purposes will be fulfilled. My
soul pities the wicked, and I would that they were righteous. May God bless
you. Amen. [GDW]
[Elder John Van Cott]
Elder John Van Cott said that he realized his imperfections and also his inability to instruct the Saints, without the aid and assistance of the spirit of God still he rejoiced in being home again, and once more in the society of the people of God in Zion. Reviewed his experience in the Church and his mission abroad; bore testimony to the truth of the gospel, and said that he had long seen that the Lord controlled the hearts of the children of men for the good and benefit of his people. Gave a concise account of his experience in his travels in Scandinavia while upon his last mission.
Choir sang "Glory to God on high."
Elder Wm. W. Phelps dismissed with benediction.
_____
[7 Oct, 6:30 pm]
[DNW 12:124, 10/15/62, p 5]
Half-past 6 p.m.
A Conference of the high Priests was held in the Tabernacle in the evening, John Young presiding, at which most of the priesthood attended.
The meeting was opened by the Choir singing "Sweetly may the blessed Spirit," and Counselor Woolley offering prayer.
Singing: - "Lift up your heads, ye scattered Saints."
[President John Young]
President John Young said that he rejoiced in the society of the Saints, in the blessings of the holy gospel which have been revealed unto the Saints. He knew that the priesthood was restored to man, and that the Lord had set his hand to build up his kingdom. He then called for the business all of which was transacted in a few minutes, after which
[Counselor E. D. Woolley]
counselor E. D. Woolley made some remarks on the duties of Presidents and Clerks of the branch quorums in reference to their half-yearly reports.
[Bishop Lorenzo D. Young]
Bishop Lorenzo D. Young rejoiced in the privilege of meeting with the High Priests, and in such a Conference as the present one. He often thought that every Conference he attended was the best he had ever been at, and he felt precisely so in reference to this.
[President John Young]
President John Young quoted the text "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation," and then offered some timely and instructive remarks upon it. He testified that we were living in the day spoken of by John the Revelator, when an angel should fly through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth. Referred to his coming into this valley fifteen years ago, and felt to rejoice in the prosperity that had attended the Saints since that time. In speaking of Patriarchal blessings, he said, he could testify to the truth of his br. Brigham's remarks in reference tot he blood of ephraim, for in all the blessings he had conferred he had only found two of the blood of Ishmael, but few of the tribe of Mannasseh, and all the rest of the blood of Ephraim.
[Elder George D. Watt]
Elder George D. Watt delivered a short address, in which he spoke of the temporal and spiritual organization of the kingdom of God in the last days.
Elder James McAllister sang "O Zion."
The meeting was dismissed by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
_____
[8 Oct, 10 a.m.*]
[DNW 12:124, 10/15/62, p 5]
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.
Choir sang "Jesus, thou all-redeeming Lord." Prayer by Elder A. M. Lyman.
Choir sang "The glorous gospel light has shone."
Elder Orson Hyde was called upon and presented the authorities of the Church as follows:
Brigham Young President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselors.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith;, Patriarch of the whole church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, Thomas B. Broderick, James H. Hart, John Squires and William H. Folsom, members of the High council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley, and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squires, President of the Elders' Quorum.; James Smith and Peter Latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel M. Moore, President of the Priests' quorum; Richard W. McAllister and George Openshaw, his counselors.
McGee Harris, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Adam Speirs and David Bowman,his counselors.
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacons' Quorum; Samuel G. Ladd and Warren Hardie, his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
The foregoing quorums and authorities were all voted for separately, and each and all unanimously sustained by the conference.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said no man had any business to enquire whether he would apostatize or not, nor should any Latter Day Saint ask what the almighty was going to do with him when he got him into the kingdom of heaven. He had made some remarks relative to the blood, or lineage of individuals, and he would further say that there were a very few in the church who had in their veins the blood of Judah, but they could not stay in unless that was purged out, but if they were faithful the Holy Ghost would come upon them of the Ishmaelitish blood that br. John spoke of, as well as those of Judah, and it would purge that blood out of their systems.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde next addressed the conference, speaking upon the renovating influence of the Holy Ghost on those who obey the fulness of the people (sic).
[Orson Hyde]
[JD 10:112]
All
Nationalities Merged in the Kingdom of God the
Unity and Happiness of the Saints
Remarks
by Elder ORSON HYDE,
made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 7 [8], 1862.
Reported By J. V. Long
I do not
wish to monopolize the time to the exclusion of my brethren, and I do not
design to detain you long, still a few remarks, perhaps may not be
unacceptable. I thank my Heavenly Father for the privilege and blessing of
meeting with the Saints, and for allowing my spirit to mingle with yours, to
increase each other's joy.
The words
of edification and instruction we have had from our brethren are truly cheering
to all of us, and I trust that the spirit of the living God may continue to
abide with us, that wherein we have received an increase of light and truth we
may carry it to our homes, and revive the work of the Lord in our towns and
villages, and in short carry this feeling and influence to every quarter and
part of the kingdom of God. Truly the remarks made this morning were cheering
and good. The spirit of the Lord is calculated to remove everything that may be
in the heart which is opposed to that which is good, to Godliness and peace.
Much is
said about the tribes of Israel from which most of us are supposed to have
descended. With some there is quite a feeling of choice in regard to the tribe
from which they sprang, but let me say that whether we sprang from Judah,
Ephraim, Manasseh or from a family of gentile origin, that of all these tribes
and classes, whoever receive the Gospel and are moulded and fashioned by the
spirit of the living God, will be entitled to a place in the kingdom of our
Heavenly Father. Hence it is written "For by him were all things created,
that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: All things were created
by him, and for him." and again it is written, "and have put on the
new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him:
where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all."—Col.
i. 16 and iii. 10, 11.
I feel
that in these two particulars we are distinguished from the world, while we are
made one by being baptized into one spirit and all embracing the one faith,
becoming members of one body, having one common father, even the King of
Heaven. And by submitting to be guided by his spirit, and obeying the precepts
that are given by him in our daily deportment we are transported into the image
of that lovely being of whom it is said, that at his name every knee shall bow
and every tongue confess.
Brethren,
I feel happy and childlike in your presence to-day, and I intend to continue in
well doing that I may ever have the Spirit of the Lord to guide me aright. If,
by my labors, I can make others feel as well as I feel myself, it is the joy of
my heart, it is that for which I labor and toil. I feel at many times that I
would rather sit down and muse in silence than to speak.
When I
think of our friends in the east I feel sorrowful; their condition is
deplorable. I have no enmity towards any one, but my general feeling is, Heaven
bless the Saints and may Heaven destroy every influence that is arraigned
against Zion. and the Lord will do this; and I will prophesy in the name of the
Lord God of Hosts that if we continue to walk in the light of truth, to labor
to build up Zion, that cup of trembling spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah shall
never return to your lips nor to our habitations, but we will float along
increasing in power and strength from day to day, continually rejoicing in the
truths of our holy religion.
God bless
you all for ever: Amen.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball arose and gave some instructions on the present situation of the Churches in these valleys, showing that the present calling of the Twelve Apostles is among the settlements and stakes of Zion, to instruct the Saints, and to direct their energies in the building up of Zion.
He then said that President Young and his brethren felt like shouting Hosannah after the order taught by the Prophet Joseph in Kirtland, and invited the congregation to join with him that he might teach them the correct order. The vast concourse of Saints rose to their feet in mass and shouted Hosannah, Hosannah, Hosannah, to God and the Lamb, to God and the Lamb, to God and the Lamb, amen, Amen and Amen. This increased the heavenly feeling that already existed in the conference, and caused every heart to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
On motion of President Kimball the conference adjourned, to meet in the Bowery, at 10 a.m. on the 6th day of next April.
Choir sang that excellent anthem "God is my song."
Patriarch John Young was called upon to pronounce the closing benediction, which he did as follows:
I have felt during this Conference that I wanted to bless the people, but more particularly since yesterday, and I was almost upon the point of asking the President if I might have the privilege, but the Spirit told me that if it was my privilege I should be called upon. I have been called and ordained to that calling, and it is my delight to bless the Saints of God.
I am naturally of a different turn of mind, and, notwithstanding I have been laboring in the vineyard almost from the commencement, their is some impediment to my boldness and confidence that I have never been able to overcome.
I feel the importance of my mission and delight to bless the Saints of God; my heart is always full of blessings for the people of God, for the poor pilgrims that are struggling through this vail of tears, to work their passage back to our father's kingdom from whence we came. I have wet my pillows many times in consequence of the feelings I have had for my fellow men, and in feeling this I have not forgotten myself.
I feel in the name of Israel's God to bless the First Presidency of the Church of Christ; but can the greater be blessed by the lesser? Yes, they can. I feel to bless my brother brigham, my brother Heber, and my brother Daniel, and to say that the blessings of God shall rest upon them, in connection with the apostles of the Lord Jesus, who have stood forth in vindication of the Church of the living God, and I say they shall be blessed from this time forth and forever, in their fields and flocks, in their gardens and vineyards; these and all needful blessings shall rest upon them like the dew of heaven; they shall go forth as mighty chieftains, for they are mighty men of God, and I can say that to them and to their increase their shall be no end; but their posterity shall be as numerous as the stars of the firmament, or as the sand upon the seashore, and the time never shall come when their shall be an end to their increase in time nor worlds without end. I feel to bless all the Saints and faithful children of God. My brother brigham has been the Joseph of his father's family, and to this people he has been a Moses in connection with brother Heber, who has been long associated with him. He told me when I was sick at the Bluffs, and nigh unto death, if I would rise up and go to the Valley I should live many years. Has it been fulfilled? It has, to the very letter, and I have been privileged with the enjoyment of the blessings of the Saints of God.
I feel to bless the Saints of latter days, and I say you shall go from this place rejoicing in the things of God; and I ask my Father to bless you, for you love the truth, and you are right on the way home to the enjoyment of the blessings of heaven, and the river of life shall flow unto you, and you shall be blessed with every thing that you can desire, even beyond what you can now comprehend, and the Holy Ghost shall thrill through you, and round about you.
Be of good cheer, by brethren and sisters, we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. May the blessings of heaven and earth rest upon every man, woman and child that love the truth and wish to do right. Let us put our trust in God, and all is ours; let us do all we can for the gathering of Israel, and the establishment of righteousness upon the earth, and continue so to do until he shall reign whose right it is, and rest assured that the day of his appearing is not far distant, and blessed are they that look for his appearing. I have rejoiced in spirit, and as some of the brethren have expressed themselves, I have felt like shouting hosannah to God and the Lamb, for ever and ever. Why do I feel like shouting? Because God has had mercy upon us, and because I have had the privilege of living in the days of the Prophets of God; in the days of the Apostles, and I have seen the handy-works of the Almighty in bringing his people out of babylon to this promised land. Who can comprehend it? We did not see to be sure, when we left Nauvoo the great blessings that were hid away in these mountains, but the almighty had us sit under the pavillion of his wings, and he will sustain us, we are being sutained, we are growing and thriving, and in a little time the armies of Israel will become as terrible as an army with banners, and the power of God will rest upon his servants to a wonderful degree, they will be clothed with the power of the priesthood, and their faces shine like that of Moses of old. Let us hold up the hands of our file leaders by our faith and prayers, and we shall all be blessed and prospered together, from this time henceforth and for ever.
I do not feel to detain you, but I bless you, and I bless everybody that are in the faith of the Lord Jesus. I see people before and around me that have brooked the storm, persons that I have been with, and I have seen a great many things that I cannot now take time to relate in the history of the building up of the kingdom of God. When I look back for fifteen years to the time when the first conference was held in this valley, and that too under the shade of a hay stack, and see the blessings which the Almighty has bestowed upon us, I feel to say roll on the mighty work, my prayer is for thy kingdom to come, and thy will to be done upon the earth as it is in heaven. May God bless you brethren and sisters, and I bless you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Amen.
J.
V. LONG
Clerk of the Conference.
6-8 Apr 1863, 33rd Annual General Conference, Bowery, Great Salt Lake City.
[Deseret News Weekly 12:337, 4/22/63, p 1; MS 25:353]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/22/63, p 1]
THIRTY - THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
The Thirty-third Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, convened in the bowery, Great Salt Lake City, on Monday, April 6, 1863, at 10 a.m.; President Brigham Young presiding.
There were on the stand: Of the First Presidency, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber c. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells;
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow and Franklin D. Richards;
Of the First Presidency of the Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Albert P. Rockwood and John Van Cott;
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion: Daniel spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace;
Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little;
Of the Patriarchs: John Young;
Reporters: George D. Watt and John V. Long.
Conference was called to order by the President, and the choir sang "Know then that every soul is free."
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
Another hymn was sung, after which
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells delivered an address on the building of the Temple, showing the necessity of doing all that can possibly be done for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth, that the Saints might become an independent people. In speaking of the hauling of rock and the work to be done on the Temple this season, he regretted, he said, that the brethren should be such slaves to their appetites, especially in regard to tobacco, which it seemed they must have, or they could not work. He stated that it was the design of the authorities to again commence work on the Temple immediately after conference, and it was hoped that the brethren would prepare and make ready their teams for hauling the rock to the Temple. He observed that we had before us the work of a life-time, and that it should always afford us joy and peace to do anything that we can do for the building up of the kingdom of God. It was also in contemplation, he said, to build a new Tabernacle of suitable dimensions to accommodate the people, and that not long hence we should begin to attend to the necessary ordinances for the dead.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 4/15/63, p 1; JD 10:139]
REMARKS
B Prest. DANIEL H. WELLS, Bowery, G. S. L. City April 6,
1863.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT]
_____
Right
here we want to build a Tabernacle, to accommodate the Saints at our General
Conferences and religious worship, that will comfortably seat some ten thousand
people; and over there we want to build a Temple. These two items I wish to
call your attention to to-day.
We have
organized the different districts throughout the Territory so that fifty teams
can be at work for the Temple, hauling granite rock from Big and Little
Cottonwoods. There has been some hauling done, but I wish to suggest a little
amendment on our present operations and plans touching this part of the work.
We shall want the same number of teams this season. We have never had as many
as was designed in the first place, which was fifty, at any one time. If we
could have even twenty-five or thirty teams constantly at work, they would keep
the stonecutters employed. There was a difficulty last season about feed for
the animals engaged on this work, but we are prepared to feed hay this year,
but grain must be furnished by the Wards.
I wish to
say a word in regard to the teamsters. Send men to drive the teams and not
boys; men who will have some interest in the work they are sent to do; men who
will not sell the grain sent to feed the teams to buy whisky with; men who will
not take their teams to haul wood with instead of rock for the Temple. Let the
teamsters be fitted out with at least one spare shirt, that they may not be
placed under the necessity of wearing one shirt five or six weeks, and then
leave the work to go home if they are not supplied with more; this same remark
will apply to shoes also. Either send men that do not use tobacco, or send them
with a supply, that they may not come to me and tell me they will have to leave
the work if they are not supplied with tobacco. Some of the Bishops sent word
if I would find the men from the Wards tobacco they would pay for it, which
they have not done, and you may expect that in the future we shall not find
them in this article. We expect these things to be found them and men sent who
will take care of their teams and wagons. It is a heavy tax upon us to repair
unavoidable breakages; this we expect to do. We have a pretty good road to the
rock, and if men will be careful in the management of their teams they need not
break wagons as much as they have.
On the
heel of the teams going down to the States for the poor, we want the teams
ready for the hauling of rock. I will make a suggestion here, that the city be
divided into ten working Wards, each Ward to pay its tithing labor punctually
every tenth day, that we may have all the common labor we need on labor tithing
and not be placed under the necessity of hiring labor with available means.
This tithing labor can be done by the people in this city; but, you say, the
hauling of rock and sending teams to the States takes up all the tithing labor
we owe. If this be so, you may call the hauling of the rock and teams going to
the States a free-will offering if you please. I care not how you fix it. I
know there is a great portion of the community who care not much which way it
applies. Those who have teams are the ones who supply both the hauling of rock
for the Temple and going to the States. A great mass of the people do not do
any labor of this kind. Let the Bishops in each Ward look to it and find out
who in their Wards do not pay labor tithing in sending teams to the States. We
want the common labor on the block, this season, to excavate, to attend masons
and do a variety of work that is necessary be accomplished for the building of
our contemplated Tabernacle. Let there be an organization of the people in
order to bring a portion of that labor on this block.
The labor
tithing of mechanics cannot be settled by sending a person to work at a dollar
and a-half a day if the Bishop understands his business. All our tradesmen make
more than a dollar and a-half a day; they should pay what their tenth day's
labor is worth. The shoemakers can furnish boots and shoes, which can be used
to a good advantage. If there is an objection raised to paying the material on
labor tithing, it can be credited on their property tithing. We would not wish
our tradesmen to leave their shops to work out their labor tithing in common
labor with the shovel, the pick, &c., for they would not earn as much as a
common laborer would who daily follows this kind of labor. We want them to pay
their tithing in the kind of labor they are constantly employed at, and the
products of this we can place to an excellent use. Common labor is more
plentiful than mechanical labor.
I have
been particular in noticing this matter. Great abuses are springing up among us
for want of proper attention to the business of tithing labor upon the public
works.
Sometimes
men are found fault with because they spoil the work; they do not, for
instance, cut the stone to line and do not improve in their work as much as
they should. If anything is said to those persons they feel gouty and as though
they did not care whether they continued to work or not on the public works;
"For," say they, "my work is as good as the pay." Perhaps
you do not know what kind of pay you get. What does the Tithing-office pay to
the hands on the public works? it pays money, it pays clothing, it pays good
flour and plenty of it, all that the hands need; it pays vegetables of every
kind that is raised in these [p.141] mountains, it pays molasses, chickens,
eggs, butter, beef and pork, some hay and wood. I wish to ask if this is not
good pay, and especially when you consider that the public hands get all their
wages and more too; for in many instances they are behind on the books. They
get all they earn and more, unless they are more diligent than some generally
are, because we pay high wages. These are facts that cannot be truthfully
denied. Men who work on the public works should be satisfied and contented, and
give their best services, and try to improve and do the best they can; a good
many do this. There is no place in the Territory that pays better pay and
better wages than is paid to the hands that work on the public works, upon an average.
If they can better themselves, why do they not do it? Some would quickly leave
the public works in the best season of the year for a few dollars in money, and
in the winter, when employment is scarce elsewhere, return to the public works;
this is not righteous before God; men who do this do not do their duty as
Saints If any person can do better than to be a Latter-day Saint and abide the
counsels given to them, why do they not do it? If there is more peace and
comfort and salvation in the world than among the Saints, why did they not stay
in the world? and if, after they come here, they think they can enjoy
themselves better somewhere else, why do they not go there instead of staying
here as grumblers in the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is as independent
of all such men as the Lord himself and it will be built up whether they assist
in the Work or not.
I speak
thus plainly that you may know how we feel about such things, and that you may
realize that you are equally interested in the building up of the kingdom of
God as I am or as anybody else is. It is as much your duty to come here and
spend your time as it is mine, whether you get anything for it or not. I am no
more interested in building up the Temple than any other Latter-day Saint is. I
am no more interested in building a new tabernacle than you are; it is no more
the business of the First Presidency or Twelve Apostles than it is yours. This,
however, may need qualification; some feel a slothful interest in it that we do
not have. It is as much your duty as ours, and I expect we can do as well
without it as you can. We, however, expect to accomplish this work whether you
aid us or not; but we call upon the people in this sense, it is your privilege
to aid us if you feel willing to do so. We expect you to do as you shall be
directed and abide the law you have enlisted to obey; this is your privilege.
We expect you will guide your labors according to the rule laid down for you to
follow. We wish to proceed with this labor immediately upon the close of this
Conference. Let the men who seek labor, seek it not so particularly for
individual aggrandizement as for the interest of the kingdom of God. This work
will be an equal benefit to all, if we will be diligent and contented. There is
no job men can be engaged in that will pay half as well. Those who will cling
to the faith and work on faithfully, diligently and humbly, will be the best
off in the end. I do not care what inducement is offered to them, there is no
enterprise so remunerative as the great enterprise in which we are engaged, or
half so profitable, though we may not realize all things we desire or need at
the present moment as fully as we would like. Look at the faithful laborer who
is putting forth his hand in building up the kingdom of God, even if it is
connected with the bringing of rocks from the quarry, lumber and timber from
the mountains, &c.; that soul has peace and quiet within, though in
temporal matters comparatively destitute. But in this country no person need
suffer for the common necessaries of life. It is not so in distant nations
where many of us came from. Remember the appeals that are made to us for
assistance, for starvation has entered their dwellings; it is not, so here. Do
we realize the blessings we enjoy in contrast with those of our brethren in
distant countries? While we are doing all we can to aid them, let us remember
not to slacken our hands in endeavoring to build up the kingdom of God, in
answering to the calls made upon us here.
No person
can release us from the duties that devolve upon us as individuals. We each of
us should shoulder our responsibilities and rejoice to embrace the privilege of
performing the duties devolving upon us to do good in the Church and kingdom of
God in the last days. This is an inestimable privilege which, once neglected,
may never again return. No person should lose the opportunity of doing good, if
they do they will be sorry afterwards. Look back upon your own history and
experience in the Church and kingdom of God, and point out a single duty that
has been manfully and righteously performed that does not to this day bring to
you a feeling of great satisfaction and gratitude to the Almighty that you were
called upon to perform that duty, and you are glad that you did perform it faithfully
before your God and your brethren. I do not believe there is a single
individual who has ever performed a single duty in the Church and kingdom of
God, but what is grateful to the Almighty that they had strength and power and
ability to perform that duty. Then so let it be in the future; whenever we are
called upon to perform a duty let us hasten to perform it with a free and glad
heart and with a ready hand, doing it as it should be done with all the wisdom,
ability and power that we can bring to bear on it, feeling grateful to the
Almighty for the privilege, and we shall have joy and rejoicing before the
heavens. This is the true light in which we ought to look at this matter. There
is a great labor before this people, it is a life-time work, and then it will
be taken up by those who will follow after us, who will continue to develop the
things which the Almighty is trying to establish upon the earth—the work of the
salvation of our dead and the great millennium. The work we are now doing is
preparatory to that work, and that work is preparatory to another that shall
follow after.
We will
build a new Tabernacle of sufficient dimensions to accommodate the people much
better than they can be at present, and the time probably is not far distant
when we may commence to administer for our dead. But the duties of to-day and
all the work and labor we are called upon to perform is preparatory to
something else; if we perform this work faithfully it will tell in its place in
the due season and time of the Lord. Then let us be faithful and never neglect
the opportunity of doing good when presented to us, be it ever so small in our
estimation. There is nothing so small but what is necessary, when we are told
to do it by those who preside over us. Small things reach to great things. We
cannot baptize for the dead without a font, and we cannot get a stone to build
it of without going to the stone quarries to get it. It looks a small thing to
quarry rock and to pick up the pebbles and cobble rock or to take the spade and
go and labor a single day's work, but those small matters form together a grand
whole in bringing to pass the great purposes we are anticipating will come to
pass in the Lord's due time. Then let us listen to and respond to the calls
made upon us by our Bishops, by our Presidents, by those who are appointed to
direct and govern and control and shape our labor. It is the business of this
people to build up this kingdom in any channel and direction in which they are
called to labor. Let us abide these teachings and calls, for in this we can
attain an exaltation in the presence of our Father in heaven. Let us seek to be
exalted therein and enjoy eternal lives in the mansions of the blessed. This is
my sermon for to-day.
May God
help us to do these things is my prayer in the name of Jesus: Amen.
[Pres. Heber C. Kimball]
Pres. Heber C. Kimball related some interesting incidents connected with his early travels and labors in the ministry. He then made some encouraging remarks upon the prospect before us of rearing a Temple to the name of our God, and said that in this great work we were all equally interested.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 12:377, 5/27/63, p 1; JD 10:163]
DISCOURSE
By President HEBER C. KIMBALL, Bowery, Monday Morning, April
6, 1863.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
Brethren
and sisters, I perceive that the wind is blowing so very strong that it will be
very difficult for the loudest speakers to make you all hear, and, therefore, I
shall have to depend upon the stillness of the congregation. Then, again, I
must have faith and we must all have faith together, and, therefore, let that
faith come up before the Lord our God as the faith of one man, and if that
faith is concentrated we shall obtain what we desire. Jesus says, "Ask
what ye will and it shall be given unto you." My prayer is that the winds
may cease for a little while that I may be able to speak so that you can all
hear.
I
remember, when I was crossing the ocean in company with President Young, it
seemed as if all creation had combined to bring together the most boisterous
elements, for the wind blew most furiously and brother Parley actually thought
the ship was going down before we got out of the Irish Channel. The wind drove
us away from our proper course towards the north of Ireland, and we were really
afraid that the bulwarks would be blown and beaten off.
Brother
Wells has been laying before you, in much plainness (and you know I delight in
plainness,) the practical items of business which are necessary to be attended
to. When a man speaks plainly of his views and sentiments and the items of
business that he has to lay before this people, it pleases me. Brother Wells is
the Superintendent of Public Works, and I can truly say that what he has laid
before the congregation is true. I see these things of which he has been
speaking; I understand them, and am sorry a great many times because of the
things I see and hear. I am aware that a great many of this people do not
realize their responsibilities; many of them do not seem to know that they have
anything to do, any further than to take care of themselves, and in many
instances that is done very poorly. The people are too careless, and,
consequently, never think that there is anything for them to do; but it is just
as much the duty of each one of you, whether Elders or members, to put forth
your hands, to use your means and your influence for the building up of the
kingdom of God, as it is mine or President Young's, or any other member there
is in the Church.
In your
prayers, you say, "O God the Eternal Father, bless President Young, bless
his counsellors and the Twelve Apostles; give them power to bear off this
kingdom in triumph over all its enemies." This is the nature, if not the
precise form of the prayers that most of you offer up to our Heavenly Father.
But, notwithstanding this, them are those who act as if they thought the First
Presidency could do all the work and bear all the responsibility; but this is
not the fact, for we can all do something towards the accomplishment of so
great a work. How far can the Presidency of this Church bear off this kingdom?
Why, they can only do that which devolves upon them; they can only do their
share the same as any other persons.
If you
will reflect for a moment, brethren and sisters, you will see it is one of the
easiest things in the world for us to build that Temple. Here are the men who
understand quarrying and cutting the rock, and laying them up; then, what do we
want else? Why, says one, we want the means; what will the Temple cost? Never
mind what the entire cost will be; what is required of us now, is to lay up the
walls, and we can do this by our own labor. Men are wanted to go and quarry the
rock; others to haul it to the Temple block; then others to cut the stone
according to order; then it is the duty of others to raise the grain, the beef,
the pork, to make the clothing, and, in fact, supply everything that is
necessary to sustain those men that are called to work upon the Temple.
I have
sometimes taken the liberty of speaking about men that work on the Public
Works, and I have said that they did not earn more than about one-half of what
was paid to them. They say, in reply, if we do not do right, why not call us up
before the Bishops of our Wards? We have known and now know men that have been
grumbling ever since they were upon the Public Works, and with them there never
is anything right, and it would be but little use to bring such men before
their Bishops. We have a Presiding Bishop, and President Young and myself are
his Counsellors, and in due time he will deal with such men as I am speaking
of. It is not right for a man to neglect his duty, whether that duty consists
in mechanical work or common labor, for it is the business of every man and
woman to do all they can to advance this great Work. It is for the advantage of
the people individually as well as collectively. Then let us go to work and
build up this kingdom to the utmost of our ability; let us build a Temple
wherein to receive our further blessings.
There are
but few here who received the endowment that was given in the Temple at
Kirtland; many of those who did receive it are dead, quite a number are turned
away, for the apostacy was very great in those days considering the number of
the people, hence there are but few now with us who partook of that endowment.
There are still other endowments that were given to a very few in Nauvoo, and
which we do not give here at present, but which will be given to the faithful
when that Temple is finished, if not before.
How do
you think we went to work when we were building the Temple in Kirtland? I could
enter into the particulars, but let it suffice for me to say that the Lord gave
a revelation, calling upon all the strength of his house to go up to Missouri
to redeem Zion and reinstate our brethren upon their own lands. To use a plain
expression, we raked the United States from one end to the other wherever there
was a man that belonged to the Church, and we gathered up all the strength of
the Lord's house, and every one of us went, except perhaps a dozen old
gentlemen who were not able to travel, and there were a few went up that were
over sixty, and I do not know but a few that were over seventy. [President B.
Young: I think there was one or two of the brethren seventy years of age.]
While we were absent on that Mission, the sisters went to work and made
stockings, pantaloons and jackets, and when we came back they put in those
various articles of clothing for the benefit of the men that went to work on the
Temple, and this was a universal thing with the sisters. Now, what have you
done that you should be released from care and from putting forth your dollars,
your pairs of socks, your shirts, or any other kinds of wearing apparel or
bedding that are required for those men who are called to work upon the Temple?
Are you excused from these things, ladies and gentlemen? No, you are not; we
went forth and did our duty, both male and female, and the same is required of
you.
We went
and performed that journey, travelled two thousand miles in a little over three
months. We walked forty miles per day when we were not hindered, we walked the
entire journey there and back. Such as were designated by the Lord were
permitted to return home to their families, but the single men were told by the
Prophet to go and preach the Gospel in the country round about. When we arrived
in Kirtland, Joseph said, "Come, brethren, let us go into the stone-quarry
and work for the Lord." and the Prophet went himself, in his tow frock and
tow breeches, and worked at quarrying stone like the rest of us. Then, every
Saturday we brought out every team to draw stone to the Temple, and so we
continued until that house was finished; and our wives were all the time
knitting, spinning and sewing, and, in fact, I may say doing all kinds of work;
they were just as busy as any of us, and I say that those women have borne the
heat and burden of those early and trying days and God will bless them for
evermore. And besides all this, they have stepped forward and done the works of
Sarah, and the first men of this Church have done the works of Abraham, and
they will inherit the earth with them when it is redeemed and cleansed from
sin. I feel to bless all such men and women, and pray my Heavenly Father to bless
them in all things that will be for their good and for the honor and glory of
his holy name.
I feel
that the Spirit of the Lord is here and that we shall have a good Conference
and a happy and joyous time together.
Brethren,
do not forget to come on with you? teams to haul the rock for the Temple as
well as your teams to gather the poor.
Then, in
regard to this new Tabernacle that we contemplate building, if you will take
hold with us we design that you shall have the privilege of meeting in it next
winter. According to the plan which is already designed, it will be larger than
this concern which is polled over our heads here, and when completed it will
have the advantage of both comfort and convenience for a large congregation,
neither of which are afforded by this Bowery in stormy weather. Then let us
step forward and do our duty as men of God. and if a sister says, "Can I
do anything to help to roll on the Work of God," I say, yes you can assist
if you choose; you can pull off your jewels, take your ornaments out of your
hair, your earrings; you can knit some stockings and get some cotton and make
some shirts or anything of the kind. Will such works as these advance the
kingdom? Yes, they will help considerably. To another sister who asks if she can
assist in the good work, I will say, yes, take some of the children of those
that labor on the Temple and teach them how to read and write and how to sew.
Then let another sister say, "I will wash for the men on the Temple."
I make
these remarks to rouse up your minds in relation to the Temple. Have you not
had your endowments, sisters, and been sealed to your husbands? Yes, many of
you have, and now let me ask if there is anything more than what you have
received, any further ordinances to be received? Yes, lots of them. There were
but a hundred and thirty who received a part in advance of the ordinances of
endowment that were revealed by the Prophet Joseph. Bless you, it will be one
endowment after another till we pass through the vail into the other world, and
until we have passed all the ordeals requisite to prepare us to enter into
celestial glory and exaltation.
If the
Lord should come to visit his people, where has he got a place to stay and rest
himself while he communicates his will to his sons and daughters? That man that
has engaged and is working for the accomplishment of such a great design as
this is, to prepare a place that will be fit and suitable for the Almighty to
dwell in for a short time when he comes to visit his servants, ought to feel
highly honored and favored of the Almighty.
When
remarking upon the building of the Temple, brother Wells said they who had
worked upon the Temple had received their pay, and I can say more than this, I
know of quite a number that are in debt and they are the ones, generally, that
find so much fault. The brethren should think of these things, and for the
future strive to be Saints in very deed. Let us all honor our calling, keep
sacred and holy our covenants before the Lord.
To refer
again to what I know, what I have seen and experienced in my travels and my
associations with the Prophet of the living God, I will remark that you have
here with you a few of us that have travelled with him from the beginning, and
we know his trials and sufferings, and we know that the greatest torment he had
and the greatest mental suffering was because this people would not live up to
their privileges. There were many things he desired to reveal that we have not
learned yet, but he could not do it. He said sometimes that he felt pressed
upon and as though he were pent up in an acorn shell, and all because the
people did not and would not prepare themselves to receive the rich treasures
of wisdom and knowledge that he had to impart. He could have revealed a great
many things to us if we had been ready; but he said there were many things that
we could not receive because we lacked that diligence and faithfulness that
were necessary to entitle us to those choice things of the kingdom. He revealed
the doctrine of celestial marriage, and the abuse of this holy principle caused
many to stumble and fall away from the Church of the living God, but that was
their own fault and they have nobody else to blame.
Now, I
will turn my remarks to the brethren whose names will he called to go on
missions. We want them to get ready as quick as possible, and to go direct to
their missions as fast as the teams, railroad cars and steamships will take
them, so that they can do some good. And we want brethren who remain here to
hand over your "greenbacks" to help the Missionary Fund, and we have
no objection to taking those merchants' "shinplasters," I suppose
they are worth fifty cents on the dollar, and we will also take your gold and
silver if we can get any. I do not want of your money, but the Missionaries do
and the families of those that are already on missions need help from that
fund, and we want to clothe them decently and make them feel happy during the
absence of their husbands and fathers. We are going to call upon young men that
have no families this time, and we want them to go and preach by the power of
God. We want them to learn to be men, to put away their boyish actions and
trust in the living God whom we serve. They will not do this while they stay
here to that extent that they will if we send them abroad. We want to send them
out into the world among strangers—to place them, as it were, in the midst of a
strange ocean where there is no bottom, and you all know there is little danger
of a ship that is out at sea when it gets beyond the rocks, but when in the
channels and near to the shore there is great danger, and so it is with our
sons; and, therefore, in order to depend upon the Lord and upon the guidance of
his Spirit, we send them into the world to preach the Gospel. Is it not better
for your sons to be placed in circumstances where they will have to call upon
the Almighty, than it is to allow them to remain here where they are under the
droppings of the sanctuary and are continually receiving the counsel of their
earthly fathers? You could not confer a greater blessing upon them than to send
them into the vineyard of the Lord. It would delight my soul to see my sons and
the sons of my brethren following in the footsteps of their fathers. I will
also say that it is the greatest blessing that can be conferred upon the
mothers in Israel to have their daughters connected to men of this kind. Such
mothers will bring forth sons and daughters that will be a crown of glory to
their parents for ever. Some of you would ask, "Would you go, brother
Heber?" Just try it Remember I have been there twenty-six years ago, and
then I went again a second time, and I can truly say that those were the
happiest days of my life. Here are hundreds in this Territory who have seen me
in England as happy as an angel, preaching and baptizing for the remission of
sins all those who believed and repented before God, and they saw me laying
hands on the people for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and every good man
will bear me witness that the Spirit of the Lord was with me. Let me say to
those young men and to all Israel, live so as to respect yourselves just as
your leaders have done, and then you are just as sure of salvation as we are
that we are here to-day.
My
remarks upon this subject are intended for the Elders. Brethren, do not yield
to temptation, but live pure and holy before the Lord. Now, all the Elders who
are in favor of carrying out the counsel that is given, let them say yes. (Loud
response of "Yes.")
We want
to feed the wives and children of those that are gone on missions, as well as
to assist those that are now going. We want pork, beef, eggs and butter and all
kinds of clothing, and do not forget to bring on your wood and everything that
is necessary to make families comfortable. Now, do you not see, by complying
with this instruction, you are helping to preach the Gospel as well as those
that go abroad for that express purpose? and how blessed are the women that
step forth to help to build the Temple of our God! I can see women in this
congregation to-day that would have sold all they had to help to build the
Temple in Kirtland, and for this they are and will be blest, for the Lord loves
a willing heart and an obedient spirit.
Brethren
and sisters, do you know this to be the Church of Jesus Christ? Do you know
this positively for yourselves? If you do, remember your duties, be faithful
before God and your brethren, and prosperity and peace will attend you.
We want
the families of those who are on missions to be supplied with the necessaries
and comforts of life, and we do not want the Elders to beg from the poor that
are scattered among the nations. We who first went did not have this done for
us, but the circumstances are different now. We went to preach without purse or
scrip, and there were men around who were ever ready to strip our families of
what little they did possess; some of them are now dead. We went forth almost
sick unto death to preach the Gospel, and when we called on the brethren in
Kirtland they would not give us a cent, because we were sick and looked pale
and they said it was because the curse of God was upon us. They will have to
reap the reward of that some day, while those who were kind to us will be rewarded
of the Lord and be blessed with an exaltation in the kingdom of our God if they
continue faithful. It was designed once in Nauvoo to raise a subscription for
us, but Joseph said, "You shall not have a cent of it; you must go and
make your own way;" but now the time is come when the Gospel is to be
preached to all nations, and that, too, more quickly than it has ever been
before, and it is the word of the Lord that we shall sustain the ministry at
home.
We went
and preached the Gospel in London—that is, President Young and myself; we
established the Work there, and we never asked the people for a penny. We paid
off debts amounting to some two hundred pounds and we emigrated hundreds of
people out of our own funds, circulating the Book of Mormon among the people
and did many other things that were necessary for the advancement of the
kingdom of God.
We
travelled with the Prophet Joseph when we were poor and penniless many times,
and when we were sick, and we wept like children; but we called upon our Father
and our God to strengthen us, and he did so by the power of his Spirit. Some
men laid down and died on the way, and brother Taylor almost died once or twice
in the ordeals through which he had to pass. I might also refer to the trials
consequent upon the introduction of the doctrine of plurality of wives, but the
time is about expired, and, therefore, I will defer it till some other time.
When we have passed through trials and privations of tiffs life, we shall be
exalted to enjoy that happiness which is promised to the people of God; and
when that time comes many of you that have had such easy times will be sorry
that you have not passed through more.
Brethren,
I want to tell you that my blessing and the blessing of the God of Israel are
upon this land, and these blessings shall continue unto this people for ever.
This land shall prove a blessing unto them but a curse unto the wicked, and the
evil-doers shall not have pleasure here at all but the curse of God shall be
upon them. and I will further say, in regard to the man that was sent here to
rule over us, let the curse of God be upon him from this day forth and for
ever, unless he repents.
Now,
brethren, be prepared when the call is made to hand over your money, your shoes
and whatever is called for that will be useful to put into the hands of those
women and children whose husbands and fathers are preaching the Gospel to a
dark and benighted world. Let us subscribe and put into this fund all that is
necessary and we shall all be blessed together.
I feel to
bless all Israel, wherever they may be in the remotest parts of the earth, and
I say, let us continue to increase in everything that is good and heavenly from
this time henceforth and for ever. This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus:
Amen.
[George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith expressed his gratification at being in the presence of, and associating with so many of the elders who first engaged in this last ministry, and he was now delighted with the prospect of so many of the sons of these veterans going to take part in the same great work. Mentioned the second mission that was sent to Europe from this church, and described the condition of the Elders after being robbed of everything they possessed by the benevolent Christian State of Missouri, and then reduced by disease to almost the last stage of human endurance. He concluded by calling attention to the impoverished condition of the Saints in the European missions, and hence the necessity of our helping the outgoing missionaries from this Territory.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 12:329, 4/15/63, p 1; JD 10:143]
REMARKS
By GEORGE A. SMITH,Bowery, April 6, 1863
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT]
_____
I have
been a witness for many years, to a considerable extent, of the labors, toils
and exertions of the Elders of this Church. I have rejoiced in the result of
their labors and the blessings which God hath bestowed upon them. Though many,
as has been observed, have fallen out by the way, yet a large majority of the
Elders of Israel who went in early days to proclaim the Gospel are still in our
midst, or have died in the honorable discharge of their duty, with promises of
salvation and eternal life upon their heads.
Circumstances
have changed. When Presidents Young, Kimball and others left Nauvoo to go to
England without purse or scrip, they left a few houseless, homeless people, a
great proportion of them sick, lying out of doors, with no covering only the
broad canopy of heaven, on the banks of the Mississippi, robbed of everything
they possessed by the benevolent Christians of the State of Missouri, and
driven away into Illinois, and from exposure and over-exertion and suffering
reduced by disease and sickness to the last extremity of human endurance. It
was under such circumstances as these that the brethren started forth on their
mission to England. When they had gone a few miles they were met by an old
friend, who, on seeing their sick and wan condition, inquired who had been
robbing the burying-ground. These are circumstances which have passed into
history.
What is
our condition now? We can hear occasionally from our brethren in England; many
of them who have been long years in the Church, saying to their children,
"I will give you a little bit to eat, but when you get to Zion you can
have as much as you want, but now you must make this little do." In the
cotton-spinning districts of Great Britain there are thousands of such cases
among persons belonging to this Church; they are reduced to the last extremity
of want in consequence of the great revolution in America.
We should
not send Elders there to beg of them a division of their scanty pittance, or to
solicit aid in paying their passage back again to America, or to give them
something to carry home to their families; not at all God has given us
possession of this goodly land; the labors of the brethren and the blessings of
God have caused it to bud and blossom as the rose. Where desolation dwelt, now
is the abode of plenty. We are under no necessity of sending forth the Elders
of Israel in the condition that we have hitherto had to do; in fact, it would
not be safe for a man to shoulder his valise and tramp through the States as
the Elders used to do. Bloodshed, robbery, murder, jay-hawking (a polite name
for robbery,) stalks abroad throughout the land, and the only chance for safety
is for every man to pass along about his business and be silent; this is the
case in many parts of the country.
The fact
that Joseph Smith predicted the present trouble and state of affairs—prophesied
the result of mobbing the Saints in Missouri and elsewhere, enrages them;
instead of the fulfilment of that prophecy making the people of the country
friendly to us, it makes them bloodthirsty, more filled with hell, more eager
to waste and destroy and crush out the last remaining particle of truth that
may exist on the face of the land.
Again,
the places of our missionary labor are a long distance away, and it is
important, when an Elder leaves here, that he should commence the exercise of
his calling at the place he is destined to labor at the earliest practical
moment. A few dollars contributed to this purpose will pass the Elders directly
to the fields of labor to which they are appointed. Perhaps when a missionary
gets to Italy, as my brother tells me, he would be cordially received and
treated to a few honeysuckle leaves put into some water, boiled, seasoned with
salt and dished up for a meal. A man could make a meal of this with a loaf of
bread by the side of it and a shank of good Tithing-office beef to season it.
Some of the Elders have had cause to rejoice at receiving from the hands of the
poor and needy a small pittance of this kind; and, perhaps, when the cold weather
comes, these poor persons may be found crawling among the sheep to keep from
freezing. We do not want to take any donations at the hands of such people, and
where men are working for ten cents per day and paying eight dollars per cord
for wood, we do not expect them to contribute much to the Elders. Such is the
condition of a great number of Saints in Switzerland.
In
relation to the families of the Elders at home, there is plenty in the land. If
we have listened readily to the call made upon us to-day to donate to the
support of the missionary interest, there will be no difficulty whatever. The
suggestion of placing in the hands of the families of our missionaries cotton,
flax and wool, and the means for them to work it up, is very important; I
recommend it especially to our wool and flax growers in this country. Remember
this in your donations: let the wives and daughters of our Elders, some of whom
have been absent six out of eight years in foreign lands, have an opportunity
of making some homespun clothing and of fixing up something that is comfortable
to wear.
Let us be
diligent in these matters and thoughtful, and remember that when we do these
things we participate in the blessings of sustaining the Elders who are
preaching the Gospel to the nations of the earth—a great duty which Joseph, the
Prophet of God, has laid upon this people.
May God
bless us to accomplish this work is my prayer: Amen.
Choir sang, "How happy every child of grace."
Benediction by Elder George A. Smith.
_____
[6 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 4/22/63, p 1]
Afternoon.
The conference was called to order at two o'clock. The choir sang a hymn and Elder John Taylor offered prayer.
Choir sang, "Come let us join our cheerful songs."
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke on the subject of home manufactures. He rejoiced in the rising, spreading glory of Zion, and the vast and rapid increase of the kingdom of our God. In the building up of Zion it is intended that the Zion below shall be ready to meet the Zion from above. He remarked that the Saints are the ones who have to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and it is of no use to depend upon gentiles for they will not do it. Then let all the Saints lead out in the paths of truth and righteousness. Made some remarks upon the gathering of the poor the present season, and felt happy to learn that the Saints had responded to the call for five hundred teams to go after the poor Saints.
[John Taylor]
[DNW 12:338, 4/22/63, p 2; JD 10:145]
REMARKS
By Elder JOHN TAYLOR, Bowery, G. S. L. City, April 6, 1863.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
This
morning we have heard a number of things, in which we are individually and
collectively interested as a people. It is difficult, however, for us to
comprehend our true interests and the things that that would be for our best
good; this arises frequently from want of a correct understanding of matters
that are laid before us, from which cause we arrive at wrong conclusions. I do
not know of any way whereby we can be taught, instructed and be made to
comprehend our true position, only by being under the influence of the Spirit
of the living God. A man may speak by the Spirit of God, but it, requires a
portion of that Spirit also in those who hear, to enable them to comprehend
correctly the importance of the things that are delivered to them and hence the
difficulty the Lord and his Saints have always had in making the people
comprehend the things that are especially for their interests. We all consider
that if we could be taught of God it would be very well; I suppose the world
generally would consider it to be a great blessing. Then the question arises in
their minds, whether the teachings they receive come from God or not. How are
they to know that? I know of no other way than that which is spoken in the
Scriptures, "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty
giveth it understanding." And, again, we are told in the New Testament,
that, "No man knoweth the things of God but by the Spirit of God." Hence
all the wisdom, all the intelligence, all the reasoning, all the philosophy and
all the arguments that could be brought to bear on the human mind would Be of
no avail unless the mind of man is prepared to receive this teaching—prepared
by the Spirit of the Lord, the same Spirit which conveys the intelligence.
Hence we frequently make a very great mistake in relation to our duties, in
relation to our responsibilities, in relation to the obligations that rest upon
us, in relation to the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth and its
government, its laws, its influence and the bearing of those laws and their
influence upon us, and what part we have to act in relation to these matters.
But if we had the Spirit of God, and walked in the light of revelation, and
were guided by the principles of truth, and were in possession ourselves of the
same Spirit by which the truths of God are communicated, then it would be plain
and comprehensive to our understanding, and everything we try to accomplish
would be easy, pleasant, comfortable and joyous, and we should all of us feel
that; we are the children of the living. God, that we are basking, as it were,
in the sunbeams of heaven, that God is our friend, that we are his friends and
are ready to unite with him in the accomplishment of his Work under any and all
circumstances whatever; and I frequently consider that it is in consequence of
the ignorance and darkness and short-sightedness of the Saints of God, that we
do not walk up more readily to enjoy our privileges and fulfil the various obligations
that devolve on us to attain to.
Now, ask
yourselves, when you have been living up to your privileges, and the Spirit of
God has beamed upon your minds, and your souls have been enlightened with the
candle of the Lord, with the intelligence of heaven, and you have walked
according to the light of eternal truth, if in these moments you have not
always felt ready to fulfil any obligations that were required of you, and
whether you have not always performed your duties with pleasantness and satisfaction
to yourselves. But when our minds are carried away with the things of this
world, when we lose sight of the kingdom of God and its interests, its glory,
the happiness and well-being of the human family, and the events that we are
expecting to transpire on the earth, and the part that we are to take in them;
when we lose sight of our various duties as fathers, mothers, husbands, wives
and children, and get carried away with our own notions, ideas and selfishness,
and we become involved in evil, it is then that is is difficult for us to
comprehend the things of God. We say that we are the Saints of God, so we are.
We have repented of our sins, we have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, we have received the laying on of hands for the gift
of the Holy Ghost: we have become a part and parcel of the Church and kingdom
of God upon the earth. We have believed that we were forsaking the world and
its devices, evils, corruptions, frauds and vanity; and we have possessed and
do possess the principles of eternal life. We have believed and do believe that
God has spoken, that angels have appeared and that God has opened a
communication between the heavens and the earth. This is a part of our faith
and creed. We believe that God is going to revolutionize the earth, to purge it
from iniquity of every kind and to introduce righteousness of every kind, until
the great millennium is fully introduced. We believe, moreover, that God,
having commenced his Work, will continue to reveal and make manifest his will
his Priesthood, to his Church and kingdom on the earth, and that among this
people there will be an embodiment of virtue, of truth, of holiness, of
integrity, of fidelity, of wisdom and of the knowledge of God. We believe that
there will be a temporal kingdom of God organized that will be under the
direction and auspices of the Lord of Hosts, and that in all our affairs,
whether they relate to things temporal or things spiritual, as we have been in
the habit of calling them, we shall be under the direction of the Lord, as the
Scriptures say, "It shall come to pass that all the people shall be taught
of the Lord." This is part and parcel of our creed. We believe that we
shall rear splendid edifices, magnificent temples and beautiful cities that
shall become the pride, praise and glory of the whole earth, We believe that
this people will excel in literature, in science and the arts and in
manufactures. in fact, there will be a concentration of wisdom, not only of the
combined wisdom of the world as it now exists, but men will be inspired in
regard to all these matters in a manner and to an extent that they never have
been before, and we shall have eventually, when the Lord's purposes are carried
out, the most magnificent buildings, the most pleasant and beautiful gardens,
the richest and most costly clothing, and be the most healthy and the most
intellectual people that will reside upon the earth. This is part and parcel of
our faith; in fact, Zion will become the praise of the whole earth; and as the
Queen of Sheba said anciently, touching the glory of Solomon, the half of it
had not been told her, so it will be in regard to Israel in their dwelling
places. In fact, if there is anything great, noble, dignified, exalted,
anything pure, or holy, or virtuous, or lovely, anything that is calculated to
exalt or ennoble the human mind, to dignify and elevate the people, it will be
found among the people of the Saints of the Most, High God. This is only a
faint outline of some of our views in relation to these things, and hence we
talk of returning to Jackson county to build the most magnificent temple that
ever was formed on the earth and the most splendid city that was ever erected;
yea, cities, if you please. The architectural designs of those splendid
edifices, cities, walls, gardens, bowers, streets, &c., will be under the
direction of the Lord, who will control and manage all these matters; and the
people, from the President down, will all be under the guidance and direction
of the Lord in all the pursuits of human life, until eventually they will be
enabled to erect cities that will be fit to be caught up—that when Zion
descends from above, Zion will also ascend from beneath, and be prepared to
associate with those from above. The people will be so perfected and purified,
ennobled, exalted, and dignified in their feelings and so truly humble and most
worthy, virtuous and intelligent that they will be fit, when caught up, to
associate with that Zion that shall come down from God out of heaven. This is
the idea, in brief, that we have entertained in relation to many of these
things. If we could keep our eyes upon this a little while, and then look back
to where we came from, examine our present position and see the depravity,
ignorance and corruption that exists where we have come from and that yet
exists among us, it is evident that some great revolution, some mighty change
has got to transpire to revolutionize our minds, our feelings and judgment, our
pursuits and action, and, in fact, to control and influence us throughout,
before anything of this kind can take place, and hence it is when the light; of
heaven comes to reflect upon the human mind, when we can see ourselves as God
sees us and comprehend ourselves as he comprehends us, and understand our
position as he understands it, we should have different views of ourselves than
we have when unenlightened by the Spirit. No wonder that Joseph Smith should
say that he felt himself shut up in a nutshell, there was no power of
expansion, it was difficult for him to reveal and communicate the things of
God, because there was no place to receive them. What he had to communicate was
so much more comprehensive, enlightened and dignified than that which the
people generally knew and comprehended, it was difficult for him to speak; he
felt lettered and bound, so to speak, in every move he made, and so it is to
the present time. Yet this being a fact and these being part of the things we
expect to accomplish, there must be a beginning somewhere; and if the chips do
fly once in a while when the hewer begins to hew, and if we do squirm once in a
while it is not strange, because it is so difficult for the people to
comprehend the things which are for their benefit. We have been brought up so
ignorantly and our ideas and views are so contracted it is scarcely possible to
receive the things of God as they exist in his bosom.
It is
easy for us to talk about heaven, and about going to Jackson county, and about
building up the kingdom of God, &c.; it is easy to sing about it and pray
about it, but it is another thing to do it; and hence the difficulty the
servants of God labor under all the day long is in consequence of the
ignorance, weakness and infirmities of those they have to do with, and yet we
are more enlightened in regard to these things than any other people and have
made more progress; yet how far we come short. What does it necessarily resolve
itself into? We are Saints of the Most High, and we actually, all of us,
believe in those doctrines embraced in our creed. I question whether I could
find a dozen here but what believe in those things I have spoken of. Who does
it affect? The kingdom of God has to be built up, and a revolution must
necessarily take place, not only here but throughout the world. We expect we
are going to accomplish the things of which I have spoken, for they are a part
and parcel of our religious faith. How shall we do it? Who will do it? Do we
expect the folks in the States will do it, or do we expect the Government of
England to establish the kingdom of God, or the people and nations of any other
part of the world? I could not get five men in this congregation that would
believe this. We suppose that the honest-in-heart from different nations will
be gathered together for the accomplishment of these purposes, but we do not
believe the other nations will do it. In fact, it is as much as a bargain to
get them to believe some of the first principles of the doctrines of Christ;
then, when they have made out to do that and have arrived here, it is a little
more than a bargain to get them to believe other things as they are revealed,
not withstanding we all believe somebody has got to do this Work, that it has
to be done somehow and somewhere. Then, if they won't do it in any other
nation, who has to do it? We are the only people under the heavens that are
making an attempt at it, and a blundering one it is, no doubt. The majority of
this people really do feel in their hearts a strong desire to keep the
commandment of God and help to establish his kingdom when they can comprehend
correctly. How shall these things be accomplished? The nations of the world
will not do it, for they are opposed to God and his kingdom. If ever the
latter-day glory, which we have so often spoken of, sang of, prayed about, and
about which the ancient Prophets have prophesied, is brought about, it will be
done by this people, for there is not another people under the heavens that
will listen to it. Then it is a matter that attaches itself to every one of us,
from the President down. We are bound to the Lord by a covenant to help to
build up his kingdom upon the earth. How shall we do it? Shall we do it by
every one of us having our own way? No; we had that where we came from as much
as they would let us. We hear people say sometimes that things are not done
here exactly as they are done in England and in the United States; of course
they are not; we do not expect it—we do not look for it.
We are
associated with the Church and kingdom of God, we are individual members of
that Church and kingdom, and individually we are under responsibilities in that
kingdom. Taking this view of the matter, have we joined this great interest and
come to this country to build up ourselves, to seek our own will and pursue our
own plans, and let our children grow up in the same way we have grown up, in
the same ignorance and darkness, folly, weakness and imbecility, or shall we
try to lead out in another path, seek the guidance and direction of the Most
High God, lead out in the paths of righteousness ourselves, and let our wives
and children follow our example and learn to be better and more intelligent and
wise than we are. If it is only to live that we have embraced this Gospel, we
could have lived somewhere else—if it is barely to exist, that we could have
done in another place; but if it is to build up the kingdom of God upon the
earth, then there is a great work devolving upon us to attend to individually
and collectively, and that is whatever the Lord reveals to us. For instance,
there are ordinances to attend to of what has been termed of a spiritual
nature; we are required to build a Temple, this labor we have got to perform.
It has always been a maxim with the Lord that "To obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
Here,
then, is a Temple to be built, the foundation of which is laid, and
considerable rock has been hauled for the walls, and large amounts of hewing
done. This work must be consummated, and in doing that, we are learning to
listen to the word of the Lord to us and becoming used to the harness. It is a
nice thing to get our endowments, and there is something yet to be got which we
have not vet received. The Scripture says, "First temporal and then
spiritual," and the temporal things are mixed up with spiritual tidings;
but before we are worthy of the one We must take hold of the other.
One plain
matter of fact connected with that Temple is, somebody will have to go to
quarrying rock, to breaking up rock, others have got to take Buck and Bright
and hitch them on to a wagon, and feed and take care of the cattle, and drive
them, and bring the rock safely, without breaking things, where it can be
prepared for the wall. It does not show a man smart because he can break a
wagon, for any feel can do that. It is generally fools that break wagons. And
suppose you do not get everything you want while you are building this Temple.
You would like to have better clothing and better food; do the best you can and
let everybody do the same, and when you have done that thank God for it, and
thank God that you have the privilege to help to build up a Temple unto the
Most High. By and bye you will go into that Temple, and when you have received
your endowments in it and the spiritual blessings that you can get, you will
learn more about building another Temple, and then will come temporal things
again. The Temple we are now building, in comparison, is no more than a little
plaything, but in doing it we shall learn better how to perform temporal things
and spiritual things.
Then the
Saints have to be gathered; it is the Lord's work and it is our work. The Lord
will influence his people to help him to gather his poor from the four quarters
of the globe, and the Lord puts it into the hearts of his servants to call for
five hundred teams to help in this work. This is the greatest honor that could
be conferred on us—to build a Temple to the name of the Most High God, and your
children after you will be proud that their fathers were engaged in such a
work, in building a Temple wherein thousands can receive their endowments. The
adverse circumstances in which this work was done will not be thought of. The
young man takes his ox goad in his hand, and becomes a Missionary to redeem the
poor from bondage and bring them here to participate with us in the blessings
of Zion; he goes with his heart vibrating with the love of God, and he brings
the poor Saint over the Plains, who look upon their temporal deliverers as
saviors; in after time, when the kingdom of God has become powerful and mighty
on the earth, as it will be, these young men will say with pride, "I
participated in the labor of laying the foundation of this great Work, and my
fathers and brothers all helped." I do not say that this people are not
forward in doing these things; from what I have heard I believe they are. There
is a general desire to turn out teams, and they are not backward in going
themselves or in sending. I think this is much to the praise of the Saints of
God in the mountains. There may be a few who will not aid in this Work; those
who do will receive the blessing, and there are plenty who have the means and
the disposition.
Then,
here is a Tabernacle to be built; we want a building of this kind to convene
the people, to protect the people from the wind, sun and rain while they are
worshiping God. Then, the President is continually preaching to us to make good
improvements, good buildings, good gardens, and make ourselves more
comfortable, to elevate ourselves in the scale of existence, that our children
after us may become more elevated also in their sentiments and ideas, and learn
to comprehend their position in the land of Zion and magnify it. If we
understand ourselves and our position, it ought to be with us, The kingdom of
God first and ourselves afterwards. If we can learn to accomplish a little
thing the Lord will probably tell us to do a greater, because we are prepared
to do it. If we were to build a very nice house nobody would be troubled about
it, or if we were to make a pretty garden and cultivate good taste; or if we
could educate ourselves and our children in the arts and sciences and in
everything that is calculated to extend our search after intelligence. In this
manner we can do ourselves and children great good, and aid much in building up
the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. If we are the people of God, and
he is trusting to us to accomplish these great purposes, we have got to do a
little more than we have done, and we have got to be willing and obedient to
the dictation of the Spirit of the Lord and his servants whom he has placed
over us. If we do this, every labor we engage in will be joyous and pleasant to
us, peace will reign in our bosoms and the peace of God will abide in our
habitations, the Spirit of the Lord will brood over us, and we shall be full of
joy and rejoicing all the day long, and so it will be to the end of the
chapter. I know of no other way to accomplish all this Work only to be taught
of the Lord, and for that purpose he has organized his holy Priesthood. We all
pray for President Young continually, that God would inspire his heart and the
hearts of his counsel, that he may be able to lead Israel in the path they
should go. Let us add another prayer to that, that the Lord our God would
inspire our hearts to receive their teachings when they come through them from
the Lord of Hosts; then all things will move on well and no power under the
heavens will be enabled to injure the Saints, but they will go on increasing
from strength to strength, until the kingdom of God shall be established and
all nations bow to its scepter.
God bless
you, in the name of Jesus: Amen.
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson made a few pertinent remarks on the rapid spread of truth and the growth of the latter day kingdom. He remarked that the kingdom of God as a whole was like the principle of plurality of wives, it had got a good start and could not be stopped!
[Ezra T. Benson]
[DNW 12:345, 4/29/63, p 1; JD 10:151]
REMARKS
By Elder EZRA T. BENSON, Bowery, Monday afternoon, april 6,
1863.
_____
[REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
I feel
thankful for the opportunity of meeting in Conference, for I feel that thereby
I may be posted and instructed in those principles that are necessary to
qualify us in the building up of the kingdom. I need not say that we are a
blessed people, for we all know it, and to some extent we realize it. At least
I can say for one, or, in other words, I can speak for myself. So far as I am
concerned, I can realize, and I fully believe more than ever since I joined the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that God our Heavenly Father is
with this people, and that his hand is over us to preserve us all the day long,
and as Saints of the Most High we ought to be grateful to the Giver of all good
for the many tokens of his beneficent care.
If we
inquire after the welfare of the Latter-day Saints, we are told that all is
peace and quietness. How did we come by these glorious principles of life and
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost? Where did they emanate from? They came from
God our Heavenly Father, by embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in faith and
in sincerity. And our testimony to this effect has been felt from the rivers to
the ends of the earth. And by carrying out these principles the Gospel has
brought thousands into these valleys.
There is
no necessity for the Work of the Lord to stop in its present condition and
circumstances. Why so? Simply because the kingdom of God, as an organized body,
is just like the introduction of the doctrine of plurality of wives, it has got
a first-rate good start, and I know that the Devil and all the emissaries from
the infernal regions cannot stop it. The Devil don't like it, but he cannot
help himself, for the Work of God will roll on as long as there is an opposing
power upon the earth, and then it will continue to spread after every species
of opposition is banished from the earth.
The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been organized thirty-three
years to-day, and according to the success and spread of the Gospel of the Son
of God at the time when it was first presented to the human family, if we may
judge comparatively, it will not take thirty-three years more to redeem Zion
and to usher in that reign of righteousness and peace which we all anticipate
and for which we all pray most devoutly.
In the
days of Jesus there was just as much opposition as there is today; then the
Work had but just commenced—it was in its infancy, and did not God our Heavenly
Father bear off his kingdom then? He certainly maintained it till he saw that
the Priesthood could no longer remain upon the earth. He did then and he bears
it off to-day and will so continue until his kingdom triumphs and those who get
under the wheel will be crushed to powder.
My
testimony is, that this is the Work of God, that it emanated from the Father of
light, and I know that it will roll forth and prosper until the kingdoms of
this world become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. I know that God is
able to make the wrath of man praise him just the name now as he was in the
days of the Prophets of old. Who can frustrate the Work of God? It is written,
"The wisdom of the wise shall perish and the understanding of the prudent
shall be hid." It is verily so in this age and generation, for we see the
Elders of Israel going forth without purse and without scrip, preaching by the
power of God the peaceable things of the kingdom to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, and they confound the gainsayer and put to silence
the fault-finder. Then, when I see the wisdom that is displayed through the
ministers of this Church, I ask myself the question, Are we doing our duty as
Saints? Because if we are not, it is time we were waking up to a sense of our
obligations to the Almighty and to his cause.
I am
fully satisfied that we are the happiest people upon the face of the earth, and
it has been brought about by our union and by our faith in God; but have we
been doing the best we could to live our religion according to the best; light
and knowledge we have possessed? If we have, we have within us the satisfaction
of having done our duty.
Now, the
order is to call a number of Missionaries to go to the European nations, and we
are selecting our young men, the sons of the Apostles and Elders of Israel, so
as to give them an experience in preaching the words of life, and that they may
feel their dependence upon God our Heavenly Father. These young men going to
gather the people home to Zion that they may enjoy the society of their
brethren and friends here in the valleys of Ephraim, and participate in the
blessings of that counsel that is so liberally imparted unto us by our leaders.
We have
come here to build temples and tabernacles for the purpose of worshiping our
God therein, and if we do not do these things we shall fall short of
accomplishing that great Work that is laid upon us to perform. Then, I say, let
us build temples, let us gather up our teams and send for the poor and thereby
accomplish the Work that God has set on foot in this our day. Notwithstanding
we are weak creatures, yet we can do something in the rolling forth of the
kingdom of God. I wish a great many times that I could do a great deal better
than I do, but, at any rate, I can say that I am trying with all my soul to
combat the powers of darkness, and I intend to out-general the common adversary
of our souls. Supposing we are united as the heart of one man, then what have
we to do with the world? A great many think that we want to fight the world,
but I till you it is all nonsense, excepting so far as that spiritual warfare
is concerned, in which we are all engaged more or less. Our enemies imgaine
that we want to wage war with them, but they are greatly mistaken, for we are
only at war with their corruption, meanness and degraded conduct. We are
upward, and we have taken steps forward in the kingdom of God, advancing from
one degree of light to another, and the world are mad about it, but we cannot
help that, our business is to serve God and keep his commandments, and
therefore we should endeavor to walk uprightly, remembering that the promise
is, "I will not withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly."
Do we
expect to realize a fulness of these blessings to-day. No, but we expect to
realize some of them—a little to-day and a little more tomorrow, and thus go on
from step to step and from grace to grace until we find ourselves safely landed
back in the presence of our Father in heaven. As regards preaching to this
people and gathering up the poor from other lands, I can truly say that I have
never seen a time in my experience when there was such a willing spirit in
Israel as there is at the present time. I can truly say that we have raised the
fifty-three teams this year just as easy as we did the thirty last year, and
there is quite a difference between thirty and fifty-three. And I feel that
this people will be more blessed in their fields, in their teams, in all their
stock and in their labor of every kind than they were last year. Did we miss
our teams last year? We might miss them from our sight, but the Lord so
abundantly blessed us that we scarcely ever heard them mentioned: everything
moved on harmoniously during the entire season. The Lord blessed the seed that
we put into the ground; he watered the earth from the heavens, and the Saints
of God felt amply rewarded for their labors to help to build up the kingdom of
God.
Though
many may have felt a little faint-hearted because of the war-cloud that has
hung over us, but which has now burst without doing anybody any harm, yet I
feel to say that if we go to war it will be in self-defence, but at present
there is no danger of any serious trouble. We delight not in the shedding of
blood, and my testimony before High Heaven, before this people and before the
nations of the earth is, that we are for peace, and we intend to have it, if we
have to fight for it. You know it may be possible that a man may have to fight
for his religion. This may seem strange, but if a man has got wives, children,
flocks, herds, and Priesthood and gifts from God, and would act fight for them,
I would not give much for him. I say we will fight like the angels of heaven, and
we will call upon our Father in the heavens, upon Jesus Christ, upon the
Prophets and upon the Spirits of just men that have perfected themselves in the
Gospel of the Son of God, and then by their help we will win every time, and
the Devil knows it. Is this boasting? No, not one particle; but if we do boast
we boast in our God, and in those liberal principles which our Father has
revealed unto us.
Brethren,
let us attend to our duties, and let it ever be uppermost in our hearts to
build up the kingdom of God. The promises have and are still being fulfilled. I
have seen the wonder-working hand of the Almighty ever since I have been in
this Church, and I have realized, to some extent, when preaching the Gospel,
that the power of God has accompanied my words. The Lord has sustained his Work
wherever the Elders have gone forth preaching the Gospel, and he will continue
to do so; he will feed them and clothe them, and his Work will roll forth under
the administration of these young men; the blessings of God will go with them.
This is my testimony to you young men who are called upon to go on missions.
Jesus
said to his disciples, "If I go away I will send you another Comforter,
and when he is come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and
of judgment." This Spirit will go with these, our young brethren, and it
will back up their words when they stand up and bear testimony to the truth.
Then let us all try to keep this Spirit within us; let us also labor to build
temples, tabernacles, and all necessary public buildings; let us labor to
gather the poor and then the Lord will bless us in all things; prosperity and
peace will attend our every effort to build up God's kingdom on the earth.
May God
bless you, brethren and sisters, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ:
Amen.
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow gave a brief account of the prosperous condition of the cotton-growing district.
Choir sang, "Hard times come again no more."
Elder F. D. Richards dismissed with the usual benediction.
_____
[7 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/22/63, p 1]
Tuesday, April 7, 10 a.m.
Singing by the choir and prayer by Bishop Lorenzo D. Young.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith said he hoped to see the time when the Saints would be able to meet in a snug little Tabernacle, 250 by 150ft., so arranged that all will be able to hear the speaker. He felt truly gratified in the contemplation of the good prospects for this season's emigration, and he felt it to be his duty to advocate the propriety of having good and efficient teamsters, such as will be teachers, presidents or apostles to the companies - men who will make their wagons their headquarters. Observed that Zion is to be the most beautiful and the most delightful situation upon the face of the earth, and it is important that we should labor to make our inheritances pleasant and agreeable abiding places. With this understanding home manufacture was the religion that he wanted to preach.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde made a few remarks after which the clerk read the list of missionary names.
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 5/13/63, p 1; JD 10:155]
REMARKS
By Elder ORSON HYDE, Bowery, Tuesday Morning, April 7,
1863.
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
Brethren
and sisters, I feel thankful for this opportunity of speaking to you for a
short time. I feel under obligation for this privilege of speaking a second
time before an assembly like this, and I will try not to infringe upon the time
of the brethren who have not yet spoken to you, but who I know are anxious to
do so. To this end, I will endeavor to confine myself to matters that are
directly before us and to present them as they appear to me.
I may
refer to some things that are a little foreign to the texts we have had given
to us, but I hope I shall not be tedious.
We
discover that the nation and people from whom we have come are engaged to the
utmost of their ability in waging war upon each other. In consequence of this,
there is tax upon tax, or rather I should say one tax levied after another to
pay the enormous cost of this fratricidal war. One draft after another is being
made to bring into the field as many men as possible, the best and those that
will be the most efficient to fight the battles of the nation. It is also
perceivable, by reading the late dispatches, that there are apprehensions of a
serious war with the Indians and a partial squinting at a foreign war with
England and possibly with some other power. How this may be and how it may turn
out, it is not necessary for me to predict, but as the life springs to these
deliberations and to these transactions that are now going on, I refer you to
the predictions and revelations given of the Lord through Joseph Smith.
Brethren and sisters, the nation of them that afflicted Israel have now found a
way to use all their muscular power, and have they not use for all their beef
cattle, for all their horses and for all the mules and wagons that they can
muster into service? The nation go to war for the purpose of saving themselves,
for the purpose of protecting themselves in their nationality, and they intend
to make the banner of the nation universal, swayed without let or hindrance.
Well, now the question is, How will these things result? What will be the
result of them? They saw fit to decline the offer that Heaven made to them when
it presented to them the sceptre of peace through the everlasting Gospel. The
means used was by many considered to be too insignificant to bring down the
high and lofty, to bring them to consider the diminutive things of Mormonism.
No, the Gospel came under a name that was too insignificant and too degrading;
but I have seen a something before now wrapped up in a very ordinary style that
has presented a somewhat rough exterior, but inside the cover there has been
contained true, genuine wealth, and when it became visible it astonished its
beholders, and it is and will be so with "Mormonism." It was wrapped
up by circumstances in the beginning, and, in fact, it is still out of sight in
the estimation of the world. It was wrapped up—in what shall I say? In
swaddling clothes, arrayed in a very unseemly garb; but those that have
unrolled it have discovered the valuable treasure, and some few of them can
appreciate it, for they have learned that it is the gift of heaven, given to
the earth, born upon the earth and cradled there. Much too low a region to
secure the privilege of the society and consideration of the great and noble.
Those few that have looked to the healing balm, to the merits of the thing
itself, instead of to the misrepresentation of its enemies, have not only been
healed, but healed and saved by it, and some of them are now basking in
heavenly realms of light; for despite of all the disadvatageous circumstances
by which they were surrounded in this life, there were a host of friends ready
to hail them in that blessed world, where they are beyond the reach of mortal
foe and all the powers of darkness.
The
nation of which I was speaking is employing all these means to which I alluded
with a view to safety; but the question is, whether infinite wisdom and the
economy of God will not cause these means to prove their ruin and to produce
ends and results the very opposite to what they anticipate. My opinion is, that
the results will show that the wisdom of the wise shall perish and the
understanding of the prudent be hid. Now, if the nation employ all these means
to make their own breastworks and bulwarks, secure themselves against an
outward enemy and against a day of famine, they would do well. In their own
estimation and feeling they are displaying superlative wisdom, but in the
estimation of the Almighty they are destroying all their vitality and power. If
this be the design as a chastisement from the Almighty for the transgressions
of the people, then they will weaken and waste away each other until
retributive justice is satisfied. While they will make such efforts and
exertions for their kingdom and government, which is but one of time, what
should we do and what exertions should we make to build up a kingdom in which
there is life, exaltation and glory for evermore? Should we not labor to clear
away and to demolish the great Babylon of corruption that has afflicted the
human race with increasing strength from the fall of man? This great fabric
will be destroyed in this generation. and I ask, How much exertion should we
make towards building up the kingdom of God, which is destined to fill the
whole earth?
I can
tell you that this nation is going to be furnished with all the business they
can attend to, and I expect when they have issued their last dollar in specie
they will then issue, their scrip by tens and by hundreds of millions. While
this is going on, we shall have all the business that we can attend to, and we
shall see more than ever the necessity of faithfulness and fidelity to the
kingdom of God.
We have
heard some good remarks about this Tabernacle; we have also had some good
instruction relative to the building of the Temple, the emigration of the poor,
the sending out of missionaries to preach the Gospel of life to the nations,
and to this end we have been called upon to provide a fund for their
assistance, and also for the assistance of their families during their absence
from home, that is, such of them as have families who will be dependent upon
the fund. This is an important call, and one that should be attended to as far
as we have the means to comply with the requisition. Not only has this matter
been laid before us, but we must remember George A.'s sermon, in which he was
so emphatic in regard to raising hemp and making ourselves hemp coats to
prevent our being placed in as bad, if not a worse condition than our natives
are at the present time in these mountains.
With all
these matters before us, it really seems as if there would be plenty of
business for us all, that is, if we are attentive to the requirements of the
Priesthood. Let me say further, that if we task our energies to the utmost of
our capacity, there will then be no troubles from without. It does seem that
every nerve has got to be stretched and every possible means within our power
used for the building up of the kingdom of God. We shall be required to employ
ourselves indefatigably for the promotion of truth, for the strengthening of
the stakes of Zion; and then if there be no more strength remaining for us to
defend ourselves against the pitiless foe, then, I say, if all our means,
ability and powers are exerted to build up the kingdom which the Almighty has
established, he will say, "Let them alone, they have enough to bear; their
sacrifices and labors are accepted." If we do not do this and neglect to
comply with the requirements made of us, perhaps the surplus strength which we
possess may be called into requisition by an enemy from without. This is an
item worth remembering by all Saints.
Now, here
is a Tabernacle to be built, and what argument shall I need to urge in its
favor. Here are to-day I do not know how many thousands of people exposed to
the wind and dust under this Bowery, and at this early season of the year we
are very liable to have rain or snow. Not only so, but the winter, although
only just passed, may be said to be again approaching, and in that season of
the year we have representatives coming from all parts of the Territory to
legislate for the good of the community, and to have their feelings cemented
together by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be instructed themselves in the
important duties of their callings, then to return to their several and
respective localities and labor to edify the Saints and to keep them posted up
with regard to the things required of them.
It is
important that we have a comfortable place to meet in, and I hope the brethren
will bear in mind the necessity there is for having this building erected. Now,
here with us there is everything to be considered that is requisite to make
life comfortable; and while upon this point let me ask you one thing, or, in
other words, present a figure to you. I will suppose that we are standing by a
large dock, and while there we sea a ship out at sea, and she has sprung
a-leak, and the pumps are playing to endeavor to keep her afloat., but she is
going down, and there are lots of women and children, and they are crying out,
"For Heaven's sake, save us, we are going down." Now, if those on
shore would not fly to the rescue, but would allow that ship, with her
passengers and crew, to go down, their cries unheard, what would all the world
say of such inhumanity? They would say, "You are a set of unfeeling
wretches." Well, now, on the other hand, supposing that we should employ
every means in our power and get all the help we could, and thereby save those
unfortunate creatures and bring them safely to shore, what would they say? Why,
they would say, "You have done well, you have done nobly in rescuing
falling and sinking humanity and bringing them to land." What is that
sinking ship of which I figuratively speak? Why, it is old Babylon, and she is
fast sinking through the leak, and the parties interested may rig all the pumps
and employ all the hands they can to work them, but she is sinking, sinking;
and who are those that are crying for deliverance, who are chained by
afflictions, hound by poverty and confined to the sinking ship, and whose cries
are ascending up to God for their deliverance? Well, it says in the old
Prophets, "There shall be saviors come up upon Mount Zion;" and if
this be so, we have to save the world, for we have the character and reputation
of professing to be those saviors spoken of.
Babylon
the Great is that ship of distress of which I have been speaking, and many of
the passengers thereon are crying, "For God' sake, deliver us." and
if we can supply the place of boats with wagons and teams, the passengers can
be brought home in security. Then, instead of applying the oar, let the
teamsters be in readiness with the necessary fit-out; let the wagons be in
order, and, to the best of our ability, let us supply those who are going on
this mission with the necessary comforts of life. If we cannot do this as well
as we would, let us do the best we can. Our business is to build up the kingdom
of God, and we should each do what we can for its accomplishment. I have been
on board of ships a great deal, and probably I feel the weight of this figure
more than those who have not had this experience.
I will
suppose an individual case; for instance, here is a man, his wife and three
children on board a vessel that has sprung a leak. This man has a good deal of
money and other property on board, and he discovers that the vessel is fast
letting in water, and the man says, "O, my wife; O, my children: my wife
and children and my money will all go down together such circumstances, such an
ordeal is terrible. Now, in such a case as this, a man loses all that he has
got; his money, his wife, his children and his all.
Now, we
will try this case on the other hand. Supposing the ship to be in a dangerous
condition, and the man, with thought as quick as lightning, says, "Money,
take care of thyself; wife and children, let us do the best we can to save
ourselves." With this he pulls off his coat and stuffs it into the hole
where the leakage is, and by this and other means does all he can to stop the
ship from sinking. By taking this course he manifests an independence of
character, a fortitude and a determination to live, and thereby saves the ship
and many of its passengers. The ship is hauled into port, and the man says,
"I have lost all, but I have saved all."
In regard
to building up and embellishing the kingdom of God and preparing the way for
the coming of the Son of Man, let me ask is there anything we will not be
willing to sacrifice for its accomplishment? I believe not, for those that make
the sacrifice will be crowned with laurels of honor, they will be sanctified
among the angels, and be pointed at as the ones that have held out the hand of
deliverance to the poor and oppressed Saints. But says one, "I withheld my
cattle and my means when called upon; they dwindled, they pined away, others
were stolen, and thus I lost them all. I wish I had them now; I wish I could
have done something that would have been spoken of as honorable by the
sanctified ones; but now, poor, penurious, wretched soul that I am, I have
wasted my substance; I have wasted it and lavished it upon the pleasures of
life, and, alas! I have no inheritance in the kingdom of God."
Brethren
and sisters, let us build a Temple, let us build the Tabernacle, and then we
shall feel as comfortable as I anticipated we should when I heard George A.
speaking of it.
I feel
thankful for the privilege and honor of standing before you. I know that our
religion is true; I know that it came from heaven, and I know that in these
days it is as it was spoken by the Prophets of old, "Touch not mine
anointed, neither do my Prophets any harm." Why not? it may be asked.
Simply because they will have the management of your affairs by and bye, and
they will bring the blush upon your face, should any of you interfere with them
now. Be wise, therefore, and be instructed, ye judges of the earth; "Kiss
the Son, lest he be angry with thee and thou perish on the way."
I would
merely acid that we have the mouth-piece of the Almighty with us, and it speaks
to the nations and to the people of the whole world. Go where you will to find
the word of God, circumscribe the universe, and where will you find a man that
can stand up and say, "Thus saith the Lord God Almighty?" You may
search the world over, and you will not find one; but here are men having
responsibility pertaining to the kingdom of God. In the world you may find men
of eloquence, strength and refinement; but can you find that peculiar leaven of
righteousness that is here? No, gentlemen; corruption stalks abroad in the
land, and the tempter stands forth presenting to the unwary all the allurements
which lead to the abominations of Great Babylon. Could I speak with the voice
of an angel, I would say that God has spoken from the heavens through his
servants in the last days, and that here is the mouthpiece of the Most High,
ready to instruct, to correct and to impart the principles of eternal life to
every inquiring soul. Inquire, then, for it is not too late yet; to obey is
life everlasting; in this Church is peace and happiness, and out of it misery
and woe.
God bless
the Saints for ever, and God bless all that bless them and all that feel to
sustain the servants of the living God. Let the blessings of everlasting peace
be with them, which is my prayer in the name of Jesus: Amen.
[Pres. Heber C. Kimball]
Pres. Heber C. Kimball made some instructive observations to the young men whose names had just been read over to take missions to Europe. They were the sons of the Apostles, Prophets and the first Elders of this church, and he felt to praise God that they were going. When he first went out to preach he had to trust in God, and he waned these boys brought to d it also, that they might learn to follow in the footsteps of their fathers.
[Elder Charles C. Rich]
Elder Charles C. Rich followed with some wholesome instruction on present salvation.
[Charles C. Rich]
[DNW 12:369, 5/20/63, p 1; JD 10:160]
REMARKS
By Elder CHARLES C. RICH, Bowery, Tuesday Morning, April 7,
1863.
_____
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.]
_____
I can say
truly that I have been very much interested in the remarks made by the brethren
who have addressed us during this Conference thus far, for the speakers have
all treated upon subjects that are calculated to interest us as a people. All
people that I have been acquainted with interest themselves in something, and
so it is with us, we interest ourselves in such subjects as are most congenial
to our feelings and dispositions, and the subjects that have been brought up
before us for our consideration are subjects that we cannot pass by with
indifference and do ourselves justice. If we look at these improvements that
are before us in a point of light that would be selfish as the world generally
do, and think that we will benefit others more than we do ourselves, and that
we mast have an eye single to the almighty dollar and work for own glory, we
shall make ourselves the most miserable beings upon this earth, and we shall
have nobody to blame but our own dear selves But if we do that which is pointed
out for us to do, having an eye single to the welfare and advancement of the
kingdom of God upon the earth, we shall all the time be doing that which is and
will hereafter be for our best good in this life and in that which is to come.
If we
desire to obtain the blessings of the Almighty in a Temple prepared for that,
purpose; if we esteem these blessings to be of any importance, and if we do not
feel to do without them, what should be our policy and course in such a matter?
Why, I should say, let us build the Temple, in which we may receive our
blessings from the Almighty. We have no interest with other people; we have a
separate community, and our interests are our own; then let us build the
Temple.
What
shall I say in regard to the Tabernacle? We can see at once that we can enjoy
the comforts of a new Tabernacle; we need the blessings of such a house at the
present time. If we put it off, when will it be built? When that house is built
we can then enjoy the benefits and blessings which it will afford. The same
principle may be applied to everything we take in hand and with which we have
to do, whether it be to build a Temple, a Tabernacle, to send teams to the
frontiers to gather the poor, or to do any other work that is required of us.
Nothing that is required will be performed until we go to work and do something
ourselves. We have no other people to lean upon, and, therefore, it remains for
us to go to work and perform well our part.
In one
respect we are highly favored; that is, we can have pointed out to us the work
that should be performed and that will be acceptable in the sight of our
heavenly Father. All the works that he requires us to perform are for our
benefit and salvation. Then, seeing that this is the case, cannot we perform
cheerfully that which is laid upon us? I think we should take courage and do
all we do with a cheerful heart. The Work in which we are engaged is to prepare
us and to exalt us to enjoy the blessings that are promised to the righteous in
this world and in that which is to come.
This is
the view that I take of these matters, and I believe that it is the view
generally entertained by all good brethren and sisters. Then let us go on
cheerfully and harmoniously, remembering that we are free to do good, but that
when one party moves in one way and another in a different one, that produces
division.
We are a
people that profess to be the people of God; and, if we are, we cannot be
divided, for his people are always one, and if we are one, of course we will
act upon the principle of oneness, and in all things do as we are directed,
working for that which will be for our best good both for the present time and
for the future. I know very well that there are a great many people who
speculate in regard to the future and calculate what is to take place; but, so
far as we are concerned, it should satisfy us to understand the duties of the
present. We cannot reasonably, without assuming new responsibilities, know the
truth any faster than we are ready to believe and willing to perform it. If we
knew and understood the labors required of us to-day, that is sufficient for us
to know; then, if we are ready and willing on our part to perform, that is all
that is requisite and all that will be required. Then, I will say to one and
all, let us be awake to our own interests and welfare, and ever be ready to
perform the work that is necessary to be done for the building up of the
kingdom of God, and we shall never be sorry for having taken the industrious
part, but if we have any fault to find, it will be for not having done more in
the work of righteousness. In order that we may have no regret of this kind,
let us be awake to the labors and duties of to-day. I know very well that there
are some people that never get it into their minds, they do not seem to
comprehend that they can perform as much as they really can. When we look at
the history of men in ages that are past and gone, we can see that there were
men called at many times to perform important works that had but little
ability; but we also see that if they put that little ability into exercise and
labored as faithfully as they could, they were enabled to bring about much
righteousness. We want the same feeling and influence with us, then we can
perform the works that are required of us, and do what we do cheerfully and
with a good heart and in that manner which will be acceptable in the sight of
High Heaven, and in this way we shall prosper in all our laudable undertakings,
and we shall receive the blessing of our heavenly Father and the approbation of
all good men.
From the
time this Church and kingdom was established upon the earth to the present day,
we have never been at a loss to know what to do; but we have, at all times and
under all circumstances, had the path of duty made plain unto us and our
individual line of duty marked out unto us; and whenever we have taken the
counsel given, we have been prospered and made happy, while those that have
taken a contrary course have met with disappointment and been thereby rendered
very unhappy. We are all probationers, passing through a state of trial; but
still there is a labor that we can perform in this probationary existence that
will aid in the rolling forth and building up of the kingdom of God, and we can
thereby obtain the blessings that pertain to that kingdom.
We are
all looking forward to a time when we shall receive in that Temple that is to
be built, but which we do not expect to see finished for a short time to come,
all the blessings of endowments and Priesthood that have been promised unto the
faithful. We are called upon to engage in this all-important work; and while we
are laboring at this, let us consider well the endowments that we have so much
need of between this and the time the Temple of our God is finished and made
ready for the additional outpouring of the Spirit of the Most High. If we do
not gain experience and obtain the necessary endowments as we pass along, we
shall find ourselves very poorly prepared for the great and glorious endowments
that are to be received in that Temple. If we do not prepare ourselves, those
endowments, if we are permitted to receive them at all, will be no better for
us than the endowments given to some men in Nauvoo—that is, they will prove a
curse instead of a blessing.
For one,
I feel to rejoice in the blessings of peace that we enjoy and in the union and
fellowship of the Holy Spirit which prevails in the midst of this people, and I
know that these good fruits which are amongst us grow out of those glorious
principles we have embraced. We are united in the truth, and it is by the truth
that we are kept together and that this oneness is made to abide with us
continually; and it is this truth and the Spirit thereof that leads us in the
right direction. By this Spirit we are led in the way of peace, of salvation
and of happiness, while principles that are adopted by the world do not bring
with them salvation.
I have
noticed in my experience with this people that the principles of our faith,
revealed through the Prophet Joseph, produce joy and peace such as the world
cannot give, for our principles bring with them present salvation, and all the
principles of the Gospel that have been and that are to be revealed do and will
continue to bring a present salvation.
This is
the way to be saved, and if we continue to act upon this principle all the time
we shall obtain salvation in this world and in that which is to come. It makes
very little difference to the faithful Saint whether he be called to labor in
this world or in the world of spirits, so that he embrace and live by those
principles that will bring a present deliverance from bondage and sin end
produce within our own bosoms peace and happiness.
We are
blessed with the power to know the right way, for we have around us and in our
midst those men that can point out to us the course to be pursued in order to
secure life and light, and to obtain the blessings promised by the practice of
the truth. We wish to be freed from the error and from the evils of the world,
in order that we may be happy in this life and prepare ourselves for glory and
exaltation in the life which is to come.
There is
one thing that is positive and certain, and that is, that it will require some
labor and exertion on our part in order to secure the great blessings that
pertain to the kingdom of our God. We must, therefore, reflect and apply our
minds and our energies to the acquirement of knowledge, or we shall not receive
the promised treasures. I repeat, we must apply our minds to the principles of
life if we ever expect to obtain their benefits and blessings.
I have
often thought that there were a great many people who thought too much of other
matters; their minds seem to be upon gold and silver and worldly riches,
instead of devoting their time to the obtaining of that eternal store of
knowledge which is necessary for every man and woman to enjoy who are preparing
for the society of the sanctified. The principles of life that we are being
taught are better than the gold that can be found in the mines, for they will
teach us the way of salvation, and by observing them we shall be made to
partake of the benefits and blessings that flow from them.
If our
minds are led to look at matters in this light, our thoughts and feelings will
be to obtain the richest treasure there is within our reach, and when we obtain
that treasure it will be the means of doing away with the evil that is in the
world. If there was no evil amongst mankind there would be no corruption to
encounter; therefore, let us practice the principles of truth and thereby do
away with the influence and power of evil. Let us learn and thoroughly digest
the principles of truth, and then we shall be blessed with all those choice and
desirable blessings which flow from obedience to the pure and holy principles
we practice.
Now, that
each one of us who profess to be Saints may be ready to do these things in
faith and full assurance of having a part in the first resurrection, is my
prayer, in the name of Jesus: Amen.
President Brigham Young then arose and appointed a meeting of the missionaries at five o'clock in the afternoon. Said he wanted these missionaries to go forth trusting in the Lord God of Israel, preach the gospel and comfort the Saints; but he did not want them to ask anything from the poor, but what they did receive, from those who have means, he wished them to use it wisely, and to sustain themselves as far as possible.
Choir sang, "Come, O thou King of kings."
Elder Orson Pratt Dismissed with prayer.
_____
[7 Apr, 2 pm*]
[DNW 4/22/63, p 1]
2 p.m.
Choir sang a hymn, and Elder W. W. Phelps prayed.
Choir sang, "on the mountain tops appearing."
Elder Amasa M. Lyman was called upon and presented the authorities of the church as follows:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselors.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the whole church.
Daniel spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, Thomas B. Broderick, James H. Hart, John Squires and William H. Folsom, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squire, President of the Elders Quorum; James Smith and Peter Latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel M. Moore, President of the Priests' Quorum; Richard W. McAllister and George Openshaw, his counselors.
McGee Harris, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Adam Speirs and David Bowman, his counselors.
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacons' Quorum; Samuel G. Ladd and Warren Hardie, his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
The foregoing quorums and authorities were all voted for separately, and each and all unanimously sustained by the conference.
[Elder Lyman]
Elder Lyman then delivered a highly interesting and instructive discourse on the building of temples, tabernacles and otherwise beautifying and ornamenting the Stakes of Zion. He then spoke of the renovating and sanctifying power of the truth when applied, and its inculcations carried out in the lives of men.
[Amasa M. Lyman]
[DNW 12:386, 6/3/63, p 1; JD 10:178]
[DNW issue missing]
I am glad
to have the opportunity of making some remarks in relation to some matters that
interest us as Saints. I do not feel disposed at the present time to seek
either to please myself or you by undertaking to discourse in a very methodical
manner but I wish simply to talk of such things as may be suggested to my mind
and of such matters as will interest us and as affect our interests as a community.
The character of our meetings are such as seem to render short sermons the
order of the day; they are texts from which the people may preach their own
sermons, and this will, doubtless, be most appropriate.
I have
been much interested in the instruction that has been addressed to the
Conference since its commencement; and the topics that have been talked upon
are of all-importance to us who are engaged in the building up of the kingdom
of God. I have listened with pleasure to them myself, and my thoughts and
reflections have been pleasing, especially so because of the belief which I
entertained that those instructions were directly connected with the working
out of that salvation that we are seeking for.
I was
much pleased and gratified with the allusions that were made and the
instructions imparted this morning to that portion of our community who are
called to preach the Gospel and minister for the salvation of mankind, by
acting in the capacity of teamsters to drive teams from various parts of Utah
to Florence and then back again to this point with heir freight of Saints.
I have
been led, from what I have observed, to entertain some serious reflections with
regard to these our brethren, believing in my own mind that they are too apt,
as a general thing, to dismiss from their feelings, if the sentiment was ever
entertained by them—they are too apt, I say, to forget that they are actually
preachers of the Gospel and ministers of salvation to the people, in their
capacity as teamsters. I fear that they have thought themselves less honorable
than others, because they had not to go abroad and simply tell the people of
principles by which they might be benefited and saved; and because of their
entertaining this feeling a small degree of recklessness and carelessness in
relation to their conduct have been allowed to gain the mastery over them.
While we are acting as a lot of teamsters we do not arrogate to ourselves the
dignity of being missionaries; we are apt to think that there is nothing in
that kind of business that is calculated to ennoble and enlighten mankind. In
the most honorable acceptation of the term, we are only going to drive a team
to the States and back again, and, consequently, there is little or no
responsibility resting upon us, beyond that which may be placed upon those who
are appointed to regulate our actions, to take care of the teams and to act in
the capacity of Captains. If we do this duty, as we consider it to be one, in
that way that will be considered well done, and so that it will be accepted by
our brethren, then all is done that was embraced in the nature and character of
our calling. I want to say to our brethren who are called to act in this
capacity, that they are in every sense of the word ministers of salvation, and
as such they should be men of pure feeling, they should be men honest in
bearing forth pure and holy principles and men that should honor God in every
feeling of the heart, with every thought and every action, men who should be
mindful of God and of their relationship to him.
If this
feeling could be cherished within those men, it would save them continually
from recklessness; it would save them from the commission of many wrongs, from
many evils that are done by those who are so unfortunate as to be destitute of
the knowledge of the truth which has been daily imparted to our brethren. By
this means we can not only be delivered from sin, but we shall never suffer the
evil consequences, and we shall know better than to say or do anything that
will cast a darkening shadow over the otherwise bright fame of other
individuals. I would really love to see men that would go to drive teams act as
though, to a certain extent, the responsibility of God's Church and kingdom
devolved upon them; I would like to see them act as men, as Saints and servants
of God, and I would like to see them make themselves men of purity, the
examples of the rectitude and propriety of their own conduct, so that their
actions would be altogether commendable to God and such examples as would be acceptable
to all good men. The man who simply goes to preach the Gospel is no more doing
the will of Heaven than the man who drives an ox team for the salvation of his
poor brethren. The man who has horses to drive and carry him along over the
country to aid him in forwarding the purposes of Heaven, should feel that the
position is an honorable and responsible one. No matter what a man's sphere of
action be, if he be devoted to his calling, his labor will be acceptable. The
man who has no oxen or horses to drive, but who has to pass over the country
preaching the Gospel, is very fortunate if he can get horses to draw him along
through the district of country in which He is called to travel. Amidst all the
difficulties which he may encounter he should feel that his position is both an
honorable and responsible one. If men have this feeling what will they do? Why,
they will pursue about the same course that those brethren will who have been
called by this Conference to go on a foreign mission. These young men are going
out into the vineyard to become praying and preaching men, to become examples
of propriety and to let their actions evince that decorum and rectitude of
feeling that will prove them to be all they profess—Saints and servants of the
living God. This is a just and a proper feeling for them to entertain and their
conduct should be in strict accordance with their high and holy profession.
What are
these brethren expected to do while upon this mission? What would naturally be
expected of men called to act in this capacity? We would expect that they would
remember God; but how should they remember him? They should not merely remember
him at stated times, when they might, by specific regulations instituted, be
bound to offer their supplications to him in prayer, but they should attend to
this in its time and season, they should remember him in secret that he might
not forget them in public, and in this way they will not only remember God but
they will have reason to think of his goodness and they will always have him in
their thoughts. Let them adopt this plan, and then when you meet them on their
journey or see them collected around their camp fire, their time will not be
wasted in useless and foolish conversation, but their time will be occupied in
the adjudication of such questions as will lead their minds to the
understanding of the truth and to the comprehension of the character of that
God whose representatives they are called to be.
This is
what we would expect of missionaries; we would naturally expect they should be
praying men, that they should be God-fearing and God-loving men continually.
And what we should expect from that class of missionaries we should expect and
we ought to see with and among every other class of missionaries, the teamster as
well as the preacher. The teamster labors to build up the same kingdom that the
preacher does, depending for its development upon the influence and power that
the truth gains among the children of men. How is this to be accomplished? By
laboring and gradually gaining strength and by obtaining a still stronger hold
in the affections of the people.
Then I
hope that the teamsters, and I suppose they are all present at Conference,—but
if there should be some of them at home they will doubtless find the
instruction good for them before they start upon their journey, and even when
they are performing their return journey they can do much by favoring the
improvement which there ought to be in this class of the ministry,—I hope that they
will study to be sober, both spiritually and morally, and when they get to
Florence I do not want them to harrow up the good, kind feelings of their
brethren the returning missionaries, by becoming slightly inebriated, and
accept of my assurance that you can be credited with performing the whole
journey if you never get drunk once. It seemed to me when I was there last
season that there was a portion of that same reckless spirit among our brethren
that was manifested by the gentile emigration that I saw passing over the road.
They seemed to fed that they had never performed the journey before, and they
appeared to feel and act as though they thought trial although they might never
have been drunk all their lives, still they must celebrate such an important
event as the performance of a journey from here to Florence by getting drunk! I
was sick when I was there, but the nights were made hideous and horrid by that
mistaken class of missionaries who were sent out with wagons and teams to bring
in the poor. There were some of them who did not see the nature of their
business, the purity of its character and its holiness, but they would give way
to recklessness and to acts of immorality. I allude to it here because I saw it
then as a thing to be corrected, and it is one that I have no doubt will be
corrected.
There are
a great many things connected with the accomplishment and performance of the
duties of this class of missionaries to which is attached by some a great
degree of importance, while by others perhaps these things will be regarded
with indifference. Now, I have long entertained this feeling of attaching
importance to this kind of missionary labor: perhaps I am wrong; but it does
not change the fact that I have entertained add cherished it as a correct and
true principle, and as such I have taught it before the Saints, which shows
that I feel interested in the proper management of our emigration and
solicitous that a good example should be set before the in-gathering Saints.
In our
going abroad to proclaim the Gospel, we go to preach its principles to the
people, and there is nothing else that I know of laid upon us to perform but to
preach the Gospel and proclaim that righteousness to the people that has been
made known in these last days, that those who believe may continue from their
introduction into the Church and kingdom of God to travel onward and upward in
the principles of salvation. Well, then, if this is all that devolves upon us
as missionaries abroad, then we have nothing else to preach or practice, or in
which to engage ourselves, but the performance of that duty. And permit me here
to remark, that I am exceedingly glad to see the change that has been and is
transpiring in regard to the manner in which our brethren go abroad, and the
kind of treatment extended to those who are dependent upon them while they are
absent. I believe I can appreciate these blessings. The appointed missionary
has no excuse, there is now no reason why his affections should not be entirely
devoted to the ministry; but there is no reason why his energies should be
wasted in a useless anxiety about things which are entirely beyond his reach.
We might as well try to change the condition of the dead as to think of turning
all men in favor of our Gospel, this will never be, but we expect to make many
converts. In going forth to do our duty in warning mankind we should not have
our minds troubled and perplexed on account of our families being destitute of
johnny cake at home, and when we have the assurance that our families are
provided for, then there is but one labor, but one branch of business in which
may be enlisted every feeling of the soul. But if a man has no cause of
trouble, he can engage heart and soul in the work of the ministry and think of
nothing else but the Work in which He is engaged. "But," says one,
"I cannot forget my wife and child that are at home." You are not
required to forget them. I could always remember my wife and my child, but did
I sorrow over them and fear that they were starving to death? No; I did not.
Why? One reason was that they had never starved to death before when I left
them; and I knew that we had travelled together and appeared to walk hand in
hand with the meagre hag, and that she had met us at every corner of life's
path, but I also knew that our poverty had never produced starvation. Under
these circumstances then, when absent on missions, we kneel down and pray,
"God bless the distant ones at home," and then go on about our
business.
I hope
for the blessing and prosperity of the Work of God, for its continued increase,
and that the Elders who go abroad may feel to the extent they should the
importance of the position they occupy and the true nature of the Work of God.
Brethren, do not think of anything but to increase the Work in which we are
engaged, for if it succeeds we should be sustained. There is always an increase
of our individual work in the increase of the aggregate of God's kingdom upon
the earth. "But," says one, "I do not know when I shall get that
other wife or those dollars I am after." Now wait a little; never mind
those things at present, but attend to your duties in the Church and kingdom of
God. "Why," says one, "have you got rich?" No, I have not
in one way, but in another I have. Some would imagine that I had according to
the Mountain Boys' manner of speech, but I have not got rich in this way; I
have got rich in learning to wait my time for everything, and to be patient
until the proper time comes. I do not say that I have got rich, but I have
gained. I wont say that I have gained as much as I might have done but I am
going to keep on gaining and adding more and more to my already acquired stock
of patience, and I want to see all the brethren going on in this way.
"But," says the young brother that has no wife, "would there be
any harm in me taking a wife?" I presume that under certain circumstances
there would not, and I presume equally that under other circumstances it would
be wrong. Then, when you are sent abroad to preach the Gospel, do not take a
wife, but attend to your duties in that calling. I have been abroad for almost
thirty years, performed numerous missions, and I have never been commanded to
go abroad to take a wife. I want to see the brethren who go on missions give
their minds and talents to the preaching of the Gospel, that by their honest
treatment of the people the Saints may be honestly gathered, be taught and led
onward and upward in the pathway of exaltation and happiness.
When men
labor in this way, the prayers of the just will bless them; they will become
rich—in what? In the faith and confidence of the souls that have become
enlisted in the truth through their philanthropy. This will make a store for
holy reflection that will last perpetually and eternally. But if we would
secure this in its fullest extent while here, remembering others as we think of
ourselves, we must extend and manifest to them the same honest, truthful and
proper conduct that we wish to have extended to us. There is none of us who
would desire any wrong to be extended to us; we would not crave it; we would
not ask for it unless we asked it in ignorance, but never while in the exercise
of good judgment. If you would never have evil at your door, never carry evil
and lay it at the door of your brother or sister, but be honest, pure and just.
You can do this, if you cannot do everything; and Elders in Israel who act in
this way are always blessed. You never saw such men engaged in any labor but
what they were blessed. You never see them go abroad but what they are blessed;
and when the fruits of their labors flow in the homeward tide to Zion, that
blesses them; it tells of their integrity, of the truth of their teachings, of
their conduct, of their example and of their actions, as well when abroad as at
home. Those persons who were thus gathered tell of their teachings, of their
counsels, and of the advice which was given to them by those Elders, which was
productive of salvation under all circumstances, at all times and in all
places. This is the time when we might afford to weep, as the President said in
reference to the young brethren that are going abroad; when they come back,
having magnified their calling before God and the Saints, then he said he could
weep, and who could not? It would be no tears of grief, no effusion of sorrow,
but it would be simply the overflowing of the feelings of joy and gratitude.
This is worth all that has to be endured while absent from our friends. Does
this privilege and blessing of holding the priesthood belong to these young
missionaries alone? No, there are hosts of them. Why, the whole land is filled
with Elders holding the Priesthood of God; they are to be found numbered with
the Elders' Quorum, with the High Priests and with the Seventies, and, in fact,
all through the land you can hardly see a man who does not hold the Priesthood
of the living God. And the purify of life that should characterize the man who
is a minister of Jesus Christ should be above the mediocrity of ordinary men.
The man who administers the words of life and salvation cantinually to the
people, should set forth that which he seeks to develop in himself and he
should seek to put away that careless indifference of character which
characterizes many others; he should have a sacred and holy regard for the
truth; he should make life subservient to the truth always, and should never do
violence to the principles of purity for any reason that could be urged nor for
any cause that could be plead, but he should be among the people an example of
righteousness in whatever capacity he might be called to act as a revelator and
a minister of God. By doing this, do you not think there would be a
reformation? Yes, there would be a reformation and an increase of intelligence
and of purity of life. "Well," says one, "do you not think there
is an increase already?" Yes, I do; but who does not know what has been
the claim and character of some men in times past; for instance, a man that has
done one thing great and good has satisfied himself with that, hence he has
made no further exertions to do anything in any of those quorums by which to
raise and gather around him the ornaments of society.
Now, let
us not be satisfied with these good feelings and influences of the heart; but
let us be faithful and stand for God, let us say we have received much that has
been good and precious, but still, good Lord, we want more. For that let us
pray on, let us preach on and practice purity of life, and still seek to be the
ministers of righteousness that we may gain that which we have not yet
acquired, and get that which we do not yet possess.
Now, this
Conference should be the means of carrying to the people suggestions and
instructions of this kind by means of the Bishops and their Counsellors.
Supposing that these men holding the Priesthood, instead of holding it as
ministers of God and of the truth, should waste their time in idleness, and
should make their office the means of their own aggrandizement, and, instead of
improving the opportunities afforded them to facilitate the advancement and
improvement of the people, should neglect that which is really necessary to be
done and turn the labor upon work that would be unprofitable and that would
involve the people in debt and difficulty, of what benefit is such a minister?
The result would be that the people would feel burdened throughout the land and
there would be discontent among the citizens. But supposing the presiding
officer should take the lead and say, Here is a new interest, let us be
awakened, and let us one and all unite to benefit the community,—Would not this
produce a good feeling? Then let the Bishop, the Priest and the preacher,
instead of introducing follies and nonsense among the people, spread out before
them the principles of equity, and create within them a lively interest in. the
Work of God. Let the subjects of their thought and the topics of their
conversation be such as will lead them to the acquirement of that intelligence
that comes from God. But if the head gets sick and dull through age and the
absence of the spirit of life, the heart becomes sick also. "What do you
mean?" says one. I mean that the Elders can, by their faith, their energy
and their life, instil into the minds of the people a perseverance and a
determination to press forward such as is not likely to be, unless an influence
is used for that purpose. By taking this course, they will secure the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit and the confidence of their brethren.
Let me
advise all men to be wise, and especially those who are not any older than I
am; and if I am not considered to be old, I would say that I mean all men who
are of my age, and also those who are younger as well as those who are older; I
would advise all such to be sober, to be sociable and to do as much good as
they possibly can, by setting a good example before their children, by being an
example of propriety of action and by striving to keep far from them faults of
an evil character. Now, it does seem to me that my example will have its effect
among my friends. For instance, if a man indulges in drunkenness, and if I
refrain from this habit, when I meet that man he will endeavor to be completely
guarded and not be cursed by the evil consequences of his slavish habit. We want
to be perfect in everything we do and in all life's vicissitudes to realize
that we do speak the truth, and let us be sure to remember one thing, that the
intimacy of our relationship with celestial beings is such that we should be
strict examples to others in the keeping of our word. We should never lie; if
we tell a falsehood to a brother, however friendly and kind he may be, he could
not change that lie into a truth; therefore cease from lying. We are all
guilty, more or less, in this respect; when I go and make a promise to a
brother, or if a brother make a promise to me, I hold that promise to be
sacred, although the man was under the necessity of promising something because
his business required him to do so, hence it is important that we be careful about
making promises. O do not consider that we honor God or worship him any more by
making so many promises. Let us especially be careful to abstain from all that
is impure, unjust and unholy; for if we are going to be like God our justice
must be just, and it must have its exercise in the narrowest and smallest as
well as in the broadest avenues that are in life's relations, and we must be
scrupulously honest in its administration.
Remember,
my brethren, that honesty is the safeguard to our actions, and remember that
every good gift comes from our Father and God. It is our duty to honor our
Maker and God in all our ways; and I can tell you this one truth, that until we
can love each other and regard each other's interests, we shall fail to enjoy
the blessings of celestial glory; and if you think of enjoying celestial glory
without this element as well as the many others that are required of us, let me
request you to stop and pause, for you cannot do it; you cannot enjoy this at
my house when I and mine are glorified; but we do not want anything that is
dishonest about us. Let us be faithful and just in our dealings and try to
elevate ourselves in the scale of intelligence, and prepare ourselves for the
benefits and blessings of Heaven's common education. This is the point that we
have been striving, studying and struggling to attain. We want to be educated
in God's way, that we may submit ourselves to God and be willing to be governed
by his laws in all things.
We have
got a little of the Lord's property in our possession, and we call it ours.
Now, if you undertake to persuade some persons to go with you, the question
immediately arises, What are you going to give us to pay us for going with you
to Zion? This is about the feeling, but the property which we own and are
stewards over is just what the Lord has placed in our hands. He has stored away
property for the benefit of his penniless children, and he will bestow it upon
them in due time. It is hard to tell what the anticipations of the people are;
but if they will acknowledge the hand of God in all things and live by the
truth as it is revealed unto them, they will increase in influence and power
with God and all good men. When they have enjoyed all that they can enjoy of
life and life's blessings, as they are gratuitously bestowed by God their
Father, who do you suppose will be the most accommodated with the Temple that
is to be built? If the Lord comes down to visit that Temple, he will come down
to bless his people and not to benefit himself. Suppose he should come now, who
are prepared to receive him? and who would share the greatest good and be the
most accommodated by the building of this Temple? Why the blessings would be
the people's; the happiness and the benefits thereof would be for the people, and
the glory that it would afford to the Almighty would only be that which the
blessing would afford him of seeing his children happy in the enjoyment of the
benefits of his mercy. This would be his blessing, and he would also enjoy the
shelter that was made for him in the Temple of our God. Now, let us go to work
with this feeling, remembering that we have a great deal of responsibility and
care upon us; let us not cease to be active, for we have always plenty to do;
we have always enough responsibility to keep us busy and to keep the great
stone of the kingdom of God rolling onward. It is a common saying that a
rolling stone gathers no moss, but I do not care for this saying, for I know to
the soul that lives in the Gospel and enjoys its life-imparting influences,
there is a stream of imperishable wealth flowing unto such a soul. A man cannot
perform a good action without its bringing its corresponding reward, neither
can he perform an evil one without its corresponding effects upon his life and
character.
My
invitation is, especially to the Elders, let us go abroad as men of God to
build up the kingdom of our Lord and Master. Let us know nothing while upon our
missions but that which tends to the interests of that kingdom to which we
belong, and let all we do be done for the interest and upbuilding of the
kingdom of God. Let us carry its interests with us in our hearts; let us speak
of it in the private circle; do not let it be spoken of in the pulpit alone,
but let it be spoken of between man and man, husband and wife, father and son,
parents and their children, and in all life's associations; yes, let the light
of eternal truth be kindled in every heart, let the fire that will consume the
dross of our errors be lighted up in every soul, in every household, until
every household becomes a sanctuary of the Most High, and until every family
becomes a worshiping assembly such as will be acceptable to God—a people whom
he will delight to own, to honor and to bless, and then, whether a man have one
wife or two, or a dozen, his home will be a happy one, it will be a little
heaven below. It will be a happy one, because it will be a peaceful one and
because that home will simply be one sacrifice upon the altar devoted to God,
to truth, to principles of purity and to heaven. "But," says one man,
"can a brother obtain celestial glory if he has only one wife?" Yes,
he can have great glory with one wife. "And," says this brother,
"would you not advise some men not to have but one wife?" Yes, I
certainly would. "And who would you advise?" I would give this
advice, because I know that there are a great many more men getting more than
one wife than are capable of treating them decently; I am sensible of this. But
then I have no advice to give about getting wives at all, but I have some
advice that I always have to give to those that have wives, and that is to
treat them kindly. "Well, but," says one, "I would like to have
my wives obey me." Well, then, I will tell you how you should act. You be
obedient to those who are placed to counsel and guide you in the principles of
life; and if you follow their counsel, your wives will not be likely to rebel
against you. This is what I have to say upon this subject, and the reason I say
it is because I want to have that portion of intellectual humanity that is
subservient to me understand their position and relationship to each other and
to God. If I make myself before them a continual, perpetual and unceasing
example of obedience, and then ask them to obey me, I shall have no fear about
their compliance. I seldom, if ever, ask them to obey me. If they do not know
that and do not feel that I have honored them, they have not as much sense as I
have given them credit for.
I would
like my family to love God and keep his commandments, to abide by the
principles of purity, to love to impart them to their children by practice, by
teaching and by example and by every means by which children can be influenced
by their parents. Then, if this were carried out in every family, there would
be something in the tendency of our lives that would have a regenerating
influence upon the rising generation, physically and mentally. Then let us try
to be Saints as husbands and fathers, Saints as children and friends, and in
all life's relationships let us act truthfully and consistently. And if we who
minister in the ordinances of the house of God were to do this, and were all to
open our mouths in favor of the truth, where the truth is dropping and
distilling upon the people like the dews of heaven, this would make everything
green, fresh and lively throughout the land of Zion, and then Zion will
increase and grow and its never-ceasing embellishments will be seen in the
conduct of the people, for Zion will be sanctified by the conduct of the
Saints.
Now, my
brethren and sisters, in conclusion, let me say, may God bless you and me in
doing all the good we can, in practicing righteousness, in doing that which we
know to be right and in living that which we do not know but are taught by
faith to observe, and thus fill up our lives in usefulness, then when we get to
know the truth more perfectly we shall rejoice therein. If we only do this, we
will bring our application of the truth home and there allow it to do its work,
for the fruits of the truth are here and we shall realize the blessings of them
for ever. and that this may be your happy condition and mine is my prayer, in
the name of Jesus: Amen.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow bore testimony to the Good spirit and good teaching that had characterized the Conference. Made some pertinent remarks on the liberty and freedom afforded by the gospel of Jesus Christ, after which he discoursed at some length on the particular religion of the Saints.
Choir sang, "God is my song."
Benediction by Elder George D. Watt.
_____
[7 Apr, evening]
[DNW 4/22/63, p 1]
Tuesday Evening.
Priesthood Meeting. - John Young, presiding.
Singing by the audience.
Prayer by Elder George B. Wallace
[President John Young]
President John Young made a few remarks expressive of his desire to receive the reports from the branch quorums of High Priests in the public meeting, if the brethren were prepared to do so. reports were then handed in and read by the Clerk of the High Priests Quorum
[Bishop Hunter]
Bishop Hunter next addressed the priesthood. He spoke highly of the response that had been made by the brethren to the call for teams to go east. He wanted the farmers to turn their attention to raising white beans as well as flax, hemp, cotton, cane and other necessaries.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young called the attention of the priesthood to the necessity of the Latter Day Saints becoming a self-sustaining and independent people, producing within the limits of their own Territory, so far as practicable, everything they consume. His entire discourse, which will be printed in full, was designed and calculated to show men how to live independently.
[Brigham Young]
[CDBY 4:2099]
Now my
brethren, if you will give me your attention I will speak a few words to you. I
have not spoken out of doors, I have not felt as if it was my duty.
Here
before me are the kings of the earth, the Lords of the earth. We have left at
home the other portion of the society that composes our community, but here are
the responsible persons, those who hold the priesthood of the living God. You
will find in very many cases that the wife will follow her husband.
In fact
in most cases if a man apostate sizes, he will lead away his wife; a few cases
to the contrary. The man is the head, the responsible party. We composed the
kingdom of God on the earth; this community called Latter Day Saints format
kingdom spoken of by the Prophet, of which it is said: and in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. The male portion of
this community are the leading ones, they are the Legislators, they are the
senators, they are the House of Lords or the House of Peers, or the Governor
and Governors of the body that dictate and guide the affairs of this kingdom;
and I will say here when you find a man that will bow down to his wife, and be
dictated by her; if the wife dictates, guides and leads, that man will not be a
counted worthy in the end to possess a family, for he cannot control them,
therefore he will have to be controlled by others; and if he is so happy as to
get into the celestial kingdom and get a wife it will be through those that
preside over him.
Now here
we wish to organize the kingdom of God upon the earth; we wish to see this
kingdom perfect. Now the question arises can we perfect the kingdom of God upon
the earth? We have commenced, and I will say there is a great deal already
accomplished. The people that have embraced the gospel in the latter days have
manifested a willingness to do anything that they are required to do in order
and by this means perfect themselves upon the earth. This people have
manifested great faith and great obedience, far beyond any other people in the
world; still there are a great many little things that are yet pending before
us and that we have to attend to in order to perfect the organization of the
kingdom of God.
It has
been sent to this people many times that they have got to sustain themselves.
We must provide food, raiment and every kind of material that we need for our
home consumption. This is the object that I have before my mind this evening,
that this people must provide for themselves. No matter what you take up or
talk about; if it is corn that we want we must raise it; it is true that some
of us do raise it, but we do this we need something else, yes everything that
we have to consume. I want you to understand what I am talking about.
We as a
community, the old and the young, the male and the female and the female, want
everything that tends to make life comfortable. Now the question arises in my
mind, how many articles of clothing and food have this community in their
possession that are entirely useless? Can we say three to ten? Yes, I we think
we can safely say that many. Could not say five to ten? I presume we could; I
have no doubt but we could. We are anchoring after, longing for and laboring to
obtain articles when we have not the least used in the world for but one half
of them. We are wondering after shadows, and every impulse of the affections is
either for good or for evil; every thing that has been or that will be induced
is either for good or for evil. If there is a hundred new articles introduced
into the market we want everyone of them immediately, and it does seem that we
cannot live without them. How on earth did the women live without hoops before
they were introduced? Do hoops keep their legs and bodies warm? The sisters say
they are very warm and pleasant in winter and cool and agreeable in summer. I
never raised any argument on the subject, but still I never think of it but the
statement of the drunkard occurs to me. In cold weather liquor warms him, and
in hot weather it cools him. What beautiful logic this is; and yet this is just
what I have been accustomed to hear drunkards say from my youth. With the
ladies the hoops are so nice they swing over the kettles and the dishes so
prettily!
I might
enumerate a great many things that I consider to be useless. I will just
mention that tobacco for one article. There is more grumbling in Deseret for
tobacco than there is for bread. I recollect when I came into the valley in 1848,
bro. Hunter had been here through the winter, and in talking with him he said
there was a great deal of suffering, more for tobacco them for bread, and yet
this article is useless except for sick cattle. And I know the brethren will
testify that it does them more harm than good, and that it causes five times
the evil that it does good, yet notwithstanding all this they will not abstain
from it. I have used tobacco moderately for many years, though not for several
years past, and I know it is useless, and I know that I am better off without
it then with it, but the other brethren, it appears, must have it. Then why not
go to work and raise the tobacco we consume? We have talked about this for
years, but are we any nearer to its accomplishment? Very little, if any. I have
asked the Bishops to raise in their wards, the tobacco they wish to consume,
but they do not do it. I do not know what they say, neither do I know what they
feel, but they do not do it. Now I say that we do not ought to buy another
pound to be brought into this Territory, and if I had my way about it I would
never suffer another pound to be brought here. Many would think this very hard.
What about the sufferings of these brethren for the benefit of the community?
They have none comparatively speaking.
I asked
this community as a whole and I will say that they are a wonder; the people are
better off than ever they were in their lives, and still they think if they
have to go without whiskey or tobacco they are making great sacrifices for the
kingdom. I do not agree with them. Now if we will do ourselves a kindness to
leave our tobacco off, and then you will find that tobacco wont be brought
here. while upon this point let me remark that this is just as good a place as
there is in America to raise tobacco in. I do not you would get as good a crop,
but it can be raised here in large quantities, sufficiently to supply our
market. The madder can also be raised here to advantage, and the Indigo can be
raised in the southern part of our Territory. For madder there is no better
place than right round here, neither is there any better climate and soil than
there is in these northern countries for raising Madder. We can raise indigo at
St. George and Washington and I presume at Toquerville, and perhaps up on the
Rio Virgin, but this is not the place for indigo, but when you come to madder
you don't have to go south. Then when we talk of tobacco, it can be raised
where corn can be raised. They raise good tobacco in Canada, and in the state
of New York and wherever they can raise this large corn.
In regard
to cotton I will say do not attempt to raise it here in this climate. Cotton
branches out a great deal when growing, the first balls that the grower is kept
appear are ripe the first, and of the gathering for about two months; in Texas
they can gather six or eight times.
Now I
want to say to my southern brethren who are here and to all the brethren who
live in that region encourage the raising of cotton. Supposing we had fifty
tons of cotton that we could card, and the merchant could make as much
including cotton as he could in bringing goods to this place. Cotton is not now
less than from ninety five to 105 cents a pound. If we had this amount at St.
George we could carry it east and they would spin it for us and bring it home,
and then it would not cost us more than one third of what it does now, or we
could it to the eastern merchants and bring home the cotton cloth or the money.
We can raise cotton and supply ourselves, and this is the business that the people
should be looking to. You heard some remarks upon the subject on yesterday, and
you hear of it from week to week.
With
regard to the kingdom of God upon the earth, we should never keep in view that
we must be made perfect; we must come to understanding we must receive the
oracles of truth; we must prepare for the building up of Zion and for the
coming of the Son of Man. All these things we preach, and we hear preached, and
yet when we say to our Bishops go and organize your wards, and say to one man
do this, to another do that; take the farmer and put him to farming, take the
wagon maker and sent him to work at his trade, let him work in the shop and let
him in the broken wagon, and then let the man who follows the plow go to the
wagon make her, the shoe-maker and give his wheat and takes what he wants from
them. Just as quick as we come to this we shall prosper and increase in not
faith, but we have got one ward organized yet; now I am not going to blame you,
nor am I going to find fault or to grumble at you particularly, but I am
continually thinking for the welfare of his people, and I pray for them all the
time.
You and I
want to be comfortable, to be rich. we want to have our lands and every thing
around us that will make us happy and cheerful; and the very course that we
pursue makes it appear that we might increase in wealth faster if we knew how
to govern and control our own labor. Now we want flax here, and bro. Hunter has
just told you that all the flax seed is gone from the tithing office. We lent
out Some two or three hundred bushels of seed some five or six years ago, and
where is the flax and hemp that have been raised by the brethren who borrowed
the seed? They have either disposed of it or lost it.
Now save
the flax seed. Can we find one man that will do us the kindness to raise some
flax for thread? This is a thing that I have proposed for several years. We
might perhaps find one that would it if we would pay him double what it is
worth. (John S. Smith, of Kaysville will: I will raise it.) (Bishop Layton said
he was going to raise half an acre of fine flax.) In Germany and in Denmark
they raise a superior article of flax, and when a shirt or a pair of pants is
put on to a boy it is probably worth ten of such as we buy here in our stores;
and if we were organized as Wards we should then raise all these things within
ourselves. We should then have our sheep taken care of, and we should have the
spinning divided out among our sisters according to their ability. I would not
want to have a man who raises wheat as a farmer to raise all wheat and nothing
else. I would advise the farmers to distribute their labor so as to employ
themselves all the time. The reason I mention this is because some think that
the man who raises wheat must raise nothing else. When a man raises wheat there
is just time to plow and plant, and it is time then for planting potatoes; then
when he has done this he may sow his turnips and buckwheat, whereas if he had
nothing but wheat he could not employ himself; he must be idle a great deal of
his time, therefore I say to the farmers divide out your labor.
We want
the sheep taken care of. Some of the brethren think they are going to do well
with large flocks of sheep, but I do not; I think that our sheep should be
distributed among the common people, and let them have the free circulating air
as much as possible. If our sheep were taken care of it would not be many years
before this Territory would be overrun with them, but as they are now managed
it does not look right; it is too much like the management of some of our
Elders. We want the wool; we want carding machines and our machines for working
up the cotton, and then We want the machinery for working up the wool into
cloth. Now we want carding machine is started by a man, another will say I do
not know that it is necessary for me to send for one, br. A. is getting one and
there wont be work for so many. but I will tell you that the sheep will
increase faster than the machines for some time, and we ought to try to get the
machinery for wool, cotton and flax. We want our shirt bosoms, our temple
garments, and all kinds of under clothing.
Brother
George A. Smith told about wearing homemade clothes; he has not got so many In
his family as appropriate Hebrew, and therefore he gets homemade while bro.
Heber has to go without. We would all wear homemade if we could only get it;
but as we were told by bro. Kimball we cannot get enough of it.
I would
like to get up a system of home manufactures, and all agree not to wear any
thing else than what we got at home. This has been talk off, and it has been
suggested that we would not buy anything more of the merchants. That wont do at
present, but let us make more cloth at home, introduce more machinery and
increase our home supply, and then goods will stop coming here.
I tell
you the speculators are all over the world, and they will bring goods here just
so long as we are short of clothing and the means to supply ourselves, but when
we can do without their goods they will cease to come here. Perhaps there is
not a better country than this in the world for raising the silk, and we have
plenty of men here who understands the manufacture of all kinds of silk
garments; and if we will go into this kind of manufacture we shall find it to
be a very profitable one for this community. Let our sisters manufactured the
silk, let them weave it into garments and they wear until the sisters will be
tired of them. Our silk ear will be like the silk in the east Indies, it will
wear a life time, it will last a person from youth to a good old age. Then let
us raise the silk and make it up into such garments as we need.
The linen
that we wear is half worn out before we get it. This is done by breaking it all
to pieces, and then it goes through the hetcheling process, then it is mixed
with cotton, and by the time we get it is rotten and hence it don't last half
its time. Let our wives and daughters make it and we will have cloth that will
wear for years.
Now
another item. It has been said that we should take care of our grain, and one
special injunction was not to raise grain to waste, but to but cribs and barns
to store it in. Do not let your grain be wasted, for the Lord will curse the
ground if we waste our grain. Lay up your grain, and let it lay for a day of
scarcity and it will keep fifty years as well as one.
The white
bean is another article that we ought to raise in larger quantities than we do
at present. They are one of the cheapest and best vegetables we can raise, and
they will keep as long as we want them. Bishops, see that your wards raise as
many beings as they have seed for, and then instruct them to save more for
another year than they have been accustomed to do in previous years. They are a
very profitable article to raise. I have stated that they will keep as long as
you want them, and I will add that they will keep as long as you will keep them
dry. I have my bean porridge every day or two from beans that were raised
before we moved south; I toted them to Provo and brought them back, and they
are just as good as they were when just raised and I think better. Now does
anybody know the whereabouts of a single bushel of buckwheat? If we should have
a scarce season we could raise it after the grasshoppers pass off.
How many
of you have got pure sugar cane seed? Our cane produced very well the first two
or three years, but last year it was agreed that on an average it took two and
a half gallons of juice to make as much glasses as was previously made from one
gallon. Have you got the pure seed in any of your wards? If not and there is
another kind being introduced here you had better try and keep them separate.
If you mix them you wont know them all part in a short time. You can raise half
a dozen kinds of cabbages and half a dozen kinds of beans, but you may mix them
together and you wont know kinds you have. The different kinds of cabbages and
cane ought to be kept far enough apart so that they won't mix. If this care is
not taken the bees and flies will mix them and spoil the varieties.
Well now,
I feel to urge upon the brethren to raise that which will sustain our
community. I want to live with you, and I have to buy a great proportion of my
provisions. Raise your flax, your cotton and your hemp. Get your hand-cards and
card up your cotton, till you can do better, and spin it up, and if it is a
little course never mind it will last all the longer for that. We have got some
women here that can spin thread as well as anybody you ever saw, and I say let
us raise plenty and set them to work. Where are you going to get the threat
from? O, say the people we can get it from California. and how long will it be
so that you can get it there?
It was
observed that cotton was king, but instead of at the king raised the cotton and
controlled it. Now we are the king that can govern and control the
circumstances at our pleasure. Let us govern and control ourselves and our
energies, and go to work and raise a hundred tons of cotton and mail it up so
that we can put it into the wagons and take it down to the States and sell it.
I was in
conversation with a gentleman not long ago, it was Judge Kinney, and he
remarked in the course of the conversation "I have been a close observer,
and I've never have heard you say anything but it has come to pass. I remember
once hearing you say one of the most preposterous things I ever heard, at least
so it appeared then. You told the people to go to raising cotton for it would
not be many years before cotton cloth would be seventy five cents a yard, and I
have lately been in the stores and heard them asking that very amount."
You all know, brethren, that I have not said much about it, for I might as well
talk to some about building a ladder to the moon. But it appears that my words
are noticed by those outside of the Church and they can refer to their
fulfillment. I am happy to say, however, that some are beginning to see the
necessity of a self-sustaining policy, and the brethren are beginning to talk
to each other about these things. I am rejoiced that the people are beginning
to see the propriety of making their own clothing and that it is really
necessary for us to do this, and those that will not do this will have to go
without. There are plenty of men here who, in their youthful days were so
situated that if their mothers did not make their breeches they had to go
without, and I think we are beginning to see just such days now. Men are
beginning to see in the States that they cannot raise grain for the hundreds of
thousands of troops that constantly kept in the field, for many of those troops
are taken right away from their agricultural pursuits, and then they
continually waste of life renders it necessary in to keep up the army to call
for other drafts. Last fall there have been thirteen hundred and fifty thousand
troops called into the field, and then the conscript law picks them up wherever
it finds them, and the result is that farms are lying idle, and the factories
in many of manufacturing towns are stopped for want of men and cotton. Then
what are they doing besides? These very men that only his factories in the
eastern States have traveled through the States buying up all the crash,
sending their machines to work to pick it to pieces, and then they make up into
cloth and sell it for fine cloth. They have had to do this to supply the army.
Now where are they going to get it from to supply the army and the nation by
and bye? Are the south going to let them have it? No, they are not. In the
south part of Illinois and Indiana they are reported to be trying to do something
towards supplying this deficiency.
It is
true that they are at present independent, so far as their hunger is concerned,
but who is it that raises their flax and hemp? This will be found out by and
bye. You may go to one shop in the States now -- what are you making? We are
making machinery and wagons. To another what are you doing?
We are
making pistols, swords and Canon. And almost all other kinds of mechanical
shops are shut, so much so that it is hard to find those that are manufacturing
the articles we want. All the mechanics are engaged making spears and other
implements of war, and this is going to grow tighter and tighter, and there
will be trouble upon trouble in this nation. Now can we prepare our granaries?
and will we do it? Will we raise our cotton and flax for our present and future
benefit? Let us do it; and let us also take care of the sheep and the wool, and
let us get the spinning wheels and set our women to work, and if they want
frills and bonnets let them make them. I presume I have talked enough about
these matters, but I feel the importance of these things.
I have
talked to our mechanics about economy, and about getting into debt, for most of
them are in debt, but they do not seem to heed me. If they see br. Brigham go
to the Barber's shop they must go; if he shaves they must shave; if there is a
grocery shop they must visit that, and if they see a place for fancy ribbons,
belts, shoes made of paper, and furbelows generally why they must have them and
they cannot live without them. They must go to the store, for there is tea,
coffee, sugar, oysters and sardines; they must to go to the store for there is
broadcloth, fine boots and hats, and they must have them; and in fact
everything that an English Lord would want, and I don't know that an English
Lord would want near so many articles of finery as our mechanics do, for there
is nothing but what they do want, and they must have what they want. A man
comes along and says I must have something or other out of the store, and br.
Wells you must furnish me something. Well, how much of my family have you? A
wife and two, four, six or eight children. Have you a cow? Yes, but I turned
her out and lost her or it have you a pig? No, I have not, and I have not got
any chickens. Then what do you do? I go to work and I go to the store. My wife
wants a cap and a bonnet and some frills. what does she do with these articles?
O she wears them.
What does
she do with the offal food and with this will? Why don't the man had his pick?
O, it is so much trouble. The frugal wife saves all the bits and all the slops
for the pigs, and the economical man will grow his corn, take care of his
fodder for the corn and his corn to fat his pig, and he builds up a nice hen
roost for the fowls and comfortable shed for the cow, the man milks the cow and
they have a little butter to eat and some milk for the children. By these means
they have a little pork to eat, also some eggs and chickens; by and bye they
have a calf and it is put into somebody's hands till it is suitable for beef;
he brings it in and sells half of it, and then he has his milk, his potatoes
and his dried meat. Such a man gets up all the morning, does his chores, gets
his breakfast and goes off to his work rejoicing. But here is our mechanics all
the while complaining that they have no pigs, no fowls, and you must double my
wages for I cannot support my family. I know that I can take a family in the
city, such as most of our laboring men have, and give me one dollar and a half
per day and I will be a rich man in a short time, but here we have them
complaining of being poverty stricken; they have no tape, no needles, pins or
thread, and if a man sees a dozen pins in the dooryard he won't pick them up
nor tell a child to do it, and away goes a hundred yards of cloth for this,
that and other useless purposes, and hence people are poor. Well, I think I
won't talk any more of this home economy.
Now I
want to talk to the people a little on another subject. I want you to shell out
your $5 or $10 each in money for the benefit of our Missionary fund. I am not
going to accept of such a subscription as we have had today. The subscription
to day was one blue skin, the second an order on old Camp Douglas who died with
the gout. Come on now with your blue skins. There are hundreds of men that that
ought to give more than has been given today. The Lord Almighty is ashamed of
you, and I am ashamed of you. Say you will bring ten cords of wood, and another
here is a ten or twenty dollar note. This is the way to do, and let the Builders
go forth like men of God, and dont stingily dole out a few dollars. I tell you
if you see things as they are you would be ashamed of yourselves.
I have
not said anything about the Temple or the Tabernacle; I will, however, say that
we intend to build both of them. I will now leave the subject till tomorrow
morning. God bless you. Amen.
Elder George Goddard was called upon and sang: "The city I love so well."
Elder Samuel W. Richards pronounced the benediction.
_____
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/22/63, p 1]
Wednesday, April 8, 10 a.m.
Choir sang, "The glorious gospel light has shone."
Elder Wilford Woodruff offered prayer.
Choir sang, "Lift up your heads ye scattered Saints."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young called the attention of the Conference to the Missionary Fund by stating that the first business of the morning would be to present to the Conference the subscription list of yesterday to the Missionary Fund. Brother Thomas Bullock then read the name and amounts donated by individuals on yesterday.
The President then briefly reviewed the history of the Missionary Fund, and showed that three years ago a subscription amounting to $12,000 was raised for that Fund, but now the subscription was so small that he was almost ashamed to name it. He then announced that no further subscriptions were wanted here, during conference, but that the matter would be left entirely with the Bishops throughout the Territory, and the brethren were then instructed that their donations would be wanted here, therefore whatever was subscribed must be delivered to brother John T. Caine or Archibald N. Hill, in this city. Immediate returns were requested.
He did not feel that he was called upon to multiply words upon a subject so familiar to the Saints as that of sustaining the Elders who go on missions from this point. This community is free from poverty, starvation and the distress that are entwined around the habitations of the poor Saints in Europe.
Domestic economy, neatness in the domestic circle, the obtaining of the comforts of life by honest industry and the duty of every man to make his family comfortable were subjects that called forth much useful instruction, as will be seen by the verbatim report when published.
The erection of a new bowery adapted to the wants of the people here formed an interesting part of the President's remarks, as he described its design, dimensions and commodiousness.
President Young then spoke of the indebtedness to the Perpetual Emigration Fund, and regretted that the brethren were not more punctual in paying up their bills that were due the Fund, that the company might be able to send for more of the poor.
Choir sang, "I saw a mighty angel fly."
Benediction by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
_____
[8 Apr, pm]
[DNW 4/22/63, p 1]
Afternoon.
Choir sang, "When all thy mercies, O my God."
Prayer by Elder J. V. Long.
Choir sang, "Great God attend while Zion sings."
President Brigham Young announced his intention to visit the southern settlements this spring, and that he would start about the 20th of this month. He invited all who wished to accompany him, and told them how to prepare for the journey.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball next addressed the meeting on a great variety of practical subjects.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President Daniel H. Wells preached on the doctrine of obedience, the necessity of securing the faith and confidence of the brethren in the church in every place. Reasoned on the duties of the Saints to hold secure their grain and everything they possess subject to the controlling influence of the Priesthood. spoke of the kind of manufactures that are necessary. He argued the propriety of carrying out the words of President Brigham Young in all things.
On motion of President Kimball, the Conference adjourned till the 6th day of October next at 10 a.m.
Choir sang the Saints' national anthem, - "O God bless Brigham Young."
The concluding benediction was pronounced by Elder Orson Hyde.
J.
V. LONG,
Clerk of Conference.
6-9 Oct 1863, 33rd
Semi-Annual General Conference, Bowery, Great Salt Lake City.
[Deseret News Weekly 13:96, 10/14/63, p 4-5; MS 25:785]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 13:96, 10/14/63, p 4]
THE
SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
Favored by remarkably fine weather, large numbers of the saints from the country settlements were early in the city and by 10 o'clock on Tuesday morning, the 6th inst., the Bowery was well filled with people, and numbers continually increased till every seat was occupied, and probably one half as many auditors were found standing around as those who were accommodated under the shade of the bowery.
On the stand were Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, and the Apostles, Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. A Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards; Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, John Van Cott and Jacob Gates, of the First Presidency of the Seventy; John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priests Quorum; Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, of the Presidency of the Bishopric; John Young and Seth Taft, of the Patriarchs; George D. Watt and J. V. Long, Reporters; and a large number of Bishops from the settlements and recently returned missionaries from Europe.
President Young called the meeting to order, and choir sang: "O God! our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, &c., &c." And Elder Orson Hyde prayed, invoking the blessings of the Most High upon the congregations that might assemble during conference, and upon all Israel at home and abroad.
Throughout the Conference, much valuable instruction was imparted to the saints by Presidents Young and Kimball, the Twelve, and the Elders who spoke, which, in due course of time, will have its place in the News; but for the accommodation of those unable to attend the Conference, we omit our usual summary to give early the opening and closing remarks of President Brigham Young, and the general election of the presiding authorities of the Priesthood.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 13:96, 10/14/63, p 4; JD 10:248; MS 25:785]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, G. S. L. City, Bowery, October
6, 1863.
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
I do not
expect you will hear much from me during this Conference. If I had faith, or you
had faith for me, sufficient to heal me up and make me strong, so that I could
speak as I would like to speak, and as often and whenever the Spirit of God
would delight to speak through me, I should still talk a great deal to the
people.
I have
always been satisfied, and am still, that they need a great deal of teaching,
for everything is to learn, and everything is to be obtained. We can receive
only a little at a time, and it is only the faithful that can receive anything
pertaining to the revealed will of God, and they can only receive it "line
upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little," and
blessed is the man or woman that treasures up the words of life. Much has yet
to be taught the Latter-day Saints to perfect them and prepare them for the
coming of the Son of Man.
We have
heard a good deal to-day, and we shall hear a good deal more to-morrow and next
day, or so long as our Conference shall last; how long it will continue is not
now for me to say.
In the
remarks that have been made to-day, a great many things have been suggested to
my mind. One thing I will take time to mention, and that is in regard to the
stranger that passes through our country in search for gold, or in search for
safety, as the case may be. I wish the Latter-day Saints, who live in these
mountains, to understand that we are here through necessity, and that hundreds
and thousands of Latter-day Saints are coming here now, and hundreds and
thousands who are not Latter-day Saints are also passing through from the east
to the regions north and west of us, or to other regions where they may hope to
make their homes, and all through necessity; they are fleeing from trouble and
sorrow. I wish you to realize this. Multitudes of good and honorable men become
enrolled in the contending armies of the present American war, some to gratify
a martial pride, and others through a conscientious love of their country;
indeed, various are the motives and inducements that impel men to expose
themselves upon the field of battle; but a portion of those who are peaceably
disposed, and wish not to witness the shedding, of the blood of their
countrymen, make good their escape from the vicinity of trouble. It is chiefly
this class of men who are now passing through this Territory to other parts,
and I think they are probably as good a class of men as has ever passed through
this country; they are persons who wish to live in peace, and to be far removed
from contending factions. As far as I am concerned I have no fault to find with
them.
But I
will say to the Latter-day Saints, when they come to you with well-filled sacks
of gold dust to buy your produce, do not be afraid to ask six dollars a hundred
for your flour, or more if it is worth it. The love of mankind is an exalted
sentiment, and patriotism for home and country is worthy of a place in the
bosoms of the greatest and best of mankind, but I cannot see that we do homage
to these holy principles by selling our produce to the passing stranger for
less than its actual cost to us; and he is as well satisfied to pay a
reasonable and fair price for what he buys from us, as to receive it, at half
its value. Every intelligent farmer must be aware that flour costs him all of
six dollars a hundred. If I oppress you when I teach you to take care of
yourselves, then shall I continue to oppress you. Have I ever taught you, by
example or precept, to oppress the hireling in his wages? Never. Can you justly
accuse me of depriving the poor, or the stranger that is cast among us, of the
means of obtaining the necessary comforts of life? You can not. But I may be
justly accused of making men, as far as possible, earn their living; of
teaching them to supply their own wants, and to accumulate and gather around
them wealth and independence by a persevering industry and a constant frugality
and care of the temporal blessings God bestows upon them.
Some
would tell you that you are deprived of the free exercise of your rights by
"Mormon" interference, while, every day you live, you live in the
enjoyment of the rights and privileges of freemen, and staunch upholders of the
priceless boon bequeathed to us by our fathers in the Constitution of our
suffering country. They would tell you that it is the right of every man and
woman to suffer themselves to be prostituted and defiled by the filth and scum
that floats among the surging masses of mankind, that are at present lashed
into rage and madness by the demon of war. This is not, in strictness, a right
which belongs to any human being, but on the contrary, it is the right of every
person and of every community to resist pollution and to contend for the
privilege of living a virtuous, holy, upright and godly life, so as to be
justified before the heavens and before all the good that dwell upon the earth.
They consider that they are curtailed in the free exercise of their rights,
because they cannot enter into our houses and pollute our wives and daughters,
and because they cannot change our domestic and social system to the lowest
standard of this depraved age. It is their right to attend to their own
business, and we feel quite capable of attending to ours.
I mean to
watch them with a sleepless eye. Understand it, ye Elders of Israel. Whether
you do as you are told or not, I shall tell every man to take care that he is
ready for every emergency—to sleep with one eye open, and, if he has a mind to,
with his boots on and one leg out of bed. I shall not be found off my watch;
and if they commence intruding, woe unto them, for they will then know who are
the old settlers.
Treat the
passing strangers with kindness and respect; treat all kindly and respectfully
who respect you and your rights as American citizens. "Peace on earth and
good will towards men," is the design and spirit of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ; but when men are harnessed up by hundreds of thousands, and driven to
the slaughter, it bespeaks a departure from God and from the popular
institutions of freedom; and if Angels can weep, they weep over this human
ignorance, blindness, depravity and cruelty.
What is
the cause of all this waste of life and treasure? To tell it in a plain,
truthful way, one portion of the country wish to raise their negroes or black
slaves and the other portion wish to free them, and, apparently, to almost
worship them. Well, raise and worship them, who cares? I should never fight one
moment about it, for the cause of human improvement is not in the least
advanced by the dreadful war which now convulses our unhappy country.
Ham will
continue to be the servant of servants, as the Lord has decreed, until the
curse is removed. Will the present struggle free the slave? No; but they are
now wasting away the black race by thousands. Many of the blacks are treated
worse than we treat our dumb brutes; and men will be called to judgment for the
way they have treated the negro, and they will receive the condemnation of a
guilty conscience, by the just Judge whose attributes are justice and truth.
Treat the
slaves kindly and let them live, for Ham must be the servant of servants until
the curse is removed. Can you destroy the decrees of the Almighty? You cannot.
Yet our Christian brethren think that they are going to overthrow the sentence
of the Almighty upon the seed of Ham. They cannot do that, though they may kill
them by thousands and tens of thousands.
According
to accounts, in all probability not less than one million men, from twenty to
forty years of age, have gone to the silent grave in this useless war, in a
little over two years, and all to gratify the caprice of a few,—I do not think
I have a suitable name for them, shall we call them abolitionists;
slaveholders, religious bigots, or political aspirants? Call them what you
will, they are wasting away each other, and it seems as though they will not be
satisfied until they have brought universal destruction and desolation upon the
whole country. It appears as though they would destroy every person; perhaps
they will, but I think they will not.
God
rules. Do you know it? It is the kingdom of God or nothing for the Latter-day
Saints.
Do you
know that it is the eleventh hour of the reign of Satan on the earth? Jesus is
coming to reign, and all you who fear and tremble because of your enemies,
cease to fear them, and learn to fear to offend God, fear to transgress his
laws, fear to do any evil to your brother, or to any being upon the earth, and
do not fear Satan and his power, nor those who have only power to slay the
body, for God will preserve his people.
We are
constantly gathering new clay into the mill. How many of the new comers I have
heard say, "Oh that I had been with you when you had your trials." We
have promised them all the trials that are necessary, if they would be patient.
Are you
going to be patient and trust in God, and receive every trial with
thanksgiving, acknowledging the hand of the Lord in it? You will have all the
trial you carl bear. The least thing tries some people. Brother Heber and
myself going to the island in Great Sale Lake, a week ago last Friday, created
numerous surmisings and misgivings with some. I have thought that it might,
perhaps, be well to notify you regularly, through the Deseret News, of
my outgoings and in-comings; and I may as well now notify you that it is my
intention to visit Sanpete, and, perhaps, our southern settlements this fall.
If I should do so, I hope that my brethren and sisters will feel satisfied, for
I shall go, come, stay and act as I feel dictated by the Spirit of God. God
being my helper, asking no odds of any person.—Amen.
[6 Oct, pm]
[Brigham Young]
[CDBY 4:2156-2157]
President
Brigham Young remarked that the brethren might think it strange that they had
not heard from him before, but he did not expect to speak much during the
conference. He had preached so much that it was wearing upon him, and he felt
it to be his duty to save himself all that he could. Much had been said during
the day, and much more of importance would be said before the adjournment of
the conference.
In regard
to the passers by he wanted it to be distinctly understood that we had come
here through pure necessity, and he was sensible that those not traveling from
the east to the west are doing so to get away from trouble and the sorrow that
is spreading through the land. His advice to all the brethren was, Treat the
stranger kindly, let him realize that we are the friends of all mankind, and
that we wish to do them good. As to those gentlemen who have been sent here, it
is said to protect the mail and telegraph lines, let them attend to their
business, and let us attend to ours. By these men cannot come into my house,
nor into the houses of the Elders of Israel.
We know
that our Christian brethren think they are going to turn away the decrees of
Jehovah, but they will be mistaken; they cannot do it. God rules, and with us
it is the Kingdom of God or nothing. This is the eleventh hour; Jesus is going
to reign; do not fear wicked man, but fear to offend God. I know that God will
preserve his people. A great many have desired to see trials, they will see
them quite as soon as they are prepared to endure them.
[7 Oct, pm*]
[DNW 13:96, 10/14/63, p 4]
On Thursday, afternoon Elder Amasa M. Lyman presented the authorities of the church to the congregation and they were unanimously sustained as follows: -
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselors.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the whole church.
Daniel spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. spencer, Thomas B. Broderick, James H. Hart, John Squires and William H. Folsom, members of the High council.
John Young, President of the High Priests, Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley, and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squire, President of the elders Quorum; James Smith and Peter latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his Counselors.
Samuel M. Moore, President of the Priests' Quorum; Richard W. McAllister and George Openshaw, his counselors.
Adam Spiers was elected President of the Teacher's Quorum, McGee Harris deceased, David Bowman was sustained counselor.
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacons' Quorum; Samuel G. Ladd and Warren Hardie, his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
[Brigham Young]
[CD 4:2157-2159]
[Reported by G. D. Watts]
I wish
your faith and prayers to be exercised in my behalf that I may have strength to
speak to you a short time.
The
subject I shall lay before you is naturally interesting in consequence to the
relationship it bears to Joseph the Prophet.
You have
heard that Young Joseph Smith, the son of Joseph Smith the Prophet, has
presented himself as the leader of the Latter-day Saints. I will take this for
my text.
In the
first place I will say to the saints that I know more about Joseph Smith, the
prophet of the last days, and his family, than all the apostates that ever did
or ever will leave this church.
My
remarks will be few on this subject for I shall merely make a few declarations
and perhaps call for some testimony and evidence.
Joseph
Smith that now is living in the state of Illinois, the son of Joseph the
Prophet, will never lead the Latter-day Saints: he may lead apostates, and will
lead them to hell.
I am a
witness that Joseph Smith the Prophet had a son born to him after his death. He
received his death wound about 24 minutes past five in the afternoon of the
27th of June 1844, and about the latter part of October following in the
following fall he had a son born to him. Long before his death Joseph said to
me, "I shall have a son born to me and his name shall be called David; and
on him in some future time will rest the responsibility that now rests upon
me." This is Joseph's declaration to me and others some time before his
death. I can produce plenty of witnesses to the truth of this if necessary.
If Joseph
Smith was a prophet we will take his words for what they are worth. If he was
not a prophet then are we deceived and our professions and testimonies relating
to the Kingdom of God are void.
There is
now considerable whispering among us concerning the Josephites as they are
called. What are they? They are apostates. Their preaching is scurrility and
abuse and calling me the worst man in the world. You are witnesses of my
private and public life. They say the same things of all the leaders of this
church.
Two
missionaries of the Josephite church are in this city and I will here say that
if any honest persons shall be so far in the dark as to be deceived and be
decoyed away from the truth by those men, if they will seek diligently unto the
Lord and be humble and faithful in spirit, they will yet see light in God's
light and return to the truth. But dishonest persons who wish some excuse for
yielding to the temptations of the enemy, who wish to cloak and cover their
iniquity will willingly be bound hand and foot by the enemy of all truth that
they may be better prepared for the judgments of the Almighty. None but
apostates in spirit will believe Joseph Smith the son of Joseph the Prophet to
be the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
If one of
the Prophet Joseph's boys ever received a revelation from God the Father, from
the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost, or from Gabriel or from
Michael, or from any other angel that God may send, that revelation will
dictate that son of Joseph to come directly to your humble servant, Brigham
Young. And I will be as ready to receive him as any man that lives on this
earth. He will not go to apostates, to liars, to wicked and like persons,
"who, being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness
to work all uncleanliness with greediness. These are wells without water, trees
whose fruit withereth, raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame,
wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. These
are murmurers, complainers walking after their own lusts. These be they who
separate themselves, sensual, having not the spirit."
It has
been told you what Joseph the Prophet said with regard to the keys of the
priesthood. Here are men sitting around me that sat in the Prophet Joseph's
secret councils year after year; I refer to the twelve apostles and some
others; they heard Joseph say thousands of things that the people have never
yet heard. Among a great many other things he said, and he had a foreboding
that he would be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. "I will give you
a key to govern your actions if I should be slain by my enemies. If ever this
transpires, some persons will stand forth who honor and hold the keys of the
holy priesthood, and the main body of the people will follow that individual.
You may depend upon this." Many of you are witnesses with regard to the
truth of this saying.
Have the
people called "the Josephites" any gathering place? They have not.
What has the Lord revealed through his servant Joseph over this point?
"Behold it is my will, that all they who call on my name and worship me
according to mine everlasting gospel should gather together and stand in holy
places and prepare for the revelation which is to come when the veil of the
covering of my temple and my tabernacle which hideth the earth shall be taken
off and all flesh see me together." Book of D & C, 4th European
Edition, page 278 paragraph 5. [D&C 101:22-23]
They will
tell you that Joseph the Prophet never gave a revelation on marriage in Nauvoo
July 12th 1843. There are scores of persons in this congregation who have heard
Joseph say, I should think hundreds of times, that "if ever there was a
truth revealed from heaven through him, it was revealed when that revelation
was given, and if I have to die for any revelation God has given through me I
would as readily die for this one as any other. And I sometimes think that I
shall have to die for it. It may be that I shall have to forfeit my life to it
and if this has to be so, Amen."
I have
already said that Young Joseph Smith will never be the leader of the Latter-day
Saints. To put your minds at rest I will say it again: while the sun shines,
the water runs, the grass grows and the earth remains, Young Joseph Smith never
will be the leader of the Latter-day Saints! But, if the one that Joseph the
Prophet predicted should step forth to become the leader of this church, he
will come to us like a little child, saying "God says so and so through
me." He will not be found cursing and swearing and lying and stealing and
cohabiting with lewd women. They say that I and my brethren are men of this
class because we have many wives. If we have many wives we have them honorably
and by the revelations of Jesus Christ and we own them and treat them honorably
before all mankind and ask no odds of the poor miserable creatures who whine
about, and I want you to understand so.
Old Man
Briggs is not in this church and never was, and makes no pretension of
righteousness, yet he can tell the truth. He said in the street the other day,
"My sons were once Mormons and are apostates now, but let me tell you that
they are a set of damned whore masters and I know it, or else somebody has lied
to me." I say to this people, don't trust them, they will creep into your
houses and into your beds if you are not careful.
We have
many of the connections of Joseph Smith's family with us. George A. Smith and
Elias Smith are cousins to the Prophet. We have also the sons of Hyrum and
Samuel Smith with us. They visited their friends in Illinois when they went to
England on their last mission and held a conversation with their cousin Joseph
Smith when he told them that those apostates came to him and tried to hire him
to let them put his name to revelations and letters and they gave him money. He
is a lawyer and is paid a fee of $400 for the use of his name. We have
witnesses for all this, and what they were going to do by coming to Council
Bluffs to build up a church there; they promised Young Joseph 70 thousand
dollars if he would bring so many people to Council Bluffs at such a time. Mr.
Bideman came to the Bluffs to see the place and get the fee for Young Joseph
and the family and then he would gather the saints. Bideman did not make any
profession of religion but he was going to settle the matter for them and do up
the blessings as it should be done but in a short time he gave it up saying,
"To tell you the truth I do not know much about the damned thing
myself." I will insure it that Young Joseph has not put his name
willingly, religiously, divinely and godly to one letter that he has signed. I
have more respect, more charity and good feeling for him than to think that he
would be such a consummate hypocrite, for he is in sentiment and principle an infidel.
He cares nothing at all for religion but, "if you will give me your money
you may use my name."
Bro.
George A. Smith saw Young Joseph a few years ago and judging from what they and
the other boys say they do not believe their father as a prophet of God, but
they think he was a consummate scoundrel in religious matters. I know what Emma
believes and have known it all the day long, and yet there is not that woman on
the earth that I would delight to honor more with the whole family if they
would let me do it. In Joseph's date she tried to throw me, Br. Heber, Br.
Willard Richards and the twelve apostles out of the church, and tried to
destroy the whole church and I know it. Joseph himself testified before high
heaven more than once that she had administered poison to him. There are men
and women present today who can bear witness that more hell was never wrapped
up in any human being than there is in her. She gave him too heavy a dose and
he vomited it up and was saved by faith.
Now set
your hearts at rest regarding the matter, for if Joseph Smith's son ever
received a revelation from the Lord Jesus you may look for that boy or that man
to place himself before this people like a child, like a servant of God and not
like a hypocrite, the head of a lying thieving clan.
The
Strangites were once with us, in full fellowship with us, and the Lord spewed
them out of his church and will purge out many more. He purifies the hearts and
feelings and bodies of his saints and makes manifest the hypocrite and the evil
doer that they may go to their own place and the saints will be gathered home
to Zion.
If any of
you wish to hearken to the folly and wickedness of apostates, why do so. And if
you wish to apostatize, do it like men and women who are willing to answer for
their own actions and go to hell independently. I would either be what I
profess to be, a faithful Latter-day Saint, or freely and openly subject myself
to the devil for damnation.
May God
bless the righteous and overthrow the wicked and the ungodly and prepare the
way for us to go back to Jackson County in Missouri. Hear it all the world: the
Latter-day Saints will go back to Jackson County Missouri and build up the
center stake of Zion and all hell can not prevent it. Amen.
[8 Oct]
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 13:118, 11/4/63, p 2; JD 10:261]
REMARKS
By Elder ORSON HYDE, G. S. L. City, Bowery, Oct 8th, 1863
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT]
_____
I have
listened with peculiar interest to the remarks made by our missionaries. Their
remarks are truly cheering, and are a faithful index to the feelings and spirit
which have influenced them during their absence from us.
I was
more particularly struck with the remarks of some who said that they hardly
knew what doctrines to preach when they first arrived at the fields of their
labor, and others hardly knew that baptism was necessary for the remission of
sins. These young men were untaught, untutored, yet the spirit of the Gospel
dwelt in them; it was born in them, and they have been reared under its
influence to a greater or less degree, yet apparently they knew it not. How
unlike the missionaries of other churches is this? They must be educated
classically and theologically, and then they go forth to preach to a credulous
world systematically a mass of inconsistent and contradictory doctrines—which
they call the Gospel.
These
missionaries of ours felt very much as I did on one occasion when I first landed
in Germany. I was dropped from the coach on the side walk; I could not tell
them where I wanted to stop, for I did not know myself, and, thought I, I may
as well stop in one place as another. I could not tell anybody what I wanted
for I did not know what I wanted. I did not remain in that situation long until
I found a way to get to an hotel, where I was soon forced, by the pressure of
circumstances around me and the cravings of my appetite, to make known my
wants, designs and purposes in the language of the people among whom I was
cast. In like manner our young men go out to preach the Gospel; and although
they have lived under the influence of the Spirit of the Gospel all their days,
yet they find themselves unable at first to delineate only the principles and
laws of salvation; but the spirit that is in them soon bursts asunder the
fetters that seem to bind them, and they launch forth into a field of
intelligence hitherto unexplored by them, and are enabled, in a short time, not
only to be filled with a flood of light and truth, but to attain unto a power
of utterance that astonishes themselves and their friends. God is in all this;
He laid the foundation of this Church and he dwells in the hearts of his
servants, and He, by the power of his spirit, originates and gives power to
utter the thoughts He wishes to communicate to mankind through His servants.
When we trust in Him every obstacle is removed from our path.
When
listening to these young brethren, my heart has burned within me with gratitude
and joy; I was reminded forcibly of the days of my youth, when I went forth
with others to proclaim the same Gospel and was brought into many narrow and
tight places. The Lord will always open our way if we are faithful, and allow
us a field of operation that will be adequate to all our wants, conditions and
circumstances.
Those
missionaries who go abroad to labor for the building up of Zion leave their
families behind them, and they were particularly charged not to beg of the poor
on their missions means to send home to feed their families, and that whatever
they might gain by the voluntary contributions of the people among whom they
might labor, over and above that which would be necessary for their immediate
wants, should be dedicated to the immigration of the poor—to bring home the
sheaves they had been enabled to reap. Their families are here, and have not
harvested in abundance of the temporal comforts of the earth, but they have
managed to live along from hand to mouth. There were contributions and subscriptions
made last year to aid the families of our absent missionaries, but how many of
them have been faithfully and frankly paid in and how many remain yet unpaid, I
am not prepared to say, but, it has been suggested to me that there are still
many delinquents who did really feel liberal, but have not since found a
convenient time to honor that liberal feeling by paying in what they have
subscribed.
It is not
too late yet, and the wants of the families of our missionaries have not
abated. If we subscribe and promise to pay a certain amount to the Missionary
Fund, we are under the strongest obligations to pay that amount, as much so as
if we had contracted a debt with the merchants and had promised to pay it at a
certain time. When we put our names to a document to sustain the servants of
God and promise a certain amount to this end, I consider that we are under a
greater obligation than we would be by any common business of life, because
here is a promise made to the servants of God and virtually to heaven that we
will do so and so to sustain heaven's cause. I would not thank anybody for a
loaf of bread after I am dead and gone; I want it while I am living to sustain
me and brace me up that I may have strength to do good. Benefits and favors
that are deferred amount to little more than a vexation—they can hardly be said
to be a blessing; then do not turn your intended benefits into a vexation to
vex those whose hearts and whole time are employed in travelling abroad to
preach the Gospel, and to gather the poor Saints up to Zion.
I will
not confine my remarks to delinquents, but I will say the door is open still,
for we have men in the field in foreign countries, who are pouring out their
souls in testimony, and they are engaged day and night in this Work, while
their families are dependent upon the bounties of the Latter-day Saints at
home. Every man and woman who is disposed to contribute with a heart willing to
build up the Kingdom of God, there will be an opportunity for you to do so
before this Conference shall come to a close; and let us remember that inasmuch
as we do it to one of the least of God's people we do it unto our Father who is
in heaven. From the Scriptures it appears that the Lord is disposed to receive
any favor shown to His servants as though it had been done to himself, and he
will so acknowledge it in a future day when the faithful ones would seem to
have forgotten all about it, for they will say, "When saw we Thee an
hungered," etc., and He will answer them, saying, "Inasmuch as ye did
it unto one of the least of these my servants ye did it unto me. Ye have
sustained my cause yet it is your own cause, for all things are yours,"
etc.
Now some
persons may begin to narrow up their feelings, and to cherish in their hearts
murmurings because God in his providence and in his mercy and kindness, may
begin to pour upon this man and upon that man blessings by which he accumulates
wealth, and by which he is made comfortable and happy; they are envious and
jealous; now, if all things are ours, is there not a time when some of God's
people will begin to inherit some of them? Yes. There must be a beginning to
inherit all things. If we envy those that are really beginning to participate a
little in the inheritance of all things, is not this a strong presumptive
evidence within ourselves that we are not heirs to all things, neither are we
willing that our brethren should be.
When a
man of God is blessed from on high and shall begin to gather around him means
sufficient to place him beyond the reach of immediate want, God hath done
it—God hath blessed that person—and every Saint will feel thankful to see his
brethren so prospered and blessed of the Lord, feeling encouraged that his time
will come sometime if he continues faithful. Instead of being jealous of the
prosperity of those whom the Lord delights to bless and murmur in our hearts
against our brethren and against the Lord, let us learn to be contented with
that which is assigned to us, and wait patiently until the Lord shall in his
mercy and kindness bless us more abundantly. I do not know any better way to
hasten on our day of great blessings than to be liberal in our feelings and
labor with all our might to lift up and encourage those who are bowed down, and
to sustain the Priesthood of God.
The Lord
sees us all and knows what our feelings are—the very thoughts and intents of
our hearts are laid bare before Him, and when He sees that we are prepared to
endure great earthly blessings, do you think that any trifling circumstance
will cause him to delay and wait and put us off and make us wait for his
blessings, the same as we make some of the missionaries wait, until their
families suffer before we hand out to them what we have promised to give? God
knows the time when to bless and the individual to bless; and when the time
comes for His blessings to descend copiously upon this or that individual, they
will come. Do you want your day to come when you can be comfortable and have
about all you can desire, just hand out to this Missionary Fund liberally, and
consider that one evidence more that your time is, drawing nigh when you also
shall be greatly blessed.
I will
not occupy a great deal of time. I bear my testimony, brethren and sisters,
that this is the Kingdom of God, and I have labored according to what little
ability the Lord has given me to sustain it and to regulate and keep in order,
as far as my wisdom, knowledge and understanding would allow me, the things
pertaining to this kingdom and to the Saints of God where I have been called to
labor. I love this Cause, I love my brethren and fellow laborers in it; I love
to speak upon the principles of the Gospel—in short, I love everything that is
connected with the welfare of the Saints. Brethren and sisters you have my best
wishes, and my prayers by day and night are that God may shield his chosen ones
as the apple of his eye.
If there
is any confidence to be placed in dreams, I do not know, but I will tell one.
[Voice in the stand: "Is there any fun in it?"] There is a little fun
in it. I thought I saw a mighty car coming down from the mountains in
the East, and it appeared as big as this Tabernacle. I thought it was going to
run over and crush everything to pieces; it appeared to be coming in contact
with a house up there, and it appeared as though it would roll right over it
and grind it into powder, but it just happened to miss it, and it came on
towards the City, and by the time it reached the City it had dwindled down to a
common-sized wagon; when I examined it more closely, I discovered that it was nothing
but a load of firewood coming into the City.
May God
bless his people. Amen.
[9 Oct, am]
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 13:96, 10/14/63, p 4-5; JD 10:251; MS 25:801]
[Note: Talk in JD dated 06 Oct 1863]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, G. S. L. City, Oct. 9, 1863.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I have in
my mind a few texts which I wish to introduce and speak from, to, or upon.
I have
only to say in relation to what brother John Taylor, in his remarks, has
referred to, that I wish the honest-in-heart to continue to be honest—to say
their prayers, and especially to keep the law of God; and I would like you to
observe the law of Tithing, if you wish to do so, and if you do not, proclaim
that you do not wish to observe it, that we may shape our course accordingly,
for no person is compelled to pay Tithing, but it is entirely a voluntary act
of our own. If we pay it freely it is well; if we are not willing to pay it
freely and feel a pleasure in doing so, let us say so and be consistent with
ourselves.
We talk a
great deal about our religion. It is not now my intention to deliver a
discourse on this subject, enumerating facts and producing evidences in my
possession which are unanswerable, but I will merely give a text, or make a
declaration, that our religion is simply the truth. It is all said in this one
expression—it embraces all truth, wherever found, in all the works of God and
man that are visible or invisible to mortal eye. It is the only system of religion
known in heaven or on earth that can exalt a man to the Godhead, and this it
will do to all those who embrace its laws and faithfully observe its precepts.
This thought gives joy and delight to the reflecting mind, for, as has been
observed, man possesses the germ of all the attributes and power that are
possessed by God his heavenly Father.
I wish
you to understand that sin is not an attribute in the nature of man, but it is
an inversion of the attributes God has placed in him. Righteousness tends to an
eternal duration of organized intelligence, while sin bringeth to pass their
dissolution. Were it our purpose, at this time, we might produce extensive,
instructive and interesting arguments of a Scriptural and philosophical
character, in support of these views. I will merely say that God possesses in
perfection all the attributes of his physical and mental nature, while as yet
we only possess them in our weakness and imperfection, tainted by sin and all
the consequences of the fall. God has perfect control over sin and over death;
we are subject to both, which have passed upon all things that pertain to this
earth. God has control over all these things; he is exalted and lives in
obedience to the laws of truth. He controls the acts of all men, setting up a
nation here and overthrowing a nation there, at his pleasure, to subserve his
great purposes.
We see
man suddenly raised to power and influence, clothed in all the paraphernalia of
royalty, endowed with prestige and equipage, and as quickly stripped of all his
pomp and show, I and laid prostrate in the dust of death.
This is
God's work, and the result of a power that is not possessed by us mortals.
though we are seeking for it. When we talk of building a temple, let us not
forget that we can add nothing to Him. "But Solomon built Him an house.
Howbeit, the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the
Prophet, heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool; what house will ye
build me? saith the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand
made all these?" "If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for the
world is mine and the fulness thereof." He does not ask us for bread and
fruit, for he has better fruit than we can raise, and His bread is of a much
finer quality than ours; He does not want our bread and meat and clothing, but
he has organized all these substances for an exaltation.
The
earth, the Lord says, abides its creation; it has been baptized with water, and
will, in the future, be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost, to be prepared
to go back into the celestial presence of God, with all things that dwell upon
it which have like the earth, abided the law of their creation. Taking this
view of the matter, it may be asked why we build temples. We build temples because
there is not a house on the face of the whole earth that has been reared to
God's name, which will in anywise compare with his character, and that he can
consistently call his house. There are places on the earth where the Lord can
come and dwell, if he pleases. They may be found on the tops of high mountains,
or in some cavern or places where sinful man has never marked the soil with his
polluted feet.
He
requires his servants to build Him a house that He can come to, and where He
can make known His will. This opens to my mind a field that I shall not
undertake to survey to-day. I will just say, when I see men at work on that
Temple who nurse cursings in their hearts, I wish they would walk out of the
Temple-block, and never again enter within its walls, until their hearts are
sanctified to God and his Work. This will also apply to men who are dishonest.
But we have to put up and bear patiently with many things that we cannot help
under present circumstances, and in our present imperfect state. We would like
to build a substantial house, suitably arranged and embellished—a permanent
house—that shall be renowned for its beauty and excellency, to present to the
Lord our God, and then lock and bar it up, unless he shall say, "Enter ye
into this my house, and there officiate in the ordinances of my Holy
Priesthood, as I shall direct." We have already built two Temples: one in
Kirtland, Ohio, and one in Nauvoo, Illinois. We commenced the foundation of one
in Far West, Missouri. You know the history of the one we built in Nauvoo. It
was burnt, all the materials that would burn, and the walls have since been
almost entirely demolished and used for building private dwellings, &c. I
would rather it should thus be destroyed than remain in the hands of the wicked.
If the Saints cannot so live as to inherit a Temple when it is built, I would
rather never see a Temple built. God commanded us to build the Nauvoo Temple,
and we built it, and performed our duty pretty well. There are Elders here
to-day who labored on that house with not a shoe to their feet, or pantaloons
that would cover their limbs or a shirt to cover their arms.
We
performed the work, and performed it within the time which the Lord gave us to
do it in. Apostates said that we never could perform that work; but, through
the blessing of God, it was completed and accepted of him. Apostates never
build Temples unto God, but the Saints are called to do this work.
Do we
want to build this Temple, or do we not? It shall be as we please. I am just as
ready to dismiss every workman that is now laboring on the Public Works, as you
are. I know the people would say, Build the Temple. Should I ask all the
workmen whether they are willing to labor on that work, their reply would be,
"Yes, the Lord wants our labor, and we are willing that he should have it,
although we could get better pay for our labor elsewhere—pay that we cannot get
on the Public Works."
Do you
require me as Trustee-in-Trust, to pay you better pay than is paid into my
hands by the people to sustain the Public Works? Are you just in your
requirements, or are you unjust? Look at it in whatever light you please, no
person can justly require more of me than I receive. Whether it is right to do
so, judge ye.
Has the
Lord required of us to pay Tithing? He has—namely, one-tenth of our increase.
Now, if we withhold our Tithing, and the Temple, nevertheless, is completed and
ready for the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood to be performed therein, can
those who have withheld their Tithing enter that Temple to pass through the
ordinances of salvation for their dead, and be just before God? If they can, I
must confess that I do not understand the nature of God's requirements, not his
justice, nor his truth, nor his mercy.
That
Temple is to be built; but God forbid that it should ever be built for the
hypocrite, the ungodly, the apostate, or any other miserably corrupted creature
that bears the image of our Creator, to enter into it to pollute it; I would
rather never see it built than this should transpire. We intend to build and
finish it.
If the
Lord permits gold-mines to be opened here, he will overrule it for the good of
his Saints and the building-up of his kingdom. We have a great many friends who
are out of this Church—who have not embraced the Gospel. We have a great many
political friends, moral friends and financial friends; there are thousands of
men who are our friends for advantage's sake, for the sake of peace, for the
enjoyment of life, for silver and gold, goods and chattels, houses and lands,
and other possessions on the earth, for they love to live on the earth and
enjoy its blessings. There are thousands who see that this people inculcate and
live by wholesome moral principles—principles that will sustain their natural
lives, to say nothing about principles that take hold of God and eternity.
There are multitudes who desire to live out their days without coming to their
end by violence—without being murdered or kidnapped by marauding mobs; they
think that the earth is a pretty good place, and they would like to live upon
it in peace as long as they can, with their friends and connections. We have a
great many friends, and if the Lord suffers gold to be discovered here, I shall
be satisfied that it is for the purpose of embellishing and adorning this
Temple which we contemplate building, and we may use some of it as a
circulating medium.
The Lord
will not dwell in our hearts unless they are pure and holy, neither will he
enter into a Temple that we may build to his name, unless it is sanctified and
prepared for his presence. If we could overlay the aisles of the Temple with
pure gold, for the Lord to walk upon, it would please me, and not suffer them
ever to be corrupted by mortal feet. Gold is one of the purest of elements, and
will not be so much changed as some other's, though every element that we are
acquainted with will pass through a change. Gold is a pure and precious metal,
and the wicked love it through selfishness or an unholy lust, while God and his
true people love to pave the streets of Zion with it, to overlay altars and
pulpits of Temples with it, and to make utensils of it for the use of the
Priests of the Lord in offering sacrifice to him, and also for household
purposes.
There are
some of the sealing ordinances that cannot be administered in the house that we
are now using; we can only administer in it some of the first ordinances of the
Priesthood pertaining to the endowment. There are more advanced ordinances that
cannot be administered there; we would, therefore, like a Temple, but I am
willing to wait a few years for it. I want to see the Temple built in a manner
that it will endure through the Millennium. This is not the only Temple we
shall build; There will be hundreds of them built and dedicated to the Lord.
This Temple will be known as the first Temple built in the mountains by the
Latter-day Saints. And when the Millennium is over, and all the sons and
daughters of Adam and Eve, down to the last of their posterity, who come within
the reach of the clemency of the Gospel, have been redeemed in hundreds of
Temples through the administration of their children as proxies for them, I
want that Temple still to stand as a proud monument of the faith, perseverance
and industry of the Saints of God in the mountains, in the nineteenth century.
I told
you thirteen years ago, that every time we took up our tools to progress with
that Temple, we should see opposition. Our enemies do not love to see it
progress, because we are building it for God, and they do not love him. If it
is necessary I am willing to drop the work on the Temple; but if you require at
our hands that the Temple be built, you should be as willing to pay your
Tithing as you are to have us build the Temple. Some of us are not dependent on
the Temple for our endowment blessings, for we have received them under the
hands of Joseph the Prophet, and know where to go to bestow the same on others.
You may ask me whether the leaders of this Church have received all their
endowment blessings. I think that we have got all that you can get in your
probation, if you live to be the age of Methuselah; and we can give what we
possess to others who are worthy. We want to build that temple as it should be
built, that when we present it to the Lord we may not have to cover our faces
in shame.
I now
wish to present a few questions to the congregation, for I think there is no
harm in asking questions to elicit information. Do the Government officials in
Utah, civil and military, give aid and comfort to and foster persons whose
design is to interrupt and disturb the peace of this people? and are they
protected and encouraged in this ruinous design by the strong arm of military
power, to do what they will, if they will only annoy and try to break up the
"Mormon" community? Does the general Government, or does it not,
sustain this wicked plan? Is there in existence a corruption-fund, out of which
Government jobbers live and pay their travelling expenses while they are
engaged in trying to get men and women to apostatize from the truth, to swell
their ranks for damnation? Is this so, or is it not so? Those who understand
the political trickeries and the political windings of the nation, can see at
once that these are political questions. Who feeds and clothes and defrays the
expenses of hundreds of men who are engaged patrolling the mountains and
kanyons all around us in search of gold? Who finds supplies for those who are
sent here to protect the two great interests—the mail and telegraph lines
across the continent—while they are employed ranging over these mountains in
search of gold? And who has paid for the multitude of picks, shovels, spades
and other mining tools that they have brought with them? Were they really sent
here to protect the mail and telegraph lines, or to discover, if possible, rich
diggings in our immediate vicinity, with a view to flood the country with just
such a population as they desire, to destroy, if possible, the identity of the
"Mormon" community, and every truth and virtue that remains? Who is
it that calls us apostates from our Government, deserters, traitors, rebels,
secessionists? And who have expressed themselves as being unwilling that the
"Mormons" should have in their possession a little powder and lead? I
am merely presenting a few plain questions to the Latter-day Saints, which they
or anybody else may answer, or not, just as they please. Who have said that
"Mormons" should not be permitted to hold in their possession
fire-arms and ammunition? Did a Government officer say this, one who was sent
here to watch over and protect the interest of the community, without meddling
or interfering with the domestic affairs of the people? I can tell you what
they have in their hearts, and I know what passes in their secret councils.
Blood and murder are in their hearts, and they wish to extend the work of
destruction over the whole face of the land, until there cannot be found a
single spot where the Angel of peace can repose.
The waste
of life in the ruinous war now raging is truly lamentable Joseph the Prophet
said that the report of it would sicken the heart; and what is all this for? It
is a visitation from heaven, because they have killed the Prophet of
God, Joseph Smith, jun, Has not the nation consented to his death, and to the
utter destruction of the Latter-day Saints, if it could be accomplished? But
they found that they could not accomplish that.
Before we
left Nauvoo, members of Congress made a treaty with the Latter-day Saints, and
we agreed to leave the United States entirely. We did so, and came to these
mountains, which were then Mexican territory. When we were ready to start on
our pilgrimage west, a certain gentleman, who signed himself
"Backwoodsman," wished to know on what conditions we would overcome
and settle California. He gave us to understand that he had his authority from
headquarters, to treat with us on this matter. I thought that President Polk
was our friend at that time; we have thought so since, and we think so now. We
agreed to survey and settle California—we drawing the odd numbers, and the
Government the even numbers; but I think the President was precipitated into
the Mexican War, and our prospective calculations fell through, otherwise we
should have gone into California and settled it. Many of you were not aware of
this.
Joseph
said that if they succeeded in taking his life, which they did, war and
confusion would come upon the nation, and they would destroy each other, and
there would be mob upon mob from one end of the country to the other. Have they
got through? No, they have only just commenced the work of wasting life and
property. They will burn up every steamboat, every village, every town, every
house of their enemies that comes within their reach; they will waste and
destroy food and clothing that should feed and comfort women and children and
leave them destitute and beggars, without homes and without protectors, to
perish upon the face of all the land, and all to satiate their unhallowed and
hellish appetite for blood; and this awful tornado of suffering, destruction,
woe and lamentation, they would hurl upon us, if they could, but they cannot,
and I my, in the name of Israel's God, they never shall do it. We will have
peace if we have to fight for it. They have not power to destroy Israel,
neither will they have. The time will come when he who will not take up his
sword against his neighbor must flee to Zion.
We have
been preached to a great deal during this Conference, and how do we appear
before God, as Latter-day Saints, when there are among us confusion,
covetousness, bickering, slothfulness, unthankfulness? May God help us to
search our own hearts to find out whether we are obedient or disobedient, and
whether we love the things of God better than any earthly consideration. Will
we, from this time henceforth, listen to and pay attention to the whisperings
of the good Spirit, and devote every hour of our time to the welfare of the
kingdom of God upon the earth, and let the enemies of this kingdom do what they
please? for God will overrule all things for the special benefit of his people.
May the Lord help us to be Saints.
I will
now make a requirement at the hands of the Bishops, both those who are here,
and those who are not here and which every individual must see is necessary and
just; and that is, for them to see that there is sufficient breadstuff in their
respective Wards to last the members of their Wards until another harvest; and
if you have not sufficient, on hand, we shall require you to secure it and hold
it in such a way that the poor can obtain it by paying for it. There are
persons who would part with every mouthful of breadstuff they have for that
which does not profit them, and bring starvation upon the community. I wish the
Bishops to have an eye to this, and to devise employment, that the new comers
and strangers that may be among us may have a chance to earn their bread. Let
sufficient wheat be held in reserve by those who have it, or are able to buy
it, for this purpose, that none may suffer.
Again I
request of the Bishops to be certain that the members of their Wards have their
supply of breadstuffs in reserve to last them until another harvest, and we
will trust in God for the coming year. Be not so unwise as to sell the bread
that you and your children need. Preserve enough to sustain your own lives, and
we are willing you should sell all the rest of it as you please; and remember
that you cannot buy any from me, unless you pay a fair price for it. Last week
a man wanted to buy some flour of me and I partly consented to let him have
some at six dollars a hundred in gold dust; he thought he could buy it cheaper,
and went away. I was very willing not to sell it him, for when women and
children are suffering for bread, I do not want it said that I sold flour. I
shall feel much better, and I even say in truth, that I have not sold flour
when a prospect of scarcity could be seen in the future. I am willing to pay
flour to my workmen, and am willing to hire more workmen, and I will sell them
flour for six dollars a hundred; but I am not willing to sell it to go out of
the country, and to strangers, if it is needed to sustain those who make their
homes with us.
I will
conclude my remarks and pray God to bless his people everywhere. Amen.
With this last discourse, the Conference terminated shortly after 1 o'clock p.m. on Friday. A more spirited and united conference was probably never held here or elsewhere among men. From the opening to the close, There was a feeling of confidence and assurance in the triumph of the Latter Day work, everywhere manifest in speakers and in hearers which must in the natural course of events be productive of great good. The glees and anthems sung, in addition to the usual hymns, by the choir contributed much to the agreeableness of the meetings and spoke a volume of commendation for Professor Thomas their conductor.
6-10 Apr 1864, 34th Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4-5; MS 26:353]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
MINUTES OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.
_____
WEDNESDAY, April 6, Forenoon.
The Saints assembled in the Tabernacle, at 10 a.m.
On the stand were President Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency; Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. A. Smith, Charles C. Rich, and Franklin d. Richards, of the Twelve Apostles; Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Albert P. Rockwood, and John Van Cott, of the First Presidency of the Seventies; Edwin D. Woolley, and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priest's Quorum; Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer, and George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy, and Jesse C. Little, of the Presidency of the Bishopric; George D. Watt, and John V. Long, reporters, and a large number of Bishops and Elders.
President Young called the meeting to order, and the choir opened the services of conference.
Elder George A. Smith offered the opening prayer.
[President Wells]
President Wells addressed the Conference on the claims of the Public Works: urged the necessity of the Wards in the Territory furnishing teams to haul the granite rock from the quarries during the present spring and summer, for the Temple, in order to meet the demands of workmen for labor during the fall, winter and following spring, and also called attention to the rock and timbers required for the erection of the New Tabernacle this coming fall. Reviewing the work before the Saints, he terminated his remarks by expressing his gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord for His favors to Israel, for the protection of His people from the power of those who sought their overthrow, and in conclusion bore his testimony to the great work of redemption which the Almighty had commenced in this generation.
[President Kimball]
President Kimball occupied the remainder of the session in imparting instruction and council to the people. Br. Kimball spoke some very plain truths in his usual interesting manner.
Elder John Taylor dismissed the meeting.
_____
[6 Apr, pm]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
Afternoon
[[Elder John Taylor]
After prayer by Elder W. Woodruff, Elder John Taylor delivered a discourse - mainly on the gathering of the Saints. He cursorily noticed the crude notions and theories of professing christians on the predictions of the ancient prophets respecting the gathering together of the Saints, in the latter times, into one, to learn the laws of God and to carry out His purposes upon the earth. Elder Taylor showed that the words of the prophets could not fall to the ground unfulfilled, that the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ would gather the honest and humble from all nations, and make them one people. There was no coercion needed to gather the Saints -- the spirit of truth and light led them as it were instinctively to seek the body of the church, and when that light, through transgression, became darkness in professed Saints it was as natural for them to seek other society, and they could leave as freely as they came -- the world was large enough for them all. The Almighty had spoken from the heavens and revealed the organization of His latter day kingdom, and the Saints acknowledged His right to rule and reign over them; they would acknowledge Him ruler, honor Him and observe His laws. The Saints had been baptized with one baptism and participated of one spirit, it was the work of the Great God and no mercenary speculation. It was boundless in extent, from eternity to eternity, embracing the worlds that have been, the world that is, and the worlds to come. This was the greatest work the Lord had ever introduced upon this earth -- the labors of to-day uniting the present generation with the past generations of the righteous and laying the foundation of a work for all the posterity of the Saints. The kingdom of God was onward, and he powers of the earth could do nothing to retard its progress, it would continue to advance and increase in numbers, in power, light and influence, till the Kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and until the Creator's rule, authority and sway should extend from the rivers to the ends of the earth.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith expressed the satisfaction he experienced in attending the conferences of the Saints, as they brought together the authorities of the Church and many of the Saints face to face to feel the spirit that exists in Zion -- for as iron sharpeneth iron, so does the face of man gladden his friend. He reverted in his remarks to the days of gloom in Nauvoo, and spoke of the spirit of light, integrity and intelligence that was ever manifested in Joseph and Brigham notwithstanding the efforts of their enemies to destroy them. He reminded the Saints of their obligations to pray for themselves as well as to pray for the Presidency of the Church, and to watch over their own actions, remembering that it was just as necessary for the members of the Church to be good, to be just, to be upright, maintaining the dignity of their calling in everything, as it was for those who ruled over them. He alluded to the influences of the world that darkened the minds of the Saints, and exhorted them rather to lay up for themselves treasures in heaven, instead of allowing the love of earthly treasures to corrode their souls and overcome the love of truth: for these would perish with the using, while the course of the righteous would be crowned with everlasting honors and the gift of eternal lives. He exposed the seducing influences of gold, and pointed to the wreck of men who had fallen victims to its idolatry; while nobler examples were before them of those who used their success in life for the building up of the Kingdom of God. He closed his remarks by assuring the faint hearted that "Mormonism" would never be made easy and palatable to the wicked world. The powers of earth and hell might unite to destroy the Saints, but God and His Saints would ride over all opposition, and the wicked, the apostates, the fearful and the unbelieving would be scattered to the four winds, as the chaff of the summer thrashing floor.
Elder W. W. Phelps dismissed the congregation.
_____
[6 Apr, evening]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
A meeting of the Priesthood was held at 7 o'clock.
_____
[7 Apr, am]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
Elder Samuel W. Richards offered prayer.
[Elder Geo. A. Smith]
Elder Geo. A. Smith delivered a discourse on the influence of false spirits. The gospel was preached to accomplish the salvation of the people, and with that object they received it, and knew that they had the world afterwards to contend with: yet many had permitted some trifling, unimportant object thrown in their path to cause them to stumble. He had been acquainted with the Church almost from the beginning, and dark clouds had almost constantly attended its growth and progress. In such times there had always been some ready to prophecy evil against Israel; but the history of the past stood forth a monument of their folly -- on which Balaam was prominently noticeable. In the early history of this Church, the development of false spirits was very attractive, and quite a number had received the gift of tongues from that source which had led them astray, as they were not able to discern between the influence of heaven and the influence of the devil. Wherever the work had been extended there had been opposition from the spiritual powers of darkness. He instanced the opposition to the first American Elders who went to England, particularly the attack made upon Prest. Kimball, at Preston, Lancashire, and what he had experienced himself when he labored in London. He considered it good for the Elders of Israel to be acquainted with historical facts relating to the power of evil, that they might live so as to be beyond their reach. After the first endowment was given, some sixty persons apostatized and essayed to form a new church, that would get along easier with the world than the church established by the commandment of God; but they had dropped into oblivion. Spiritualism, table turning, rapping, and writing mediums were all emanations of the evil one to distract the minds of the children of men from the gospel of salvation, and it had been the experience of the Saints of the present generation that whenever men corrupted themselves they became an easy prey to these spirits, and to the cunning devices of men, who to serve personal purposes banded together in opposition to the kingdom of God. The Lord had organized the Priesthood and through that channel He would reveal His will to the church. A few months, or a year or two, might pass along and enquire for those who had been led astray by evil spirits and they would be numbered among the things that were, while the steady stream of Mormonism would flow on unceasingly. The duped and deceived with the designer and the wicked would perish without hope, while the Saints were blessed with a testimony and hope, rich with immortality and Eternal Life.
[Pres. Young]
Prest. Young made a few remarks and the congregation was dismissed by Prest. Wells.
_____
[7 Apr, pm]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
AFTERNOON.
Prayer by Elder Albert P. Rockwood.
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt preached on the Gospel of Eternal Salvation, comprehending within the scope of his subject the pre-existence of man, the object of his creation and destiny as revealed through the prophet Joseph. His remarks closed in referring to his approaching mission to Europe, and bore his testimony to the divinity of the work of God.
[Elder C. C. Rich]
Elder C. C. Rich spoke on the practical duties of life, and the labor required of the people to bring about the purposes of the Lord in the establishment of righteousness on the earth, and of the salvation from the evils of this world.
Meeting dismissed by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
_____
[8 Apr, am]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
FRIDAY, APRIL 8th, Forenoon.
_____
Elder Geo. D. Watt prayed.
[Elder F. D. Richards]
Elder F. D. Richards reviewed past history, spoke of the wandering of the Saints in the wilderness from the persecutions of men. Many had thought that it was hard to be thrust out from the nation, as was the case in '46; but to-day they could readily see that it was one of the greatest blessings that could have been conferred on the Saints. He gave very prudent counsel to the people in urging domestic economy for self-support and social independence, foreseeing the time when he 'Saints would require to rely upon their own labors for maintenance.
[President Young]
President Young spoke on Tithing. He wished it to be distinctly understood that he would hold no men in fellowship who would amass to themselves fortunes from the hard earnings of the people in this Territory, by selling them goods at enormous profits, and at the same time shirk paying their Tithing. He spoke of some who had paid freely and others who had not at all, and very pleasantly announced his intention to all upon all the merchants, whether Saints or Gentiles, to contribute of their abundance for the benefit of the city and the people from whom they had made their riches.
Prest. Kimball dismissed the meeting.
_____
[8 Apr, pm]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
AFTERNOON.
Prayer by Elder W. W. Phelps.
[Elder Woodruff]
Elder Woodruff spoke on the riches of the Gospel. The citizens of the world sought after what they called wealth, and high places; but there was no wealth to compare with the wealth of the grace of God, and no honor like to the honor of membership in the Church of God. The safest thing for the people was to keep the commandments of the Almighty and to seek to possess the Holy Ghost. When men violated the commandments, they were easily purchased or the service of the Devil. He encouraged home labor and on home products, the sources of true wealth and independence.
[Elder W. W. Phelps]
Elder W. W. Phelps said the Lord had never turned away from a people who kept His word. The nations of the earth were at war and vied with each other in the manufacture of the most powerful engines of human destruction. Soon there would be no peace but in Zion, and the words of the Prophets would be fulfilled that predicted that he who would not take up his sword again - this fellow man must needs flee to Zion. The Saints were exhorted to do right and ever be ready, for they knew not the hour when the thief cometh that might seek to despoil them of their virtues and possessions.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith spoke of the advantages of prosecuting their labors on the Temple and Tabernacle during the present season.
Elder Daniel Spencer dismissed the meeting.
[8 Apr, evening]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
A meeting of the Priesthood was held in the evening.
[9 Apr, am*]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4]
_____
SATURDAY, APRIL 9th, Forenoon.
_____
Elder Orson Hyde prayed: and preached on the triumph of the work of God, and Elder John Taylor presented the names of the authorities of the Church who were unanimously sustained in the following order:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselors.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, franklin D. Richards, and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the whole church.
Daniel Spencer, President of the Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington, John v. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, Thomas B. Broderick, James H Hart, John Squires and William H. Folsom, members of the High council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squire, President of the Elders Quorum; James Smith and Peter Latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel M. Moore, President of the Priests' Quorum; Richard W. McAllister and Gorge Openshaw, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teacher's Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacons' Quorum; Samuel G. Ladd and Warren Hardie, his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works; John Sharp his assistant.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
Meeting dismissed by Elder John V. Long.
_____
[9 Apr, pm]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 4-5]
AFTERNOON.
Elder John W. Hess prayed.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke on the Constitution of the United States and the unwavering determination of the people of Utah to sustain it inviolate. He then presented the names of Elders called to go on missions, who were unanimously sustained. After a short address the names of a number of persons were put to the congregation and cut off the Church for various causes, drunkenness, crime and apostasy.
[President Kimball]
President Kimball made a few remarks and dismissed the meeting.
_____
[10 Apr, am]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 5]
SUNDAY APRIL 10th, Forenoon.
_____
Prayer by Elder Lorin Farr.
[President Young]
President Young delivered a very impressive discourse, showing that the Gospel of the Kingdom could never be powerful to save, unless the Holy Ghost dictated the speaker and carried home to the souls of the hearers the words of life: that the wisdom and learning of men never did bring the people to a knowledge of the truth. He spoke of the time when the people would come to the Saints and seek to be fed, and urged the Saints to be diligent in their labors in raising grain, and to be careful and not abuse the blessings which the Lord had bestowed upon them. He said that no person could be saved in the Kingdom of God, and neglect to observe the commandments; that no ordinance had ever been revealed to man that was not binding upon him to observe.
[President Kimball]
President Kimball occupied the remainder of the session, and the congregation was dismissed by Elder Orson Hyde.
____
[10 Apr, pm]
[DNW 13:224, 4/13/64, p 5]
AFTERNOON
Elder Brigham Young Junr. prayed.
[President Kimball]
President Kimball spoke at some length of his early youth and experience in the Kingdom.
[President Wells]
President Wells spoke of his desires to contribute to the upbuilding of the Work, and to labor for the purposes of the Most High.
Elder George A. Smith invited all the Saints who were driven out of Jackson county, Missouri, to forward to the Historian's Office as early as possible, their names, the branches with which they were connected, their children, and where now living. The missionaries were also invited to meet at the Historian's Office on the 22nd inst. at 1 p.m.
President Kimball moved the adjournment of the Conference till the 6th of October, and President Young blessed the Priesthood, the congregation, all Israel at home and abroad, and all the honest in heart throughout the world, in the name of Jesus Christ; and the Conference ended.
GEORGE D. WATT, Reporter.
6-9 Oct 1864, 34th
Semi-Annual General Conference, Bowery.
[Deseret News Weekly 14:12, 10/12/64, p 4-5; MS 26:753, 769]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 4]
SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
_____
Thursday, October 6, the Saints convened in the bowery at 10 a.m.
On the stand were President Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, of the First Presidency; Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow and Franklin D. Richards, of the Twelve Apostles; Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, of the First Presidency of the Seventies; John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum; Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of the Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, of the Presidency of the Bishoprick; George D. Watt and John V. Long, reporters, and a large number of Bishops and Elders.
The choir sang "The glorious gospel light has shone."
Elder John Taylor offered the opening prayer.
The choir then sang "The time is nigh, that happy time."
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball said he felt a great desire to speak for the comfort and consolation of the righteous. He was sensible that we wished to conceive the word of God, and to be benefited by it we must have that spirit which the faithful are entitled to. It was pleasing to him to be enabled to speak from experience of the firmness and integrity of the leaders of Israel, he was a living witness to the power of God that had accompanied the words of Joseph the Prophet, and also the words and labors of the present authorities of the Church. The faithful Saint has an abiding testimony of his acceptance with God, and has continually in his bosom a sure and certain hope of blessings in this life and exaltation in the life to come. It was a gratifying cause of rejoicing to the Saints to know that we live in the greatest dispensation that God has ever given to man. The work in which the Latter-day Saints are engaged, he said, is one that we are called upon to prosecute until the government, the kingdom and the dominion shall be given into the hands of the just. President Kimball then reasoned upon humility, honesty of purpose, faithfulness to God and his kingdom; also upon correction, chastisement, reproof and the general duties of the Saints. He rejoiced to know that the people in all the settlements in the Territory were in a better condition and more prosperous both temporally and spiritually than ever they were before, and this was in part attributable to the visits and labors of the First Presidency and Twelve during the past summer. Brother Kimball's discourse was lengthy, and both interesting and instructive.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young rose and called the attention of the Bishops of this city to the necessity of having a teacher from each Ward to attend during conference and see to seating the congregation. He also wanted to see singers in their places in the choir every day during conference; he likewise wanted to see the brass band in attendance during the hours of meeting. Further, he said, he would like to see the merchants shut up their stores and bring their clerks to the conference. The mechanics ought to shut up their shops, and the farmers leave their work and come to conference, and if their hearts were not there he would like to see their bodies there, and he cold assure them that they would be more blessed in doing this than in pursuing another course. To the city Bishops he remarked that he wanted when companies arrived to see them have a man from each ward with a hand-cart or a suitable basket, to gather up some onions, potatoes, some tea and coffee for the weary and worn and comfort them; he did not care if they apostatized in half a minute, he wanted them treated kindly while they did stay. He was aware what would be said and done in such cases, people would go and seek out their particular friends, but those persons coming in here are all our friends or should be, and he wanted them looking after.
Choir sang "Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join."
Elder Hyde pronounced the benediction.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 4]
2, p. m.
Choir sang "When all thy mercies, O my God."
Elder Lorenzo Snow offered prayer.
Choir sang "How are thy servants blest! O Lord."
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde said the brethren in the land of cotton are blessed in the labor of producing the article so much needed by this community. To contrast our present numbers and position with that of the church thirty-three years ago, is truly marvelous and encouraging. Exhorted those portions of families who have come to this country to prepare the way for the rest of the faithful to the purpose they came to accomplish, and not sell and waste the substance they have gathered, and scatter it to strangers. The Saints have been gathered to this land to accumulate the necessaries of life in abundance to meet the coming emergency, and to carry out the great purpose and policy of the Most High. Heaven designs to send multitudes of people here, and they shall come to us, for says the Lord "I will make them who have persecuted you to worship at your feet, and I will make them know that the Lord thy God hath loved thee." Plagues will continue to roll upon the world. It looks now as though the "red horse," spoken of in the scriptures was on h is mission. The "black horse" will go through afterwards, which represents death and mourning. Then thousands will come to us for safety and for bread. Are we preparing ourselves for these times? I do not see any prospect of famine here, for thy bread shall be given thee and thy water shall be sure, but famine will be elsewhere. The standard of the Almighty is reared in Utah, and to it all people will look. We shall have plenty of human persons to feed, let us have on hand plenty to eat, for then we shall feel strong." Be ye also ready, for in the day and hour ye think not, the son of man cometh."
[Elder Joseph W. Young]
Elder Joseph W. Young expressed his pleasure in meeting with the Saints again in this bowery on the Temple Block. He was full of confidence in the God of Israel and also in the progress and increase of the kingdom of God. He realized that the Saints had weapons that were more potent than the weapons of human warfare, and by them they would eventually break down and for ever destroy the powers of Satan and of death. He then gave an interesting account of the present season's emigration; spoke of the labors of the Elders to help the Saints through the States and from the frontiers. Reviewed the past and present condition of the American nation in an interesting and instructive manner, using a number of appropriate figures of speech, and predicting that the time of peace in this land would be when the people would say "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
Choir sang "Great God, attend while Zion sings."
Benediction by Elder F. D. Richards.
[7 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 4]
Friday, Oct. 7, 10 a. m.
Meeting commenced by the choir singing "Come, sound His praise abroad."
Prayer by Elder Charles C. Rich.
Choir sang "My God, the spring of all my joys."
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor arose and addressed the conference. The convening of a general conference was always a pleasing time to him; it was a time for the assembling of the officers of the church and kingdom of God, and he often thought how difficult it was for us to realize the importance of the positions we occupy in the Church of Jesus Christ, but we are blessed with the privilege of sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is said in the scriptures "Ye are not of the world, for I have chosen you out of the world, therefore glorify God in your bodies and spirits which are His. We, who are Latter-day Saints, have left the spirit of the world, our habitations that were in the world, we have forsaken our former friends and associates for the gospel's sake. He then called the attention of the conference to the great privileges and blessings enjoyed by the Saints in this dispensation when compared with those engaged in the apostolic age. The Saints know that the kingdom of God will eventually extend from the rivers to the ends of the earth, for the Lord God has spoken it. -- The God of Israel is the safeguard and protector of His Saints, and in him they put their trust. -- The Spirit of God takes of the things of God and shows them to the faithful Saints. Every Saints should know that we have come here to do the will of God.
[Elder George G. Bywater]
Elder George G. Bywater gave a very interesting account of his late mission to Europe, and said he was really glad to again meet with the Saints in Utah. He had been on a four years' mission, and during his absence he had done the very best he knew how, perhaps not the best he could, but he felt satisfied with his labors. Stated that he had preached in the City of Worcester, also in the principality of Wales. Said he had engaged himself in the preaching of the gospel, and was still willing to labor for the benefit and salvation of the human race. Bore testimony that he knew this to be the kingdom of God, and also that it had been led by revelation all the time, and he likewise knew that the great storm of the judgments of the Almighty was reserved for the day of vengeance.
Choir sang a hymn on the 32d page, after which the meeting was adjourned till 2 o'clock.
Benediction by Elder Amasa M. Lyman.
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 4]
Afternoon.
"Hark, ye mortals. Hist! be still," was sung, and prayer offered by President Joseph Young.
[Elder Amasa M. Lyman]
Elder Amasa M. Lyman arose and delivered an interesting discourse on the causes that brought the Latter-day Saints together. It was the obedience to the invitation of our Savior, "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you" which had brought the people to this the land of Zion; it was the following of the gospel revealed unto the present generation. It was said in olden times that the kingdom of heaven was like a net cast into the sea, which gathers of all kinds of fish. Those who doubt the kingdom of God being in Utah might be enlightened by looking what the Saints have been doing. Some suppose the preaching of the gospel to be the declaring of a certain number of doctrines in just so many words, but the preaching of the lord's chosen servants is for the purpose of correcting the errors of the ignorant and unenlightened. After the gathering home of the Saints, he remarked, there is a constant labor of keeping before the minds of the people that which will save them from folly and vice, that will purify their thoughts, and lead them to pursue that course which will be most conducive to their own happiness. He knew that there was but one people whose conduct harmonizes with the purity of character and holiness of purpose, that exist with the Almighty.
[Elder Thomas E. Jeremy]
Elder Thomas E. Jeremy rejoiced in again being permitted to mingle with the Saints in Zion, and in the knowledge he had of the work of God. Related some pleasing and amusing incidents of his late mission to Europe. It as 15 years since he first arrived in the valley, and 7 years of that time he had been absent on missions. Bore testimony tot he truth and argued the necessity of the Saints having constantly within them the spirit of revelation. In the course of his remarks, br. Jeremy treated of the present state of things generally in the principality of Wales, and made observations relative to his journey across the Atlantic Ocean., through the States and over the plains.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young made a few remarks on the state of feeling that once existed in Nauvoo, when men were so foolish as to contend that no revelation was needed more than was contained in the bible, Book of Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and said that if we have not the living oracles and the living witness within us we are nothing. The Latter Day Saints are blessed with the oracles of divine truth in their midst, and they know that ere long the kingdom must pass into the hands of the Saints, and then they will possess it for ever and for ever. The people of God are required to be one in faith and one in action.
Choir sang "Guide us, O thou great Jehovah."
Elder George A. Smith dismissed the meeting.
[7 Oct, evening]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 4-5]
Evening.
A priesthood meeting was held in the Tabernacle at early candle light, at which Bishop Hunter, President John Young of the High Priests' Quorum, President Joseph Young of the Seventies and President Brigham Young delivered addresses. Business pertaining to the priesthood was also transacted during the evening, and the meeting was upon the whole truly interesting.
President Kimball pronounced the benediction.
[8 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 5]
SATURDAY, Oct. 8, 10 a. m.
After singing "The glorious plan which God has giv'n," Elder George A. Smith offered prayer, followed by the singing of the hymn on the 294 page.
[Elder Richard Bently]
Elder Richard Bently arose and gave an entertaining account of his late mission to Europe, and expressed his joy and gratification in the privilege of returning in peace, in health, and in finding his family the happy participants in similar blessings. He felt that his experience in the ministry had done him a world of good.
[Elder M. B. Shipp]
Elder M. B. Shipp, who returned from his European mission last fall and from the States a few says ago, painted in glowing colors the lamentable and pitiable condition of many in the States. The corruption and disappointed ambition of aspiring demagogues received appropriate comments. Admonished the Saints to be always in such a condition as to know the voice of the good shepherd, for he was satisfied that the way to build ourselves up was to labor for the kingdom of God.
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow made a statement of the condition of the people in the cotton district of our Territory. Some three years ago he said, about 300 families were chosen to go and settle in Washington county, and only two thirds of that number went, the richer portion still remaining here. Spoke of the settling of the town of St. George, the causes that had detained the brethren in the northern counties; also of the scarcity of water, the labor of getting grain and flour to feed the folks with. There were over a thousand persons in St. George, he said, one half of whom would have to leave unless something was done to relieve the mission and help the poor man to continue his labors on the fences and canals that were in progress there.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball asked the congregation whether we shall take a course to sustain ourselves or not. The world will not sustain us, so we will sustain ourselves, and carry the gospel to all nations, gather the honest poor, and teach them to sustain themselves. The wealth of the southern settlements is not yet developed, but that portion of our country will be the most wealthy. Those men who have been delinquent and have not fulfilled their missions, unless they repent, they will be suspended from fellowship; there is nothing but a speedy repentance that will save them from being severed from the church. The work of settling the Southern portions of this Territory is a great work, and is fraught with immense blessings to this community; those settlements will be sustained, if we have to replenish the mission by sending down men of means to develop the resources of the country, and fulfil the purposes of heaven. Inquired if a vote should be taken to send down men to assist and replenish that mission; the whole congregation voted in favor of doing so.
[Pres B. Young]
Pres. B. Young, said he should feel justified in going to live in the south, if the conference should decide that he should go there; but if he went there he would create no little stir for many would go with him and he would soon have steamboats passing up the Colorado. The people there have not seen the country yet; we shall shortly want another path to bring home the Saints and want to prepare for it. There are men on this stand that saw the present situation of our once happy nation, as well as they do now. I do not wish to say much, but I wish you to remember that the river Colorado is not far from our southern settlements, only 125 miles from St. George.
Choir sang "As the dew, from heav'n distilling."
President Daniel Spencer pronounced the benediction.
[8 Oct, pm*]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 5]
Afternoon.
The congregation was called to order and the choir sang the hymn on the 73rd page. Elder Wilford Woodruff offered prayer, after which the choir sang "O, my Father, thou that dwellest."
President Orson Hyde then presented the Authorities of the Church, each quorum of whom was unanimously sustained by the vote of the conference.
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the whole church.
Daniel Spencer, President of the Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington; John V. Long, John L. Blythe, George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squire, President of the Elders Quorum; James Smith and Peter latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
The President of the Priests' Quorum having removed from the city, it was deemed wisdom to pass that over for the present.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teacher's Quorum; Henry L Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Samuel G. Ladd and Warren Hardie, his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works; John Sharp, his assistant
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
A list of missionary names was read and voted for by the conference.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young addressed the conference for about an hour, touching upon many subjects of interest to the Latter-day Saints. The words of his text were "Fun and frolic." The subjects of the discourse were the human and divine nature of man. He said, we can behold in ourselves every attribute there is in our Father in heaven; we are the offspring of Him, that we worship as God. In this condition and relationship we view the whole human family the world of error and ignorance, they are all the children of our heavenly Father. Man is the most helpless of God's creatures when he comes into this world and yet when developed how rapidly he grows in intelligence. If the mind of man is stretched too much that injures it, therefore a certain amount of recreation is necessary for the preservation of health, and he desired on this account to have the Latter-day Saints enjoy themselves.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 2; CDBY 4:2226-2229]
REMARKS
By PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, G. S. L. City, Oct 8, 1864
_____
[REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.]
_____
The text
I have chosen upon which to found a few remarks you will find written in the book
of man, by the inspired pen of nature, and reads as follows: "Fun and
Frolic." I shall not pretend to discuss the various points pertaining to
the disposition that dwells in mortal beings; but I will notice a few items
relating to this subject as they shall be presented to me in the course of my
remarks. The Latter-day Saints are or should be, Christians in the strictest
sense of the word. Our eyes have been opened to see, our ears to hear, and our
hearts have been touched by the Spirit of inspiration to understand The book of
man presents to us an extensive and very interesting history, and many things
have been revealed from the heavens by the Spirit of inspiration, to ancient
and to modern prophets, relating to the organization of man, and his position
upon the earth. If we understood the truth as it is, we could behold in
ourselves the germ of every attribute, passion, and sensibility that dwells in
our Heavenly Father and in the holy angels. So far as we have had revelation on
the subject, it is clearly revealed to us that we are His sons and
daughters--His offspring. We must view man as he is--a mortal being situated in
a world of sin, darkness and error; he has not yet arrived at that state of
perfection anticipated by us. Man, in infancy, is of all God's creatures the
most helpless and dependant; yet beneath this utter helplessness and ignorance
is concealed the germ from which will grow and mature, under proper care and
training, the intelligence and power of a God. Divinity is implanted in the organism
of man, which divinity is designed by the framer and upholder of all things to
swallow up mortality in immortality and eternal life, and, where ignorance and
darkness held their sway in the mind, to establish forever, illimitable
knowledge and eternal wisdom. I can read divinity in the faces of my fellow
beings; I see the same trait in all, appearing in eternal variety in the
physical formation and temperaments of the human family; yet we are in a world
of sin, vanity, darkness and ignorance. We are filled with vanity; it lies
thick upon our pathway, and forms a ruling element in our short mortal sojourn
here.
We are
viewing man as he is, not as he wishes to be, and as he will be. God has
created man, and made him Lord over all his creations here. He has planted in
man senses to receive impressions of pleasure and pain, and shall we say that
God has no right to demand of us strict obedience to all the laws of life which
He has instituted for the growth and perfection of His creature, man? We find
within us a disposition to "Fun and Frolic," which, under certain
conditions and circumstances, it becomes necessary to gratify in order to
insure the perfect health and harmonious working of the whole human organism. I
like to laugh occasionally, and I have seldom seen a person who does not like
to laugh; although in the course of my life I have come in contact with many
who, under the influence of false religious notions, have tried to look grave
and long-faced, and who, if nature should now and then exert her prerogative
over unnatural restrictions, and a smile should be the consequence, would spend
days and weeks in mourning, and praying for forgiveness. Now, this is a
violation of one of the great laws of life; while, on the other hand, mirth and
laughter, "Fun and Frolic," indulged in without just restrictions and
proper government, become great evils in the physical economy of man. The Lord
has said, through Joseph Smith, "Remember the great and last promise which
I have made unto you; cast away your idle thoughts, and your excess of laughter
far from you;" etc. We should encourage every practice, and allow every
indulgence which will enhance health and life, and lead the creature to virtue,
holiness and the fear of God.
The
intelligent parent and school teacher are not ignorant of the fact that the
body and mind of the child can be perfectly ruined by constant application to
study and being denied the necessary leisure for physical recreations and
exercises, and thousands, through the same cause, have become confirmed
lunatics. The mental and physical organizations of man are inseparably
connected, and both need their proper and appropriate nourishment and
recreation. The lungs should be inflated with pure air, and the muscles receive
reasonable exercise to insure a healthy circulation of the blood. Air is the
first and foremost element in the life of man, and water is no less important,
connected with many substances which constitute corporeal food. These are of
this world, and are organized to be disorganized, in order to attain ultimate
sanctification and eternal duration.
Many
people have thought that a Saint should never laugh, but it is written "A
time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."
Again, "Blessed are ye that weep now; for ye shall laugh." And,
"That likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more
than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance." These,
and similar scriptures that might be quoted, show to the intelligent and
enlightened reader that the inhabitants of the earth, and the inhabitants of
the heavens, are of the same race--have sprung from the same source--their only
differences having their origin in their relative stages of progression, and
perfection, and in their different geographical conditions. They are all
endowed with the same faculties, senses and powers, from which springs an
endless and eternal variety of physical form and expression, as well as degrees
of mental power and brilliancy, giving to each his identity, place and
influence among his fellows, whether in heaven or on earth, which identity
remains after the children of God are sanctified, and every imperfection of
mortality is overcome and every impurity cleansed by the power of the Gospel, and
the efficacy of the Holy Priesthood through the resurrection of the dead.
Our
Elders, in speaking, frequently quote the expression "Ye are not of the
world." That expression needs explanation. When we say that we are not of
the world, we do not mean it to be understood that we are not of the world of
mankind; for we are of the earth, earthy, and continue to eat, drink, wear
clothing, and dwell in earthly habitations. We have separated ourselves from
the wickedness that is in the world--from the practices of whose who do not
know God nor serve him. Jesus Christ possessed great power in his mortal
tabernacle. He could fast forty days, and feed thousands upon a few loaves and
fishes. He had power to call from the elements the flesh of fish, and the bread
to feed the multitude. We have not yet attained to that perfection and power;
we can fast but a short time, and can only obtain our bread through the
cultivation of the soil; yet we are trying to separate ourselves from the
influence of the wickedness that is in the world, to sanctify ourselves, and
obtain faith in God sufficient to control the elements as Jesus did, and learn
to use the materials necessary to the extension and comfort of this mortal life
to the glory of God and our salvation, and not abuse them to our destruction.
Let us not forget our text: the Lord laughs, and so do we; the Lord loves
charming music, and so do we; He loves beautiful colors, and so do we; all the
capabilities, sensibilities, and powers of the human system are the gift of our
Father and God; for it is written, "He that planted the ear, shall he not
hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chastiseth the heathen,
shall he not correct? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall he now know?"
The body requires suitable food, exercise and rest to make it healthy and
strong, and the mind requires study and relaxation to make it vigorous and
powerful. The Lord wishes everything that pertains to life, to goodness, to
holiness and to comfort and happiness, to magnanimity and greatness, to
nobility and to Godliness to be introduced among the Latter-day Saints. In
short, there is nothing of greatness and goodness that the Lord has not
designed for His Saints. Everything that will enhance comfort, consolation and
happiness in our associations with each other, is ordained of God, that we
should have great joy and peace in our intercourse. The science of music is the
gift of God for our enjoyment; and our Heavenly Father has covered the face of
the earth with an endless variety of color on mountain and plain for the
comfort, joy and admiration of His children. The melody of the sweet singers in
Israel, and the players on wind and stringed instruments are designed of God
for happiness and pleasure to His faithful children. There is no attribute of
body and mind, no facility of universal nature around us but what is designed
expressly to be used by us to His name's glory to prepare us for the enjoyment
of the attributes of our nature in a state of perfection in His celestial
presence. Solomon says "To everything there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heavens." And, also, that "Every man should
eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor; it is the gift of
God." The Latter-day Saints desire to, and should, have every decent
amusement that skill and ingenuity can devise for the enjoyment and recreation,
instruction and satisfaction of the old, middle-aged, and youth in our
community. We have built a theatre in this city for that purpose, and about
which I wish now to say a few words.
It is my
desire to have every performance that is introduced on the stage of that
theatre, and every assembly that goes there to be as orderly, gentlemanly and
Saint-like as this congregation is at the present time. When the Saints assemble
in the ball room to go forth in the dance, or in the theatre to witness a
performance, they are not obliged to take intoxicating liquors with them, and
conduct themselves as the wicked world generally do, while engaged in such
exercises; but when they have exercised themselves sufficiently and reasonably,
then let them be content, go home at a seasonable hour, say their prayers, and
retire to rest. We are not obliged to conform to inconsistencies, and obscene
representations in order to make our parties and theatrical performances
attractive and interesting. Children who follow their studies continuously at
school, and clerks who are confined at the desk, require exercise in the open
air, to strengthen their muscles, and give vitality and health to the physical
system. I do not know that it matters in what this exercise consists; it may be
in riding on horseback, pitching quoits, or cutting fire wood. The farmer,
mechanic, and common laborer, whose employment is altogether manual, will be
suited and rested to witness, at proper intervals, an instructive theatrical
performance, partaking largely of comedy in its character. After I have sat in
this Conference for four days, with my mind upon the stretch, grasping in the
affairs of the kingdom of God in all the world, and the unhappy condition of
our nation, it requires relaxation and rest. To laugh at some witty and funny
representation on the stage would change the exercises of the mind, bring rest
and strength, and prepare it with fresh vigor to enter again upon its arduous
labors. The management of our theatre have done as well as they could under the
circumstances. I have no fault to find with them; but I do think that the
parents or guardians of children and young persons that go there ought to teach
their children better than to disturb quiet persons who wish to enjoy the
pieces presented for their amusement. I have often felt that I would order the
curtain dropped, and give a sharp reproof to those who scream, whistle, stamp,
and indulge in many other reprehensible demonstrations. We that have gathered
together in these mountains have to make our own amusements. We nave our
religion; God has given it to us, also the earth and its fullness is for us to
enjoy; but we must learn to wisely classify and time our labors and our rest,
our studies and our recreations, that our whole lives may be filled up in doing
good, and in bringing salvation temporally and spiritually, to ourselves, to
our friends, and to all those who will listen to the words of life throughout
the world. Parents should make the schooling of their children one of the
important duties of their lives, and if there are persons in this Territory too
poor to educate their children, still their children can be educated, for there
are provisions made to meet any deficiency of that kind; but I very much doubt
there being one family in this Territory that is too poor to educate their
children. If there are any such, I think upon examination it will be found that
they have not been sufficiently provident of the mercies God has strewed around
them, and not made the education of their children an important point in their
domestic economy. Let aged persons not suppose that they are useless, and wish
they were dead, because their energies have failed them, and they cannot work
as they once did. They are useful, for they are experienced and should be wise
and able to give good counsel to the young. The aged matron can teach the
little girl to knit, darn stockings, sweep the floor, and help her mother in
many little household duties. The aged grandfather can be equally useful in
influencing the boys to industry, righteousness and goodness. Another word or
two on the theatre. That theatre was built for the accommodation and amusement
of the Saints; but we respectfully wish them, and others who wish to attend the
performances, to behave themselves while they are there; and if they will not
in the future, measures will be taken to have them do so, or remove them from
the house. I do not wish to see any person perform on that stage, who is not
prepared, if necessary, to preach a funeral sermon, or pray if he is called
upon to do so; and I never want to see a woman perform there that is not filled
with truth and virtue.
Much has
been said with regard to this kingdom being led by the spirit of prophecy and
revelation. When I first commenced to preach this gospel I was of the opinion,
and am of the same opinion now, that no man that has ever lived, or will live,
can preach the gospel of the Son of God without the power of God sent down from
heaven. It is the privilege of every person in this Church to live so that they
can know the mind and will of God for themselves. Let every man live in the
light of the Lord, and they will know the voice of the Good Shepherd. That is all
I ask of the Latter-day Saints. Brethren and sisters, I anticipate seeing the
day when a motion, an expression of the countenance will convey more to the
minds of the Saints than language now can. Then our language will be perfect
perhaps, and we shall be better able to convey our ideas as we wish; but, at
present, we must be satisfied to improve upon what we have, and thank God for
every blessing we enjoy and for every improvement we can make, being constantly
humble to wait upon Him.
May the
Lord bless you: Amen.
Choir sang "See, the mighty angel, flying!"
Benediction by Elder J. V. Long.
[9 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 5]
Sunday, Oct. 9, 10 a. m.
The meeting was opened by singing, and prayer was offered by Elder E. T. Benson.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow reasoned on the way to be happy and comfortable, and how by constant attention to our duties we could become like God our Heavenly Father. There was no need, he contended for the Saints looking at the dark side of the picture, for they have everything to encourage them.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball illustrated the condition of the human family by a figure of the pottery business. He was very happy in his comparisons, elucidating principles in great plainness and with much simplicity.
The Choir sang "All you that love Immanuel's name," and Elder Jacob Gates pronounced the benediction.
[9 Oct, pm]
[DNW 14:12, 10/12/64, p 5]
Afternoon.
[Elder George B. Wallace]
After singing, Elder George B. Wallace addressed the throne of grace.
The sacrament was administered by Bishops Hunter and counselors, McRae and counselors and L. D. Young. Elder E. T. Benson, Patriarch John Young and Elder W. W. Phelps addressed the conference on a variety of topics, bearing testimony to the truth, and exhorting the people to faithfulness and diligence in the work of the Lord. President Brigham Young adverted to the subjects of prophets in Israel, and remarked that nearly every man who had spoken during the conference had prophesied, and so it would be if a hundred others were to speak, and he would be glad if all the Lord's people were prophets. The President gave much valuable instruction upon prophecy, the general duties of saints, and blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
On motion the conference adjourned till the 6th of April next, then to meet again at 10 a.m., at the same place. The choir sang "Happy is the man that finds the grace," and the President dismissed the conference with the following benediction:
O God the Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ thy Son we pray for thy blessings to rest upon this congregation. Bless thy holy priesthood, each and every Quorum, in order that all may be inspired by the power of the Holy Ghost to do and perform every duty before there, and secure to themselves eternal life in the celestial kingdom. Bless the good upon the whole face of the earth, overthrow the evil and the wickedness that exist upon it. Bless thy saints as parents, and bless their children; give wisdom to the parents that they may bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; bless the children with a spirit of submission to their parents; give them a thirst for knowledge, that they may seek for wisdom in the way of life and salvation by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bless the Brethren and sisters that have made melody in our hearts with their instruments and their voices.
Bless, we pray there, this conference, preserve us until we shall meet again upon this ground. Preserve the righteous, prosper thy kingdom in every land, and sweep wickedness from the land and hasten the day when we can assemble upon the centre Stake of Zion. We ask all in the name of Jesus, to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit we will ascribe praises for ever and ever: Amen.
JOHN
V. LONG,
Clerk of Conference.
6-9 Apr 1865, 35th Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 14:220, 04/12/65, p 8-9; MS 27:337]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 8]
MINUTES OF THE THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
_____
The conference convened in the Tabernacle, G. S. L. City, on Thursday, April 6, 165, at 10 a. m., President Brigham Young presiding.
On the Stand: -- Of the First Presidency, Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball;
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, John taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, and George Q. Cannon;
Patriarch: John Smith;
Of the First Presidency of the Seventies:
Levi W. Hancock, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott;
Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum:
Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards;
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion:
Daniel spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace;
Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little;
Reporters:
George D. Watt and John V. Long; and also a large number of Bishops and Elders.
The Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young. The Choir sung, "All hail the glorious day."
Elder George A. Smith offered the opening prayer.
The Choir sung, "Let sinners take their course."
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball stated that he rejoiced to meet with the Saints in Conference; he had not been to the meetings in the Tabernacle during the winter in consequence of his feeble state of health and liability to take cold. He had been instructed to take care of himself that he might live to go back to Jackson County, and he intended to do it. He wished the people to understand that they were not all Saints that were called Saints, and except the Latter-day Saints live the lives of Saints they cannot enjoy the spirit of the Gospel. The only pride the saints should have and delight in is that which leads them to be good and to do the will of God. -- They should be firm as a rock, and united as a vine with many branches. referred to the revelation in regard to Church government, showing how the disobedient should be dealt with. -- Those who obey the gospel are expected to labor for their own salvation, and not depend upon others to work it out for them, for the Lord holds each one responsible for his own acts, and no man can hinder another from living his religion, any more than the Babylonians could prevent Daniel from worshiping God in his day. Spoke of the weakness and frailty of mortals, how Peter, when he thought he was strong, and even boasted of his strength, was overcome and denied his Master. Advocated kindness to the brute creation. Made remarks upon the healing power that is in this Church, and how signally it was made manifest through the faith and prayers of the servants of God.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith followed with some excellent remarks on the lack of foresight and wisdom in men who have flocks and herds, and do not provide for a severe and trying winter. This was partially attributable to the lack of foresight and wisdom in men who have flocks and herds, and do not provide for a severe and trying winter. This was partially attributable to the fact that we had been blessed with a number of mild winters, but in our settlements we must provide forage for wintering our animals, if we intended to save them. Reasoned upon mercantile affairs -- the danger of riches to the Saints until they have learned how to use them for building up the kingdom of God; it is the design of the Almighty to make all the faithful saints rich in the things of earth as well as in the things of eternity, as soon as they are properly schooled.
The Choir sung the hymn on the 163d page, and Elder John Taylor dismissed the meeting.
[6 Apr, pm]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 8]
Afternoon:
The Choir sung "The glorious plan which God has given."
Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde. The Choir sung "See the mighty Angel flying!"
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson felt it a privilege to meet with the brethren and sisters in general conference, and proceeded to reason upon the blessings extended to the Latter-day Saints; stated that he wanted to see every man at his post and ready to do as he was told by the servants of God. Every member of this Church has the privilege of enjoying that spirit which will guide them in the way of truth. It is our duty to so live that we will become like unto Christ, by walking in his footsteps, by resisting temptation and striving to do right continually. The true Saints evince in their countenances that joy and peace which can alone be imparted by the Holy Ghost. Admonished to prayer, humility and faithfulness.
[President Orson Hyde]
President Orson Hyde addressed the Conference upon the subject of continual elevation. When Joseph was called it was a day of spiritual and moral darkness, and the light which God manifested through him had to be gradually developed, because the people could not at once bear that flood of light necessary to establish the kingdom of God permanently upon the earth. Alluded to the continuous revelation constantly flowing from the living priesthood pointing out the great advantage to the Saints of having the living oracles always with them. Made observations on the order of the priesthood in its various ramifications.
[Elder Charles C. Rich]
Elder Charles C. Rich gave a brief and interesting account of the condition of affairs in Bear Lake Valley. The winter had been severe, but the brethren had been fortunate in taking care of their stock. Snow had been three feet deep in the valley, and could be found from that to any depth desired in the adjacent mountains. The people enjoyed good health, only three deaths had occurred during the winter in the county.
Choir sung "We thank there, O God, for a Prophet."
Benediction by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
[6 Apr, evening]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 8]
Evening.
A priesthood meeting was held in the evening, at which addresses were delivered by Bishop Hunter, and Elders Levi W. Hancock, John Taylor and George A. Smith, dwelling upon the duties and responsibilities of those holding the Priesthood.
Elder George A. Smith announced the adjourned meeting of the convention, to meet on Monday next, at 10a.m., and invited the delegates from the country to be present.
[7 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 8]
Friday 7, 10 a. m.
The meeting was opened by singing.
Elder Ezra T. Benson offered prayer.
The Choir sung, "All you that love Immanuel's name."
[Elder Wm. W. Phelps]
Elder Wm. W. Phelps made a few remarks touching his experience and early association with the Prophet Joseph, and bore testimony to the truth.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow made some encouraging remarks upon the greatest gift of God -- eternal life. In speaking of the temporal blessings bestowed upon the Latter-day Saints, he observed that the plan of salvation revealed to us was calculated to bring the thousands of poor Saints that are now scattered among the nations to places where they can make themselves comfortable and happy in the things of this life, and increase in the knowledge and blessings of eternal life. Reasoned upon the opposition and temptations the Saints have to encounter, al which he showed was for a wise purpose to prepare the chosen of the Lord for the positions of honor, influence and power which they are destined to occupy when the kingdom of God shall extend from the rivers to the ends of the earth.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young delivered a short and instructive address on speculators and merchants, and pointed out the gross impositions that are being constantly practiced upon this community, especially by those who profess to be the friends of the people. The capitalists will not bring into the Territory any of the machinery that is wanted for the benefit of the people; they want to make a fortune in a year, and care nothing for anybody but themselves. He had brought nearly all the machinery into the Territory that had been brought in, and he could not persuade any of the speculators to take any part in bringing what the people really need.
[Brigham Young]
[CDBY 4:2266]
I will
try to speak to the saints a short time upon the subject of our temporal
salvation; and in the course of my remarks I may notice the character of our
speculators. Before we were flooded with merchants of every grade from a
sixpenny merchant upward, I called together my friends, those whom I esteemed
as my friends, and as the friends of God, and they met in my Office where I
laid before them certain principles upon trade, and I gave them my views
regarding speculators. I knew well what consequences of the previous course
that had been taken by our merchants would be, and how the prices would range
for the goods that would be brought into our market. During our national
trouble, I knew that speculators who care nothing for their neighbor's welfare
who are neither abolitionists nor pro-slavery man, who would not care whether
the nation would sink or swim, if they could only make money, would flock here.
I knew that circumstances would compel them to do so. During our meeting I
reasoned upon the necessity of pursuing a course to save the community from
being cheated and robbed by that class of itinerant merchants.
We hear a
good deal said about the kingdom of God, and the brethren who talk from the
stand often speak about our position before the heavens, and before the nations
of the earth, and regarding our faith, our progress and the requirements of the
heavens, etc. All these things are before us, and we are called to be Saints
and to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish the Zion of God; we are
called to redeem the lost sheep, and bring them back to the truthful. Jesus
Christ has paid the debt of the original sin by His blood; He has thrown open
the gates of life to all believers, and He now calls upon us to assist in
gathering the House of Israel and in establishing His kingdom, and to prepare
ourselves and all who will hearken to our counsel, for the reception of the Son
of Man again upon the earth. This is our calling. There is a marked difference
between those who have come here for the purpose of making money, and those who
have come to be faithful to their God, to themselves, and to their brethren.
All are not honest in their intentions, who join his people; some join them for
the sake of popularity; and some for the sake of making money; and some, who
went into the waters of baptism with an honest intent and have been faithful
for years, begin to trade and deal, make a little money and property and that
they become ambitious for earthly wealth and influence. This ambition or desire
seems to draw out from their souls the life of God, and the interest which they
formerly possessed for the progress of the kingdom of God, and the spirit of
the world enters into them.
I see all
this, and I see the danger men are in, and I invited my brethren in our little
meeting to consider the matter. I then told them that we were about to be
flooded with men of no principle, whose sole object in life was to get money,
and who would endeavor to ruin every virtuous person in our community. I
advised them that if they wanted to trade, to do so for the benefit of our
society, and to import such articles to this country as the people really
needed, and then to sell them at a fair remuneration to make themselves
comfortable, and even wealthy after a time, and be willing to be with and for
the people; for I said, The people talk and toil the year round, and at the end
of the year have made but little more than their expenses. I exhorted them to
ask a reasonable profit on their goods and thus hedge up the way of the
unprincipled speculator.
Not only
did I advise this class of our community in the manner which I describe at that
time, but it has been my constant endeavor, when speaking from the stand and in
my private conversations, to induce my brethren to import useful Machinery, and
raise the necessary material for the manufacture of our own clothing; home
manufacturing has been urged upon the people from the beginning, from the first
of our occupying this ground. I told that assembly of merchants if they must
trade, to do so upon fair and honest principles, and to be contented with a
reasonable percentage for their time, and not seek to make themselves independently
rich in one year; for those who do this, wring it from the poor people; they do
not honestly get it, and before the heavens it is just as much theft as it
would be to take steal cattle from the range, butcher them and sell them to the
owner, which has been done all the time this winter. This is my private
opinion, publicly expressed, asking no odds of cattle thieves, merchant
thieves, or scoundrels of any kind.
After our
conference had continued sometime, and much conversation had passed upon the
subject before us, the leading man on the company said to me "Give us your
means and credit, and we will do as you tell us." I saw at once that he
cared more about a dollar and about the salvation of his own soul, or the soul
of anybody else; and the partially followed in his wake. I state these facts to
let you know where my mind has constantly been. This people are capable of
making themselves happy and wealthy; they can enjoy every blessing that the
earth affords, or on the other hand, they are capable of bringing sin, misery
and death into their midst to their utter ruin; they can take their choice and
do what they will, and receive, in return, the results of their works. How can
our merchants enjoy the fellowship of the saints as they have done still do and
now charge so a exorbitantly for their goods? They cannot. In all the history
of merchandising I think it will be hard to find an instance where merchants
have cleared fifty five cents per pound on Sugar except in the case of our Salt
Lake Merchants; and this they have made the out of their poor Sisters, and
their poor brethren that had nothing only what they earned with hard labor.
What
merchants abroad can make ten, twenty, thirty, and, in Some instances, forty
cents on a yard of any kind of light cotton goods? The Salt Lake Merchants do
it. Who can get a dollar clear upon a ten penny toy? our merchants will bring a
toy here worth twenty five cents and sell it for a dollar and a quarter.
Who can
do this I ask? The Salt Lake merchants do it; and we sit quietly down and
suffer ourselves thus to be robbed by them, and sell our flower to them for six
or eight dollars a hundred. In this way our community is impoverished and the
merchants are made rich, and then they will go to New York and post all their
making from seventy five to one hundred thousand dollars clear of all expenses
in one year. They have set the example for every cut-throat that comes here to
cry to the world Come to Great Salt Lake City and the gull the Mormons."
Can such persons have fellowship with the Holy Ghost? They cannot; the Holy
Ghost has no fellowship with them, but they would rather go to hell them not to
get our money from us. This is talking hard, but I told him how to avoid
bringing a flood of in strangers here; I have told the authorities of this City
and County and Territory how to avoid it in a great measure. If I had my way
about it there should not be a liquor shop in this City, nor a gambling saloon;
but it is said, if they cannot get liquor here, and a chance to gamble, they
will go somewhere else to get it. Let them that is the very thing we want them
to do; let them go where the people go somewhere else; love such a vile
institutions. I say this because I occupy the capacity of a public man, and
guide this people, and dictate them giving them counsel and advice that they
may be saved in the kingdom of God. I am here for the express purpose; then
stop your gambling and your drunkenness, stop having gambling shops and
drinking saloons, and stop trading here and cheating the poor. I wished to say
this much to the Merchants and to the City authorities.
It has
frequently been said, and is generally believed that all the nations and
kingdoms of the world have been governed and controlled by the women. I thought
I would propose to our sisters to get up societies and enter into pledges with
each other never to go into a store to trade one dime with them; if the sisters
will do this the men will fall in the wake. I would be willing that the sisters
should rule just so far, I should be willing to bet they get up societies
properly organized for the purpose of taking measures, to exercise an influence
to encourage home manufacture, to produce and make that which we need, and
never to need anything which we cannot make; and then let the wives of the
merchants say, "I We will be few if you do not stop this business,"
and that they will wheel in-line quickly and bid good bye to their speculating.
They are speculating upon everything you can think of; they are speculating
upon land. What is the land were there? Just as much as it is worth anywhere
else and no more. I have paid as high as $400 a foot for land which I bought
for the sake of getting out a nuisance, when every piece of land is worth no
more than it is in Provo; I would just as leave have a lot in Provo, in St.
George in the South, or in St. Charles in the north as to have a lot here.
"Well but we are going to do such great things, the railroad is coming
through here, and we shall find ourselves located upon the public high way; I
want to tell you that it is but a little while before you will not get a dollar
for your land. All the land in the Territory is here before us, and the land in
the City is worth no more than land is worth anywhere else. A toy is worth a
dollar and a quarter because you can get that amount for it, but it is no proof
that it is worth it by any means, a man gets his money for it, and when he gets
his hundreds and thousands of dollars in this way, can he take any of it to
hell with him? Why do not the Latter-day Saints see for themselves, and find
out the path they should walk in and secure to themselves. the life they now
possess and the life which is eternal, they can do this if they are so disposed.
Let the merchants, and men of capital generally important role in factories to
this country; there ought to be at least five hundred of them in this
Territory, and then the demands of the community could not fully be supplied;
with the great amount of machinery which I have imported, I suppose I could not
do one hundredth part of the work required to be done in this City alone. Mr.
Merchant will you bring a factory here? "No I will bring some calico and
some cotton cloth here, and throw it before the people and if they get money
they will buy it." At the same time that people are allowing their sheep
to perish for want of care.
The
merchants will not import machinery to work a pull, and the people will not
take care of their sheep to multiply wool in the country. Instead of seeking
the independence of our people, by importing useful machinery they would rather
speculate on the People's means having no interest in their permanent and
substantial good. I have no fellowship for such men unless they alter their
course, as I promised them in the stands not long ago I again promised that
hell and damnation shall be their final doom. A man that brings a carding
machine here does a real good to his neighbor, the man that gets up a machine
to make a nail is the man that does a real good to the community. A man that
makes a light of glass in Utah does good to the Latter-day Saints and to the
kingdom of God; the man that gets up a little machinery to manufacture a little
cloth either wool or Cotton he is a public benefactor, and does good to
himself.
The
merchants say they cannot make money fast enough in that way; there is not a
merchant among us but what calculates to clear fifty thousand dollars a year
for standing behind the counter a little and talking to the ladies, and see
that the clerks do their duty. When there hired hands are paid, their
household, frayed each and insurance expenses liquidated they calculate to
clear from fifty to a hundred thousand dollars each. Where do they get all this
money? Out out this poor, honest, industrious, trusting, innocent people, and
it is stealing as much as to take my ox off the range and butcher it, and then
sell it to me it stealing before the heavens though it may not be considered so
before the law. I know by sectarian rules is not considered stealing to take
what the law gives. An old deacon with lower portion of his religiously
lengthened face hanging down upon the skirts of his garments could say to the
poor man whose wife and children Were starving for bread, "Well brother,
it is written that it is more blessed to give than to receive, if you will work
for me two days and a half, I will give you a bushel of corn". The old
hypocrite, why could he not tell the poor starving family at once, that he
wished to cut their throats and drop them off while they possessed, or that by
taking advantage of their necessity make them his slaves. Much has been said
about the sufferings of the black slaves in the South, but they're ill usage
never did compare with the ill usage of the poor of the North which they
receive at the hands of religious bigots. There are this day multitudes of poor
people in the North who are crying and weeping for a morsel of bread; whereas
if these poor destitute men had belonged to descent men they would have been
fed and clothed; but they are free men, they are free to die in the streets if
they cannot earn their bread, or perchance to die in prison if they owe five
dollars and cannot pay it.
I have
expressed myself just as I feel with regard to our merchants; if they want life
and salvation let them come to me and be dictated by me, and they will be saved
from the damning sin of robbing this poor people of their hard earnings, rather
will they buy their eagerness to make fortunes in a few days by their overreaching
and cheating induce the spawn of hell to locate here, grow fat upon the hard
toil of the honest poor, and hold high carnival in our midst. If our merchants
have not said it in words, that they want all that the poor man makes over and
above a meager, hungry, raggedy existence they have loudly proclaimed it by
their actions, and they would take all you have from if they could get it. Have
they any conscience? Not towards God. If they have any it has been made by
their mother, or by some miserable ignorant priest. Some of our merchants are
pretty good men, but they allow themselves to be blinded by the god of this
world, and unless they repent speedily they will lose the Spirit of God and
their salvation and be damned in the end. I expect my next sermon will be on
the lawyers.
Choir sung "O Lord, responsive to thy call."
Benediction by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
[7 Apr, pm]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 8]
Afternoon.
Choir sung "Hark! the song of Jubilee."
Prayer by Elder Edward L. Sloan.
Choir sung "Happy the man that finds the grace."
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith gave an historical review of the introduction of the gospel by Joseph Smith, describing in a vivid manner the opposition of wicked men and devils that was brought to bear upon the Prophet and his followers. -- He also spoke of the present warlike condition of and the extensive preparations for war in the civilized nations, alluding to their striving to excel each other in bringing to light new engines of destruction, and while all nations are thus preparing for war, the Saints, under the instructions of the Almighty, are preparing for peace and the happy reign of righteousness. Reasoned upon the advantages to be derived from he introduction o machinery into this Territory. Argued the necessity of our making iron, all kinds of woollen and cotton fabrics, etc., that Zion may be independent, and prepared to go back to Jackson county to lay the foundation of the most magnificent city the world ever saw.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke of the goodly land that we inherit in these peaceful valleys, and of the advantages we possess in having as good mechanics as there are in the world, which give us facilities that new countries seldom enjoy, for the manufacture of almost every thing we need within ourselves. The self-sustaining policy and extensive manufacturing were the great secret of the wealth of England and France. -- Traced the history of the development of the mechanical arts in the United States, and pointed out the great difficulties the people labored under in the introduction of mechanics from England to the States, it being the policy of British capitalists to prevent the emigration of skillful workmen, desiring to keep the business in their own hands as much as possible.
Choir sung "Arise, O glorious Zion."
Elder George Q. Cannon dismissed the conference till Saturday morning at 10 o'clock.
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 8]
Saturday, 10 a.m.
The Choir sung a Hymn.
Prayer was offered by Elder Orson Hyde.
Choir sung "Come all ye saints who dwell on earth."
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young told the brethren not to be alarmed on account of the lateness of the spring, for the present year would be as fruitful as any that we had been blessed with in these valleys. Advised the families who live on the low lands to prepare to move to the mountains, or to some secure place, as he was apprehensive of a flood the coming summer. Spoke of the necessity of teaching the people how to produce the necessaries of life, to plant orchards and vineyards in order that they may become self-sustaining. He had a revelation to give concerning the lawyers that counsel for lucre and for gain, and that lead men into litigation for the purpose of aggrandizing themselves, which was that they would lose the spirit of the gospel and go to hell for their conduct in the midst of Latter-day Saints, in stirring up trouble and striving to clear the guilty for the sake of reward.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball said that all the Saints would be brought to give an account of their treatment to the Prophets and Apostles.-- In speaking of the merchants who profess to be members of the Church, he stated that they had become hardened and careless in their feelings towards the interests of this community, looking after their own gain instead of the general welfare of Israel. Every man will have to pay the penalty consequent upon their crimes committed in the flesh. -- Counseled the saints to be humble and obedient in every position they may be called to occupy.
President Kimball also gave some excellent instruction on the principle of individual sanctification, and the promised inheritances of the Saints.
The Choir sung "Sons of Michael, He approacheth."
Elder W. W. Phelps dismissed the meeting.
[8 Apr, pm*]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 8-9]
Afternoon.
Singing.
Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.
Choir Sung. "O my Father, thou that dwellest."
Elder George Q. Cannon presented the authorities of the Church, each Quorum of whom was unanimously sustained by the vote of the conference in the following order:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first Seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squire, President of the Elder's Quorum; James Smith and Peter Latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teacher's Quorum; Henry L Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
John S. Carpenter, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Samuel G. Ladd and Warren Hardie, his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works; John Sharp, his assistant.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
[Elder Charles C. Rich]
Elder Charles C. Rich spoke upon the benefits to be derived from being obedient to the counsel of the living priesthood. Dwelt chiefly upon the practical duties of the Saints, and the way to prepare for the triumph of the kingdom of God over all its earthly enemies. -- It is the duty of every saint to think of and act upon the requirements made by the holy priesthood. If the saints would remove evil out of their way and adopt good principles, there would be no danger of a falling away from grace.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young said he would give the mind and will of the Lord concerning the Latter-day Saints in their temporal life, which was that they should manufacture their own clothing, just as fast as they possibly can. -- If the Saints must trade and speculate, why not those who do it gather enough together to keep the trade under our own control. Referred to the history and practices of the Jews as traders in jewelry and clothing. In reference to their conversion, he said they never will believe until Jesus comes again, and preaching will have no more effect upon them than it will upon the color of the descendents of Cain. When all the rest of Adam's posterity shall be redeemed, then, and not till then will the children of Cain receive the promised blessing of restoration. In speaking of the degeneracy of mankind, and their departure from the truth in various ages of the world, he said the world had never been without the spirit of the Lord, but the human family had many times been left without the legal means of learning the fulness of the gospel and the ordinances thereof. Stated that some time ago he wanted our merchants to bring goods into this market, and sell them at such prices as to keep out wicked enemies, but the reply was if he would give them his means and influence they would do as he wanted them. Notwithstanding all the temptations and trials that lie in the way of the Saints, he was pleased to know that they were advancing and increasing in their obedience and in the knowledge of God. -- The time is not far distant when the Lord will make this people the richest and most independent of all people upon the face of the earth.
The Choir sung a hymn.
Elder F. D. Richards pronounced the benediction.
[9 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 9]
Sunday, 10 a. m.
Singing by the Choir.
Prayer by Elder George A. Smith.
Singing.
[Amasa M. Lyman]
Elder Amasa M. Lyman addressed the conference. His experience had taught him that the saints learn very slowly, yet he was pleased to see them improving and progressing in the knowledge of the truth. He reasoned upon the impossibility of our realizing our wishes and desires, unless the labors and duties that devolve upon us are first understood by ourselves. The development of knowledge in the people must follow that which is manifested in their teachers. If we comprehend and entertain a correct appreciation of the value of the counsel that has been given in relation to our temporal salvation, our actions will doubtless be different to what they have been in the past. That which will constitute a Saint is a knowledge of what we should do, and then an undivided and unreserved attention to the purpose of those duties. There was no person in the Church of Christ so low and meek but the fountains of knowledge were open to him or her; and in the development of light there will be an increase of that perfection of action which is necessary for the perfect development of the creature.
[Amasa Lyman]
[DNW 15:114, 3/15/66, p 2; JD 11:192]
REMARKS
By Elder A. M. LYMAN, Bowery, G. S. L. City, April 9th,
1865.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I am
happy to meet with you, my brethren and sisters, this morning, and I simply
give expression to my feelings, in repeating what has been expressed by others,
that this Conference has been to me one of interest—richly instructive and
edifying.
In the
admonitions that have been imparted we have been led to see, what in us is
weak, dark, and should be improved. And in addition to that, the instructions
have been rich in suggestions as to the ways and means by which we can secure
to ourselves the blessings of that much needed improvement. While I have
listened, the inquiry has risen in my mind as to how we, the people of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, could substantially and profitably
pursue the labors devolving upon us and honestly continue the struggle to
become what we are denominated—Saints.
In the
admonition that has been imparted we were truthfully told, that we were as yet
only in part what we should be as Saints; that with all our labors and
experience, with all the advantages for acquiring knowledge that have
characterized our history thus far, we have yet much to learn. This truth, it
appears to me, should be impressed upon the minds of all who think and reflect.
It is one that is evinced in our conduct and actions as a people. There is no
one feature in our history that is rendered more distinct or plain to be read
and comprehended by the reflecting mind than this—that we, in all our learning,
learn but slowly, and have as yet learned comparatively little of that large amount
that may be learned, and that we yet manifest in our lives but a small degree
of that perfection that should characterize us as the children of God, as the
people of the Saints of the Most High; who are blessed with the light of the
Gospel, ministered to them continually in simplicity and in truth. All our
meetings, like the present, where there is congregated together the largest
representation of the people of God to be met with in any one place, still
continue to be characterized by instruction and teaching on those principles
that it has ever been the object of our heavenly Father, and of his servants,
to impress upon the minds of the Saints.
Now, how
shall we, as the servants and ministers of God, expect to see in ourselves, and
in the people to whom our ministrations extend, a permanent and progressive
improvement, as the fruits of our labors, unless we, to some extent, justly and
truthfully comprehend the principles that are involved in the work that is
devolved upon us? It appears to me, as but consistent and truthful, that the
enlightenment of the people and the development in them of the knowledge
necessary for their blessing and exaltation, should legitimately follow the
development of knowledge and a just comprehension of truth in those who minister
to them.
Well, we
are almost all teachers and preachers; in some relationship in life, in some
position in the community, we all put on the character of teachers; and when we
take into account the sum of the evils that exist as barriers between us and
the enjoyment of a fulness of happiness, when we consider what these are, to
remove, conquer, and overcome them should be our labor. And if the knowledge of
God, of truth, and of the principles of the Gospel is necessary to the
accomplishment of this work, it should be our business, as servants of God and
of the people, to learn this lesson ourselves; for it is evident to my mind
that our attention and devotion to the truth and to such a course of action as
the knowledge of the truth would suggest to us, is that which should regulate
us in life, and the extent of our devotion to this is always marked and
determined by our appreciation of its value.
If we, as
a people, were capable of appreciating, and had justly estimated the counsels
that have been imparted to us continually in relation to what is denominated
our temporal salvation, our devotion to the advice would have produced far
different results. There would not have been, as there is to-day, a feeling to
expostulate with the people on the necessity of laying up and securing to
themselves bread against a time of want. There would not be the empty granaries
and the comparative lack of that which should exist in abundance among the
people.
I do not
know what name men may give to the causes that have induced this condition of
things. In my mind there exists but one general reason—our lack of
comprehending the truth in relation to the nature of the work in which we are
engaged; and that with all our opportunities of acquiring knowledge and getting
understanding we are, as has been truthfully told us in the fatherly
admonitions imparted to us during this Conference, only just beginning to be
Saints—only just entering on that work, the consummation of which will make of
us that kind of a people for whom the Lord says it is his business to provide.
Now,
perhaps, we may have been to some extent presuming too much upon the kindness,
charity, and goodness of our heavenly Father. We may have fancied, perchance,
that he is pledged to preserve us irrespective of the course that we pursue,
simply because we have supposed that we are Saints, because we have been
baptized into the Church. But this truth cannot be too forcibly impressed on
our minds—that if it is the business of the Lord to provide for his Saints, it
is our business exclusively so to to live that the Lord may have Saints for
whom to care and provide, whom He may protect, and who may securely rest
beneath the shadow of His wings, enjoying the blessings of His protection
against evil.
But what
is it that will constitute us Saints? A knowledge of the work we have to
perform, and then a faithful, humble, undivided, and unreserved devotion to its
accomplishment. That will constitute us Saints; that will constitute us
teachers in the midst of the people; that will constitute us a people to whom
the ministrations of the Priesthood will extend as a fountain of blessings.
The
attainment of this knowledge, the possession of this rich undestanding, is that
to which you and I must reach ere we are established in the truth beyond a
chance of becoming unsettled. This is the way it appears to me. My paths may be
crooked, and my efforts to attain to this position and condition may be feeble,
and not only feeble, but they may be characterized by a corresponding amount of
improprieties and inconsistencies; but this is what appears to me to be the
great object that is before me, that invites my exertions, induces me to labor
and struggle—not till I am worn out, but until I find the realization of my
brightest hopes in the possession of that which I seek.
As the
Gospel presents itself to me, as the work of God is spread out before my mind,
so I judge of it, so I appreciate it, so I talk about it, so I recommend it to
you, my brethren and sisters.
"Well,"
says one, "when will we learn?" That depends altogether upon
ourselves. "Why," says one, "will not the Lord have something to
do with it?" The Lord has to do with it; and if we would be more careful
about what we should do, instead of troubling ourselves about what the Lord should
do, it might perhaps result in bringing us to the enjoyment of greater and
richer blessings. Why, the Lord knows what to do, and He has no need of our
instruction. The Lord is supposed, by me at any rate, to be fully up to all
that devolves upon Him in relation to ourselves. The Lord is waiting for us to
come along; He is only waiting for us to come up to that which it is our
privilege to enjoy.
Some
people may suppose, perchance, that the channels of knowledge are not open to
all the people, as they are to the few. Some may cherish the idea that
position, or place in the Church and kingdom of God may make a vast difference
in the attainment of the blessings requisite to our happiness, and to our
acceptance with God, and to our progress as Saints in the way of life. Position
may make vast differences, perchance; but I do not know of an individual so
low, I do not know of an individual so poor, but what the fountains of
knowledge are as accessible to him as to the highest, as well to the last as to
the first. It is not from the fact that the fountain of knowledge is only open
to the teachers among the people, that they occupy their position. The teachers
in the midst of the people are something like what we see in our schools. You
go into our schools, and if the teacher has a large number of pupils in charge,
he very likely will have recourse to this bit of policy—he takes some of his
most advanced scholars and gives them the position of teachers amongst their
schoolfellows and associates. Well, does this exalt them above the character or
capacity of pupils? No! They are still learners in the school, and it is just
as necessary for them to continue their labor for the acquisition of knowledge
as before. This is the character of the teachers in Israel; that is, as I view
it. This is the way I view myself as a teacher in the midst of Israel—as one
upon whom has devolved the duty of extending the principles of salvation to
those around me. When I labor to teach or instruct, I do not feel that they
whom I am instructing need instruction any more than I do myself. I feel that
all the necessity that may exist for any increase of wisdom, knowledge, and
understanding in reference to the humblest soul in the kingdom of God, exists
in all its force for me.
Well, with
this feeling I look upon the work of God, I think of it, I study about it, and
then I make my efforts for the accomplishment of the duties that seem to
devolve upon me. And when I get to know more and become wiser with that
increase of wisdom, shall not need to tell any body, it will be evinced in
increased propriety of action to the accomplishment of what I seek to
accomplish. What duty, then, devolves upon us as the ministers of God—the
Priesthood dispersed and living among the people? Why, we should seek for the
development in ourselves of that knowledge without which we tell the people
that neither they nor we can be exalted to glory and greatness.
"But,"
says my brother, "we must tell the people they should be correct in the
duties of life in its multiplied details." Yes, this is good; this must
be; but what is it that will correct all these matters? My neighbor kindly
takes me by the hand to-day and says, "Brother Lyman, you can walk in
this, that, or the other direction, it is safe." It may be ground that I
have not explored and do not understand, and I feel that his direction and
instruction are a blessing to me. So is that a blessing which shall lead and
guide the people until the "day shall dawn and the day star shall arise in
their hearts," whether it be the kindly instruction of teachers who live
in their midst, and with whom they meet and associate from time to time, or
whether it be the suggestions of the written history of those who have long
since passed away, it makes no difference. The history or record contained in
the Bible presents an example of the right, and it is suggestive of right to
those who read it, and upon the same principle that what could be said to you
by the living teacher is suggestive of the truth.
Now, this
appears to be what we need; we want to have understanding developed within us.
Well, what is it? Perhaps if I were to describe my notions and views of things,
it would not be the same as if described by some other man. One of the ancient
apostles spoke of understanding in such a way that we can judge something of
what his views were in regard to it. Said he, "We know that Jesus has
come." It was a great question in New Testament times among the immediate
successors of Jesus—"Has Jesus come, or has he not?" "Has Jesus
been and died, or is it an imposture?" the same as it is about the Saints
now—"Is this the work of God or is it an imposture?" Well, now, says
the apostle, "When that the Son of God has come and has given us
understanding to determine between those that serve God and those who do
not." This is what we want; we want understanding, that we may know for
ourselves that this is the work of God. Why? Until this is developed within us
there is a chance for uncertainty to hang around and cling to us, and a possibility
that our feet may be moved from the path of rectitude and truth. We may be like
men whom I have seen that have travelled for a score of years with, and have
labored in the Church, and have suffered—that is, about as far as men have
suffered who have not died—and then, after the expiration of this time, we find
them floating off to the east and to the west to the north and to the south.
"Why, good brother, what is the matter? I did not believe you would over
have left the Church." "Ah!" said he, "I have not found it
what it was said to be." Such individuals have not understanding developed
within them; they do not know that this is the work of God. The apostle in
ancient times knew that; Jesus had come, because of the gift of understanding
by which he was able to determine for himself. It is this understanding that,
when developed in the mind or soul of a man, sets aside all uncertainty and
silences all, doubt. Uncertainty departs from the mind at once, and the soul
settles in unbroken, undisturbed tranquility and repose, so far as the nature
of the work in which it is engaged is concerned, and the language of that soul
is, "I know that this is the work of God."
Now we,
as the ministers of God, called from among the people to labor among them,
should remember all the time, that it is our first great duty to learn
ourselves, to obtain knowledge and understanding ourselves, and then to use all
the judgment and understanding with which God may favor and bless us, to
enlighten the people and to lead them onward.
But, says
one, the people have been taught for years, and they have not yet learned; when
will they learn? I will tell you. When they have been taught long enough they
will learn. How? Just as you and I when we went to school. We had to study our
lessons until we could master them, and then that labor was completed.
I am glad
of this continuous principle that seems to mark the character of the work of
God. If we do not learn in two, five, ten, twenty, or thirty years the truth
that would make us free, still the opportunity is open, still the chance is
afforded us to learn and to mend our crooked ways. This is why I love the
Gospel; this is what first fixed a deep and abiding regard for it in my
affections—the mercy that was in it, the kind forbearance, that seemed to have
a life like the life of the Almighty—eternal, that would never die.
Let us be
encouraged to hope for such an increase of intelligence among the people—the
fruit of the labors and ministrations of the ministry in their midst, as shall
develop increasing perfection of action among the people, and by-and-by they
will know enough of themselves to adopt such a policy as would enrich and save
them temporally.
Well,
says one, would they not get spiritually saved if they were not temporally
saved? I do not know. I want to be saved, and I would like to be temporally and
spiritually saved. If there should be any difference between them, I want them
both. This is the salvation before us. If we had that spiritual salvation
which, in the language of the Savior, constitutes eternal life—the knowledge of
God, an understanding of the principles of salvation, if we had a sufficiency
of divine wisdom, in that light would vanish all these dark clouds that exist
around us as so many drawbacks to our prosperity and to our progress in the way
of life. In that light we would be able to appreciate the value of doing right,
above that of doing wrong. this is the way the matter appears to me, and I look
forward to the time when the Saints will be all they should be, as Saints. I
hope and labor for it, and there is no feeling in my soul but what reaches
forward with hopeful confidence to a time when the last dark cloud shall be
moved from the minds, not of every body, but of the Saints with whom our labors
in this work begun, and with whom we have been associated the last thirty years
of our lives; of the Saints with whom we have endured toil, with whom we have
been driven, and in whose fate and fortunes we have shared. We expect it for
them, we hope for it for them, and we labor for it for them. Will not yea labor
with us? We tell you that to know God is eternal life, which is simply
repeating the truth declared by the Savior of the world; and white we impress
this repeatedly, again and again, on your minds, and bring it to your
attention, will not you unite with us in struggling for the acquisition of that
knowledge for yourselves? Why, says one, can't you get it for us? No; it is all
I can do to get knowledge for myself. Well, but, says one, can't you impart to
us? I can do what I am doing this morning—making the best effort in my power,
within the compass of my ability, to awaken such trains of thought and
reflection in your minds as will lead you to seek after the truth, and seeking,
find it. If what I have learned, if the little knowledge I possess should have
enlightened any other mind than mine, or could be possessed by any other
individual than me, without his action being required for its attainment,
things would be different from what they are. Our Father has fixed it so that
we might live, and find the elements of happiness and joy for ourselves; and
when they were acquired, they would be ours to possess, fixed within, the
treasure of our own souls, for ever ours, constituting our happiness with all
its eternal increase and greatness.
Let us
wake up and feel that we are the children of God, and that as God's children,
the object of our being here is to find and realize within ourselves that
development of our natures that we inherit from our Father and God, that will
exalt us till we can be fit associates for Him, that between Him and ourselves
there may exist all that wealth of harmony that will constitute the happiness
of heaven, the bliss and glory of the saved and sanctified.
Well,
now, to acquire this, what is the labor before us? What is necessary? That we
turn from evil. Well, how shall we know evil? Why our evils are pointed out
continually, not only by the feeble dawnings of light within us, but by the
light of that inspiration that burns in the hearts of the servants of God,
making their comprehensions of truth reach incomparably beyond those who have
not in such a way devoted themselves to the acquirement of knowledge. In that
light our weaknesses and follies are brought in our understanding, that we may
see them, and that seeing and comprehending we may go to work and regulate our
actions so that when God blesses, aids, and strengthens us, we may acquire that
knowledge that will exalt us above the influence of the ignorance that is
around us.
labor in the great work of our Father, and
that when the half-year shall have passed away, and we are again assembled in
this capacity, that we may feel, and not only feel, but that it may be true,
that we are a wiser and better people than to-day; and that we may entertain
more truthful conceptions of God and the character of his work, and be acting
in a manner better calculated to please Him and to secure His blessings upon
us, than to-day.
That this
may be our happy lot, and that God's blessings may attend our every exertion
for the development of Zion on the earth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
President Brigham Young made a few remarks upon sending missionaries to preach the gospel; the object and design of sending the men they had now selected.
Elder George Q. Cannon then read a list of the names of those called to go on missions to Great Britain, Scandinavia and the Sandwich Islands.
He also read a report, from the Trustee in Trust, of the expenses incurred in gathering the poor since the spring of 1861, amounting in the aggregate to nearly $1,000,000.
Elder Cannon delivered a highly instructive discourse on the justice, mercy and manifest impartiality of the Almighty.
The Choir sung a hymn.
President Heber C. Kimball closed the meeting with benediction.
[9 Apr, pm]
[DNW 14:220, 4/12/65, p 9]
Afternoon.
Singing by the Choir.
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The Choir sung "Arise, my soul arise."
Bishops Hunter, Hardy, Little, David Evans, Raleigh, Kesler and assistants administered the sacrament.
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball preached on reproof, correction, and the duties of Saints generally; spoke of the authority of the priesthood to seal on earth, and such a sealing being sanctioned in heaven. Advocated building the new Tabernacle the present season. Made remarks upon the poverty of the people in the cotton country, and stated that the President, himself and others had sent down both men and means, but did not suppose they had received any credit for it, but believed that somebody had the benefit of it. He hoped the brethren would take hold and do something to help the poor in the south.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor preached upon the duty of the Saints to root out from their midst all manner of iniquity; to exert ourselves to establish purity and banish everything from our neighborhoods that is wicked or unholy.
[President Brigham Young]
President Brigham Young bore testimony to the good instructions that had been given during the conference. In speaking of the outsiders that were here, he said there were honorable exceptions; and in relation to grog shops and gambling shops, he was of opinion that if we said we did not want them, the City Council would as soon as convenient cease giving licenses. He wanted the brethren to assist those in the southern part of the Territory, not by donation, but as a loan, and wanted all to pay in labor or otherwise. Made remarks upon the present lamentable and mournful condition of our country.
Speaking of the new tabernacle, he observed that there would be no difficulty about putting up the building, if the lumber can be obtained. Blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
On motion of Elder George A. Smith the conference adjourned till the 6th day of October next, at 10 a.m.
The Choir sung "Arise O glorious Zion."
Patriarch John Smith blessed the people and dismissed the conference as follows:
Brethren and sisters, I can truly say that I have been highly edified and instructed by what has been said here during this conference; and I feel to bless you all by virtue of my office and calling, and I ask God to bestow His blessing upon you, that we may live long upon the earth to do good and strive diligently to keep His commandments, that we may be worthy of all the blessings which our Father in heaven has in store for us.
Arise and be dismissed.
We thank there, our Father, for that portion of thy Holy Spirit which has been manifested in our midst during the sitting of this conference. We pray there, Heavenly Father, to cause the good instructions imparted to be treasured up in good and honest hearts. Wilt Thou let Thy choicest blessings rest upon Br. Brigham and his Counsel, also upon the Twelve Apostles and every authority in Thy kingdom; and grant, O Lord, to bless all Thy saints and servants as Thou seest they need; give them Thy Holy Spirit that they may proclaim the words of life and salvation unto Thy people, and may the words of Thy servants sink deep into the hearts of the honest; and may the time soon come when the wicked shall fear and tremble. Bless Thy people all over the earth, and hasten the day when the sinner in Zion shall be afraid, fear, tremble and flee away, that we as a people may be blessed and live upon the earth to accomplish the work assigned us.
We pray There, Heavenly Father, to go with us to our several places of abode, and eventually save us in Thy kingdom.
These blessings and favors we ask in the name of Jesus, Thy Son. Amen.
J.
V. LONG,
Clerk of Conference.
6-9 Oct 1865, 35th
Semi-Annual General Conference, Bowery.
[Deseret News Weekly 15:4, 10/12/65, p 7-8; MS 27:753, 769]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 15:4, 10/12/65, p 7]
THIRTY-FIFTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
Conference convened in the Bowery, G. S. L. City, on Friday, Oct. 6th, 1865, at 10 a.m., President Brigham Young, presiding.
There were on the stand, Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, of the First Presidency; Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, of the Twelve Apostles; John Smith, Patriarch; Joseph Young, Levi W; Hancock, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, of the First Presidency of the Seventies; John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum; David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, Presidency of the Bishopric; George D. Watt and Edward L. Sloan, Reporters, and a large number of Bishops and Elders.
In front of the stand were seated the Tabernacle choir, under Prof. Thomas; the Logan and Richmond choir, led by br. Thomas Horsley; the Smithfield choir, led by br. Robert Fishburn; the Spanish Fork choir, led by br. W. Jones, and the Ogden choir, led by br. W. Pugh.
Meeting called to order by President B. Young. Anthem, "Jerusalem my glorious home," by the Tabernacle choir.
Elder John Taylor offered the opening prayer.
Logan and Providence choir sang "Hark ye mortals, etc."
[President Heber C. Kimball]
President Heber C. Kimball prayed that the peace of God might be upon all the Saints and upon all who love the Lord Jesus. He spoke of the inclination of many to try and justify their wrong doings by pointing to the failings of others; and of the obligation that rests upon all to receive the truth. We will live for ever if we lay a foundation to do so, building on the truth. He treated on various principles of the Gospel and heir practical application by the Saints. Pointed to the New Tabernacle and showed the necessity of its being speedily finished that we might have a house large enough in which to meet and worship God. The principle of tithing is enjoined by the Lord and the Saints are required to observe it; through practical obedience to that principle they can accomplish all the works of a public nature required of them. The government of God on the earth is the only one recognized by the heavens, and obedience to its authority, living in the practice of righteousness, is necessary before the Father and the Son will take up their abode with us, and the Spirit of the Lord abide with us. We are the offspring of God and partake of His attributes, and it is our right to know what is true; if we do not know the truth we cannot be led by those who are appointed to guide and direct in the things of the kingdom of God. Spoke of the sacred nature of the ordinances administered in the house of God, and of the serious consequences of trifling with them. The building of the Temple and tabernacle would be but a little work for this people to perform; but if the Temple was finished to-day are we as a people prepared to enter into it? God will choose a people from among us on whom He will bestow His choice blessings. Referred to his mission to England and to the few of those who were then baptized who are now in the faith, showing that we must love and live in the truth in humility and obedience to obtain salvation. Exhorted the people to continue in serving God, and in the midst of all their amusements and recreations to be humble and prayerful and seek to have the Holy Spirit with them. No man has the right to sin, no matter what his office, calling or position may be. The right of government in the church rests with br. Brigham, and though the world may talk against "one-man power they practically endorse it by appointing one man to preside over a community as a governor or president, giving him power to govern them and veto legislative enactments. He encouraged the Saints to study the revelations of God, and spoke of the holy influence which accompanies that study; testifying that the individual who reads and practices the revelations which have been given will be filled with the Holy Ghost. The gospel is a system of progress, and if we continue in the principles of the doctrine of Christ, we will go on to perfection.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 14:34, 11/9/65, p 2; JD 11:143]
REMARKS.
By PRESIDENT HEBER C. KIMBALL, in the Bowery, G. S. L.
City, Oct. 6, 1865.
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
Brethren
and sisters, may the very peace of our God be upon you, upon all Israel, and
upon all those who love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in all the world.
The more
we grow in the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, the more are we inclined to extend the
blessings of our God to all men, women and children who love Him. We are called
to a very exceeding high calling, namely, to be messengers of life and
salvation, holding the Priesthood of the Son of God for the redemption of the
world. What manner of men ought we to be? Of all men upon the earth our
morality should be the best, and our light should not be hid under a bushel but
should be on the top of a bushel to be seen of all, that our good works may be
known, and that by our good example we may influence others to do good and to
trust in and serve God. Every man can exercise an influence for good or for
evil in his sphere, and in the circle wherein he moves.
How often
people justify themselves in doing wrong because Mr. or Mrs. So-and-So did so;
or in conducting themselves like foolish persons in imitation of somebody's
foolish example! People generally are disinclined to acknowledge their faults
and forsake them, but this we ought to do, purely because we love the right,
doing it independently, and in defiance of the evil customs and examples with
which we are surrounded. Every man ought to receive the truth wherever he finds
it. Some would rather receive the truth only from the First Presidency and the
Twelve; but we should acknowledge it, let it come from what source it may.
Every person should learn to govern himself and live in this world so as to
secure life everlasting; and to do this, we must identify ourselves with our
Father and our God, being grafted into Him by the ordinances of the Gospel, and
through faithfulness being conformed to His image, partaking of His heavenly
nature, as the graft which is put into the roots of a tree partakes of the sap
and nature of the tree, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, drawing
nourishment, life and strength for ever from the great source of all life and
good. There is no other way for us to identify ourselves with God. Being
baptized into Christ we put him on and become one with Him, as he was baptized
into His Father and became one with His Father; and thus we are all one in
Christ Jesus. We are made one with the Father and the Son by observing His
word, His law and His ordinances.
If I were
to commit an impropriety, another person would not be justified in doing the
same thing. If I violate the law of God I shall be condemned and will not
escape upon the plea that somebody else did the same. Every man must answer for
his own sin. It is true we have our weaknesses. How? I am afflicted with
rheumatic pains, or the infirmities of old age, or I am naturally consumptive,
etc. These are weaknesses of the flesh; but may it be termed a weakness when
men wilfully violate a plain, well-known law of God? The Lord requires nothing
of His creatures which they cannot perform. We are subject to the weaknesses of
human nature, but they are not crimes, neither should they stand in the way of
our doing all the good in our power while we live in the flesh, and as little
harm as possible. It is a sin to break any of the commandments of God. When a
person bears false witness, it is a sin; or when a person steals, it is a sin;
and these sins must be accounted for, either in time or in eternity, by the
person who commits them.
We have
come to this Conference from all parts of the Territory to be reminded of our
duties, and to obtain strength in the worship of the Lord, and we are a
good-looking people, and greatly blessed of the Lord. Our happiness consists
not in the possession of earthly wealth so much as in the possession of that
Spirit which it is our right to obtain and cherish.
The short
sentence, "Do right," embraces a great deal, and extends over the
period of man's life, embracing all his daily duties. It is right for us to
build that Tabernacle; it is a work which all the people of the Saints in these
mountains are engaged in; and the more faithful we are in paying our tithing,
these public works will progress the more vigorously. We all know what the word
of the Lord is on the subject of paying tithing, and the use to be made of the
means thus collected, namely—to build temples and tabernacles, and to establish
the kingdom of God generally. The Israelites bulk a tabernacle in the
wilderness wherein they deposited their holy things, which were afterwards
removed into the temple at Jerusalem. When our temple is completed, it will he
used for the administering of the holy ordinances of God; it will be for the
use of the Priesthood to give endowments to the people. It is just as requisite
that that temple should be built as it is that we build houses for our wives
and children to dwell in, because the service of our God is not so acceptable
to Him in a temporary place of worship when His people can make a permanent one
after the pattern which is pleasing to Him. Let us pay our tithing faithfully,
and when we do that there will be no trouble in making any public improvement
we desire to make; we can bring out the rivers and large streams of these
valleys into canals for the purposes of transportation and irrigation, and
become enriched by the facilities which these mountain streams offer unto us.
This is
the head-quarters of Zion, and the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem. The Lord gave the law through Joseph when he was here,
and now he gives it through President Brigham Young. The law shall go forth
from Zion unto all nations, and the word of the Lord is, "Look unto me,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is none
else." All who will not comply with this call will be damned. The Elders
who have faithfully fulfilled their missions, warning all men who came within
the sound of their voices, have identified themselves with the Savior, and with
the Father, and with the Holy Ghost; and the Holy Ghost will abide with all
such if they continue faithful; and herein consists the authority and power of
every faithful servant of God in this and in all ages of the world.
When a
man revolts against the work of God and against the counsels of his servants,
and will not be subject to the Holy Ghost which dwells in him, he commits
treason against God, and against his authority on the earth, and neither the
Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Ghost will take up their abode with such a
man, and he may bid farewell to the guidance of good angels.
We should
so live that we can have the spirit of truth sufficiently to judge between
truth and error, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. It
is every man's right so to live, for a people that are informed and intelligent
are much easier led and directed in the truth than a people that are untaught
and ignorant. It is for the purpose of instructing the Saints that we need the
Temple and Tabernacle erected; and thanks be to God that he acknowledges our
labors in the small house we are now using for the purpose of giving
endowments; and those who keep their covenants made in that house will reap the
blessings promised to them; while those who look upon their endowments as a
light thing, and trifle with the things of God, will meet with desolation which
they cannot avoid; but in doing so they are deceiving themselves and will bring
upon themselves sorrow and wretchedness, and finally destruction.
To be a
Saint is an individual work, and it is out of the power of God, angels, or men
to make a Saint of a man who is determined to be a sinner. If a man will revolt
against God and his authority on the earth, he has a right to do so, as much so
as Lucifer had a right to turn away from his Father and God. Men are damned or
saved by acting upon their agency, in receiving or rejecting the revealed
truths of heaven. The majority of the members of this Church are the very elect
of our God. There are some that are not so good, who care not for God, for His
servant Brigham, for Heber, nor for the Twelve Apostles. But the day will come
when the Lord will choose a people out of this people, upon whom he will bestow
his choicest blessings. Think of the great numbers who were baptized into this
Church when the Work first commenced in England, and how few there are who have
stood to this day:—"many are called but few are chosen."
Notwithstanding
this sifting out of the unfaithful, the Lord has got a chosen people in these
valleys of Utah, and He desires them to become self-sustaining, and fully able
to control the trade and traffic of these mountains for their own profit and
advancement. In view of this we wish our brethren to import their own
merchandize, establish stores in their towns and cities, and trade with one
another, and thus keep the wealth which we create among ourselves, making every
effort in our power to bring about the redemption of Israel, and the great Work
of our Father and God. This may be the means of destroying some through the
deceitfulness of riches; but Jesus Christ will save all whom the Father hath
put in his power to save, and great efforts will be made by the wicked one to
destroy, if it were possible, the very elect; but as Jesus Christ hath said,
"My sheep hear my voice, and will follow me, and a stranger they
will not follow."
All who
profess to be Latter-day Saints will not be saved in the celestial world, for
they cannot abide the celestial law, but all will attain to the glory which
they can abide. Every righteous thing that we do in this mortality is a
rudimental lesson in the celestial law of our God. Let us go to with our might,
mind, and strength to abide the celestial law, as it shall be revealed to us
from time to time, until we can abide its fulness, that we may ultimately be
introduced into the presence of our heavenly Father to dwell with him for ever
more. Whatever the Prophet and President of the Church tells us to do that we
should do, for he is directed by the unerring Spirit of the Almighty to counsel
this people. We are connected with him in the Lord, and we talk and pray
together upon all subjects concerning the progress of this people; and it is
for him to decide, and give the law to Israel; and all who do not abide it must
suffer the consequence of their disobedience; and all those who obey it will
obtain the blessings which are promised to faithfulness and obedience.
I desire
to do right and to bring about that which is good. I have no other desire in my
heart than to make all the acts of my life praise God. When I go into a
ballroom I can there contemplate upon the things of God and praise Him in the
dance. Virtue cleaveth to virtue, and light to light, and if we receive them
they will have a place in us. I shall, the Lord being my helper, try to be a
Saint and live my religion. I have come to this Conference with a determination
to hear the word of God and be a Saint. We are blessed of the Lord now more
than all the people upon the face of the earth, and we ought to be faithful to
His commandments every moment of our lives, for we owe all we have and are to
His beneficent bounty, and all should be devoted to His interest, or in other words,
to our own interests by devoting all to the building up of His kingdom.
No man
has a right to commit sin, nor to intrude upon the rights of his neighbor. It
is our privilege to do right, to serve God and keep his commandments, and
follow faithfully the counsels of President Brigham Young in all things. The
world is mad at what they call the one-man-power, but they need not find fault
with the "Mormons" for this, when the same thing is so faithfully
upheld almost everywhere. For instance, the General Government sends a Governor
to the Territory of Utah; the Territorial legislature can make laws and this
one man can veto every one of them, making them of none effect. Brigham Young
will always exercise an influence over this people for good, and I am going to
help him, and the Twelve Apostles will help him, and so will all the faithful
Saints of God in all the world. We shall prosper, and God will bless all this
people for the righteous' sake that dwell among them, for there is just as good
a people here as ever did live in any part of the earth, according to their
blessings and privileges. God has his elect here, and he is gathering them from
the four quarters of the earth; and like a net that is cast into the sea, he
gathers good and bad, that out of the multitude which he brings over the sea in
ships he may gather His chosen people.
Thirty
years ago the whole Church was under condemnation because they had neglected
the new and everlasting covenant, even the Book of Mormon and other revelations
God had given to them, and they were driven by their enemies, for they were
under condemnation at that early day of our history. How is it with us now?
There are scores of this people who never look at those books. The Book of
Mormon is the ensign which God has lifted up to the nations in the last days,
and we are not justified when we in our feelings neglect or forsake it. I take
much comfort in reading those books which the Lord has given us through Joseph
Smith. The Book of Mormon was written by the Spirit and power of God; the man
that will read it faithfully will be filled with light and with truth. We
should hold everything in reverence that God has revealed in the latter-day and
in former days; but that which is revealed for us mere nearly concerns us.
This Church
and kingdom will prevail; it is the kingdom of God, and he will bear it off,
and there is no power on earth nor in hell can stay it in its progress from
this time henceforth and for ever. Amen.
Smithfield choir sang "Joy to the world."
[Elder A. Randall]
Elder A. Randall gave a brief account of his trip to the Sandwich Islands, from which he had just returned, of the kindly manner in which the natives had treated them of the views of the white population there concerning the missionaries, and of matters and things in general. He had started on the 15th of last May with the company that left at that time for the Islands. He did not think his mission was ended; but as he had been asked why he was back, he gave it as a general answer that he had come up to conference.
Spanish Fork Choir sang "Hark, listen tot he trumpeters."
Prayer by Elder E. L. Sloan.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 15:4, 10/12/65, p 7]
2 p. m.
"Mortals awake" was sung by the Ogden Choir. Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon. Singing, "How beautiful in Zion," by the Tabernacle Choir.
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow gave an account of the Southern settlements. Three years ago last spring St. George was surveyed and located; since that time twenty more settlements have been located on the Rio Grande and Rio Virgen, including two on the Muddy and one on the Beaver Dam, comprising what is called "Our Dixie." Small settlements are strung along the Santa Clara. The difficulties to be encountered in settling that region, and which have been measurably overcome, were graphically and briefly described. During this past season they have raised considerable wheat, barley, oats and corn. Elder Snow expressed his appreciation of the kindness bestowed upon the people south by their brethren in the north; the breadstuffs furnished from the north were a great blessing indeed. In the thinnest settled portion of that country they have raised this season sufficient breadstuffs to last them till another harvest, with the strictest economy; while the more thickly settled portions, -- St. George and surrounding cities -- what may be called the populous part of the country, have not more than one-half or at most two-thirds sufficient breadstuffs to last them for the coming year. The culture of cotton is improving, in quantity if not in quality, but the best seeds imported deteriorate. They have raised considerable sugar cane, made molasses and traded with the northern counties adjoining for breadstuffs, by this means they have helped themselves to a great extent. The speaker treated upon the manifestations of the providences of God towards His people, and of the principle of union exemplified among the Saints and the disunion that is rampant throughout the world.
Singing by the Logan and Providence Choir.
[Elder George W. Grant]
Elder George W. Grant expressed his genuine pleasure at meeting with the Saints "at home," he having returned a few days ago from his mission to England, on which he had started in the Spring of '61. He spoke of his labors there, and of the great desire of the Saints to gather.
[Elder C. C. Rich]
Elder C. C. Rich gave a brief description of the settlement of Bear Lake Valley. Some 2 years ago he had gone there with a company. After viewing the country, they made a commencement to settle the valley in what is now called Paris. A year ago last Spring Pres. Young and company had visited the valley and blessed the people and the country. Last year they succeeded in raising about 4,000 bushels of wheat, though the frosts had injured some. Bear Lake Valley is between 70 and 80 miles long and about ten miles wide including the lake, and is a fine timber and grazing country.
He spoke of the great mercies of God to this people, and exhorted them to suffer no evil influence to have power over them.
Anthem by the Smithfield Choir: Prayer by Elder Jacob Gates.
[7 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 15:4, 10/12/65, p 7]
Saturday, 10 a. m.
Pres. D. H. Wells, who arrived this morning from Europe, was on the stand.
Singing, "How beautiful upon the mountains," by the Spanish Fork Choir. Prayer by Elder W. Woodruff. Singing by the Ogden Choir.
[Elder W. W. Phelps]
Elder W. W. Phelps spoke a short time on the blessings resulting from abiding in the truth.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde touched upon the influences to be encountered by the Saints in coming here, and the happy feelings participated in by those who persevere in faithfulness; spoke of the increase of settlements in Sanpete county and the forming of two new counties there, -- Sevier and Piute counties; and reasoned on the principle of cultivating a smaller quantity of land than many are inclined to do, and cultivating it well, in preference to laboring on and extent which cannot be properly worked and irrigated; speaking in like manner of the number of stock owned and kept by individuals, advocating the wisdom of keeping no more stock than can be well fed and properly cared for. He urged that above all things we should seek to have the spirit of God to guide us continually. Referred to the great blessings bestowed upon Abraham, and showed that we are heirs to the same promises and blessings, if we will do the same works. Bore testimony in great plainness to the destructions that are rapidly coming on the wicked; and the onward progress of the work of God if we continue faithful.
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 15:42, 11/16/65, p 2; JD 11:147]
REMARKS,
By Elder ORSON HYDE, in the Bowery, in G. S. L. City,
General Conference, Oct, 7th, 1865
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
By the
request and permission of my brethren, I have the pleasure of rising up in the
midst of the Saints to say a few words to them this morning. I feel very
thankful to the Lord our God that I still have a name and a place among his
people, that I am permitted to meet with them in General Conference, to speak
of the goodness of our Father in heaven, and to join in worship with the
general assembly of the Church of God. We are favored, truly, with fine
weather; this is not only a great blessing to us, but it is a great blessing to
our friends and brethren who are journeying on the plains to join us in our
localities here.
First and
foremost, brethren and sisters, I will say that, on Thursday evening I arrived
in this city from the south—from my field of labor. As I came near the borders
of the city I came in contact with a very disagreeable smell, arising from the
decomposition of some animal that had been hauled out on the outside to remove
the nuisance from the city. When I passed a certain line I entered the city and
beheld shady trees and fruit trees laden with fruit, and experienced with
delight the agreeable odor from the ripening fruit. The contrast was as
agreeable as it was great. It immediately occurred to my mind that our brethren
who are crossing the plains might come in contact with dead bodies that had
been removed from among the Saints, I mean dead as to the spiritual life of God
in them, for they must of necessity come in contact with these ere they could
reach the city of the Saints. I believe that the evil things that could be said
of the Saints are said around the borders, and those that are coming here to
find a home have these things to encounter, that are quite disagreeable, and it
requires not a little perseverance and faith to force their way through and to
arrive here untarnished by the evil that meets them on the way. But when they
can come with the Spirit of the Lord—with the spirit of the Saints in them—they
forget all those disagreeable things on the borders, and their minds are
charged with a heavenly influence, when they find themselves among the Saints
here in peace and in truth.
Five
years ago, the 10th of last June, I left this city to bestow my labors in
another part of the heritage of our God, in the county generally known as that
of Sanpete. At the time I went there, there were six efficient settlements, the
largest of which would not exceed 125 or 130 families. According to the ability
which the Lord has given me, in connection with my brethren who have been
laboring more or less with me, the industry of the Saints, and the blessings of
the Lord, the settlements have now increased to fifteen in number. They
advanced southward until it was deemed expedient and necessary in the
Legislature of last winter to organize two new counties, namely, the Soviet
county and Pinto county. The land in these counties that is susceptible of
cultivation is mostly occupied with settlements, which, in several places in
these new counties, are quite large.
We have had
some difficulties to encounter, and all those who are acquainted with the
establishment of new settlements in new localities, are not ignorant that there
is always more or less difficulty to contend with; especially when they are so
remote from what may be termed headquarters, or from the sources of aid and
succor. We have enjoyed, generally, very good health; we have had some little
sickness among children, and several have died.
There is
a good deal of ambition among our people to cultivate a great quantity of
ground, the result of which is, that we cultivate our lands poorly in
comparison to what we would if we were contented with a smaller area, and would
confine our labors to it. We have found some difficulty with regard to water,
and complaints have been made about a scarcity of water in many places, when,
indeed, I suppose the Lord has apportioned the water to the amount of land he
intended should be cultivated. I do not think that these things are passed over
unnoticed by Him without some kind of arrangement or calculation. He
understands perfectly well what the elements are capable of producing, and how
many of His people may be established here or there with profit and with
advantage. I have labored most industriously since I have acquired a little
experience myself, to induce my brethren to direct their energies upon smaller
tracts of land; for I have noticed where men would attempt to raise a crop off
forty acres of land, that they could not get their crops in in season, and
frequently the frost came early and destroyed a great portion of them. This is
bestowing our labor for that which does not profit. Now, would it not be better
to confine our energies to a small tract of land, put in our crops in due
season, have ample time to do it, do it well, and then it would only require
one-half or one-third the amount of water to mature them, and they would mature
in advance of the frost?
I do not
know how it is in other sections of the country, but I presume it is more or
less with them like the circumstances I will relate. I have known men, single
handed, attempt to raise twenty-five and thirty acres of grain when it is more
than any one man can well do; the result is, they find themselves troubled to
get the water; they run from break of day until dark at night, wearing
themselves out, and with all they can do they cannot bestow that attention upon
their fields which they need, and they only get from eighteen to twenty bushels
of wheat to lite acre. When men have confined themselves to ten acres of land,
having plowed it well the season before, all the foul weeds killed out and the
soil left clean, the seed sown at an early day in the Spring, and put in in
good order, I have known such fields to produce from forty to sixty bushels of
good plump wheat to the acre. Besides, when fields are so cultivated, less
water is used; the necessary labor can be performed without being hurried, and
a plentiful harvest of golden sheaves reward the toil of the laborer.
This
season, in all probability, our crops will fall short of other years some
thirty thousand bushels of wheat, by reason of the early frosts. While I regret
this loss, I am happy to say that there is plenty of good wheat in the granary,
or in the Egypt of Utah; and I think the loss this year, through early frosts,
will aid very much in enforcing the principles which I have endeavored to
advance, namely, to confine our labors to smaller tracts of land and put in our
crops in good time; that while they are growing luxuriantly and yielding
bountifully, filling our bins with golden grain we are not worn out with toil
before the days allotted to us to live are expired; but we still have our
strength, time to build comfortable houses for our families to live in, barns
and sheds, and to prepare shelter for our stock.
I find
the longer we live in these valleys that the range is becoming more and more
destitute of grass; the grass is not only eaten up by the great amount of stock
that feed upon it, but they tramp it out by the very roots; and where grass
once grew luxuriantly, there is now nothing bat the desert weed, and hardly a
spear of grass is to be seen.
Between
here and the mouth of Emigration kanyon, when our brethren, the Pioneers, first
landed here in '47, there was an abundance of grass over all those benches;
they were covered with it like a meadow. There is now nothing but the desert
weed, the sage, the rabbit-bush, and such like plants, that make very poor feed
for stock. Being cut short of our range in the way we have been, and
accumulating stock as we are, we have nothing to feed them with in the winter
and they perish. There is no profit in this, neither is it pleasing in the
sight of God our Heavenly Father that we should continue a course of life like
unto this. Hence, in my labors I have exerted an influence, as far as I have
been able, to cultivate less land in grain and secure to ourselves meadows that
we might have our hay in the time and in the season thereof, shades for our
stock, barns, and stables for our horses, and good houses for our families,
where they may be made comfortable and happy, and that we may not be
everlasting slaves, running, as it were, after an ignus fatuus, or jack
in the lantern, following a false light, but that we may confine ourselves to a
proper and profitable course of life. I do say, that a man's life consisteth
not in the abundance of the things that he possesses, nor upon the vast amount
he extends his jurisdiction over, but it consists in a little well cared for,
and everything in order. When we confine ourselves and our labors to small
tracts of land, we shall then find time to do everything that is necessary to
be done; but if we branch out so largely in plowing, sowing and reaping, we
have no time to make necessary improvements around our homes and in our cities;
in fact, we have so much to do that we can do nothing at all.
Now I
speak of these things, my brethren, not because I think that they are the most
edifying to you, but I speak of them because I consider that a temporal
salvation is as important as a spiritual one. It is salvation in every respect
that we are laboring to obtain, not only to make ourselves comfortable and
happy, so far as the physical energies of the body are concerned, but, also,
that the mind should not constantly be on the strain day and night. There
should be a little time for relaxation and rest to both body and mind, that
while our bodies are resting the mind may be fresh to plan and arrange
for our personal comfort and how to make everything snug and tidy around us.
How much more agreeable is life when everything is in order and good regulation
is maintained in and around our homes and cities. This is what I have
endeavored, in my weak way, to instil into the minds of the Saints. In some
instances I have been successful, and where men have adopted the course I have
suggested, they have invariably borne testimony in its favor. I would rather
have half a dozen cows in the winter, and have them well taken care of, than to
have twenty and have fourteen of them die for want of feed and proper
attention, which would leave me only six I would rather only have the six to
begin with, then I would not have the mortification of seeing so many suffer
and die. In the present condition of the ranges, we cannot indulge in the hope
of raising such large herds of stock as we have done heretofore; but we have
got to keep about what will serve us, and take care of them well; then we can
enjoy ourselves, and we are not the authors of misery to any part of creation.
We are
trying to get into this way; it is a slow operation, and it seems that men's
inordinate desire for wealth and extensive possessions is hard to overcome.
They hare to be limited; they think their fields are not large enough for their
strength; but it is a good thing to have a little strength on hand all the
time, and not let out the very last link, because there might be an emergency
that would really require it. If we drive a pair of horses all the time at
their utmost speed they are soon worn out; and if you want to make a trip very
speedily, you cannot do it, your animals are run down, you have not husbanded
their strength, and they are not capable of performing the journey you wish;
whereas, if they are properly driven, judiciously fed, and their strength
properly husbanded, when you want to make a sudden dash you have the power to
do it. We are not unlike, in this respect, to other portions of the animal
creation. Perhaps I have said enough upon this subject.
We have
had our difficulties to encounter in the south; it has not all sunshine and
fair weather with us, but we have got along as well as we could. Perhaps that
is saying too much, it is saying a good deal; I do not know that I dare say it.
I look back frequently upon my past life and find many places that I think I
could have bettered; but were I to live my life ever again I do not know that I
could do any differently. I will, however, let the past take care of itself,
and for the future seek to do the will of God and keep myself in subjection to
it.
I have no
objections to men obtaining wisdom and learning from books, whether old or new;
that is all right and good enough; but I consider it is better to have the
Spirit of God in our hearts, that we may know the truth when we hear it; and
not only know it when we hear it, but be capable by that Spirit of bringing
forth things that we never heard. I feel that it is our privilege, brethren and
sisters, to have this principle dwelling within us; and when I see men laboring
through books, ancient and modern, to find but little that is good, I am
reminded of those who run over forty acres of land in a superficial manner, and
only reap a little, when a small quantity of land, well watered and well
cultivated, would be sure to yield a rich harvest.
I want to
speak a few words now in relation to our position. We look back to the days of
Abraham, and we consider him to be a great man. Truly, he was a great man; he
was among the first of great men in this world, according to our limited
knowledge. There were great men before his day, but we are not so well
acquainted with the revelations given previous to his time, nor with the men
that lived before him, as we are with Abraham, and with the revelations given
to him and to prophets subsequent to his time. The Lord called him away from
the worship of idols, telling him to separate himself and go into a land He
would show him. He was guided by that Spirit that always guides aright, so he
came into the land of Canaan. The Lord told him to look "northward and
southward, and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to
there will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the
dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then
shall thy seed also be numbered." The Lord promised to make him a great
ruler, a prince, and the father of the faithful. I want to ask the Latter-day
Saints if the field is not wide enough, and if it is not the good will of our
Father in heaven, to make Abrahams of every faithful man of God that lives on
the earth at this day?—if it it is not according to the loving-kindness of our
Heavenly Father to bless every faithful man of God as he blessed Abraham? It
seems so to me. Abraham had several wives, and he had children. Is not the same
blessing extended to us? That if Abraham was to be a prince and a ruler, and
his posterity become numerous, may we not, if faithful to our God and to our
covenants, be as Abraham? Shall there be any end to our posterity? May they not
be as numerous as the stars in the firmament, and as the sands upon the sea
shore? Abraham may be in advance of us; he lived in an earlier period; but we
are following up in the same track. Although we may not be called upon to yield
up an only son, as Abraham was, yet, may we not enjoy through faithfulness the blessings,
and honors, and privileges that he did? I see nothing in the way of it. I
believe it is according to the goodness, and generosity, and loving kindness of
our Father in heaven. Now, the Jews boasted that they were the literal
descendants of Abraham; and, notwithstanding their unrighteousness,
stubbornness of heart, blindness of mind, and unbelief, they considered
themselves heirs to all the promises made unto Abraham, and a distinguished and
honored people. Jesus came to them, and taught and instructed them, and would
have saved them, but they would not allow him to be their Savior; hence he
said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto there, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."
The Savior began to reason with them on one occasion; they answered and said
unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, "If ye were
Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do; he was a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him,"
etc. Now, they are the people to whom the promises were made, of whom it is
said they should be remembered for ever, and that too with loving kindness and
favor. It was understood that they would be chastened if they went astray, but
the Lord would always remember them on account of their fathers.
They that
are the children of Abraham do the works of Abraham. What did Abraham do? The
Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and the voice of the Lord was heard by him,
and when the Lord commanded him he obeyed; when he was commanded to offer up
his only son, his darling Isaac, he prepared to do so. Abraham, no doubt, felt
all the sympathies of a kind-hearted father, but still the voice of God to him
was paramount to all things else, and he laid his son upon the alter and was
about to slay him; and while the knife was aimed at the life of the lad,
showing that Abraham was fully bent to do the will of God, and follow out the
instructions given him, an angel's voice from on high said, Abraham, spare thy
son; I have tried and proved you; now I have the evidence that you will not withhold
anything from me; there is a ram in the thicket, take him and offer him up
instead; and Isaac was accepted in a figure and was saved. Abraham went on in
obedience to the requirements of Heaven and faltered not. Now, then, if we will
do the works of Abraham, we are the children of Abraham. The natural seed of
Abraham rejected the offers of mercy, and it was said of them, "Reprobate
silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them." Again,
Paul says, "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that
circumcision, which is outward in the flesh." Their true line of
connection with Abraham was broken because of unbelief, and Heaven regarded it
no more. But here is a new institution, hence, says Jesus, except a man be born
again he cannot see the kingdom of God, and except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. To be born again is
necessary to be a child of Abraham—to be a child of God. We are to he born of
water and of the Spirit. What will the Spirit do for us if we give place to it
and allow it to act according to its office in our own bosoms, and oppose it
not, doing nothing to grieve it and to paralyze its force and influence upon
our systems? Will it not create us anew in Christ Jesus, making our flesh,
blood, and bones anew, creating the whole creature anew, being born from above
and sanctified unto God? It seems so to me. It was said to Jesus, "Behold,
thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with there."
But he answered and said unto him who told him, "Who is my mother? and who
are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and
said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my
Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother."
I do not know that I understand the exact meaning of the word sanctification,
it is a very commonly used word; what I understand by it is, that the
sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God is that influence which purges us
from every thing that is worldly, selfish, and contrary to the mind of God: and
the creature who is sanctified can say, "Our Father who art in
heaven," because he is born from above. Now, the presumption is, if a
child is born to me, that that child inherits my spirit—my nature—by virtue of
his birth and "being begotten by me." If we are, then, begotten of
God and born of his Spirit, we inherit the qualities of the Deity himself. Then
may we not all become Abrahams? It deems to me that the Almighty can furnish
territory enough, room enough: for He is not limited: and this world and all
other worlds are subject to him. He controls, governs, and manages them, and
they are to provide maple room for the existence and increase of His faithful
children.
I do not
pretend to understand the secret springs that are subject to the Almighty's
touch, but suffice it to say that I know they exist, and that He can touch them
aright; and that if we will serve Him and honor Him and keep His commandments,
He will touch them every time in our favor. I do not feel that the kingdom of
God is going to be overthrown, that the wicked are going to prevail against it.
I would have great mercy upon the wicked, so far as they will repent and obey
the Gospel; but if they will not repent and obey the Gospel, if they will love
unrighteousness and practice it all the day long, they cannot be acknowledged
as the children of God, but will be accounted enemies of the Most High, and
will be overthrown.
I wish to
put the most charitable construction upon the purposes of all men. When the
army was sent up to Utah under Johnston, their design was to overthrow the
"Mormons" in these valleys; for they considered our religion a
dangerous error, though this was not their manifest and avowed reason. They,
however, did us no harm, and that great army, the flower of the United States,
was broken to pieces and scattered hither and thither. They exhibited to all
men and to the heavens their purpose, but God saved his people. What did they
get for their reward? Look at the fields of Virginia and Tennessee. Look on the
battle-fields in the South that have been drenched with blood; the nation has
been clothed with mourning, sorrow, and wretchedness, and this is their reward
for seeking to fight against God and to overthrow his kingdom. Do they look at
it so? They do not. And they will spurn this testimony as they would the
testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, was armed with the Spirit of
God, and carried life and death on his tongue. The nation has had a bloody war
and a sore time of suffering, and many a heart will ache and be filled with
sorrow after this day; it will take a long time to heal up the deadly wound it
has inflicted upon the nation, a long time to cure up the sore,[p.154] and while
it is being cured up in one place, I have thought there is danger of it
breaking out in another place. The whole organization of the nation has been
infected with a disease that seems to be incurable: perhaps it may be cured,
but I cannot say how this may be. Is the trouble ended? I do not apprehend that
it is; they may cry peace and safety, but I do not think there is a good
foundation for it. If they will provoke further calamities, after the severe
reproof that has been given, further calamities will come upon them.
It is
perfectly right to look at things as they really are. Here is, perhaps, a
million of men to be disbanded that have been accustomed to live not by
agricultural and mechanical pursuits, but they have been accustomed for the
last few years to live by destroying the fruits of the ground and the
productions of mechanical labor; by destroying men, women, and children, and
laying towns and cities in flames, and they have had joy in the work of their
hands. When this multitude of men are turned loose, are they going to adopt
their former course of industry? Some may, but I fear the majority of them will
not; the great mass of them have learned to do otherwise, and they are like so
many firebrands scattered over the land.
When I
was young I used to read about a day that should burn as an oven, and all the
proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble. I then had an idea that a
sheet of fire would come down from heaven and burn up the ungodly; that the sun
would be darkened and the moon turned to blood and the stars fall from heaven.
I look at things in another point of light now; I now consider that the
elements, the agents of destruction, are right here to accomplish that work,
and the revelations of God will be fulfilled; for God has put in their hearts
to fulfil his will, and they shall make the whore of all the earth desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire. That great day of
burning is beginning; we have had a few drops before the shower; it will wax
worse and worse, and men will continue to deceive and be deceived until the
earth shall be burned up. The word of the Lord is, "Come out from her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her
plagues."
In
conclusion, let me say that I know this is the work of God, I know it to be the
truth of heaven, I know that Joseph is a Prophet of the Most High God, and I
know that he gave the mind and will of Heaven to the world in the days of his
mortal life. I know that President Brigham Young is the man now chosen of God
to guide the destinies of this people, and I say, May the Lord bless him, and
those that are connected with him, and those that listen to his counsel; and
may the blessing of God be upon all Israel, and His wrath and indignation be upon
all that hate Him, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Singing by the Logan and Providence choir.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith referred to the first conference held in this valley, eighteen years ago, which convened under the shade of a hay-stack, and said it would require a rather large hay-stack to afford shade for the congregation before him. He spoke of the extent, number and growth of the settlements throughout the Territory, and endorsed the teachings of Elder Hyde on the cultivation of land. Treated on the Southern settlements and the energy of the people; and stated that mechanics, especially blacksmiths are needed in various of the villages and settlements south; advising any who might be going there to take breadstuffs with them for their own consumption, there still being far from any abundance there.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 15:43, 11/16/65, p 3; JD 11:155]
REMARKS,
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, in the Bowery, General
conference, G. S. L. City, Oct. 7th, 1865.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
It is
with very great pleasure that I have listened to the instructions and counsels
of my brethren at this Conference. In fact, the season of Conference is a
period of reflection with me. It is eighteen years ago yesterday when the first
October Conference was held in this valley under the shade of a hay stack, and
it served an abundant means of shading all that attended. As we are here
assembled now, it would require an extensive hay stack to create a shade
sufficient to accommodate the assembly, and there is but a very small
representation here from the settlements of the Territory, though there are
considerable numbers from some of them—trains of fifty or sixty wagons loaded
with persons to attend Conference. Those of us who are in this city, and who
have not had the privilege of travelling through the settlements, can form very
little comprehension of the extent, strength, and population of the Territory,
and of the amount of labor, toil, and the results of that toil and labor which
are progressing throughout.
President
Young has devoted a large portion of his time since last Conference, associated
with a number of Elders, in travelling and visiting the Saints. He has visited,
perhaps, one-half of them, after travelling about eighteen hundred miles. Our
Territory is said to be sparsely settled, but our location renders it necessary
that wherever a settlement exists it shall be of considerable size, in order to
carry out the necessary arrangements for protection and cultivation. It is
seldom that a small settlement can do this successfully. I have been pleased
with the suggestions offered by President Hyde in relation to the better
cultivation of the soil; for when we go to the expense of taking out water, of
keeping up dams, making requisite canals, repairing tunnels and smaller ditches
and water sects, it would seem really sound policy that every foot of land thus
watered, in order to make it effective, should be cultivated in the best
possible manner. If the Lord had seen proper to send rains from heaven to water
our lands sufficiently and gratuitously as in other places, we might spread
over the land and cultivate the soil without so much labor on our part. If the
suggestions which have been made are duly considered and applied throughout the
Territory, the result will be the production of from one to three times more of
the necessaries of life on the same area.
So far as
the unity of the people is concerned, I have felt to rejoice the past season; I
have accompanied the President this summer, except when on his last trip to
Cache Valley, during which I was on a journey to the South with Elder Amasa
Lyman. We held twenty-four meetings. It is really an expressive and singular
incident that we live to visit so many climates inhabited by Saints in so short
a time. We passed near the snow region in July, went directly into a
semi-torrid zone to see the effects of all the changes in this variety of
climate, thermometer at Washington 110° in the shade, all within our own
borders. Our settlements may be compared to a thrifty tree, throwing out
annually a new growth more extended and more vigorous. While President Young and
company passed on south, Elders F. D. Richards and A. M. Musser took another
direction through the new counties of Sevier, Piute, and Kane, through a chain
of new settlements never before visited, only in part, by some of the Twelve,
visiting on their route some 600 families. It is really astonishing to reflect
that such an extent of settlements have been thrown out. We have been gratified
very much with the efforts and exertions made by our brethren who were sent on
missions to our cotton region in opening and enlarging the settlements there.
They have met with many difficulties of which their northern brethren have very
little conception. The soil along their streams in many places is composed of
such loose material that it is almost impossible to carry a water ditch through
it for irrigation, the soil of the banks dissolving in the water like sugar in
coffee; dams are washed away by frequent bursting of clouds. You may take the
best fields in the vicinity of St. George, and the annual expense of keeping up
their canals and dams for irrigation has been 15 dollars per acre, and yet the
courage, energy, perseverance, and diligence of the brethren have not failed,
but they continue to construct dams, and contend with the natural obstacles
that lie in their way to the permanent improvement of the country. This
perseverance, which will eventually bring forth an abundant supply of the
needful staples which can be successfully produced in that climate, is very
commendable; to support themselves by producing their own breadstuff is true
political economy. Notwithstanding the number of mechanics sent there, they
have not sufficient to supply the wants of the people. There are many towns
without a blacksmith, plasterer, mason, or carpenter. A considerable number of these
could find employment and make themselves good homes in many of the southern
settlements. We would direct the minds of the brethren to this item.
There is
much land that can be cultivated in wheat with flood water that cannot be made
to produce cotton, in consequence of drouth later in the season. The raising of
bread this year has not interfered to any great extent with the culture of
cotton, the supply of which has been greater than last year; and two-thirds of
breadstuff necessary has been produced to supply the inhabitants, the other
third musk be brought from the north. Many vineyards have come into bearing,
and extensive new vineyards have been planted, and the efforts at cultivating
more breadstuffs have proven successful; and if the brethren continue their
efforts, an ample supply will be produced for home consumption without
materially lessening the breadth cultivated in cotton and vines. While my
brethren are contending with these obstacles I sympathize with them, and
rejoice when I see them victorious. As I passed through the mineral lots in St.
George I saw their barren aspect, and saw the men working on them to conquer
those combined chemical, elements which eat up everything that grows, and
through the rocks and fences of sandstones were dissolving before them, yet men
are conquering this soil and making it produce. Nearly three-fourths of all the
fruit trees planted in St. George have been unsuccessful, yet the place is
looking like the Garden of Eden, showing that perseverance, faith, and energy
will conquer everything. It is a delightful and pleasant locality. I name these
things because we are interested in them, and wish the brethren to realize that
those brethren on that mission have spent the accumulated property of many
years, and many of them are successful; some are yet struggling to make a
start, and it is with them as the old adage has it, while the grass grows the
cow starves; but they are not discouraged; their eyes look bright, their spirit
is determined, and I was pleased to hear Elder Snow speak of the good spirit
they felt, and that they were determined to overcome. A people possessed of
such great energy, aided by the ready co-operation of their brethren in the
north, are bound to conquer that desert, and not only make it blossom as the
rose, but make one of the most delightful regions of the earth. I would suggest
to all persons who go there to fulfil what is required of them, and not forget
that it is necessary to carry the staff of life with them, that those that are
there, and those that are going, may be provided with ample supplies of bread;
it is better to have a little over when the next harvest comes than to go two
or three weeks without bread. May the blessings of God be upon Zion, and may
her cords be lengthened and her stakes strengthened, that she may be blessed
continually with that wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence that guide the head
and inspire the body. We are improving in everything; we must continue to
improve until the light of life shines throughout the whole earth; for our
business is to be like a city set upon a hill, or a candle set upon a table, to
illuminate the earth, and bring all to a knowledge of the truth, life, and
peace. May God enable us to be so is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Singing by the Smithfield Choir.
Prayer by Elder E. T. Benson.
[7 Oct, 2 pm*]
[DNW 15:4, 10/12/65, p 7]
2 p.m.
Singing, "From all that dwell," by the Spanish Fork choir. Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon. Singing by the Ogden choir.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon then presented the authorities of the Church to the conference who were unanimously sustained by vote in the following order:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball is first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, his counselors.
William Eddington, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. spencer, John squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E Jeremy, Geo. W. Thatcher, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squire, President of the Elders' Quorum; James Smith and Peter latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; William Carmichael and Robert Price, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teacher's Quorum; Henry I Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Warren Hardie, his counselor
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, superintendent of Public Works; John Sharp, his assistant.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said Fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
Singing by Tabernacle choir.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke a few minutes on the propriety of continuing the Conference for a few days longer.
[Pres. B. Young]
Pres. B. Young instructed the Saints that it is as necessary for us to remain together to receive the blessings God has in store for us, as it is for the farmer to wait for the fruits of his labors after he has planted the seed; and wished the Saints to remain together till the Spirit of God should say it is enough; all keeping their business and worldly cares away from them, and uniting in prayer and worshiping God till we receive the blessings we have desired in coming together.
Elder John Taylor moved, "That we continue this Conference until the Spirit of the Lord, through His Servants, says it is enough." Carried unanimously, the vast congregation rising to their feet.
The President said, "May the Lord bless you for ever and ever; Amen.
Logan and Providence choir sang, "Hard times come again no more."
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke of the objects for which the gospel has been revealed, -- namely the salvation and exaltation of all who will obey its principles. Urged the importance of attention to temporal duties as well as those that are called spiritual, all being comprised within the gospel. The first duty devolving upon us is the sustenance of these natural bodies or we would die and our power for good in this probation would cease. Reasoned on the impossibility of receiving and understanding of the truth of the gospel except through the ministrations of the Priesthood and the light of the Holy Spirit; and on the malignity that is manifested against us, showing that it is because we have received and will hold to the truth that the hearts of the wicked are stirred up in wrath against us. We will cleave to the truth, and serve the Lord, let the consequences be what they may. He pointed out the blessings that have been received by following the counsels of the Servants of God in the most ordinary things of life, and exhorted the people to continue in the path of counsel in all things.
[John Taylor]
[DNW 15:50, 11/23/65, p 2; JD 11:157]
REMARKS,
By Elder JOHN TAYLOR,in the Bowery, in G. S. L. City,
General Conference, Oct. 7th, 1865.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
It is
good to meet together as we are met on the present occasion. It is good to
speak on the goodness of God, and it is pleasant and instructive to hear; we
enjoy a privilege that is not possessed by any of the inhabitants of the earth
except ourselves; it is a privilege which, when properly understood by the
Saints, they will esteem to be greater than any other earthly blessing that can
be bestowed upon them. We assemble together in a different capacity from that
of any other people; we meet here as the representatives of God upon the earth.
Yet occupying the high position that we do, blessed as we are with the light of
truth, with the Holy Priesthood, with the fulness of the everlasting Gospel; in
possession of light and intelligence that is not imparted unto others, but of
which they are ignorant, we stand emphatically as God's elect, as His
representatives on the earth; at the same time, there is mixed up with us a
great amount of weakness, infirmities, and follies, and we need continually the
aid, teaching, and protection of the Almighty God to govern, guide, lead, and
direct us in the right path.
As I
before stated, we stand in a different position to the Almighty and to the
world from that of any other people. To us God has revealed his will; He has opened
the heavens to us; among us He has organized the Holy Priesthood, and revealed
those principles which exist in the eternal world; of us He has made messengers
of life and salvation, to us He has communicated his law, and from us He
expects obedience and a ready co-operation with Him in bringing to pass those
great events that must transpire in the building up and establishment of the
kingdom of God in the last days. The Lord is anxious to do us good, to
enlighten our minds, to inform our judgment, to unfold unto us His will, and to
strengthen us and prepare us for the great events that must transpire in these
last days. He is desirous to show us how to save ourselves, how to bless
ourselves, temporally and spiritually, intellectually, morally, physically,
politically, and in every possible way that He is capable of bestowing his
blessings upon fallen humanity. He is desirous to perform a great work upon the
earth, to bring about a great revolution among men; to establish correct
principles of every kind, and to make the earth and the inhabitants thereof
fulfil the measure of their creation, and prepare all that are capable or
worthy to receive everlasting life and exaltation in the celestial kingdom
where he dwells. He is desirous of making use of us as his instruments in the
development of this great work in which He has engaged.
We have
been in the habit of reading the words of the prophets in relation to the
establishment of the kingdom of God, and what they have said, and the Spirit,
by which they were inspired. We have reflected a good deal upon what the Lord
would do in relation to establishing correct principles upon the earth in the
last days. We have read about these things, and we have believed them in part;
and as the Spirit of God has beamed upon our minds, latterly we have been
enabled to comprehend more fully some of the things that the prophets in
ancient times wrote about, but of which they understood very little, and we can
only understand them as we are taught; we can only comprehend the designs of
God as he reveals them to us; we can only understand our duty as the Spirit of
God makes it manifest, either through the Elders of Israel or by the
revelations of God to ourselves, or both.
It is in
vain for the Elders of Israel to teach the principles of truth unless the
people are prepared to receive them; and it is vain for the Lord to communicate
his will unto the people unless the people possess a portion of his Spirit, to
comprehend something of that will and the designs of God towards them, and
towards the earth upon which they dwell. Nor can the Lord work with them unless
they are prepared to co-operate with him in the establishment of his kingdom
upon the earth.
There are
a great many things of which we speak that seem to be very simple, and very
unnecessary, in the estimation of some, for us to talk about. We have heard in
this Conference reports from different parts of the Territory about their
crops, about the way the land is cultivated, about the kind of improvements the
people are making, about the prospects that lie before them for sustaining
themselves with all the common necessaries of life, etc. And some people think
that we might, when we convene together, talk about something else—about
something which they would designate as being more spiritual. We meet together
as men of intelligence, as men possessing natural wants, who have natural
bodies, which bodies have to be clothed, to be fed and provided for; we meet
together as rational individuals and as heads of families, who have children
growing up that need, in the first place, to be instructed in the common laws
of life, and in those things that are necessary to promote our common
well-being. The first thing that devolves upon all human beings, so far as I
can comprehend it, is to provide a way for their own sustenance. One of the
very first commandments that God gave to Adam was, when He placed him in the
garden, He told him to dress or till it, so that he might be able to provide
for his necessities. The fiat of the Almighty, at the time when Adam was
expelled from the Garden of Eden was to him, "In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread;" that we cannot avoid. By this inscrutable law we
are compelled to attend to some of the first necessary affairs of life, or to
go without bread and necessarily die. Consequently, when we talk about land and
possessions, an inheritance, etc., we talk about things that are some of the
first necessaries pertaining to human existence. We live by breathing the air
that God gives us, by drinking the water that He causes to flow for our
sustenance, and by cultivating the earth in order that we may partake of the
products of the earth. This is one of the first duties pertaining to man, and
hence when we meet together to form new settlements as part of the body
politic—as part of the kingdom of God, it devolves upon all of us always to
ascertain how we can sustain ourselves in the position in which we are placed.
Hence, when we hear of any difficulties, such as we have heard of in the the
south at various times, and from other sources, pertaining to the existence of
man, it causes a thrill of feeling to go through the whole of the people that
form part of the kingdom of God; for if one member of the body suffers, they
all suffer with it; and if one member of the body rejoices, the rest rejoice
with it. When we hear from the south, as at the present time, that they are
raising their bread, and that there is every reasonable prospect of them being
enabled to sustain themselves, we feel comforted by the report. When we hear
from the north of the destruction made by the early frosts, and yet,
notwithstanding this disaster, of the prospects that lie before them, and the
encouragement that they hold out to us of the prosperity of their settlements
there, and that they will be able to provide for themselves, we feel comforted
thereby, and feel thankful to the God of Israel that tie is providing for and
taking care of his Saints.
We
believe that the kingdom of God is a temporal kingdom as well as a spiritual and
eternal kingdom, to use this expression according to our comprehension; and
when men are deprived of the common necessaries of life, and have not wherewith
to sustain themselves, they have but very little time to attend to religious
matters, and they cannot be of much benefit to their brethren in helping to
establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. But when, on the other hand, we
see that the Saints are blessed in the north, in the south, in the east and in
the west; when we see them industrious, persevering, diligent, and using all
lawful measures to provide for themselves, and their families, and those that
depend upon them; and when we see them cultivating the Spirit of God in them
and living their religion, cleaving close to the Almighty and drawing blessings
from his hand, then we acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and feel to
bless the name of the God of Israel. Every one of these things is of great
importance to the Saints of God, and we feel interested in all these matters.
Are they prospering in the south? We acknowledge the hand of God in it. Is the
climate tempered in the north? We acknowledge the hand of God in it. Do the
rains descend upon our parched land and cause it to bring forth luxuriantly? We
acknowledge the hand of God in it; and so we do in everything that we
see, and in everything that we have to do with; for we read "that the
wrath of the Almighty is kindled against none but those who do not acknowledge
his hand in all things."
We are
gathered together here as a peculiar people; we differ, as I stated before, in
almost every respect from the world of mankind with which we are surrounded.
The Lord gives to them seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, and pours the
rich blessings of heaven into their laps; He gives them mechanical talent and
ingenuity; He inspires them with a knowledge of the arts and sciences; He has
been pouring upon them the rich blessings of intelligence and of plenty for
ages, but they do not acknowledge his hand. Men boast of their own
intelligence, of their own wisdom, of their own power, might, and
understanding—this is a general rule, with but few exceptions. They feel a good
deal like the king of Babylon did when in his pride he rose up and said,
"Is not this great Babylon that I have built? have I not done these things
by my wisdom, by my intelligence, by my power and might?" With us it is
different. We are indebted to God for the first rays of light and intelligence
that ever beamed upon us. Who among us knew the first principles of the Gospel
of Christ until we heard them from the Elders of Israel? There is not a man
among us that did; there is not a man in existence to-day that knows them, only
as they have been communicated to him from God. Who told us that it was right
to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins? Who taught us it
was right to receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? Who taught us
that it was right that there should be an authority given by God to man to
enable him to officiate legally in His name, and that everything in the shape
of religion upon the earth was spurious and not of Him? It was communicated to
Joseph Smith by the opening of the heavens, by the ministering of Holy Angels,
and by the voice of God. Until that voice was heard, until these communications
were made known, the inhabitants of the world were wrapped in ignorance; they
knew nothing about God nor the principles of eternity, nor the way to save
themselves nor anybody else.
We have
nothing to boast of in this particular. I do not speak of these things by way
of boasting, but I speak of them to acknowledge the hand and mercy of God
towards us as a people. What would a man give in exchange for his soul? We are
told that a man will give all he hath for his life; what will he give, then, in
exchange for his soul, or has he anything to barter for it? What is it that
hath loosed us from the shackles of ignorance, error, superstition, and folly
with which we were bound? It is the light of heaven, the revelations of God,
the ministration of the Holy Priesthood that has imparted to us intelligence in
relation to these things; without this it is impossible that we could follow
anything in relation to them. Who is there in the world that understands
anything of God, or his will? They cannot be found; they know nothing of Him.
It would be needless to talk about the folly of many of their priests, and
their ideas and notions in relation to these matters. What do they know of God?
They tell us he is a spirit. What else? That He is without "body, parts,
and passions." Some tell us that He sits on the top of a topless throne,
etc. It is not necessary to enter into these matters; we know them, and we do
not wish, at the present time, to reflect upon them. I am simply reflecting
upon my my own ignorance as one of them. When I was among them I was a teacher,
and what did I know? Simply nothing. I knew nothing of God, of the principles
of eternal truth and life, and I could not find anybody anywhere that knew any
more than I did. I am indebted to "Mormonism," to the light of truth,
to the revelations of God, to the administrations of the Holy Priesthood, for
all the knowledge, and light, and intelligence that I may possess in relation
to these matters; and this is the case with all of us; we were all unacquainted
with God, with the Holy Priesthood, and with the way to obtain eternal life;
and the same ignorance that beclouded our minds, previous to the opening of the
heavens to Joseph Smith, and the coming forth of the fulness of the Gospel
through him, beclouds the rest of the world at the present time. They know not
where they are going to, nor where they came from. I used to ask myself
sometimes questions like the following:—Who am I? Where did I come from? What
am I doing here? What is the object of my existence? Who organized the world,
and for what purpose was it organized? Could I answer them? No; and nobody else
could answer them for me; for they know nothing about these things,—neither
priest, nor philosopher, nor statesman, nor any man that I could associate
with, could unravel these questions; they could not tell the whys and the
wherefores in relation to some of these simple things that have been given to
us.
The
Gospel, we are told in one place, is "the law of the spirit of life in
Christ Jesus," and "it hath made us free from the law of sin and
death." We are told in another place that it is "good news and glad
tidings;" but, if we comprehend it correctly, the Gospel holds the keys,
through the Priesthood, of the mysteries of God; the Gospel "brings life
and immortality to light;" and wherever it exists, in whatsoever bosom it
dwells, whoever has engaged in the propagation of the Gospel, has a knowledge
of life and immortality; it is that which unveils the heavens, and without it
men are ignorant in relation to the future, and of that salvation of which they
talk so much. The Gospel places men in communication with the Lord, so that
they can understand something of God, and something of His law, and without the
Gospel they cannot understand anything about Him; and hence some will think one
thing about Him and some another. Whoever has possessed the Gospel, whether in
former or in latter times, it has brought life and immortality to light, to
them; it shows men who they are and what they are; it shows them something
about God; and it was said in former times that, this is life eternal to know
God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. Without the Gospel it would be
impossible for men to have any knowledge of God, or of Jesus Christ whom he
hath sent. Hence, when Jesus asked the question of his disciples, "Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" they answered him, "Some say
thou art Elias, and some say thou art Moses, and some that thou art one of the
prophets risen from the dead." "But whom say ye that I am?"
Peter answered, "Thou art the Son of the Living God." Jesus said unto
him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not
revealed this unto there, but my Father which is in heaven; and thou art Peter,
and upon this rock will I build my church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it."
How did
Peter know that He was the Christ? He knew it by revelation; he had the Gospel,
and the Gospel brings life and immortality to light, and reveals unto the human
family the existence of a God and their relationship to him. We are indebted to
God for light, for the intelligence we enjoy, for the knowledge of the Gospel
that is placed within our reach.
Now let
us proceed a little further in relation to these matters. God is desirous of
benefiting us, and for this reason he has revealed unto us his will; for this
reason he has opened the heavens and communicated with us. God is desirous of
establishing his law, his authority, his kingdom, his dominion among men. He is
desirous to be obeyed by the human family, and to have them submit to his
teachings, to his guidance, and to his direction. He is desirous of
establishing correct principles among mankind that will do them good, that will
bless them, that will exalt them, that will prepare them to fulfil their
destiny upon the earth, and the first step that he has taken is to impart unto
them, through obedience to the principles of the Gospel of Christ, the Holy
Ghost, and only through that can they comprehend God or his laws. "Except
a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God; and except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." We
sometimes feel a little indignant at the actions of men around us; we think
that they act strangely, and so they do. We think that they are very full of
prejudice, and so they are; we think that they are very wicked and show a very
malignant spirit toward us, and are desirous to injure us, and we have often
been astonished at this when we have been abroad in the world; we have seen
very honorable, high-minded men and women that fear God and work righteousness,
and yet there is an array of prejudice and persecution against them that would
almost astonish us. What is the matter? They do not see things as we see them;
there is a thick veil over them; they are something like the people that Jesus
spoke about in his day, when he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do." They know not the light and intelligence of the
Holy Ghost, and, consequently, they do not understand our position, and they
are led by other influences they know nothing about. They do not see the
kingdom of God, nor can they. I do not care what their wisdom is, nor their
intelligence; I do not care what school they were taught in, or who was their
teacher; I care nothing about the extent of their capacity, reading, or
intelligence acquired or possessed; unless they have possessed the Spirit of
the living God, they cannot comprehend the affairs pertaining to the kingdom of
God. Well, but ate there not many very honorable and high. minded men in the
world that are not Latter-day Saints? Yes; but they do not see the kingdom of
God any more than Nicodemus did when he came to Jesus by night. We stand upon a
different platform from what they do, and we have to make many allowances for
their conduct and actions towards us. They do not understand our designs, nor
what we are after. Why are we gathered together? Because God has called us and
we are willing to obey him; because God sent a message to the nations of the
earth, and we possessed a portion of the Spirit of God; and when the Elders of
Israel came forth to teach us the words of life, as Jesus says, "My sheep
hear my voice, and they know me," etc, the word of life was sown broadcast
among thousands, and millions of the human family arose and believed it at
first, as much as you and I did; but the cares of the world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the influences with which they were surrounded,
choked the precious seed, and it could not bring forth fruit. These influences,
more or less to the present time, prey upon our minds and darken and benumb our
feelings, and interpose between us and our Heavenly Father.
What is
it that we are aiming at, and who are we seeking to injure in the world? Who
have been injured by us? There is no man living who can speak the truth and say
he has been injured by this people. He does not exist; and whenever they make
statements of that kind, you may brand them as liars. Who have we. interfered
with? What people have we deprived of their rights? Among whom have we sown the
seeds of sedition or injury of any kind? Have we gone to the North or South and
interfered with any of the Territories or States surrounding us? No man that
tells the truth can say so, for we have never done it; we have no need to do
it; it is not in our hearts to do it; we cannot do it while we live our
religion. The Lord is trying to teach us, if he can, and we are trying to teach
each other, if we can; so that we may be elevated and exalted in the scale of
intelligence, morality, virtue, honesty, and truth; and with regard to anything
and everything that tends to exalt and ennoble the human mind. This is what we
are after, and what the Lord is desirous to make of us.
We
emanated from Him; we are His children, and not only His children temporally
and spiritually, but we are united to Him by covenant to serve Him; we have
covenanted to serve Him in baptism; we have covenanted to serve Him in our
endowments, to keep His commandments, and walk according to the laws of life.
The Lord
is desirous to root out error from among us—from me, and from you, and from all
of us; to tear away error, and superstition, and vice, and vanity, and folly,
and pride, and evil of every kind; to show us the beauty of holiness, the
excellency of truth; to show us every principle that is calculated to build us
up, and bless us with life and health, and our posterity after us, worlds
without end.
And what
does the Gospel show us? It shows us who our Father is; it shows us our
relationship to Him, and to our earthly father; it shows us our duty towards
our children, our duty towards our wives, and wives their duty towards their
husbands; it enters into all the ramifications of human existence.
As God is
our Father, and the organizer of these bodies, and of this earth on which we
live, He wants to teach us all, principles that will be calculated to exalt us
and exalt, the earth on which we live, If anybody has any fault to find with us
in any part of the world, it is that we seek to fear God and work the works of
righteousness; and if we cannot be swayed from the principles of truth by any
power under heaven, our society is ignored.
How often
has it been told us, "Gentlemen, if you would only lay aside your religion
and become like us, and live as we do, then we will all be good neighbors
together." How often have we had to listen to such stuff and nonsense; like
them, serve the devil, commit iniquity, go down to darkness and the shades
of death, and live and die without God and without hope in the world, as they
would have us to do, and die and be damned. God forbid, we will not do it.
(Amen.) Our desire is to serve God; we know the ways of life, for God has
taught them to us. We know in whom we have believed, for God has revealed it to
us. We know the Gospel is true, because the Gospel has made manifest itself to
us, and we feel satisfied with regard to the course we are taking, and God
being our helper, we will pursue it to the end. God is our friend, and we are
the friends of God.
It was
said this morning that we might all be Abrahams. Abraham was the friend of God;
we are the friends of God, and if we are not his friends, he cannot find them
on the earth; if we are not his friends, he cannot find friends who dare do as
we do—who dare cleave to the truth in the midst of shame, obloquy, persecution,
and reproach. But we still live, and the truth still lives, and the kingdom of God
still exists; and when the kingdoms of the world crumble to pieces and
"become like the chaff of the summer threshingfloor, and no place found
for them," we shall still live; for we have within us the seeds of eternal
life, and no man can take them from us.
We have
begun to live for ever, and feel to rejoice and be glad under all
circumstances, and to sing "Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent
reigned, and will reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet." We
are striving to help God to do that which he desires to do; and what is that?
It is to benefit mankind.
How often
have we heard President Young, President Kimball, and others say to the people,
"Why not go to work and plant orchards, it is a very little thing to talk
about; why will you not make good fences, and make good gardens, and build
good, comfortable houses, and try to make yourselves happy and
comfortable." We now see the fruits of these things, and we begin to eat
the fruits of our obedience to those instructions and to realize the benefit of
them: our fields teem with plenty, our peach trees, and apple trees, and plum
trees are laden down with fruit, and we possess the good things of this earth
in abundance. Is there any harm in all this? We are taught, also, to love one
another; there is nothing bad about that. Husbands are taught to love their
wives, and wives are taught to love their husbands, and children to obey their
parents; these are good principles, and they have been taught to us all the day
long. We have been taught to pay our tithing, that we might acknowledge to God
that we are his people, and that if he gave us all we ask, we might give
one-tenth back to him, and by that act acknowledge his hand. Does the Lord care
about these things? No. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. No. He does not care about them, so
far as they benefit Him, but He does, so far as they develop perfection in the
Saints of God, and show that they acknowledge his hand as the author and the
giver of every blessing they enjoy. One of the prophets says, "The gold and
the silver are His, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." If you want
gold, you will have to go a little further away from here. People think it is
strange that the "Mormons" do not develop the gold in these
mountains; but those who understand the mind of God, understand that he has a
protecting care over his people, and that we are in his hands, and that he will
sustain us.
That we
do not develop the gold in these mountains is not strange to the Saints of God.
He has wisely planned for our sakes in a thousand ways. We can remember the
time when we could not raise peaches to eat, and it was a doubt whether an
apple tree would grow or not. Now go and look at your orchards; there is not a
better peach growing country in the world than this. How is this? God has
blessed the elements for our sakes, and also the earth; but let the Saints
leave this place, and it would return again to its wilderness condition; the
wicked could not live here; they could not live here before we came, and they
could not if we went away; consequently, if any of them think that they could
by any means or stratagem drive us away to possess themselves of our property,
it would not do them one particle of good if they got it, for God blessed it
for our sakes. He blesses the land for our sakes.
It is
hard sometimes to realize this. What does the Lord say to ancient Israel in one
place? "Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments,
and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep with there, the covenant
and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers: and He will love there, and
bless there, and multiply there; He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and
the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of
thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which He sware to thy
fathers to give there. Thou shalt be blessed above all people; there shall not
be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle." "The Lord
shall cause thine enemies that rise up against there to be smitten before thy
face; they shall come out against there one way, and flee before there seven
ways." Then the curses are enumerated that should come upon them if they
forsook the Lord their God and observed not his statues. While the children of
Israel obeyed the Lord their God the land abounded in wine, corn, and oil, and
they vanquished their enemies. When they departed from God and disobeyed his
laws, those calamities which were promised them through disobedience fell upon
them to the very letter even to this day. Their temple was destroyed, and not
one stone left upon another, as the Savior told, and the ground upon which it
stood was plowed up by the Romans in search for gold which they expected to
find there.
It is
sometimes hard for us to realize that we are in the hands of God, and that he
controls, and manages, and guides our affairs. This is the thing we wish to
understand, and wish the people to understand that our confidence is in Him.
People talk sometimes about what they are going to do with the "Mormons,"
and the rumor flies that we are going to be rooted out, destroyed, and
overthrown. We shall, when God says so, and not before. The Lord knew in former
times how to put a hook into the jaws of the enemies of Israel, and he knows
just as well where to place it to-day. The nation in which we live and all
nations are in the hands of God; and so are we, and our enemies cannot help
themselves nor avert the destiny that awaits them. He will accomplish his
purposes towards them, and they cannot help it, and towards us, and they can,
not help it. Then we are all in the hands of God, like clay in the hands of the
potter, to be moulded, and trained, and fashioned according to the designs of
God and according to his will.
As it
regards any of those outside influences, we need not fear in relation to them;
we need not fear anything they can say and do, for they can do nothing but what
God permits. He will let them wander about on Hams Fork, and live on mule flesh
for a while; and they were a little independent about things and would not take
a little salt when we sent it to them; did they harm us? did they destroy us?
No. Why? Because God would not let them. He controlled them, and He now
controls and governs kings, and rulers, and magistrates, and generals, and officers,
and authorities, though they may not know it; but He says unto them, as He Said
to the waves of Jordan, "Hitherto shalt thou go and no further, and here
shall thy proud waves be stayed."
We are in
the hands of God, and we are trying to do the things God requires of us to do,
and that is, to establish his kingdom and his laws—his government. Where do we
get the laws of God from? We get them by revelation through the medium He has
appointed; and if we keep these laws, the blessing of God will be with us, His
Spirit will attend us, He will bless us in all our endeavors, and we shall
bring to pass the great designs of the Almighty that have been spoken of by the
Holy Prophets. It is for us to keep the commandments of God, whether they refer
to temporal or to spiritual things; whether they relate to this world or to the
world to come. We should seer to know God and cleave unto him, carry out all
his purposes, and he will lead us in the paths of life.
I am glad
that the Spirit of the Lord rests upon the President and and people at this
Conference. We are here to talk about these things, to preach, and sing, and
pray, and commune With one another and with the Lord, and to try to get full of
the Spirit of light, that we may go from this Conference and communicate it to
others.
May God
help us to do his will and keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Singing by the Smithfield Choir.
Prayer by Elder George A. Smith.
[8 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 15:4-5, 10/12/65, p 7-8]
Sunday, 8th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the Spanish Fork choir. Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde. Singing by the Ogden choir.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
Elder George Q. Cannon stated that he had not met with the Saints here at a Semi-Annual Conference for sixteen years, and he prized the privilege at the present time very highly. He touched upon the importance of our thus assembling together to worship God, and on the inexhaustible mine of wealth that we have in the gospel, -- a wealth that will endure eternally, not like that perishable wealth of gold and silver which we see eager hunters seeking after in the mountains and kanyons around where they imagine it is to be found. Reasoned that the gospel satisfies every want of man's nature, physically, mentally, socially, morally and politically; and that there is nothing that we ought to possess which can be offered to us as an inducement to do wrong, that we will not ultimately obtain by obedience to the gospel.
[George Q. Cannon]
[DNW 15:58, 11/30/65, p 2; JD 11:167]
REMARKS,
By Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON, in the Bowery, in G. S. L. City,
General Conference, Oct, 8th, 1865
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I
appreciate very highly the privilege that I have this morning, and that I have
had during this Conference, in meeting with the Saints; it is the first Fall
Conference I have had the opportunity of attending for sixteen years. These
are, indeed, precious privileges which God, our Heavenly Father, has given unto
us; these opportunities which we now have of assembling ourselves together and
dismissing the cares that press us from week to week and month to month,
casting them aside to concentrate our minds and our thoughts upon the things of
His kingdom, devoting our attention to those heavenly principles which have
produced so much happiness and peace in our midst. It is good for us to thus
devote a portion of our time to the worship of our God. I do not know how the
Conference felt; but, for myself, after the vote was taken yesterday to
continue our Conference a week or a month if it were necessary, or as long as
the servants of God should feel inclined to continue it, I experienced a great
relief in my feelings; I felt that that restraint was removed which had, to a
certain extent, oppressed us, with the view of hurrying through the business
and getting done by this evening. I thought that it was right, and I felt a
spirit of freedom that I had not experienced before, and I presume that all the
Saints felt alike on this subject. There is nothing more important for us to
attend to than that which we are engaged in to-day. We cannot think of anything
that is of greater importance to us, as individuals and as a people, than this
service. It is a delightful work—a labor of love that our Heavenly Father has
guaranteed unto us the privilege of performing. The organization that we now
behold, the wonderful fruits and results which have attended us from the
beginning, and that are so delightful to contemplate to-day, have all sprung
from the service that we are now engaged in. We may devote time, as it is necessary
we should, to the labors of this life—to plowing, to sowing, to harvesting, to
building settlements, to accomplishing the labors that devolve upon us of a
temporal character; these labors are important and necessary, but they are no
more necessary than those that we are now engaged in; they are no more
necessary than that we should assemble ourselves together frequently to listen
to the word of God, to be instructed in the principles of life and salvation by
those who have been our fathers in the Gospel.
It is
necessary that we should examine ourselves, bring ourselves to the light of
truth, to learn whether we are taking the right course: like the mariner, when
he returns to port, he compares his ship chronometers with the correct time on
shore, to see whether they have been keeping true time and are in good
condition to enter upon another voyage, to enable him to obtain his bearings
correctly, that he may not lose himself when he is on the trackless ocean. We
can come to Conference in this manner and examine ourselves like men returning
from a mission after an absence of years among the nations. They come back
desirous of comparing themselves with their brethren in Zion, saying, like Paul
of old, that they have indeed not run in vain; ascertaining for themselves that
the Spirit that they have been possessed of, and the course that they have
taken, are the Spirit and course that their brethren in Zion have been
possessed of and taken. There is a great deal of profit to be derived from
associations of this character. It is necessary that we should be brought very
frequently to a sense of our condition, of our dependence upon God, of our
relationship to him, of the obligations that rest upon us as his children, and
servants, and handmaidens. We cannot do this as we should when we neglect
opportunities like this; but, when we come together and our hearts are filled
with prayers and anxious desire before God for his Holy Spirit to be poured out
upon us, we then can see if we have erred, if we have gone astray, if we have
done anything wrong and displeasing in the sight of our Father. These things
are brought to our minds, and we see ourselves in the light of the Holy Spirit,
we renew our strength before the Lord, and our determinations to go forth and
serve him with greater diligence and faithfulness in the future than we have
done in the past.
There is
a mine of wealth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is yet comparatively
undiscovered by us. We see the world around us digging here and there, and
wandering over valleys and mountains in search of hidden treasures; they spend
their days and nights in searching for those things and in planning by what
means they can obtain them; but we have, in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
which has been revealed unto us, an inexhaustible mine of wealth that is
eternal. There is room for us to continually exercise every faculty of our
minds and of our bodies in searching out the deep and inexhaustible riches of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ which has been committed unto us. We have already
partaken to some extent of this wealth; we already have realized to some extent
its richness, its abundance; and what we have already obtained of it should be
an incentive to us to be still more diligent and persevering in seeking with earnestness
and faith unto God to give unto us of his power, and more and more of his
Spirit, and of that wealth which He alone possesses, that we may go on
increasing in eternal riches on earth to be prepared to enjoy them throughout
eternity. That man is truly rich, whatever his worldly circumstances may be,
who improves the opportunities he has, and who seeks with all diligence to
obtain all the blessings that pertain unto the holy religion of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. There are those, however, whom I have met with, who
profess to be good Latter-day Saints, who seem to be satisfied with the
profession of their religion, who seem to be satisfied with the fact that what
is called "Mormonism" is superior to everything else that is taught
among men. I presume they are of that class of whom President Young has
spoken—men who have been compelled to bow in submission to the truth, because
they could not contradict nor gainsay it; and that they have become connected
with this system has seemed to be enough for them; but is it enough?
In one
sense it ought to be enough for us to knew that we have received the truth and
be satisfied with it, yet we should continue to seek with energy and with faith
to partake of those blessings and of that power which our Father and God has to
bestow upon us. If we would seek to be possessed of these things with the same
diligence the world seeks for earthly riches, there is not a soul within the
sound of my voice but what will be refreshed, filled, and satisfied with the
blessings God will bestow upon him or upon her. It is a characteristic of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ to not be easily exhausted; on the contrary, it is
always attractive. You hear it to-day, as you heard it thirty years or
thirty-five years ago, and it possesses as many charms and as many attractions
now as then; repeating it does not wear it out—does not make the subject
threadbare—does not deprive it of its interest; but, on the contrary, its
interest increases as years roll over our heads; as they pass by our interest
in the work of God, and our love for it, and our appreciation of its greatness,
increase. In this respect it differs from everything else we know of; it
satisfies every want of man's nature. Is there a want you can think of, is
there anything, in fact, connected with man's existence here, spiritual or
temporal, mental or physical, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not satisfy?
If there is, I have failed to discover it. It comprehends everything; it gives
light and it gives intelligence, it gives wisdom upon every department of human
life, it satisfies every longing desire of the soul.
Before
the Gospel reached you, my brethren and sisters who have received it since you
were of mature years, there were wants that existed which now no longer exist;
there were longing desires which you indulged in, and which were ungratified by
that which you could obtain from the world, that are to-day gratified to their
fullest extent; there is no desire of your heart, there is no feeling of your
soul, that cannot be satisfied legitimately and consistently with your nature
in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know how you were, those of you who
embraced the Gospel in Babylon—you know how you were when the Gospel found you;
there was, to quote a familiar expression, an aching void within you. There
were desires of your soul, or of your spirit, which could not be gratified by
the chaff and husks fed unto you by the so-called teachers of the day; there
were aspirations for knowledge, for truth, and for God, that nothing could
satisfy; you sought in vain for their gratification; you searched on the right
hand and on the left, you inquired here and there, but you could not get the
knowledge you needed; there was no one who could give you the satisfaction you
yearned after; but no sooner did you hear the truth, no sooner did you hear the
sound of the everlasting Gospel, and the voice of a man endowed with the
Priesthood, than you felt that you had found the pearl of great price, you felt
that the desire of your heart was about to be gratified, and that if this
religion proved true, if these statements and testimonies could be relied upon,
then that which you had so long sought for and desired was within your grasp.
Men may
strive to repress these yearnings and desires after knowledge, as priests and
teachers do today throughout the earth; they may ridicule and deny their
existence, but there is that within us, as children of God, which speaks louder
and has more force, potency, and effect than the traditions of our fathers or
the teachings of our former priests and teachers ever had; there is the voice
of nature, there is the voice of heaven in our hearts, which calls for
revelation from God, which calls for knowledge, which calls for certainty,
which calls for something that is tangible and that can be relied upon, and
which man with his man-made systems and with his fooleries, cannot gratify nor
supply by any means in his power. We hear men constantly talk about the
delusion that exists here, and about the folly of men seeking for revelation
and knowledge from God. The man must be an idiot who talks so; he who makes
such assertions does not understand the human character. If he had studied
himself he would have seen that there was something within himself which claimed
more than that which man can give—that there was a voice within him which
demanded and called loudly for truth—tangible, reliable truth—something that
could be understood and that came from God. If this were not so, why do we see
so many men running hither and thither after knowledge, after spirit-rappers,
astrologers, fortune tellers, and phrenologists, to tell them their fortunes
and reveal something relating to the future; they will do anything that will
give them any idea of their future. These may be the perversions of the
feeling, yet you see the manifestations of this want cropping out in various
forms all over the earth, among every people, and even among the heathen. When
it is not governed by truthful principles, it is found running astray, and leading
men and women astray who are guided by it.
Wherever
human nature exists, there is found a desire for the knowledge of truth, a want
of that which pertains to God and to eternity, and this want or desire cannot
be repressed. There is no power on earth that can repress it; men's traditions
may stifle it; but when the spirit is allowed to operate freely and
unrestrained, it breaks through all these barriers, and brushes aside these
cobwebs to seek for truth—pure truth as it comes from the Eternal; and when it
once obtains a taste from the fountain of truth, and can drink freely, it is
refreshed, and the one great desire of the heart is satisfied. This is as it
has been with us, my brethren and sisters; hence the contentment that prevails
through our valleys and settlements; hence the peace that is to be observed in
our families. Peace broods over Zion; there is life and buoyancy in the hearts
of the children of Zion. Why is this? It is because we have received that which
we have desired; because we are living in harmony with the laws of our being;
it is because the wants of our nature are being gratified through the Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ. If there be any among us who are not satisfied, if there
be any among us who are wandering hither and thither, looking for something
that they do not have, they are the ones who have committed sin and
transgression; they are the ones who have grieved the Spirit of God; they are
the ones who have forfeited their claims upon God for his Spirit and his love,
and they go with their souls unsatisfied, seeking for contentment but finding
it not. If there be any among us who are thus seeking, they form a class that
is distinct from the faithful, humble Saints of God who live their religion and
work righteousness.
It should
be a cause of thanksgiving and gratitude with us that God, our Heavenly Father,
in the abundance of his goodness and mercy has revealed unto us his everlasting
Gospel; that in his kindness he has sent his Holy Angels from the heavens, with
the truth, and the power, and authority to administer the truth, and the
ordinances pertaining to the truth, unto the inhabitants of the earth. Yes, God
in his mercy has visited our planet, where darkness reigned, where confusion
and ignorance had spread their dread consequences, and all were like the blind
groping for the wall, when the voice of God sounded from the heavens and broke
the long silence that had existed for so many generations. Brother Brigham has
said that, in his young days, when he looked at the inhabitants of the earth he
was reminded of an ant hill in a state of excitement, with the ants running
hither and thither without aim or purpose. Now, this was the condition of
ourselves and fathers when the sound of the everlasting Gospel came to the
earth. The inhabitants of the earth were running hither and thither, and there
was no one to guide them, no one to control them, no voice to be heard among
the children of men saying with authority, "Here is the way, walk ye in
it;" there was none to say, "Thus saith the Lord;" not a voice
inspired of God, to be heard from pole to pole, from east to west; but all were
ignorant, all were confused, all were dark. But since the Gospel has been
restored, since it was received by Brother Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and preached
to the people, and they listened to the testimony of God, what a charge has
taken place in the character of some portion of the population of the globe
since that time.
There are
principles and qualities that have been and are being developed for the last
thirty-five years, that were supposed to have no existence among men; it was
supposed that they had disappeared, that they never would be restored again.
The key of knowledge through which the Apostles wrought such wonders in the
days in which they lived was no longer to be found among men; but as soon as
the Holy Priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith—for he received the power and
authority from heaven, and through him the principles of heaven were restored
to the earth—then what a change we behold! From the midst of the chaos that
existed, order has been produced; from the midst of the strife that everywhere
prevailed, union has been brought to light; from the midst of confusion and
war, peace has been established; and we see qualities developed now in the
midst of our fellow-men which we supposed never could have existed again. What
is this attributable to? Says one, "It is attributable to imposture and
delusion." So they said in the days of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;
but, let them say as they please, we enjoy these fruits; for, whereas we lived
in strife, we now live in peace; whereas we lived in confusion, we now live in
the midst of good order; whereas we lived in ignorance, we now live in the
midst of knowledge, we bask now in the light of eternity, in the rays of that
light which surrounds the throne of God our Heavenly Father, and our souls are
satisfied, and we can rejoice and be glad, and thank God from morning until
night for having bestowed upon us his everlasting truth. Why should it not be
so?
We are
taught to believe that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every
soul that believes. Salvation from what? "Oh," says one,
"salvation to our souls." It is the power of God unto salvation—the
salvation not only of our spirits, but of our bodies. In ancient days it saved
the Jews, the Greeks, and the Barbarians from error, from evil of various
kinds, and it will in like manner save us. In heaven, we believe, it produces
order, peace, and happiness; and we expect, when we leave here, to go to a
sphere where, under the influence of the Gospel, every good quality of our
nature will be developed. Why should we not receive, by the application of
those heavenly principles to us and our lives here on the earth, the same
results? They have produced them in days gone by, they are producing them now,
and will continue to produce them as long as we live in accordance with them.
Now, my
brethren and sisters, there is nothing left for us to do but to be faithful to
that which has been revealed unto us. The evidences which we have received are
of that character that we will be under the heaviest. condemnation unless we
live agreeably to the principles God has given unto us. We cannot plead, as
many can, that we are ignorant; we cannot make excuses of this kind, for we are
not ignorant; we are in the enjoyment of knowledge. We never went to prayer in
our lives, in secret, and supplicated God in faith for the blessings that we
needed, that we did not receive the desires of our hearts, and we arose from
our knees feeling that God was with us, and that his Spirit and power were near
unto us, and resting upon us. There never was a time, from the day that we
became Latter-day Saints to this day, that we have asked in humility and
meekness for any blessing and have had to arise from our knees dissatisfied and
empty; but we have always received those blessings that have been necessary for
us when we have asked in faith. What a blessed and glorious privilege is this!
When we are in trouble, in the midst of affliction, and harassed by our
enemies, we can go unto Him, who is the Author of our being, unto Him who
created all things, who has the power to control our enemies, and pour out our
souls in prayer and in supplication, and feel that the record has been made;
that the incense of our hearts has ascended acceptably unto God, and is
treasured up there, and held in remembrance by his Holy Angels in his presence.
What a glorious privilege is this that we have, as a people and as individuals,
no matter how bowed down in sorrow, no matter how deep the affliction that may
be around us, this is an unfailing source of strength that God has given unto us,
and to this may be attributed the wonderful preservations that we have
experienced from the beginning.
How
diligently our enemies have sought to destroy us, to destroy the Holy
Priesthood from the earth and kill the Lord's anointed! How often has it seemed
that they were just upon the point of closing upon us, when it seemed that no
earthly power that could be exerted could save us from destruction! To whom
shall we attribute these wonderful deliverances which we have experienced?
Shall we attribute them to mortal power? Oh, no; we have learned too well how
weak and futile is mortal power. But what is it attributable to? To the faith
that God has implanted in us through the revelation of the truth unto us. It is
attributable to his having rent the vail of darkness that has covered the earth
and revealed himself unto us. It is attributable to His having opened up. the
channel of communication between Himself and us. Yes, there is a channel of
communication between this people, the men and women who compose this people,
and the throne of our Father and God; and our prayers have ascended acceptably
in His ears, and they have been registered on high, and they will be answered
in their time. There never has been a prayer offered up in faith, meekness, and
humility, from the day this Church was founded until now, but has reached the
ears of the Lord, and is registered in His presence, and will be fulfilled,
sooner or later, upon the earth we inhabit, upon our posterity, and upon the
wicked who have afflicted us. Is not this a glorious consolation? Do not your
hearts swell with gratitude and thanksgiving to God when you reflect upon this?
It has been as a wall of strength surrounding us; it has been greater than the
munitions of rocks and the lasting hills that have been reared like a mighty
bulwark around our homes. The prayers of the faithful servants of God, which
have been exercised from the beginning in behalf of Zion, have been a tower of
strength. Shall we call ourselves Latter-day Saints, and fail to appreciate and
make a right use of the privileges and blessings which our God has given unto
us? If we do, we are unworthy of them; and if we continue to do so, the
privileges and the blessings which we may enjoy will be withdrawn from those
who do so and given to those who appreciate them, and who are more worthy of
them. You may depend upon that, as surely as you may depend that might will
come in the course of a few hours when the earth has performed its diurnal
revolution.
If I were
to ask you to-day, my brethren and sisters, what you would take for your
standing and your privileges as Latter-day Saints, is there anything that you
could name? Is there anything on earth that would be sufficient in your
estimation to induce you to barter off the standing you have in the Church of
God and the privileges you enjoy as members of his Church? There is nothing.
You would say, if the wealth of the world were to be laid at your feet in
exchange, you would spurn it as a thing of naught. But Satan does not tempt us
in that style; he knows better. He understands our nature more perfectly than
this. The experience he has gained in the past has enabled him to understand
the best way of approaching the human heart, how he can best beguile us and
insidiously lead us astray by temptations that are most effective. If a man who
was in the enjoyment of the Spirit of God one year ago had been told that
yesterday, on the 7th of October, a trifling temptation would, be presented to
him of a certain character (and that at the time he would think contemptible)
and he would yield to it, he would be astonished; he would scarcely believe it.
"What! will I barter the wealth that God has given me, the wealth of the
Gospel, the wealth of freedom which is contained in it? What! will I barter the
joy, peace, and happiness that I now have for so contemptible a temptation as
that? Will I do it? No; I will not." Yet the year passes away and the 7th
of October comes to hand, the temptation is presented, and the man who thought
himself so impregnable in the truth, and thought that he could not be tempted
and seduced from it, falls a victim, and to what? to the wealth of the world?
No; but to something that is so truly contemptible, mean, and low, that it is a
matter of astonishment to everybody who knows him how he could be overcome by
it.
By this
we see the power of Satan, the knowledge of Satan, and his cunning. He
understands the avenues through which he approach us best; he knows the
weaknesses of our character, and we do not know the moment we may be seduced by
him, and be overcome and fall victims to him. Our only preservation is in
living near to God, day by day, and serving him in faithfulness, and having the
light of revelation and truth in our hearts continually, so that, when Satan
approaches, we will see him and understand the snare that he has laid for us,
and we will have the power to say, "O no; God being my helper, I will not
yield to it; I will not do that which is wrong; I will not grieve the Spirit of
God; I will not deviate from the path that my Father has marked out for me; but
I will walk in it." Can we do this without the light of the Spirit? No; we
cannot see where the path upon which we have entered will lead to; we cannot
tell what the results will be; but when the light of the Spirit of God
illuminates our minds and we are enlightened by it, we plainly see the results;
and if we do not see them at the time, the Lord soon reveals them to us, and
shows us that if we continue to take that course we will grieve his Spirit and
fall victims to the adversary.
As I said
in the beginning of my remarks, there is wealth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ
of which we have little knowledge to-day. There is an eternity of truth and
knowledge, principle after principle, law after law, until every quality of our
nature, of that God-like nature which we have inherited from our Father and
God, shall be fully developed; until we shall be made capable of associating
with God and angels through eternity. The Gospel that has been revealed unto us
contains the principles that will bring this about. As we progress in it we
will receive additional knowledge, additional light and intelligence, and our
souls will be more and more satisfied. I rejoice exceedingly in this, I thank
my God for it, because my soul is satisfied in this Gospel, and I know it would
not have been anywhere else. I know there is every good thing for us if we will
live the religion of the Lord Jesus.
There is
this difference between God and Satan in the treatment of mankind. Satan is
perfectly reckless as to what the consequences may be of anything he may give
to the children of men. He will heap temptation upon temptation before them,
give them honor, riches, and position, and, if necessary, he will give them
revelation. What for? To damn them. He does not care anything as to what may
become of them; but he offers them all he can control without judgment or
discrimination. God does not do so. What is the course God has taken with us
from the beginning to the present time? Is there a parent in the congregation
who has watched as carefully over his children as God has over us? Is there a
parent in the congregation who has withheld improper blessings as carefully
from them as God has from us? He has watched over us tenderly and kindly,
giving us a blessing here and a blessing there, a revelation here and a
revelation there, a precept here and a precept there, as we could bear them,
developing our experience, and knowledge, and our wisdom, leading us gently and
safely in the path that will bring us into his presence. This is the difference
between God and Satan; but I can only give you a little idea of it. Our
Heavenly Father is a loving and a kind and beneficent Parent. He, himself, has
trod the path we are now treading. He is familiar with every step of the road,
with all the meanderings of this life; for he has had the experience in it. He
knows how to guide us and how to time his blessings to our wants; and when you
feel impatient and dissatisfied because he does not give you more than you now
have, and when you are afflicted and bowed down in sorrow and pain, let the
reflection enter into your hearts to comfort you, that our Father and God, our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, trod the path we are now treading, that there is
no affliction and sorrow that we are acquainted with, or can be, that the Lord
has not already had an experience in; and he knows our condition, he knows what
is good for us. If we need a gift and a blessing, he knows when to bestow it
upon us. This ought to comfort us; it ought to cause us to I rejoice and be
glad, and our hearts to be filled with thanksgiving continually before the Lord
our God for his abundant mercy and kindness unto us his children.
Can we
think of anything that would be good for us, or that we ought to possess, that
Satan can offer unto us, that we will not obtain if we are faithful? Will he
present unto us a good outfit by going to California or to any other place? If
we are only patient, and abide our time, and serve God faithfully, he will
bestow on us far more than that. There is no good thing that may be presented
to us that we cannot obtain in the Gospel. We may let our minds range over the
earth and think of the greatness and glory possessed by kings and potentates,
these things are all embraced in the Gospel as a reward for the Saints, who
will enjoy even greater blessings than these through their faithfulness. We
talk about kings and nobles, and we have admired their glory; but the day is
not far distant when there will be thousands of men in Zion holding more power,
and having more glory, honor, and wealth than the greatest and the richest of
the nobles of the earth. The earth and its fulness are promised unto us by the
Lord our God, as soon as we have the wisdom and experience necessary to wield
this power and wealth. Shall we not be patient, then, and diligent when we have
so much assistance given unto us? Shall we not plod unwearingly and
unmurmuringly forward in the path God has marked out for us, when we have the
help, the comfort, and the consolation which he gives us day by day?
We are
not working for that which is in the distance, and toiling for the reward that
is far removed, and that we have to look forward to; but we are receiving our
reward as we go along, even the rich blessings of heaven, day by day and hour
by hour, and we rejoice in them; and if we are houseless and friendless—that
is, so far as the world is concerned—we have within us a wealth of comfort and
joy that the world know nothing of; they cannot give it, they cannot take it
away, for it comes from God. Why should we not be encouraged, then, under these
circumstances? If the Latter-day Saints conduct themselves so as to receive
condemnation, their condemnation will be most severe, for they have light, they
have knowledge, they have blessings the superior of which no other people that
we have any account of ever received in the same length of time on the earth.
Well, I rejoice in these things. I do not wish to occupy your time any longer.
My prayer is, that God will bless you and us all, and enable us to appreciate
the great salvation he has committed unto us, for Christ's sake. Amen.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith in a highly interesting discourse treated on the first settlement of these valleys by the Saints, the difficulties to be overcome, the discouraging report of Fremont concerning this region, who said that nothing could grow in it the frost was so heavy in summer, the visible alteration in the climate since the Saints came here, and he manifest providence of the Lord over His people. He stated that for seven years he had never camped on the Sevier river in the summer but there was frost there, yet now there are fields of waving grain along the same river. Fruit grows here in abundance of excellent flavor and quality; yet in the once fine fruit raising districts of Western Virginia, around Nauvoo and Kirtland and other places where the Saints had once located, rust, mildew, worms and other causes were all but destroying the fruit. He showed that the "Mormons" had pioneered this western country; California is indebted to them for her glory; they discovered her gold mines, commenced the first settlement from the eastern States, made the roads for her emigrants and gold-hunters to travel over, and fed them on their journey. The Saints had established the first printing presses in Western Missouri, in Western Iowa, in Nebraska, in the Rocky Mountains and in California; they had broken a road across the vast plains and taught the traveling trains of emigrants how to pass through the Indian country in safety if they would only accept the teachings. He referred to newspaper reporters and, with some few honorable exceptions, to their tremendous capacity for lying; to a like disposition and capacity, well proven and established, manifested by certain Federal officers that had been sent here; and stated that we had done all that has been done in this Territory for educational purposes without aid or even a word of encouragement, while millions of dollars of government funds had passed into other States and Territories not any older than Utah for this purpose.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 15:66, 12/7/65, p 2; JD 11:176]
SYNOPSIS
Of remarks by Elder GEO. A. SMITH, delivered in the Bowery,
G. S. L. City, Oct. 8th, 1865.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
It is
somewhat of an undertaking to address so large an assembly. I bear my testimony
to the truth of the restoration of the everlasting Gospel and this Work which
God has commenced in these latter days.
It has
been the earnest desire of my heart, from the time I received the ordinance of
baptism in 1832, to be able to fulfil my duties as a Saint, and to perform
those things which were required of me as an individual—to watch over myself
and keep out of mischief; that I might be prepared, when my work is
accomplished on the earth, to inherit the blessings and glory of that King in
whose service I am enlisted. I presume that a large proportion of the Saints
have kept these things in mind, though I am astonished when I reflect
upon the great number with whom I have been acquainted that are not now to be
found, and of whom we have no report only that they have gone off this, that,
or the other way.
This
reminds us of the parable of the sower that went forth to sow, as described by
our Savior; some of the good seed fell among thorns, and they grew up and
choked it; some fell by the way side, and the fowl, gathered it up; some fell
upon stony ground where it had not much depth of earth, and it came up quickly,
and when the sun was up it was scorched and withered away; and some fell upon
good ground and brought forth thirty, sixty, and an hundred fold. This is the
substance of the parable, and the kingdom of God in the last days is certainly
very much like unto it.
Among the
great number who have entered into the fold of Christ, by baptism, few have
remained faithful to the present time. There were men among us whose hearts
were faint—who felt that it would not do to gather here, because, peradventure,
it was the greatest undertaking of any age. To attempt to settle a whole
people, situated as we were, in the midst of a howling desert a thousand miles
from supplies, was too great an undertaking in the eyes of many, and they dared
not risk it. It required faith, courage, energy, daring, and perseverance,
almost beyond description, to lead a people into the heart of the great
American desert and establish settlements. We now see travellers arrive here by
stage, who are proud of the achievement of having crossed the Rocky Mountains.
It required a people full of faith, energy, and devotion to the cause of God,
and a willingness to abide every counsel given by the servants of God, to come
here; and also required a large amount of faith, patience, energy, self-denial,
and long-suffering to stay when they got here.
I presume
it was over three years after we came before a score of men in the valleys ever
believed that an apple, peach, or plum could be grown here, and when the few
men who had the faith and the determination to set an example began to produce
their peaches, plums, and apples, and exhibit them, many opened their eyes with
astonishment. Who on the face of the earth would think that at an altitude of
four thousand four hundred feet above the level of the sea, and in latitude
nearly forty-one, and near the southern limit of the isothermal line, such
nicely-flavored, delicate fruit could be raised!
We came
to this land because it was so desert, desolate, and God-forsaken that no
mortal upon earth ever would covet it; but as Colonel Fremont reported that at
the mouth of Bear River, in the early part of August, his thermometer stood at
29° Fah., three degrees below freezing point, which would kill grain, fruit, or
vegetables, our enemies said "You Mormons may go there and welcome,"
chuckling to each other over what seemed to them our annihilation. We had been
driven several times; our homes had been devastated both in Missouri and
Illinois; we had been robbed of everything, and some came here with the little
that they gathered up from the smoking ruins of their habitations. The priests
sent compliments to each other rejoicing that those "Mormons" (who
had been making the people acquainted with the principles of the Gospel by
teaching them that the Bible meant what it said) had gone into the heart of a
desert, never more to be heard of, for the Indians would destroy and grim want
would consume them. The newspapers recorded the joy and gratification felt at
the utter end of "Mormonism." Governor Thomas Ford wrote as follows
in the title page of his History of Illinois:—"An account of the rise,
progress, and FALL of Mormonism." Notwithstanding, however, the many
drawbacks and difficulties encountered in the shape of drouth, crickets, grass
hoppers, and the cold, sterile climate, the Spirit of the Lord was hovering
over the Great Basin; as linguists tell us the Spirit of the Lord brooded over
the face of the waters anciently, so it brooded over the Great Basin and the
climate became genial and soft. I never was at the crossing of the Sevier river
in summer, for seven years after our settlements in Iron county had been
established, without experiencing frost; and now the Soviet valley produces
luxuriant fields of grain and vegetables in the season thereof, in every place
where the water has been taken out from the mouth of that river to the head of
it, nearly nine thousand feet above the level of the sea. Who has done this?
God and the Saints have done it! The Saints have had faith and walked over the
land with the Holy Priesthood upon them and blessed and dedicated it to the
Lord, and have labored according to the counsels of God, and the work has been
accomplished.
To have
told the Mountaineers ten years ago that grain could be raised in the upper
valleys of the Weber, where they encountered heavy frosts every month in
summer, would have incurred their ridicule; but the genial influence of the
Spirit of the Almighty has softened the rigor of the climate, and the
flourishing counties of Morgan and Summit are the result.
In 1853,
an expedition went out from Provo city after some Indians that had stolen
stock. They went up the Provo river and encamped near where the city of Heber
now stands, in the middle of summer. On their return they reported to me that
they were nearly frozen, and that much of the wild vegetation was killed by the
severity of the weather, and that it would be useless ever to attempt to raise
grain there. I suppose that Provo valley, this season, with all its losses,
will raise not less than thirty thousand bushels of grain and vegetables. With
a little reflection we can readily perceive that the Lord God of Israel has
blessed these mountains and valleys, which have been dedicated and set apart by
His servants for the gathering together of His people and the establishment of
His latter-day work upon the earth.
Go to
Pottawattamie, Iowa; Nauvoo, Illinois; or Kirtland, Ohio, and ask for apples
and peaches, and you will find them few and far between. In February, 1857, I
visited my former field of labor in Western Virginia, and inquired of an old
friend for fruit; his reply was, "My peach trees are all killed, and I
have not been able to raise any peaches for six years." Have you any good
apples? "Not an apple that is fit to eat; our trees are all diseased, and
many of them have perished." This condition of things was very general. It
is so wherever the Saints have lived and been driven away—their glory has
departed to return no more, until the land is dedicated and consecrated to God
and occupied by the Saints.
We had to
produce the necessaries of life from the ground, for we had not the means to
send abroad eleven hundred miles to purchase. In a short time after the
Pioneers settled this country, some twenty-five thousand pilgrims to the land
of gold passed through this Great Basin; a large portion of them came here
destitute, and they are indebted to the inhabitants of these settlements for the
preservation of their lives.
California
is indebted to the Latter-day Saints for its present greatness. We opened its
gold mines, explored its country, explored and made the three principal roads
leading there, and ran the first ship load of American emigrants into the port
of San Francisco, then called Yerba Buena. We are the men that developed the
resources of the Pacific Coast, and then we fed those tens of thousands passing
through to that land, who would have starved and perished on the deserts had we
not provided them with bread while they travelled the roads we made, to go to
the mines.
The
passengers on board the ship Brooklyn not only brought to the Pacific Coast
their valuable library, but a printing press, which they established at Yerba
Buena—now San Francisco, and from which was issued the California Star in
1847-8. We are the Pioneers of the great West. The Latter-day Saints
established the first printing press in Western Missouri, the Evening and
Morning Star, published at Independence in 1832-3, and the Upper
Missouri Advertiser, in 1833, by W. W. Phelps. After the destruction of the
printing office by the mob, the press was removed to Liberty, and was for years
used to print the only newspaper printed west of Booneville, Mo., excepting the
Elder's Journal, published for a short time in Far West.
We were
the Pioneer settlers of Western Iowa, making the road and bridging the streams
from the vicinity of Keeosaqua to the Missouri river, nearly three hundred
miles. We established the first paper at Council Bluffs, published by Elder
Orson Hyde, entitled the Frontier Guardian, in 1848-9 and 50.
The Omaha
Arrow, published by Joseph E. Johnson, was the first paper published in
Nebraska, who subsequently published the Huntsman's Echo at Wood river.
We
introduced the culture of wheat and fruit in Western Missouri and Iowa,
improved agriculture in California, and developed the resources of these
mountains, making the roads and showing men how to travel them safely.
While all
this has been done for our country, and we have comparatively tamed the savage
and held in check his wild and blood-thirsty nature, that the inhabitants of
the world could travel across the deserts without being robbed and murdered, we
have been the subject of vile scandal, simply because our religious views were
different from those of the hireling clergy who occupy the pulpits of
Christendom. We taught that men should preach the Gospel without purse or
scrip—preach it freely; and a man who depended upon a congregation for a salary
by which to obtain his black coat and fit-out, was ready to denounce preaching
without purse and scrip as a heresy; why? Because it would reduce him to the
necessity of going to some useful calling, instead of making merchandise of the
Gospel, which God has made free. It endangered his bread and butter; and thus
priestcraft has raised a constant howl that the Mormons were leagued with the
Indians. Why? Because we crossed the plains and the Indians did not rob us. The
reason the Latter-day Saints crossed the plains and the Indians did not rob
them was, they organized their companies, camped in order, kept up guards,
treated the Indians with kindness and respect, seeking no quarrel with them,
and passed right along. When the Indians look down from the hills on one of our
trains and see it camped, they know it is a "Mormon" train; they see
a nice corral, and a guard out with the cattle who are carefully attending to
their duty. When they come up they get a kind word. When night comes the "Mormons"
kneel down to pray; they do not blaspheme the name of God. The Indians see all
this and conclude not to interrupt that company, for they might get hurt—the
"Mormons" having always provided their companies with sufficient arms
for protection. That is the way the Latter-day Saints travel through these
mountains uninterrupted. How is it with others? They would organize a company
on the frontiers, travel a while in that condition, quarrel who should be
captain, and divide into five or six squads; and by the time they got to the
Sierra Nevada there would be only two families together, and they would divide
their wagon and make it into two carts, and separate, if they were not afraid
of the Indians. This way of scattering presents a temptation to the red men
which is really very hard for them to resist, for these plains cannot boast of
being safer than the streets of New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, where
millions are expended to pay police to guard and protect the property and lives
of white men from the depredations of white men.
We can
but have a deep feeling of sympathy when we realize the grievous afflictions
that have befallen our common country. We look at the cause. When the
Latter-day Saints organized their first settlements in Missouri—when they
undertook to lay the foundation of Zion, although there was no charge which
could be brought against them for violating any law, constitutional or moral,
yet, because they introduced a new system of religion, the hireling clergy, the
priestcraft of the world, arose against them to destroy them. As Governor
Dunklin, of Missouri, said, "There are ample provisions in the
Constitution and laws of the State to protect you, but the prejudice is so
great among the people against you, that it is impossible to enforce these laws."
There is a great deal said about the origin of the trouble between the North
and the South; some said it was the almighty negro; but the fact is, the people
did not respect the Constitution of our country; for the Latter-day Saints were
driven in violation thereof from Jackson County to Clay, and from Clay to
Caldwell and Davis counties, and then from the State of Missouri to Illinois,
and from Illinois to the Rocky Mountains, robbed and plundered of their
property, their women ravished, their leaders murdered, and there was not a
solitary man arose to enforce the laws or the Constitution in our defence. When
the President of the United States was applied to, all he would say was,
"Your cause is just, but we can do nothing for you." As soon as the
Saints had found a shelter in the Rocky Mountains, this feeling of lawlessness
went rampant throughout the Union. Men despised the statutes and the laws with
which they were bound, and it was mob upon mob, army against army, until the
whole country has been deluged in blood and craped in mourning. When will the
nation repent of these follies and maintain those institutions God has
introduced for the perfection of mankind P When will they hold the Constitution
sacred and inviolable, and seek no longer to prostitute it for the destruction
of the innocent? Until this is done they may expect to see sorrow and woe,
which will increase upon their heads until they shall repent.
Brethren,
we should consider these things within ourselves. We commenced to make our
settlements here under these circumstances, and here we have found a shelter.
It has been a home for the oppressed, and a shelter to everybody that desired
rest. The weary traveller has had a chance here to refresh himself and enjoy
the blessings that are to be enjoyed in these valleys, and no man's rights have
ever been trampled upon.
It is
true we have had a species of animals pass through here that Alfred Cumming, in
imitation of General Zachary Taylor, used to call "Camp poicks,"
newspaper reporters, who, Cumming declared, prostituted not only the body but
the soul, by selling themselves for a penny-a-line to lie; publishing their
lies to the world as scandal upon the heads of the Saints. They come here and
drink of the mountain water, partake of fine potatoes, and turnips, and
luscious strawberries, and feast upon the fruits of the valleys—the products of
our industry—and then go off and defame the people, and try to get armies sent
here to destroy the Saints. We care very little about these things; but when that
species of animals appear among us, we look upon them as we do upon a serpent;
we calculate they intend to bite, and all we ask of them is, to do as they
generally have done, tell such big lies that nobody in their right senses can
believe them.
We have
had another class of animals in the shape of Federal Officials. We have had
fifty-eight of them, part of whom came here and conducted themselves like
gentlemen; but we have had one thing always to consider, with one or two
exceptions—very honorable ones,—they have scarcely ever sent anybody here that
could get a place anywhere else. If they could get an appointment in any other
Territory, or a magistracy in the District of Columbia, or a clerkship in a
Department, or the appointment of a weigher or gauger in the Custom House, they
would never come to Utah. Coming to Utah was the last thing and the last place
for a man perfectly desperate for the want of an office. As the Secretary of
State said when he sent Perry E. Brochus here to be judge, he had to send him
somewhere to get him "out of the way;" and when he would not stay
here, he was immediately sent to New Mexico.
We have
generally known what the qualification of men was, and understood it precisely
when they came. Their qualification generally was that they had performed some
dirty work for some successful politician. A few that have come here have done
as well as they knew how, with a mediocrity of talent—that is, if they had
bright talents they seldom displayed them; and the majority of them come in
here, open their eyes (putting one in mind of chickens just come through the
egg-shell, when they get a sight of the light for the first time), and exclaim,
"There are awful things here ] tremendous things here!" and they
begin to make reports, and print and publish them, go off to California and
write for a year in succession there, drawing their salaries to report how
things are in Utah. All these things we have had to encounter; but our
industry, our economy and prudence, our loyalty, and our firm and determined
adherence to the Constitution of the United States, have carried us through the
whole of it.
The
administration of President Buchanan brought the power of the Government to
bear against us. The traitor, General A. S. Johnston, was sent with what was
then called by Secretary Floyd the best appointed army that was ever fitted out
by this Government since its formation. General Scott issued orders to keep the
troops massed and in hand, the supply trains to be kept with the main body of
the army. The newspaper press of the country asserted that this army was to
cause the blood of the Elders and Saints to flow in the streets of Great Salt
Lake City. The mails being stopped, and the ordinary sources of communication
closed, it was supposed the "Mormons" would be ignorant of the
movements until the army came upon them like a thunder cloud. The Governorship
was tendered to a number who were unwilling to come out with a formidable army,
but were willing to come without. Benjamin McCullough, of Texas, declined the
honor on the ground that a confirmed old bachelor ought not to interfere with
polygamy. Colonel Alfred Cumming accepted the office, and his appointment was
hailed with general acclamation by the enemies of Utah, as he was considered a
man of desperate character, who had on one occasion compelled even Jeff. Davis
to apologize. When Governor Cumming arrived here and investigated the matter,
he was satisfied that the Administration had been duped, and he made official
reports to Washington that the charges against the Saints were totally
unfounded, and the Administration let the whole matter fizzle out, and Uncle
Sam, the generous old gentleman, had to submit to his pocket being picked to
the tune of about forty millions of dollars—the cost of the Utah expedition.
The lies
upon which the Administration had acted were, that we had driven the judges
from the country, had burned the Utah Library and the records of the courts of
the Territory. When the matter was investigated it was discovered that the judges
had gone off to the gold mines, where they could get some feet, or on
other speculations, where they stayed until their time was out, not forgetting,
however, to draw their salaries. The Library and court records, never having
been disturbed, were found all right.
I have
been truly astonished at the character and conduct of a large portion of the
Government officials we have been brought in contact with. One of them,
Governor Harding, was presented by the grand jury of the 3rd Judicial District
of the United States Court as a nuisance, and he was removed by Mr. Lincoln's
Administration immediately after.
Whenever
a bill is presented before Congress to benefit the people of Utah in any way,
it is generally referred to a committee, and there it dies. What is the reason?
There is not a man in either House of Congress that dares to record a vote
calculated to favor the people of Utah, for the mass of the inhabitants here
are "Mormons." It is admitted that we have established ourselves in
the desert under the most trying circumstances, making a half-way house for
travellers between the Mississippi and the Pacific, rendering it safe to
establish mail and telegraph lines; but the member who would record a vote in
favor of this people in any way, the first thing he would hear would be his
denunciation in every pulpit of his district by the black-coated gentry, and
that would make his political grave. I sympathize with that class of men, as
many of them otherwise would be willing to extend the same privileges, donations
of land to settlers, means to erect public buildings, open highways, and
sustain schools, as to other Territories.
We have
never had one dollar from any source to aid in the cause of education. We have
built our school houses, hired our school teachers, paid the school bills for
our poor—have done everything that has been done in education, without one
dollar of encouragement from the parent Government. I have been astonished at
this. I suppose it is the policy of the Government to extend the facilities of
education, but it has not been done here; not one solitary dime has been
received by Utah, while millions upon millions have gone into the treasuries of
other states and Territories for school purposes from the Federal Government.
This is
the freest people on the face of the earth. By a faithful observance of the
laws and Constitution of our country, and by obedience to the principles of our
holy religion, we can enjoy the greatest amount of freedom.
The
foundation has been laid, and the building will be erected upon it. God is at
the helm, and no power can destroy his kingdom.
May God
bless us, and enable us to fulfill our high destiny, is my prayer, in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Singing by the Logan and Providence choir. Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
[8 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 15:5, 10/12/65, p 8]
2 p.m.
By the hour for commencing service the immense bowery was crowded in every part, great numbers being compelled to go away, unable to find standing room within hearing of the speakers.
Singing by the Smithfield choir. Prayer by Pres. Joseph Young. Singing by Spanish Fork choir. Tabernacle choir sang "Children of Zion."
[Pres. D. H. Wells]
Pres. D. H. Wells referred to his recent mission to Europe, and to the ignorance that prevails in the world concerning God and the principles of truth. He had taken pleasure in speaking of Utah and the blessings of peace, plenty and liberty enjoyed by the Saints here, in various nations where he had traveled. Spoke of the protection extended to all religious parties in Britain, and of the growth of infidelity among the intelligent people because of the glaring inconsistences of the various sects of professing christians. He continued in a very instructive discourse on various principles of the gospel, sustaining his reasoning by numerous quotations from the Bible.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 15:82, 12/21/65, p 2; JD 11:182]
REMARKS.
By President DANIEL H. WELLS, General Conference, Bowery,
G. S. L. City, Oct. 8th 1865.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
It is
with joy and satisfaction indescribable to myself that I enjoy the privilege,
brethren and sisters, of standing before you at this Conference this afternoon.
It is
known to a great majority of you that I have been to Europe on a mission. I am
glad that I have been to that country, and that I have been permitted to return
to these valleys again. Whether I go away or return is all one to me, inasmuch
as I am called to act in the Church and kingdom of God; and where the Lord
appoints me to act is where I wish to be; that is my place and position, and it
is my delight to be subservient unto the call, and unto the counsel of those
who hold the authority to dictate in the Church and kingdom of God. If I know
myself, that is the place I wish to occupy at all times and on all occasions,
and it gives me great satisfaction if I can fill that that place, and perform
the mission and duties required of me to perform, in that way that shall be
pleasing to them and unto my Father in heaven; for if I please them I shall
please Him, and if I please Him I shall please them.
I feel
grateful for the privilege of being a member of the Church and kingdom of God,
and of being willing to do his bidding and abide the counsels of his servants.
I feel happy in this calling, and to be associated with a people whose bosoms
beat responsive with mine in regard to the great principles of the Gospel of
salvation which has been revealed in these days for the guidance of the
children of men upon the earth, that all people may avail themselves of these
privileges and principles the same as we have done, if they choose it. They
have this option within themselves, to obey and walk in the ways of life and
salvation or to reject them; they can do as they please when the principles of
salvation are made known unto them; they have their agency, and inasmuch as
they will adopt them, they can enjoy the privileges which we now enjoy, and
they cannot obtain them upon any other principle. As we have heard this
morning, everything that is worth having we can obtain through the principles
of the Gospel, and they are for the people of God.
The whole
world, we may say, have gone a whoreing after other gods, and they worship not
the God of Israel, the true God. They do not know Him, nor do they take the
pains to know Him whom to know is life eternal, as we read in the Scriptures.
What can the world tell you about Him? Nothing; they do not know Him. How are
we to learn God whom to know is eternal life? We learn to know Him through the
principles of the Gospel. He is revealed to man through the authority of the
Holy Priesthood, which has been established among the children of men through
the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to His servants. What did we know
about Him who is our Father, previous to receiving this latter-day Work? Could
we tell anything about the relationship that existed between God and his
children? anything about the object of God in bringing man upon the earth? We
knew nothing about this nor about the laws which should govern and control him
to bring him to exaltation in the presence of God. In ignorance of these great
principles, mankind come upon the earth, they live and they die. They do not know
how to subserve the purposes of the Almighty in their own being, how to
accomplish the object of their creation and the end of their being on the
earth. They cannot learn the things of God without the Spirit of God. I have in
my own feeble way tried to teach the people concerning the things of
God, to teach them who God our Heavenly Father is, or in other words, the ways
of eternal life, and the relationship which exists between God and man; to
teach them those principles which will subserve their being on the earth while
they tarry here, and the laws which the Almighty has revealed for them to obey.
I have borne a faithful testimony to the children of men, so far as I have had
the power, while I have been on my mission, and have endeavored to do what good
I could whenever an opportunity presented itself. But I have often times felt
as though the people did not wish to know the things I had to teach them, and
that they might as well be left with their idols. I have felt that my testimony
has rebounded back upon me, for they cared not to know the things of God. The
world treat the revelations of God to Joseph Smith in the last days as
an idle dream. They do not care to investigate it because they think it is a
humbug and beneath their notice; they treat it with contumely and disrespect;
they are united almost universally in rejecting it, in passing it by, while the
kingdom of God is actually transpiring upon the earth, and before the face and
eyes of the whole world, and they mark it not; they have eyes and cannot see,
ears and cannot hear, hearts and cannot comprehend nor understand, or if they
do understand, will not obey the truth, but they will reject it. But does this
conduct make it any less true? No, my good friends, No.
We read
in the good book that "strait is the gate and narrow is the way which
leads to eternal life, and few there be which find it." If the world wish
to be saved in the kingdom of God, let them take heed to the words of his
servants that are abroad in the earth, for they have the authority of the Holy
Priesthood, the authority of heaven; the angel of God has come and restored the
Gospel to the earth in these last days, and we know it, and feel able to hear
this testimony to all the world, and it has already gone as it were upon the wings
of the morning to all the world. Let the people reject it if they can afford to
do so; we know they cannot afford to reject it; it is the most expensive thing
they ever rejected; they had better receive it if they knew what would be for
their best good. The authority of the Holy Priesthood is here upon the earth,
and all people can avail themselves of it if they think proper to do so. Why do
not the world do it? That, however, is their own affair: if we are faithful and
acquit ourselves as men of God, we thereby clear ourselves of the blood of this
generation. The communication has been opened up between the heavens and the
earth. Do you know it, Latter-day Saints? You do. Do the world know it? They
may if they will take the proper course to put themselves in possession of this
knowledge, but they do not care to know it; they are like the blind that are
led by those who are blind, and they will all fall into the ditch together.
I have
felt a pride in speaking to the people in different nations and countries, of
telling them that there is a place where good men may gather together, where
men and women of integrity dwell, where the rights of all men are protected;
that there is a place upon the footstool of God where the rights of mankind can
be enjoyed and respected, where all can have the liberty of worshiping God
according to the dictates of their conscience; that there dwells a people who
are for God: there the earth has been reclaimed and is being brought in
subjection to the rule of the God of Heaven, and the predominating feeling is
for God. I have felt proud in hearing this testimony, and pointing my finger to
Utah, where good men and women may dwell in peace, and where good order and
good government prevail, and the people are in subjection to Heaven's rule. Who
is doing this? You, Latter-day Saints. Where else can such a thing be found?
Nowhere. Abroad in the world evil influences predominate everywhere, but here
it is not so. Not but that there is evil here, more or less: I expect to find
it. If it were not mingled up with the people of God, then the wheat and the
tares would not grow together until harvest, as the parable of the Savior
plainly intimates would be the case, and this would supply grave reasons
against it being the Church and kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is like
unto a net cast into the sea which gathers both good and bad. I expect this is
the characteristic of the Church of God here; but still, the predominating
influences are for God, the great majority of the people are submitting
themselves to high Heaven's rule, and seeking with all their might to establish
the kingdom of God upon the earth, and it is extending abroad, lengthening its
cords and strengthening its stakes. It is a great blessing to live in such a
place as this; a great blessing to be a citizen of the Church and kingdom of
God upon the earth, and to hail from Zion. The world may treat you with
contempt, but let them laugh who wins; and who will win if the Latter-day
Saints do not?
The world
are in ignorance with regard to the principles that will save mankind; they do
not know of any principles that will save any portion of mankind either here or
hereafter—they do not know how to save themselves. They have a pretty good
government in England, and I like that country pretty well for a great many
things. You can go there and bear your testimony, and tell the truth, and be
protected by the laws of the country; you can do that without being exposed to
much danger of being mobbed, as the Latter-day Saints have been in this
country, although there is some opposition; but the people stand in fear of the
administrators of the law, because they will administer it even in protection
of the Latter-day Saints. It is a nice little island, the island of Great
Britain; and there dwell upon it a great many good, warm-hearted people, and I
love them. There are a great many people there who are trying to know the ways
of eternal life, and they will treat the ministers of salvation with more
respect than in many other countries. I am glad to be associated with such a
people.
There are
many persons who belong to the Church in foreign countries who would be glad to
be gathered with the people here, and there are many who, although they do not
belong to the Church and kingdom of God, still feel to realize and know that
there is something necessary to be done. They have no confidence in the
organized systems of religion of the present day. They can see no consistency
in them, and suppose that everything in the shape of religion is a humbug.
"Mormonism" has sprung up in the same age, and they condemn it
without examination as being, like all the rest, nothing more than an idle
dream. Talk to them about revelation; yes, they have false revelations, and if
they have false revelations and false spirits, does it prove that there are no
true ones? The very reverse is the fact, and they would find true revelation
and true spirits if they would only seek for them in the right way.
We, as
Latter-day Saints, have cause to be thankful that we have found out the way of
eternal life, because we have had the blessed privilege of living in this day
and age of the world in which the Gospel of salvation has been revealed for the
guidance of the children of men; that we have been recipients of that knowledge
which leads to eternal life and salvation in the presence of God; that we have
been gathered out from the world that we may not partake of her abominations
and of the plagues which are to come upon her; that this land has been
consecrated and dedicated to God; that it has been held for the Latter-day
Saints to occupy, to plant, and build, and inhabit, and that in consequence of
this the land has been made to bring forth for the sustenance of His people who
have been gathered out from where the wicked rule and the people mourn.
Those who
have embraced the Gospel in foreign lands sigh for deliverance, and the hope of
this deliverance is the only ray of light that burns in their souls, and that
gives them joy; although they live with their whole lives oppressed, this beam
of gladness has found its way into their souls through the principles of the
Gospel, and hence they are less oppressed in their feelings than many others. A
hope springs up in their bosoms that the time will come for their deliverance
from the oppression under which they groan. Many of you have been delivered
from those bonds, and from that oppression. You may have suffered poverty and
sickness, and been afflicted in many ways, and perhaps have found things
different than what you anticipated in many respects in this your newly adopted
country, yet you have been delivered from a land where oppression reigns, and
have been placed in a land of liberty—in a country where you can expand and
grow, where you can plant your children with a hope that they may rise to
importance in the kingdom of God, to something beyond what you and your
forefathers have been enabled to do in the land where you have formerly lived,
that you and your offspring may dwell where virtue, peace, and industry may
meet with their reward.
How is it
in many of those old countries with the poor?—and it is with this class that we
have the most to do; for some cause, known perhaps best to Him that rules on
high, it is the poor who embrace the Gospel, who receive the Gospel, who receive
the message of good tidings, it is to them a theme of gladness and joy more
than to any other class of men. Hundreds and thousands of them are out of
employment, their stores gone, and they have no resources but what arise from
their daily labor, and they are on the borders of starvation. The dearth in
cotton has thrown thousands of people out of employment upon the cold charities
of the world. How is it here, saying nothing about religion? Here a man can get
a little land, and in a short time gather around him the necessaries of life
upon which he can subsist and let the world wag as it will; his condition is
improved, and he may hope to rise to wealth and influence. How is it there? Why
he may tread in the path in which his fathers trod, but can go no further—can
advance no higher in the scale of existence; if times are good he may subsist,
and that comfortably—I am speaking of the poor classes, those that the Gospel
most generally find, to them such a deliverance as the Gospel offers is glad
tidings of great joy, for they can plant themselves where their children can
rise above what their fathers have been. This is what many thousands of the
Latter-day Saints have accomplished by emigrating from that country to this,
and many more thousands will be benefited in the same way.
This is
only one of the benefits which the Gospel confers upon those who obey it; it
benefits man whenever it touches him, temporally and spiritually, religiously,
morally, and politically; it gives him an understanding of life; it teaches him
how to live and how to exalt his being to the standard of heavenly
intelligence; how to bring up his children and educate them in a proper manner,
and how to avail himself of the facilities and advantages which the sciences
and arts present to advance the purposes of the Almighty in the redemption of
the human race; teaching him not only how to live in time, but in all eternity;
giving him knowledge how to stand forth like a man of God in the world to
subserve His purposes.
The
Latter-day Saints have the most cause of any people on earth to rejoice
continually in Him who has bestowed upon them the proud position which they
occupy; for the authority of Heaven is here, and the wisdom of Heaven is here,
and you can find it nowhere else. I had the privilege of telling the people in
those old countries that the sanctuary of the Lord was not with them; but in
order to get the blessings necessary to qualify them to enter into the presence
of God, they would have to go to that place where the people of God are
abiding, where they shall be strengthened and become even a great and mighty
nation; and I thank God that there is a people on the earth that can no longer
be ignored by the great and mighty of the earth, for they have attained a
standing and a position that must be respected. They may ignore this people if
they think they can afford to do it, and we can afford to wait and see the
purposes of the Almighty roll forth on the earth better than any other people
can, because we are on the safe side; we have more time to wait. If the wicked
knew when it is well with them, they would hasten to make their peace with the
Almighty, for his judgments are abroad upon the earth, and who can stay his
hand. They are upon the wicked, and they know and feel it.
The great
mass of mankind are ready to ridicule the people of God, they are ready to
ridicule his servants because they stand forth and declare that an angel of the
Almighty has come to restore the Gospel in its fullness, and that Joseph Smith
was called of God to be his Prophet; all this they say is nonsense, and they
reject it without inquiring into the reason why they reject it. If they can
afford to do this, we can afford to live our holy religion and bear their
contumely and reproaches better than they can afford to give them. Such abuse
hardly ruffles my feelings, if they will only keep their hands off; and if
there is any danger of violence of that sort, we shall be apprised of it; there
is not much danger in them, that is, unless they can take you by surprise. If
the Latter-day Saint is on his guard, panoplied with the armor of
righteousness, he may walk through the earth without being molested, because
the Spirit of the Almighty will show him where the danger lies, and he can Ward
it off; and wisdom will be given him to absent himself from those places where
danger is and turn away in another direction. Wisdom will be given him also
what to say and what to do under every circumstance. The great evil that besets
the path of the Saints is when they depart from the principles of eternal truth
and rectitude, and betray their trust; for this they place themselves in the
power of the enemy; and this they do when they are asleep, not when they are
wide awake, and they are led little by little until they make shipwreck of
their faith and go headlong to the devil, which they would not do while walking
in the ways of righteousness. Have I felt that I have been in deadly peril?
Yes, many times, if the enemy could have had his way. Sometimes I have felt
like buckling on pistols, and at other times I would feel perfectly safe
without them. In my travels no man has had the temerity to come up to my face
and insult me; but I have heard the grinding of their teeth; I have heard what
they would say to me addressed to somebody else.
As I have
already said, I cannot express to you the feelings of joy and gladness which
pervade my whole soul upon my return home, and to meet with so friendly a
people; you cannot imagine what big feelings it gives me to have the privilege
of meeting with the Saints in this and in other countries. Wherever I meet the
Saints I feel that I always have known and been with them. Why is this? Because
they have partaken of the same Spirit that I possess, and it runs from soul to
soul like oil, or like water, or electricity, pervading each and every Saint
wherever I have met them in any country. It is good when you are far distant
from Zion to meet a people who will receive you with such a spirit and feeling.
It is different now to what it has been with some of the Elders who have gone
forth to preach the Gospel in the early days of the Church, when they found
none to receive them possessed of a kindred spirit. After they had made known
the message of heaven and found a people willing and glad to receive it, they
soon found friends, and they found the same friends I found, namely, an
honest-hearted people in ignorance with regard to the principles of life and
salvation; they have been made acquainted with those principles, and there are
many others who have not yet been made acquainted with them, although the
Gospel has reached the ears of many of the inhabitants of the earth, and we
have established ourselves in the earth as Latter-day Saints—the sons of God—in
other words the Almighty has established his Church and kingdom on the earth
with the authority thereof, and it is no longer to be ignored by the people of
the world; it is a fixed fact.
I do not
know what they will do next, but I expect they will be found trying to do their
utmost against it. I do not look for anything else. The Latter-day Saints
expect to do a great work when they seek to dig down the hill of error which
has accumulated for six thousand years on the earth; this they expect to do
with the Gospel and by the blessings of God and his power assisting them, and
so continue their labor until the earth is redeemed and brought back again to
its pristine glory and perfection, and the kingdom of God rules and
predominates all over its face, and the power of the wicked be essentially
broken, and law and good order prevail everywhere, and men learn war no more.
These may appear high-swelling words, and they may appear absurd to the
millions of the earth. It does not matter to me how absurd they look, the facts
in the case remain the same; all these things will be fulfilled in the own due
time of the Lord; this Work has already commenced and is now transpiring before
the face and eyes of all men. It is not done in a corner, but before the whole
world in the tops of the mountains; our light is not hid under a bushel, but it
is set upon a hill, that all the world may see it. The truth of the Almighty is
being made known in these last days, and it is a mighty testimony to the
people, and they will be sorry if they do not take heed to it. There cannot be
a greater testimony to the world than the living existence of this people in
the tops of the Rocky Mountains, and all people can see it.
I rejoice
in this work; let it roll forth and my heart is glad. I feel proud to be
associated with such a people; I feel proud that such a people exist; I feel
glad and rejoice exceedingly in my soul, that I have lived in this day and age
of the world, and have the privilege of bearing this testimony to the nations,
and of becoming a citizen of the kingdom of God; of aiding to lay a foundation
to build upon for time as well as for eternity, that we may come forth in the
great hereafter and become associated with the Gods of eternity. What do the
world know about all this? Simply nothing.
I have
been absent from home about eighteen months; during that time I have attended
meetings in England among the different Conferences; I have been to Scandinavia
on a short visit, and have been engaged in the Office at Liverpool in the
publishing department a portion of my time. I felt exceedingly to rejoice in my
labors, and had pretty good health, for me, as a general thing; although I have
felt as though I could have done more if my health had been better. I felt to
regret that I could not do half as much as I wanted to do; this was the only
feeling of regret which accompanied me on my return. I have not accomplished
half as much as I would liked to have done. It seems a long way to travel,
considerable time spent in coming and going, for so short a mission, but with
me it is all right to go or to stay; so long as I am useful in the Church and
kingdom of God, it does not matter to me where my time is spent as long as I
live.
The joy
and gladness which I feel in meeting with my brethren again in this place is
inexpressible. Some of them have told me that they intended to give an
expression of their gladness at my return, and were disappointed at my entering
the city sooner than they expected I would. I will take the will for the deed;
the good feelings which prompted the wish to do that I think more of than any
manifestation or demonstration that might have occurred. I know there exists in
the bosoms of my brethren towards me a good and genial feeling that mingles
with the feelings in my own breast. I realize that I have the faith and prayers
of my brethren, and have realized their efficacy in many dangers, both by sea
and by land, while I have been travelling to preach the Gospel, while I have
been writing, while I have been afflicted in sickness, and while I have had
difficulties to overcome. In all these circumstances I have felt buoyed up by
that feeling which beats responsive in your hearts and my own. I have had the
benefit of your prayers and appreciate them; they have bean answered upon my
head, and this is a living testimony to me, also, that your prayers are heard,
and that you have learned how to approach God in an acceptable manner to find
favor in his eyes, and have your prayers answered. My health is much better;
the journey to Europe has done me good, and God has done it. This is His work,
and we are His people.
We talk
about having done this and that; but it is the Lord who has done it, and we are
merely instruments in his hands of accomplishing His purposes in the earth. It
is a great honor to be an instrument in the hands of God of establishing His
kingdom, and of bringing forth His purposes in the last days. The Saints are
based upon the eternal rock of truth and they will stand when the refuge of
lies is swept away; they are those who will be found wise in their generation,
and with oil in their lamps, and they will be the ruling and governing class of
mankind; they will possess the earth, and the kingdom under the whole heavens
will be given unto them.
If we
read the Bible we find that God has placed in His Church Apostles, Prophets,
Pastors, Teachers, gifts and blessings for the edifying of the Saints and the
work of the ministry, etc.; but the religious world in the 19th century say
that these are all done away; they are satisfied to read about what the
ancients enjoyed, and go hungry and naked themselves. When you go into an hotel
for dinner you read the bill of fare, and actually partake of the good things therein
noted. We should think a man either crazy or a feel who would read the bill
of fare and exclaim against eating the savory food it describes. The Bible
cannot ordain a person with authority to stand forth and obey himself and
administer the ordinances of the house of God to others. "No man taketh
this honor upon himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron;" and
how can a man be called of God as was Aaron without immediate revelation from
Him? If Jesus had to be baptized unto the baptism of repentance to fulfill all
righteousness, who else should be exempt? He went down into the waters and was
baptized, and the voice of God said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am
well pleased, hear ye him." He said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven."
This is recorded in the Bible which the Christian world acknowledge to be their
rule of faith. I exhort them to live to it. There is nothing said in the Bible
about sprinkling, and the word baptize means immersion, and the world may
quibble about it as much as they please. It is through these principles and
this administration from under the hands of the servants of God that we receive
the Holy Ghost, which will lead into all truth, and to an increase of knowledge
in the things of God; through this channel we learn to know God, whom to know
is eternal life. That Spirit which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world, causeth mankind to seek after the truth and to become anxious after
their eternal welfare, and to know about their hereafter. You may travel in
every country and you will find this feeling pervading mankind; for everybody,
except the infidel, worships at some shrine, and the infidel says there is no
God, and does not worship anything. The Scripture says, to know God is eternal
life. How can we know Him and learn Him? This is an important question for
Latter-day Saints as well as for others. How shall we learn to know the only
wise and true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. and know the relationship
that exists between Him and His children, and the purpose He had in bringing us
into this existence?
Let us
keep this our second estate, for having kept our first estate we have been
reserved to come upon this earth and obtain a tabernacle of flesh, pass through
this mortality and have the privilege of accomplishing the object and the
purpose of the Almighty in the organization of this earth. Let us be wise in
our day, and secure unto ourselves those blessings that are for us. Let us be
true and faithful, and full of that integrity which can look Heaven in the face
without a blush, clinging to the truth, and never swerving from it for a single
moment; and may God bless us and help us to do so is my prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Singing by the Ogden choir.
[Pres. B. Young]
Pres. B. Young, pointing to the vast congregation before him, said that all present would see the necessity of completing the New Tabernacle, and hoped that in one year from now we would be able to meet in it, when all could be accommodated with seats; and wished the people who might come to Conference to come feeling willing to remain a week or ten days or longer if the Spirit of the Lord so dictated. He called attention to certain items of doctrine touched upon by previous speakers, explaining various points. Speaking of God, he showed that He is a Spirit, but He is a personage of tabernacle -- of glorified tabernacle, - He is a spiritual, resurrected, glorified being. He instructed the Saints on legitimate authority, teaching that there is no potentate or ruler among the nations of the earth but exercises his authority and power upon an illegitimate basis; there is an authority upon the earth that is legitimate, but it is owned and recognized of God and is in accordance with the united feelings and expressed wish of the people governed. God formed and organized the earth, and His only is the right to rule.
Singing by the Logan and Providence choir: Prayer by Elder H. S. Eldredge.
[9 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 15:5, 10/12/65, p 8]
Monday, 9th, 10 a.m.
Conference assembled in the Tabernacle, the rain which had fallen during the night and which still continued to descend, rendering the Bowery unfit to meet in.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder A. M. Musser. Singing by the Logan and Providence choir.
Elder W. W. Phelps read the following original hymn, and related an anecdote.
THE SPIRIT.
_____
BY W. W. PHELPS.
_____
O bless us with that Spirit,
Whose form is like a dove:
That we may all do better,
And live in peace and love.
CHORUS
So, fill us with that wisdom
The world doth never know,
That we may please our Father,
In all our acts below,
Though Asia gropes in darkness,
Where virtue's lowly priced,
And christians sin in secret,
We'll honor Jesus Christ.
CHORUS,
Though Afric's colored servants
May lack celestial right,
We'll honor God in glory
An let the nations fight.
CHORUS.
Though millions serve the harlot
And sin in every breath;
We'll keep the Holy Spirit,
And shun the second death.
CHORUS
Sure, heav'n and hell hold
millions,
Yet let us save the crumbs;
The wheat and tares must ripen,
Before the harvest comes.
CHORUS
O may the Saints be perfect
As God our Father was,
When he got back to Eden,
By her celestial laws.
CHORUS.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young spoke of the calling and ordination of the Twelve Apostles. They were called by revelation, through the Prophet Joseph, and Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris officiated in the ordination in the beginning of 1835. He referred to the washing of feet, in the solemn assembly held in the Temple of Kirtland that was called together by the Prophet. Gave instructions on the principle of adoption, teaching that a man by being adopted, to connect the chain of the Holy Priesthood, loses nothing which he has; and treated on the continued growth and increase in capacity to receive and enjoy given blessings, and of the continued blessings bestowed upon those who live according to the principles of the holy gospel.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 15:26, 11/2/65, p 2; JD 11:137]
REMARKS,
By PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, at the General Conference, G.
S. L. City, Oct. 9th, 1865.
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I wish
now to deliver a few short discourses to the Latter-day Saints, and it does not
matter which of them I deliver first, because they are all of equal interest
and importance to the Saints, and will be spread upon the pages of the Deseret
News for them to read at their leisure in that order that may suit them.
The first
item that presents itself to me is, to call upon these sisters—they forming an
important element of the kingdom of God in the last days—to listen to the will
of God concerning them, that they go to now and manufacture from straw, grass,
or any other fitting material that grows in these valleys, their bonnets and
hats, and cease to sell the barley, the oats, the wheat, etc., to buy imported
ones, or when the Wheat, and the oats and the barley are all sold get your
husbands to run into debt for that which you can as well make yourselves as
not. I am satisfied that we can make, from material grown in these valleys,
bonnets and hats as beautiful to look upon as any that have ever been imported
to this Territory. I am addressing myself to the ladies of the kingdom of God,
to those who know how to keep their houses, furniture and beds pure and clean,
who can cook food for their husbands and children in a way that it will be
clean, tasteful and wholesome. The woman that can do this I call a lady. In
this view I differ from the world generally; for the lady of the world is not
supposed to know anything about what is going on in the kitchen; her highest
ambition is to be sure and be in the fashion, at no matter what cost to her
husband or father; she considers that she may as well be out of the world as
out of the fashion.
There has
been a great deal said upon the subject of Home Manufacturing; and the article
of straw is the readiest to come at of any other material of which clothing is
made. Now, my sisters, will you hearken to those who spend all their time to do
you good, who traverse the world over to gather the Saints, to preach the
Gospel, make believers and gather them together that they become Saints—will
you hearken to this counsel and obey it? Rye should be sown in the spring, and
cut in the proper season, and cured as it should be to make good straw for hats
and bonnets, and our boys and girls should braid it, and have it made up, and
save the immense amount of ready means which we have to pay out for that
article alone. Will the sisters belonging to the kingdom of God do this? I
might call for a vote of those who are present, and no doubt you would enter
into a covenant to perform this duty, and many very likely would not give the
matter another thought. I will not ask you to vote; but I will ask you to do
this as a duty, and to commence right away in this city by wards, and form
yourselves into societies for the accomplishment of this purpose, and see that
the little boys and girls, instead of their running wild in the streets,
throwing the dust and dirt into their hair and garments from morning until
night, are brought into the house, their skins and clothes washed clean, their
hair combed neatly, and they set to braiding straw. This will teach them to be
industrious, and save them from contracting habits of indolence and
slothfulness, and be the means of introducing an important branch of industry
into our country. How much better this would be than to let our children waste
their time in unnecessary play; they need time to study, time for recreation,
and time to be engaged in some useful employment. It is the duty of parents to
see that the time of their children is properly appropriated to pursuits of
usefulness, profit and advantage to themselves, to their parents or guardians,
and to the kingdom of God at large, that they may grow up to become efficient
and worthy citizens of that kingdom.
Bishops,
will you see that enough rye is sown to supply the wants of the people of your
wards, and see that the crop is harvested when it should be to make good straw
for braiding? If you will do this, and the people will not avail themselves of
making their own hats and bonnets, there is no complaint can be attached to
you. I have raised crops of rye from year to year, and invited the people to
use the straw for making bonnets and hats; but no; the merchants had imported
bonnets, and our ladies preferred going to the stores and buying them. When
will this people become Saints indeed? Not until they observe every counsel
that is given to them of this kind, doing with their might the things that are
required of them. I know it is the will of the Lord that this people should
manufacture what they wear and consume; and, in addition to its being the will
of the Lord, the liability of our being cut off from supplies, through being so
far distant from the great manufacturing districts, teaches us that it is
wisdom and true economy that we should adopt this course. The money which this
community has expended in hats and bonnets for men, women, and children in the
last year would bring scores and hundreds of the poor Saints from the old
countries to these valleys of Utah. Is it wise in us, and pleasing to the Lord,
for us to place the means he has blessed us with where it does not belong,
while our sons and our daughters, instead of idling away their time or being
employed in that which does not profit them or us, might be engaged in
preserving such means among us to be applied in the further progress of the
work of God?
My next
discourse will be upon merchandising. We are here in these valleys of the
mountains organised as a people; and we know how we came to be here; and we
know the designs of God, and the designs of our enemies concerning us; we know
the distinction which is drawn between this people and the world; these things
we understand. Now, we propose to the Bishops, presiding Elders and leading
members of the church, who are here assembled to represent the kingdom of God
upon the earth, and to all those who are not here, who act in these capacities
in the various places where there are Saints gathered together, to do their own
merchandising and cease to give the wealth which the Lord has given us to those
who would destroy the kingdom of God and scatter us to the four winds, if they
had the power. Cease to buy from them the gewgaws and frivolous things they
bring here to sell to us for our money and means—means that we should have to
bring the poor here, to build our temples, our towers, ornament our public
grounds and buildings, and to beautify our cities. For, as merchandising has
been generally conducted here, instead of having our means to perform these
public works, it has been borne away by our enemies by the million.
I wish
the brethren, in all our settlements, to buy the goods they must have, and
freight them with their own teams; and then let every one of the Latter-day
Saints, male and female, decree in their hearts that they will buy of nobody
else but their own faithful brethren, who will do good with the money they will
thus obtain. I know it is the will of God that we should sustain ourselves,
for, if we do not, we must perish, so far as receiving aid from any quarter,
except God and ourselves. If we have not capital ourselves, there are plenty of
honorable men whom our brethren can enter into partnership with, who would
furnish and assist them whenever they should receive an intimation to that
effect. I know it is our duty to save ourselves; the enemy of all
righteousness, will do nothing to help us in that work, neither will his
children; we have to preserve ourselves, for our enemies are determined to
destroy us. I know it is the duty of this people to build up themselves; for
our enemies will not build us up, but they will do their uttermost to tear us down.
This will not apply to all; but there are enough to bark, and yelp, and growl,
and snarl till the peaceable, good meaning man dare not open his mouth. We have
thousands of warm-hearted friends who dare not say anything in favour of this
people. We have friends in Congress who wish us to become a State in the Union;
but they dare not tell of it. No, let them only say in their own districts that
they would vote for Utah to become a State, and that would be their political
grave, and they know it. If nobody will speak for us, let us speak for
ourselves; if no person else will do anything for us, let us do something for
ourselves. This is right; it is politically right, religiously right,
nationally right, socially and morally right, and it is right in every sense of
the word for us to sustain ourselves.
Let us
save that money which we spend for bonnets and hats, and the trimmings that are
upon them. You may ask me if I think my family will start out with a good
example in this direction; I hope they will. If we will be diligent in this
kind of economy, and make all we can within ourselves, and send out as little
of our ready means as possible, it will place at our control means, which we do
not now command, to gather thousands of the poor Saints.
What I am
now about to say is on the subject of the use of tobacco. Let us raise our own
tobacco, or quit using it. In the years '49, '50, '51, '52, and '53, and so
long as I kept myself posted respecting the amount expended yearly by this
people at the stores for articles of merchandise, we spent upwards of 100,000
dollars a year for tobacco alone! We now spend considerably more than we did
then. Let us save this ready means in our country by abstaining from the use of
this narcotic, or raise it ourselves. By so doing we will have that amount of
means to circulate in channels of usefulness and profit which will add to our
strength, to our permanency, and to our influence and importance as a great
people. But when we place hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hands of
those who are not of us, whose homes are not with us, who spend nothing to
build up our country, but come here merely to make fortunes to spend elsewhere,
we give them so much of our strength, and we are proportionately weakened. This
is poor economy, and is displeasing to the Lord, because it retards the
delopment of His purposes.
I will
not call upon you to enter into a covenant to do this, for some might break
their covenants and that would be a sin, but I want what you do in this matter
to be prompted by a desire to bring to pass some permanent profit and good to
yourselves and to the cause which we represent I want you to do it as I have
done it myself. I have never made a covenant since I entered this Church only
to do good and serve the Lord our God, and in every possible way aid in
developing Ills purposes. The Lord gave me strength to lay aside tobacco, and
it is very rarely indeed that I taste tea or coffee; yet I have no objection to
aged persons, when they are fatigued and feel infirm, taking a little stimulus
that will do them good. It is wrong to use narcotics, for the nervous system is
destroyed or injured thereby; but we should maintain a healthy action of all
the powers of the body, which should be devoted to the service of our Father and
God in building up His kingdom on the earth.
Now,
brethren, bishops, presiding elders, influential men, men of property and
money, will you go to now and gather up the means in your settlements and set
some good reliable men to merchandising in every settlement, men who, if they
make anything, will devote it to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the
earth. I care not how much a man makes, if he only devotes it to proper uses,
or how rich he may be if he make a right application of his riches. It is the
bad use that men make of their wealth which God objects to. Go to, my brethren,
and prepare yourselves forthwith to import the goods you must have, and never
admit of a store being started in your neighbourhood again that you cannot
control. It may be asked how can you prevent it? By never spending a dollar
with any who will not aid in developing the country and in building it up.
It is the
duty of this people to do their own merchandising, and, if I had the power, I
would prevail upon them to take care of themselves, to provide for themselves,
and use their means in a way to benefit and bless themselves, instead of
pouring into the laps of those who will squander and make an ill use of it, who
will use it to sustain the power of the enemy in his operations against the
kingdom of God. This is right, and who can say aught against it? Nobody but a
fault-finder or an accuser. As it has always been, and will be yet for some
time, when the sons of God assemble together, Satan will be on hand as an accuser
of the brethren, to find fault with those who are trying to do good. What I
have said on this matter will answer my purpose.
There is
another item which I will now notice, and until we learn such things I will
promise you that, we shall never inherit the Celestial Kingdom. We are gathered
together for the purpose of learning what to do with this present life and with
the present blessings bestowed upon us. If we do not learn these lessons, how
can we expect to be trusted with the riches of eternity; for he that is
faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things. The item I
wish to refer to is the great loss which the people of this Territory suffer
yearly in stock. I have talked about it heretofore many times, and tried to
prevail upon the brethren to save their stock. When we are blessed with an
increase of cattle, and we disregard this blessing which the Lord bestows upon
us, we thereby incur His displeasure, and lay ourselves liable to punishment.
What earthly father would bestow blessings upon a son with satisfaction and
pleasure while that son would continue to squander them and gamble them away
for nothing? After a time that thither would withhold his favors, and bestow
them upon the more worthy child. The Lord is more merciful than we are; but
there may be a termination to His gifts, if we do not receive them with
gratitude and take good care of them when we have them in our possession. Let
the people take care of their cattle and horses, and the man who does not do it
will lay himself liable to censure in the eyes of justice.
Listen to
this advice, for here is economy. We have to gather the people, to send our
Elders forth into the world to preach the Gospel to every creature; and when the
people are gathered, there is probably not one family to fifty out of those who
are brought here that knows anything about cultivating the earth, raising
cattle, or doing anything to sustain themselves; we have to teach them this
after they come here. We have importuned and plead with and instructed the
people on these topics all the day long, rising early and continuing late until
now; and many, a great many, have profited by our labors. The citizens of this
city are tolerably comfortable; a great many of them have an abundance of
fruit, and they enjoy it. It is very healthy for them and their children to eat
in the season thereof, and it helps many to sustain their families pretty
comfortable; and then they raise a few chickens, and they have one or two pigs
in the pen, and a cow to give them milk and butter; though as the cows are now
fed they are not very profitable to their owners.
I have
lamented much that the people do not take the precaution to feed their cows.
Let those who have cows in the city, sow a little lucerne seed in their
gardens, say three or four rods square, and see that it is well cultivated, and
you can feed your cows with a little of this two or three times a day, and take
a little oats or wheat for your labor and get it chopped, and feed them a
little of that every day, and give them the weeds you pull out of the garden,
and the slops from the kitchen. In this way it is not difficult to keep a cow
the year round. But take avow six or seven miles over Jordan for a few dry
weeds, and be all day, or as long as she remains there, without water and
without shade, when she returns to the river she fills herself with water and
comes home looking very full, yet hungry enough to crop the currant bushes
where she can reach them, and eat the weeds from under our fences. This is not
right. Raise lucerne, plant a few hills of corn, and take off the outside
leaves of your cabbages and give to her; sow your beets and carrots, and what
you do not use for greens, save and give to the cow. Save everything that she
will eat, and feed it to her in a way that she will relish it and cat it all
up; feed it to her fresh, and not suffer it to rot about the kitchen and the
doors to become a sickly nuisauce to your children.
By taking
this course, you can as well milk eight quarts of milk twice a day as two,
according to the quality of the cow and the kind of feed you give her. Thus you
have your milk and a little butter, and your meat of your own raising, and your
eggs and chickens, and your fruit; and you have a living here off an acre and a
quarter of land. Such a little farm well tilled and well managed, and the
products of it economically applied, will do wonders towards keeping and
educating a small family. Let the little children do their part, when they are
not engaged in their studies, in knitting their stockings and mittens, braiding
straw for their hats, or spinning yarn for their frocks and underclothing. If
this people would strictly observe these simple principles of economy, they
would soon become so rich that they would not have room sufficient to hold
their abundance: their store-houses would run over with fullness, and their
vats with new wine.
Now,
cultivate your farms and gardens well, and drive your stock to where they can
live through the winter, if you have not feed for them. Do not keep so many
cattle, or, in other words, more than you can well provide for and make
profitable to yourselves and to the kingdom of God. We have hundreds and
thousands of fat cattle upon the ranges, and yet we have no beef to eat, or
very little. Kill your cattle when they are fat, and salt down the meat, that
you may have meat to eat in the winter and some to dispose of to your neighbors
for their labour to extend your improvements. Lay up your meat, and not let it
die on your hands. Such a course is not right. Cattle is made for our use, let
us take care of them.
I have
now a proposition to make to the Latter-day Saints; and here is the strength
and power of Israel to listen to it. It is to send five hundred teams to the
Missouri river next season—five hundred good teams, with four yoke of oxen
forward of a good wagon, to bring all the poor who haw a mind to come to these
valleys. There are hundreds of the Saints who can get to the frontiers, but no
further; and rather than leave their homes in the old countries and be left
among strangers in a strange land, they stay at home. What do you say, shall we
send down five hundred teams next season? [The Conference was unanimously in
favor of this movement.] I would suggest that we take cattle and wagons from
Utah. The wagons that are made in the east now are not so good as they were
years ago. The demand has made good wagon timber scarce, and it is rather
difficult now to get as good wagons as we got a few years ago. Before the time
of starting, you will be furnished with a circular of instructions. May the
Lord bless you. Amen.
Singing by the Smithfield choir.
[Elder F. D. Richards]
Elder F. D. Richards spoke of the evident shortening of the apparent distance between us as Saints and our Father and God, as a consequence of an increased knowledge of His character and being and of the principles by which we can obtain an exaltation to His presence. He dwelt at length on some of the principles of theology, showing that duties of a temporal nature were the first that were enjoined upon our First Parents when they were placed in the garden of Eden; and touched upon the laws which demand obedience that our lives may be prolonged as were those of the ancient patriarchs.
Singing by the Spanish Fork choir.
[Elder Lorenao Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow spoke of the limited number among the great mass of the human family who are willing to receive the truth, and of their blindness to the fact of the kingdom of God growing up in their midst. Yet so it had been in previous dispensations. Men cannot understand the things of God only by the Spirit of God. Exhorted the Saints, as Paul did in ancient times, to have the same mind in them as Jesus had, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
[Pres. Young]
Pres. Young said that the next Annual Conference would commence on Friday, the same as the present Semi-Annual Conference, and they would either have to appoint a two day's meeting before or have the people come together with the understanding of stopping a week. He continued, at every Annual and Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, held at head quarters, it is the duty of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Bishops and Presidents of Branches and stakes of Zion in the mountains, to be present; and, we would like all the influential members of the church, who possibly can, to come from the islands of the sea and other distants parts, and attend these Conferences to make themselves acquainted with the business and instructions given, and to become embued with the Spirit which prevails here, to be better able to disseminate it among the Saints over whom they preside.
Singing by the Ogden choir. Prayer by W. W. Phelps.
[9 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 15:5, 10/12/65, p 8]
2 p. m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by E. T. Benson. Singing by the Spanish Fork choir.
[Elder Geo. Q. Cannon]
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon made a few introductory remarks and read the article by the Presidency and Twelve published in the Deseret News of Aug 23d 1865.
[First Presidency]
[DNW 14:372-373, 8/23/65, p 4-5]
HEARKEN, O YE LATTER-DAY SAINTS, AND ALL YE INHABITANTS OF
THE EARTH
WHO WISH TO BE SAINTS, TO WHOM THIS WRITING SHALL COME.
_____
Happening
lately, while on a preaching trip to Cache Valley, to pick up a book which was
lying on a table in the house where we were stopping, we were surprised to find
that it was the book bearing the title, on the outside, of "Joseph Smith,
the Prophet;" and on the title page, "Biographical Sketches of Joseph
Smith, the Prophet, and his progenitors for many generations, by Lucy Smith,
mother of the Prophet; published for Orson Pratt by S. W. Richards,
Liverpool," &c. Our surprise at finding a copy of this work may be
accounted for, by the fact of our having advertized some time ago that the book
was incorrect, and that it should be gathered up and destroyed, so that no
copies should be left; and, from this, we had supposed that not a single copy
could be found in any of the houses of the Saints.
We now
wish to publish our views and feelings respecting this book, so that they may
be known to all the Saints in all the world. In Great Britain diligence has
been used in collecting and in disposing of this work, and we wish that same
diligence continued there and also exercised here, at home, until not a copy is
left.
The
inquiry may arise in the minds of some persons, "Why do you want to
destroy this book?" Because we are acquainted with individual circumstances
alluded to in it, and know many of the statements to be false. We could go
through the book and point our many false statements which it contains, but we
do not feel to do so. It is sufficient to say that it is utterly unreliable as
a history, as it contains many falsehoods and mistakes. We do not wish such a
book to be lying on our shelves to be taken up in after years and read by our
children as true history, and we, therefore, expect the High Priests, the
Seventies, the Elders, the Bishops, and every one in the Church male and
female, if they have such a book, to dispose of it so that it will never be
read by any person again. If they do not, the responsibility of the evil
results that may accrue from keeping it will rest upon them and not upon us.
Without
entering into all the details of the writing of this book and its production in
print, we may say that at the time it was written, which was after the death of
the Prophet Joseph, mother Smith was seventy years old, and very forgetful. Her
mind had suffered many severe shocks, through losing a beloved husband and four
sons of exceeding promise, to whom she was fondly attached, three of whom had
but recently fallen victims to mobocratic violence, and she could, therefore,
scarcely recollect anything correctly that had transpired. She employed as an
amanuensis a lady by the name of Coray.
Those who
have read the history of William Smith, and who knew him, know the statements
made in that book respecting him, when he came out of Missouri, to be utterly false.
Instead of being the faithful man of God, and the Saint which he is there
represented to have been, he was a wicked man, and he publicly expressed the
hope that his brother Joseph would never get out of the hands of his enemies
alive; and he further said that if he had had the disposing of him, he would
have hung him years before.
When the
book was written, mother Smith sent it to us to examine. In company with some
others, who were acquainted with the circumstances alluded to in the book, we
read the manuscript, and we soon saw that it was incorrect. We paid the
amanuensis who wrote the book for mother Smith for a copy of the work, and that
copy is now in the Historian's Office, and has been in our possession ever
since we left Nauvoo. But the original manuscript was purloined, we suppose,
from mother Smith, and went into the hands of apostates, and was purchased of
them by Orson Pratt. He had the work published in England, We do not know that
Samuel W. Richards, who printed the work, knew anything about the manner in
which it was written, or how brother Pratt obtained it. He printed it, we
suppose, as he would any other book. But brother Pratt had it printed, and
published it, without saying a word to the First Presidency or the Twelve about
what he was doing. This is the way the book came into being. It was smuggled,
juggled and foisted into existence as a book.
The
preface of this book was written by brother Orson Pratt. In that he stated that
the book was "mostly written previous to the death of the Prophet, and
under his personal inspection," which statement is false, and which
brother Pratt afterwards corrected in the Deseret News, March 21, 1855, as
follows:-
"This
work was first published in England, in 1853. I procured the manuscript while
on my last mission in the United States, and was informed, at the time, that
most of the work was written under the inspection of the Prophet; but from
evidences since received, it is believed that the greater part of the
manuscript did not pass under his review, as there are items which are
ascertained to be incorrect."
Many of
the Saints may not know that the book is inaccurate; but those who have been
instructed respecting its character, and will still keep it on their tables,
and have it in their houses as a valid and authentic history for their children
to read, need rebuke. It is transmitting lies to posterity to take such a
course, and we know that the curse of God will rest upon every one, after he
comes to the knowledge of what is here said, who keeps these books for his
children to learn and believe in lies.
We wish
those who have these books to either hand them to their Bishops for them to be
conveyed to the President's or Historian's Office, or send them themselves,
that they may be disposed of; and they will please write their names in the
books, with the name of the place where they reside, and if they wish to hand
them over without pay in return, state so; and if they wish to get pay for
them, state whether they desire it applied on Tithing, or wish the value
returned in other books.
When we
commenced this article, we did not think of extending our comments beyond the
work already alluded to. We consider it our duty, however, and advisable for us
to in corporate with this which we have already written, our views upon other
doctrines which have been extensively published and widely received as the
standard and authoritative doctrines of the Church, but which are unsound. The
views we allude to, and which we deem objectionable, have been published by
Elder Orson Pratt. We have expressed our disapproval of some of these doctrines
through the columns of the Millennial Star, published in England, and the
Deseret News of this city. There are others, however, of a kindred character,
which have not been alluded to in public print, that also require comment, in
order that a correct understanding may be had by the Saints respecting them. We
do not wish incorrect and unsound doctrines to be handed down to posterity
under the sanction of great names to be received and valued by future
generations as authentic and reliable, creating labor and difficulties for our
successors to perform and contend with, which we ought not to transmit to them.
The interests of posterity are, to a certain extent, in our hands. Errors in
history and in doctrine, if left uncorrected by us who are conversant with the
events, and who are in a position to judge of the truth or falsity of the
doctrines, would go to our children as though we had sanctioned and endorsed
them. Such a construction could very easily be put upon our silence respecting
them, and would tend to perplex and mislead posterity, and make the labor of
correction an exceedingly difficult one for them. We know what sanctity there
is always attached to the writings of men who have passed away, especially to
the writings of Apostles, when none of their contemporaries are left, and we,
therefore, feel the necessity of being watchful upon these points. Personal
feelings and friendships and associations ought to sink into comparative
insignificance, and have no weight in view of consequences so momentous to the
people and kingdom of God as these.
Moses
wrote the history of creation, and we believe that he had the inspiration of
the Almighty resting upon him. The Prophets who wrote after him were likewise
endowed with the Spirit of revelation. The Apostles of Jesus Christ, the Savior
of the world, the personal witnesses of his ministry, revealed many great and
glorious truths to the people. The Prophet Joseph, in our own day, was chosen
of God, and ordained as a Seer and Revelator, and was made the means of
bringing much knowledge to light respecting God and the things of God. But nod
of these Prophets and Apostles-no, not even the Son of God himself-has ever
been able, to our knowledge, to inform the world respecting the "Great
First Cause," and to explain how the first organized Being was originated.
They never were able to reveal to man that every part of the Holy Spirit,
however minute and infinitesimal, possessed "every intellectual or moral
attribute possessed by the Father and the Son;" or that "the
spiritual personages of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, if organized
at all, must have been the result of the self-combinations and unions of the
pre-existent, intelligent, powerful and eternal particles of matter." The
reader may inquire, "Why could they not reveal this?" It was because
there was no such fact in existence. They were evidently content with the
knowledge that from all eternity there had existed organized beings, in an
organized form, possessing superior and controlling power to govern what
brother Pratt calls the "self-moving, all-wise and all-powerful particles
of matter," and that it was neither rational nor consistent with the
revelations of God and with reason and philosophy, to believe that these latter
Forces and Powers had existed prior to the Beings who controlled and governed
them. But to teach these ideas and to make them public to mankind, after so
many ages of ignorance respecting them, has been reserved, according to his own
arguments, for brother Orson Pratt. We must do brother Orson Pratt the justice,
however, to say that he has never claimed to know these things by revelation;
still he has published them to the world as facts, and as doctrines of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In
remarks which brother Pratt made in Great Salt Lake City, Jan. 29, 1860-remarks
which were prompted upon learning our views respecting the doctrines that he
had published, and which he delivered without giving intimation of any such
intention-while speaking in relation to the things which were deemed
objectionable and erroneous by the First Presidency and Twelve-he confessed
that he had erred and done wrong in publishing them. He said, that "So far
as revelation from the heavens is concerned, I have had none in relation to
those points of doctrine;" and he further said, on this same subject,
"There is one thing I will assure you of, God will never reveal anything
to me, or to any other man, which will come in contact with the views and
revelations which he gives to the man who holds the keys. We never need expect
such a thing." These remarks were published in the Deseret News, July 25,
1860, and the First Presidency appended to them the following comments:-
"Elder
Pratt sustains an unimpeachable character, as far as strict morality, tried
integrity, industry, energy, zeal, faithfulness to his religion, and honesty in
all business transactions are concerned, but it will be readily perceived from
his remarks, that he does not claim exemption from liability to err in judgment
in relation to some points of doctrine. Brother Pratt's preachings and
teachings upon the first principles of the Gospel are excellent.
"With regard to the quotations and comments in the Seer as to Adam's
having been formed 'out of the ground' and 'from the dust of the ground,'
&c., it is deemed wisest to let that subject remain without further
explanation, for it is written that we are to receive 'line upon line,'
according to our faith and capacities, and the circumstances attending our
progress.
In the
Seer, pages 24 and 25, par. 22, brother Pratt states:
"All
these gods are equal in power, in glory, in dominion, and in the possession of
all things; each possesses a fulness of truth, of knowledge, of wisdom, of
light, of intelligence; each governs himself in all things by his own
attributes, and is filled with love, goodness, mercy and justice towards all.
The fulness of all these attributes is what constitutes God. It is truth, light
and love that we worship and adore; these are the same in all worlds; and as
these constitute God, he is the same in all worlds;" "wherever you
find a fulness of wisdom, knowledge, truth, goodness, love and such like
qualities, there you find God in all his glory, power and majesty-therefore, if
you worship these adorable perfections, you worship God."
Seer,
page 117, par. 95:-
"Then there will be no Being or Beings in existence that will know one
particle more than what we know; then our knowledge and wisdom and power will
be infinite, and cannot, from thenceforth, be increased or expanded in the
least degree."
Same
page, par. 96:-
"But
when they (the Saints) become one with the Father and the Son, and receive a
fulness of their glory, that will be the end of all progression in knowledge,
because there will be nothing more to he learned. The Father and the Son do not
progress in knowledge and wisdom, because they already know all things past,
present and to come."
Par. 97:-
"There
are none among them (the Gods) that are in advance of the others in knowledge;
though some may have been Gods as many millions of years as there are particles
of dust in all the universe, yet there is not one truth that such are in
possession of, but what every other God knows." "None of these Gods
are progressing in knowledge, neither can they progress in the acquirement of
any truth."
In his
treatise entitled "Great First Cause," page 16, par. 17, brother
Pratt states:-
"All
the organizations of worlds, of minerals, of vegetables, of animals, of men, of
angels, of spirits, and of the spiritual personages of the Father, of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost, must, if organized at all, have been the result of the
self-combinations and unions of the pre-existent, intelligent, powerful and
eternal particles of substance. These eternal forces and powers are the great
first causes of all things and events that have had a beginning."
The
foregoing quoted ideas, and similar ones omitted to be quoted, with the
comments thereon, as advanced by brother Pratt in an article in the Seer,
entitled "Pre-existence of man," and in his treatise entitled
"Great First Cause," are plausibly presented. But to the whole
subject we will answer in the words of the Apostle Joseph Smith, on a similar
occasion. One of the Elders of Israel had written a long communication which he
deemed to be very important, and requested brother Joseph to hear him read it. The
Prophet commended his style in glowing terms, remarked that the ideas were
ingeniously advanced, &c., &c., and that he had but one objection to
it. "What is that?" inquired the writer, greatly elated that his
production was considered so near perfect. The Prophet Joseph replied, "It
is not true."
This
should be a lasting lesson to the Elders of Israel not to undertake to teach
doctrine they do not understand. If the Saints can preserve themselves in a
present salvation day by day, which is easy to be taught and comprehended, it
will be well with them hereafter.
BRIGHAM YOUNG,
HEBER C. KIMBALL,
DANIEL H. WELLS."
[Pres. B. Young]
Pres. B. Young instructed the sisters on making their own bonnets, and hats for their girls, their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers, of straw and other material raised in these mountains. He told them it was the will of God that they should do so, and wished the Bishops to see that rye is grown in the various wards for this purpose. He taught the Bishops and influential men on merchandizing for the various cities and settlements, urging the necessity of our sustaining ourselves; and instructed the people on feeding and caring for stock and on the principles of practical economy. Proposed that we send 500 four yoke ox-teams to the Missouri river next season with good wagons, to bring up all the poor saints who want to come; a vote was taken and a perfect forest of hands was raised.
The case of Walter M. Gibson was presented before the Conference, and the motion, that he be cut off from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and delivered over to the buffetings of Satan, was carried unanimously.
Convention to meet at 10 a. m. tomorrow morning the 10th inst.
The members of Zion's Camp with their wives to meet in the Social Hall at 2 p. m. to-morrow.
[Elder E. T. Benson]
Elder E. T. Benson briefly exhorted the Saints to practice the counsel and instructions which have been given during this Conference by the servants of God and bore his testimony to the work of God and the truth of the teachings that come through those whom the Lord has appointed to lead and guide His church on the earth.
[Ezra T. Benson]
[DNW 15:106, 3/8/66, p 2; JD 11:191]
REMARKS
By EZRA T. BENSON, at the General Conference in G. S. L.
City, Oct. 9th, 1865
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I feel
grateful for this opportunity of speaking a few words at this Conference, and
for the blessings that have been conferred upon us during its session.
We have
had a very interesting Conference, and there has been a great deal said which
is of vital interest to the kingdom of God. We have come here to receive
instruction for our further progress in prosecuting the purposes of God in the
future, and for our present individual and mutual benefit. Can we carry the
spirit of these instructions home with us, and diffuse it in our families, in
our wards, and in the different settlements where we, as delegates to this
Conference, reside? If we can do this, then the Saints in the different
settlements who have not been at this Conference will be equally benefited with
us.
Can we
not only treasure up, but carry out, what we have heard this afternoon, and
manufacture at home all we possibly can? Yes, we can do it; and we all feel
that we can; and we now feel determined in our hearts to commence to do it when
we go home from this Conference, that we may be benefited and enjoy the
blessings that it is our privilege to enjoy. Who has made this request of us?
The President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
whom we have raised our hands to heaven to sustain. There is not an Elder in
this vast assembly that would refuse to go to Europe, or to the islands of the
sea, were he called to do so by this Conference. To refuse to respond to such a
call would be a disgrace to him, and a sure token that he was weak in the
faith, and if he possessed any influence among the Saints he would lose it.
Now, it is the same Priesthood, the same power and authority, that has called
upon us unitedly as a people, as parents, as children, as families and
settlements, as the Saints of the Most High, to produce and make among
ourselves that which we consume, to carry out to the best of our ability in all
our settlements this very excellent counsel. It is a faithful attention to such
instructions that will insure our salvation here, and our salvation in the
celestial kingdom of God hereafter; for it is by means of the Holy Priesthood,
and the keys and power of it, that we shall be led back into His presence.
The great
object and purpose of the religion of Jesus Christ is to bring all the faithful
back into the presence of their Father and God; for all who will abide a
celestial law shall have a celestial glory, and a celestial glory is the
highest glory is the highest glory that we have any knowledge of—it is where
our Heavenly Father dwells; and no faithful Saint can ever feel satisfied short
of reaching His presence and beholding His face. We are banished from our
Father in Heaven in this low, sinful world; but we are not altogether lost, for
He is feeling after us, and if we will listen to and obey the counsels of His
servants, we shall be saved.
The brethren
have spoken to us with great power during this Conference; I never have seen,
in all my life, more power resting upon the Elders. I feel to bear my testimony
to the truth of "Mormonism," as the world call it, to the truths that
the Prophet Joseph Smith has brought forth, and to the truth that President
Brigham Young reveals to this people; these are the truths of heaven, and they
will lead all who obey them to the possession of eternal life. Let us give
diligent heed to these things. There is plenty for us to do if we are diligent
in the things of the kingdom of God. How simple and plain are the principles of
salvation! They pertain to us as mortals, and to this mortal world, and they
show us that our heaven is here and will be of our own making, for we are of
the earth, earthy; we came from the earth, and the meek will inherit it.
We have
got to learn how to take care of ourselves, and to organize the elements around
us for our own comfort, and cease going to New York, Boston, and other places
for supplies. Let our young ladies take pride in wearing bonnets made of straw
raised in the country, and braided with their own hands. In doing this they
have the satisfaction of following the counsel of the servants of God, and of
aiding a little in attaining our independence of foreign markets. Such a coarse
as we have been advised to take at this Conference, with regard to home
manufactures, will affect us for the better more sensibly in the future than in
the present; but we are apt to think of the present and let the future take
care of itself. When shall we be fully delivered from the corruptions of the
world and from the influence of the false traditions which our fathers have
taught us? The sooner we can overcome these, and follow faithfully and to the letter
the instructions of the Holy Spirit, the better it will be for us as
individuals and as a people.
May God
bless you, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President
Young requested those who desire to go south to report their names, and asked
an expression of the Conference if the Presidency and Twelve should select some
to go down there, and if those called would go. A unanimous vote was the
result.
Conference
adjourned until the 6th of next April, at 10 a.m.; and previous to the commencing
of conference a two days meeting will be held here, beginning on Wednesday
morning, the 4th April, 1866, at 10 a.m.
Singing
by the Smithfield choir.
President
Young then thanked the various choirs and the Ogden band for their attendance
at the Conference, and for the sweet music they had made; and blessed them. He
invited them to the next Annual Conference, and requested them to notify him
before hand if they could come, or any other choirs that might be able to come,
so that arrangements might be made for seating them on raised seats in their
proper places. He then dismissed the conference until the 6th of April, 1866,
with the following benediction: --
"According
to the authority that is vested in me, I bless you with all the blessings that
are invested in me and in the Holy Priesthood, in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, as Apostles and as Prophets. I bless you as High Priests, as Seventies,
as Elders, as Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. I bless you, my brethren
and sisters, as parents, as children, as neighbors, as communities and as the
servants and handmaidens of the Lord. I bless the musicians; I less those who
have made melody in our hearts by their voices and by their instruments of
music, and I bless you with all that appertains to you, your houses, your
fields, your flocks and herds; and may the blessings of Heaven rest down upon
you and be around your homes and upon these mountains and valleys. I bless you
and the land you occupy and the land round about you with all the blessings of
heaven and earth, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
4-8 Apr 1866, 36th
Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 15:148, 4/12/66, p 4; MS 28:323, 337, 353]
[4 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 1]
TWO DAYS MEETING
_____
The two days' meeting announced to preecede the Thirty-Sixth Annual Conference, commenced in the Tabernacle, G. S. L. City, at 10 a.m., April 4th, 1866.
There were on the stand Presidents Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells; Elders Orson Hyde; John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Charles c. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards and Geo. Q. Cannon, of the Quorum of the Twelve; Bishop Hunter and a number of influential officers of the priesthood.
Choir sang a hymn. Prayer by Elder W. Woodruff. Singing by the choir.
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball spoke on the necessity of order being maintained in meetings, that attention might be paid to the speaker and the thoughts of the people be concentrated upon his remarks. We are so constituted that we can do but one thing at a time, whether the action be mental or physical; hence, if our thoughts are distracted, and wander, our capability to acquire knowledge or to do good is proportionately lessened. He touched upon the attributes of God, and reasoned on the power that is in the principles of truth. The same principles which bring life and salvation when obeyed, will bring death and condemnation if rejected. He exhorted the people to practice purity and righteousness, showing that a course of wickedness will bring misery, while righteousness will bring peace and happiness.
[Heber C. Kimball]
[DNW 15:170, 5/3/66, p 2; JD 11:208]
REMARKS
By President HEBER C. KIMBALL, in the Tabernacle, G. S. L.
City, april 4th, 1866.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
Self-preservation
is the first great law of nature. It is true, whether it be applied to temporal
or spiritual salvation. If a man does not try to save himself through the means
which are provided in the Gospel, he cannot be saved. If people will not stop
committing sin and learn to do better, my doing so will not benefit them. It
would be just as reasonable to argue that I can eat, drink, breathe, and
reflect for them.
When a
minister of the truth arises to address a congregation it aids him much when
the people give their undivided attention to him; but when their attention is
drawn off by some trifling interference that may occur in the house, their
minds are closed to the effects of truth, and the spirit of the preacher is
grieved, and so is the Spirit of the Lord. Paul says, "Let the prophets
speak two or three, and let the others judge. If anything be revealed to
another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophecy
one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted." "For God
is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the
Saints."
No one
man knoweth everything, "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal;" "now there are diversities of gifts, but
the same Spirit," "dividing to every man severally as he will."
If we exercise upon the gifts we possess in simplicity as little children,
striving to do good to one another, and to build up the kingdom of God upon the
earth, then we shall be entitled to greater gifts and greater blessings. Let no
man lay a snare for his neighbor because of the simplicity of his words, and
because he reproves in the gate. If the truth, simply told, is unwelcome to
people, it is because they are themselves guilty of sin unrepented of; and by
this ye may know that ye need repentance.
The
faithful love the truth, though it may be told in the most simple manner; it is
sweeter to them than honey or the honey comb; they are no more afraid of it
than they would be afraid of eating a piece of good honey. And to the same
extent that they love the truth plainly and simply told, do they hate a lie,
and the more so when it is dressed up in the garb of truth to deceive the
unwary. Truth is the sanctifier of those who love it and are guided by it, and
will exalt them to the presence of God; while falsehood corrupts and destroys,
or, to use a common scriptural figure, it lays the axe at the root of the tree.
As the axe cuts down and destroys the fruitless trees that cumber the ground,
so do wicked acts destroy and overthrow all who persist in them.
Truth is
an attribute of the nature of God. By it he is sanctified and glorified. Jesus
Christ proceeded from his Father. He is called "His only begotten
Son," and inherited germs of his Father's perfections and the attributes
of his Father's nature, so that he sinned not. So with us; if the attributes of
our nature become refined and regenerated by the truth, our offspring must
inherit those perfections, more or less. Then, how essential it is that parents
should, by living their religion, improve themselves for the improvement of
their race. We, too, are the children of God, but we are the offspring in the
flesh of fallen and degenerate parents, and we are prone to sin as the sparks
fly upward; but by observing the truth, and by following the direction of the
Holy Priesthood which has been restored in our day, we may overcome the evil
that is within us and that is in the world, begin to improve and perfect the
attributes of our nature, which are like the attributes of the nature of God,
and lay the foundation of goodness and truth in our offspring.
The devil
was a liar from the beginning. Truth has no place in him; but it being a
principle of power associated with all goodness, he hates it, and so do all his
faithful followers. It is written, "And now, verily I say unto you, I was
in the beginning with the Father, and am the first-born; and all those who are
begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the church
of the First-born." "Truth is a knowledge of things as they are, and
as they were, and as they are to come; and whatsoever is more or less than this
is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning." He
that keepeth the commandments of God receiveth truth and light until he is
glorified in truth and knoweth all things. Truth is a principle of power, and
is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it to act for itself, as
well as intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence."
Under
President Young I have presided over the giving of endowments for the last
fifteen years. Last Saturday there were over twenty persons in the house to
receive their endowments. They came well recommended by their bishops as being
worthy, good, and faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. I had previously had an impression that many of the people were
becoming lukewarm, and even cold, in the performance of some of their duties.
After the company had gone through I gave them a lecture, and it came to me by
the Spirit of God to try if my impression was correct or not. After instructing
them that they must not lie, steal, nor bear false witness, etc., I asked them
how many of them prayed in their families, and it transpired that there were
many who neglected their duties in this respect; yet they were all recommended
by their bishops as good, faithful members of the Church of Christ. It made me
think of the parable of the ten virgins, five foolish and five wise. Shall we
thus cease to perform our duties, while the wicked are striving with all their
power to introduce their wickedness in our community and into our families;
while they are seeking to influence our wives and children to be disobedient to
us and to God? Should we not rather be more faithful in the performance of
every known duty, that God may hear us when we pray to him for strength to aid
us to resist the encroachment of evil?
The
revelations which Joseph Smith has given to this people were given to him by
Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world; and this people cannot be blessed if
they lightly esteem any of them, but they will lose the Spirit, and sorrow and
vexation will come into their families. The Lord designs that we shall be
separate and distinct from every other people, and wishes to make us His
peculiar people, and to raise up for himself a pure seed who will keep His law
and walk in His statutes. For this purpose did He give the revelation on plurality
of wives, as sacred a revelation as was ever given to any people, and fraught
with greater blessings to us than we can possibly conceive of, if we do not
abuse our privileges and commit sin. This doctrine is a holy and pure
principle, in which the power of God for the regeneration of mankind is made
manifest; but while it offers immense blessings, and is a source of immense
power to God's people, it will bring sure and certain damnation to those who
seek through its means to defile themselves with the daughters of Eve. All
those who take wives from any other motive than to subserve the great purpose
which God had in view in commanding his servants to take unto themselves many
wives, will not be able to retain them. Wives are sealed to men by an everlasting
covenant that cannot be broken, if the parties live faithfully before God, and
perform with a single eye to his glory the duties of that sacred contract.
Jesus Christ said to the Pharisees, when they tempted him upon the subject of a
man's putting away his wife, "For the hardness of your heart Moses allowed
you to give a bill of divorcement, but from the beginning of the creation it
was not so." "What, therefore, God hath joined together let no man
put asunder."
I speak
of plurality of wives as one of the most holy principles that God ever revealed
to man, and all those who exercise an influence against it, unto whom it is
taught, man or woman, will be damned, and they, and all who will be influenced
by them, will suffer the buffetings of Satan in the flesh; for the curse of God
will be upon them, and poverty, and distress, and vexation of spirit will be
their portion; while those who honor this and every sacred institution of
heaven will shine forth as the stars in the firmament of heaven, and of the increase
of their kingdom and glory there shall be no end. This will equally apply to
Jew, Gentile, and Mormon, male and female, old and young.
The words
of the Lord to the Church, through Joseph the Prophet, in Sep., 1832, will
apply very well to many now:—"And your minds in times past have been
darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things
you have received, which vanity and unbelief hath brought the whole Church
under condemnation; and this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion,
even all, and they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and
remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments
which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I
have written, that they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's kingdom,
otherwise there remaineth a scourge and a judgment to be poured out upon the
children of Zion; for shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy
land?" Unless we keep our families in order, and instruct our children to
be faithful in keeping the commandments of God, not suffering our wives and
children to speak lightly of the Priesthood of the Almighty, and of the holy
order of marriage which He has revealed for a great purpose,—I say, unless we
do this, God will visit our families with a scourge, and if they continue in
their disobedience they will be removed out of their place, and their names
will not be found on the record of the faithful. But, on the contrary, if we
are righteous and keep faithfully all the commandments of God, we, with all
that portion of our wives and children who also have been faithful, will go
into the celestial inheritance prepared for us in the presence of our God. Will
the unfaithful, disobedient, and unbelieving of our families enter with us into
the celestial kingdom? They will not. The Lord said to Ezekiel, "Son of
man, the house of Israel to me has become dross." So with the unbelieving
and disobedient of our families, and of this people; they will be separated
from the pure silver, to occupy a place in the mansions of our Father according
to their worth.
If our
wives would remember and keep faithfully the covenant they have made, they
would observe the laws of their husbands, and teach their children to honor
every law of God, and to love, honor, and obey their earthly father. If I keep
my covenants, shall be saved in the presence of God; if I violate them, I shall
be damned; and so it will be with my family; and what applies to me in this
respect will apply to all.
Let us
carry out the great purposes of God, and be separate from the ungodly.
"Woe unto him that has the law given; yea, that has all the commandments
of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of
his probation, for awful is his state." "And who unto the deaf, that
will not hear, for they shall perish; woe unto the blind, that will not see,
for they shall perish also; woe unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to
hell; woe unto the murderer, who deliberately killeth, for he shall die; woe
unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell; and woe
unto them who die in their sins, for they shall go to their place and suffer
the wrath of God."
May God
bless the righteous; but the men or women who raise their voices or use their
influence against that holy order of plural marriage will be cursed, and they
will wither away, for they have undertaken to fight against God. "For,
behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and
all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them
up, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall leave them neither root nor
branch."
[Elder Geo. Q. Cannon]
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon spoke briefly on the power and importance of prayer; of its efficacy in securing to the Saints the aid of the Spirit of God; and of the joy and happiness possessed by the Saints who live their religion faithfully and truly. When we live close to God, which we have the privilege of doing, we gain power that enables us to overcome temptation and resist evil.
[4 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 1]
2 p.m.
Singing by the choir. Prayer by Elder Amasa M. Lyman. Singing by the choir.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow enjoined the importance of living our religion in simplicity of purpose and honesty of heart, patterning after and seeking to have the same mind as the Lord Jesus, "who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God." He reasoned on the indestructibility of the Kingdom of God; and treated on the principle that our actions will produce good and evil results according to their character. If we depart from the principles of truth we will be come corrupt like the nations of the earth; if we continue and increase in righteousness the blessings and power of God will abide with and be multiplied upon us.
[Elder Geo. A. Smith]
Elder Geo. A. Smith asked the important questions, -- Are we living our religion? Are we what we profess to be, Latter-day Saints? And exhorted that we should seriously reflect upon our duties, realizing that we have engaged in the work of God, not for a few months or years, but for all time, and seek to become worthy of the trust reposed in us.
Singing by the choir. Prayer by Pres. D. H. Wells.
[5 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 1]
Thursday Morning, 10 a.m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder C. C. Rich. Singing by the American Fork choir.
[Elder C. C. Rich]
Elder C. C. Rich spoke of the means by which the will of God shall be done on the earth as it is done in heaven. We expect a Millennium, and the question is often asked when will it commence? When the people adopt and practice principles of righteousness, truth and peace, which will make a Millennium. The principles of truth are eternal, and are the only things, on which value can be placed, that we can take with us beyond the vail, when this probation is brought to a close.
Tabernacle choir sung "Know then that every soul is free."
Clerk of meeting read the 8th par. of sec. IV, book of doctrine and Covenants, page 86.
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow, who had arrived, spoke briefly on studying the written word of God, contained in the Bible, the book of Mormon and book of doctrine and Covenants, and not neglecting to do so because we have the living oracles of God in our midst. They who study and reflect upon the principles of truth, who read the written work of God, and hearken to the Holy Priesthood, have the spirit of revelation within them.
[Prest. H. C. Kimball]
Prest. H. C. Kimball spoke on teaching the principles of truth in plain and simple language; and exhorted the people to increased righteousness. Unless those who are guilty of breaking their covenants and transgressing the laws of God, will repent, they will be damned.
Singing by the american Fork choir. Prayer Elder Geo. A. Smith.
[5 Apr, 2 p.m.]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 1]
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff. Singing by the American Fork choir.
President B. Young was in the stand; Elder Ezra T. Benson was also in the stand, having arrived from Cache Valley.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde urged the importance, efficacy and power of prayer. Not only should men pray when at home, with their families, but when they are absent from home attending to any duty; and the wife should have prayers in the household, morning and evening, in the absence of the husband and father. They who do so are strong in the strength of the Lord and have power to resist and overcome evil. The day is near at hand when the devil will have power over his own dominion and the Lord will have power of His Saints. Prayer -- honest, sincere and simple prayer, will bring power to subject our will to God; and our actions will be regulated in righteousness continueally. He referred to the Indian difficulties in Sanpete and elsewhere, and to those who furnished powder, caps and lead to the Indians, condemning their course.
[Elder A. M. Lyman]
Elder A. M. Lyman reasoned at length on the principle of plural marriage; showing the objects for which marriage was instituted; depleting the misery, degradation and crruption to which women are subjected under the dominant social system in the world; demonstrating that honorable marriage would save them from those evils, and declaring that he did not speak in support of the principle of plural marriage, for it was true and did not need his support, but simply that it might be more generally understood.
[Amasa M. Lyman]
[JD 11:198; DNSW 1, 4/18/66]
REMARKS
Marriage:
its benefits
By
Elder AMASA M. LYMAN, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April
5, 1866.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
I am glad
to enjoy the privileges that are extended to us on this occasion, and to meet
with my friends, and to unite with my brethren in the ministry to render the
occasion instructive and profitable. Whether we have much or little to say with
regard to the great good there is to be secured and enjoyed, I would hope that
in our efforts we might be blessed and favored in making some suggestions to
the audience that will be calculated to awaken in their minds good thoughts
that will lead them to God, and to a knowledge of the principles that are
involved in its work.
From all
I have been able to gather from observing the course taken by ministers in
their labors for the enlightenment of the people, I have come to the conclusion
that, perhaps, there are not very many who will be able of themselves, and
within the limited circle of their personal labors and exertions, to tell
everything, even if they should know it, and communicate all that may be
communicated for the benefit of the people. I believe that the servants of God,
in their efforts generally, reveal to the people the workings of their own
minds, under the influences of the Spirit of God, and are able to bestow upon
them for their comfort, encouragement, and aid in the great work in which they
are engaged, the results of their experience, of their reflection and thought.
The Gospel that we have received is something that, as I view it, bears a
direct relationship to our condition here and hereafter, and that it proposes
to so direct our actions and our conduct in life, that they may all be made to
assume a proper character. When our actions are right they have the character
of virtues, and virtues commend us to God and to one another. Virtue, when
practiced by us, is the surest and best foundation that we can have for
confidence, not only in God, but in ourselves, and in one another, a degree of
which is necessary to our happiness, to our comfort and joy. It appears to me
that the man or woman, whose course of life is such that he or she has no
confidence in his or herself, properly can have but very little in God. As
brother Hyde has remarked, the time is near when we are to encounter the
realities of our religion. I believe it is so. We have professed to receive the
Gospel and have adopted our faith years ago. We have received more or less of a
series of lessons that have been given to the Saints, from time to time,
through the revelations of God, as they have been communicated to His people.
There is
a feature in our religion that I have thought was but little understood; it is
like many other things that would be of much more value to us if they were well
understood; our understanding of it is limited as a people, and about that very
feature in our religion I feel disposed to make a few suggestions, as the
results of my own thoughts and reflections, and of all that has been opened up
of the matter in my mind with regard to it. As this feature of our religion is
now receiving considerable attention from the people of the United States, who
have become deeply concerned in regard to it, probably it would be well if we
talk a little about it ourselves, that they may not be the first to learn, the
first to know that which we ought to know.
The
question arises here, what is it that they have become concerned about? Not
about our sins; but they have given us credit for a great many good things.
They can but acknowledge that we have been brave in conquering the dangers of
pioneering our way into an untried land and country; a land that was barren of
comfort, barren of these things that were necessary to the sustaining of human
life. They will compliment us to-day for our persevering industry, for the toil
that we have endured, and for the perseverance that we have evinced in working
our way, not to where we expected to find hidden treasures of gold and silver,
but to the desert, to find a place so poor, so barren, and so forbidding in its
aspect that none others would desire it, but that we might, in its desolation
and isolation from the rest of the world, enjoy the poor privilege of living
there without having our right questioned. They say we were brave. So we were:
we had good reason to be so; we could not well be anything else. We encountered
the desert with all its worthlessness and with all its unproductiveness, and we
not only made bridges and roads, but we actually conquered the desert.
"Why
do you not say that the Lord did it?" If I were to say the Lord did it,
then would you not ask me how the Lord did it? I know how he did it, because I
saw it done· The Lord led us out here, but I know that he walked us on our own
feet all the weary miles of our journeyings until we reached our destination. I
know that since all this our friends from the States have come out here, and
can now partake of our hospitality and feast on the fruits of our labor,
industry, and enterprise. They are pleased at finding a comfortable halfway
house between the Atlantic and the Pacific, where they can rest, eat our fruit,
and enjoy themselves; yet they smooth down the wrinkles upon their visages (the
fruits of indwelling hate), look very grave, and returning home lie about us,
and represent the people of Utah different from what they are.
We would
suppose that they are blind with a holy horror, excited in them by the
contemplation of a phantom which haunts their imaginations continually; they
are afraid that the people in Utah will do wrong; they have got so far from the
confines of Christian civilization and refinement that they are fearful, if
they do not take some action in relation to the Saints, that they will go
widely astray and perpetrate some great wrong. We have been asking them for
years to admit us into the Union. Would they listen to us? No. Does our
constant begging and praying for admittance into the Union ever awaken a
feeling of sympathy in them towards us? It does not. Yet they make out to be so
alarmed for our moral safety that they seem to have forgotten all the festering
corruptions of the great cities of the east.
When the
great nation with which we are connected politically begin to make our faith
the subject of special legislation, is it not time that we should know and say
something about it? They do not complain of any dishonesty and corruption among
us; they do not tell us that the land is sowed broadcast with iniquity; they
are not alarmed about this, but they are alarmed because men out here in Utah
dare marry a wife honorably and fearlessly, and then publicly own her as his
wife. This is all they complain of. If we will only ignore this, I do not know
but they will admit us into the Union. Do you think we had better ignore this
little bit of our religion, or have we really determined within ourselves,
soundly and sentimentally, whether it is actually necessary, proper, right, and
just. If we could only slip it off and get admitted into the Union, it might be
an advantage to us; but if it is worth enough to cling to, even if we have to
live out of the Union, we ought to know it, that we may be the better able to
make a good trade when we do trade. It is simply plural marriage that they
complain off They corrupt themselves elsewhere all over the world; but out in
Utah men actually presume to marry women honestly; they presume to consider
this the best course to be pursued to maintain the purity of man and woman.
How shall
we determine anything about the value of plural marriage, so that we may know
whether it is worth anything or not? I do not know any way better than by
determining first whether single marriage is of value or not—whether it extends
any advantages or not to those who are parties to this relationship. Were we to
ask the multitudes of the earth what the institution of marriage is worth, what
the amount of blessing and salvation that accrues from it, to those who are
parties to it, we should, no doubt, receive for a reply, "We do not
know." A man marries a wife to keep his house, to do the drudgery, to
become a slave who shall do the labor about his place, and become the creature
of his wants and wishes. Does he entertain any ideas of any value that pertains
to the institution of marriage beyond this; if he does, it is but little. A great
many men live in the world, and throughout all their lives they never
appreciate the value of marriage in such a way as to ever induce them to marry;
they think they can get along better in single life.
How can
we be led to an understanding, in a limited degree, of the many advantages that
result to men and women who are honorably married? Why, look at the evil and
the corruption, and consequent wretchedness that curse the condition of that
broad margin of women that never are made to feel the responsibility, comforts
and blessings resulting from a pure, and healthy, and virtuous marriage. Where
is this state of things to be found? In every Christian community that I know
anything about. It is the root of that festering corruption that is eating out the
core and vital energies, and sapping the foundation of life in the race of man.
It is found in every community where it is declared that a man shall marry one
wife only, and it shall be considered a virtue; but to marry a second wife
while the first wife is alive, is considered a crime and punishable by
confinement in prison, or the payment of a fine, because it is a sin. What,
this in a Christian land? Yes, this in a Christian land! Christianity of the
most approved kind is advocated where it exists. In the same thoroughfare the
victims of corruption and vicious passion, and the devotees of Christianity
jostle against each ether. In the same locality edifices, whose lofty towers
point to heaven, and wherein are held sacred the paraphernalia of Christian worship
casts its lengthening shadows over the dens of corruption and crime, where the
victims of passion and unhallowed lust live to drag out a miserable existence;
in the reeking corruption which is the result of their own sins. The religious
sanctuary and the brothel flourish together; they have their development there;
in that land we see woman in her most wretched condition. We first see her in
the morning of her life, innocent and pure—innocent as innocence itself, pure
as the spirit that comes from God. In this condition we see her enter upon her
life's journey. We meet with her when she has progressed, when she has trod far
in the path of folly, degradation, wretchedness, and sin; but she is innocent
no more. Are the blessings of home extended around her any more? No. Has she
the blessings of the warm sympathy of kind friends any more? No; they are
frigid and cold; the warm heart gushing out the blessings of friendship is
closed against her; she is not fit to be associated with any more; she is unfit
to be welcomed to the society of her more fortunate sisters; and, consequently,
she is not welcome to return to a pure and better life, could a disposition be
awakened in her to do so, and she seeks for the means of prolonging that
worthless life as best she can find them. If she carries personal charms, they
are to feed the wishes and satiate the appetite of the gloating libertine; for
he will give her money. When those charms have faded from her form—when youth
is passed and followed by decrepid old age, she becomes the loathsome thing
that no one claims or desires, for which none manifests any warm sympathy and
affectionate regard. This is the fate of a class of women who were born pure
and innocent as you, my sisters, were born, situated as you were, bearing the
same relationship to high heaven by creation as you bear, yet she drags out her
miserable existence to her resting place, the grave, when death terminates her
suffering and wretched existence; no father was there, no mother was there, no
kind sister to weep over her departure, no brother had regard for her, no
kindred relationship to pay so much as the tribute of a single tear on the spot
where her frail dust found its last resting place.
This is
the unwept, friendless fate of an extensive class of our erring sisters. What
do we call them? Oh, she is merely "a common woman on the street,"
"prostitute," which means a woman, created by and bearing the image
of God our Heavenly Father—a woman prostituted to become the victim of passion—passion
unhallowed, impure passion in man who should have guarded her virtue with the
most scrupulous care, with the most vigilant watchfulness,—man who should ever
have recognized in her his sister, who should have regarded her as the
personification of the purity and innocence of heaven itself, and who should
never have made her the victim of his unholy passion. But she has fallen, and
this terminates her wretched career. If she leaves an offspring, the vile stain
of bastardy is attached to it, and her children are cast out of society, like
their disgraced mother; they are discarded and shunned by what is called
refined and Christian society; no paternal provisions are made for them, no
paternal care and anxiety is cherished in relation to them. The state only sees
in them, if males, prospective soldiers, who for a little pay are marshaled to
fight its battles, and bleed and die upon the battle field. If any of them
happened to be brave, can venture further and kill more than his associates,
the probability is that he will gather to himself the honor, and the glory, and
respect which his frail mother failed to secure.
This is
the most favorable termination of the earthly career of that class of
unfortunate women and their children. I appeal to you, who are honorable wives and
mothers, if you do not think there is real, unmitigated misery in this? Or do
you think that it is merely something of my picturing? I am not here to treat
you to empty romance. The tithing of all the misery, wretchedness, and crime
that exist among the female sex, or our race, in the great Christian cities and
heathen cities of the world, cannot be told; it would be vain for me to
undertake to tell it all. I have instanced what I have, that you who are wives
and mothers may see something of what you have been saved from, by being
blessed with the opportunity of becoming honorably married. You are saved from
all the wretchedness which characterizes the life and death of your unfortunate
sisters.
Does
marriage possess any value, then? Would it not be a very good thing if the
blessings arising from it, which you enjoy, could be extended to all? Why is it
not so? Because monogamic Christianity says it shall not be extended to all.
This Christianity is like the prophets bed, "shorter than that a man can
stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can drop himself
in it." I do not know that the prophet thought any thing of Christianity
as it now exists in the world, although this figure is very apt in its fitness
to it. Comparing monogamie Christianity with the prophet's covering, it may be
of a fine texture and good, as far as it goes, but it is decidedly too small.
This is unquestionably the fault with a Christianity that does not extend the
mantle of salvation to all who should be the recipients of its blessings. If
all men and all women in a community were honorably married, you can readily
understand one thing, that there would be no prostitution of women in that
community, there would be an end of the corruption of man in that community, there
would be no illegitimacy there. You can see, then, that it is only a question
of advantages resulting from a pure marriage to all the inhabitants of any
community, who can be blessed by such an institution of marriage; only
introduce this, and the cause of all this sin and moral and physical degeneracy
would have an end.
"But
then," says one, "is it right?" "We should have no
objections to a plural marriage if we could only believe that it was
right." How in heaven's name you would have to feel, to feel that it is
wrong, I cannot imagine. You say that when one wife is married to a man, there
is in that transaction nothing but what is religious; nothing but what is
godly, healthy, pure, and good; it is good enough to go to church with; it is
something you can pray about; you can have it sanctified by the presence of the
priest. It is sacred; it is so commendable that the most fastidious will hardly
blush at the idea of a man's marrying one wife. He who marries one wife is
considered an honorable man, and his wife finds a place among honorable women,
and their children are honored. upon the same plane that is secured to them by
the character and standing of their honored parents in the community. They have
their entry into society; it smiles upon them and extends to them its
patronage, and their path is the path of honor from the time they open their
infant eyes and gaze upon the surrounding objects in the midst of which life to
them has a beginning, and through all the subsequent stages of the lengthened way.
These blessings come to them because their parents were honorably married and
kept sacredly the vows that made them husband and wife. Their marriage was
virtuous and just. What a pity it is that this state of things could not be
extended to all. I allude to this single marriage because I want you,
Latter-day Saints, that are before me to-day, to begin to think, if you never
have, to begin to reason, if you never have, that you may know and understand,
if it is only to a limited extent, the reasons that exist why marriage is a
pure, holy, and saving institution.
Says one,
"The Bible says it is." But suppose the Bible did not say so, would
that make any difference? If a woman were associated in the relationship of
wife with an honorable man who kept his marriage vow, would it change the fact
that there would be purity, innocence, truthfulness, and virtue in this that
could not be found elsewhere—that could not occur without the same intimate
relationship between man and woman—aside from the covenant that makes them man
and wife.
We say,
then, if this is the reason why in Heaven's wisdom it was ordained that man and
woman should be married, it was simply to regulate the actions of man and woman
in the most sacred, holy, high, and responsible relationships that exist
between them, to preserve in man and woman the fountain of life in purity, that
there might be given to earth a people in purity, and free from the taint of
inherent corruption. How do I know that? Because that it only requires the
careful and continued observance of the law of marriage, as God has revealed
it, to preserve man and woman in purity.
Then what
bearing has a pure marriage upon the interest of the world that it should be
necessary to introduce it as one of the leading features in the great work of
God, developed and established in this our day for the prosecution of his will
and purposes in the salvation of mankind? Has it any bearing at all upon the
purity of man and upon the race? From the little reflection that I have
bestowed upon the matter, I have learned to regard it as the world's great
necessity—the great necessity of the race to-day, and it is God's greatest
necessity in reference to the salvation of the world, and to the development of
His universal empire of peace and righteousness over all the earth. Why?
Because I have learned that there has been, and that there is still in
existence, operating and producing its deadly effects, a system of physical
degeneracy that is telling fearfully upon the history of the race.
The Bible
tells us that men used to reach a longevity that extended to near a thousand
years; this was near six thousand years ago. To say that this is not true would
be to question the validity of the Bible, and I would not dare to do that,
however presumptuous I may be in a thousand other things. We are descendants of
that same race who enjoyed the blessing, if it was a blessing, of an extended
longevity; yet the statistics of to-day relating to the average life of the
human race show that it extends to a fraction over a quarter of a century.
Should anybody be alarmed at this? If they not know the causes which have led
to it they will not be; but if they have a knowledge sufficient to understand
that if the race has so degenerated, physically, in five thousand years that
the term of a man's life is reduced from near a thousand years to a quarter of
a century, the question would be awakened in their minds as to how narrow a
margin of time is left for the continuation of our race on the earth before it
becomes entirely extinct—that there will not be a man, woman, or child to
awaken the cheerless condition of the desolate earth with the music of their
voices and the light of their smiles. They have ceased to be.
It used
to be told us when we were children that the world was coming to an end. We
thought it was coming to an end; that something was about to be revealed from
somewhere that would burn it up. We see that the world is actually approaching
desolation, to a point beyond which it would not be possible for human life to
be extended. Is there nothing alarming in this? To me there is. I pore over, in
my own mind, what my prospects are as a servant of God. I have entered upon
this work, which we denominate the work of God, and which comprises the
building up of the kingdom of God and the extension of the government of God
over all the earth, carrying with it the blessings of the rule of righteousness
and peace, and it promises that I am going to be a prince and a ruler over
countless millions of intelligent beings like myself. Where are they all coming
from? Why, they will be your children. That cannot be; for as the human race is
fast wearing to an end, there would not any of my children be left in a few
generations more. You are, no doubt, mathematicians enough to see this. I give
the Lord credit in my feelings for having known this long before I did; and
hence I say that plural marriage is the great necessity of the age, because it
is a means that God has introduced to check the physical corruption and decline
of our race; to stop further contributions to the already fearful aggregate of
corruption that has been developed as the result of sin in man and woman. What
will that do? It will take off a great tax from the recuperative energies of
the race by relieving them from the necessity of contending with increasing
corruption beyond its present limits; that man may begin to live until he
attain to the age of a tree, as he lived before he first began to sin and
violate the laws of his being. It is to effect this that the Lord has
introduced plural marriage. "But," says one, "why do you not
prove it from the Bible?" You can read the Bible yourselves. I want to
know, see, read, and understand, as it is evinced in the physical condition of
the race that these are truths, whether the books refer to them or not. If
there was no revelation to reach us from foreign quarters, it is a revelation
that is before our eyes; its truth is demonstrated within the circle of our own
being—within the narrow limits of our own observation it is made plain, and we
should understand and comprehend. When we know this, then we know what the
Bible may say with regard to polygamy being true, because we find the evidence
of it in truth itself. That is what polygamy is worth. It is simply an extension
of pure marriage to all the social elements in the community, man and woman,
that is all.
Who is it
that says there is licentiousness connected with plural marriage? It is the
libertine; that man that is corrupt himself; who has worshiped at the shrine of
passion; whose passion clamors in his corrupt soul for victims. He dreams of it
and talks of it; and because the Saints believe in a plurality of wives, he
thinks there must certainly be a lack of moral purity there—virtue must be easy
with the people that have more than one wife.
What do
you think they have found out? After making experiments that have turned out
rather futile, they have found out that with all their mistaken notions of
their deluded fellow-citizens in the mountains, the virtue of woman and the
sanctity of the marriage relationship cannot be invaded with impunity—it is
guarded with jealousy. The same men that were brave in coming over the plains,
and energetic in making the roads and in building the bridges, etc., are still
here, and continue to be brave. They have not dared so much in the past that
they will stop daring now.
Are you
going to say something in support of plural marriage? No. I do not wish anybody
to tell that I have said a word by way of supporting and sustaining plural marriage.
Are you ashamed of it? No. Do you love it? Yes, I love it because it is true,
and stands alone, without my aid. "What are you talking about it for,
then?" That you may understand the truth and know its value, and secure to
yourselves the blessings that only can accrue from the knowledge of the truth.
That doctrine is safe and can take care of itself; and if you make an
application of the truth to yourselves, it will take care of you; it will
secure you from corruption, wretchedness, and death, and give you life and
immortality; while others will still sink under the accumulating weight of
corruption, until they go down to hell.
"But,"
says one, "I have been looking, but I have not seen much change that has
taken place in consequence of the introduction of polygamy." You are not a
very close observer, perhaps. When the first edition of Federal officers came
out here, we had hardly made a beginning in practical plurality of wives;
however, it was awful times for them; they could only once in a while see a
woman, and when they did see one, they inquired who she was. "O, she is
Elder such a one's wife." "Who is that woman over yonder?"
"She is brother so and so's wife." "Who is that woman that is
crossing the street?" "She is Bishop such a one's wife." "O,
the devil, the women are all married out here." They begin to look round
for a peculiar kind of institution that flourishes so well in Christendom,
where such prevail, where they make ample provisions for the gratification of
lustful passion no odds how foul, black, and damning in its consequences, still
it can find its gratification at those favored institutions. Those Federal
gentlemen began to look for similar accommodations in Utah; but instead of
finding them they found school houses and houses for the public worship of God,
dedicated to the best interests of humanity, for the improvement of the
condition of our race. Their peculiar institutions they could not find here,
and they could not stay; they went to Washington, and there they began to send up
awful howls about the sins of Utah, and the necessity of active measures by the
general government to chastise the Mormons in Utah.
How far
they have succeeded is evident. The great Buchanan war brought the flower of
the army of the United States out here; the bran and shorts were left behind.
They came to correct the poor misguided Mormons. For making prostitutes of the
women? No. There are plenty of them at home; but the Mormons make wives of
them, and this awakened all their sense of horror. It is this that excites our
friends in the east—because we think more and better of women than they do.
That is the foundation of all the difficulty; they do not complain of us for
any thing else now. When the C. V.'s from the west came out here they did not
succeed any better. Then they thought they would try the negro. He got part way
out here, got tired, and they turned him out. What they will do next to correct
our morals is not for me to say. They may tell us that we ought to demolish our
school houses and put up houses of assignation, and keep houses of
accommdation, such as travellers can find in other countries. They are well
pleased with our potatoes and johnny cake, but they would be still better
pleased if we would have the other luxury.
We fought
our way to this country against all the hardships and obstacles that stood in
our path, and, through God's blessing, we have overcome them; we have
cultivated the land and done the best that we could under the circumstances,
and we have provided for ourselves and for our wives and children as well as we
could, and we have been contented. If the husbands of Utah were poor, their
wives were willing to share that poverty with them; they were willing to nibble
a living from the same dry crust, out of the same stinted fare that we partook
of, because they were our wives, and we regarded them as honorable and as good
as ourselves, if they behaved as well. This our friends do not like. Our
business here in the mountains is to develop a community in which man and woman
shall find, through the extension of honorable, pure, just, and virtuous
marriage, the legitimate position that Heaven ordained them to occupy as wives
and mothers, husbands and fathers, and a response to every requirement of
nature, without stepping aside from the path of virtue and honor.
That is
what God designed when he commenced this work—"Why did He not introduce it
at the very commencement of this work?" Because He could
not—because our ears were not open to hear it—our prejudices would not allow us
to receive it. If I had been talked to about plurality of wives when I was
baptized into the Church, the Lord may know, but I do not know what I would
have done. I had to go wandering over the world preaching the Gospel years
after, had to work longer than Jacob aid for a wife to get myself in that state
of mind that the Lord dare name the doctrine to me. We were not aware that any
such a thing as plural marriage had to be introduced into the world; but the
Lord said it after a while, and we obeyed the best we knew how, and, no doubt,
made many crooked paths in our ignorance. We were only children, and the Lord
was preparing us for an introduction to the principles of salvation.
"What, the principles of salvation connected with marriage?" Yes;
because they are nowhere else. "Will not our preaching save us, our going
to Church, and our paying tithing?" People have been preaching, praying,
paying tithes, building cathedrals and churches, and the deadly work of
physical degeneracy is still going on until the race is nearly upon the brink
of extinction. Christianity, as it now is, and has been for centuries, has
proved entirely insufficient to stop the great evil—to check it in its fearful
growth.
The Lord
understood this when he talked to the people of Nephi: He told them they should
have but one wife, and concubines they should have none. Why would He not allow
them to have concubines? I suppose it was because He delighted in the chastity
of women. This was simply avowing His feeling with regard to that matter.
Concubinage was displeasing in His sight. He left them at liberty to have a
wife, but concubines they should have none; informing them that when He wanted
His people to raise up seed unto Him, and if it was necessary they should have
many wives He would command them. That is simply what He has done. He has
commanded us. It is well enough now for the brethren and sisters who have been
in practical polygamy for many years to begin to understand something of the
nature and object of the institution, that they may not trade it off simply for
admittance into the Union, or for anything whatever that may be offered for its
exchange. However their enemies may plead to the contrary, the Saints are
gathered together from all the world, that the provisions of a virtuous
marriage may be extended to all the social element in the community, and that
by this there should cease to be developed in that community the curse of
woman's prostitution or man's corruption, and where mothers in Zion can make it
their business to teach their children the way in which they should go; to
implant in early childhood principles of truth; to lead them to God; to grow
around the hearth like plants of righteousness, that the saying of the old
preacher may be verified, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he will not depart from it."
We are
not a numerous people, but we are more numerous than when the Lord told Adam
and Eve to be fruitful, and multiply and fill this their earthly inheritance
with intellectual beings like themselves. How well that first pair succeeded is
evidenced here to-day. We need not be discouraged, for we can count thousands
that are pledged to this work, which is established to re-people the world, to
fill the earth with virtuous, pure, and holy men and women. That is the work
that devolves upon us. Should every woman be married? Every woman should be
married for the same reasons that one woman is married, namely, to subserve the
same high, healthy, and God-like objects of our being. And for the same high
purpose should every man be married.
There are
certain facts of our existence which we cannot escape from. We are men and
women. The very reason why I have spoken here to-day is that we are men and
women; we have come here with men's and women's natures, passions, and
appetites; and if we are ever saved in heaven, we shall be saved as men and
women. Our business here is to save men and women by teaching them to live
lives of purity. These are self-evident truths. When we count up the men and women
that are in the world, we shall find a broad margin more of women than men; and
there is a numerical difference in the sexes, as they are developed in our
community and every other community. Women must be saved, if the task should
devolve on a man to marry two or three of them, and treat them as honorable
wives, bless them, and bless their children, provide for them, and teach them
principles of purity. When we who made this feeble beginning in that matter can
bear the struggle no longer, we will call around us our stalwart Sons and
daughters, and pledge them before high heaven to devote themselves for ever,
and their children after them, to the great work of man's regeneration.
Let us
get the body improved first, that the spirit may live and dwell in a pure
tabernacle. When this is done, we can go and cultivate the spirit as much as is
needful. The world wants a religion that will address itself to this task,
because it will enter into the relationship that exists between man and woman,
that will purify them and establish within them the seed of eternal life. Let
us pray always and never faint, and ask God to bless us in all that we do, and
never do anything that is not sufficiently holy that we can ask God to bless;
carrying the purity of Heaven's religion and ordained principles of salvation
into every relationship of our lives, and let the Zion of our God extend forth
upon all the earth from this point. What will become of the world? They will
live in their corruption until they sink and die in it. Our blessings are to
build up the kingdom of God in purity and in its perfection in these mountains.
This is our work, and may God help us, is my prayer, in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Singing by the tabernacle choir. Meeting dismissed with prayer by Elder Ezra T. Benson.
[DNW 4/12/66, p 4]
THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
_____
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 15:148, 4/12/66 p, 4]
Conference convened in the Tabernacle, G. S. L. City, on Friday, April 6th, 1866, at 10 a.m., President Brigham Young presiding.
There were on the stand, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, the First Presidency; Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. richards and George Q. Cannon, of the Twelve Apostles; John Smith, Patriarch; Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, of the First Presidency of the Seventies; Edwin D. Wooley and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum; Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer and George B. Wallace, the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishopric; George D. Watt and Edward L. Sloan, Reporters; with a great many Bishops and Elders.
The Tabernacle choir led by Elder Robert Sands, occupied the usual place; the American Fork choir was in front of the stand and directly under it, led y Elder E. Hunter.
Singing "Sweet is the work my God my king," by the Tabernacle choir, President H. C. Kimball prayed. American Fork Choir sang "Wake the song of jubilee."
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson was called upon to speak and said the present was an important tie, not alone for the Saints but for all mankind. The kingdom of God is established upon the earth, not by the passions, Ideas or notions of men, but y the power of God, and the revelations of Jesus Christ. Man is not carrying on this work, nor doing what is done; it is God who directs the destinies of His own work upon the earth; and He gives visions, revelations, wisdom and knowledge to His servants, and who can help it. He referred to the arrival of the Pioneers in this Valley, and to the condition of the country at that time. We did not come here in our own name and strength, but in the name of the Lord and in the strength of the God of Israel. And if men come here and desire to do wickedly, they will find that this people are opposed to it mentally and physically. The work is onward; and though we have opposition to encounter, if we exercise patience and be humble before God, keeping his commandments, we will see the work of God overcoming every opposition, and extending righteousness over the whole earth. He bore testimony to the Divine Mission of the Prophet Joseph, to President Young being his successor, to the purity and divinity of plural marriage; and to the untimate triumph of the principles of truth.
Elder Wm. Willes sang "There is a place in Utah, that I remember well."
[Elder Geo. Q. Cannon]
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon spoke on the fulfillment of the promises which God has made to His people; and the assurance that those yet in the future will be as certainly fulfilled. Referred to the blessing of peace enjoyed by the Saints under the most peculiar and adverse circumstances, when there were the least prospects of its continuation; and to the perpetuation of this and other blessings among the Saints if they are faithful.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Lorenzo Snow.
[6 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 4]
2 p.m.
Before the appointed time for opening the meeting had arrived, the Tabernacle was densely crowded; every niche of available standing room being occupied, the door-ways blocked up, and crowds being compelled to remain outside.
Singing by he American Fork choir. Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon. Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[President Joseph Young[
President Joseph Young addressed the Saints on the peaceful and holy feeling which accompanies the possession of the Holy spirit, and on the blessings which are obtained through obedience to the gospel. He exhorted them to continued and increased faithfulness, bore testimony to the truth, and prayed for the blesings of God to rest upon and abide with His people.
[Prest. D. H. Wells]
Prest. D. H. Wells touched upon our constitutional rights as citizens and as members of a religious organization. He showed that the Lod required this generation to put away evil, corruption and wickedness, and practice righteousness. God will save us by our obedience to His laws; and if any come to this Territory or into this Church for any object, or from any motives other than pure and holy ones, they are deceiving themselves, and had better have remained where they were in the world. It is our right, as it is the right of all, to worship God according to our own views and faith, without our religion being in any way interfered with. This right will be guaranteed to all men when the Kingdom of God bears rule, wherever that rule extends.
He referred to the charge of "disloyalty" brought against the Saints, showing that the Elders of the church have every inculeated obedience to the laws in every place where they labor, and in this Territory faithful adherence to the Constitution of our country, without their being the first instance in the history of the church of our having opposed any provision or refused to accede to anything that did not seek to rob us of our constitutional rights. When we preach our principles, before those whom they are laid can please themselves whether they receive or reject them; but Congress sitting in session has no right to decide whether any part or all of them are true or false. The Constitution throws its broad folds in protection over all religions in the nation, yet some of the contradictory principles taught by opposing sects must of necessity be false. He cautioned the Saints against being led away by the influences of evil which are seeking to seduce them from the path of righteousness, virtue and holiness; and urged them to be constantly on guard against such corrupting spirits.
Elder Wm. Willes sand an original song written by himself, -- "I'm a merry hearted Mormon."
[Elder Geo. A. Smith]
Elder Geo. A. Smith spoke briefly of is travels lately through Tooele, and Utah counties; and of the great increase of children that he saw everywhere on his travels. He strongly recommended the Juvenile Instructor to be placed in the hands of the rising generation, as a means of supplying them with knowledge in an attractive manner.
Singing by the American Fork Choir.
Prayer by Elder Edward L. Sloan.
[7 Apr, 10 am*]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 4-5]
Saturday 7th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
American Fork choir sang "May we who know the joyful sound."
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon then presented the authorites of the Church to the Conference who were unanimously sustained by vote in the following order:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young, his counselors. Elder David fullmer, who was First Counselor to Prest. D. Spencer, being released at his own request, on account of his failing health.
William Eddington, John L. Blythe, John T. Caine, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas F. Jeremy, Geo. W. Thatcher, Joseph F. Smith, Peter Nebeker, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum; Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott; members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
William Squires, President of the elders' Quorum; James Smith and Peter Latter, his counselors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; William Carmichael and Robert Price, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teacher's Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Warren Hardie, his counselor.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works; John Sharp, is assistant.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said Fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
Elder Wm. Willes sang a song.
[Elder P. H. Young]
Elder P. H. Young referred to the gospel being brought to his father's hose, and his father, his brothers, Presidents Brigham and Joseph Young, and himself being baptized thirty-four years ago. He pointed out that persecution has invariably attended obedience to the gospel, yet the church has continued to grow and prosper exceedingly.
Elder John D. T. McAllister sang "We'll plow, we'll sow and joyful reap."
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor showed that we do not found our claim to have authority from God upon having received it from any other organization, or through any church upon the earth; but that the authority of the priesthood comes from God and we know it. He put the question direct, Is your religion true, and do you know it? when the congregation responded with a perfect shout of "ayes." With this knowledge, we are the only people in the world who have the courage to preach and practice truth and righteousness and reprove iniquity. Took up the subject of marriage and plurality of wives, quoting the constitutional provision with reference to religion, and showing that marriage is recognized in the Greek, Catholic and Anglican churches as a religious ceremony, and a vital part of religion. In proving that the doctrine is a necessary part of our faith he said, "Joseph Smith told others and he told me, that if this principle was not sustained this Church could not continue to advance. It involved not only our happiness in time but in eternity; and every man or woman claiming to be in the Church who opposes this principle is on the high road to apostacy, if not already apostate. God will maintain His work and the miserable, corrupt beings who seek to bring evil upon Zion and practice wickedness among her people will fail in every attempt to accomplish their hellish purposes if we remain faithful to God.
[John Taylor]
[DNW 15:186, 5/17/66, p 2; JD 11:216]
REMARKS
By Elder JOHN TAYLOR, in the Tabernacle, G. S. L. city,
April 7th, 1866.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
It is
good for the Saints to meet together; it is good to reflect upon the work of
God; it is good to be in possession of His blessings; it is a great privilege
to enjoy the light of eternal truth, and to be delivered from the darkness, the
error, the confusion, and the iniquity that prevails generally throughout the
world. There are but very few men in the world who can realize the blessings
which we enjoy unless their minds are enlightened by the Spirit of the living
God. There are, in fact, comparatively few among the Saints who realize their
true position, and who can comprehend correctly the blessings and privileges
that they are in possession of; for men can only grasp these things as they are
enlightened by the spirit of truth, by the spirit of revelation—by the Holy
Ghost—which has been imparted to the Saints by the laying on of hands, and
through their obedience to the principles of the everlasting Gospel. If men are
in the dark in relation to any of these principles, it is because they do not
live their religion; because they do not walk according to that light which has
been given to them; because, as we have heard here, they do not pray
sufficiently, they do not deny themselves of evil, and cleave close enough to
the principles of eternal truth. The Gospel is calculated to lead us on from
truth to truth, and from intelligence to intelligence, until that Scripture
will be fulfilled which declares that we shall see as we are seen and know as
we are known, until one will not have to say to another, know ye the Lord, but
all shall know Him from the least unto the greatest, until the light and
intelligence of God shall beam forth upon all, and all shall bask in the
sunlight of eternal truth.
It is a
blessing to have the privilege of meeting together in our general Conference,
where the Authorities of the Church can assemble from different parts of the
Territory, and of the earth, to learn the law of God, to transact business
pertaining to His Church and kingdom, and to build up and establish
righteousness on the earth. We cannot realize the extent of the blessings that
we enjoy. We are situated differently from any other people under the face of
the heavens. There is no people, no government, no kingdom, no nation, no
assembly of people, civil, religious, political, or otherwise, that enjoy the
blessings that we are in possession of this day; for whilst others are groping
in the dark and laboring in a state of uncertainty in relation to the position
that they occupy, whether political or religious, we are free from any surmises
or doubts concerning these matters.
As it
regards our political status, we are well acquainted with that; we know the
destiny of this Church and kingdom; we know the position that we occupy towards
God and towards the world; we know that the Lord will accomplish His own
purposes; and having this knowledge, we rest perfectly easy in relation to the
result. We know that the kingdom of God, which is established among us, will
continue to spread, increase, and extend, until it covers the earth; and we
know that all the plotting, and machinations, and designs, and combinations of
men and devils will not be able to stop it in its progress; but as it has begun
to roll forth, its speed will continue to accelerate until it has accomplished
all for which it is designed of God, and until the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and He shall reign with
universal empire over this earth, and to Him every knee shall bow and every
tongue confess. Therefore, we have no trembling, no feeling of fear, no anxiety
or care as to the result. All that we have to care about in relation to these
matters is, that we, individually and collectively, do our duty; that, we
maintain our integrity before God; that we honor our Priesthood and our
calling; that we pursue a course that shall at all times receive the smiles and
approbation of the Most High, and then as to the result we care not for we know
what the result will be.
As it
regards our religious status, we feel just the same in relation to that, for
everything is connected with our religion and our God. We are not indebted to
any church in existence for the position which we occupy, nor for the
intelligence we are in possession of. We have no need to trace our authority
through the Popes, or through any other medium, we care nothing about them. We
do not need either to go to the Roman or to the Greek Church to find out
whether we are right or wrong, where our religion commenced, and whether we are
placed on the right or on the wrong foundation. We are not under the necessity
of searching the Jewish records, or any other records, in relation to these
matters. We are not indebted to any of the schools, academies, or systems of
divinity, or theology, or any of the religious systems extant, nor to any of
the heathen nations. There is no nation, people, kingdom, government; no
religious or political authority of any kind that is of an earthly nature, that
we have to go to in relation to this matter. We disclaim the whole of them;
claim no affinity to any of them; are not of them nor from them; and,
consequently, so far as they are concerned, we are perfectly independent of
them. Our religion came from God; it is a revelation from the Most High; it is
that everlasting Gospel which John saw an angel bring to be preached in all the
earth, and to every people, nation, kindred, and tongue, crying with a loud
voice, fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come.
Then God
is the author of our religion; He has revealed it from the heavens; He has sent
His holy angels for that purpose, who communicated it to Joseph Smith and
others. Having restored the everlasting Gospel, He has sent it forth to all the
world, and those men who have delivered that Gospel to us have received it by
revelation directly from God, and have been ordained by that authority. If God
has not spoken, if the heavens have not been opened, if the angels of God have
not appeared, then we have no religion—it is all a farce; for, as I have said
before, we claim no kindred, no affinity, or relationship with them—God forbid
that we should, we do not want it. This, then, is the platform we stand upon;
this is the position that we occupy before God; for this is God's work that we
are engaged in. If He has given any authority in the last days to mankind, we
are in possession of that authority; and if He has not, then we have no
authority, nor any true religion, nor any true hope. I shall not this morning
enter into all the arguments concerning these matters. All that I can say to
you is what Paul said in his day, "Ye are His witnesses of these things,
and so is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him."
Brethren,
is your religion true, and do you know it? (Voices, yes). Yes, you know and
realize it; it is written in living, indelible characters on your hearts, which
nothing can remove. We are living witnesses of the truth of God and the
revelations which He has given to His people in these last days. Well, then, we
are not concerned about what the nations of the world can do against it, for
they will crumble and totter, and thrones will be cast down, as it is written
in the Scriptures. The empires of the earth may be dissolved, and all the
nations may crumble to pieces, and wars, and pestilence, and famine may stalk
through the earth; this is not our affair; they are not our nations; they are
not God's nations. Religionists may squabble, and contend, and quarrel, and
live in difficulty, doubt, and uncertainty in relation to their affairs; but
that is none of our business, it is entirely their own affair. There may be
written upon the whole world, religious and political, "Mene, mene, tekel,
upharsin." (Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting) What
is that to us? It is none of our affair. We are not associated with them; our
interest is not bound up with them; they have nothing which we can sustain. In
relation to all these matters we feel perfectly easy. If war goes forth and
desolates the nations; if confusion exist among religious denominations; and if
they should continue to act as they are doing, like perfect fools, it is their
own business. The Pope may tremble on his throne, and be afraid that France or
some other power will not sustain him; it is not our affair; we feel perfectly
easy and tranquil; all is right with us, for we are in the hands of God, and it
is his business to take care of his Saints; therefore, we feel perfectly easy,
quiet, and peaceable in relation to all these matters.
Would
they try to injure us? Yes. They never tried anything else, and we are not
indebted to them for any thing which we enjoy. Did any of them help us along in
our religious matters? Who are we indebted to in this world? Is there a
religious society under the heavens that we are indebted to for any ideas or
intelligence which we possess? Not one. Is there any priest in Christendom that
has helped us forward in the least in our religious career? Not one. You cannot
find one. Are we indebted to anybody for our political status? We are not. Who
is there that helps us? There has never been a man yet who dared, at any time,
to advocate our principles and rights in the legislative halls of this or any
other nation; there has never been a man who has had the honesty, and
truthfulness, and integrity to do it; they dare not do it, because it is
unpopular. We dare advocate our principles, and God dare help us; and if we
enjoy any rights, and privileges, and peace—if there are any blessings of any
kind that we enjoy—we derive them from our Heavenly Father, and we are not
indebted to any power, government, rule, or authority, religious, political, or
otherwise, throughout the whole of this habitable globe, for any blessings or
privileges we enjoy, excepting sometimes, by a little persecution they help us
to be a little more united, that's all; and we do not thank them for this, for
it does not come with their good will. If their lies shall make the truth of
God abound to his glory, all right; they will lie on, because they are of their
father the devil, and his work they will do. He was a liar from the beginning;
he is the father of lies, and they are his children. Therefore, in relation to
all of these matters we feel perfectly easy.
I was
asked the other day if I would like to go and bear testimony before the court
in relation to whether polygamy was a religious ordinance or not. I answered
yes, if they subpoena me. They have not done it yet, and I do not know whether
they will or not. I am quite willing to go and testify to that matter at any
time. I think I will testify to you here. To begin with, there is nothing that
I know of, or am acquainted with in this world, but what is a part of my
religion and mixed up with it. It is all religion with me. I was told that the
parties desired to know whether or no I believed that polygamy was a religious
ordinance or institution. If this question had been put to me, I should have
been inclined to ask the parties what they understood by the word religion;
because, if I could not find out what their view of religion was, of course I
could not tell whether I, in their estimation, had any or not.
This
consideration led me to a few reflections in relation to this matter. I had
recourse to some of our dictionaries, to find out what popular lexicographers
said about it. I referred to the standard works of several different nations,
which I find to be as follows:—
Webster
(American), "Religion includes a belief in the revelation of his (God's)
will to man, and in man's obligation to obey his command."
Worcester
(a prominent American). 1. An acknowledgement of our obligation to God as our
creator. 2. A particular system of faith or worship. We speak of the Greek,
Hindoo, Jewish, Christian, and Mahomedan religion.
Johnson
(English), "Religion, a system of faith and worship."
Dictionary
of the French Academy, "La croyance que l'on a de la divinite' et le culte
qu'on lue rend en consequence."
Foi
croyance.
The
belief we have in God and his worship.
Faith—belief.
German
Dictionary of Wurterbuch, by Dr. N. N. W. Meissner, a standard work in Germany.
"Religion,
glaube, faith, persuasion."
Here,
then we have the opinion of four of the great leading nations of the earth, as
expressed by their acknowledged standard works, on what they consider to be the
meaning of the word religion.
The
German has it—faith, persuasion. The French—faith, belief; faith in God and his
worship. The English—a system of faith and worship. These three are very
similar.
Next we
have Webster, American, which is our acknowledged standard, and he says,
"Religion includes a belief in the revelations of God's will to man, and
in man's obligation to obey his commands."
This is,
indeed, very pointed; and if this definition be correct, it would necessarily
lead us to inquire, as did Paul of old. "Whether is it better to obey man
or God judge ye."
Worcester,
another prominent American lexicographer, speaks of "Religion as an
acknowledgement of God as our creator, and a particular system of faith or
worship." Here he agrees with the French, German, and English. He then
quotes from a prominent work—"We speak of the Greek, Hindoo, Jewish,
Christian, and Mahomedan religions." He might very properly have added
Mormon.
Faith,
belief, and worship seem to be the prominent idea advanced, with the addition
of our popular lexicographer Walker, who adds to the faith in God, that it must
be in the revelations of His will to man, and in man's obligations to obey His
commands.
Having
now found out what the meaning of religion is, we shall be the better prepared
to inquire whether a plurality of wives, or, as it is sometimes called,
polygamy, is a part of our religious faith or not.
The
Constitution of the United States says that "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof." I have thought of the law which Congress has made in relation to
polygamy. The question, however, necessarily arises, is it constitutional for
Congress to interfere with religious matters—with the establishment of
religion, or the free exercise thereof? The Constitution says no. Then is
polygamy a religious question or is it not? Is it a marriage ceremony or is it
not? Marriage is received by the Greek church as a solemn sacrament of the
church; the Roman Catholic church and the Church of England also admit marriage
to be a religious sacrament; and so it is admitted by the great mass of
religious sects now in the world. These are facts that need no proof; everybody
is acquainted with them. It is true that in France and in the United States
magistrates are authorized to officiate in solemnizing marriages. But in
France, to this day, unless they are married by a minister of religion, many of
the more conscientious feel that they are living in a state of adultery.
Now, in
relation to the position that we occupy concerning plurality, or, as it is
termed, polygamy, it differs from that of others. I have noticed the usage of
several nations regarding marriage; but, as I have said, we are not indebted to
any of them for our religion, nor for our ideas of marriage, they came from
God. Where did this commandment come from in relation to polygamy? It also came
from God. It was a revelation given unto Joseph Smith from God, and was made
binding upon His servants. When this system was first introduced among this
people, it was one of the greatest crosses that ever was taken up by any set of
men since the world stood. Joseph Smith told others; he told me, and I can bear
witness of it, "that if this principle was not introduced, this Church and
kingdom could not proceed." When this commandment was given, it was so far
religious, and so far binding upon the Elders of this Church, that it was told
them if they were not prepared to enter into it, and to stem the torrent of
opposition that would come in consequence of it, the keys of the kingdom would
be taken from them. When I see any of our people, men or women, opposing a
principle of this kind, I have years ago set them down as on the high road to
apostacy, and I do to-day; I consider them apostates, and not interested in
this Church and kingdom. It is so far, then, a religious institution, that it
affects my conscience and the consciences of all good men—it is so far
religious that it connects itself with time and with eternity. What are the
covenants we enter into, and why is it that Joseph Smith said that unless this
principle was entered into this kingdom could not proceed? We ought to know the
whys and the wherefores in relation to these matters, and understand something
about the principle enunciated. These are simply words; we wish to know their
signification.
Where is
there in the world a people that make any pretensions to have any claim upon
their wives in eternity? Where is there a priest in all Christendom that
teaches anything of this kind? You cannot find them. Marriage is solemnized
until death do them part, and when death comes to either party, then there is
an end to the whole matter, and what comes after death is in the dark to them.
It was so with us up to the time of the giving of that revelation; we had no
claim upon one wife in eternity. They had obeyed the Gospel as we had; they had
been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins as we had;
we had been married to them according to the laws of the land, and were living
as other Gentiles were, but we had no claim upon them in eternity. It was
necessary that one grand truth should be unlocked, which is, that man and woman
are destined to live together and have a claim upon each other in eternity. The
Priesthood being restored, the key was turned in relation to this matter, and
the privilege was placed not only within the reach of the Elders of this
Church, but within the reach of all who should be considered worthy of it, to
make covenants with their partners that should be binding in the eternal worlds;
that in this respect, as well as in other respects, we might stand as a
distinguished people, separate and apart from the rest of the earth, depending
upon God for our religion.
Previous
to this revelation, who in all the world had any claim upon their wives
in the eternal world, or what wife had a claim upon her husband? Who ever
taught them any such principle? Nobody. Some of the novel writers have noticed
it, but they did not claim authority from heaven; they merely wrote their own
opinions and followed the promptings of their own instincts, which led them
hope that such a thing might be the case; but there was no certainty about it.
Our position was just as Joseph said: if we could not receive the Gospel which
is an everlasting Gospel; if we could not receive the dictum of a Priesthood
that administers in time and eternity; if we could not receive a principle that
would save us in the eternal world, and our wives and children with us, we were
not fit to hold this kingdom, and could not hold it, for it would be taken from
us and given to others. This is reasonable, proper, consistent, and recommends
itself to the minds of all intelligence when it is reflected upon in the light
of truth. Then, what did this principle open up to our view? That our wives, who
have been associated with us in time—who sad borne with us the heat and burden
of the day, who had shared in our afflictions, trials, troubles, and
difficulties, that they could reign with us in the eternal kingdoms of God, and
that they should be sealed to us not only for time, but for all eternity. This
unfolded to us the eternal fitness and relationship of things as they exist on
the earth, of man to man, and of husband to wife; it unfolds the relationship
they should occupy in time to each other, and the relationship that will
continue to exist in eternity. Hence it is emphatically a religious subject so
deep, sacred, and profound, so extensive and far-reaching, that it is one of
the greatest principles that was ever revealed to man. Did we know anything
about it before? No. How did we get a knowledge of it? By revelation. And shall
we treat lightly these things? No. The Lord says that his servants may take to
themselves more wives than one. Who gives to them one wife? The Lord. And has
he not a right to give to them another, and another, and another? I think he
has that right. Who has a right to dispute it, and prohibit a union of that
kind, if God shall ordain it? Has not God as much right to-day to give to me,
or you, or any other person two, three, four, five, ten, or twenty wives, as he
had anciently to give them to Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, etc.? Has not the
Lord a right to do what he pleases in this matter, and in all other matters,
without the dictation of man? I think He has. Every principle associated with
the Gospel which we have received is eternal, hence our marriage covenant is an
eternal covenant given unto us of God. Then, when poor, miserable, corrupt men
would endeavor to trample us under their feet because of the principles of truth
which we have received from God, shall we falter in the least? No, never. Its
opposers may croak against it until they go down to the dust of death; God will
defend his work which he has introduced in the latter days; and, the Lord being
our helper, we will help him to sustain it.
Associated
with this is another important principle—the baptism for the dead. One of the
prophets has said that, "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord; and he shall turn the hearts
of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." This Elias signifies a
restorer. Jesus said of John the Baptist, in his day, "And if ye will
receive it, this is the Elias (or restorer) which was for to come."
"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." But they would not hear:
they did not receive it. They beheaded John, crucified Jesus, killed his
apostles, and persecuted his followers; and their temple, nation, and polity
were destroyed. But the times of restitution spoken of by the prophets must
take place; the restorer must come "before that great and terrible day of
the Lord." The hearts of the fathers must be turned to the children, and
the hearts of the children to the fathers, or the earth will be cursed. This
great eternal marriage covenant lays at the foundation of the whole; when this
was revealed, then followed the other. Then, and not till then, could the
hearts of the fathers be turned to their children, and the hearts of the
children to the fathers; then, and not till then, could the restoration be
effectually commenced, time and eternity be connected, the past, present, and
future harmonize, and the eternal justice of God be vindicated. "Saviors
come upon Mount Zion to save the living, redeem the dead, unite man to woman
and woman to man, in eternal, indissoluble ties; impart blessings to the dead,
redeem the living, and pour eternal blessings upon posterity.
Let us
now go back to the action of Congress in relation to plural marriage, of which
these eternal covenants are the foundation. The Lord says, "I will
introduce the times of the restitution of all things; I will show you my
eternal covenants, and call upon you to abide in them; I will show you how to save
yourselves, your wives and children, your progenitors and posterity, and to
save the earth from a curse. Congress says, if you fulfill that law we will
inflict upon you pains and penalties, fines and imprisonments; in effect, we
will not allow you to follow God's commands. Now, if Congress possessed the
constitutional right to do so, it would still be a high-handed outrage upon the
rights of man; but when we consider that they cannot make such a law without
violating the Constitution, and thus nullifying the act, what are we to think
of it? Where are we drifting to. After having, with uplifted hands to heaven,
sworn that they will "make no law respecting the establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," to thus sacrilegiously
stand between a whole community and their God, and deliberately debar them, so
far as they have the power, from observing his law, do they realize what they
are doing? Whence came this law on our statute books? Who constituted them our
conscience keepers? Who appointed them the judge of our religious faith, or
authorized them to coerce us to transgress a law that is binding and imperative
on our consciences? We do not expect that Congress is acquainted with our
religious faith; but, as members of the body politic, we do claim the
guarantees of the Constitution and immunity from persecution on merely
religious grounds.
What are
we to think of a United States judge who would marry a man to another man's
wife. He certainly ought to know better. We are told that she was a second
wife, and, therefore, not acknowledged. Indeed, this is singular logic. If she
was not a wife, then polygamy is no crime in the eyes of the law; for Congress
have passed no law against whoredom. A man may have as many mistresses as he
please, without transgressing any law of Congress. The act in relation to
polygamy contemplates punishing a man for having more wives, not mistresses. If
she was simply his mistress, then the law is of no effect; and the very fact of
Congress passing such a law is the strongest possible proof, in law, of the
existence of a marriage covenant, which, until that law was passed, was by them
considered valid. If, then, she was not his wife, no person could be punished
under that law for polygamy. If she was his wife, then the judge transgressed
the law which he professionally came to maintain.
In
relation to all these matters, the safe path for the Saints to take is, to do
right, and, by the help of God, seek diligently and honorably to maintain the
position which they hold. Are we ashamed of anything we have done in marrying
wives? No. We shall not be ashamed before God and the holy angels, much less
before a number of corrupt, miserable scoundrels, who are the very dregs of
hell. We care nothing for their opinions, their ideas, or notions; for they do
not know God, nor the principles which he has revealed. They wallow in the sink
of corruption, as they would have us do; but, the Lord being, our helper, we
will not do it, but we will try to do right and keep the commandments of God,
live our religion, and pursue a course that will secure to us the smiles and
approbation of God our Father. Inasmuch as we do this He will take care of us,
maintain His own cause, and sustain His people. We have a right to keep His
commandments. But what would you do if the United States were to bring up an
army against you on account of polygamy, or on account of any other religious
subject? We would trust in God, as we always have done. Would you have no
fears? None. All the fears that I am troubled with is that this people will not
do right—that they will not keep the commandments of God. If we will only
faithfully live our religion, we fear no earthly power. Our safety is in God.
Our religion is an eternal religion. Our covenants are eternal covenants, and
we expect to maintain the principles of our religion on the earth, and to
possess them in the heavens. And if our wives and children do right, and we as
fathers and husbands do right in this world, we expect to have our wives and
children in eternity. Let us live in that way which will secure the approbation
of God, that we, his representatives on the earth, may magnify our calling,
honor Him, and maintain our integrity to the end; that we may be saved in His
celestial kingdom, with our wives, and children, and brethren, from generation
to generation, worlds without end. Amen.
Anthem by the Tabernacle choir.
Prayer by Elder F. D. Richards.
[7 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 5]
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Singing by the American Fork choir. Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith. Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
Elder George Q. Cannon read the following names of elders selected to go on missions, and submitted them to the conference, which sustained the selections: --
Wm. Grant, Edward Petty and Isaac Kimball, G. S. L. City; John Rees and Wm. Gwin, Box Elder; George Hunter and John Urie, Cedar City; Moses Thatcher, Logan; John Peter Wretburg, Sugar House Ward; Elmer Taylor, Springville; John Ezra Pace, Harmony; Nephi Faucet, St. George; Marius Ensign and C. P. Leston, Santa Clara; Edwin Walker, Toquerville.
[Elder Franklin D. Richardsd]
Elder Franklin D. Richards reasoned on the uncharitable, illiberal and persecuting manner in which the Saints have continually been treated. Because they have dared to serve God and keep His commandments the wrath and enmity of the wicked have been ever directed against them. Yet could the world realize and understand our motives and objects, and the spirit of inspiration with which God blesses His servants, and would they study their best intereests, they would know that we are their friends, and they would come and seek counsel from the servants of God.
Elder W. Willes sang "My own home Deseret."
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith noticed some of the predictions that have been uttered concerning the destruction of "Mormonism" and its annihilation; showing it has outlived them, and has prospered; while apostates, who sought to bring evil upon it, have sunk from sight and are forgotten except when an Elder of Israel alludes to them. By referring to the history of several persons, in the early days of the Church, who had become filled with pride and vanity and had given way to apostacy, he illustrated the danger of faultfindings, complainings, and giving way to evil and the spirit of apostacy. In a very interesting historical discourse, he showed that the way of the apostate is a hard one, and leads to all the suffering, misery and bitterness which render existence unendurable.
Anthem by the American Fork choir. singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder E. D. Woolley.
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 5]
Sunday, 8th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Elder A. M. Lyman prayed. Singing by the American Fork choir.
[Prest. H. C. Kimball]
Prest. H. C. Kimball spoke on several principles of the gospel, and on the sacred character of the covenants entered into by the Saints with the Lord, encouraging the people to keep them inviolate that the blessings of God may be with them.
Elder J. D. T. McAllister sang, "Let them talk of this earth."
[President B. Young]
President B. Young made the following remarks, which were reported by Elder George D. Watt: --
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 5]
It will
give me great pleasure to speak a few words to the people, and I shall be happy
if I can make myself heard by this vast assemblage of Saints.
Much has
been said by our brethren since the commencement of our two days' meeting and
during conference, with regard to the social life and habits of the Latter-day
Saints; and all that has been said is in conformity with that endless variety
which we see in all the works of God; for no two men express themselves alike
in describing circumstances or in teaching doctrine. The doctrines which we
have embraced are exceedingly dear to the faithful believer, and I may also
say, that doctrines, how erroneous soever they may be, are as sacred to the
person who believes them as our doctrines are to us.
Our faith
and our acts are known to each other, and also to the world, although they are
held forth by many in an unfair light. However, when an untruth is told against
the Latter-day Saints, a conviction that it is untrue comes to every person who
hears it, and the Spirit of Christ, that enlighteneth every man that cometh
into the world, teacheth the children of men true principles.
I will
now give you, in short, my opinion with regard to plural marriage. It is of
God, and He has revealed it from the Heavens and made it obligatory upon the
Saints in the last days. I am as much a believer in plural marriage as any of
my brethren who have spoken. It is embraced in the faith of the Latter[day
Saints and practiced by many of them. If I have a wife who wishes to leave me,
let her make it known to me and she is as free to go from me as she is to stay
with me. This is my doctrine. Every wife I may possess is as free as the air;
if they choose to stay with me they can stay; if they wish to leave me they are
equally as free; but they must not intrude upon their most sacred covenants,
nor suffer others to intrude upon them. But otherwise from this, they are as
free to go as they are to stay; they can go to the east, or to the west, to the
north or to the south. They are as free to go, if they so wish, as they are to
drink the water of City Creek; but if they violate their covenants, the curse
of God will rest upon them, and if others intrude upon our rights in our
domestic relations, we mean them to suffer the penalty.
To ask
any person to be a Latter-day Saint, unless he wishes to be, is a thing I never
do. I teach the people the truth; they that receive it in the love of it, will
abide in it; they have the same liberty to reject it that they have to receive
it. It is not required of me to make people believe the truth, whether they
will or not. It is obligatory upon me to tell them the truth, to teach them
correct doctrine, and leave them to take their choice, whether they receive it
and live by it, and be saved, or reject it and be damned.
I will
now take the liberty of making a statement to this congregation,, and to this
community -- to those who are Saints and to those who are not Saints -- to the
Jew and the Greek-- to the Christian and the Gentile, the old, the middle aged,
the young and children -- in regard to the circumstance which has occurred here
in our city within a few days past. The question is asked by thousands, no
doubt, "Is this according to Brother Brigham's counsel? Is this done by
counsel, and does Brother Brigham justify such things?" Whether I justify
that act or not is not the property of any other person living; it is my own.
"Brother
Brigham, did you counsel any such thing as killing Mr. Brassfield?"
I did
not. I know no more about it than you do. That which has transpired I have
merely heard, and that which instigated the killing of that man is not known to
me.
"suppose
a man should enter your house and decoy away from you a wife of yours, what
would you do under the circumstance?"
I would
lay judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, so help me God. I
say that for myself and not for another. I am for defending the truth of God
and the ordinances of His house. I have enlisted to be His servant, and a
co-worker and fellow laborer with Him, and with my elder brother, Jesus Christ,
and to sustain His laws, and the liberty to proclaim the doctrine of salvation
to the world; and I am on hand to do so. We say that this is right, others say
that it is wrong. As was observed by Elder Amasa M. Lyman in his remarks here,
we dare do a great many things, and leave the result in the hands of God; for
He rules and overrules, guides and dictates, and controls the acts of the
children of men; and He does so in a very different way from what they wish at
many times.
We dare
defend ourselves against the attacks of thieves and robbers; we dare preach the
truth; we dare baptize people into the Kingdom of God -- into the household of
faith; we dare teach them the principles of life and salvation, though all hell
may growl and roar, and threaten and vomit forth its dark insinuations. God
will exalt the just, and the wicked and the ungodly will fail to maintain
themselves in their wickedness. We dare do all this; we dare tell the world
that Joseph Smith was a man of God -- a Prophet of the Lord -- when he was here
in the flesh -- that he is now a man of God, and still a Prophet of the Most
High. The Holy Priesthood was delivered to him, and he delivered it to others,
in which Priesthood we have greatly rejoiced. That this is true, ye are my
witnesses. This congregation know whether "Mormonism" is true or not;
they know it, not merely because some man has said so, but they know it by the
revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have
taken this opportunity on this occassion, to say what I have relating to the
killing of Mr. Brassfield for entering the house of one of the Saints and
stealing away his wife. Were I absent from my home, I would rejoice to know
that I had friends there to protect and guard the virtue of my household; and I
would thank God for such friends.
We are
still in existence as a people; still livng and doing. We are constantly being
told that we shall not live; yet still we live. When Brother Kimball and myself
were baptized, they gave six months for "Mormonism" to live; it lived
out the six months and spread and grew, and prospered in our hands. They have
given us thirty days and sixty days, and six months, and a year and two years,
etc., to see the destruction of "Mormonism," still it grows and
flourishes. It has been said in this city "in sixty days your leader,
Brigham Young, will be in our hands." The sixty days passed. It was then
said that in ninety days the "Arch Deceiver" would be sure to fall
into their hands, be taken captive and be punished for is crimes.
That
period also passed and Brigham Young still lives, and through the blessing of
the Lord he is going to live; and this people will live, and spread abroad, and
inherit the balleys of the mountains, and they will go forth and inherit other
valleys; and in a little while they will be crying out for more room; and,
again, in a little while, they will cry for more room, and thus Zion will
spread abroad. The providences of God, our Heavenly Father, will lead and
overrule the dings of the wicked to results favoring His purposes, and as they
are led to destruction, and the earth is cleansed from its corruption, Zion
will spread abroad and ultimately fill the whole earth.
We need
have no fears. We have none. I have never feared but one thing with regard to
this people called Latter-day Saints -- for myself, for my brethren the
Apostles, for my sisters and their children, and for all the household of faith
-- one fear only has rested upon me, and that is, that we will not live our
religion as strictly and as truly as we should.
If I were
able to talk to you longer, I would like to preach to you principles of life
and salvation, to lead the people along, and for their guidance and direction,
their comfort and consolation, their victory and ultimae conquest over sin in
themselves, in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in our country and
throughout the world, that the kingdom of God may spread far and wide, gather
up the remnants of Israel, until we shall see the Jews gather home to the land
of Palestine to await the coming of their Lord and Master, for whom they have
looked so long, until righteousness shall go forth like the morning light,
spreading its genial influenes over all the earth, and man and all things upon
the earth acknowledge the rule of Him whose right it is to reign.
I must be
statisfied with what little I have said. May God bless you, and I bless you in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by elder Geo. A. smith.
[8 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 5]
2 p.m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Elder George Q. Cannon prayed. Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[Elder Daid P. Kimball]
Elder David P. Kimball, who had just arrived from Europe, gave a brief account of his labors while absent; testifying to the power of God made manifest in answer to his prayers; and spoke of the progress of the work in Europe under the direction of Pres. B. Young, junr. He called at Nauvoo on his way home, and there met with part of the Prophet Joseph's family. Some of the buildings still stand as they did when the Saints were compelled to leave them; but where the Temple stood a vineyard was being made. He expressed his joy at returning hoe, and bore testimony to the work.
[Elder Charles S. Kimball]
Elder Charles S. Kimball, who had arrived with his bother David, also referred to his misison, and testified to the fulfillment of the blessings pronounced on his head by the servants of God before he left this city to go to Europe. He spoke of the power of God which he had experienced while absent; and testified to the truth of the gospel.
Singing by the American Fork choir.
[Pres. D. H. Wells]
Pres. D. H. Wells expressed his pleasure at seeing young men, who were born in the church, going forth in the power of God, and accomplishing good among the nations. He reasoned on the principle of government, showing that we must first learn to control and govern ourselves before we are capable of governing others. Touched upon the growth of the work, and the power and blessings that result from unity of purpose and action. Pointing to a lack of accommodation in the Tabernacle for the vast congregation assembled, he urged the necessity of having the New Tabernacle ready to hold meetings in by next Conference; and said that carpenters and other workmen for that building might be called for through the bishops, and when called for he hoped they would respond cheerfully and promptly.
[Elder Heber J. Richards]
Elder Heber J. Richards, who had arrived with Elders D. P. And C. S. Kimball, expressed his gratitude at returning from his mission, Had been able to do some good while absent and had acquired an experience and a knowledge which he appreciated.
[Pres. H. C. Kimball]
Pres. H. C. Kimball followed up the remarks of Pres. Wells on the importance of having the New Tabernacle finished to hold next Conference in. By doing so we will please God, and His holy angels who are around, working for our safety. He referred to the missionaries who have just returned, and showed that if a man takes a course to sustain himself in righteousness before the Lord, he will grow in the power of God continually. He blessed the people and the priesthood in the name of Israel's God, and all who labor for the welfare of Zion.
The following additional names, of Elders selected to go on missions, were presented to the Conference and unanimously sustained: --
Isaac Aldredge, Lehi; James Smith, Provo; Joseph Lawson, Ogden; Theren H. Spencer, G. S. L. City; Richard Benson, Parowan; Edward A. Noble and Edgar Dalrymple, Bountiful, Davis county.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
President brigham Young instructed the bishops to select praying men for teamsters to go for the immigration, -- good men, who use good language, and are of good habits; men who will be fathers to the people, kind to the Saints, and kind to their teams.
Conference adjourned until 10 o'clock on the 6th of October next, when it is hoped the New Tabernacle will be in a condition for Conference to assemble in it.
President B. Young pronounced the closing benediction in the following words: --
I bless my brethren of the apostles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I bless the High Priests and the Seventies and the Elders, and ask God my Father in Heaven to pour upon the richest blessings of heaven and earth; to bless them with the things of the earth, the mysteries f the Kingdom, and the glories of the upper worlds; with wisdom, with knowledge and with understanding. I also bless the Bishops and the Lesser Priesthood with the same blessings; and I bless this congregation and the community of the Latter-day Saints, and all the honest in heart upon the face of the whole earth. I bless you as fathers, as mothers, as children, as brothers and as sisters. I bless our musicians; I bless our brethren and sisters who have come here from a distance to make melody in our hearts by their singing; and I bless our choir in this city; and each and every one in this congregation; -- our friends, our brethren, our sisters, our homes, our barns, our fields, our flocks and our herds and everything that belongs to us. I feel to bless the mountains and the valleys and the land of Joseph -- the land of Zion; and pray may the peace of God rest upon the Latter-day Saints, and all who wish well to Zion. Receive ye the blessings of the Lord, my brethren and sisters; go in peace to your homes; be faithful to your covenants and holy callings; be true to each other, to your God and to your country, that we may be worthy to enjoy the blessings of a land of freedom and equal rights, and these things which the Lord will give unto us. Be ye blessed; and I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
[8 Apr, 7 pm]
[DNW 4/12/66, p 5, 8]
7 p.m.
A meeting of the priesthood appointed for 7 o'clock, was very numerously attended, the Tabernacle being crowded.
[Bishop Edward Hunter]
After singing and prayer, Bishop Edward Hunter spoke of the encouraging character of the reports from the various Bishops throughout the Territory; and exhorted them, their counselors and the teachers to seek to be led by the Holy spirit, so that they might decide in all matters brought before them in righteousness.
[Elder Geo. A. Smith]
Elder Geo. A. Smith again spoke in favor of the Juvenile Instructor, and strongly recommended it. He referred to his recent trip south, and pointed out the importance of strengthening the most southern settlements there; and spoke in favor of the telegraphic line.
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow endorsed the remarks of br. Smith with regard to the south, and spoke of the opening of the colorado river for the transportation of freight from California.
[Pres. D. H. Wells]
Pres. D. H. Wells encouraged the brethren to pursue a self-sustaining course, and to carry out the counsel of President Young given last October Conference, to plant rye, and go to making our own hats and bonnets; and recommended those who will use tobacco to grow it themselves.
[Elder O. Hyde]
Elder O. Hyde made a few remarks instructing the brethren who might be going south to be well provided with arms, and thus be prepared to defend themselves against Indians.
Meeting was dismissed with prayer.
_____
6-8 Oct 1866, 36th
Semi-Annual Conference, Bowery, G. S. L. City.
[Deseret News Weekly 15:364, 10/10/66, p 4-5 and 15:372, 10/17/66, p 4-5; MS 28:764, 774]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 15:364, 10/10/66, p 4]
THIRTY-SIXTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
The Semi-Annual conference convened in the bowery in this city on Saturday morning, Oct. 6th, 1866, President Brigham Young presiding.
On the Stand during the meetings were Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, the First Presidency; Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow and George Q. Cannon, of the Twelve Apostles; John Smith, Patriarch; Joseph Young, sen., Levi W. Hancock, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, of the Presidency of the Seventies; John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priests Quorum; Daniel spencer and George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishoprick; Peter Maughan, presiding Bishop of Cache Co.; Lorin Farr president, and C. W. West, presiding Bishop of Weber Co.; George D. Watt and Edward L. Sloan, Reporters, with other Elders, and Bishops from various parts of the Territory.
In front of the stand were the Tabernacle choir, led by Elder Robert Sands; the Ogden choir, led by Elder William Pugh; and the Logan choir, led by Elder William Knowles.
The Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young; the Tabernacle choir sang "The Morning breaks." Elder Orson Hyde prayed. Singing "Go ye Messengers of Glory" by the Tabernacle choir.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young expressed himself that his desires and prayers were and are that the Elders of Israel and all the Saints may have the Spirit of God to such an extent that they may never be deceived; and he asked, would it not be well for the elders in speaking to bear testimony to the work of the Lord. He bore testimony to its growth, and the growth of the Saints in the principles of eternal life; and inquired if any had failed to increase in faith and in receiving the revelations of God, who had hindered them from so doing, or taught them anything that would prevent them from receiving any blessing they could desire in righteousness?
[>Brigham Young]
[CDBY 4:2371]
In
directing the exercises of this Semi-annual conference, I wish and sincerely
desire that all the Elders of Israel who address the congregation of Saints may
be filled with the Spirit of their calling, understand the operations of the
Holy Ghost to that degree that they may Speaks the mind and will of the Lord to
the people. I pray for this. It is my daily prayer that all the Saints may be
filled with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding to that degree that they
will never be deceived, stray from the path of truth, and get into the bye and
forbidden paths, receive that for the gospel which is not the gospel, and
fallout by the way. I wish the brethren who speak at this Conference to speak
as the Spirit shall give them utterance. Would it not be a good text to follow
this conference, as a general thing, to testify of the work which the Lord has
commenced in this our day. I have borne testimony, with thousands of others,
that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, called of Him to establish His kingdom
on the earth to remain forever, and to wallow up, and circumscribe the kingdoms
of this world, and gather all things in one.
The
kingdom of God was fully est. in the days of Joseph, when he gave to a few
their blessings pertaining to the sealing ordinances. He said to the Twelve
apostles many times, "brethren, I have given to you the keys of the
kingdom, even all that can be given to man upon earth while in the flesh".
To me the prophet always seem to be in a hurry in his ecclesiastical labors.
which pertained to the organization of the kingdom of God, and the introduction
of the Gospel and its ordinances. In his day, the kingdom of God was organized
and set up, and will eventually exist in perfection to guard and protect the
church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The prophet Joseph finished his
work and the Lord took him to himself. The Church still lives, and the kingdom
lives, and we know that it has prospered. I do not admit for one moment that
the leaders of this people, who have the right to counsel them, have introduced
a single principle to lead them astray.
Joseph
instructed us in our duties pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God
upon the earth, the spread of the Gospel, the gathering of the Saints, the
redemption of the Center Stake of Zion, and the building up of the various
stakes of Zion. We have practiced upon these principles and doctrines and
nothing else; and by taking this course we have greatly prospered as Saints.
All of this the Saints on earth, and in heaven, and all men can see and judge
for themselves.
The Church has been greatly prospered and made
good progress in the knowledge of the truth. If there any who think that this
is not the case, it is because they have not lived in such a manner as to have
the light of heaven shining in their hearts. I would ask such persons who has
hinted them from living their religion so that the Heavens might be opened to
them, and that the Holy Ghost might be their constant companion. Who of the
leaders of this people has taught you doctrines and set you examples that would
in the least degree deter you from obtaining the highest blessings that can be
enjoyed by man upon the earth? With regard to this matter out of your own
mouths you shall be judged. Nothing has been done to arrest your progress in
the faith of the Gospel. I am a witness of this.
If there
were no such thing on the earth as the Kingdom of God, the Lord our Heavenly
Father had no one on earth to bring forth his work, he is capable of sending an
angel to an individual whom he may call to set your work, and He could instruct
him as He did Joseph and Father Adam. The Lord showed Father Adam how to make
aprons of fig leaves; and in due time he showed the children of men how to make
vessels of copper, and then how to unite the medals, to make copper and brass.
When necessary the Lord still takes this liberty of giving instructions to His
children. There is no need for the Lord to reveal that which is already known,
but he will help all those who ask him, to apply their strength, their wisdom
and the force of their minds to acquire knowledge; he will guide and direct
them by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that they can improve very fast. The Lord
will not, and plow and so our fields, because he has already taught us to do
so, and to procure the necessary food for ourselves and for our friends that
reside with him and visit us. He will not come here, and go into our schools to
teach bur children; this we have to do ourselves, it is our business, our duty.
When a
man rises to speak from this stand, or any other stand, to instruct the people,
he is expected to use the wisdom that God has given him. Shall I say the wisdom
of the natural man? Yes, for that is the wisdom which God has given us, and
which we are required to use by the power of the Spirit of the most High. The
gifts of God to a man may be used for good or for evil. That has often been
shown to us in the preaching and teaching of the Elders. When the Gift of
language is given to a servant of God to reveal the good things of the kingdom
to the people, he is expected to use his best skill and ability, the Spirit of
the Lord helping him, while he is addressing himself to the understandings of
the people for their good. He can dwell upon this subject or that as it pleases
him, and, if a faithful Elder, the Spirit of God will help him. This we should
understand. And I will say the wisdom of the natural man, not of the unnatural
man, not that wicked disposition in man which he has received through the fall,
but the natural man, is to be taught of God to do right.
It is not
my intention to extend my remarks to any great length at this time; but I may
take another opportunity to speak to you before the conference comes to a
close.
I will
now call upon some of the Elders to give their testimony to this Conference,
that the faith of the brethren may be strengthened. To bear testimony of the
latter day work will do as much good as any other kind of teaching, if the
brethren shall speak as the Spirit giveth them utterance.
[Pres. H. C. Kimball]
Pres. H. C. Kimball spoke in testimony concerning the establishment of the Kingdom of God, quoting the words of Jesus "The Kingdom of God is within you," and showing that those who have rendered obedience to the truth and have the Spirit of the Lord with them and the principles of the Kingdom in their hearts, are the recipients of the blessings expressed in those words. He bore testimony to the Saints, as a people, having increased in righteousness, faith and good works.
[Pres. D. H. Wells]
Pres. D. H. Wells reasoned upon the promise made by the Lord to His Elders, that if they would go forth without purse and scrip and bear His gospel to the nations they should be fed and clothed and have means put into their hands, and pointed to the realization of that promise by all who had gone forth in faith. Also, the promise made through the elders that those who would obey the gospel should receive a testimony of its truth, -- a promise which no imposter could make with the most remote prospect of its being fulfilled. Yet it has been proven true by thousands; and thousands to-day can bear testimony to its truth. He exhorted the Saints to diligence and faithfulness in the performance of the duties which are required at their hands and referred to the rich blessings which we enjoy, -- blessings of the heaven and the earth, enjoining the necessity of taking care of the grain which the earth has abundantly brought forth this season, and of every blessing, temporal or spiritual; and urged prayerfulness and humanity before the Lord, that the Saints might be preserved from evil.
Singing by the Choir. Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 15:364, 10/10/66, p 4]
2 p. m.
Singing by the Ogden choir. Prayer by Elder John Taylor. An original piece, composed by Elder H. W. Naisbett for the occasion, was sung by Elder George Teasdale, chorused by the Tabernacle choir.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde addressed the congregation in a very instructive manner, quoting the words of Jesus to the Nephites "Then shall the work commence with the Father among all nations &c.," showing by figure and illustration that the work of the Lord for the accomplishment of His purposes has commenced among the nations, and that they are being prepared for desolations and great misery if they will not receive the truth; as the Saints of God are being prepared for unnumbered blessings if they continue faithful. He bore a strong testimony to Joseph Smith being as Prophet of God, and to President Brigham Young being the man appointed and accepted of the Lord to lead His Church since the death of the Prophet Joseph.
Singing by the Loran choir.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor treated on the order of the organization of the Church of Christ, showing that the churches of modern Cristendom are wrong in doctrine and organization according to the Bible on which, as a revelation from God, they professedly are based. He referred to his early studies of the Scriptures, and to his being satisfied that the Church of Christ, as organized in the days of Jesus and his immediate disciples, had in it apostles, prophets, helps, gifts and blessings, which were to continue while the Church was recognized and owned by God. These he could not find in the churches of the world; but when he found them, with the power of God, as received through Joseph Smith, he had revealed the message brought with gladness. The message brought with gladness. The Lord had confirmed to him, as to thousands of others, the truth of the words spoken by His servant. He showed that the preaching of the gospel, the authority of the priesthood, and bearing the testimony of the truth in power to the nations, had gathered all who have come together to keep the commandments of God.
Speaking of testimonies, he said, "God has spoken; the heavens have been opened, and who of the Saints does not know it. He has spoken from the heavens; He is our God; we are His people and we know it; and no power can stay the onward progress of His work."
Singing by the Ogden choir. Prayer by Bishop P. H. Young.
[7 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 15:364, 10/10/66, p 4]
Sunday, 7th, 10 a.m.
The vast Bowery was crowded to excess, with an interested and attentive congregation, while crowds were compelled to go away, being unable to get within hearing distance of the speakers.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Elder Lorenzo Snow prayed. Logan choir sung "Sweet is thy work."
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
Elder Wilford Woodruff occupied the stand and spoke by way of testimony in a most interesting manner, referring to the way in which the Lord had worked upon him to receive it; and of the manner in which God had worked upon President B. Young and many other Elders, for the same purpose. He also spoke of the efforts of the adversary to destroy those noble spirits who had received the truth at an early day of the Church, and of evil spirits coming to them in numbers at various times and places with this object; bearing testimony of having been so attacked in London, when in company with Elder George A. Smith, and of three angels appearing to him who relieved him from the power and presence of the wicked spirits. This testimony, he said, he had never borne publicly before; and the spirit which accompanied it declared its truth to the immense congregation to whom it was for the first time given. During his remarks he related many interesting incidents of the protecting care which the Lord has exercised over his servants.
Elder John D. T. McAllister sang "I live for those who love me."
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow followed, speaking of the gospel being brought to him when a boy in the State of Vermont, and of the power of God which rested upon him sealing upon his heart the truth of the testimony borne to him by Elder O. Pratt who first preached the truth to him. From that time until the present he had been engaged in bearing testimony of the gospel to this and other nations, seeking out the honest-in-heart. He narrated part of his personal history connected with the Church, and some of the persecutions he had endured with his brethren for the truth's sake; and testified that it was and is the power of God and not of man which has ever sustained His servants and controlled the destinies of His work. In bearing testimony to the work of God, he pointed out the effects of the gospel upon those who receive it, and referred to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the simplicity of the doctrines contained in it, and the blessings which are received by those who believe in and accept it as a revelation from God.
Singing by the Ogden choir. Prayer by Elder George D. Watt.
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 15:364-5, 10/10/66, p 4-5]
2 p.m.
The congregation was larger and denser if possible than in the morning.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder W. W. Phelps. Singing by the Ogden choir. Sacrament administered by Bishop Hunter and assisting brethren.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young spoke of the unanimity of feeling enjoyed by all who receive the gospel, and their desires to make known its truths to all the children of men. Mankind can never find out God by any other than the Lord's own appointed way. He referred to his first hearing the gospel, and to the correctness with which the plan laid before him by illiterate men corresponded with the plan laid down in the New Testament; and spoke of the overwhelming testimony by which the work of God was sustained in this age, even in an early day after the organization of the Church. The systems of religion taught among men do not teach mankind, nor have they power to advance them in the knowledge of God. The gospel is the only true philosophy in the heavens or in the earth; and when it is preached to all nations as a witness, then will come the end of the reign of wickedness on the earth.
He reviewed the settlement of this country by the Latter-day Saints; the difficulties; which had to be encountered, and contended with; the kind manner in which strangers were treated when passing through in the early days of the country's being settled; and the perfect security to life and virtue -- the freedom from assault and insult -- which then characterized this city and all the settlements in the Territory. The "civilization" now sought to be introduced into this community is trying to change this, endeavoring to destroy peace, virtue, order, sobriety and everything wholesome and good. He asked the people, as a whole -- the Latter-day Saints and those that are not Latter-day Saints who are friends to wholesome laws and good order, to express themselves whether they would permit gambling houses, grog-shops and places that lead to and produce such kinds of iniquity? The vast concourse of people present declared by uplifted hand that they would not permit gambling, houses of ill fame, nor grog shops to exist in their midst. An opposite vote was called, but failed to receive the response of a single uplifted and. The President continued, showing the evils of gambling, drinking and other kindred vices. There are but a very few of those who have come among this community, entertaining views different to the people here, that follow these vices, encourage them, or seek to aid those engaged in them; and all good citizens irrespective of creed or faith will aid in their suppression, that the welfare, peace and good order of the community may be promoted.
He alluded to the family of Joseph smith the Prophet, and to the kindly feelings which have been entertained towards them by the authorities of the Church and the Saints; and called up portions of the history of the Prophet Joseph which proved how far that family have gone astray, as will all who follow after them in their present course.
He then stated that he would hold Conference until he felt it was right to dismiss it.
[Brigham Young]
[CDBY
2373-2380]
I have a
few times in my life undertaken to preach to a traveling congregation, but my
sermons have been very short, and far between. If a portion of this
congregation have to do walking, I will wait until they get through with their
pedestrian exercises, and then I will commence my remarks.
I have a
few things to lay before this congregation that I think is worthy of my
attention and the attention of the Latter-day Saints everywhere, and that are
worthy of the attention of those who do not believe as the Saints do. I shall
have a few words for the different classes of people who are assembled here
today, if I can elevate my voice so as to be heard. We have had the privilege
of meeting together many times in this capacity; the Saints enjoy privileges
that no other Christian community enjoy. These blessings and privileges have
been enumerated in part before this conference. We have heard the testimony of
several of the Apostles this conference, and I hope that we shall have time to
hear from the rest of them who are present.
The
testimony that has been borne by the Elders in this meeting is verily true.
There is no person, who has received the spirit of the Gospel, but what would
delight to tell his neighbors, his friends, his relatives, and those with whom
he associates, the things of God which he has experienced and witnessed
himself. There are but few who have the privilege of coming into this stand to
tell the congregations of the Saints their experience; but they can sit down
with their friends by their firesides, and talk over their history and experience
in this Church and Kingdom.
Most of
the civilized nations have had the Gospel preached to them, and many of the
barbarous nations. You have heard the brethren testify of what they received
when they believed and obeyed the Gospel. It is very true that the Christian
world is seeking to know the Lord and to understand His ways; but they do not
seek Him in a way to find Him, and to know His will. For revelation from Him
they have substituted the wisdom of men, and by this they never can find out
God. There are but few individuals who, when they hear the Gospel preached, are
willing to humble themselves, and to seek unto the Lord in the name of Jesus
for the testimony of the Holy Spirit to bear witness with their spirit in
regard to the truth of what they have heard. In this way, and in this way
alone, is the Lord to be found. Men can never search out the mysteries of
godliness by the wisdom and learning of this world.
We heard
a very strong testimony yesterday from Elder Taylor concerning receiving the
Gospel. When I first heard the Gospel, I heard it from the most illiterate men
that I knew. I cannot say that they were possessed of much more natural or
acquired ability than I possessed myself. I heard them in my simplicity with
plainness, in the few words which they could use in the English language, the
doctrine which they taught to me, and the testimony which they bore concerning
the New Testament- the testimony of the Apostles concerning Jesus, and the
sayings of the Savior, and the signs that followed through obedience, I found
to be true. I also found that the teachings of the Elders of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be a precise pattern of the ancient Gospel
taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles.
There
were a great many witnesses in the days of Jesus and the Apostles, and for many
years after they had ceased their ministry on earth. We have no history from
gentile historians that contradicts the testimony of Jesus and the Apostles.
Although we have only the testimonies of eight men left on record that we
consider authentic who have testified to the mission of the Savior. You will
find the names of these eight men written in the New Testament. But in the
testimony of the Gospel of the Son of God delivered in this our day, not only
twelve men have testified, but scores and hundreds and thousands. I think I can
safely say, before Elder Taylor heard the Gospel, these were all testifying
that they knew by the power of God that Joseph Smith had a divine mission, and
that the Gospel and priesthood he had received were true. I was a witness of
these things at that time, and shall I pretend to say that I would put up my
judgment and sincerity against the decision of the New Testament and the Book
of Mormon, and there were Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Martin
Harris and other witnesses, in the face of all this testimony? I thought it was
too much for me to set up myself against it.
I rejoice
exceedingly in the effusion of the Spirit of the Lord through our Elders. It is
the sweetest music I ever heard. My testimony of the Gospel of the Son of God,
as it is revealed in this our day, has gone forth to the world. Brother
Woodruff, in his remarks this morning, referred to the first blessings of the
endowment in the temple at Kirtland, and took into consideration the importance
of the mission of an Elder of Israel. In that endowment brother Joseph, The
Prophet, explained one saying in the scripture with regard to the washing of
the feet of the Apostles. Jesus washed their feet before His death, and
pronounced them clean; Joseph Smith washed the feet of the Elders, or assisted
therein; and pronounced them clean if they had done their duty. He told the
brethren that the garments of many of them were clean from the blood of this
generation.
When I
heard the Gospel proclaimed I was diligent to learn whether it was true or
false. I had, previous to hearing it, examined every tenet, and every creed of
all the Christian denominations I could become acquainted with in my young
days; and, in my judgment, pronounced them all to be folly and entirely unlike
the system established by Jesus Christ and His Apostles. I was a firm believer
in the Old and New Testaments, in Jesus Christ and in the system of salvation
which He introduced in His day, and which He told His disciples to go and
preach in all the world. When I read the New Testament, and compared the
systems held forth in Christiandom I came to the conclusion that there was no
such being living upon the earth as a Bible Christian. I was pronounced an
infidel by professors of religion; yet the most wicked class I ever saw in my
life. I would have been willing, if an highway had been cast up, to have walked
on my knees around the world, if, by doing so, I could have found a man who
would have told me the things of God. As for the men who stand in the pulpits
teaching the people I looked upon them as blind leaders of the blind, knowing
nothing of the things of God.
There are
a great many smart men living upon the earth, talented theologians, who have
taken pains to inform themselves on the subject of Christianity as far as study
and learning would aid them. I was acquainted with several learned theologians.
One of them had so thoroughly studied the Bible, he said, that if every Bible
in the world were destroyed, he could write another one, and not miss or
misspell a word, or make a mistake in the pointing of a single sentence. I
heard one of those very learned gentlemen preach at a quarterly conference of
the Methodist persuasion. He labored over two hours to define the soul of man.
This was an item I wanted to learn something about. I could read the Bible with
regard to the spirits of men, and the salvation of man, and concerning God and
angels, and devils, and good men and bad men; but when the learned preacher
took his text to preach upon the soul of man, I was rejoiced, and expected to
be informed and edified upon that subject; and when this talented man, this
great scriptorian had exhausted two hours, he wound up the whole with one
grand, crowning declaration - that the soul of man is an immaterial substance.
I was disappointed, and concluded that he was not an ignorant sectarian priest;
but a fool. I was very young at that time, and durst not say a word, for I was
only a boy. This preacher left us more ignorant upon the subject of the soul of
man than when he found us. If there was a fog over it when he commenced, it was
much thicker when he left off than when he began.
Men
graduate from institutions of learning to be ministers of the Gospel; they
study and pray all their lives; and after all their piety, and penance,
religion and learning, eloquence and noise on the subject of godliness, they
generally come to the conclusion that , "Great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." It is certainly a mystery to
them, and as Jesus said to His disciples, "it is given unto you to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." When
I heard the Gospel, it commended itself to my understanding, and I learned this
one fact- it is the only true philosophy in existence. It was so understood by
the ancient Apostles and servants of God; for they took pains to warn the Saints
to "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ." Man's philosophy is full of ignorance; it is like the bedstead
the prophet Isaiah refers to: it "is shorter than a man can stretch
himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in
it." We testify to all, both Saints and sinners, that this Gospel will be
preached to all nations, and then the end will come, which means the end of the
reign of the ungodly upon the earth, and not the end of the earth as some have
supposed; but all unrighteousness will cease, and God and His people will hold
the reins of government upon all the face of this earth, and that is sufficient
for us to know.
This
kingdom will not be overthrown. When the wicked lay a trap for the overthrow of
this Church and Kingdom, and spring it, they always have found themselves taken
in their own snares. This has been the case from the first organization of this
Church to this time. They have succeeded in slaying the Prophet, and his
martyrdom brings his testimony in force, and the inhabitants of the earth are
culpable if they refuse to receive it. The testament is not in force until
after the testator is dead.
We are
now partaking of the emblems of the body and blood of Christ. And we do this to
show unto our Father in heaven, to Jesus our Savior, to the angels of the
earth, that we remember Jesus in His death and sufferings and the atonement
which He has made for the sins of the world, and that through Him we get
salvation after we have submitted to the requirements of His gospel, and
endured in faithfulness to the end to every word that proceeds out of the mouth
of God. It is customary in the world to have sermons preached on the occasion
of the sacrament; but I will let these few words on that subject suffice for
the present; I will, however, add, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God as I am
the son of my father, and was born of the virgin Mary. On this all Christians
have stumbled and fallen in ignorance, and they will remain until they are
willing to admit the truth. In Jesus Christ we have God manifest in the flesh,
He was the only one begotten of the Father (in the flesh) full of grace and
truth; was born in humble circumstances, placed in a manger, grew up to
manhood, preached the Gospel, established His Church, suffered martyrdom and
went back to the Father.
I will
now commence my remarks on a few temporal matters which I desire to notice
before I take my seat. There is a vast concourse of people here to attend this
conference which gives me a fitting opportunity to notice matters which concern
us all. Here are those who first made their advent into this valley in 1847,
and broke the ground, planted the first potatoes, raised the first corn, sowed
the first wheat, set out the first orchards, subdued the country and made it
what it is, by means of hard and continued toil. Others have come here who have
done nothing to improve the country; but they are here as our visitors and our
neighbors, and fellow travelers. My remarks now will be directed more
particularly to my brethren and sisters of the same faith with myself. I shall
address myself to good, wholesome citizens of this City, and the regions round
about. And if any present should happen to be disappointed with regard to the
course that I shall pursue in my remarks, try and be as satisfied as you can,
and hear what I shall say.
I came
into this valley in the year 1847, with others of my brethren and sisters, and
we commenced to build a fort, and at the same time we broke a little ground,
planted our beans and peas, and potatoes, and cucumbers and squashes, we also
planted a little corn, and sowed a little buckwheat. We found a few Indians
here, almost, if not quite, in a state of nudity; we also found great numbers
of wolves, and hosts of crickets. These were the sole inhabitants of these
valleys when the pioneers of 1847 entered them. We commenced to feed the
Indians, and as quick as we could, we commenced to give them some clothing. In
a few years we commenced to have fruit; we got grape cuttings from California,
and I think in '50 the vines began to bear fruit; in '51 I think, we had a few
peaches. We kept improving, and pleading with the people to improve the country
by engaging in the different branches of agricultural and horticultural
pursuits, and by this means to make this country our future home. From 1847 to
1850 we were here almost entirely by ourselves. In 1849 and 1850 the emigration
to the Pacific began to start across the country via Salt Lake, in search of
gold. In 1850, 1851, and 1852 the great gold excitement and rush across the
country occurred. At that time among the thousands who passed through our
settlements there were but few but what were kind, and affable, and ready to
observe the laws of this Territory or the laws which governed us as settlers
here. We had no territorial or state government, but we were actually a
republic by ourselves. Sometimes strangers would land among us who had
difficulty with each other on the road. They would call upon me as a general
thing to do something for them. I would call upon the high council of the
Church to adjust their difficulties, and they would always be satisfied with
their decisions. We commenced to elect some officers for the City and for
precincts. After that, when difficulties were referred to me, I recommended
them to those officers, and they came as nigh satisfying both parties as any
courts that were ever held on this earth.
At this
stage of our history our sisters could travel round and visit the sick with
perfect safety by day or by night; and in case of being afraid to pass a house
for fear of a dog, a sister would have no hesitation in requesting the
protection of the first man who might be passing by, who would kindly see her
safely out of danger. This state of things continued for years after our
settlement here. Do we see the same safety for females here today? We do not.
Can our sisters walk the streets of the City now without being insulted? Seldom,
and yet we have not much cause to complain, for there is much more safety here
for females than in other cities of the United States. Are men as secure here
now as they were then? No. Are our wives and children as secure? No. But there
is a class of men here, who have been termed regenerators, who are trying to
introduce civilization among us. I am coming to this point in my remarks
directly. m ere are many in our city and country who do not profess to be of
our faith, yet who are good and wholesome citizens, and who, by their example
and influence, seek to establish and maintain peace and harmony, decorum and
every principle of virtue in the community. They call themselves gentiles; we
call them so; yet we are all gentiles in a national capacity. Right or wrong,
hit or miss, I am going to ask this vast congregation if we shall continue to
submit to have gambling hells and drinking saloons in this our city? I wish
this vast concourse of people to express themselves upon this matter. If it be
the mind of this congregation that we no longer submit to the continuance of
such houses, let them raise their hands. (all hands were raised and shouts of
"No, we will not submit to it!") We will blot them out, they shall
not contaminate our society.
You must
learn this one fact, that in republican governments, the people are supreme;
where they decree this or that shall be done, that decree is supreme, and
legislators, governors, and judges and expounders of the law are mere
subordinates all the time and in every case on a republican government. The
people are king and the supreme power. (The President now called for a contrary
vote, but not a single hand was raised.) When by the authority of the City
Council such places are put a stop to, who have the supporters of such
establishments got to quarrel with? With the whole people. Let a judge pass a
decree that a grog shape, or a gambling saloon shall be established in our
City, and we will give him the privilege to get out of the City as quickly as
he can. We will observe every wholesome law; but the man who issues an
injunction to the authorities of this City to try to compel them to let
gambling and drinking hells be kept open, the scarcer he is in this community
the better it will be for him. We will observe the law; and uphold and defend
the adjudicators of all wholesome laws; but suppose this vast concourse of
people here assembled today should pass judgment upon a criminal charged with
murder, and should with one voice condemn him to be hanged, who can say a word
about it? Not anybody. It is done by the unanimous voice of the people, and who
can help it? Not anybody. The voice of the people is supreme, and they will
sustain the City Council in breaking up every hell hole there is in this City.
I am but one, and I wanted to know what the minds of the people would be on
this subject. Enough on this subject.
There is
another temporal matter I wish to say a few words upon. I refer to
claim-jumping. There has been a few men jumping claims on our parade ground and
on the land on the other side of Jordan. Those lands we have fenced two or
three times. And then again there are our cow pastures; we want those
gentlemen-claim-jumpers to keep off them, and to keep out of our meadows and
gardens. Understand me, my friends - (I have a good many friends who do not
belong to the Church in this City and throughout the United States, men who are
gentlemen of heart and honor; it is not this class of my friends which I am now
talking to; but I am talking to a class of men who are searching through the
world for chances to get their living out of the labors of others) - Wherever
you see a business man who is willing to work his way through this world and do
business upon honorable principles to sustain himself and his family, you will
see a man who will never do a dishonest action. I am referring to marauders,
men who have no conscience, no principle, who are devoid of all honor and
respect for other men's rights and property, and they are here, not for the
purpose of developing the country, and making themselves industrious and
profitable members of society; but they are transient, they care not how
quickly they leave here, and they would as lief stay here as anywhere else. It
is to this class of men I address myself, and I warn you to keep off our
meadows and pasture grounds.
Those
lands which I refer to on the other side of Jordan have been fenced at the cost
of some $8000.00. The last time the land was enclosed it was fenced with poles.
King James Buchanan, who then presided over the United States, sent an army
here. They went into that pasture by my permission, and by their delegate,
agreed to pay me so much for the use of it. They burnt up the fence, broke
through into a neighboring man's meadow, burnt up his fence and used up his
meadow. After they had made their encampment at Camp Floyd, they swore that
they never was in the pasture. The very men who sent an agent, and who hired
the pasture in my office, gave their oath that the pasture referred to was four
miles from their encampment. I did not care anything about it; I knew they
could not burn up the land, and I also knew that they would have a happy time
of it to get the land without obtaining it legally. Let these regenerators who
have no father, nor mother, nor possession, nor whereabouts go and take up land
that nobody has fenced and laid claim to; go and build a city where you can
gamble. Go to Stockton; nobody will hinder you from gambling there, and set up
your houses of ill-fame, and grog shops and gambling hells. Take up land there,
and make a city and a community to suit yourselves; but if you jump my pasture
-well, all I have to say is, get out of it as fast as you can. But, you swear
you won't; then I will give you a presumption right that will last you to the
last resurrection. I have said enough on this subject.
There are
a few men in our government--and I say they are very few, who are determined to
destroy us, and break us up. Is there one-third of the inhabitants of the
United States who would do this? No. Take away the priests and their influence
and you will not find one man to 500 who would want to break us up. The Scribes
and Pharisees were the Savior's greatest enemies. They stirred up the minds of
the people. The whole multitude of the Scribes and Chief Priests accused Jesus
Christ before Pilate, "saying, we found this fellow perverting the
nation." And again: "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe
on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and
nation." They were afraid that Jesus and His party would become the
dominant party in a political point of view. So they say of the Mormons.
"If the Mormons are let alone, they will become the dominant party."
That will as surely come to pass as the Lord lives; the Saints will ultimately rule
and reign upon the earth, and this is as sure as the Lord has spoken it.
That party which oppress people, and do wrong, will not continue to be the
dominant party. They are now, but they will not be when the power of the wicked
is broken by the advancing strides of light and truth. "When the righteous
are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the
people mourn." We have a time of mourning in our nation, and the end is
not yet, the chastening hand of the Almighty has not yet completed its work.
I think
these regenerators, as they are called, are simply bummers. There are two
classes of bummers, one of our writers says, one class who have nothing and
don't know where they got it; another class who have something, and other folks
don't know where they got it. These bummers want our houses and gardens, and
wives, and they will not get any of them. Mark it. m e Mormons have made all
the improvements in this inland country, and have established themselves by
their industry and courage, and they now feed their thousands of strangers that
stay with them and that are passing through our country. They have made this
country a half-way house, as it were, between the Missouri River and the
Pacific shore. The strangers who have lived here all agree that this people are
the most industrious people upon the earth, and this is said all round the
world. Not only do strangers all agree that this is the most industrious people
in the world, but that they are the most civil community they ever visited; yet
there are a few, and but a few, whom we are making rich and who are continually
trying to destroy us. I say to such persons - go where there is plenty of land,
and open farms and build up cities, and make your grog houses if you wish to,
and not seek to introduce institutions among us which are contrary to the
genius of our moral, religious and civil organization; we will not have them
here, we will spew them out, and cleanse the platter.
You say:
"We must do something or go hungry." We have plenty for you to eat,
"But have we not got to do something for it?" Yes, go to work at some
productive employment, and cease gambling and drunkenness, for it does you no
good, but a great deal of harm. We want to hire a few thousand men now, there
is plenty of work to be had in the country. We want them on our streets and on
our farms; we want them to build our houses and our stores - our private and
our public buildings - we want them to build up our cities and our country, and
not be continually trying to destroy it. It takes a wise man to build up a
city, and any poor drunken, useless, renegade can apply the torch and destroy
that which has cost years of toil, and countless treasure to create. That which
has taken a life time for a man to accumulate, a child can destroy in a few
minutes. Instead of seeking constantly to destroy that which this poor outcast
people have accumulated, follow their noble example; build upon the unoccupied
lands, and thereby increase the wealth and importance of the American nation
and thus prove yourselves gentlemen and loyal citizens as well by works as land
swelling professions. In this way you will win the respect of all honorable
high-minded, loyal men. I respect you more today than you respect one another,
and would do more for you, if you were destitute, than any one of your own
class would, for you do not respect yourselves nor one another.
I will
now speak upon a subject which I think ought to notice for the benefit of a few
who are inclined to be giddy-headed, unstable in their ways, and enthusiastic
about something which they do not understand. You are already apprised of the
fact that a son of Joseph Smith the Prophet was here in our City not long
since. Joseph Smith's first son only lived a few hours; then Joseph Smith,
commonly called Young Joseph, was born; then Frederic, and then Alexander; it
was Alexander who was in our City lately. The people have not heard me say
anything about him one way or the other. I will relate a few facts. The
sympathies of the Latter-day Saints are with the family of the martyred
prophet. I never saw a day in the world that I would not almost worship that
woman, Emma Smith, if she would be a saint instead of being a devil. I feel so
today. There is no good thing in a temporal point of view that I would withhold
from her; anything that is in my power to do for her, I would willingly do with
all my heart, and with an open hand.
There are
a few here that knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and some of them are
apostatizing from the work, which the Lord commanded him to found, to run after
Young Joseph Smith, the second son of the Prophet, who has no more authority to
set himself up as a president and teacher of a people than any other man has in
the sectarian world who possessed nothing of the priesthood of the Most High.
Young Joseph Smith does not possess one particle of this priesthood. The Twelve
Apostles and the other authorities of this Church would have been exceeding
glad if the Prophet's family had come with us when we left Nauvoo for the
valleys of these mountains. We would have made cradles for them if they had
required them, and would have fed them on milk and honey. Emma is naturally a
very smart woman; she is subtle and ingenious, and she has made all her
children believe that myself, brother Kimball, and the other members of the
Twelve laid the plot which terminated in the death of the Prophet. This charge
is especially laid to myself. At the time that Joseph was killed I was in the
city of Boston, a number of hundred miles away from the scene of the martyrdom.
She has made her children inherit lies. To my certain knowledge Emma Smith is
one of the damdest liars I know of on this earth; yet there is no good thing I
would refuse to do for her, if she would only be a righteous woman; but she
will continue in her wickedness.
Not six
months before the death of Joseph, he called his wife Emma into a secret
council, and there he told her the truth, and called upon her to deny it if she
could. He told her that the judgments of God would come upon her forthwith if
she did not repent. He told her of the time she undertook to poison him, and he
told her that she was a child of hell, and literally the most wicked woman on
this earth, that there was not one more wicked than she. He told her where she
got the poison, and how she put it in a cup of coffee; said he, "You got
that poison so and so, and I drank it, but you could not kill me." When it
entered his stomach he went to the door and threw it off. He spoke to her in
that council in a very severe manner, and she never said one word in reply. I
have witnesses of this scene all around, who can testify that I am now telling
the truth. Twice she undertook to kill him.
From a
dream that I had while on my visit to Logan a short time since, I know that
spiritualism is the head and front, and the arm and breast and brain, and the
eyes and whole body of Young Joseph's profession and operations. In my dream I
saw the Prophet Joseph, and he tried for awhile to sustain the old dwelling,
and meditated building around it; but he finally concluded to discard it, and
swept the ground clean where it stood to put up an entirely new building.
Although this is a matter I have not thought of, yet the dream is true, and
expresses the true state of the case.
When
Alexander Smith came here, we treated him kindly, and I plead with him to
accompany us on our visit north. George A. Smith, his cousin, plead with him to
accompany us, but to no purpose. Finally, Joseph F. Smith, who was from home,
came back, and saw him, and met him in public in this city. Many of this
congregation are acquainted with that circumstance. It was asked him what he
thought of the endowment. He replied, "I do not mention it, for I do not
wish to hear anything about the endowment." "What do you think of the
doctrine of polygamy?" It is his business to preach against polygamy, and
his brother Joseph said that his father never introduced it. Several of the
sisters testified to him that they were sealed to his father. Well, said he,
"if he did have any such revelation, or teach any such doctrine, or
practice it, he must have got out of the way," or, in other words he must
have been a fallen prophet, if he ever was a true prophet. That is the
conclusion they come to when hard pressed with stern facts. Joseph Smith the
Prophet taught the gathering; but this new sect deny the gathering.
If there
are any Latter-day Saints who wish to be destroyed, run after that family, and
I will promise you in the name of the God of Israel that you will be damned.
Any person who will follow this man or that man who is wrong, and refuses to
submit himself to the ordinances of the house of God and to serve Him and keep
His commandments, will perish; all that walk in that path will go to a sure and
swift destruction. Young David Smith seems to be the pet of the company, he is
heart and hand with his brother Joseph, and with a hundred others who are
apostates from the true faith of the Gospel, and who were one with the mob who
persecuted and slew the Prophet. When Joseph the Prophet was killed his wife
Emma was pregnant. Joseph said, previous to his death, "She shall have a
son, and his name shall be called David, and unto him the Lord will look."
I am looking for the time when the Lord will speak to David, but let him pursue
the course he is now pursuing, and he will never preside over the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in time nor in eternity. He has got to repent
of his sins, and turn away from his iniquity, to cease to do evil, and learn to
do well, embrace the Gospel of life and salvation, and be an obedient son of
God, or he never can walk up to possess his right. It would be his right to
preside over this Church, if he would only walk in the true path of duty. I
hope and pray that he and the whole family will repent, and be a holy family.
Now, you
old Mormons, stop your talking about Young Joseph, and about David going to
preside over the Church by and by! I wish he was prepared for it, would repent
of his sins, and come in at the door, and be one with us, and walk up to the
Twelve and the First Presidency, saying, I am one with you, and am your
servant. When Sidney Rigdon swelled up and thought he was the most important
man in the Kingdom, I told him where his place was, and that the Twelve
Apostles would build up the Kingdom. Joseph more than one score of times told
them both in private and in public, that he rolled the Kingdom on to their
shoulders, and said I to Sidney, we will build it up, and bear it off, and not
follow you one inch. What has he come to? He sits in the midst of the woods
East mumbling to himself; but scarcely able to speak an intelligent word; he is
almost a lunatic. And where has the rest of the apostates gone? And where has
the rest of the apostates gone? And where will they go? Every one of them,
bogus Joseph not excepted, will go to destruction, and the Kingdom of God will
continue to flourish and spread abroad.
Alexander
stated when here, that the Twelve robbed his mother of "the last second
shirt to her back." Now, I want to tell this congregation what we did for
his mother, and there are sitting round me numbers who can bear witness of the
truth of the statement I am about to make. After Joseph's death, when the
Twelve arrived home, they selected Newel K. Whitney and George Miller as
Trustees-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When the
Twelve came home, after the death of Joseph, Emma talked poor, poor. In our
absence brother Kimball had collected in Willington $1300.00 in gold to pay
some debts. He got this money from bro. E. M. Saunders who now lives at St.
George. The question arose in council whether Emma should have that money or
not. Brother William Clayton knows all about this circumstance, for he was
Joseph's clerk, and he knew where the money was to be paid. Brother Kimball
said, "I want to pay Emma this money, and let her do as she pleases with
it." So he paid it over to her. Whether she paid the debt with it or not I
am not prepared to say; but brother William Clayton can tell; but I think we
had to pay the debt. This is according to my recollection.
Instead
of Emma being robbed by the Twelve, a few days after the death of Joseph she
went over to Hyrum's house. Hyrum had a large ring which he wore, and Joseph
had one, and Don Carlos had one, these three rings were all alike. She asked
Hyrum's wife to let her see that ring. Hyrum's widow brought her the ring, she
took it and put it in her pocket. She went over to Don Carlos' widow and wanted
to see that ring; she took that also and put it in her pocket, and I think she
also took the portrait of Hyrum. Instead of the Twelve robbing her she goes and
takes these things from her sisters. She was not satisfied yet. She wanted the Cleveland
farm, situated about four miles from Quincy. She thought if she had that farm
she could live.
Newel K.
Whitney had bought an old Bible; Joseph had run through it and made a good many
marks in it for the new translation. This book belonged to Newel K. Whitney.
Emma had it in her possession. She wished to exchange this book for the
Cleveland farm. She got the deed for the farm; but she was not ready yet to
give up the Bible. She complained about her poor, little, fatherless children,
and she kept up this whine until she got the farms she wanted, and besides
these farms she owned city property worth fifty thousand dollars. We gave her
deeds for the farm at Quincy and for the farm on the prairie by the burning
ground. We gave her all she asked for. She has made her children inherit lies.
Alexander Smith was a little boy when these circumstances transpired, and he
believes what his mother has told him. We gave her those farms, and this does
not look like robbing her.
I wanted
to mention these things, because there are a great many of this people who are
ignorant of these circumstances. She got the last acre of land that was in the
hands of the Trustee-in-Trust; it all went to Emma for her benefit. When we
left Nauvoo my wife carried her crockery to Emma, and I am sure that others did
the same. We gave her everything we could not carry away, and let her do as she
pleased with them. I recollect very well that I had a nice carriage built in
1845. About the time it was done, Mother Smith said, 4'How rejoiced I am that
that carriage which Joseph promised to me is done." I sent her the
carriage, and I do not know but that I would have taken off my shirt and given
it to any of the Smith family and run the risk of getting another. Now, you who
have got but little sense wait until you get a little more and stop talking and
speculating about Young Joseph or anybody else. God is the captain of this
company, the general of this army of Saints, and the President of this Church,
its ruler and dictator. If I am the instrument which He chooses to use in the
prosecution of His great work, it is all right. I am just as willing as any
other man to be used.
I told
you in the first place that Mormonism is true. There are some other little
items that should be mentioned; but I have already spoken at length and I will
postpone mentioning them until another time. When we shall adjourn the
Conference I am unable to say. We will continue our services until the Spirit
of the Lord shall signify to us when to bring our Conference to a close. Let
the people feel satisfied and contented to spend a few days to worship the
Lord, and let not their earthly affairs give them trouble; for the heavens are
full of days and nights and we shall live to enjoy them. May God bless you.
Amen.
The Tabernacle choir sang an anthem.
[Pres. H. C. Kimball]
Pres. H. C. Kimball spoke a few minutes, corroborating the remarks of Pres. Young with regard to the family of the Prophet Joseph, and closed the meeting with prayer.
[7 Oct, 6:30 pm]
[DNW 15:365, 10/10/66, p 5]
6½ p.m.
A meeting of the Priesthood was held in the Tabernacle, the building being crowded. Addresses were delivered by Bishop Hunter, Elder John Taylor and Elder George Q. Cannon, instructing the brethren on many items connected with their duties.
[8 Oct, 10 a.m.]
[DNW 15:365, 10/10/66, p 5]
8th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith. Ogden choir sang.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith addressed the congregation, calling up many points in the history of the latter days of the life of Joseph the Prophet; the troubles he had to contend with produced by false brethren and from other causes; his receiving the revelation on plurality of wives; the last conversation br. George A. had with him on the subject, in which he showed the salvation, glory and exaltation that it would produce; and referring to many other interesting points and incidents.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young followed, also recalling incidents and facts in the history of the Prophet Joseph, with regard to the authority conferred upon the Twelve to build up the kingdom, and that to them were given all the keys and power for that purpose.
[Brigham Young]
[CDBY 4:2381]
[The President arose to make some historical corrections
for which purpose Elder George A. Smith, who was speaking, vacated the stand.]
I am an older man than Brother George A. Smith and my
memory of things which took place in his boyhood should be better than his; but
whether it is better or not I will not pretend to say. He is our historian and
he has a remarkable memory. There is one fact which I desire to refresh the
memory of Brother George A. Smith and others. Brother George A. Was a boy when
he came into the church, and when the Twelve went to England, and when they
came back, he was not married. I do not think that Joseph the Prophet had any
doubt with regard to the ability and integrity of his cousin, but there were
other men with whom he associated more frequently and talked more freely. I
would not be willing to say that Joseph ever denied any doctrine he published;
he never did to my knowledge. He never made the letter "A" mean
anything but "A." It is nothing else but "A" in the gospel,
as it is in the Deseret Alphabet. It does not represent any double meaning.
Brother George A. Spoke about Hyrum Smith. Now Hyrum was as
good a man as ever lived and he was no better a man than his brother Joseph.
His integrity was of the highest order, but his ability was not equal to
Joseph' s. Hyrum was a positive man; Joseph was a comparative man, regarding
everything according to the circumstances of the case and every person
according to the intrinsic worth. Hyrum did not know enough to do this. I used
to think, and think now, that an angel dwelling in the presence of the Father
and the Son possessed no more integrity in their hearts than did Hyrum Smith.
While he lived he was Joseph's fast friend. Notwithstanding this, I have heard
Joseph tell him that if the church was left to his leadership he would lead it
directly to hell. He never appointed his brother Hyrum to be his successor. He
never even thought of such a thing and if my word is good for anything I can
say of a truth that Joseph told me not three months before he was killed, and I
did not seek the information he gave me - we were talking upon counselling,
governing and controlling- that "If I am moved out of the way you are the
only man living on this earth who can counsel and direct the affairs of the Kingdom
of God on the earth." When he said this to me we were walking up by the
old burrying ground where Brother Wilford Woodruff was building a little brick
house and turning to the north around the corner where Willard Richards lived.
He often said to me when speaking upon polygamy, "I shall die for it and I
would as leave die for it as not. It is the work of God and he has revealed
this principle and it is not my business to control! or dictate it: to say it
shall or shall not be." I know that Brother George A. Smith does not
recollect these things as well as others do - as well as men who were older
than him and who was with Joseph more frequently.
Right
north of the Masonic Hall in Nauvoo the ground was not fenced. This was in the
year 1842. There were some rails laid along to fence up some lots. Hyrum saw me
and said, "Brother Brigham, I want to talk to you." We went together
and sat upon the rails that were piled up. He commenced by saying, "I have
a question to ask you. In the first place I say unto you that I do know that
you and the Twelve know some things that I do not know. I can understand this
by the motions and talk and doings of Joseph and I know there is something or
other which I do not understand that is revealed to the Twelve. Is this so?"
I replied, "I do not know anything about what you know, but I know what I
know." Then he said, "I have mistrusted for a long time that Joseph
had received a revelation that a man should have more than one wife, and he has
hinted as much to me, but I would not bear it." We had heard him say hard
things. I recollect in one council where Joseph undertook to teach the brethren
and sisters, William Law was there and William and Hyrum and a few others were
against Joseph. William Law made this expression: "If an angel from heaven
was to reveal to me that a man should have more than one wife, and if it were
in my power I would kill him." That was pretty hard, but Joseph had to
submit for it. The brethren were not prepared to receive the doctrine. Brother
Kimball and others were in that council. Joseph had meetings in his house time
after time and month after month, every Sunday evening. Joseph was worn out
with it, but as to his denying any such thing, I never knew that he denied the
doctrine of polygamy. Some have said that he did, but I do not believe he ever
did.
I
recollect one Sunday evening Joseph came to my house at dusk and said, "I
want you to go to my house and preach." I told him that I loved to go to
meeting, but did not want to go to his house. I knew what was going on. I knew
that Hyrum and William Marks and William Law would be there to operate against
the Prophet Joseph and therefore I told Joseph I would rather not go to his
house. Finally he said to me, "Brother Brigham, if you do not go with me I
will not go home to my house tonight." I concluded I would go with him, so
I did up my evening chores and we started for the Prophet's house. By the time
we got there the meeting had commenced. Hyrum had opened the meeting and was
preaching when we went in. We went into the old log house. Hyrum had the stand
by the fireplace without any fire in it. We came up and sat on a board close to
the stand. Joseph sat with his hands over his face all the time Hyrum was
talking and he preached and preached and preached, like a person trying to pump
water out of a dry well. I will refer to his character as a preacher and you
that knew him and heard him will understand it. When we had held a two hours
meeting, then Hyrum would get up on the stand and speak on the Word of Wisdom.
He was a positive man and I have known him to talk an hour and a half and two
hours on the word of wisdom when I did not see any particular utility in it. At
this meeting in Joseph's house Hyrum worked hard. He took the Bible, the Book
of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants and, said he, "that is
the law which God has given us, by which to build up his Church and Kingdom in
the last days, and everything more than these is of man and is not of
God." When he sat down Brother Joseph, with his hands still over his face
and nudging me with his elbow said, "Brother Brigham, now come, get
up." I got up, and previous to getting up I had become pretty well charged
with plenty of powder and ball, and my lungs were not so weak as they are now.
I could talk then as to be heard a mile. I felt like a thousand lions. I took
the books and laid them down one by one beginning with the Bible and said,
"There lies the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, the revelations God has given through Joseph for the salvation of
the people in the nineteenth century. Yet I would not give the ashes of a rye
straw for these three books so far as they are effecatious for the salvation of
any man that lives, without the living oracles of God. That was my text, and I
think that before I got through the congregation was perfectly satisfied. I
showed them that if we did not have the living oracles we were no better than
the sectarian churches of the world. After I got through, Hyrum arose and made
a hansome apology and confessed his wrong which he had committed in his
excesses of zeal and asked pardon. This refers to the time that Brother George
A. spoke about. [Elder Heber C. Kimball: "I was there."] Yes, and a
good many others were there and heard the lion roar.
I will now go back to where I met Hyrum. He said to me,
"I am convinced that there is something that has not been told me." I
said to him, "Brother Hyrum, Joseph would tell you everything the Lord
reveals to him if he could." I must confess I felt a little sarcastic
against Hyrum, although he was just as honest as an angel and as full of
integrity as the Gods, but he had not that ability which Joseph possessed to
see and understand men as they were. I took advantage of this and I said to him,
"Brother Hyrum, I will tell you about this thing which you do not know if
you will swear with an uplifted hand before God that you will never say another
word against Joseph, and his doings' and the doctrines he is preaching to the
people." He replied, "I will do it with all my heart," and he
stood upon his feet saying, "I want to know the truth and to be
saved," and he made a covenant there, never again to bring forward one
argument or use any influence against Joseph's doings. Joseph had many wives
sealed to him. I told Hyrum the whole story and he bowed to it and wept like a
child and said, "God be praised." He went to Joseph and told him what
he had learned and renewed his covenant with Joseph and they went heart and
hand together while they lived, and they were together when they died, and they
are together now, defending Israel.
It is a mistake with regard to Joseph ever saying that
Hyrum would be his successor. He ordained him a Prophet and Seer. There may be
millions of Prophets and Seers and Revelators, but none can hold the keys of
presidency over the Church and Kingdom of God in all the world without the
apostleship. They must hold the keys of apostleship to do this.
I could
not do otherwise than to make these corrections. It is important that history
should go down to our children divested of all mistakes as far as possible. My
memory with regard to a great many things, especially with regard to things
which pertain to the Kingdom of God upon the earth is very retentive, vivid,
and quick. On the things of God, on the building up of his kingdom, on the
doctrines Joseph taught, or on anything that pertains to the priesthood, I will
not lay my memory aside to prefer any man's living. I know how I received the
knowledge that I have got. I have seen the time when I first saw Joseph that I
had but one prayer and I offered that all the time. And that was that I might
be permitted to hear Joseph speak on doctrine and see his mind reach out
untrammelled to grasp the deep things of God. But in consequence of the
wickedness of the children of men and the consequent inability they possessed
to receive heavenly things, he could not impart what was made known to him of
the Lord. I was with him several years before I pretended to open my mouth to
speak at all, but I would constantly watch him, and if possible learn doctrine
and principle beyond that which he expressed. Myself, Brother Kimball and
others were with him when he received revelation, and when the first council
was organized. My father was the first patriarch in the church. My brother
Joseph mooted the question of my father gathering his children together for the
purpose of giving them a patriarchal blessing and Joseph ordained him to be a
patriarch, and Joseph afterwards received revelation on the subject of
ordaining patriarchs. An angel never watched him closer than I did, and that is
what has given me the knowledge I have today. I treasure it up and ask the
Father in the name of Jesus to help my memory when information is wanted and I
have never been at a loss to know what to do concerning the Kingdom of God. I
knew of the doctrine of polygamy by revelation to myself while I was in England
before it was revealed to me by Joseph.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith made a few further remarks, bearing testimony to the remarks of President Young.
[After President Young ended his remarks, George A. Smith arose and said: I am thankful to be corrected. President Young has the best memory of any man on the earth; I give way to him on his. I do not profess to remember very much, but such things as I speak of I speak of in many instances as I have received them from others. I know that Joseph placed the spirit, and authority, and priesthood upon the heads of the Twelve to bear off the Kingdom of God to the nations of the earth. Not only did he do this, but bore testimony of it on numerous occasions in the presence of the congregated saints, in the presence of thousands. I bear my testimony that the work that has been carried out by President Young and his brethren has been in accordance with the plans and designs and spirit and instructions of Joseph Smith, as the Lord lives, until the present time.]
Singing by the Logan choir. Prayer by Pres. D. H. Wells.
[8 Oct, 2 pm*]
[DNW 15:364-5, 10/17/66, p 4-5]
CONFERENCE MINUTES CONTINUED
_____
Monday, 8th, 2 p.m.
The Ogden choir sang an anthem. Prayer by Bishop David Evans. Anthem by Tabernacle choir.
Elder Edward L. Sloan presented the authorities of the Church, who were unanimously sustained by the vote of conference in the following order:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa M. Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Cannon, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young, his counselors.
William Eddington, John T. Caine, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas F. Jeremy, Geo. W. Thatcher, Joseph F. Smith, Peter Nebeker, members of the High council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; William Carmichael and Robert Rice, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teacher's Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Warren Hardie, his counselor.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of PUblic Works; John Sharp, his assistant.
William H. Folsom, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said Fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
[Pres. Joseph Young]
Pres. Joseph Young spoke in a fatherly manner on the importance of embodying in our lives the principles of the gospel and having the Spirit of God with us, so as to be prepared for every change and every emergency. He alluded to the labors of the early settlers and to the fact that all the grain, fruits and other products of the earth that are produced in this Territory are the results of the labors of the "Mormons;" and asked why men should want to cut down the fruit trees, destroy our cities, and exterminate the very people by whose labors they obtain bread to eat. He spoke of his first visit to the Prophet Joseph; bore testimony to the truth; and blessed all who desire to do right; inculcating charity and kindness upon all men, and urging the elders, especially the Seventies over whom he presides, to be temperate in all things and sober.
Elder Charles C. Goodman sang a song.
[Elder Levi W. Hancock]
Elder Levi W. Hancock bore his testimony to the work of God, and to his confidence in the constituted authorities of the Church.
The Ogden choir sang. Elders John D. T. McAllister, Henry C. Fowler and Samuel L. Adams sang several songs. The Tabernacle choir finished with an anthem.
[Pres. John Young]
Pres. John Young expressed his strong faith in the work of God, and said if any person wanted to find out those who were recognized of the Lord with power to build up His kingdom, they could find them in the men who were hunted by the agents of the adversary and hated with the most intense bitterness for the truth's sake. This was the case with Joseph and Hyrum and others of the Priesthood, who have gone behind the vail, while they were in the flesh; and it has been the case with brother Brigham, brother Heber, brother Daniel and those who stand by them all the time, and with all the Saints of God. He testified that the work of God would endure for ever and continually increase; blessed the people in the name of Jesus by virtue of his patriarchal priesthood; and dismissed the congregation, adjourning the Conference until the 6th of April, 1867, at 10 a.m.
EDWARD
L. SLOAN,
Clerk of conference.
6-8 Apr 1867, 37th
Annual General Conference, Bowery.
[Deseret News Weekly, 16:116, 4/10/67, p 4-5; MS 29:324, 330]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 16:116, 4/20/67, p 4-5]
THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
The Thirty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, convened in the Tabernacle, in this city, on Saturday, 6th inst., at 10 o'clock, President Brigham Young presiding.
There were present on the Stand, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, the First Presidency; John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow and George Q. Cannon, of the Twelve Apostles; John Smith, Patriarch; Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott of the Presidency of the Seventies; Samuel W. Richards and Edwin D. Wooley, of the Presidency of the High Priests Quorum; Daniel spencer, George B. Wallace and Joseph w. Young, the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishoprick; Peter Maughan, presiding Bishop of Cache Co.; C. W. West, presiding Bishop of Weber Co.; with a large number of Bishops and leading Elders from various parts of the Territory. Reporters, David W. Evans, and Edward L. Sloan.
Choir sang "The Morning breaks."
President H. C. Kimball offered up in an impressive manner, the opening prayer; after which the choir again sang.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young gave as a text for the Elders, never to cease their efforts and their labors until the Latter-day Saints become of one heart and of one mind. Men pray for the Lord to protect us from the wicked; yet they will seek their society, trade with them and aid their influence, and thus seek to bring about the very thing which they pray God to save them from. The wicked have life and death offered to them, as the righteous have; and while they continue to reject the good, they are not fit society for those who desire to be sanctified before the Lord. A people can never become one while they possess the spirit of the world; yet the Latter-day Saints are to a considerable extent like the world, in matters of business and finances. The course of the world is or a few to obtain wealth, while the many are left in poverty; and they waste their wealth on their lusts, and in the gratification of their appetites and desires. Do not many here act in a similar manner? What has been the amount expended by the people here during the fiscal year ending to-day, for tobacco, coffee, tea and liquor consumed by this people? If the means so wasted had been saved for the past year, it would amount to a sum more than sufficient to buy the preemption right to the land claimed and taken up in the territory, if a land office were established here at once. The people will be come of one heart and one mind by practicing the principles of the gospel, and by living so that the spirit of revelation will be within them a continual preacher. We are progressing to this state of perfection; still, the labors of the Elders and of the people must be directed towards our becoming truly one in all things, that we may obtain the blessings which the Lord has prepared for His people.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 16:130, 4/24/67, p 2; JD 11:347]
REMARKS
By President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt
Lake City, April 6th, 1867.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
I
recollect a few years ago, while we were holding Conference in the Bowery, that
the brethren who addressed the congregation were in the habit of turning to the
right to preach, and then to the left, and then preaching to those behind them,
so that only one portion of the congregation could hear them at once. I set up
a mark, and told them to preach to it, right straight ahead, and not turn to
the right or to the left, as I wanted all the people to hear. I am now going to
set up a mark for the Elders of Israel to preach to. It will not be an old
table or a board; but the mark I shall set up for the Elders to preach to is
this: Never to cease their labors until they get this people, called Latter-day
Saints, to be of one heart and one mind. That is the mark. We hear Elders in
Israel praying and praying that the Lord would preserve us from the wicked, and
probably within an hour after they will be found coaxing perhaps one of the
most ungodly men in the world to trade with them, to rent their houses, or to
let them build houses for him, and to be his servant or servants. Such
individuals will keep praying to the Lord to preserve us from the wicked when
their constant effort is to mingle with, and to call into the midst of this
people the wicked and the ungodly; and they are so blind to the mind and will
of the Lord that their efforts in this direction would never cease until there
was enough of the wicked to overthrow the Kingdom of God, or to break us up and
drive us somewhere else. I have very frequently said to the Latter-day Saints
that I am willing to try to do my utmost to carry out the designs of Heaven
concerning myself, my friends, and the Kingdom of God. Certain ideas arise in
our minds, and questions are proposed. What would you do in such and such cases
if the wicked, the ungodly, and those who have persecuted and driven us from
our homes, and have consented to the death of the Prophets and the innocent,
will still follow us, and will have a place among us? What would you do? I
Would do, I think, about as the Lord does; He lets them alone to take their own
course. They have life and death set before them, and can choose between the
two. They can refrain, and turn away from wickedness and become righteous, if
they are so disposed; but if they are not, why the Lord permits them to take
their own course. Then why are we under the necessity of praying the Lord to shield
us in this place and in that place?
Perhaps
this application is not agreeable to many, and they wish to be sanctified in
the midst of the ungodly and in the most wicked place that can be found. To
people of this class we say, just come forward and we will give you a mission
to go into the world to live, preach, labor, and toil until you pass into the
spirit world, if this is your desire; but do not stay here praying the Lord to
deliver you from the wicked, and then get up off your knees, and, precisely
like the sectarians, let your acts give the lie to the prayers you have offered
to God. You know, among the New School Presbyterians, for instance, and the
Reform Baptists and Methodists, and the Wesleyan Methodists, the ministers get
into the pulpit and pray for the Lord to come into their midst, and that the
Holy Ghost may be shed upon the people; and they will pray most fervently that
angels may come and dwell with them, that the heavens may be opened that the
people may see and understand aright, and when they get through praying, they
will declare in their sermons that there is no Holy Ghost given, and that they
worship a god without body, parts, and passions. How in the world can such a
god come into their midst? If he could come, what would there be? Nothing. What
can they comprehend concerning such a god? Nothing; for there is nothing of
him. They will pray most fervently for the Lord to give them revelation, and
then will get up and say that no such thing as revelation is needed. Do not
their sermons give the lie to their prayers? And do not the lives of the Elders
of Israel, in many instances, give the lie to their faith and prayers? They do.
Can you go to work and make a people of one heart and mind while they are
possessed of the spirit of the world? You cannot. Can they feel the same
interest in the Kingdom of God while possessing the spirit of the world that
they would if they were filled with the Spirit of Christ? They cannot. How can
they devote their lives to the building up of the Kingdom of God when they do
not delight in it, but delight in building themselves up, in making gain, and
in gathering around them the riches of the world? The Latter-day Saints, in
their conduct and acts with regard to financial matters, are like the rest of
the world. The course pursued by men of business in the world has a tendency to
make a few rich, and to sink the masses of the people in poverty and
degradation. Too many of the Elders of Israel take this course. No matter what
comes they are for gain—for gathering around them riches; and when they get
rich how are those riches used? Spent on the lusts of the flesh, wasted as a
thing of nought, and they who were once rich are left in poverty, as they are
this day.
To give
an example: Suppose that one year ago to-day—the 6th of April, 1866—we had
asked the brethren and sisters at the head of families, and then asked those
who were not heads of families, to sit down and make an estimate of what it
cost them through the fiscal year 1865-6 for the tobacco they chewed, and the
tea, coffee, and liquor they drank; and after footing it up in round numbers,
and seeing what it amounted to, suppose the proclamation had been made that we
must all observe the Word of Wisdom, and that in consequence of that
proclamation we each of us had, said that for the year to come—the fiscal year
of 1866-67—I will lay by in the drawer the money that it costs me for tobacco,
tea, coffee, and liquor. If we had each adopted this course we would have seen
a people at this Conference—April, 1867—with means enough to have purchased and
secured their pre-emption right to the land in this Territory, provided that we
were permitted to do so. But how is it to-day? Suppose that today news were to
come by telegraph that within six weeks a Land Office for this Territory would
he established in Great Salt Lake City, whereby actual settlers would have the
privilege of paying the pre-emption payment and obtaining the Government title
to their land, and thus securing their inheritance, who is there amongst us that
could buy the first section or quarter-section? There are very few in the
Territory who could do so.
I merely
mention this to illustrate my ideas, so that you can see for yourselves where
we are. Instead of being-united in our feelings to build up all, each one takes
his own course; whereas, if we were united, we would get rich ten times faster
than we do now. How are you going to brings people to that point when they will
all be united in the things of this life? By no other means than prevailing upon
them to live their religion that they all may possess the Holy Ghost, the
spirit of revelation, the light of Christ, which will enable them to see eye to
eye. Then their acts and all their dealings would be so connected that they
would pull together, as Joseph used to say: "A long pull, a strong pull,
and a pull all together." This point gained, we could bear off the Kingdom
victoriously, and we could do what we pleased; but there is no doctrine in
existence, short of the gospel of the Son of God, by which a people can be
brought to a oneness in their temporal matters. We are approaching this happy
period, this delightful state of society; but to enjoy it in its fulness we
must live so that the spirit of revelation will be within us a living preacher
by day and by night continually, that we may be taught, led, governed, and
controlled thereby. We must not get down and pray, and then get right up and
let our actions say we do not believe a word of our prayer; but all the acts of
our lives must be concentrated on the building up of the Kingdom of God, then
we shall be His disciples in very deed.
We will
have a good many things to lay before the Conference; but I think I have given
my brethren a mark to preach to. You may shoot when you please, and shoot from whatever
point you please; but shoot at that mark. You may use what gun you please. I do
not care, comparatively, whether it is a Henry's rifle, a shot gun, an old
Kentucky rifle, or an old musket., but shoot at that mark, and in all your
preaching let this thread—the oneness of the people of God—be preserved.
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball urged the imperative necessity of the Saints being in possession of the Spirit of God. The light of truth which it reveals shows us what we are, and gives us understanding to walk right before the Lord. We are of the earth, earthy; we have to sanctify ourselves and become pure, and teach our families to be holy in the sight of Heaven. Thirty-four years ago the Lord commanded the leading Elders among His people, and all the Church, to set their houses in order; and they who did not abide that commandment suffered the threatened penalty. The speaker inculcated the importance of our being self-sustaining in all things, obeying the Word of Wisdom, and with strictness and the utmost care keeping our children from acquiring the same injurious habits which many of us have learned from our forefathers. He recommended to encourage home manufactures, to buy "home-made" from those who make it where individuals do not make it themselves, and to live within our means, gaining strength, prosperity and power by wisdom and economy. He pointed out the folly of people thinking to obtain the blessings of God, while living in violation of his commandments. Some, to gratify certain desires and lusts, rob themselves of the very blessings which they seek to obtain. We have to prepare ourselves for accomplishing the purposes of the Lord, according to the revelations; and the work commenced in Jackson County, is as applicable to us here as it was there, and is necessary before we can be fully prepared to go back there.
[Pres. B. Young]
Pres. B. Young briefly and pointedly addresses the sisters on the use of tea and coffee, showing that the means so expended might be applied to better purposes; and that increased health would be the result of abstaining from their use. The poorest in dollars and cents can do good, and aid in strengthening the interests of righteousness. He instructed the sisters to practice industry, teach their daughters to be industrious, to be economical and good housewives, competent and efficient in the performance of the varied duties devolving upon a wife and a mother; and showed that in this way they can do a great amount of good. Much of the means that might be saved by knitting, weaving, hat making, and other things, now neglected by the bulk of the people, might go to assist the perpetual emigration fund, or to support the families of the Elders who are on missions. He enjoined upon them to teach their daughters and sons not to use tea and coffee; and for all to be saving, neat, and active, making the articles worn by themselves and their families; and in all things seeking to do good to themselves, to their families, their husbands, and their brethren and sisters in the kingdom of God.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 16:130, 4/24/67, p 2; JD 11:350]
REMARKS
By President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I think I
will preach a short sermon to the sisters. "I want to do good; I want to
do something to build up the Kingdom of God; I wish I was in a position to do
something for this work. I would delight in doing something for the building up
of this kingdom if I had it in my power." These expressions are in the
mouth of every sister who has embraced the gospel in her heart. I want to
preach them a short sermon. Brother Heber has, in part, touched some of the
items, to which I will now more particularly call your attention. I will ask if
there is a sister in this Church who is too poor, when we come to dollars and
cents; to get tea to drink if she wants to? No, not one. Is there a sister who
does not have her cup of coffee to drink? No, not one. Then we are not so poor
as to suffer materially after all. Now, I will ask the question: Sisters, if
each of you were to save the price of these cups of tea and coffee for one
month, what do you suppose the sum in each case would amount to? We will say a
shilling, a dime, a quarter dollar, a half dollar, a dollar, or two dollars, as
the case may be. Now, say the sisters: "We will cease drinking this tea
and coffee, and we will give the money to some of the Elders who are called to
preach the gospel, either in the Territory or abroad in the nations of the
earth, or who are called on an Indian expedition; or we will give this means to
help to bring the poor from the old country." Would you be doing anything
for the Kingdom or would you not? Is there an individual sister in this Church
out of the reach of doing good? Not one. "Why," exclaims a sister,
"I am sick, weary, diseased; I cannot work—I cannot do anything." Is
doing good beyond her reach? No; that sister who is sick and unable to cook her
own food, wash her own clothing, or to knit or mend her stockings, can give
good counsel to her brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, to the members of
the family in which she lives, to her neighbors, and to all with whom she may
associate. Says she: "I am sick and feeble, but I do not drink any tea. My
husband or my bishop would find it for me, if I would drink it; but I tell them
to take that sixpence, dime, or dollar, and put it by to help to bring the poor."
She can teach her children to let such things alone. "You must not have
any tea or coffee this morning, children; if you feel as though you need it,
take a little water porridge." There is more strength and nutriment in a
bowl of water gruel than there is in tea; and there is no unhealthy influence
in the water gruel, but there is in tea and coffee.
There is
not a person in the world that cannot do good; even the mother who is too
feeble to work; she can teach her daughters to work instead of permitting them
to patrol these streets; she can teach her children to refrain from drinking
tea and coffee, to take care of their clothing. Instead of our girls walking
the streets or playing, instead of sliding on the carpets or climbing the peach
trees and fences and tearing their clothes they should learn to make their
frocks, their aprons, and all their clothing, and to knit their stockings; and
when they have cloth to make up, instead of hiring help into the house and
getting all the sewing machines that are peddled off in the United States, why
not they sit down and make it up themselves? This would be far more economical
than to hire women to work your sewing machines when you have them.
"But," says one, "I must have a woman to knit my stockings, to
make my underclothing and my children's clothing, and I must have a woman to
wash and iron for me."
If our
mothers want to do good, why do they not sit down, take the wool and card it
and spin it—if they cannot get it carded by machine—and knit stockings to put on
these men and boys who are working on the Tabernacle, the Temple, and the
canal, and help to save your husbands' shillings and dollars, and not ask for
three or four hired women to do the washing and cooking, that you may idle away
your time? Why not take hold and attend to your household affairs, and thus
help to build up the Kingdom of God? Every dime rims saved can go to gather the
poor and to help to support the families of the elders who are abroad
preaching. But the cry now is, "You must go to Bro. Brigham or the bishop;
I can do nothing for you. I want a ribbon, or my daughter wants a new
hat." How many have you had in the course of the season? "I do not
know." "How many pairs of shoes have you had through the winter my
daughter, or my little boy?" "I do not know; ask mother."
"Mother, how many pairs of shoes has your boy had through the
winter?" "I do not know." Does the mother see to the children?
She will let them run about and wade here and there until their shoes are wet
through, then they are put under the stove and spoiled; a new pair must be
procured by the husband or father. Is good beyond your reach, sisters? You say,
"We want to do good." No; there are many who do not; they want to
waste everything they put their hands upon. It is the great ignorance which is
among the people that prevents their doing better.
What do
the sisters want so many hired women for? "O, I want a seamstress, or I
want somebody or other to clean the house and the carpets and to wait upon me,
to bring the water to wash me, and to wash my neck or my feet; and I have so
much cloth to make up, and I want help to make it up." If there are women
who want to do good, let them do their own work, and save their sixpences and
dollars for the building of temples, tabernacles, meeting-houses,
school-houses, educating the youth, preaching the gospel, and gathering the
poor. Put something in the Perpetual Emigration Fund. We have done a great deal
to bring the poor here. When we get the poor here, they say they want to do
good; but their actions give the lie to their words. Their wives want hired
women or girls to do their work for them; instead of knitting their own
stockings, they want to be waited upon; instead of spending their time to the
best advantage, they waste it, and let their daughters do the same, and their
children imbibe habits that grow upon them, and which tend to evil.
Now
mothers, if you want to do good, do not let your sons and daughters drink
either tea or coffee while under your protection. Save the money to gather the
poor, to preach the gospel, to build temples, and to sustain the Priesthood.
Make your own drawers, your own shirts, knit your stockings, make your frocks,
your bonnets, and hats. I had a very beautiful hat presented to me last evening
by one of the wives of Judge Phelps. I believe one of the sisters Pratt sewed
it. Now, suppose we set the girls to cutting straw when it is ripe enough, and
teach them to cure it, and how to split and open it, and then prepare it with a
machine for braiding, and teach them to braid; and then, instead of permitting
them to gad around, keep them at home and teach them to do a little good.
I will
ask—is doing good out of the reach of any person living who is able to talk?
No; it is not. Every woman in this Church can be useful to the Church if she
has a mind to be. There are none but what can do good, not one, as long as they
can talk to their neighbors or to their children, and teach them how to be
saving, and set them an example worthy of imitation.
In
speaking in this wise I do not wish the people to be as some are—filthy and
dirty. That will not do. We must be neat and clean. If we have only a tow frock
and a coarse straw hat to wear let them be kept neat and clean; there is water
enough, plenty of it. If you have nothing but a home-made ribbon, woven by
yourselves out of the flax that your husbands or neighbors have raised and
dressed, you can get logwood, mountain mahogany, or a little of this stuff that
grows by the creeks and on the mountains to color it up; and, when it is made,
and you are prepared to put on your garments, let them be clean, neat, and
nice; and let the beauty of your garments be the work of your own hands. But as
matters are now, you must run and buy here and there, and it makes me think of
the old saying—"That which is dear bought and far fetched is fit for the
ladies." We must stop this, and if we want to be useful we must begin to
teach our children how to save. "My little boy, do not put your shoes
under the stove to burn up, and when you undress at night do not fling your hat
one way, your jacket another, your breeches under foot, and your stockings
under the stove, on the stove, or out of doors, but have a place for
everything, and everything in its place;" and when your boys come in show
them a place for their hats where they will not be trampled under foot; and
when they take off their coats let them be put in the wardrobe or on hooks
prepared for that purpose, and take care of them and not have them under foot.
The waste that there is in the midst of this people is enough to support a
small nation.
Now,
sisters, do you want to be useful? If you do, take a course to be so, for this
will bring us to the point where we can build up Zion and be of one heart and
of one mind, and it will lead us to do all that we do in the name, in the love,
and in the fear of our God. By so doing, if the fear of God is upon us, and we
work with an eye single to the building up of Zion, our labors will be blessed.
Can we do
good? Yes; we can do good by teaching that little girl not to drink tea and
coffee, and to take care of her clothing, and as soon as she is big enough
teach her to knit her stockings, and her garters, and her nubias. She may learn
to do all this just as well as going to the store to buy them. The foolishness
of the people here has waxed so strong that unless they get something that is
bought in New York it is not good for anything. It makes me think of our
brethren, the school teachers. We have brethren here who understand the
languages of the nations of the earth, and the various branches of education
taught in the world, as well as any man or men out of the Church. But if the
man possessing the best talent we have among us were to go to some of our
Bishops and say, "Can I keep your school?" The answer would be,
"Yes, if you will work for nothing, find yourself, and pay the children
for going." But bring a poor, miserable, rotten-hearted, cursed gentile,
and they will lick the dust off his shoes to have him keep school, when he does
not know half as much as the Elders in Israel know. This would not apply to
every case, but it does to a great many. You go to our brethren, and ask them
if they can get their pay for keeping school, and they will tell you they
cannot. Ask them if they can get a school, and they will reply, "No, we
are looked down upon as something inferior." Why is this? Because the
folly and wickedness of the people have waxen so strong that nothing is of any
account unless it is imported. It is strange; it is astonishing! Why not seek
to be one in building up and sustaining the Kingdom of God, instead of
sustaining wickedness upon the earth? It is time to close. Now, this is a short
sermon to the sisters.
Elder George Teasdale sang "The Saints are marching on victorious." Pres. D. H. Wells pronounced the benediction.
[6 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 16:116, 4/20/67, p 5]
2 p.m.
The house was crowded to excess, great numbers being unable to obtain admission.
Singing by the choir; prayer by Elder John Taylor; anthem by the choir.
[President D. H. Wells]
President D. H. Wells, in referring to those who desire to destroy us, said that if they wish to overcome "Mormonism," they would act more in the spirit of fairness by trying to bring against it mightier truths than can be presented in its favor, instead of seeking to crush it out with brute force. The kingdom of God will endure for ever; it is a temporal kingdom and an eternal one; and the principles which are taught in connection with its establishment have a bearing upon our every interest whether called temporal or spiritual. He treated upon and urged obedience to the Word of Wisdom, and referred to wool raising and home manufactures, showing their great importance. To be successful in this as in everything else, unity of effort is the lever that moves the labor with ease and power; hence we should be united, obedient to the principles of truth; and grow with the growth of the kingdom of God. He read the relation called the Word of Wisdom, exhorted the people to obey it that they may enjoy the blessings resulting from so doing.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 16:138, 5/1/67, p 2-3]
DISCOURSE
By President D. H. Wells, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.'
_____
It is
with pleasure, brethren and sisters, that I rise before so goodly a
congregation, realizing, as I do, that at least a great majority of them are
those whose bosoms throb responsive to my own in regard to the interests of the
great work of the last days, and the principles of life and salvation which we
have received. I feel thankful to meet with so many whose aims are the same
banner, and who have covenanted that they will bear off the kingdom, and walk
in obedience to the laws of life and salvation which the Lord has revealed in
the last days for the guidance of the children of men. Have we not taken upon
ourselves these covenants and obligations? Have we not as Latter-day Saints
received the truth, and entered into covenant with the Lord that come what may
we will obey Him, and thus prove to Him that we are His children? If I
understand the principles of "Mormonism," which we have espoused, we
have incurred these obligations. All who have gone into the waters of baptism
have undertaken to walk in obedience to the principles of the gospel of
salvation. If it is not this that has brought us together, and that has made us
a people and a power in the world, I would like to now what it is. Herein, I
apprehend, is the great mistake which our enemies make, who seek our overthrow.
They regard our faith as only delusion, falsehood and humbug. Instead of
bringing against us serious arguments, or endeavoring so to do, their cry is
continually "humbug" and "delusion." Some may have
attempted to argue against us, thinking they had truth for their premises, but
they have found their efforts of no avail, because we had a greater amount of
truth than they. So it will ever be with those whose efforts are to impede the
work of the Lord, for truth is mighty and will prevail. Eternal truth will
stand like the rock in the midst of the ocean; the waves may beat around it,
but they who attempt to sail their barque over it will meet certain
destruction.
It has
been so in the history of the world, as the records of the past will prove.
Christianity had more truth in it than Paganism, hence it prevailed over it. So
with Mahometanism, and the corrupt and erroneous systems among which it sprang
into existence; and so it was with the Reformation. When the Reformers struck
out against the Catholics, their principles contained more reason, truth and
virtue than were contained in Catholicism; and hence although the Catholics did
their utmost to suppress the Reformation, they failed because truth was
mightier than they. So it is in our day with the gospel which has been revealed
from heaven; although the enemies of truth are continually bringing their
batteries against it, their efforts are unavailing. If they could array against
it a greater volume of truth than it contains, then they might hope to see its
speedy end. but they cannot do this, for the gospel circumscribes all truth.
And they should hide their heads in shame, acknowledging that there is
intelligence, wisdom and truth in the midst of this people.
Having
embraced the truth, as a people, what course shall we pursue? Shall we turn or
falter, or shall we apply it to our lives? When truth still leads the way,
shall we fall away or slacken our hands? When the servants of God stand here
and mark out the course in which the Lord requires the people, unitedly, to
labor in temporal matters, are not their words as binding, and as much a part
of the impregnable truths of Heaven, as any that were ever revealed? I cannot
see any difference. The Lord is about to establish His kingdom, the kingdom
which He has said should prevail over all other kingdoms and stand forever. Is
not that a temporal kingdom, and will the Lord not guide and direct in temporal
matters for the establishment of that kingdom? If so, is it not the duty of His
children to walk in the path He marks out for them, according to their
covenants with Him? Is it not the duty of the Latter-day Saints to cleave to
that which is good and to reject evil? to keep God's laws and to be guided by
His servants in their temporal as well as in their spiritual matters? It is not
only our duty to do so, but me, it is our privilege, for it will make us the
instruments in the hands of God and His servants, inlaying the foundation of
that great and glorious kingdom which shall prevail over and absorb all other
kingdoms. by yielding to the requirements of the Lord in these matters we
consult our own individual interest; and I could not help thinking this
morning, that if appeals to our consciences were not sufficient, appeals to our
pockets should be; for it is most certainly to our temporal interest,
individually, to comply with the teachings of the servants of God in temporal
matters.
Do not
these principles come right home, and commend themselves to every man, woman
and child who has any understanding of the true principles of economy? They
need no proof, nor illustration; they are self-evident to all reflecting minds.
When a truth is so palpable, should we not walk up to it, and carry it out
conscientiously, and as truly as we would any other principle or instruction
received through the same channel? I think we should; and I think we will not
be held guiltless unless we are united as the heart of one man in carrying it
out. When anything is placed before us, the truth of which is self-evident, and
which is for our benefit as a people, and for the benefit of the kingdom of
God, let us not hesitate, but go to and bear it off, being glad of the
opportunity, because it contributes to the strength and power of that cause
which we have espoused, and at the same time promotes our own individual
interests if we have any.
With
regard to the Word of Wisdom, it speaks for itself; it is couched in the most
beautiful and eloquent language that ever was spoken, and it stands upon its
own merits. If there is any one who does not know what to do about it let him
try it, and prove for himself, and see if the promises it contains are not true
and faithful. It commends itself to the understanding of everybody; but if we
do not wish to keep it for conscience sake, it is not given as a commandment.
If our interests merely should bribe us to carry it out, we and our children
after us would be benefitted by so doing.
The
subject of manufacturing and being independent is a most important one. If we
wish for true independence we must pursue the course marked out by him whom the
Lord has appointed to be His mouthpiece to this people. Not only has he urged
this subject upon us to-day, but I can bear witness that for years he has taken
the same course, and in his own family, and in his financial matters he has
guided everything in that direction, as far as he has had power and ability to
do so. If there has been any difficulty it has been with the people not
sufficiently aiding and sustaining him. I hold him clear and guiltless, in my
own feelings, in regard to these matters; he has done his duty in urging them
on the people. If we had taken his counsel should we have been any more wealthy
as a people than we are to-day? Most assuredly; I might say ten times the
amount of money and other property that we now possess would be ours; and we
would have known how to take care of it. A great many of the people can make
money pretty easily; but they lack the knowledge of how to take care of it. It
flies here and there, for this, that and the other, and the first thing we
know, it is gone, and we are none the richer for having had it.
The
people have been somewhat discouraged in the past in trying to grow wool and
produce flax, because there was not the necessary labor-saving machinery here
for their manufacture. We need all the labor-saving machinery we can possibly
procure; but if we cannot obtain enough to manufacture the wool and flax we
raise, let it be done by hand in our houses, all over this city, as well as out
of it. These are my sentiments and feelings, and ever have been, and I have
tried to bring it about as far as I have had power. I have had a good deal of
cloth manufactured in my own house, from time to time as circumstances would
permit. I have tried to keep sheep, and I know that it can and should be done.
suppose that our home made cloth does cost a little more, one good dress of
that kind is worth three or four imported ones; hence it is cheaper after all
to manufacture them ourselves, than to go and spend money to buy them. This is
my experience, and I expect it is the experience of all who have tried it. We
sell a little grain when times are good and get some money. If we go to the
stores and spend that money we send it out of the country, but if we invest it
in machinery for the manufacture of flax, wool and cotton, we have something in
place of it that is a benefit to the whole community.
These
matters bear upon y o and upon men, and upon every one of us, and it requires
united effort on our part to carry them into operation. Let u go to work and
bring in our labor saving machinery, and cultivate and manufacture that which
the welfare of the community renders necessary. There is a great difficulty to
be overcome by some of our people, -- their taking unwise courses to gather
means. some will say "I will go here or go there, go this way or that; I
can go out on the road or to the mines; I can see an opening to make a little
money and help myself." How often has the experience of our elders proven
that in almost every case -- probably nine out of every ten -- those persons
who have stayed at home and attended to their business, have made more than
they who have gone away and have aided in building up some other place. I
appeal to our brethren right at home if this is not the case. There have been
many instances where persons have left here, thinking they could do better; and
after trying, in some cases for years, have returned penniless; while those who
have remained here during that time have been able, by their industry, to
become comfortably situated. such individuals have lost just so much time; and,
worse than that, they have lost the spirit of their holy religion, and in some
instances have felt so discouraged that they have had to return
again to the sinks of iniquity in which they
have long wallowed, and have made shipwreck of their faith entirely. This has
been the case with a great many. So with our sisters, who were spoken of this
morning, marrying out of the church. They will yet weep in bitterness for
taking such a course. I caution them against it; it will lead them out of the
church, debar them from exaltation in the kingdom of God, and will doom them to
a life of bitterness and woe. God , our heavenly Father, had a purpose in view
in sending his children here on the earth, and He has revealed that purpose to
His servants. some of His children are beginning to understand, but a great
many are yet ignorant and they would do well to be guided by those who have
more knowledge than they have, until they come to understanding.
We need
more complete obedience in regard to a great many things in this kingdom. The
President has said there were many things to lay before the Conference, and I
suppose the principle of obedience is one of them, obedience to the servants of
the Lord in all things both temporal and spiritual. If we, as a people, have
any power and influence in the world, it is this that gives it to us. I know
there is a great deal of unity, faith and integrity in the midst of this
people; I am glad to see it, and I rejoice over it. It only wants to be
extended to some few other matters to produce a united effort in regard to our
temporal affairs. There is a great deal of united effort amongst us in
cultivating the ground, in bringing water to irrigate the soil, in making water
ditches and canals; and there is a great deal of united effort in the disposal
of the products of the earth. This is all good and commendable, but we want to
carry it out with greater effect, to bring to pass those purposes which are necessary
for our convenience and prosperity as a people. We should not patronize those
who are seeking to injure us continually. The President has most graphically
described the course that some among us pursue. They get down on their knees
and pray to the lord to preserve us from the contaminations and machinations of
our enemies -- the wicked and the ungodly -- and then they will get up and do
all in their power to sustain them, expecting their faith alone will be
sufficient to prevail. You know faith is powerless without works; let our works
go with our faith, then we can acomplish and bring to pass all that we desire
in righteousness.
There is
no constitutional law that I am aware of against a man selecting where he will
trade, nor against his laying by means, and spending that means where he can
buy goods the cheapest. If I choose to pay my brethren more for an article than
I can get it for anywhere else, whose business is it? The course for us to
pursue is to sustain those who sustain Israel and the holy and righteous
principles, that the world is warring against and seeking to overthrow. We were
brought out of the world to sustain each other and those principles that have
been revealed for the guidance of the children of men; and if we are united in
all things we will have power and influence sufficient to protect ourselves and
to preserve our own rights on the face of the earth. The past history of this
people from the beginning shows that we have been trodden down and oppressed;
but such treatment is not in accordance with the genius of our institutions and
government, because they are based on freedom of thought, freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, and freedom in religious matters, guaranteeing to all the
privilege to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. We
know and understand that these are the privileges guaranteed by the
constitution of our common country. Give us these rights and that is all we
ask. We are law abiding and the only community who are so, so far as that instrument
is concerned. We have not sought to amend it, nor to torture it so as to make
it sustain our own peculiar principles, whether political or religious, like
the sectarians do the bible; but we have been willing to let it stand as it was
framed. It guarantees to us all the rights we ask for, and God helping us we
will enjoy those rights. We expect to hold them, and the Lord is willing to
help us; but to do so it needs a united people, a people who will stand
shoulder to shoulder in everything.
There is
no better government on the face of the earth than that which the lord has
revealed for the government of His people. The organization is complete. It is
the government of Heaven; and those who stand in holy places to carry it into
effect, and to guide and direct the labors of this people, have been appointed
by the Lord Himself. Will we keep or reject this government? I would say by all
means let us esteem it a privilege to live under such a benign rule, and
rejoice that it has been established on the earth. These should be the feelings
of the children of men. In stead of trying to overthrow and trample truth under
foot, they ought to rejoice that it has been made manifest, and that it is
rearing its head in the earth with a power that can not be overturned nor
broken in pieces; and I hope and trust that those who are called Latter-day
Saints will be united as the heart of one man in carying out its precepts.
There is
one thing that happened here not long since, at which I really feel encouraged.
I allude to the counsel given to the people in reference to trading. I do
believe and feel that that counsel has been carried into effect as rigidly and
closely, and with as little effort, as any one other item that I have ever seen
laid before the people. It was simply the power of truth; the people saw it;
when it was laid before them they realized that it came home to them, and they
acted as universally and unitedly in the matter as in anything I have ever
seen. I like to see the people swayed by the voice and power of truth; and when
a thing is presented to us that is self-evident to our senses let us carry it
into effect unanimously, and we will see, in a short time, the increase of the
wealth, power and influence of this community. We would all soon be able to
enter our lands, privided the privilege were given to do so. How good it would
be for the people in this city, and in all our cities, to secure from the
government the title to their inheritances. If the privilege were accorded now,
although the land would be very cheap, say a dollar and a quarter an acre, I am
afraid we would not find money enough for a considerable length of time to do
so, and that many of the people would probably have to pay a high rate of
interest to get the means necessary to pay for their lands. This is a thing
that is timely thrown before the people, and it is bound to come sooner or
later. How much better it will be for us to be prepared to meet any sudden
emergency of this kind, that to be crazy to know how to spend the last cent a
man earns, and for things, too, that are needless.
The Word
of Wisdom is a revelation in which I fully believe. It reads as follows,
commencing on the 240th page of the book of Doctrine and Covenants: --
A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the Council of High
Priests, assembled in Kirtland, and Church, and also the Saints in ?Zion. To be
sent greeting -- not by command or constraint, but by revelation and the word
of wisdom, showing forth the order and the will of God in the temporal
salvation of all Saints in the last days. Given for a principle with a promise,
adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all Saints, who are or
can be called Saints.
1. Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, in
consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of
conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving
unto you this word of wisdom by revelation, that inasmuch as any man drinketh
wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither mete in the
sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your
sacraments before him. And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the
grape of the vine, of your own make. And, again, strong drinks are not for the
belly, but for the washing of your bodies. And again, tobacco is not for the
body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for
bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill. And again, hot
drinks are not for the body or belly.
2. And again, verily, I say unto you, all wholesome herbs
God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man. Every herb in
the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used
with prudence and thanksgiving. Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of
the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving;
nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; and it is pleasing unto me that
they should not be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine. All
grain is rdained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not
only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all
wild animals that run or creep on the earth; and these hath God made for the
use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
3. All grain is good for the food of man, as also the fruit
of the vine, that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the
ground. Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the
horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field,
and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.
And all Saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience
to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel, and marrow to their
bones, and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden
treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint; and I,
the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by
them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
That
needs no comment; it tells its own story, and stands for itself; and I believe
that the blessings which are therein promised, through faithful obedience to
the principles it inculcates, will be enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. It
commends itself without argument to the understanding of every honest heart. We
all know that it is wisdom to observe the precepts therein inculcated, because
they are from God. But our human weaknesses step in and say, "Well, I do
not see how I can get along, it is a little too much of a trial." They who
think so should seek faith from God and they will obtain strength. I have
always felt that it is our duty to train up our children to observe these
principles. It is the case, nine times out of ten, that families use more of
these articles now than they did fifteen, twenty, or thirty years ago. I speak
from my own experience. A cup of tea or coffee was never thought of for a
child, in my youth. I was as much as fifteen or sixteen years old before a cup
and saucer was ever set to my plate. It was not for want of means, but it was
not the fashion; it was never thought of in that part of the country. I never missed
it, for I had never learned to like it, and I did not care anything at all
about it. We know that tea and coffee are no benefit, but rather an injury; and
in addition to that e know that the Lord, through His servants, has said that
it is wisdom not to use these things; hence this people of all others ought to
be willing to apply themselves to the words of wisdom which the Lord has
revealed through His servants for their guidance.
I pray
God to help us to be united in all these things; hence this people of all
others ought to be willing to apply themselves to the words of wisdom which the
Lord has revealed through His servants for their guidance.
I pray
God to help us to be united in all these things. Let us be united as the heart
and voice of one man, in bringing to pass the designs and wishes of our God in
building up His kingdom on the earth. This is the kingdom of God; this is His
work, and we are His servants and Hand-maidens; and I do not know of any better
business that we can be engaged in than in establishing the work of God on the
earth. Let all our labors and enterprises be controlled by those who are placed
over us. Let all our operations, whether in farming, raising stock, digging
ditches or making canls, and all the labors of this people be guided by those
who are set over us in the Lord, that we may have power when the time comes to
redeem Zion, gather Israel from their long dispersion, and hasten the coming of
that grand and glorious day when the glory of the Lord shall rest upon His temple
and upon the habitations of His Saints, as a cloud by day and as a pillar of
fire by night. That our labors may tend to this end, my brethren, is my prayer,
in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elders J. T. D. McAllister and George Goddard sang "All are talking of Utah."
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor dwelt upon the objects of our assembling together in a conference capacity. Everything that is conducive to the happiness or welfare of mankind is a subject for our consideration; and when we meet together in conference, such of those things as more closely relate to the present are talked over, dwelt upon, and such steps taken as are deemed best for our own welfare and the welfare of our fellow men. Our aims, our objects, our hopes and our labors are for salvation and exaltation, and that the blessings of our Father in heaven may be enjoyed by all who desire to do right. He spoke of the faith we have in the revelations of God, and the knowledge and testimony which the Lord has bestowed upon us. And contrasted our social and political condition with that of the world. Obedience to God has given us the happiness and prosperity which we now enjoy, and more perfect obedience will increase blessings upon us. He also advocated home manufactures, impressing their importance upon the congregation.
[John Taylor]
[DNW 16:146, 5/8/67, p 2; JD 11:353]
DISCOURSE
By Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great
Salt Lake City, April 6, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
We have
met together on the present occasion to attend our annual Conference. The
object of our meeting is not altogether for religious purposes, but to consult
upon all matters for the interest of the Church and Kingdom of God upon the
earth. On these occasions it is quite common for missionaries to be appointed
to the different nations of the earth, and it is also usual to discuss the
principles and doctrines that we believe in, and to attend to any business that
may have to be presented from the different parts of this Territory, and from
all parts of the earth; and we try to build up the people in their most holy
faith. We meet also to consult upon the best course for us to pursue with
regard to temporal things as well as spiritual things. For as we possess bodies
as well as spirits, and have to live by eating, drinking, and wearing, it
becomes necessary that temporal matters should he considered and discussed in
our Conferences, and that we should deliberate upon all things that are
calculated to benefit, bless, and exalt the Saints of God, whether they refer
to our spiritual affairs or to our avocations and duties in life as husbands
and wives, as parents and children, as masters and servants whether they refer
to the policy we should pursue in our commercial relations, to protecting
ourselves against the incursions of savages, or to any other matter affecting
us as human beings composing part of the body politic of this nation or as
citizens of the world. The idea of strictly religious feelings with us, and
nothing else, is out of the question yet we do everything in the fear of God.
Our religion is more comprehensive than that of the world; it does not prompt
its votaries with the desire to "sit and sing themselves away to
everlasting bliss," but it embraces all the interests of humanity in every
conceivable phase, and every truth in the world comes within its scope. The
Lord is making a great experiment, and we are trying to help Him. Through the
instrumentality of His servants He has inaugurated the greatest work ever
commenced on earth. We are taking a stand to revolutionize the ideas of ages,
to overturn the fallacies of centuries, and to root out and destroy the
corruptions of past generations by introducing the law of the most high God.
Standing upon this elevated platform, having the world as it was, is, and as it
will be before us, we feel the responsibility resting upon us to be true and
faithful to the calling which the great God has placed upon us. As Jesus said
he came not to do his own will, so we are not here to do our own will, to
accomplish any favourite project, or to introduce any fanciful creed, notion,
or idea. We are not here to propagate any favorite or pleasant dogma, but our
object is to make known the laws of life and the designs of the great Eloheim
with regard to the earth and its inhabitants.
As
President Young remarked this morning, "our object is not to elevate the
few at the expense of the many, but to elevate and exalt the whole; to pour
health, wealth, and life upon all who will receive our teachings. Consequently,
when we assemble on occasions like this, all these interests present themselves
for our consideration and reflection. Before we came into this Church many of
us belonged to the various churches of the day—the Roman Catholic, the Greek,
and Episcopal, and to the various dissenting bodies, and we had our peculiar
creeds and articles of religious faith. But we have laid those doctrines aside,
and now we are Latter-day Saints, and we believe in their. doctrines. We
believe that God has spoken, that the heavens have been opened, that holy
angels have appeared, that the truths of God, which for ages have slumbered,
have again burst forth upon us, and that man, once more, is brought into
communion with his Maker. Before entering this Church we were ignorant in
regard to the past and the future, but now we comprehend them in part. We have
laid aside our religious dogmas, theories, follies, and nonsense; and we have
one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one hope of our calling, one idea in relation
to what we were, what we are, and what we are going to be, and that idea is in
accordance with what God has revealed through the Priesthood. I was unable to
comprehend religion until it was taught me by the Priesthood; and anything in
opposition to their teachings is not worth the ashes of a rye straw. Like
Moses' serpent, which swallowed up all other serpents, "Mormonism"
has banished all our preconceived notions of religion, and has made us one. Why
do we believe and feel as we do on these points? Because God has spoken, and we
have believed Him. We are are aiming at something more than religious unity. We
have a political existence that none can ignore nor destroy; they think they
can, but they cannot. They cannot make us mingle with the confusion of Babylon
any more than they can make oil and water coalesce. There is no affinity
between us. They profess very little faith in God, and know nothing about him;
while we profess faith in God, and do know that He lives and speaks to His
people; hence unity between them and us is impossible.
I
referred just now to our political existence, but before I dwell upon that let
us touch a little on our social ideas. They are very different from those of
the world. We differ very materially, for instance, with them on the relationship
that exists between the sexes. They say the course we pursue has a tendency to
degrade women; we think it has a tendency to elevate them, and the course
pursued by the world is one of the most damnably corrupt and oppressive that it
is possible to conceive of. It is true they will marry their wives until death
parts them. But what of their mistresses? By thousands and hundreds of
thousands they are seduced and deceived and are being dragged down to death and
perdition. Their bodies are weak, corrupt, and emaciated, and they are without
pleasure in life and without hope in the future. Yet men who are steeped to the
lips in such foul depravity and horrid practices will preach to us about purity
and morality, and would have us embrace a system so deeply damned as theirs. It
is enough to make a man vomit to hear them. No, sirs, we have come out from
that, and are trying to carry out the principle which God has revealed—which
is, to make all women wives, to respect, honor, and bless them while they live
on the earth, and to exalt them to thrones in the celestial kingdom of God
hereafter. Is there anything low, grovelling, or calculated to humble or
destroy in that? It is the most blessed, most noble, most exalted principle
that ever God revealed to man. Who desires the world to continue in its present
course of hypocrisy and corruption? Can the religion or politics of the day
stem the evils that everywhere prevail, root out this corroding, fetid, moral
curse, and establish pure, correct, and virtuous principles? If they had the
wish to do so they have not the poker. Nothing short of the power and
intelligence of God can ever accomplish that. We are striving to introduce
correct moral principles to the people, that men and women may understand their
proper relationship to each other, that they may fill the measure of their
creation and stand pure and uncontaminated before God, angels, and men, that
when they have done with the things of time they may be transplanted to a
celestial kingdom and be associated with the Gods in the eternal world.
In
political matters we are pretty well united. At our elections we generally vote
as a unit. This, we know, is contrary to the general custom, and because we do
not disagree and contend as the world do, they say that we are wrong. If we had
intended to do as they do we should not have left them. We have long ago
weighed them in the balances and found them wanting. We have no desire to be
affiliated with them; but in politics as in everything else we want to know the
will of God, and then to do it. It is true that a little of the old leaven will
manifest itself once in a while. Sometimes some little consequential persons
who want to be somebody will gather here and seek to exalt themselves, but our
opinion is that it is time enough for men to be somebody when God makes them
so, and that man-made men are only poor miserable creatures at the best.
Do we not
believe in the voice of the people? Yes; but we believe in the voice of God
first, in the middle and in the end. God says, "I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last;" and we want to be governed
by Him in everything—firstly, secondly, thirdly, and lastly. We do not think we
have wisdom to manage our political affairs without the interposition of the
Most High. Sometime ago we had an army sent against us by the United States.
How did we conquer it? Perhaps you will say we did not conquer it; perhaps we
did not, but no matter about that. Why did not they conquer us? Because our
trust was in the living God, and He has told us that it was His "business
to take care of His Saints." We believed Him; we asked Him to take care of
us, and He did. He took care of them, too, and after a while they went sneaking
off as they came, and did nothing. We have had difficulties in the south of our
Territory with Indians; we have to-day. What is the best course for us to take
in regard to them? Who can dictate us in these matters? If the Lord does not, I
am sure I do not know who can. I consider that we are all in the hands of God.
He could let the red men upon us to chastise us if He saw proper; and and He
could say to them "Hold, be still," and they would be as still as
mice. It is so with the United States—they are in His hands as well as we; and
when any man or set of men seek to interfere with us or our rights it is just
as easy for Him to say to them, as to the waves of Jordan, "Hither shall
ye come and no further." It is necessary for us to understand this; and to
realize our position, and also to be united in carrying out any enterprise or
policy that the Lord shall dictate to us through His servants. In relation to
what may be called political economy the people think "we have the right
to do as we please." I do not know so much about that. You had a right to
become "Mormons" or to let "Mormonism" alone, and you had
the right to gather to Zion or to stay where you were. You have the right to be
"Mormons" here or not, as you please; but I very much doubt the right
of men to do as they please when they profess to be Latter-day Saints; because
we have covenanted together to keep the commandments of God and obey the holy
priesthood, and in this and other Conferences vote to uphold them and not to
destroy, plot against, and overturn the power of the priesthood, or individuals,
or nations, but to uphold righteousness, maintain truth, establish justice, and
spread peace throughout the earth. That is what we plot, contrive, and pray
for, and that has been the head and front of our offending from the
organization of the Church till the present day. Well, but would we like to
have our own way? Yes; and we do to a great extent. But when we do have so much
of it We do not get along quite so well. Have you never heard President Young
tell the story about the dog that was so very obedient? Said its master,
"that dog will obey me in everything;" and to prove his assertion,
said he, "Caesar, go out!" But Caesar did not go out, he went under
the bed. "Well," said his master, "if you will not go out, go
under the bed, then, you shall obey me." President Young feels a good deal
like this with the Saints. They like their own way, and says he, "Well, if
you will not do as the Lord wants you, why, do so and so, for you shall obey
me." What does this feature show? It shows that we are not very strong in
the faith, that we are not living up to the privileges that God has given, and
that we are not, treading in the steps of our the leader as good men and women
do.
We could
progress a great deal faster, and could prosper a thousand times more than we
do if we would he one in carrying out the counsels given us by the Lord through
His servants. What did Jesus pray for when about leaving His disciples?
"Father, I pray for these whom thou hast given me that they may be one,
even as thou and I, Father, are one, that they may be one in us. Neither pray I
for these alone, but for all who shall believe in me through their words, that
they all may be one." One in what? In everything. What did President Young
say this morning when speaking of some of these things? That we would ask the
Lord to bless us and preserve us from our enemies, and the very next step we
were hand and glove with them in everything. If we do not feel ashamed when we
hear such things we ought to be. What has been the teachings to this people for
years? To be sell sustaining. What a poor miserable effort some of us would
have made of it if we had lived in Adam's day! The Lord placed him on the earth
and told him to be "fruitful, to multiply and replenish the earth and to
subdue it." Now, Adam never thought of sending to the States for
merchandize. If he wanted a coat he had to be his own tailor. The Lord showed
him how to make his clothes. I expect He is a good hand, and understands all
about these things. The Lord has brought us out here, and has given us a good
land, which we have been cultivating for a number of years, and we have done
pretty well.
A few
days ago I came across a man of the name of Ivins, whose father apostatized in
Nauvoo. The son has been around in the mines. I asked him who were the best
off—the people here or those following mining pursuits? He said that we were a
long way ahead of them. The reason is that we have not been following a vague
phantom; but, we have been cultivating the earth, raising sheep and cattle, and
the result is that most of us have our houses, gardens, farms, cattle, and
sheep, and are comparatively well off; and my opinion is that no community in
the world with our numbers are so prosperous as the people of Utah. There are
places where there are richer men than you can find amongst us, but there are
great numbers steeped in poverty. Have we any among us who are crying for
bread? Can you find widows and orphans in our midst who are destitute? Here are
men present from all parts of this Territory, can you tell of any such cases? I
know of none myself. Can such a state of things be found in any other country?
I have never met with it in any country where I have travelled. Why is this?
Because the Lord has taught us principles that prompt us to provide for all,
hence we do not allow any among us to suffer. But if we were obedient in all
things we should be a great deal better off than we are, and would have less
care and anxiety than we now have.
I was
travelling south a while ago, and as I went along I made enquiries whether the
people had all the grain they needed till harvest, I learned that a great many
of them had not, the reason being that many had traded it off to the stores,
some had bills to meet, and, owing to the fall in the price of grain, it took a
great deal more to pay them than was anticipated. Is there any need for this?
Not a particle. I was talking not long since with a brother on this subject. He
was referring to Sanpete. He said—"It cost about as much to haul the grain
from Sanpete to this city as it is worth, and, consequently, the people get
nothing for their grain but the pay for hauling it." Said I—"What is
the matter? There is something wrong." Is there any necessity that the
people should bring their grain here or carry it anywhere else and get nothing
for it but the pay for hauling? I do not know why it should be so, nor why the
people should be so anxious to get rid of everything they have. I do not
understand it.
Suppose
the people in Sanpete, or any other county, were to establish a small woollen
factory in each Settlement, if they could not afford more than one or two
carding machines, with a sufficient number of spindles to spin up the rolls,
and had weavers to make it into cloth and other material necessary for the
stockings, pants, vests, coats, dresses, shawls, nubias, &c., that they
required, they would have no need, hereafter, to haul their grain to this city
or elsewhere to pay for such things; but they might manufacture all the woollen
fabric they need and still raise as much grain as they do now.
Let the
people take care of their sheep and manufacture their wool, and there would be
no uneasiness about their coats wearing out, or their shawls and dresses
getting threadbare, for they would know there were plenty more growing.
Another
branch of home manufacture that should be more generally encouraged is tanning.
I have been told that a good many of the boots and shoes we wear now are made
of gum and paper. I will guarantee that there are hides enough rotting around
this city to shoe half this people, and I presume it is the case in other
places. The effort of the people should be to establish a tannery, where none
exists, to tan these hides into leather, and let the farmers haul bark for the
tanners and exchange it for leather to shoe their families, and so manufacture
leather enough to supply their wants, and if there was any surplus all the
better. By adopting this course, boots and shoes for men, women, and children
might be made of the hides from our cattle, while the stockings, pants, vests,
coats, shawls, dresses, and nubias would come from the sheep. Then there is an
article called flax that grows in this country, and if I were looking alter the
interests of a people I should require them to cultivate it and manufacture it
into linen for towels, table cloths, and bed quilts; then if I could not manage
to raise cotton enough from any source to make a shirt, I could, on a pinch,
wear a linen one. With regard to hats, our hatters should be employed to make
them at home, and the ladies could make hats of straw, as was spoken of by
President Young this morning. If we procured machinery to do it, it would ease
up on the ladies a little, and the work could be done better and more
expeditiously. Nine-tenths of the people's wants could be supplied in this way,
and you would still have your grain. Then the farmer, shoemaker, tailor,
weaver, and so on through the whole people, could have their bins filled, and
have on hand one, two, or three three years' supply. By and by if somebody came
along and said the grasshoppers or the crickets are coming, the feeling would
be, "let them 'crick,' we do not care, we are safe, our grain is laid
up." That would make the people feel free, easy, and independent, and it
ought to be their position to-day.
Well, so
much for the political economy that ought to exist in our midst, and by which
we as a people ought to be governed. I believe it is the duty of the Bishops
and of all our leading men to see these things carried out. I know it is the
wish of President Young and of the Lord. We profess to be the people of God,
let us subject ourselves to His sway and carry out His designs. We have laid
aside our old religion, morals, and politics long ago, and have got a better
kind. Let us lay aside our old political economy and get one that is calculated
to sustain us in every position in life and be one in that as in other things.
I see I am talking too long. May the Lord bless and guide us and help us to he
one, that we may be one with Him in His kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Choir sang. Prayer by Elder George A. Smith
[7 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 16:116, 4/20/67, p 5]
Sunday, April 7th, 10 a.m.
The tabernacle presented a densely packed appearance long before the appointed hour of commencing the morning services, and hundreds were compelled to remain outside or go away.
The choir sang; Elder Joseph W. Young prayed; followed by an anthem from the choir.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith said that the crowded state of the Tabernacle, with the fact that a great many were so unfortunate as not to get inside, urged a vigorous prosecution of the new Tabernacle. He took for his text, If ye are not one ye are not of me; showed that we are one in matters of faith and doctrine, though gathered from almost every nation on the earth with many prejudices, yet with much faith in the gospel; but there is a greater unity of effort required to advance our internal development, and the producing and manufacturing such articles as we need. Cotton has been successfully grown, and with the little machinery brought here has been already a blessing of incalculable value. The importance of keeping sheep and caring for them; getting wool and manufacturing it; feeding and properly caring for the animals we own; every family having a complete set of the works of the Church for family use; every meeting-house and every family being supplied with sacred books; every home being made attractive and the people subscribing for and reading the DESERET NEWS, Juvenile Instructor and Telegraph with the money now wasted on tobacco, were strongly advocated; while the use of strong drink was reprehended in pungent and severe language, and the people were called upon to unite and put away such an evil from our midst. The value of the counsel given at various times to save our grain, was reviewed and urged in a forcible manner.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 16:154, 5/15/67, p 2; JD 11:359]
DISCOURSE
By Elder Geo. A. Smith, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great
Salt Lake City, April 7, 1867
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
The
crowded condition of the Tabernacle this morning, and the reflection that there
is a number of persons outside who are so unlucky as to be too late to obtain
admittance, reminds us forcibly of the necessity there exists for a vigorous
prosecution of the work upon the new Tabernacle, that we may be prepared to
accommodate the brethren and sisters with seats, especially during Conference.
I expect that by the time our great Tabernacle is finished we shall begin to
complain that it is too small, for we have never yet had a building
sufficiently large and convenient to accommodate our congregations at
Conference times. In fact, "Mormonism" has seemed to flourish best
out of doors, where there was more room. This circumstance has worn heavily
upon the lungs of our Elders, and especially of the Presidency, who have been
under the necessity of speaking to very large audiences in the open air, and it
is very important that we should concentrate our efforts to render the new
Tabernacle habitable as soon as possible. Should that portion of the
inhabitants of this city that naturally ought to attend meeting be punctual on
the Sabbath day we should find it too small, and should wish that we had half a
dozen galleries capable of holding three or four thousand each, that the people
might get somewhere within compass and hear the word of the Lord.
It is
written by one of the prophets, that the time should come when there would be a
famine in the land; not for bread, nor for water, but for the hearing of the
word of the Lord. Hence it is necessary that we should prepare a suitable
Tabernacle, that we may be supplied when that day of famine shall arrive. I
think that it has existed in the world for a long period, but that very few of
the human family have realized it.
There are
mary subjects which I would like to present before my brethren and sisters
which bear with more or less weight upon my mind, and which are directly
calculated to concentrate the minds of the people on the "mark" given
us by the President to preach to. The Presidency, in their instructions
yesterday, brought our minds very clearly to the points which it is proper for
us to reflect upon and to exert ourselves to carry out: unity in our action,
education, business relations, and in everything pertaining to this world or
any other with which we ever will have anything to do.
It has
often been reiterated that we are agreed in doctrine—in belief in the Lord
Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection of the
dead, eternal judgments, and the sacrament. We are agreed almost to a unit on
these subjects. The Christian world, for many generations, has been split into
atoms on the question of the sacrament. The blood of millions has been shed
because some have believed that in consecrating the elements for the sacrament
they became the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, while others believed
they were but symbols, and that it was simply done in remembrance of him. On
these points we are agreed. We are the most remarkable people that ever existed
on the earth. I might say that devout men and women out of every nation under
heaven are gathered here. What did they come here for? To hear the word of the
Lord, to walk in His paths, and to prepare to inherit His glory. Having done so
much for our religion is an earnest that we are ready to labor all the rest of
our days to obey the word of the Lord which goes forth from Zion. We come here
with a great variety of prejudices and with abundance of tradition, but with a
great deal of confidence in the principles of the gospel. We are, as it were,
in a new world, a desert, a country that is only made fertile by actual labor,
and its fertility is only retained by the main strength of its inhabitants.
Cease to irrigate our fields, repair our dams, clean out our ditches, and our
country becomes a desert again in a quarter of the time that it has taken us to
make it. In some respects it is peculiarly fitted to us, for while many of us
are interested in one dam, one water ditch, or one stream of water, we are
compelled to cultivate a spirit of union and oneness, or the result is we go
hungry, and that same spirit of oneness is actually necessary to enable us to
fulfil our mission here and for our exaltation hereafter.
The God
of Heaven has a mission for every man and woman that He calls into this work.
We may hear some names read to the Conference of brethren who are called on a
mission, but it is only to another part of the vineyard. We are all on a
mission, and every man and woman in this church is under just as much
obligation to perform that mission as either the Twelve Apostles or the
Presidency—salvation and eternal glory are at stake in each case. If the
Presidency or the Twelve fail to perform their mission the result is the same
as it is with the least member in the church; it may be in a greater degree,
from the fact that there is greater responsibility in one case than in the
other.
My mind
rolls back to the Spring of the year 1857. You recollect that about ten years
ago, some time in July, we got information that the mails were all stopped. We
had not had them very often up to that period, not above four or five times a
year, but at that time we had got a monthly mail established, and it was
running punctually. The news came that the Administration then in power at
Washington had stopped the mails, and had determined to send a formidable army
to Utah. It looked a rather serious affair, for almost every time of
persecution against the Saints had been inaugurated by the stoppage of the
mail. As messengers brought in the papers we found that preparations were
making to send immense armies to Utah. What for? Why, some renegade of a judge
had spread the information that the Utah library was burned, that the court
records were all destroyed, and that the people here had declared themselves
independent of the United States. In confirmation of this, the Legislature of
Utah had sent a petition to the Federal Government asking them to send good men
here for officers! That was considered to be very near treason or rebellion,
and on that ground our country was to be invaded or occupied by an army. The
plains were darkened with wagons, six thousand having been started for Utah by
one company, besides several thousands by the Government. There were also
swarms of soldiers, and immense numbers of those carrion birds—gamblers and
blacklegs, that always follow an army. We well remember this, and we also
remember that in the providence of God it was all overruled without the
shedding of blood; and how, when they got here, or into the vicinity, they sent
on their messenger to ask permission to come in, and to ask for quarters in the
country; and how they found, on examination, that the library and records and
everything were safe, and the whole thing had been based on falsehood. We
remember, too, that when the bottom fell out, the Administration scattered
themselves to the four winds of heaven as quick as possible, and got out of the
scrape as best they could.
This is
well known as a matter of history. But what I wish to dwell upon is, that
previous to that time we had exerted ourselves to raise wool. Every man that
could was determined to raise sheep, and every woman that could was ready to
use a spindle, distaff, or loom, if she could get one, no matter bow rude it
might be, to manufacture the wool into cloth. Efforts were also made to tan
leather and to raise flax. Hundreds of acres of flax, for aught I know, had
been cultivated, and it was found to be a success. Since then I have heard men
say, "What a blessing it was to the people of Utah when that army came, it
made them so rich." How did it make us rich? You got their old iron, and
that put a stop to the manufacture of iron here; you got the rags they brought
here to sell, and that put a stop to our home manufactures; hence I do not
think that, financially, our condition was much improved. The Government is
said to have expended forty millions in bringing that army to Utah and in
establishing Camp Floyd; yet most of it went into the hands of speculators, and
very little into the hands of the actual settlers of this country.
I do
believe, however, that if the little means then accumulated by the people had
been used with wisdom it would have resulted in permanent benefit to the
community, but as it turned out it educated us into the idea that we must buy
what we needed from abroad. In 1857 I could get the flax I raised worked up; folks
would take care of it. In the spring of 1858 I put into the hands of a man four
and a half bushels of flax seed, gave him a good piece of land, and told him
there was a chance for him to raise a fine crop of flax. The first thing I knew
about it was that the flax was gathered, but the man told he had not time to
attend to it; he had been to Camp Floyd trading a little, he had let it all
rot, but nobody would swingle, break, or work it out, because it was so much
easier and cheaper to do some kind of trading and get a little of something out
of the store. Now, had we, when means came into our hands, at that period or
any other, taken the advice given, and invested it in machinery, we should not
only have been able to supply our future wants at home, but should have kept
plenty of money in our own country.
To show
you the zeal with which the authorities of the church have endeavored to
promote home manufactures, I have only to refer you to the establishment of the
mission in Southern Utah. It was a barren desolate country, and possessed of
but a small amount of soil adapted to raising cotton. When President Young sent
brethren on that mission he said, "You will yet see cotton cloth sold in
this city for a dollar a yard." Who on the face of the earth believed him?
Said the people, "You are a prophet, we guess, but you are mistaken this
time." But how long was it before his words were verified? Only a short
time. He immediately started a cotton factory here and another at Parowan, and
brother Houtz started one at Springville. These mills have been in operation
almost from that day to this, and have turned out a great many thousand bunches
of cotton yarn. Besides that, a great deal has been worked up by hand, and a
good many machines called plantation spinners have been brought in for that
purpose. All this cotton, besides a considerable quantity which has been sent
to San Francisco and to the States, and sold at paying rates, has been raised
in this Territory; and yet men will come along and tell you that the cotton
mission was a failure. What could we have done if it had not been established?
I tell, you, brethren and sisters, that thousands would have gone naked if God
had not showered down clothing to us as He did manna to the children of Israel.
Still, some say "it cost a great deal to start the mission, and the
brethren do not get rich, but many of them are still very poor." Did we
come into this church to make money and to get fine clothes, or to work out our
salvation by establishing and building up the kingdom of God? As Elders of
Israel and as Saints the latter is our mission; and our effort from the
beginning to the present time has been to render the kingdom of God sell
sustaining. The way to do so has been portrayed before us, and the question
with each one of us ought to be—"What can I do for the greatest
advancement of Israel?"
Some two
years, or a year and a half ago, the President gave instructions to every one
of the Bishops to sow a piece of rye in order to supply the sisters with rye
straw to make hats for the men and bonnets for themselves. Had that been
carried out by the Bishops and the sisters in good faith there would have been
in this hall to-day two thousand ladies wearing home-made straw hats, the work
of their own hands; and the ladies without them would most certainly have been
out of the fashion, for fashion has much influence in this matter. I only use
this as a figure, but had this counsel been carried out the result would have
been a saving probably of ten thousand dollars that could have been used for
the construction of machinery and for the purchase of actual necessaries, and
the ladies would have learned a trade they could have worked at hereafter in
case of necessity.
Talk to
the people about raising sheep and manufacturing the wool, and they will tell
you that it is cheaper to buy clothing. Yet, down street, the cry is
"nothing doing," "no trade;" and a good deal of the time
the business portions of the city are almost as quiet as the tombs of
Herculaneum. What is the cause of this? Why the people have no money; those who
had no more brains than to do so have paid all they could afford to the
merchants, and they cannot find money to make further purchases. What is to be
clone under these circumstances? Why, you must go to work and raise wheat and
give it to them for their goods, at six bits or a dollar a bushel, and give
them double measure, because it is too dear to keep sheep and encourage home
manufactures.
Brethren,
let us be one, henceforth, and go to work and make good pastures, stables, and
sheepcotes, and feed and take care of our sheep instead of starving them to
death on the hills or leaving them to be destroyed by the wolves; then we will
have twelve or fifteen pounds of wool from each one, instead of the bare backed
animals, so common now that we might suppose they never had any wool within a
mile of them. Instead of having hundreds and thousands of heads of stock dying
on the ranges let us try and realize that we live in a cold northern climate,
at a high altitude, and that our stock need shelter and food in the winter, and
that if we suffer them to perish through cold and hunger we are responsible to
God for the cruelty we inflict upon those animals. The grand juries in any
county ought to take these things into consideration, and indict such parties
for cruelty to animals, provided a majority could be found on any grand jury
who are not guilty of the same practices. You may go to almost any place in
this county and find milch cows half starved and without shelter, freezing and
shivering in the cold, and giving about a quart of milk that is not fit for the
hogs; you may also find cows that are fed decently, with a nice, fine, full
udder. Which pays the best? "We let our cattle perish, because it does not
pay to feed them." Such notions are ridiculous. If we take care of and
feed them we will find it will pay, and if we do not keep so many we will not
be guilty of murdering, starving, freezing, and torturing to death so much
animal flesh that God has placed under our charge. I expect the people will
want to know why I do not keep to the "mark," but I have got after
the cattle and sheep.
I travel
about occasionally, and sometimes, when I want food or a night's lodging, I
call at the house of a brother, who is probably of long standing in the Church,
and who is raising a family of fine children. Now, a part of that man's mission
is to educate those children, to form their tastes, to cultivate their talents,
and make a kingdom of holy men and women of them—a kingdom of priests unto God.
But what has he got there to do it with? If you ask for a Book of Mormon, he
will probably hand you one that old age seems long since to have passed its
final veto upon, and if you undertake to pick it up you would say, "it
stinks so that I cannot." I do not know that there are many such Elders,
but if there should happen to be one here, it would be well for him to reflect
that right here at the Deseret News printing office br. Kelly has the
standard works of the Church for sale, and I would like every Elder in Israel
to place a full set of them in the hands of his children; but especially, and
above all others, the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants. I want to find them in every house. And when I go to a meeting house
to preach I want the Bishop to have them on the stand, and the better they are
bound and the nicer they look the more they please me. I do not wish to see
these sacred books so dirty that you cannot read them, nor so shattered by time
and bad usage that you cannot find a passage you wish to read because it is
torn out. Where there are meeting houses without them I recommend, if
necessary, that collections be taken up to procure them. When stopping at the
houses of the brethren, instead of the works of the Church I will probably find
"Cresswell's Eulogy on the Life of Henry Winter Davis." "How did
this get here?" I inquire. "Oh, why, br. Hooper sent it, and it is a
very nice work," is the reply. Have you the Juvenile Instructor?" "No."
"Why, your children are big enough to read it, and it is one of the finest
written things imaginable, and there is scarcely a syllable in it but what is
useful. How do you manage to keep your children at home without something to
interest them? Do you take the Deseret News?" "No, they
stopped publishing the sermons, so I concluded that I would do without
it." "Do you take the Daily Telegraph?" "I did take
it, but I did not pay for it, and the editor got out of patience at having to
furnish it for nothing, and he stopped it. I felt insulted, and would not take
it any more." "Do you send to the States for books?"
"No." So the children are learning nothing at all, and the only
chance for them to have a little excitement is to get some corn and play at
three men morris.
Brethren,
make your homes attractive. Procure the Deseret News and the Juvenile
Instructor, and let your children read the sermons and articles printed
there, and read them yourselves, you are none of you too old to learn. If you
want light reading do not send to the States for it, but support that which is
got up here. "Well, really, br. Smith, I cannot afford it." Cannot,
afford it? How much does your tobacco cost you a year? That nasty, filthy stuff,
the use of which is in violation of the laws of God, reason, good sense, and
decency, and which makes your wilt an eternal amount of work, cleaning up after
you. That alone costs you enough in the year to furnish your children school
books and to pay their school bills.
I really
believe there is enough money paid out among us for tobacco to support all the
schools in the Territory. A good many of our brethren are like the man Who was
making up his outfit for the gold mines. Said he, "I will take fifty
pounds of flour and ten gallons of whisky." What else? "I will take
ten pounds of tobacco." What more? "Some more whisky." I am
sorry to say that some of our Elders, some of the very men whose school bills
are unpaid, use this whisky. I can have a great deal of patience with tea and
coffee, because they do not kill a man outright, but whisky makes a dog of him
at once; and there are probably men in this room whose liquor costs them forty,
fifty, or a hundred dollars a year. Madmen! Shame on such Elders in Israel! Tobacco
is bad enough; its excessive use will shorten a man's life about ten years, but
whisky degrades him far lower than the brutes. "O," a man will say,
"the Bishop drinks a little, and if it is good for him it must be good for
me." Says the little boy, "Dad chews tobacco, and if it is good for
dad it is for me." Suppose, brethren, that we make a general reformation
in these things. Says one, "I drink only home-made liquor." For my
part I do not care what kind you drink, nor where it comes from, I want all men
in Israel to let it alone.
I was
proud the other day at a little notice of the "Mormons" that I was
reading. It said that if you saw a man drunk in Salt Lake City, it was
invariably a "Gentile." It is a good deal so, but a great many of our
brethren are on the road to ruin through drink, if not in this city in other
places. Men think they need it, but they do not. There is something about
whisky like tobacco—it makes its own appetite. You drink one glass, and when
the time for it comes around you want another, and by and by you cannot do
without it. I have seen strong men in Israel nervous and trembling like
children because their hour for drink had gone by. Such men die a shame and
disgrace. Let us stamp it under our feet, and have nothing more to do with it.
When a person is sick weak, and feeble, spirits, probably, may be
advantageously used to wash his body, but the practice now is to wash the
inside of the body. Away with such nonsense, and shame on the Elders of Israel
that are found patronizing it. The curse of the Almighty will rest on the men
and the money that established this business in Israel, as sure as the God of
Israel reigns. Of all the varied avocations in life, I should consider the
superintendence of a liquor shop the most degrading.
But I
want to come back to our oneness in wintering our stock and sheep. We will
suppose that in Salt Lake City the practice of sending abroad for their goods,
hats, caps, boots, shoes, and clothing becomes quite general among the people,
while in the little county of Davis the Bishop and the people put their mites
together and establish a woollen factory, attend to the cultivation of flax,
and take care of the sheep, and do everything they can to live on home
products, even to the wearing of straw hats and banners of their own
manufacture. What would be the result? The result, would be that while the
people of Salt Lake City would be living from hand to mouth, the people of
Davis county would, in a few years, be able to buy the Territory. If, as a
Territory, we adopted this policy, we would soon have, not only money enough to
buy our land, but anything on the face of the earth that is necessary for our
enjoyment, and for the accomplishment of the great work in which we are
engaged.
A few
years ago, you know, the counsel given to Israel was to put our grain in our
bins, and not to sell unless we could obtain a fair remunerative price for it.
Had that counsel been adhered to what would have been the result? There would
have been no scarcity of bread, and our grain would have commanded any price in
reason that we might have asked for it. A great many kept the counsel given,
but we were not united in the matter. One would undersell another, until large
quantities of our grain have gone into the hands of merchants and speculators,
at any price they had a mind to give, and the whole community have been injured
thereby. May the Lord bless all Israel. Amen.
Elder John D. T. McAllister sang "The Moral Conflict."
[President B. Young]
President B. Young called upon the Bishops and leading Elders to intelligently and understandingly observe the Word of Wisdom, that their example might be followed by the people. He instructed the congregation on those things which we have a right to do, and of those which we have not the right to do; and exhorted all the people of Israel to obey the word of the Lord, keep His commandments, abide His revelations, observe the Word of Wisdom, and increase in righteousness.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 16:218, 7/10/67, p 2; JD 12:27]
I will
take the liberty of suggesting to my brethren who address the congregation that
our sermons should be short, and if they are not filled with life and spirit
let them be shorter, for we have not time at this Conference to let all the
Elders who speak preach a long sermon, but we have time to say a few words in
bearing testimony, to give a few words of counsel to encourage the Saints, to
strengthen the weak, to endeavor to confirm those who are wavering, and so
forward the Kingdom of God. I have a few words to say to the Bishops and others
who are leading men in the House of Israel, including your humble servant now
addressing you. There are certain rights and privileges belonging to the Elders
in Israel, and there are certain things that it is not their privilege to
indulge in. You go through the wards in the city, and then through the wards in
the country, and ask the Bishops—"Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?"
The reply will be "Yes; no, not exactly." "Do you drink
tea?" "No." "Coffee?" "No." "Do you
drink whisky?" "No." "Well, then, why do you not observe
the Word of Wisdom?" "Well, this tobacco, I cannot give it up."
And in this he sets an example to every man, and to every boy over ten years of
age, in his ward, to nibble at and chew tobacco. You go to another ward, and
perhaps the Bishop does not chew tobacco, nor drink tea nor coffee, but once in
a while he takes a little spirits, and keeps whisky in his house, in which he
will occasionally indulge. Go to another ward, and perhaps the Bishop does not
drink whisky nor chew tobacco, but he "cannot give up his tea and
coffee." And so it goes through the whole church. Not that every Bishop
indulges in one or more of these habits, but most of them do. I recollect being
at a trial not long since where quite a number of Bishops had been called in as
witnesses, but I could not learn that there was one who did not drink whisky,
and I think that most of them drank tea and coffee. I think that we have some
Bishops in this city who do not chew tobacco, nor drink liquor nor tea nor
coffee to excess.
The Word
of Wisdom is one thing, and ignorance, superstition, or bigotry is another. I
wish people to come to an understanding with regard to the Word of Wisdom. For
illustration, I will refer to a certain brother who was in the church once, and
President of the Elder's Quorum in Nauvoo. While living at that place there was
a great deal of sickness among the people, and he was sometimes called in to
lay hands on the sick, but if he had the least doubt about their drinking tea,
if he even saw a tea-pot, he would refuse. I recollect he went into a house
where a woman was sick, who wanted him to lay hands on her; he saw a teapot in
the corner containing catnip tea, but without stopping to enquire he left the
house, exclaiming against her and her practices.
Now,
there is no harm in a teapot, even if it contains tea, if it is let alone; and
I say of a truth that where a person is diseased, say, for instance, with
canker, there is no better medicine than green tea, and where it is thus used
it should be drank sparingly. Instead of drinking thirteen or fourteen cups
every morning, noon, and night, there should not be any used. You may think I
am speaking extravagantly, but I remember a tea-drinking match once in which
fourteen cops a-piece were drank, so you see it can be done. But to drink half
a dozen or even three or four cops of strong tea is hurtful. It injures and
impairs the system, benumbs the faculties of the stomach, and affects the
blood, and is deleterious in its nature. If a person is weary, worn out, cast
down, fainting, or dying, a brandy sling, a little wine, or a cup of tea is
good to revive them. Do not throw these things away, and say they must never be
used; they are good to be used with judgment, prudence, and discretion. Ask our
Bishops if they drink tea every day, and in most cases they will tell you they
do if they can get it. They take it when they do not need it and when it
injures them. I want to say to the Elders in Israel, this is not our privilege.
We have a great many privileges, but to indulge in liquor or other things to
our own injury is not one of them. We have the right, to live, labor, build our
houses, make our farms, raise our cattle and horses, buy our carriages, marry
our wives, raise and school our children, and then we have the right to set
before them an example worthy of imitation, but we have not the right to throw
sin in their path or to lead them to destruction.
I
recollect telling the people here, not long ago, something in regard to the
rights of the Elders. Our rights are numerous. If we are so disposed, we have
the right to dictate the House of Israel in their daily avocations. We have the
right to counsel them to go to the gold mines if it is wisdom and God requires
it, and we have the right to counsel them away from the gold mines when it is
not wisdom to go there. We have the right to ask them to go and buy goods, and
to sell those goods without fraud or deception. I am sorry to say we cannot say
this of many of our merchants. We have merchants that say they are of us and
with us, and that they wish to be Saints, but they are not honest in their
dealings; they will trade fraudulently, and they will take all the advantage
they possibly can. I said here a year or two ago that unless such merchants
repent they will go down to hell; I say so to-day. They never can enter the
celestial kingdom of our God unless they refrain from their dishonest course
and become Saints indeed.
To the
Bishops and the Elders in Israel I wish to say that we have the right to do
right, but not to sin. The right to obtain large families, although obnoxious
to the refined Christians, all classes of whom preach against it—the priest in
the pulpit, the judge on the bench, the senators and representatives in Congress,
as well as the bar-keeper and the drunkard wallowing in his filth—they are all
against it except God and the Saints; yet this is a right that the Saints have,
and which no others legally possess. Others will presumptuously arrogate to
themselves certain rights and privileges, but the result will be their
overthrow, their condemnation, and their damnation.
We urge
the people continually to be one in their temporal affairs. We do not offer
prayers to dead Saints—to Peter, Paul, Mary, and others—but we frequently pray
the living Saints, in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God. If we urge the
people to this until we get them to be really of one heart and one mind, what
will be the result? We shall then possess Zion, it will then be developed in
our midst, and we will be as independent as ever the children of Zion can be in
our capacity. Will wrath, anger, strife, and selfishness then reign within us?
No, they will not. It is our right and privilege to live so that we may attain
to this, so that we may sanctify our hearts before the Lord, and sanctify the
Lord God in our hearts, but it is not my privilege to drink liquor, neither is
it my privilege to eat tobacco. Well, bro. Brigham, have you not done it? Yes,
for many years, but I ceased its habitual practice. I used it for toothache;
now I am free from that pain, and my mouth is never stained with tobacco. It is
not my privilege to drink liquor nor strong tea and coffee although I am
naturally a great lover of tea. Brethren and sisters, it is not our privilege
to indulge in these things, but it is our right and privilege to set an example
worthy of imitation.
When we
come to home-made cloth, I must say it would make clothes good enough for me to
wear. "Then why do you not wear it, bro. Brigham?" Shall I tell you?
I have hardly worn a suit of clothes for years that has not been presented to
me. If I knew that doing this would be a hindrance to the work of God, I would
say to the next friend who wished to present me with a suit of clothes—"I
thank you, but I will not wear them; you will please take them back to the
store, or take them home and put them in the trunk." I know the thoughts
of many are "I wish they would serve me so." I wish they
would; and if they will I will never say wear home-made again as long as
friends will give you that which is imported, and you can lay by the money you
save to send the Elders abroad to preach the gospel, to gather the poor, to
help to build the temple of the Lord, or to finish the canal that we may get
the rock here for the temple.
You men
owning saw mills bring on the lumber to finish the tabernacle, and you
carpenters and joiners come and help to use it up. We are going to plaster the
main body of this building here immediately; take down the scaffold at the west
end from the body of the building while the east end is being put up. And we
are going to lay a platform for the organ, and then make a plan for the seats.
And we calculate by next October, when the brethren and sisters come together,
to have room for all; and if there is not room under the roof, the doors are
placed in such a way that the people can stand in the openings and hear just as
well as inside. I expect, however, that by the time our building is finished we
shall find that we shall want a little more room. "Mormonism" is
growing, spreading abroad, swelling and increasing, and I expect it is likely
that our building will not be quite large enough, but we have it so arranged,
standing on piers, that we can open all the doors and preach to people outside.
Now I
want you should recollect—Bishops, Elders of Israel, High Priests, Seventies,
the Twelve Apostles, the First Presidency, and all the House of Israel, hearken
ye, O, my people! keep the word of the Lord, observe the Word of Wisdom,
sustain one another, sustain the household of faith, and let our enemies alone.
As for those in our midst who love and work iniquity, the Lord will gather them
from among us in His own due time. They will grow fewer and fewer until we will
be free from them. The Lord chasteneth His people for their good, but see the
sufferings of the wicked! God has always favored the righteous more than the
wicked. Still, we have those among us who are afraid. "Well, this time we
are going to see trouble," or "we are going to be afflicted," or
"I think the Mormons will have to leave," is their cry. I want to
tell you we are not going to leave these mountains unless the Lord says so. The
devil may say so until his throat splits, but we shall not do it; and woe to
the men or people who drive us into the mountains, and compel us to hide
ourselves in the dens and caves of the earth! Woe to the people who do this;
they will find something they never learned yet; but they will never do it. I
am looking for something entirely different. The wicked will waste away and
destroy each other.
We are
blamed for praying that sin and wickedness may cease on the earth, but the only
way to effect that is for the perpetration of crime to cease. Will the people
turn from evil, refrain from sin and iniquity, and serve the Lord? I would to
God they would, but they will not do it. Sin must cease on the earth before
iniquity and the workers thereof are unknown, there is no other way. We should
not be blamed for praying that righteousness may reign, and that peace may come
to the people. Is there war in our religion? No; neither war nor bloodshed. Yet
our enemies cry out "bloodshed," and "oh, what dreadful men
these Mormons are, and those Danites! how they slay and kill!" Such is all
nonsense and folly in the extreme. The wicked slay the wicked, and they will
lay it on the Saints. But I say again that if the people called Latter-day
Saints will live their religion they will never be driven from their homes in
the mountains, but if they do sin to that extent that the Lord God of heaven
will let them be driven, woe to them that come after us, for they will find
greater desolation than we found when we came. If we will do right we are safe
in the hands of God. We wish evil to no man or woman on this earth, but we wish
to do good to all. Our Elders have circumscribed this little globe again and
again without purse and scrip, offering the gospel to the nations of the earth.
Will they have it? No; they prefer death, carnage, and destruction, and in the
end they will receive the reward of the unjust. Let us take a course in which
we shall be justified. We wish all people to do right, and if the Latter-day
Saints will do so, and will sustain themselves and live within their own means,
and never let their wants swell beyond them, all is right, we shall reign, and
triumph over sin and iniquity. It is no more than reasonable, right, just, and
equitable for us to ask those who wish to supplant us here to go to other
places and build cities, plant orchards, raise grain, and make themselves
comfortable, as we have done. They are perfectly welcome to eat, live, rule,
and reign over one another, but let us alone to serve our God, build up His
Kingdom on the earth, and live righteously and godly as we should.
Now,
Elders of Israel, if you have the right to chew tobacco, you have a privilege I
have not; if you have a right to drink whisky, you have a right that I have
not; if you have a right to transgress the Word of Wisdom, you have a right
that I have not. If you have the right to buy and sell and get gain, to go here
and there, to do this and that, to build up the wicked and the ungodly, or
their cities, you have rights that I have not got. I have the right to build up
Zion, but I have no right to build up a city in wickedness. It is time to close
our morning's meeting.
Choir sang. Prayer by Pres. Daniel Spencer.
[7 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 16:116, 4/20/67, p 5]
2 p.m.
The vast number of people who could not obtain admission to the Tabernacle induced President Young to hold the meeting in the Bowery, where an immense congregation were soon assembled, sitting and standing.
Choir sang, "Come all ye Sons of God." Bishop P. H. Young prayed. Choir sang, "We thank there, O God, for a Prophet." Sacrament administered by Bishop Hunter and his counselors.
[Elder W. Woodruff]
Elder W. Woodruff bore his testimony to the work of God, called "Mormonism;" and urged upon the people to become "of one heart and of one mind" in all things, temporal as well as spiritual. Unless we do so, we will fail to accomplish the work we have to do. The "Word of Wisdom" is a revelation from God, adapted to the weakest of all Saints; and every man and woman who will exercise faith in God can observe its injunctions.
[Wilford Woodruff]
[DNW 16:171, 5/29/67, p 3; JD 11:369]
REMARKS
By Elder W. Woodruff, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt
Lake City, April 7, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS]
_____
I shall
call the attention of that portion of the House of Israel who are present to
the text which was given us at the beginning of this Conference—"Be ye of
one heart and of one mind." This is a very good text, and one that is of
great importance to this people. As was quoted this morning, Jesus said if ye
are not one ye are not mine. This principle has been given to us by commandment
and revelation. "Mormonism" is not a fable, neither is it a Yankee
trick got up to deceive this generation, but it is a living fact, a truth which
God and the angels in heaven know, and which many people on earth understand.
The
principles which have been taught to us since the commencement of this
Conference are very important for us to understand and to carry out in our lives.
This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been
established by the commandment of God, and it is composed of the honest in
heart, the meek of the earth, out of all sects, parties, denominations, and
nations. This body of people, or church, has got to build up the Zion of God in
the last days, and this work cannot be accomplished upon any other principle
than that of our being united together as the heart of one man.
Everywhere
upon the face of the earth we can see what the effect of disunion is. The more
that nations, communities, families, or bodies of people in any capacity under
heaven, are divided, the less power they possess to carry out any purpose or
principle imaginable, and the more union they possess, whether in a legislative
or any other capacity, the more power they have to accomplish what they desire.
We can see that the people of the world are becoming more and more divided
every day, and the evils resulting therefrom are everywhere apparent. We are
called to build up Zion, and we cannot build it up unless we are united; and in
that union we have got to cant out the commandments of God unto us, and we have
got to obey those who are set, to lead and guide the affairs of the Kingdom of
God.
There
have been principles presented before us and counsel given during this
Conference which are of vast importance to this people. There are many
positions that we as a people have to occupy, and many branches of business to
which we have to attend, not only of a spiritual but also of a temporal nature.
Jesus said to the Jews—You pay tithes of mint, anise, and cummin, but you neglect
the weightier matters of the law, and they, as well as your tithing, are
required at your hands. So it is with us. We are one of heart and mind, as it regards
faith repentance, baptism, or the first principles of the gospel of Jesus
Christ; but the same unity must exist in our midst in all our temporal
labours—in building temples, tabernacles, cities, towns, villages, canals,
cultivating the earth, or any other labor, if we ever accomplish the object for
which we have been raised up. No people, unless they are united together, can
ever build up Zion and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.
We have
been taught the Word of Wisdom. It was given to us many years ago, and the Lord
said it was applicable to the weakest Saint. Very few of us have kept the Word
of Wisdom; but I have no doubt that if the counsel of President Young were
carried out it would save the people of this Territory a million of dollars
annually. I feel that we ought to put these things into practice. We ought to
unite together in all matters required of us in order to carry out the purposes
of the Lord our God. The people are able to do it if they feel disposed. Why,
Bishop Hardy told me here this morning that he had laid aside his tobacco; he
has loved it almost ever since he was born, and if he can leave it off every
man in Israel ought to be able to do it. It was said to-day that
whisky-drinking makes fools of men; it does. Its effects are much worse than
they used to be, for the liquor made now-a-days contains so much strychnine and
arsenic that it is enough to kill anybody, and unless those who use it do lay
it aside many will die. Lay aside whisky, tobacco, tea, and coffee, and use
none of them unless it be as a medicine. We can all do it, and there is not a
man or woman in Israel, with any faith in this work, but is required to do so.
This
little mustard seed here around this bowery, which has sprung up in the valleys
of the mountains, has either got to grow and progress and become a great tree,
in whose branches the fowls of the air can lodge, or it must stop growing
altogether. We have either to build up Zion in its beauty, power, and glory, to
the order which has been received by the servants of God, or else give it up.
We must do one or the other. If we do this we must advance, and whatever God
requires at our hands we must carry out.
I know
the world oppose us because we are united; they say we are governed by one man.
I would to God that all Israel Would obey the voice of one man as the heavens
obey the voice of God. Then we would have power to build up Zion and to obtain
all things necessary for us before the Lord. We have come to this. There is no
division among us so far as the principles of our religion are concerned; it is
in relation to some things the world call temporal that we are not one. How are
you going to build up Zion? In the hearts of the people? Why you could not get
Zion into the heart of any man, not even into that tabernacle, and I never saw
a man in my life as big as that, and I hope we shall never see the day when we
will have a house big enough to hold Israel, for I trust they will be too
numerous for any house we can build. We have to build up Zion, a temporal work
here upon the face of the earth, and we have got to establish righteousness and
truth. When I say a temporal work I speak of temporal things. The Zion of our
God cannot be built up in the hearts of men alone. We have to build up temples
and cities, and the earth has to become sanctified and to be made holy by the
children of God who will dwell upon it, and to do this we must be united
together.
I do not
wish to preach a long sermon, but I feel that we ought to lay hold and carry
out the counsel that has been given to us at this Conference. If we lay aside
these things that do us no good, as has been already said, we will be better
off, have more unity, have power to gather and feed the poor, to send the
Elders abroad, and to do a great deal of good with the means that we have
saved, instead of squandering it upon those things that are injurious to us and
displeasing in the sight of God.
Brethren
and sisters, let us lay these things to heart, and be united in doing all the
good we can in our day and generation. We have the right to do good, but not
evil. The principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ which have been revealed in
our day are the power of God unto salvation to all that believe, both Jew and
Gentile, in this age of the world as well as any other; and inasmuch as we will
be united in carrying out the counsel we have received, we can overcome every
evil that lies in our path, build up the Zion of God, and place ourselves in a
position that we may be saved therein, which, may God grant, for Christ's sake.
Amen.
Singing "O, ye mountains high."
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson exhorted to increased unity, and the observance of the Word of Wisdom, with industry, economy and independence of false fashions. One great reason why the injurious luxuries forbidden in the Word of Wisdom, and expensive habits which are wasting the means of the people, are so prevalent, is, because when one person indulges in them another must; they cannot bear to be unfashionable. Every false appetite will pass away if we struggle against it and seek strength from the Lord.
[Ezra T. Benson]
[DNW 16:162, 5/22/67, p 2; JD 11:366]
REMARKS
By Elder E. T. Benson, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt
Lake City, April 7, 1867.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I do not
know that I have ever seen a better time to preach the gospel than the present
since I have been in the Church. I have not come to this Conference to preach,
particularly, but to hear and to learn, yet, as I have the privilege given me
to speak, I am very thankful to bear my testimony to the truth, as it has been
revealed from the heavens. I have had many reflections since attending
Conference, upon the text given to the Elders of Israel to preach from. It is
before me all the time. It is a common custom with some to criticise the
remarks made by the brethren while speaking. Some will think a speaker has been
interesting, while others will consider that his remarks were well enough but
without point. I am happy to say that the "point" is already made so
far as I am concerned. It is "to be one" in everything that pertains
to the building up of the Kingdom of God. And if we are to believe what we have
heard during this Conference it is to be one in keeping the Word of Wisdom, and
in living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Almighty through
His servants. It is true that we have heard this for years, and it will have to
be sounded in our ears until we are one in Christ as He is one with the Father.
We have
been taught during this Conference to dispense with everything in eating,
drinking, and wearing that is not in accordance with the will of God; and I do
not know what greater things could be taught to the Latter-day Saints. We all
know that there are a great many things that we now eat, drink, and wear, with
which we could dispense to our own advantage, but because one has a thing
another must have it too, and there is no peace until all these wants are
supplied.
Talking
about happiness, I told a lady to-day at noon that we, generally, are very
ignorant of it. We think that a good bonnet, hat, a fine coat, a good cup of
tea, or a pipe of tobacco to smoke will make us happy, but it is a mistaken
notion. God never ordained such things for that purpose. We can be happy only in
keeping the commandments of God and in being wholly devoted to the things of
His Kingdom. Some of our Elders think if they were sent on a mission it would
make them happy, but I have been told that there is no better field for
missionary labor than here in the mountains; and every man here, bearing the
Priesthood, has got a mission to preach the gospel at home, where his labors
are most needed, and where he can do the most good. At this Conference every
presiding officer, Bishop, Elder, Priest, Teacher, Deacon, and member of the
Church has got a text to preach from in his future ministrations; to bring this
people to a oneness in all things is, henceforth, the object of our labors. We
are already united on many points; for instance, we are one here to-day in
partaking of the Sacrament in remembrance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
But there are other things that require our attention. We should be one in all
our movements in sustaining ourselves.
This is a
portion of the text that has been given to us, and I feel that much good will
result from the counsel we have had on this subject, and I intend to lay hold
of it with all my might. And let us all endeavour by the help of God to leave
off our tea, coffee, liquor, and other things, that are neither good for the
body nor for the belly. We can overcome, for God will not require more of us
than we can do. He has borne with us these many years; but, if I can discern
the signs of the times, He is now going to require these things at our hands.
Supposing He had given the Word of Wisdom as a command, how many of us would
have been here? I do not know; but He gave this without command or restraint,
observing that it would be pleasing in His sight for His people to obey its
precepts. Ought we not to try to please our Heavenly Father, and to please His
servants who are paving the way for us into the Kingdom of God? Can we get them
without them? No; we cannot, and we need not try. God had appointed these
prophets and apostles to lead and guide us into His Kingdom, and I do not
expect to get there without them, and I am not going to try. If I can get there
with them I shall be very thankful. How many blessings have you received in
this kingdom without them? I do not know of any. If we have blessings we have
received them through their counsel and guidance.
I am
thankful that we, to-day, have the privilege of beholding the faces of our
brethren who have borne the burden and heat of the day, and who are still ready
and willing to administer for our benefit. I think that we, above all people,
ought to be willing to retrace our steps in a great many things, that we may
obtain the blessings that we are seeking and not be cut short. I tell you the
kingdom is rolling; and as for the nations of the earth, we need not be troubled
about them, the Lord and the devil will take care of them. They are wasting
away, and they will go to their own place, and Israel will be gathered out, and
the faithful will be saved in the Kingdom of God. This is my testimony. You
need not have any doubts or fears from this time forth; if you are faithful and
live your religion you are safe, and you will land safe in the Kingdom of God.
I have no dubiety on my mind with regard to these things, and it is my study to
know how to live so that I may enjoy the Holy Ghost—the Spirit of this gospel;
and it cheers and comforts my heart when I hear the Elders talking about the
good things of the Kingdom of God.
I have
come nearly a hundred miles through the mud and snow to visit and hear the
voices of my brethren and to listen to their counsels. Not but what we have
some good folks where I live; at any rate, we have some good preachers among us
occasionally. Only a few days ago we had brothers Musser and Stenhouse. They
preached good things to us, and cheered and comforted our hearts. Some of the
brethren remarked to me that "they preached splendidly, and really enjoyed
the spirit of the gospel." Said I, "Of course they did; they are from
the fountain head—from the droppings of the sanctuary—and they possess the spirit
of our President and Prophet and of the Apostles with whom they
associate." It is to be expected that men who come from the head here will
have something new to tell to cheer the hearts of those who live isolated and
far away. It proved to me, however, that we in Cache possess a little of the
spirit enjoyed here, or we should not have received and been comforted by the
teachings of our brethren. And we have come down to partake of the feeling and
to share in the blessings of this great annual Conference, held by the
Latter-day Saints in the tops of the mountains, in peace, and with, none to
molest or to make us afraid.
There is
a little grumbling sometimes on the outside, a little showing me the teeth, but
no biting, and no harm, done. The Saints are still living their
religion—persevering, going ahead, striving to do the will of God, that they
may eventually take the Kingdom; not the kingdoms of this world, for we do not
want them. A great many men in the world are afraid that we are striving to take
their kingdoms. We are not after the kingdoms of the world but it is the
Kingdom of God—the Kingdom of life and peace—that the Latter-day Saints are
after, and we expect to have it.
Short
sermons are the order of the day, and I do not wish to occupy the time. I am
thankful to my brethren for the opportunity of bearing testimony to the truth.
I have all the preaching I can attend to when I am at home—which is, wherever I
am called to labor. I feel free and easy in talking anywhere, where I am
required so to do. I feel free in the spirit of the gospel and in the midst of
my brethren. This is the place I like to visit, and I would spend all my
time here if duty did not call me elsewhere. Here in the mountains is our field
of labor, and nowhere else, unless we are sent. If we receive a mission to the
various nations of the earth, let us go and do the best we can. Until then let
us take a course to be one: one in dollars and cents, one in obtaining woollen
factories and machinery, one in keeping the Word of Wisdom, and in everything
else that will tend to bring about good results and increase good feelings in
the minds of the Saints. Unless we keep the commands of God we cannot attain to
this. It is no use for anybody to say—"I shall be happy if I can have
everything to gratify my taste." It is perfect nonsense, and the
individual who entertains such a notion is deceiving himself. Nothing short of
the bread of life, that comes down from God out of heaven, can supply the wants
and satisfy the feelings of the Latter-day Saints and those who love truth.
May God
bless us, brethren and sisters, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Singing, "O, Saints have you seen," &c.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
Elder George Q. Cannon followed on the power and influence which we have already gained, and the great labors we have accomplished, by our unity of faith and action, and our obedience to the priesthood; reasoning that an increase of unity and of obedience would add to our power, influence and ability to accomplish good as a people in a degree that is difficult to estimate. He quoted the promise which the Lord has made to those who will observe the Word of Wisdom, and exhorted the people to prove its verification.
[George Q. Cannon]
[DNW 16:201, 7/3/67, p 2; JD 12:15]
REMARKS
By Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Bowery, Great
Salt Lake City;, April 7, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
____
There
have been a great many excellent remarks made to us since we assembled
ourselves together to celebrate the anniversary of the organization of the
Church, remarks which, if treasured up in our hearts and practiced in our
lives, cannot fail to make us a much better people than we are to-day. It
should be clear to the mind of every Latter-day Saint that there is an extreme
necessity for us to be united. it is to our union alone, imperfect though it
may have been, that we may attribute oar success in the past, under the
blessing of God. If we have any name or prestige in the earth, if there is
anything attached to the name of Latter-day Saint or "Mormonism" that
conveys the idea of power to the minds of the people, it has its origin in our
union, obedience, concentration of effort, and our oneness of action, and the
more this oneness increases the more marked and distinct we will be among the
nations of the earth. What is it that has made us the people we are to-day? It
is obedience to the counsels which God has revealed through His servants. If there
is anything on the earth that will continue to add distinction and power to us,
and elevate us and make us strong and mighty, it is an increase of this
obedience which has already given us this distinction.
I have
thought considerably since we have been together of the counsels which have
been given to us, and of the action of the people in the past. There was a time
when every Latter-day Saint who bad the spirit of his religion felt as though
he wished to devote himself and all that he bad to the upbuilding of the
Kingdom of God. This feeling doubtless predominates to-day, but it has been
partially buried up and covered by other feelings—the love of gain, the desire
to acquire property, and feelings akin to these. There was a law revealed to
us—the law of consecration—through obedience to which every man expected to
hold all that he possessed subject to the dictation of the servants of God. It
is right that we should recollect this law, and continually seek to carry it
out. We should feel that we are placed as stewards over the property God has
placed in our hands, and that all we bare is subject primarily to the counsels
of God's servant, and that before we take any step of importance it is our duty
to seek counsel from him who has the right to counsel. Imagine the power there
would be in this Territory, and it would be felt throughout the nations
of the earth, if this entire people, from Bear Lake Valley in the north to the
settlements on the Muddy in the south, were thus united, holding themselves and
all the wealth that God has so bountifully bestowed upon them, subject to the
counsel that God has placed in His Church. What would be the effect of this? If
you will allow your minds to expand you may be able to contemplate to some
small extent the great results that would follow such a concentration of action
on the part of this people. Is it the will of God that it should be so? It is.
The Lord
has placed a man at our head upon whom He has bestowed great wisdom· There has
never been a time when he has lacked the wisdom necessary to guide all the
affairs of the Kingdom of God. Joseph of old had wisdom given to him by which
he was enabled to save Egypt. God has given to us a leader who has wisdom equal
to any emergency, and if we will be obedient to his counsels we shall realize
as great salvation as was wrought out by Joseph for those with whom he was
associated. Herein we possess advantages not possessed by other people; we have
revelation to guide us, we have the word of the Lord in our midst; we are not
dependent upon man's wisdom, nor upon human plans, but we have the wisdom of
eternity manifested through the servants of God to guide us. We have the
opportunity of building up the Kingdom of God and of carrying out the designs
of heaven according to His plan; and if we will do so we shall fulfil the word
of the Lord given anciently, when speaking of and comparing his people with the
people of the world. Said he, "My servants shall eat, and you shall be
hungry; my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; my servants shall
rejoice, but you shall be ashamed; my servants shall sing with gladness of
heart, but you shall sorrow with sadness of heart and howl with vexation of
spirit. And ye shall leave your name as a curse to my chosen: for the Lord God
shall slay there, and call His servants by another name."
It seems
as though the day had come when God will slay the wicked, and when He will call
His people by another name. How will these words of the ancient prophets be
fulfilled? By our listening to the counsel of him whom he has placed to preside
over us, and being guided in wisdom in all flyings. When we do this we will be
a mighty and a powerful people, and President Young will be what he ought to be
to-day, the head of this people, the mouth-piece of God in our midst; and when
his counsel is given it will be listened to by all Israel; no one will disobey
from one end of the land to the other. How much good could be accomplished if
this were the case! What mighty labors could be achieved if this people were in
this condition to-day. What hinders it being so? Nothing but the disposition
within us to be careless and indifferent to the principles taught us.
This
condition of things will be brought about, and it might be more rapidly than it
is if the people would be obedient and diligent in carrying out the counsels
given to them. All within the sound of my voice, probably, have heard that
Israel, in the days of Moses, were commanded to sprinkle their door-posts with
the blood of a lamb, that they might escape destruction; now if we had been
told that Israel were destroyed because they paid no regard to this
instruction, who among us would not have said, How foolish Israel must have
been to have suffered destruction rather than do such a simple filing as this!
Yet what has God said to us in these days with regard to the Word of Wisdom? He
has said that "all Saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, and
walk in obedience to My commandments, shall receive health to their naval and
marrow to their bones, and they shall find great treasures, even hidden
treasures of wisdom; and they shall run and not be weary, and walk and not
faint; and I, the Lord, give them a promise that the destroyer shall pass them
by, as he did the children of Israel, and not slay them." Here is a
promise that the Lord has given to us on condition that, we obey this
requirement, or rather this counsel. It is wise counsel; we have proved its wisdom.
What has disobedience to this counsel done for this people? It has made us in
many respects, to a certain extent, subject to our enemies. How many called
Latter-day Saints, through disobedience to the Word of Wisdom, have been led
away to California and other places where they could obtain these things which
they thought so necessary to their comfort, but which God had counselled them
to forsake? A great man have been led away through this; and every time we
disobey this counsel we bring ourselves more completely under bondage to our
own appetites and to the enemies of the Kingdom of God.
As a
people we should arise, and with one effort say we will follow the example, in
this respect, of him who leads us. Does President Young drink tea, or coffee,
or liquor, or chew tobacco? No; his life is exemplary, and we should copy after
it. There is no man among us more exemplary in these things than he is; and it
is a shame to us, as a people, if we do not follow his wise example. The Lord
is bearing testimony to us through His Spirit, that we should carry these
things into effect; and I trust that the people from one end of the Territory
to the other, will manifest by their future course that they will observe the
counsel that has been given at this Conference, and thus seek to be one with
the President. There is no need to disguise elm fact that he is anxious to have
us subject to him in these matters. He is anxious that his power should be felt
through the length and breadth of this Territory sufficiently to control and
govern the people for good. Why? Because he knows that God has revealed principles
by which they can be led back into His presence if they will only he obedient
to His counsel.
Short
sermons are the order, and I will not lengthen out my remarks. My prayer is, my
brethren and sisters, that God will enable every one of us to see these things
aright, and to understand the obligations resting upon us; and that union may
pervade the bosoms of the Saints from the lowest to the highest, from the least
in the land to the Presidency of the Church, which may God grant for Christ's
sake. Amen.
[Pesident B. Young]
President B. Young said he wished to have influence with the Saints, so that he could prevail upon every one of them to work righteousness and sanctify the Lord God in their hearts, and do His will in all things. That is all that he desired influence for; and those who seek influence among mankind for other purposes use whatever they can obtain for evil and not for good. Every man and woman in the Church has a mission to do good, receive the principles of truth in their hearts, live according to them, and increase the power of righteousness upon the earth.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 16:210, 7/3/67, p 2; JD 12:18]
REMARKS
By President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great
Salt Lake City, April 7, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I confess
before the Latter-day Saints that like others who live in the religious and
political world, or the world of history, or any other world you have a mind to
name, I really want power and influence. I confess to the Latter-day Saints and
to the world that I want power to prevail on all the inhabitants of the
earth to embrace the gospel of the Son of God that they may he saved in the
Kingdom of Heaven. I want influence in the midst of the Latter-day Saints,
sufficient to get all men and women to sanctify themselves before the Lord and
to sanctify the Lord God in their hearts, and that they may be of one heart and
one mind in all things, that they may be the disciples of the Lord Jesus. This
comprehends a great deal.
I will
now take the liberty of telling you what I do not want. I do not want influence
or power over any nation, people, family, or individual on the face of the
earth to do them an injury or lead them astray, to promote strife or corruption
in their hearts, or direct them in the way that leads to death. But I would
like to have power with the people to induce them to accept those principles
which would put them in possession of life, liberty, peace, joy, and all the
blessings that can be enjoyed by the children of men, and that are promised in
the gospel of life and salvation. I wish you ever to remember this when you
think of yourselves, your brethren, or of any man that wants influence in the
world. Always learn what an individual wants influence for. If he wants it for
good, to promote peace and righteousness, never hinder his efforts, but promote
them if you can. But when men try to gain influence for evil, to lead their
fellow creatures in the way to death, exercise all the power you possess to
abridge such influence; destroy it if you can. I calculate to take this course
myself.
There are
a few of the Latter-day Saints here to-day; only just a few, scarcely any from
the country. You know we are estimated variously, some say 80,000, some
100,000, some 150,000; but, to tell you the secret, I do not want anybody to
know our number. I do not want to number Israel yet. I am very frequently asked
the question by political men, "How many do the Latter-day Saints number
in the mountains?" My invariable reply is that we have enough to make a
Territory. I wish the Latter-day Saints to increase and multiply. It has been
said to me—"Why do you not call men to go on missions to preach the gospel
in order to swell the ranks of the Saints?" I will tell you what my
feelings are with regard to the Latter-day Saints increasing. One of these
young men or girls around me here to-day, born and brought up in the Church, is
worth, as a general thing, far more than those who come into the Church
with all their traditions when we go preaching. I recollect the stand I took
when I was in England or whenever I was out preaching. Whenever a man would
transgress we would talk with and persuade him to forsake evil, and he would
confess and say, "I will do so no more," but by and by we would have
occasion to call him up again, and I felt and said that "I would
rather convert two men or women who never heard the gospel than attempt to make
righteous men or women of those who know the way but will not walk in it."
We wish
the brethren to understand the facts just as they are; that is, there is
neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a mission. That mission will
last as long as they live, and it is to do good, to promote righteousness, to
teach the principles of truth, and to prevail upon themselves and everybody
around them to live those principles that they may obtain eternal life. This is
the mission of every Latter-day Saint. I talked to the sisters yesterday; I can
talk to the brethren to-day on the same principle—there is not a man in this
Church but what is capable of doing good if he has a mind to do so. Here are
Elders who say, "I want a mission; I want to go and preach; I want to be
oradained a Seventy, or a High Priest," or something or other. I will tell
you what you really need. You need eyes to see things as they are and to know
your standing before God and the people. This is what the elders need. To go
and preach, or to be ordained into the quorums of the Seventies, does not make
good men of them, if they are not so before. The ordination of a man to the
High Priest's quorum does not make him a good man. Let every elder, priest,
teacher, and deacon set that example before his family, his brethren, and the
world, that the nations of the earth will hear of the good works of the
Latter-day Saints, that the honest in heart may be constrained to say—"We
are going up to Zion to join this people, of whom we hear nothing but that they
are honest, upright, industrious, frugal, and intelligent. Let us go up and
join this people against whom so much has heretofore been said."
Will you
do this, priests, teachers, and deacons? Will you do this, Elders of Israel,
Seventies, High Priests, and Apostles? Will you live so that the report may go
out from this time from Utah Territory that the Latter-day Saints are perfect
examples for the nations of the earth? This will be the loudest preaching we
can do. We have a good deal to say yet to this Conference, if we have the time,
and the people attend. We will bring our meeting to a close now.
Choir sang "O may Father, &c." Prayer by Elder E. T. Benson.
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 16:116, 4/20/67, p 5]
Monday, April 8th, 10 a.m.
Conference again assembled in the Bowery. Choir sang "Come ye that love the Lord, &c." Bishop E. D. Woolley offered up prayer; after which "Glorious things of there are spoken, &c.," was sung by the choir.
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball spoke on several points of doctrine, and advocated a course of living consistent with the laws of nature -- temperate in eating and drinking and avoiding the use of everything injurious to the human system -- which would be attended by increased health, longer life, and more vigorous and active faculties and abilities. He urged the importance of pushing forward the building of the Temple.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young said he wished to see the Temple raised, and built strong enough to stand during the Millennium. We have to work unitedly and with full purpose of heart; and he wished this Temple to stand as a monument of the energy and faith of the people in their early labors. he extended the privilege to those who would accept it, that they might furnish teams for the purpose of hauling rock to be used in its construction. The completion of the canal will enable the rock to be brought much easier than it now can be; and if those who are to derive benefit by its waters, will pay the tax imposed for that purpose, but a short time will elapse before it will be ready for opening.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 16:170, 5/29/67, p 2; JD 11:371]
REMARKS
By President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great
Salt Lake City, April 8, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I want
your attention. I do not know how long it will be prudent to continue our
meeting, but we would like to say a great deal more to the people. I will talk
to you a little with regard to building the Temple. When br. Heber asks you to
come and join us in drawing rock, you turn round and say, "I have paid my
tithing; what more do you want? Do you want any donations or extra help? What
do you do with the tithing?" This is in the minds of the people, and it is
something that I think about, too, but I confess to you that, although I am
Trustee-in-Trust and have the management of all this, I know but little about
what is done with the tithing. Br. Hunter is Bishop, and whether he could give
you a knowledge of what goes with the tithing I do not know. The brethren turn
in their grain and their stock, and it is gathered up, but that does not bring
the rock here to build the Temple. Br. Kimball and some others have assisted in
bringing some rock here, and a few have been drawn with my teams. Now, the rock
does not come as we want it. We have commenced a Temple that I want to see
stand a thousand years when the earth rests. We do not calculate that that
building will fall down. You know I was so distrustful about the foundation,
there were so many things about I did not like, that we took it up and had to
commence it again. We have got started now, and I think it is safe. When the
Temple is built I want it to stand through the millennium, in connection with
many others that will yet be built, that the Elders may go in and labor for
their dead who have died without the gospel, back to the days of Adam. But to
see this Temple built and then pass into the hands of the wicked, I would
rather that the walls should never rise another foot. I shall not tell you,
today, all that I think about building temples and giving endowments.
We have
decided that this Temple shall be built of this beautiful granite rock, which,
I think, will please everyone. We are preparing a canal to bring the rock to
this city, still we shall have five or six miles to draw the rock to the canal,
but the most of the distance where our bad roads are we shall float this rock
on little boats that we shall have on this canal. We want all the brethren to
pay their tithing or tax for the privilege of watering their lands from this
ditch or canal according to the charter and organization of the company who are
performing this labor. If the brethren will do this we can have the ditch
finished up and in operation in a month or two.
A great
many want this Temple done that they may go in there and get their endowments.
I want to may to the Latter-day Saints, one and all, that we have all the
privileges and blessings conferred upon us that we live for. The Latter-day
Saints are not prepared to receive the celestial kingdom at once, because they
have not eyes to see and cars to hear; and they do not understand the mind and
will of the Lord on these subjects. If we did we would see at once that our
blessings are greater than our labors merit, and we would not find fault nor be
in a hurry, but we would move steadily along. As I told you the other day when
talking of the sayings of Joseph, "the Latter-day Saints want to pull
together—a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether." These were
the words of Joseph. We want to labor unitedly that our labors may be
successful. I want this Temple that we are now building to the name of our God,
to stand for all time to come as a monument of the industry, faithfulness,
faith, and integrity of the Latter-day Saints who were driven into the
mountains. I want to see the Temple finished as soon as it is reasonable and
practicable. Whether we go in there to work or not makes no difference; I am
perfectly willing to finish it to the last leaf of gold that shall be laid upon
it, and to the last lock that should be put on the doors, and then lock every
door, and there let it stand until the earth can rest before the Saints
commence their labors there. They receive more in the House of the Lord now
than is their due. Our brethren and sisters, baptized three, four, or six
months ago, go and get their endowments, the sealing blessings for all
eternity, the highest that can be conferred upon them, yet how lightly they are
treated! Many do not consider, they do not realize these things. They have not
the spirit of revelation, they do not live for it, hence they do not see these
things in their proper light, and we are not in such a hurry as many think we
ought to be.
Well,
will we go to work and build this Temple? The brethren around say we will pay
our tithing, and we will pay it willingly, and you may do what you please with
it. Sometimes I have thought that our tithing iS so great that it requires more
looking after than it is worth. See a dozen men in the Tithing Office, and a
dozen or fifteen in another place taking care of tithing; but how it is used I
do not know. One thing I do know, that when our tithing is paid in the north
and in the south it costs almost as much to get it here as it is worth. What is
paid here is clear profit, and is useful and beneficial for us to work upon. If
the brethren pay their tithing, and pay it willingly, we are satisfied; that is
all that is required of them. If my brethren who live near here, whom the Lord
is blessing, have a mind to put in some teams extra for drawing rock, I give
them the privilege.
There are
some things with regard to the general business of the Church that is hardly
worth while for me to mention. I could name a few things; but I do not know
that it would be any benefit. I do not know that doing so would relieve my
feelings in the least. If it would be any satisfaction to my brethren, and
would enlighten them at all, they are welcome to a few items. I will ask the
Elders of Israel who it is that finds the money to defray all these expenses? I
will ask them how much money they pay in on their tithing? "Why," say
they, "we let you have our wheat and cattle, and they are just as good as
money." Ask yourselves if you ever knew a bushel of wheat, a hundred
pounds of flour, or a horse, an ox, a cow, a mule, a sheep, a load of potatoes,
a load of onions or anything else that comes in on tithing to be sold for
money? Go and see if there ever was five dollars worth of this property sold
for money. What did our emigration cost last season? We will make a rough guess
(which will probably be below the mark by many thousand dollars), and say forty
thousand dollars. Do the brethren living in the counties around or anywhere
else pay any money in towards this? Where do you think it comes from? It is
paid, there is no doubt of that, and the poor are brought here; and there are
over nine hundred thousand dollars owing to the Perpetual Emigration Fund for
helping the poor here.
Does this
enlighten your mind any? "Why, no," say some, "unless we know
where the money comes from." It would puzzle our astrologers to tell you;
still, you can ask them if you wish; they can be just as sensible about that as
anything else. Who pays this money? Who is it that buys every dollar's worth of
goods that is brought here to pay to these hands who work on the public works?
Is there a man at work there but who gets a portion of money and store-pay? And
with the exception of what the merchants here pay in on tithing, is there a
dollar's worth of store-pay to be got without paying the money for it? Is there
a light of glass, a pound of nails, a pound of rope, or anything else brought
here from the east that the money is not paid for? No, not one pound. Now,
then, you astrologers, sit down and make your figures and see if you can tell
where the money comes from; or you scholars and learned men enlighten the minds
of the people on these matters if you can. I will tell you what you can do—you
can be economical, prudent, and saving, and help a great deal more than you now
do. If we will go to work and finish this canal we can bring the rock here for
the Temple. I have asked my brethren, and I will ask again, will not you who
have sawmills bring on some lumber so that we can go on with this tabernacle?
Will you not help a little in this telegraphic operation? We want lumber for
this, that, and the other—will you not bring on some? "Yes," say
they, "if you will pay us money for it."
With
regard to paying tithing, I will say that is becoming easier and more congenial
to the minds of the people every year, and they pay it with a glad heart This
is a blessing to them. Let me say to you, just what the Lord requires of you,
if you would only do it. He requires at our hands, each and every one of us, to
begin and sustain the Kingdom of God, and to withdraw from the world and the
business of the world. If our neighbours want our flour, let them come here to
buy it, pay a good fair price for it, and take it away, but never carry it to
them—never, never, no, never! If we want goods, hats, boots, shoes, bonnets,
coats, and so forth, we should send Latter-day Saints, Elders of Israel, with
our money to markets where they have them for sale, and purchase them and bring
them here; and we should buy of our brethren, and sustain the Kingdom of God. I
say this is the mind and the will of God concerning this people, if they will
hearken to it. Purchase no more of your enemies. I read a revelation here on
this subject a few weeks since, given in Jackson County, Missouri, commanding
br. Gilbert to go and purchase goods and sell them to the Saints without fraud.
I will take the liberty of saying that I consider some of our own merchants do
not come up to the requirements of this revelation, for they would sell to the
Latter-day Saints a piece of goods worth fifty cents for a thousand dollars if
they could get it, without any regard to truth, righteousness, or justice, or
the building up of anybody on God's earth but themselves. This is the case with
some of our own merchants, while there are others who deal fairer. There are
some amongst us who would not speculate, had they all the opportunity in the
world, as much as some who are called Latter-day Saints. All this is true, but
we cannot begin to point out and individualize; that will not do here. But it
is the will of the Lord that you and I live within ourselves.
Do you
recollect that I made mention of our government yesterday? We have sued to them
many times for our rights. We have asked for bread, and they have given us a
stone; we have asked for a fish, and they have given us a serpent; we have
asked for an egg, and they have given us a scorpion; so we have got to live
within ourselves and trust in God. We will pay our taxes and we will pay our
tithing. But there are some among us who, probably, would like to meddle with
our tithing. I wonder if they would like to meddle with the tithing that is
paid to build churches in the east, and with the donations made for that
purpose? I wonder if they would not like to legislate upon them, and see who
has been paying donations to build this church or that schoolhouse or academy.
I wonder if they would not like to legislate as they do about schools for the
freedmen. I suppose it will not be long before before they will want to dictate
in some other places, and say how much shall be raised for schools and so
forth; and I suppose it will be but a little while before some of those
officious characters will determine the number of beans that brother Kimball
and I shall have in our porridge, and whether they shall be white or black. I
think, if same of them had their way, they would have them all black.
I have
told you some few things with regard to the Temple. We want the tabernacle
finished, and when a man is asked to go and work on it, do not begin to make a
wry face, and say, "I have got so much work to do." When you
carpenters are asked to go and help to finish it, so that we can hold our
October Conference in it, do not begin to say, "I have so many jobs on
hand, and so much work to do, and this engagement and that engagement,"
where-ever they will pay you sixpence a day more; and "I will work for the
devil as quick as for the Lord Jesus Christ." Do not say that any more.
The mechanics, by their conduct, have said hitherto, "We will build up
hell just as quick as we will heaven, if we can get sixpence a day more for
doing it." Do you want to know the true policy of building up Zion, and
what is required of us as a people? I can give it to you. It is to build up the
Kingdom of God on the earth, to build temples and tabernacles, to preach the
gospel, to sustain the families of the Elders abroad, and to sustain the
Priesthood at home and abroad, whether we get a dollar a day or nothing, it is
all the same. Work whether we get our pay or not, or whether we have money
offered to us or not. You and I will find in the end that there is not a man on
the earth who can give the increase to our labor; but it is the Lord who gives
it. No matter whether you make fifty cents or fifty dollars a day, the Lord
gives the increase; and whatever He pleases to give He will give, and whatever
He pleases to withhold He will withhold. I say to you again and again that the
blessings of this people are more than they merit by their lives; but if we
live every day of our lives so as to possess the Spirit of the Lord, and are
dictated in all our business transactions and in every move we make by the
spirit of revelation, we should merit, and justly and righteously obtain
greater blessings than we now possess.
Now, my
brethren, you who have sinned, repent of your sins. I can say to you in regard
to Jesus and the atonement (it is so written, and I firmly believe it), that
Christ has died for all. He has paid the full debt, whether you receive the
gift or not. But if we continue to sin, to lie, steal, bear false witness, we
must repent of and forsake that sin to have the full efficacy of the blood of
Christ. Without this it will be of no effect; repentance must come, in order
that the atonement may prove a benefit to us. Let all who are doing wrong cease
doing wrong; live no longer in transgression, no matter of what kind; but live
every day of your lives according to the revelations given, and so that your
examples may be worthy of imitation. Let us remember that we never get beyond
the purview of our religion—never, never! "Mormonism," so-called,
embraces every principle pertaining to life and salvation, for time and
eternity. No matter who has it. If the infidel has got truth it belongs to
"Mormonism?" The truth and sound doctrine possessed by the sectarian
world, and they have a great deal, all belong to this church. As for their
morality many of them are morally just as good as we are. All that is good,
lovely, and praiseworthy belongs to this church and kingdom. Death, hell, and
the grave only are outside of "Mormonism." "Mormonism"
includes all truth. There is no truth but what belongs to the gospel. It is
life, eternal life; it is bliss; it is the fullness of all things in the gods
and in the eternities of the gods. What is the difference, then, what we are
called to do? Let us do it with a cheerful heart and a willing mind, that we
may receive the blessing which the Lord has for the faithful.
May God
bless you. Amen.
Our duty is to help sustain the kingdom of God, and to cease following after the world or going to them for purposes of trade; our only trust is in God, and while we keep His commandments He will protect and sustain us.
He called for men to work on the new Tabernacle, that it might be completed this summer.
The doctrine of atonement was touched upon in words plain and pointed, showing that the Lord Jesus died for all, but faith and repentance must precede enjoying the efficacy of His blood.
Anthem by the Choir. Prayer by Elder John Van Cott.
[8 Apr, 2 pm*]
[DNW 16:116, 4/20/67, p 5]
2 p.m.
Singing, "I'll praise my Maker while I've breath." Elder J. D. T. McAllister prayed. Anthem by the Choir.
[Elder C. C. Rich]
Elder C. C. Rich reasoned on the nature of the heaven which we hope to enjoy, and the work we have to do in making that heaven, by adopting and practicing in our lives the principles of righteousness. We can thus gain power with God, and knowledge to gather around us everything that is worth knowing, possessing or enjoying. He was pleased to see the desire manifested among the congregation, to obey the instructions given at this Conference. An increase of unity, and power to accomplish the purposes of God will be the result of their so doing.
[Charles C. Rich]
[DNW 16:178, 6/5/67, p 2; JD 12:3]
REMARKS
By Elder C. C. Rich, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt
Lake City, April 8, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I am glad
to enjoy the opportunity of meeting with the brethren and sisters at this
Conference. I am also glad that we have beard the instructions which have been
imparted to us. The principle of the Saints being united is one that we have
labored to establish from the commencement up to the present time. Every Saint
who has any knowledge of the gospel as it has been revealed to us in these last
days, knows that this principle has been impressed on their minds from the time
they first heard the gospel. Still, with all our labors and exertions in the
past, we have not yet reached this point, and we must continue our labors for
the accomplishment of this object.
When we
am united in all things, the Lord will be able to use us in very deed for the
building up of His Kingdom; until then, He can use us only as we are willing to
be used. We say we are the people of God, and that we are laboring to build up
His Kingdom, but when we come to think of it, we only do that which we can
persuade ourselves to do.
We should
be willing to do everything that the Lord requires us to do, and even if we
are, there is still great need for us to improve and progress. This has been
incumbent upon us from the time we embraced the gospel, but more especially at
this Conference, and when we make up our minds individually and collectively to
do all things that the Lord requires of us, it will be a comparatively easy
matter for us to do so. We do not expect to learn everything at this
Conference, but we can make ourselves willing to learn righteous principles,
and we can, if we choose adopt them as fast as we learn them.
We are
placed under circumstances where we can apply our labors for the accomplishment
of the designs of the Almighty here on the earth, and we ought to esteem this
as a very great privilege.
There are
a great many notions and opinions with regard to the work of God and the
building up of His Kingdom on the earth. We have received the everlasting
gospel from the heavens. It found us in the various nations of the earth, and
it has gathered us to this place for the purpose of establishing the principles
of righteousness and of building up the Kingdom of God on the earth. As we have
heard this afternoon, and on many other occasions, the gospel we have obeyed
embraces all truth on earth and in heaven. We have not to emigrate to some
other world to find truth. We find it where we are; it is taught to us faster
than we are willing to receive and practice it; and I can bear testimony that
it has ever been so. We have never had to wait to know what was the right course
for us to pursue. "Labor for the building of the Kingdom of God," has
been the counsel given to us continually, and when we have been called upon to
perform any labor, no matter in what direction, it has been with that object in
view.
I have
been reflecting a little in relation to the state of society which would soon
be in existence if the counsel given from this stand this Conference were to be
observed. We Would soon find a great deal more peace, love, and oneness among
the Saints than have existed in times past; and, if we ever expect to be one,
we, as a people, must adopt in our lives those principles that have been and
are continually taught us by the servants of the Lord. If we ever expect to
have heaven, we must adopt those principles that will make hearten for us. We
have had the gospel revealed to us from the heavens, for the purpose of
bringing about that state of things here that exists in heaven. And it will
most assuredly result in this if we will faithfully observe its principles. A
faithful adherence to the principles of the gospel will cure all the evils we
now endure. Where difficulties exist with individuals or communities, we would
find, if they were traced to their Source, that they exist simply because the
principles of the gospel have not been adopted and applied.
It is
this labor that lies before us to learn the principles of the gospel of
salvation, and to apply them in our lives. This will remove the evils we have
to encounter, and will bring about union and happiness; and, no matter where
our lot may be cast, will make for us a heaven upon earth. This is a joyous
labor, and one in which all should unite with an unwavering determination. By
so doing we will sustain those who preside over us, and our efforts will most
effectually tend to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth.
How can
this Kingdom be built up unless God dictates? and how can we labor to serve Him
unless He dictates us? and how will He do this? He will do it, as He ever has
done, by and through His servants whom He has placed at our head. In this way
we can be united in building up God's Kingdom and in moving forward His work on
the earth. This is a very great privilege, the possession of which confers upon
us great honor and blessings. When the whole people are united in, and live
continually according to, the principles of the gospel in all things, evils and
difficulties will vanish from their midst like snow before the rays of the sun,
and soon the knowledge of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the deep.
We have
yet much to learn, but I often think that we can do more for the spread of
truth and the work we are engaged in than we imagine. We can read of
individuals among the ancients who performed wonders on the principle of faith.
They subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
months of lions, and performed many wonderful works. Can we not do something on
the principle of faith? Can we not have power with God as well as the ancients,
if we labor continually to carry out His designs? I am satisfied that if we all
go home and carry out the principles which have been taught to us during this
Conference we shall soon see happy results flowing therefrom. There is a
responsibility resting upon us all to do so, and we should discharge that
responsibility honorably before God and each other. By following the counsel
given us during this Conference, our union, peace, and best interests will be
greatly advanced and forwarded.
Severe
indisposition prevented me from being present at last fall Conference, but I am
thankful that I am present now. I always rejoice to be at Conference, or at any
meeting with the Saints. I love to see and talk to them, and I love to hear
others talk, and I love to use my influence to move forward and build up the
cause of Zion, and to establish righteousness on the earth. We all ought to
cultivate this kind of feeling and principle. We never need be afraid if we are
doing right, but fear only to do wrong. Individuals are apt to think sometimes
that if they do a wrong no person in the world knows it but themselves, but it
is known also to God, and if a wrong is known to God and to the one who commits
it, his influence with God is destroyed, and it lowers him in his own
estimation. Suppose, for instance, that a person wants a favor of President
Young, but he has done some wrong that is known to the President, he cannot ask
that favor with any confidence, but his head is cast down, and he feels
condemned because of the wrong he has done. How much more is this the case when
seeking blessings from the Lord. We should think of this in our course through
life. We should also remember that the Lord has said, that "inasmuch as ye
do it to one of the least of these my servants, ye do it unto me."
When we
apply this principle to our conduct, strictly and properly, we shall Feel that
we do not want to injure anybody or do anything wrong, and injuries and wrongs
will fast disappear and will be soon blotted out of existence. This is what we
are laboring for, and this course of conduce will move forward the cause of
Zion, and enable us to do all things the Lord requires of us.
That we
may labor to accomplish this work faithfully is my prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Elder George Q. Cannon then presented the following Authorities of the Church, who were unanimously sustained in their positions by vote of the Conference: --
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards and George Q. Canon members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young, his counselors.
William Eddington, John T. Caine, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, Geo. W. Thatcher, Peter Nebeker and Joseph F. Smith, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; William Carmichael and Robert Price, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teacher's Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Warren Hardy, and James M. Johnson his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, superintendent of Public Works; John sharp, his assistant.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church, and William H. Folsom his assistant.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter, his assistants and agents for said Fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
A number of Elders were then called upon to go on missions.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
Elder George Q. Cannon spoke of the willingness manifested by the Elders to go on foreign mission; and followed with a few remarks on the condition of the settlements on the Muddy and the Beaver Dam. volunteer were called for, to go and strengthen those settlements.
[President D. H. Wells]
President D. H. Wells viewed this as the greatest day that has ever been seen by the Church, with the largest assemblage of Saints that has been together at one time in this dispensation. He urged parents to have their children well educated, to supply them with good books, have good teachers for them who understand and live according to the principles of the gospel, and to pay those teachers. And exhorted the Saints to live their religion, and to put down sin and iniquity in their midst, that they may continue to receive and enjoy the promised blessings.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 16:178, 6/5/67, p 2; JD 12:1]
REMARKS
By President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, April 8, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
This is
one of the greatest days that Israel has ever seen in this dispensation, and
one of the largest congregations that ever assembled in the capacity of a
Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The cause which
we have espoused possesses, probably, to-day, a greater degree of prosperity
than it has ever done from its commencement. Thus may it ever be from this time
henceforth and for ever! From the commencement of this work until the present
time we have continually increased in power and numbers, and in blessings from
the Lord our God; and I believe that, today, a greater degree of unity dwells
in the hearts of the people called Latter-day Saints than ever before.
When we
look back on the past history of this people, and see the difficulties they
have had to encounter and have overcome, our hearts should swell with joy and
gratitude to the benign Providence which has brought us to the position that we
now enjoy. As we have been blessed and preserved in the past, so it will ever be
with us, if we will only be true to ourselves and walk in the ways of
truth and righteousness. Has not our experience been sufficient in the past to
give us confidence in the future? Has not our faith been increased by the
multiplicity of blessings and favors which we have received at the hands of our
heavenly Father? Inasmuch as we have asked in faith for blessings, and have had
our prayers answered upon our heads, have we not faith and confidence to
approach our heavenly Father again and again to supplicate for blessings? Most
assuredly this is the experience of every faithful Saint. Then let us continue
to improve, and endeavour to weed from our hearts every evil influence and
strive to overcome every besetting sin. Let this be among our labors in the future,
beginning with ourselves and then with oar families.
Upon this
latter point, especially, let me say a word. Let us provide schools, competent
teachers, and good books for our children, and let us pay our teachers. I would
have no objection to seeing the standard works of the Church introduced into
our schools, that our children may be taught more pertaining to the principles
of the gospel in the future than they are at present. And let one test of
fitness on the part of those who teach be a thorough acquaintance with and love
for the principles of the gospel which we have received, that our children may
be taught the principles of truth and righteousness, and be trained from their
youth in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let this course be taken in
our schools, and let us pay our teachers. We have those among us who are well
qualified for teachers if we will only pay them; but the great cry now
is—"We cannot afford to teach school, for the wages is too low, and low as
it is we cannot get it when it is earned." This is the great difficulty
among us in this matter, and it has always been a crying evil. It has no need
to be so; we should pay our school bills among the first things we pay.
If we
wish to have teachers for our children let us sustain them. And we should
sustain our own publications, which inculcate the principles of truth and
righteousness, in preference to any others which may be brought into our midst.
There are other works that are good, against which I do not wish to say anything;
but let us first sustain our own works, which are exclusively devoted to the
spread of the principles of truth. The Lord has undertaken to raise the
standard of truth in the earth through the instrumentality of His servants, and
it is the duty of the Saints to sustain those works which have the
dissemination of truth for their only object. We send forth Elders to the
nations of the earth, as messengers of salvation to the people; and while we
sustain those who go to proclaim the gospel, let us also sustain the printed
word.
Enough
has been said on this subject, and I do not wish to recapitulate, Let us pay
our tithing, and do all we can to sustain the servants of God. And in paying
our tithing we should not forget our money tithing. We hear considerable about
hard times, so far as money is concerned; they who are endeavouring to sustain
the work of God feel the pressure as much as anybody else. Let us contribute
our mites to assist; if we have not much let us give a portion for that
purpose—be free and liberal. What have we to do but to accomplish our minion in
building up the Kingdom of God? I know of nothing else that is worth the
attention of the Latter-day Saints. Then let us do this with all our faith,
might, and means, and be united as the heart of one man in sustaining whatever
is brought before us by those who are placed over us to lead, guide, and direct
our labors.
Has not
the Lord the right to dictate the earth and its inhabitants? Most a suredly, He
has; and it would be a great blessing for the people if they would allow Him to
do so. We who have come here have said we are willing to be dictated by the
Lord. through His servants; then let us make it our business to be no as long
as we dwell in the flesh, the more especially as we expect to reap the rewards
and benefits that will result from such a course. If we expect the blessings
of heaven we should take a course that will draw them down upon us, ten
they will most assuredly be ours as fast an we can make good use of them. It we
are only true to ourselves, and are faithful to the end, our reward will be
such that we will have no need to complain of it. And even while we pass along
through life, the course of the Latter-day Saint is more conducive to happiness
and peace than that of any other individual on the face of the earth.
Let us
not be disheartened nor discouraged, but press onward in the good work
which we have espoused. Our minds have been lit up with the principles of life
and salvation and the truths of heaven; then let us cleave to those principles
with tall purpose of heart, keeping God's commands, and walking blamelessly
before him in all things every day of our lives. We shall thus accomplish our
mission in the Kingdom of God, and eventually be welcomed into the presence of
our Redeemer, which, I hope, will be the lot of every Latter-day Saint, and of
every honest soul in the world.
These are
some of my feelings. I hope and pray that we will all attend to the teachings
which we receive from time to time, for it is God in His mercy who deals
them out to us, and it is for us to treasure them up in good and honest hearts,
to carry them out in our lives, and to shun all things that are offensive in
His sight. This is the mission of the Saints. Every man can be useful in his
day and generation in promoting these principles; and if we will be united in
so doing, truth will triumph in the hearts of the Saints, and a power for good,
such as we have never yet seen, will soon be developed, and will increase until
finally the earth will be redeemed from the thraldom of sin, and the power of
the wicked be for ever broken.
That our
labors may speedily bring about this desirable consummation is my prayer, in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young said that he wished the young men in this and other cities and settlements through the Territory, to improve their minds, and take steps to make their knowledge, powers and abilities of more value than those of young men generally are. He recommended the establishment of evening schools, and lyceums, where surgery, anatomy, chemistry and other branches of education could be studied; and where a knowledge of physic could also be obtained by those who desire to possess it. For this purpose materials might be sent for during the present summer, that the studies might be effectually prosecuted. Classes could also be formed for the study of law -- the laws and institutions of this and other nations. He recommended girls to learn arithmetic to a further extent than many now do, that they might qualify themselves for the pursuit of light occupations, in which men are at present principally employed. They could become compositors in printing offices, clerks in stores, and be otherwise engaged in occupations suitable to their health and physical powers, which would bring them better remuneration than they now receive.
He particularly urged, in education, the study of the bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and other works of the Church; and expressed his desire to see phonography introduced into our schools, that the children may learn it with the rudimental branches of education. By this means, and by our young men acquiring it this valuable art can become more generally known and brought into use.
He blessed the people in the name of Jesus; and called vote of the congregation on the adjournment of Conference, which was adjourned until the 6th of October next, at 10 o'clock in the morning, to meet in the New Tabernacle.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 16:218, 7/10/67, p 2; JD 12:31]
REMARKS
By President Brigham Young delivered in the Bowery, Great
Salt Lake City, April 8, 1867.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
A few
words to the Latter-day Saints, and especially to our young men. We have a
great deal of time to spare over and above going to the kanyon, and working in
the fields and in our shops. It is true this is not exactly the time of year to
establish evening schools and lyceums, but we wish our young men to make
preparation this summer, and send east to procure the necessary articles for
the formation of societies in this and other cities throughout the Territory
for the purpose of studying the arts and sciences. Now, if a man in the North,
say sixty-eight or a hundred miles away, should have a limb broken, he has to
send to this city for a surgeon. It is all folly; there is no more real
necessity for it, if men would devote their time to the study of such things,
than there is to send for a man to put a rafter or joint on his house, or a
panel into his door.
As the
subject of education is open, and has been from time to time during this
Conference, I will now urge it upon the people—the young men and the
middle-aged—to get up schools and study. If they are disposed to study physic
or surgery, all right; they will know then what to do if a person is sickly, or
has his elbow, wrist, or shoulder put out of joint, or his arm or any other
bone broken. It is just as easy to learn such things as it is to learn to plant
potatoes. I would like to urge these matters upon our young men, and I am
convinced this meets the feelings of all the brethren. I do hope, and pray you,
my brethren and sisters, to be careful to observe what br. Wells has said in
regard to introducing into our schools the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants, and the Standard works of the Church, and all the works pertaining
to our faith, that our children may become acquainted with its principles, and
that our young men, when they go out to preach, may not be so ignorant as they
have been hitherto. I would like very much to urge upon our young people, the
sisters as well as the brethren, to pay more attention to arithmetic and other
things that are useful, instead of acquiring a little French and German and
other fanciful studies that are not of so much practical importance. I do not
know how long it will be before we call upon the brethren and sisters to enter
upon business in an entirely different way from what they have done. I have
been an advocate for our printing to be done by females, and as for men being
in stores, you might as well set them to knitting stockings as to sell tape.
Such business ought to be done by the sisters. It would enable them to sustain
themselves, and would be far better than for them to spend their time in the
parlor or in walking the streets. Hardy men have no business behind the
counter; they who are not able to hoe potatoes, go to the kanyon, cut down the
trees, saw the lumber, &c., can attend to that business. Our young men in
the stores ought to be tuned out and the sisters take their place; and they
should steady arithmetic and bookkeeping necessary to qualify them for such
positions. I would also like our school teachers to introduce phonography into
every school; it is an excellent thing to learn. By its means we can commit our
thoughts and reflections to paper with ease and rapidity, and thus preserve
that which will be of benefit to ourselves and others, and which would
otherwise be for ever lost. This is a delightful study! In these and all other
branches of science and education we should know as much as any people in the
world. We have them within our reach, for we have as good teachers as can be
found on the face of the earth, if our Bishops would only employ and pay them,
but they will not. Let a miserable little, smooth-faced, beardless,
good-for-nothing Gentile come along, without regard for either truth or
honesty, and they will pay him when they will not pay a Latter-day Saint. Think
of these things. Introduce every kind of useful studies into our schools. I
have been urging upon our young men for years to get up classes for the study
of law. The laws of this Territory, of the United States, of the different
States, of England, and foreign lands. Do this instead of riding over the
prairies hunting and wasting your time, which is property that belongs to the
Lord our God, and if we do not make good use of it we shall be held
accountable.
Now, my
brethren and sisters, I feel to bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and I pray my Father in heaven to continue His mercies to us, and I pray you,
in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God in all things. We will now bring our
conference to a close.
Choir sang the anthem, "The Daughter of Zion."
President Kimball pronounced the closing benediction.
E. L. SLOAN, Clerk of conference.
6-9 Oct 1867, 37th
Semi-Annual Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 16:311, 10/9/67, p 1]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 1]
THIRTY-SEVENTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
_____
The Thirty-seventh Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, convened, according to adjournment at last April Conference, on Sunday morning, Oct. 9th, at 10 o'clock, in the New Tabernacle, which was ready for conference to be held in it, the great exertions made for some time past by those having charge of its erection having been thus far successful. The Tabernacle is 250 feet in length by 150 in width, and is capable of seating a vast concourse of people; a detailed description of it will be more appropriate when it is finished, and dedicated. An hour before this appointed time for conference commencing, the immense building was crowded in every part, great numbers being unable to obtain admission.
There were present during the meetings, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, the first Presidency; Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, senr., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, George Q. Cannon and Joseph Smith of the Twelve Apostles; John Smith, Patriarch; Joseph Young, Senr., Levi W. Hancock, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, of the Presidency of the seventies; John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priest's Quorum Daniel spencer, George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young, the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse O. Little the Presidency of the Bishoprick; Elders Brigham Young, Junr., and John W. Young; and a great number of Bishops, Presidents of settlements and Elders from various parts of the Territory.
At the reporters table were Elders George D. Watt, David W. Evans and Edward L. Sloan, short-hand writers; and Elder T. B. H. Stenhouse.
The singing was in charge of the Tabernacle choir, led by Elder Robert Sands, with the new organ, played by Joseph J. Daynes; a combination of the Springville, Spanish Fork and Payson choirs; and a few singers from :Brigham City, Box Elder Co., and Smithfield, Cache Co., led by Elder Fishburne, Captain Croxall's, Captain Eardley's, the Ogden, and the Nephi brass bands made music as occasion offered, at the close of the meetings near to the tabernacle, and at various times and places through the city during Conference. The new Organ, which was played with the singing of the Tabernacle choir, will be a magnificent and splendidly toned instrument when fully completed. Of its quality of tone and compass satisfactory evidence was obtained during Conference. Its opening music was given through seven hundred mouths; when completed the pipes will number two thousand. Its size will be twenty-three feet wide, thirty feet deep, and forty high.
Before opening Conference President B. Young, in behalf of all the Apostles, and all the brethren and sisters belonging to the Church, returned most sincere thanks to the workmen who had been engaged on the Tabernacle, for their steady perseverance and faithfulness in working on and completing the building so far. He also spoke of the labors of Elder Ridges on the large Organ, and of the difficulties he had labored under in his work.
Conference was called to order, and the following hymn, composed by E. R. Snow for the occasion, was then read by the clerk, and sung by the Tabernacle choir.
Praise, praise, O, praise the Great I AM!
Sing glory, glory to the Lamb!
Let ev'ry heart a tribute bring,
And join to praise our God and King.
O God, who form'd the heav'ns and earth --
Who sends the gushing fountains forth --
Who built the sky and made the sea,
Thou art our God: we bow to There.
Thy servants, Lord, assemble here,
To praise and pray -- to speak and hear:
O, let Thy Spirit on them rest,
And ev'ry humble soul, be blest.
While we convene from day to day,
Be in our midst, O God, we pray:
And let Thy mighty power be felt,
The dross, to burn - the gold, to melt.
On mountain tops, a beacon stands
Its light is seen in distant lands;
Like burning lamps, Thy Truth, O God,
And righteousness go forth abroad.
Praise, praise, O, praise the Great I AM!
Sing glory, glory to the Lamb!
Let ev'ry heart a tribute bring,
And join to praise our God and King.
Prayer was then offered by President B. Young; after which "Soldiers of Christ arise" was sung by the combination of the Springville, Spanish Fork and Payson choirs, led respectively by Elders Frederick Weight of Springville, William Jones of Spanish Fork, and William Clayson of Payson.
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball reasoned that the elect of God hear His voice and keep His commandments. To be Saints we must shun evil of every kind, and live in righteousness before the Lord so as to have the Spirit of truth with us continually. Our position in these mountains is the very best we could occupy for accomplishing the purposes of the Lord in the gathering of His people and building up the Kingdom of God. The work is spreading and will continue to grow; there is no fear of its failing or being retarded in its progress; and our duty is to watch and pray lest we should not be progressing with it. He blessed the men who have been engaged in working on the New Tabernacle; blessed Bishop Edward Hunter, his Counselors, the Bishops and their assistants, Pres. Young and those associated with him, and all Israel; and spoke upon the power and principle of blessing. If our eyes could be opened to see things as they are we would see angels with us to-day to bless us, as we can feel the power of God with us to bless us and do us good. The Lord has led His people continually; and President B. ;Young and himself were as much led by the power of God in coming to these mountains as any men were ever led to accomplish anything by inspiration and the Spirit of God. Here we have grown to be a great people, and the Lord has not forsaken nor forgotten us. We have built this house to worship God; and now our duty is to prepare ourselves for the blessings to be obtained in the Temple by building one, and building it in purity of heart and sincerity of soul, as the Temple of Kirtland was reared in the midst of privation and poverty. When that building was dedicated, it was visited by Peter, James and John, and by hundreds of angels, who were seen of many. He again blessed the people, and prayed that the peace of God might be and abide with them; and urged them if any of their families were sick to use mild herbs, let the doctors alone, and call for the elders to anoint them with oil and pray over them.
[Pres. D. H. Wells]
Pres. D. H. Wells said it was with deep feelings of gratitude to the Lord that he arose before so large a congregation of the Saints to speak of the things of the kingdom. The erection of the building in which they were assembled he looked upon as a great achievement worthy of the people of the Saints. We are gathered to these valleys of the mountains to learn to build upon the Kingdom of God, and it makes no difference what we are called to do -- whether to raise wheat, build factories, raise flax, or any of the products of the earth, if we only understand our calling and are faithful. We have to reclaim the earth and make the place of His feet glorious before Him. The great work of the last days is to gather out the honest-in-heart, establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth;, and reclaim the earth from the thraldom of sin and darkness. The Lord has led forth His people in might; He has led his servant Brigham in might and in power; He has planted us in the midst of these mountains, blessed the land for our sakes, and caused it to bring forth for the sustenance of His people. He has turned away the evil designs of our enemies, and frustrated all their wicked plans. The Latter-day Saints are a good people, but there is room for improvement, and it is our work and mission to improve and progress in righteousness.
Singing by the Tabernacle Choir.
Prayer by President D. H. Wells.
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[MS 29:737-740]
THE THIRTY-SEVENTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
(Salt
Lake Telegraph.)
_____
On Sunday morning (Oct. 6th), long before the hour named for the opening of the gates on the south and west side of the Temple Block, the people began to assemble, and by nine o'clock there was such a dense crowd around these entrances, that there was no passage along the side walks. The streets were also filled with carriages, wagons and horses, indicating that there had been an early and large ingathering that morning from the country, in addition to the vast numbers that had reached the city on the days preceding.
Before ten o'clock, the time appointed for the commencement of the conference, the seats of the great Tabernacle were filled, and the passage ways, the entrances on the north, south, and east, were also fully occupied with those eager to be present at the opening. The side seats on the stand were also well filled with the Priesthood and the various choirs who were present to take part in the services. Altogether, the Tabernacle was full, and literally verified what had been so often said -- "no building could be constructed large enough to hold the Saints." The more so is this statement visibly true, when it is considered that a large number of the young folks are kept at home, in order to give place for their elders, and to avoid, as is sometimes apprehended, the crowding on such occasions.
On the stand, at the opening, were the full Quorum of the first Presidency, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H. Wells; beside them, Elder Brigham Young, jun.
Of the Twelve Apostles, in their order and place, were --
Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, and George Q. Cannon, all of the Apostles now in the Territory.
On the first seat, fronting the audience, were Elders Daniel H. Spencer, George B. Wallace, and Joseph W. Young, the Presidency of this Stake of Zion, and beside them were Elder John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, his counsellor, Bishop E. D. Woolley; Bishop Phineas Young; Elder W. W. Phelps, William H. Hooper, Levi Hancock, John Van Cott, and Horace S. Eldredge.
On the Bishops' seat in front of the stand, were Edward Hunter, the Presiding Bishop, with his counsellors, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little; beside them Bishop Hoagland, the clerk of the Quorum of Bishops -- Elder George Goddard, and Elder John D. T. McAllister.
On the stand, in addition to the presiding authorities named, were the Salt Lake Choir, under the leadership of Elder Robert Sands, numbering about one hundred and fifty, with organist, Joseph John Daynes. To the left of the speakers' benches was a large choir, uniting the choirs of Springville, Payson, and Spanish Fork, under their respective leaders, Elders Frederick Waight, William Claycen, and William R. Jones. Reporters, Elders Geo. D. Watt, E. L. Sloan, David W. Evans, and a representative of this paper.
There were present on the stand and throughout the building, a very large number of the Bishops and authorities from all the settlements north and south; but the vastness of the assembly prevented us from noting them by name.
Preceding the services, President Young spoke to different persons in various parts of the building, endeavoring to ascertain how the speaker could be heard. The results did not then seem to be the most satisfactory, but as every attention is given to this subject, we reserve observations thereon till we obtain something that may be serviceable.
The President kindly expressed to the workmen the thanks of all the Apostles, and all the brethren and sisters, for the steady perseverance and faithfulness that they had manifested in completing thus far the building. For one, he said, he had not ceased to pray for them, that no accident might befall anyone, and that we might rejoice together in such a work. He felt to bless them, and to continue to pray for them still, and he took the opportunity of expressing that he would be very much pleased did he witness as resolute a spirit in the elders of Israel to favor the early completion of the Temple. He thought it proper to say something of the unfinished condition of the organ. Not over one-third of the pipes were up, and till the casing was built, they had thrown around it a loose garment. It was now only about fifteen feet high, and when completed it would be forty feet high. Brother Ridges, and those who had labored with him, had done the best they could, and notwithstanding their diligence by early day, noon and night, they had been unable to have it properly tuned. It was, however, in a condition to accompany the choir, and he was pleased with it. The President called the audience to order; a perfect stillness ensued, and Elder Sloan read the following opening Hymn: --
Praise, praise, O, praise the Great I AM!
Sing glory, glory to the Lamb!
Let ev'ry heart a tribute bring,
And join to praise our God and King.
O God, who form'd the heav'ns and earth --
Who sends the gushing fountains forth --
Who built the sky and made the sea,
Thou art our God: we bow to Thee.
Thy servants, Lord, assemble here,
To praise and pray -- to speak and hear:
O, let Thy Spirit on them rest,
And ev'ry humble soul, be blest.
While we convene from day to day,
Be in our midst, O God, we pray:
And let Thy mighty power be felt,
The dross, to burn - the gold, to melt.
On mountain tops, a beacon stands
Its light is seen in distant lands;
Like burning lamps, Thy Truth, O God,
And righteousness go forth abroad.
Praise, praise, O, praise the Great I AM!
Sing glory, glory to the Lamb!
Let ev'ry heart a tribute bring,
And join to praise our God and King.
E. R. Snow
Prayer was offered by President Young, in which he expressed to the Most High the grateful feelings of the Saints, for the favors which He had multiplied upon them, enabling them to have finished thus far, an edifice in which they could assemble and worship Him, their Creator, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, imploring the aid for the Holy Spirit to teach them how to pray, and what to ask for, acceptably in His sight.
He implored the blessing of the Lord upon the congregation assembled, and those who might assemble during conference; upon the Priesthood, and all in authority in His Church and Kingdom, that they might enjoy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to qualify them in the discharge of every duty; that the workmen who had labored upon that house might feel blessed, and feel satisfaction in that labor, and recompense in the love of Christ; that the Apostles might be blessed and qualified to discharge the duties of their Holy Apostleship; that the Bishops might have all the ability their arduous labors demand, and be filled with wisdom, kindness, patience and forbearance, and so be fathers to the people; that the High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, might all enjoy the power and blessing of their callings.
He asked that the blessings of the Almighty might continue to increase upon the people, that all their efforts to build up the Kingdom of God might be prospered; that the people might be preserved in these mountains, multiply, increase, and gather round them from the elements what was necessary for their consumption.
He craved the blessings of the Lord upon the children of the Saints; that the power of the Almighty might heal the sick; that the Saints in foreign lands might be the object of His care; that the missionaries among them might have the ability to do their duty, be preserved, and be returned again to the Church in Zion; that the poor Saints might be blessed and prospered, so they may gather with the Saints here, and that the emigrants who have lately arrived, may seek to do right, and be blessed and prospered.
He implored the blessings of the Most High upon our families, our wives, our children, and upon our fields, our farms, and all we possessed; asked the Lord to inspire the speakers, the singers, the hearers, during conference, so that all might be done according to His Holy Will.
The combined choirs of Payson, Springville, and Spanish Fork, sang the hymn, "Soldiers of Christ, arise."
[President Kimball]
President Kimball delivered the opening address.
He had seen a great many people assembled out of doors, but he had never seen so many in one house before. Those only who had the experience like himself could appreciate his feelings. He was very grateful for this blessing. The world called the Saints the worst people, but he knew they were the best people on the earth, and they were sure of salvation, because they loved truth and virtue; they loved the work of God
Here the standard of Emmanuel was set up, and here would come the peoples from all the nations of the earth. Here they would come to serve the Lord, and not one word which the Lord had given through his servant Joseph would fail. Here, we shall gather the people from the four corners of the earth.
He felt grateful towards his brethren who had labored to erect this building. He now said, let the Lord bless the Bishops of the city and in the country, and may the blessings of the Lord be upon Edward Hunter, the presiding Bishop. He felt like blessing to-day, and he would say, May the blessings of our father be upon President Young, upon his brethren, and upon all the people.
He said, no one could have bad feelings here, for the Lord was here -- the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He wished that the eyes of the people were opened, that they could behold the angels who were here. They were looking at us, and scrutinizing what we said.
When President Young, himself, Elders Hyde and Pratt, were anointed and ordained, the angels of the Lord were present, and were seen by the brethren. Joseph, John and other angels were with them now. How then should they feel?
The temple in Ohio was built in the poverty of the Saints, and it was honored with the presence of Peter, James, and John, the ancient Apostles and they were seen by many of the Saints.
Elder Fishburn's choir sang.
[President Wells]
President Wells said -- The erection of this building he regarded as a great achievement and a praise to the people here. The Lord had planted us in the valleys of the mountains by the might of his power. He had led his servant Brigham, and given him wisdom to direct the people. He had prospered and blessed them, because they had kept his commandments.
When the Temple at Nauvoo was commanded to be finished, President Young stepped forward, and by his labors, influence, and power, led the people to the accomplishment of that work, and the people were then accepted of the Lord.
He rejoiced to see the progress the people had made. He rejoiced to see them flocking in from all the settlements to Conference. He believed that the chains and iron yoke of bondage was broken, and that the wicked would never have power again to harass and annoy them as they had done. A glorious future was before them, and the work would continue to grow and increase through their faithfulness.
They were approximating to unity in temporal things, as they had been in spiritual things and in faith. They never could make their influence and power felt in the earth and before the heavens, without this unity of action.
He saw a glorious future, and could see the people possess a greater influence than any other people. They had noting to fear while they had the Lord for their friend to lead them and guide them. He alluded to the days of Joseph, and the confidence which was then manifested, but the people had progressed, and had greater confidence than they ever possessed. The unity of faith in temporal matters was not then known to the same extent.
The choir sang, "An angel from on high."
Benediction by President Wells.
_____
[6 Oct, noon]
[WWJ 6:367-368.]
Council
Meeting.
The Presidency & Twelve held a Council at Noon & Cut off Amasa Lyman from the Quorum of the Twelve & Set apart Joseph fielding Smith as one of the Twelve Apostles. He had been ordained an Apostle before. President Young said He did not wish to Ordain Joseph F. Smith to take Amasa's Place or to take his Crown But He ordained him an Apostle to take his own Crown & his own place. He viewed all the Apostles in the Same light. President Young was mouth in setting Joseph F. Smith Apart as one of the Twelve & as a Special witness to all Nations.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 1]
2 p.m.
Singing by the combination choir, "Awake, put on the strength," led by Wm. Jones; prayer by Elder B. Young, Junr.; singing by Tabernacle choir.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde said it was the largest congregation he had ever addressed in his life and it seemed to be the largest religious assembly he had ever seen, though he had traveled considerably in the four quarters of the earth, and had an acquaintance with the large religious gatherings of the World. In 1848 a meeting was held at Hyde Park, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, composed of the Twelve Apostles, and at that meeting a power was felt which he had never experienced before; and the Lord spoke from heaven and declared to them that President Brigham Young should be the leader of His people and His mouthpiece to them. This was the second time he had borne this testimony; and he thought it was a privilege and a duty to bear it before this vast congregation. There are those present who can bear testimony to this who were not in that house, for they declared that the earth shook and trembled around, and they ran out of their houses to see if there was not an earthquake. Since that time these valleys have been settled, and settled under the guidance of him who was appointed to guide the people of God. We are called fanatics; but who can look at this congregation to-day, gathered from the various cities and settlements of this Territory, and intelligently say they are the fruits of fanaticism. The influence which draws them together is not of man, nor of the world, but from the Lord of Hosts. In speaking of the accusation of fanaticism urged against us, he showed that there is a people here who love God, who love one another, and who manifest in their lives the existence of the principles taught in the gospel, and which the world possess only in theory. He encouraged parents who have been bereft of their children by death, assuring them that if faithful they will receive them again, and receive the same ones who have been taken from them. Speaking of the resurrection, and of those who come forth in it, they are laid down corruptible, they rise incorruptible; they are laid down with blood in their veins, they rise with spirit in them. He said that about twenty years ago he had held some views concerning the resurrection which were incorrect and only vain philosophy; but now with more matured views he saw their error, and was sorry for having ever uttered them; and asked the people to forgive him for ever having preached them, quoting the scripture "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."
Singing, "The Mountain Brave" by Elder Fishburne's choir.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young said that no man can explain the resurrection except he has received the keys of it, as John Wesley could not explain the gospel and build up the Kingdom of God because he had not the priesthood nor the authority and power of God to do so. He said if he were asked did he understand the resurrection, he would say he did not; but he understood as much concerning it as any man living. Every component part of the creature comes forth in the resurrection. The parts that form the organization of man endure for ever unless he forfeits his right to them; and he shall possess them when he is resurrected. Jesus is the First-born from the dead; she first fruits from the earth, and as he was raised complete and incorruptible, so will every Saints be who is raised in the resurrection of the just. We differ from the rest of the world in many things, for we have been called out from the world that we may put away sin and evil and cling to righteousness. We differ from all the world in principle and doctrine, for we believe in and practice the gospel; and our views, hopes, desires, wishes and objects -- to spread the gospel and gather out the honest-in-heart -- are so different from that of other people that we cannot associate with them and assimilate our feelings. With us our religion is, or should be, the great topic of conversation, the great subject of thought. The people have gathered here from the various nations of the earth, not drawn together from the countries where they lived by old sermons and the traditions of the priests, but the power of God which accompanied the gospel taught unto them exercised an influence over them, they were touched in their hearts, and they forsook all to gather to Zion and be one with the Saints of God. We will preach the gospel, gather the honest, build tabernacles and temples; and teach those who will serve God to sustain themselves, and to help build up the Kingdom of God. He instructed the newly arrived immigrants to watch their own hearts, serve the Lord, be prayerful, and be full of love and kindness to one another and to the whole human family. He pointed out the happy state of society resulting from union and harmony among the people; and showed that as we present such a condition of society, and are called deluded, our delusion must e an exceedingly happy and successful one. The manner in which the people have progressed; the degree to which education is fostered and encouraged; and the way in which they have advanced in the science of life, show the wisdom of the policy by which they have been guided. He instructed mothers to teach their children principles of life and to love and be kind to one another.
To understand fully the remarks made and appreciate them, read the discourses when they are published.
Singing by the S. S. and P. choirs. Prayer by Pres. D. H. Wells.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[MS 29:340]
Afternoon.
The Spanish Fork choir sang the anthem, "Awake, awake ! put on thy strength, O Zion." Prayer offered by Elder Brigham Young, jun.
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde said he had travelled over a great part of the world, and he had never seen so large a religious congregation as that before him. He alluded to the council of the Apostles at Hyde Park, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, when the voice of the Lord was heard instructing them on the reorganizing the Quorum of the First presidency, and that President Young be the leader, the mouthpiece of God to the people. The earth shook and trembled, and the people around their council Chamber felt and experienced that the power of God had been manifested.
Since that time the President had led the people to this valley, and by his direction and counsel, they had accomplished what was now a wonder and a marvel in the eyes of the world
Elder Hyde then spoke of the resurrection, quoting largely from the ancient Prophets and Apostles upon the literal resurrection of the bodies of the Saints. He then said that there was a short period of his life, about twenty years ago, that he had indulged in speculative notions, and in vain philosophy, that did not accord with the truth of heaven. If any had heard him say aught contrary to the truth taught by the Apostles and Prophets, in his earlier days, he would freely ask their forgiveness. When he was a child, he had thought as a child, but now he wanted to put away childish thins.
Elder Hyde was very hoarse, and could speak only for a little time, but spoke with earnestness and an excellent spirit.
The Fishburn choir sang, "The Mountain Brave."
[President Young]
President Young spoke briefly on the subject introduced by Elder Hyde, and set forth that no man could speak with much benefit or advantage to the people on the resurrection, "Unless he was in possession of the keys of the resurrection." Paul had anciently labored to teach his brethren something about it, but he had not been very successful. The days were not far distant when the keys of the resurrection would be conferred upon men -- then they would understand it. He, however, fully believed in the literal resurrection of the bodies of the Saints.
The Payson choir sang, "Hark the song of Jubilee."
The meeting was dismissed by President Kimball.
[7 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 1-2]
Monday, 7th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir; prayer by Elder John Taylor; singing by the S. S. and P. choirs.
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt referred to the thoughts and suggestions which were brought to his mind by the appearance of the building just erected, and in which he was speaking, as it looked to him when he issued from Parley's Canyon on returning from his last mission. He saw it towering above the surrounding buildings like an artificial mountain, something like those mounds which are found in the Mississippi valley that were raised by the ancient inhabitants of the country; and he thought of the words of Isaiah and Micah, "The mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the tops of the mountains." He quoted from the Book of Mormon and the Bible showing how the Lord had accepted the labors of His people at various times when they have raised buildings to His name; and accepted their services when they sought to sanctify themselves before Him. He had no doubt but the angels of God were in and around this Tabernacle, for the labors of the people in building it to worship God were surely accepted by Him. When the Temple shall be raised to His name, His glory will there be made visibly manifest; and the blessings which we now enjoy and those which await us are preparatory to the still greater blessing of seeing the Lord face to face. He reasoned on the personality of God, quoting the popular opinion in the world that God is without body, parts and passions, and composed of three persons; yet one of those three persons traveled on the earth with a body, parts and passions, was crucified, buried, rose again, and ascended to heaven taking the body, parts and passions with him which he had here upon the earth. God is a personage of tabernacle and as distinct a being and personality as any that can exist; and the 'Son is the express image of the Father. The speaker reasoned at length on this subject, on the doctrine of pre-existence; and on the power of the redemption and atonement.
[Orson Pratt]
[DNW 27:290, 6/12/78, p 2; JD 19:311]
DISCOURSE
BY
ELDER ORSON PRATT,
Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 7th, 1867
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
Never
having had the opportunity of speaking to so large a congregation as the
present, or at least in so large a house as the one which we are now assembled,
I do not know whether I shall be able to adapt my voice so as to make the
congregation hear me. I know the object of coming to meeting and preaching is
to hear and to be edified and instructed more perfectly in the in the things
pertaining to God and to godliness, and in our duties before the Lord. When I
look upon this large tabernacle, which has been erected here in these high regions
of our globe, I am forcibly reminded of the sayings of two of the ancient
prophets, Isaiah and Micah, both of whom have spoken of an event that was to
take place in the latter days. I will quote their sayings, for the language of
both is almost identical. "It shall come to pass in the latter days that
the mountain of the House of the Lord shall be established in the tops of the
mountains." I have often wondered when I have read this portion of
Scripture, what was meant by the meant by the mountain of the house of the Lord
being erected, or established, in the tops of the mountains. The mountain of
the house of the Lord is something, it seems, that God himself would establish
in the mountains. When I entered this Territory in August last, on my return
from my last mission, I beheld from the mouth of Parleys Cañon the top of this
building very prominent. It seemed to rear itself up above the surrounding
buildings, and it was easily to be seen. It looked very much like an artificial
mountain erected here, or like some of those mounds that we see down on the
Missouri River, that were made by the ancient inhabitants of our country, only
it is much larger and higher than some of them. Whether this is really what the
prophet in ancient days meant, it is not for me to say, I only say that the
shape of this buildings reminds me, or suggests to me what was prophesied
anciently; but whether or not it is the fulfilment of that prophecy I do not
know.
I will
take this opportunity to express my gratitude and feelings of thanksgiving to
the Almighty, that he has enabled this people to erect unto him so large a
building in which they can assemble to worship his great and holy name. The
Lord, in ancient days, when he constructed temples and tabernacles, did honor
them by his presence. No doubt on some occasions his presence was made more
manifest than on others. Oftentimes we read that the power and the glory of
God, as manifested in his tabernacles and temples were so conspicuous that the
people could behold them with their natural eyes. I do not say that this was
the case under all circumstances, and in all houses that were built unto the
name of the Lord. Many temples and houses were built on the American continent
by the remnant of the House of Israel, to whom this land was given. It is not
recorded whether the Lord manifested himself in all these houses or not; but it
is recorded that at the temple which was built in the land Bountiful, in the
northern part of South America, the Son of God, himself, did show forth his
power and his glory to a certain congregation assembled in and around about the
temple. Jesus, after his resurrection from the dead, was sent by his Father
from the heavens to the American continent, to a congregation of two thousand
and five hundred souls, men, women and children, who where assembled together
for the purpose of worshiping God the Father in the name of Jesus. Consequently
God did respect this temple built on the American continent, as well as the
great temple built by Solomon in the days of old. When Solomon had built the
temple, he spread forth his hands to the heavens, and prayed to the Father, in
the presence of the congregation of Israel that was assembled, and the spirit
of the Lord was poured out in such a wonderful manner that the people, through
their faith, beheld the power and the glory of God as they were manifested in
that temple. By this the people knew that God respected his own house. So it
was in the days of Moses. When they journeyed in the wilderness, God commanded
the Children of Israel to build a tabernacle. He gave them a pattern thereof.
In that tabernacle the Lord showed forth his power among Israel. It became
visible not only on the inside, but on the outside the glory of God was made
manifest and rested upon it. By this the Children of Israel knew that God was
near unto them. They not only believed, but the testimony manifested before
their eyes gave them a knowledge that God was in the midst of their camp;
although through their wickedness, unbelief, and darkness of mind God withdrew
his immediate presence from the midst of the congregation, and Moses only was
permitted to see the Lord and talk to him face to face, yet the display of
God's power and glory was so great that the Children of Israel knew that God
was near them.
The
question may arise, Will there be a time again when the glory of the Lord will
be manifestly visible to and his voice heard by his people I answer, yes. God
has promised this in the last days. There is no doubt, as was said yesterday by
Brother Kimball, that heavenly messengers hover around the congregation of the
Saints here assembled. I have no doubt of this in my own mind, thought I have
not seen them and you may not have seen them; yet that God who has seen your
labors and diligence in building a house to his name, has no doubt sent
heavenly messengers to hover around us, to bluff off the powers of darkness,
that seek to darken the minds of the people, and to close their hearts against
understanding. The time will come when the faith of this people, the pure in
heart, will be sufficiently great that when they build a house to the name of
the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to enter therein, that the Lord
will come and grace it by his presence, as well as by the presence of his angels.
That will be the time when the pure in heart, who enter into the house of God,
will behold his face. O! what a grand, glorious, happy privilege that will be
to the sons and daughters of the Most High, to behold the face of him who
created them, the Father of their spirits, who created them before the
foundation of the world. How great and glorious a privilege for the sons and
daughters of God who are now shut out from his presence! For this cause the
people of God are commanded at all times to build a house to his name, that he
may reveal those ordinances devised by him for the salvation of the children
before the world were laid.
I know
there are some people who do not believe God has a face like unto man, or in
other words that we are in his image and likeness. There has been a great
variety of views among the inhabitants of our globe in regard to the being or
beings whom they have worshiped and called God. Some have believed that he was
an immaterial being. Some have believed that he had no properties, perfection
or qualities in common with any other substance in nature; that he was entirely
separated from all material nature. This seems to be the view of the great mass
of the Christian world at the present day. Some two hundred millions of the
inhabitants of our glebe consider that God is something altogether indefinable,
incomprehensible, a person, and yet has no parts; consisting of three persons,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and yet no part of these persons. That is a
horrible idea in my mind. My mind is so constructed that, with all my reading
and meditation, I never could conceive of a being of that description, and yet
it is incorporated in the articles of the Church of England, also in the
Methodist discipline, and is in accordance with the views of almost all the
Christian world at the present day. "God consists," say they in their
creeds, of three persons without body parts or passions." I do not wish to
dwell upon this long; it is so inconsistent, so very absurd, so contrary to all
intelligence, reason and revelation that I am willing to throw it by without
contemplating it for any length of time. I merely mention it to call to your
mind the inconsistencies of the religious world who profess Christianity. One
of these persons, called the Son, without body and without parts, was actually
crucified, died and was buried in a tomb, and the third day he rose again, and
with his body ascended into heaven, when he did not possess a body. If anybody
can believe such nonsense, they are perfectly welcome to it, only keep it away
from me. I want nothing to do with it. I never expect to worship such a being
here on earth or throughout all the future ages of eternity. I have no
reverence whatever for such a being, for I do not believe that such a one ever
existed only in the hallucinations of disordered minds.
Perhaps
the strangers who are present, if any there be, may be led to inquire what kind
of a being do the Latter-day Saints worship? Let me reply according to my
understanding. I believe that God—I mean God the Father is a material personal
being; that he has a body and a spirit united together; that his spirit within
his body is material; that he is a personage just as much as every man in this
congregation is a personage; and let me go still further and say that he is a
personage of flesh and of bones. Perhaps that may shock the ideas of some of
the outsiders and they may think that to get over their immaterial god, without
body or parts, we have gone to the other extreme. Well, whether it is to the
other extreme or not, I wish to state to you my views, and I think they
correspond with the views of the of the servants of God.
God is a
being, then, who has a tabernacle of flesh and bones in which his spirit
dwells; and this flesh, bones and spirit are material. Strangers may be anxious
to know something more about this personal being whom we call God the Father.
We are told that in the beginning man was created in the image of God, and we
are also told the Jesus the Son of God, was the express image of His Father.
The doctrine that man, in his form and shape is in the image of God, may be or
may seem something new and strange to those who are not acquainted with the
principles in this church. But why should not men resemble God is the question,
seeing that we are his offspring? Would you expect that sons and daughters of
this world would be like a horse or like the fowls of the air or the fish of
the sea? Or would you expect them to resemble their parents, and be in their
image and likeness? Do we not see in the animal creation—of which the human
species is said to be a part—a likeness between the parent and the offspring
certainly we do. If then this law prevails among all animated beings here on
the earth, why should we imagine God to be entirely distinct and different from
his own sons and daughters? Why not believe that there is a resemblance between
them and him. When we look at our fellow man we behold him erect in the form of
God. To be sure there may be many deformities among men and women, produced in
many instances, perhaps, by wickedness, disease and by accident; but in the
general outline there is resemblance among all the human species, and there
should be in as much as their Father and God is indeed their Father, as any in
this congregation are the literal fathers of their children. We, who compose
this congregation, are all one family, and only a very small portion of the
family of our Father and God. But when did he beget us? I answer before this
world was made; not our flesh and bones, but that being called man that was
created in the image and likeness of God and who dwells in his mortal
tabernacle. That being is the offspring of God; we were all begotten by him
before this world was made. We then dwelt in his presence and could behold his
face as sons and fathers here on earth can behold each other. We then partook,
in a measure, of his glory, and were acquainted with the glory and power of his
kingdom. We were present with him in the grand and magnificent work of
creation, and we saw and rejoiced in his handiwork. We sang praises in the
presence of our Father and God; before we had tabernacles of flesh and bones.
We then assembled ourselves together as we do here on the earth; we then
accompanied our Father and God and his Son Jesus Christ, on the grand and
glorious mission of the formation of the world we now inhabit. Did we know
anything about the object for which this world was created? Yes, we knew that
it was created expressly for us, and we sang and rejoiced over it as much as
the people of God now rejoice, when they erect a temple or tabernacle to his
name. When you erect a tabernacle to the Most High, you expect to enter at
times, and be feasted with the words of eternal life, and to partake of the
blessings of God. So it was in regard to the creation of this world. We were
there and I think all this generation among all nations, kindreds, tongues and
people were present on that occasion. Shall I limit it to this generation? No;
I believe all the sons and daughters of God who had proved themselves faithful
were assembled on that occasion. I do not include in this number the one-third
part of the family that fell, but the two-thirds who kept the law of of their
first estate who were really and truly accounted the sons and daughters of God,
the thousands and millions who inhabit this globe besides the generations of
the past and all future generations. Think of this and try to conceive in your
heart the magnitude of the great army of the sons and daughters of God
assembled at the time the foundations of this world were laid.
The Lord
put a very curious question to the old patriarch, Job, on a certain occasion.
Job had been praising up the works of God, and so far as his narrow mind would
permit him, he tried to magnify the greatness of his power; but, by putting a
few questions to Job the Lord showed to him that his wisdom and knowledge were
but foolishness in the sight of his creator. Said the Lord,"Where were
you, Job, when I laid the foundation of the earth, and the corner stones thereof?
Where were you, Job, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of
God shouted for joy?" I do not know that Job understood the pre-existence
of man, it might not have been revealed to him; at any rate he left the Lord to
answer the question on the subject, knowing that he would give information on
the matter that he, Job, could not give. If Job had been a sectarian, how
easily he could have answered this question! "Why, Lord," Job could
have said, "I did not exist then, and why do you ask me such a
question?" But Job very well understood that there must be something in
the pre-existence of man, or the Lord would never have put such a question to
him. The very question itself implied the pre-existence of Job at the time the
foundations of the earth were laid, and it also implied a knowledge on the part
of all the sons of God of the objects of the creations of this world; for if
they had had no such knowledge, why should they have joined together in singing
the songs of heaven on account of it? Well, then, we have come to the point,
namely, that we did exist in the image and likeness of God before the
foundations of the world were laid, and this is what is meant when the Lord
says to his only begotten Son on the sixth day of creation, "Let us make
man in our image and in our likeness, and give him dominion over the fish of
the sea, over the fowls of the air, the beasts of the earth, and over all the
earth to subdue it," and so forth. So God created man male and female. He
did not tell us all the particulars of the creation—that we were born male and
female in the spirit world, and so on, but yet there are many sayings which
indicate that such was the fact. For instance, in the books of Moses and in the
books of the New Testament we read that God is the Father of all our spirits,
that we were begotten sons and daughters unto God. The vision given in 1832 to
our Prophet, Joseph Smith, shows this matter more clearly. Besides showing the
vast number of worlds that the Lord had created, the voice of the Lord, in that
vision, declares that all the inhabitants of all those worlds were begotten
sons and daughters unto God. The Book of "Mormon" bears testimony to
the same great doctrine. You who are familiar with that book will recollect
reading in the book of Ether how that the brother of Jared fell to the earth
with fear when lie saw the finger of the Lord, after the veil fell from his
natural eyes. And the Lord spoke to him, saying, "Why hast thou
fallen?" Then the brother of Jared answered, "I saw the finger of the
Lord, and I knew not that the Lord had flesh and bones." It did resemble
flesh and bone, but he, doubtless, thought it was so in reality, whereas it was
the body of his Spirit. Then said the Lord, "I am he who was prepared from
the foundation of the world to redeem my people; I am Jesus Christ; I am the
Father and the Son, and the body which thou now beholdest is the body of my
spirit. Seest thou not that thou art created after the body of my spirit, and
all men," says Jesus to the brother of Jared, "have I created in the
beginning after the image of the body of my spirit." This, I believe, is
the only passage in the Book of "Mormon" that directly teaches the
pre-existence of man.
Well,
that body—the body of the Lord—that the brother of Jared saw, was a personal
body. It had fingers, a face, eyes, arms, hands, and all the various parts
which the human body has, so much so that he thought, it was really flesh and
bones, until he was corrected and found that it was the spirit of Jesus, that
same spirit, says Jesus, which, in the meridian of time, should come and take a
body, and die for the sins of the world. These beings, who, in the beginning,
were created after the image of the spirit of Jesus, had a probation; they had
law; they had intelligence. It was called their first estate. They were agents
there just as much as you and I are here. They could obey the law that was
given to them, or they could disobey that law. I have already alluded to a
third part of the great family, who did not keep their first estate. What
became of them? They were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels.
Jude says they were reserved in chains of darkness, until the judgment at the
great day. That was their doom; their transgressions were so great—sinning against
God the Father, whom they could behold, and against the person of his Son, whom
they could also see—disobeying the most sacred of all laws—seeking to dethrone
the Almighty, and to take the power from that Being who had begotten them, into
their own hands. For this they were thrust down, and were called Perdition, and
the heavens wept over them. I do not know how faithful the remainder of the
spirits were; that is not for me to say. I do not know whether they
transgressed any of the laws of God, or not in their first estate. If they did,
one thing I do know, and that is, that they understand about Jesus and his
atonement; for he was as a Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world,
and inasmuch as he suffered in spirit as well as in body, I do not know but his
sufferings in spirit would redeem them in their first estate as well as us who
sin here in the body. I do not pretend to say that such was the case. Suffice
to say, that the plan of redemption was known by them, and suffice it to say
again, that they were faithful enough to retain their position in their first
estate, and to have the privilege of cunning forth in this world, and taking
upon themselves tabernacles, or bodies, and having a second estate. We also
read that all who come into this world were innocent. That shows that they
never bad sinned, or if they had, that they bad been forgiven and made
innocent. Which way it was I do not know. If they had sinned and were all made
innocent through the blood of the atonement, and through the sufferings of
Jesus in the spirit, as well as in the flesh, that would prepare them to come
into this world without having any stain upon them. But if they never
transgressed the law, never went beyond its bounds, or limits, they would be
sanctified, purified, perfected, saved and be innocent by keeping the law. But
let us come down a little further. When we came forth into this world, and took
upon ourselves bodies of flesh, they were fallen bodies—subject to pain,
sickness, sorrow, mourning, trials, and finally death, or dissolution. This
death that came upon the bodies of the children of men, was brought to pass by
the transgression of one man and woman, that is, by our first parents; as it is
written, "By the transgression of one sin entered the world, and death by
sin." It matters not whether it is the little infant that dandles on the
knee that has never sinned, or the youth, the middle-aged or the old, all have
to feel this great penalty that has been inflicted upon all the posterity of
Adam by reason of his transgression.
Now,
there is a question that has often been asked of me by the Latter-day Saints,
and by those outside of this Church—"Why is it that infants, who have
never sinned, should die? Why should they be subject to death because their
father some six thousand years ago sinned and transgressed?" I answer this
by asking you a question, Why is it that children, oftentimes to the third,
fourth and fifth generation, suffer from lingering diseases here in this life,
because their forefathers were licentious, and broke the laws of life and
happiness? Why, it is hereditary, is it not? Is it just that they should
suffer, because their parents or some of their progenitors have sinned? No, it
is hereditary. Why, then, may not all the inhabitants of the world, whether in
their infancy or not, inherit death as well as these children who suffer
through diseases entailed upon them by their forefathers? Not as a matter of
justice particularly, but something that comes upon them in consequence of the
fall of man. It is handed down among them. Now, that would be a very unpleasant
condition if they were always to remain in that state. They are plunged into
slavery, as it were, by one man; hence the Redeemer steps forth and rescues
them from that slavery. When I say rescues them, I do not say that he does it
at once, before they have had a chance to know the difference between good and
evil, between the bitter and the sweet, to contrast between happiness and
misery. It is wisdom that they should suffer, even should it be from hereditary
disease, that they may gain experience. But I will tell you what he rescues
them from, by his atoning blood. He breaks the bands of death and rescues them
from the power of the grave, which, but for that, would have held the infant as
well as the middle-aged in their power eternally. There is such a thing as a
father, through his foolishness, plunging not only himself but all his children
into a slavery from which he cannot redeem himself or them, so far as their
bodies are concerned; but with Adam's children this was the case with both
their bodies and spirits, for the Book of "Mormon" says that all
mankind, through Adam's transgression, became subject not only to a temporal
death—the separation of the body and spirit, but also to a spiritual death,
eternal in its nature. If there were no atonement—no sufferings and death of
our Redeemer—no infinite atonement to rescue men from the grave, their spirits,
in consequence of the slavery entailed upon them by their first parents, could
not have been rescued from eternal death. Could they have delivered themselves?
No. They were in captivity—slavery—and their master, the devil, was there to
bind them in that slavery. Could they turn the key of the prison doors and run
back again? No! Could they say to the grave, Yield up my body and let me go
again into the presence of my Father and God? ]No; there were potent enemies
who had endless power over them had it not been for the atonement.
We are
taught in the revelations of God that Jesus suffered the pain of all men. You
will find it in the teachings of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, in the Second
Book of Nephi. "He suffered the pains of all men, women and children, says
Jacob. What was this great suffering for? That the resurrection might come unto
all men, women and children; that Jesus might have power to say to the grave
"restore those captives you have taken, behold I have redeemed all whose
bodies slumber in the grave. I have power to bring them forth by virtue of the
atonement I have made."
Could man
have redeemed himself? Could one man have shed his blood for another, and said
to the grave give up your dead? No. Why not? Because all were fallen; all were
under the dominion and power of Satan. All were spiritually dead—dead to things
pertaining to righteousness. It was universal eternal death. A being greater
than man was required to redeem him, hence Jacob says, in the passage to which
I have already referred, in relation to the atonement, "that it must be
infinite." Wherein was the Son of God infinite? In the first place, he was
begotten different from you and me. We were begotten by a mortal father, but
Jesus was begotten by an Immortal Being, his Father and God. If then his body
was begotten by that Being, do you not see that his body in that respect
differed from ours? It is true that he inherited the same as we do so far as
his mother was concerned, but on the part of the Father he was superior. Hence,
being begotten by an Infinite Being, he could do that which no other man could
do—redeem from spiritual death and the captivity of Satan. Hence it is said
that "through Jesus came life and light into the world." If it had
not been for Jesus, darkness would have reigned eternally over this creation.
Talk
about works of righteousness redeeming us without the atonement! Why the thing
is preposterous in the highest degree. Why? Because we were spiritually dead,
and can a person who is dead work righteousness? Can a person who is dead to
everything good, holy, upright and Godlike, who is in captivity to Satan, work
righteousness? Could a feast of salvation be prepared for him in that dead
state, unless there was some redemption or atonement made to bring life to the
world to impart to the human family? Light and life have come upon all men.
Jesus is that light and life; He is the light and life of all things; and by
reason of that light and life which he has purchased for us by his own blood,
you and I have the privilege of working righteousness, which we never would
have had without the atonement. We could not have done anything acceptable in
the sight of God, without his stoning blood. That is the very foundation of the
redemption of the children of men; without it, this would have been a lost and
fallen creation, and not one could have been saved.
But let
us pass on a little further. You recollect in the former part of my remarks, I
was speaking about the personality of God. Now let us come along to the plan of
redemption, and see how it is that we are exalted and brought back into the
presence of God, and become as it were, gods, then we can form some idea
concerning our Father and God. We are instructed, and we believe, that all of
us who believe in Jesus Christ, in his sufferings and death, and receive the
benefit of his atonement, will, if we remain faithful, be exalted into the
presence of that being who if our Father, and that we will be made like unto
him, and be crowned with glory, and shall have the privilege of sitting down
with the Son upon his throne, as he has overcome, and has sat down with his
Father upon his throne, and that we will become one with him, as he is one with
the Father. We believe we will be perfected, purified and cleansed in him, and
made not only the sons of God, but grow up unto him in all things, that we may
become Gods like unto our Father who begat us.
This is
consistent with analogy. Analogy shows that sons here upon the earth, grow up
and become like their parents. Why then should we set a harrier between the
sons of God, who are redeemed through the atonement, and their restoration to
the mansions where they formerly dwelt? Why should we erect obstacles, and set
a barrier so that we cannot become like him? Analogy would say at once that
when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Analogy
would say that when he shall redeem our bodies from the grave, that he will
fashion them after his own glorious body, and clothe them with power and glory,
even as He is clothed with glory and power, in the presence of his Father and
our Father and God.
But says
one, if you adopt that sentiment, then your people believe in a plurality of
gods, and we have all been taught. in the Christian world that there is but one
personal God, or rather three persons in the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. Well, these three are called one, are they not? Yes, they are called
one. Jesus prays that all his disciples may be made one, as he and the Father
are one. If ever that prayer is answered, then, in one sense of the word, there
would only be one God, but, in another sense of the word, there would not only
be three, but a great many personal beings called gods. Let us for a few
moments refer to that glorious saying in the revelations of St. John. In the
visions of eternity that were shown to John, he beheld things that were to take
place in future generations. Among other things that were shown to him, were
the one hundred and forty-four thousand, standing on Mount Zion, who had been
redeemed from among men. Who were they? Let us look at the inscription that
John says was written on their foreheads. That will tell us that the name of
their Father was written there. What was his name? God, translated into the
English language. Ahman in the pure language. The Father's name John saw
inscribed on the foreheads of the hundred and forty-four thousand who were
singing the new song before the Lord. What would you think if you were to have
the future opened to you as John had, and could see these men with the word
God, inscribed in bright and shining characters upon each of their foreheads?
Would you think that God was making fun of them by putting such an inscription
there? Would you suppose the inscription was a mere form without any meaning?
No: every man permitted to see these things would at once say, "they are
gods having been redeemed, and made like their Father." This is what we
believe. Then, when we come to personality, we not only believe in our personal
Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, as personages, but we
also believe that in the eternity of eternities, in the heaven of heavens there
will be innumerable millions of persons who will occupy that exalted
station—each one being a personal god, as much so as the God of this
creation—the Father of our spirits is.
If time
permitted, we might bring up the revelations of heaven, given in these days as
well as anciently, in regard to the representations which God has given of
Himself, not only representing himself by his person, but also by his
attributes. But this is a subject upon which we do not feel to dwell at this
time. Suffice it to say, that God has said that he is light and truth; that he
is a spirit: that he dwells in tabernacles and temples, and so forth. I do not
know, but that in my teachings in years past, where teaching upon these two
distinct subjects, I may have left an impression upon the minds of the people
that I never intended to convey in reference to the qualities, perfections,
glories and attributes of these personages, for attributes always do pertain to
substances, you can not separate one from the other. Attribute can not exist
without substance; everywhere it shows its bearing and relation to substance
and person, and if in any of my preaching or teachings I have ever conveyed the
impression that attributes could exist separate and apart from substances I
never intended to do so. I do not know that I have ever declared any such in my
writings. I have said that God is love, and that he is truth because the
revelations say so. I have said that he oftentimes represents himself by his attributes.
The same as when he says I am in you; but he does not mean that his person, his
flesh and bones are in us. When Jesus says I am in the Father, he does not mean
that his person is in the Father. What does he mean? He means that the same
attributes that dwell in his own person also dwell in the person of the other.
I think I have heard this doctrine taught from the commencement, by the
authorities of this Church, and I think it is taught, more or less, now, almost
every Sabbath day. We are exhorted to develop and perfect those attributes of
God that dwell within us in embryo, that we may more and more approximate to
that high state of perfection that exists in the Father and the Son.
Attributes
belong, in all cases, in this and all other worlds, to personages and
substances, and without personages and substances, they cannot exist.
In the
"Kingdom of God," published in October, 1848, I have set forth the
personality of the Father and the Son, and the glorious attributes that pertain
to each. And again in many of my writings, to which I might refer, and could
perhaps give the page, I have taught the same thing, and my views to-day
concerning this matter are just the same as they were then, and then the same
as they are now; only I think, by searching more fully, I have progressed and
obtained some further light and information more than I had twenty or
twenty-five years ago. I do not know, that, in my remarks this morning,
concerning the atonement, and the personalities and glorious attributes of God,
I have varied in my views from those of the rest of the authorities of the
Church. If I have I hope they will correct me and tell me wherein I am wrong,
for it is my desire, and ever has been, to go in accordance with the
revelations of heaven, to abide in the word of God, and to have that word abide
in me.
We are
taught that the words of truth have power. The word of God we are commanded to
live by. In one of the revelations we are taught and commanded that we shall
live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, for says the revelation
"the word of God is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and
whatsoever is light is spirit, even the spirit of Jesus Christ, and the spirit
gives light to every man that comes into the world, and the spirit directs
every man through the world who will hearken to it; and he that hearkens to the
voice of the spirit comes to God, even the Father, and he teaches him of the
covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not
for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world."
Now, I
want to abide in that. If the word of the Lord is truth, and whatever is truth
is light, and whatever is light is spirit, I want to embrace it, and hold fast
to it. Again, he says, when giving a revelation to the servants of God:
"That which you hear is the voice of one crying in the wilderness? In the
wilderness because you cannot see him. My voice because my voice is spirit, and
my spirit is truth, and truth abides forever and has no end." I desire to
abide in it for ever and ever. Amen.
President B. Young expressed himself satisfied with the remarks of Elder Pratt on the subjects of the personality of God and the atonement; but said that he objected to anyone saying what the Latter-day Saints believed, for though he himself could tell what they should believe, many of them believe many things which they should not.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder Charles C. Rich.
[7 Oct, 10 am]
[MS 29:753]
Monday Forenoon, Oct 7th
The severe rain storm during the preceding night told upon the audience this morning. The Tabernacle was probably not more than three parts occupied. The noticeable portions of the absent were the very young, and the quiet of the audience was much improved. It seemed from this, and also from the change in the weather, that the speakers were better heard throughout the entire building. It will probably be our experience yet, that when the audience is as still as it always should be, it will require very little, if any change, to make it a very easy place to speak in, especially after the speakers have themselves become familiar with the building, and the government of their voices to the situation of the audience.
At the opening, the Tabernacle choir sang, "Praise ye the Lord."
Prayer was offered by Elder John Taylor.
The Payson choir sang, "Hark the song of Jubilee."
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt delivered a lengthy discourse upon the personality of God, showing that the God worshiped by the Latter-day Saints is a material being, as set forth in the bible, and not the immaterial being, without "body, parts, and passions," as worshiped by the various sects of the Christian world.
Some observations were made by brother Pratt in reference to peculiar views that it was generally understood were entertained by him touching the Godhead. As the subject has been long and much spoken of, we feel that we are really incapable of setting it forth in a brief summary, and therefore leave it to another time.
[President Young]
President Young followed on the same subject, and made some very excellent remarks, instructing the Elders to confine their teachings and instructions to what they knew to be in every particular correct in principle.
The Tabernacle choir sang the anthem, "Daughter of Zion."
Dismissed by Elder C. C. Rich
_____
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 2]
Singing by the S. S. and P. choirs. Prayer by Elder Ezra T. Benson. Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[Pres. B. Young]
Pres. B. Young said he would give a few texts for the brethren to preach to during conference. One is, a subscription to sustain the Perpetual Emigration Fund. Another is, to teach our children, and to instruct them in the ways of the Lord; mothers should teach them to pray; the Bible, Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the revelations of God, and the discourses of the Elders should be read in schools and studied at home. The Deseret Alphabet should be studied, that our young might advance more rapidly in the knowledge of every science. Our young ladies should be taught business, to employ their time usefully in light and profitable labor; not as in many places in the world where many of the women have to do the heaviest kinds of labor, while stout, strong men are engaged in the lightest kinds of employment, such as measuring ribbons, waiting in stores, keeping books, &c. Five hundred teams are wanted immediately from some of the neighboring counties to haul three loads of rock each from the mouth of little Cottonwood. A number of young men and middle aged ones are wanted to go south to make farms, raise cattle, and make themselves comfortable homes. He advised the young men to marry before starting; and urged the importance of marriage upon those who do not seem to realize their responsibilities concerning it. He introduced the subject of preserving our natural lives, by studying temperance in food, and seeking to preserve our lives by the kind and quality of food we eat and the manner in which it is prepared. He urged the people to adopt a wise and rational style of living, that all might be benefited. He requested short sermons, and instructed all the Elders of Israel in their teachings, to teach only that which they understood.
Singing by Elder Fishburne's choir.
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor touched upon the comprehensiveness of the gospel, showing that our every day acts are circumscribed by it, and are, or ought to be, a part of our religion. He dwelt upon the difference between savage and civilized man, remarking the distinction made between by education. We, as a people are under the direction of the Lord who has told us to seek wisdom from all good books. President Young has given us texts, and in them is the word of the Lord to the people. He urged the people to cultivate and improve their minds, and seek to increase in intelligence and unity; adding that the prosperity of this people is owing to the wisdom which the Lord has made manifest through His servants in guiding them, and in the union which exists among them.
[John Taylor]
[DNW 17:82, 4/22/68, p 2-3]
DISCOURSE
By Elder JOHN TAYLOR,delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake
City, October 7th, 1867.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
In rising
to address you, I do not know whether I shall be able to make myself heard or
not, but I will do the best I can. We are met here in, what is termed, a
conference capacity. We have assembled under more pleasant auspices than we
have formerly enjoyed on similar occasions; and we have reason to be grateful
to God, our heavenly Father, for putting it into the heart of our President to
build a house like this; and then, we have reason to be grateful to the people
for carrying out his wishes and designs. In this is exhibited the blessing of
wisdom from on high and the power of union among the people of God.
I have
listened to a great many propositions, or principles, that the President desires
the Elders of Israel to speak about; and the people to listen to, and carry
out. If we as a people were all under the influence and direction of the Spirit
of the Lord, all these things would be simple and easy to accomplish; and it is
only when there is discord, and feelings at variance with the principles of
truth, that we experience anything like hardship in relation to the practice of
these or any of our duties.
We
profess to be the people of God; the Saints of the Most High; under the
guidance and direction of the almighty; we profess to have chosen Him for our
king, ruler and lawgiver; and having chosen Him for our Head, Guide and
Director, is it too much to ask of us to yield obedience unto His law; to
submit to His authority; to be governed by His counsel; to follow His dictation
and to seek to carry out His purposes and designs, in relation to us who are
His professed people? We are indebted to God for all the light, truth and
intelligence that we are in possession of; whether it relates to the gospel,
or, to anything else that has been developed in our midst. In fact the gospel
itself embraces all truth, pertaining to this world, and tot he world that is
to come. We are standing here as intelligent men; as Elders of Israel; as sons
of the Most High, whose minds and spirits, have been enlightened and inspired,
more or less, according to our faithfulness and diligence, with the light of
revelation that flows from God; and when we reflect we must know that, as it
took the wisdom and intelligence of God to enlighten the human mind,
preparatory to the introduction of the first principles of the gospel of peace
and to set in operation the kingdom of God upon the earth, that it necessarily
requires the same spirit, intelligence, wisdom, forethought, revelation and
knowledge of things as they exist, to carry on and perfect this kingdom upon
the earth. And however interesting it may be for us to dwell upon things that
are light, trifling and visionary; however pleasant it may be for us to dwell,
sometimes, upon the things of the future and the glory that is associated with
the perfection of the kingdom of God; yet to every man of intelligence and
reflection, it must be obvious that there are a great many plain, practical
matters of fact to be brought before our minds, which enter into the every day
affairs of human existence that we, as heads of families, as presidents,
apostles; as elders in Israel and as bishops over Wards, can not consistently
ignore; but which we must carry out if we would rice to that standard of
excellence that we sometimes desire, and be prepared for that exaltation which
we anticipate.
In regard
to the principles of education to which our attention has been called by our
President; I would ask what is the difference between what are called the
civilized and the savage nations of the earth? 'All the differences that exists
is the result of education. When we look at the red man of the forest what do
we behold? We see a man who is able only to obtain his living by hunting or
fishing, or by digging the roots as they grow spontaneously in the ground. What
is the range of his thought or intelligence? How expansive are his ideas? If he
can obtain a good hunting ground and find plenty of elk, buffalo, deer and
antelope, he has reached the climax of his hopes. That is all he anticipates.
Does he know how to gather around him the comforts of life} No. Does he know
how to make the earth yield its varied productions to satisfy the wants of man?
No. Does he know how to make a wagon, cart, plow, harrow, or some of the most
simple things in existence to supply the wants of man? No. Does he know how to
fabricate cloth, to keep himself warm? No. He has to depend upon the skins of
beasts that range over the plains. Does he know how to prepare a building to
screen himself and family from the inclemency of the weather? No, he knows
nothing about these simple things; to say nothing about railroads, steamboats,
electric telegraphs, the geography of the earth and a knowledge of the people
who live upon it, or anything in relation to the earth or the heavens. He is
perfectly ignorant of these things; and just in proportion as men are correctly
educated, so are they prepared, in connection with the gospel of Jesus Christ,
to fulfil the measure of their creation on the earth. To do this correctly,
education and the gospel necessarily go together. It is said that knowledge is
power, and this is true whether applied mentally or physically. You take, for
instance, a man who has been well educated; that education teaches him the
nature of the earth he lives upon, the qualities of its soils and productions,
the properties of the ores within its bosom, how to reduce, amalgamate and mix
those ores; his education teaches him how to combine iron when it is manufactured,
with other materials; and by study, reflection and forethought he is enabled to
make his boilers and engines, and to construct his boat or locomotive
correctly. And when his machine is made, he, by the knowledge education
furnishes, can traverse the mighty ocean and thus go to any part of the earth
he may wish to visit. We will compare the condition of the civilized educated
man with the Indians -- the red man of the plains. How much can an Indian
carry? Perhaps one or two hundred pounds weight. How much can an educated man
carry? From one to twenty thousand tons, and move it about just at his will and
pleasure. There, then, is a contrast between education and ignorance, between
wisdom and folly, learning and brute force. Many examples of a like character
might be adduced; but time will not permit; neither have I the inclination on
the present occasion. I merely mention this as one great fact for men to
reflect upon, that they man understand the difference between ignorance and
knowledge.
Now, we
as a community are under this direction of the Lord. The Lord has said to us
"seek wisdom both by study and by faith." Seek for wisdom as you
would for hidden treasures, and get acquainted with the history of nations,
kingdoms and governments, their laws and usages, and so forth.
President
Young has said that we, as a people, have been tossed about, driven from place
to place, and have not been in a position to acquire the intelligence that we
ought to possess in consequence of these unpropitious circumstances; but now we
must begin to pay attention to these things, and here comes the word of the
Lord to us; for I receive these sayings as the word of God to His people, in
Conference assembled. I know it is much easier for men to sit down by the
fireside and chat, or to go to some amusement to idle away their time than to
bring the faculties of their minds into operation. I know that there is a great
deal of mental indolence among this people; and their energies need rousing
that they may stand forth upon the earth as beings of intelligence. The
advancement and prosperity of this people to-day show what can be done, by
united effort, when under the guidance of the revelations of God. We came here
shattered, torn, barefoot and poor, yet the Lord has blessed us with wealth,
prosperity and abundance. While the nation from which we came has been
convulsed from centre to circumference with civil war, and is yet laboring
under its deadly throes, the Lord by His wisdom has guided, directed,
instructed and preserved us, and we have peace and prosperity in our midst. The
Lord has done all this through His servants, and we give Him all the glory for
all the blessings we possess. With regard to these things now required of us,
do we wish year after year to be dandied on the knee like babies; do we need
somebody all the time to lead out and point us to every little path we should
walk in? or shall we use the wisdom, faculties and intelligence that God has
given us, to elevate and exalt ourselves? How easy it would be for our young
men, here, in this Territory, to obtain education! I know there are steps being
taken to effect this to a certain extent; but not so generally and extensively
as they should be. A man who is educated ought to consider it an honor to train
up the youth in the way they should go, and, according to the old saying,
"teach the young idea how to shoot." The teacher of youth ought to
pray for the spirit of wisdom and intelligence from on high, just as much as an
elder who goes to preach the gospel; and then such a man ought to be sustained
in his calling just as much as any other men in anything which they embark in.
What is there to prevent our young men from being as intelligent and having
minds as expansive, conceptions as just, ideas as clear and comprehensive in
relation to the general principles of knowledge as men have in any other
nation? Nothing. I was pleased with a remark made by the President, the other
day, when referring to a saying of Hepworth Dixon, that this people had been
taken from the slough of mankind. If we have, then let us exalt ourselves until
we shall stand as much above the nations of the earth as they think we are
below them. We have already done it in religious matters, let us go to work and
do so with regard to the arts, sciences, literature and every branch of
knowledge. Why should we not be acquainted with the earth on which we live, its
mountains, rivers, seas, oceans, its peoples and their governments? Why should
we not be acquainted with its mineral resources, and know how to develop these
resources and make them subserve our interests as much as any other people? Why
should we not be as well skilled in machinery, manufactures, botany, chemistry,
astronomy, mathematics, horticulture, agriculture, law, equity, government and in
all the arts and sciences as others? We can if we only think so and set about
it. We do not want to cringe and bow and be subservient to any other people;
nor to be under the necessity of securing from them any earthly intelligence;
but we went to be as high above them, in all other respects, as we are now in
regard to religion and a knowledge of our God. This we are aiming at; this we
shall accomplish; for we will study their intelligence and seek wisdom from
God, who is the fountain of all intelligence.
I am
reminded that time is hastening on, and the motto is "short sermons,"
which I do not wish to violate. but it would please me to see these things that
have been referred to, accomplished.
In the
matter of building this Tabernacle, what has a little unity not accomplished?
The President wants us to gather five hundred teams, each one to haul three
loads of rock. Why, that is only a breakfast spell for us, and yet that would
furnish fifteen hundred loads of rock to forward the building of the Temple. Are
we all interested in it? Of course we are. Will any faithful man hold back in
this matter? No. The people will do it. That is how I feel about it. This
people have sufficient energy to accomplish things of this kind when they set
about them. This can easily be accomplished, and then when the Temple is built
we shall have another monument of the power of union, and we shall be able to
accomplish our spiritual designs. first the temporal, then the spiritual, and
then again that which is temporal. We have built a house here by combined
labor, and now we will be spiritually instructed in it, and then we will derive
temporal blessings from these spiritual instructions, and thus we will go on
increasing in knowledge and intelligence and in the ways of God until we shall
accomplish His designs; and as God is our friend and has manifested Himself to
be our friend, we will be the friends of God and will serve Him, keep His
commandments and obey His laws that we may be saved in His celestial kingdom,
which is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder George Q. Cannon then read the names of the following missionaries, selected to go and strengthen the southern settlements:
Thurston
Simpson, Samuel Riter, Oscar B. Young, E. M. Weiler, Alma Cunningham, George B.
Spencer, George W. Grant, Isaac Young;, John C. Young;, Charles Alley, Oliver
Free, George Milam, Miles P. Romney, William Gibson, David Gibson, Geo. D.
Watt, jr., Orson P. Miles, E. H. Harrington, Zabriskie Young, Jn Whitney, E. G.
Woolley, Edwin D. Woolley, jr., Robert N. Russel, Edwin Frost, Morris
Wilkinson, Joseph H. Felt, Moroni Reese, Ashton Nebeker, Guileilmo G. R. San
Giovanni, Wilford Woodruff, jr., Charles Jabez Toone, Clements R. Horsley, John
Sharp, jr., Daniel McRae, Israel Barlow, jr., Milton H. Davis, Ward E. Pack,
Joseph A. Peck, W. J. F. McAllister, Hyrum P. Folson, Chas. Crisman, jr., Chas.
E. Taylor, Willis Darwin Fuller, Revilo Fuller, Edward A. Stevenson, Levi
Stewart, jun., Joseph U. Eldredge, Helaman Pratt, Geo. J. Taylor, Edmund Ellsworth,
jr., David R. Lewis, Robert Watson, jr., Matthew Lyon, Richard S. Horne, John
Wood, ______ Wood, Wm. T. Cromer, John F. Cahoon, Wm. M. Cahoon, Albert
Merrill, jun., Clarence Merrill, Franklin Merrill, Jos. Kesler, Ephraim Scott,
Robert Smithies, Emerson D. Shurtleff, Harrison T. Shurtleff, Samuel A.
Woolley, Samuel H. Hill, George Stringham, Benjamin J. Stringham, Nathaniel
Ashby, Richard H. Ashby, John Reese, Wm. Calder, Jos. Hyde, Albert Dewey,
Joseph S. Murdock, Samuel Hamer, John S. Haslam, Joseph E. S. Russell, John G.
Clark, Samuel Malin, Charles J. Lambert, John Eardley, Samuel F. Atwood, Manly
Barrows, Richard Morris, David Milne, Jos. Asay, Sen., Edwin, Isaac and Joseph
Asay, junr. Henry George, Christopher Hurlbert, _____ McConnel, David O. Rideout,
William H. Staker, Andrew Taysum, John Paul, Wm. H. Seegmiller, Adam F.
Seegmiller, Aaron Nelson, Peter Beckstrom, Pleasant S. Bradford.
Elder John D. T. McAllister sang "Away, away to the mountain dell."
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
Elder Wilford Woodruff spoke of the blessings we have enjoyed through being gathered and said we should do all that is in our power to help those to gather who are still among the nations. He spoke of education, and said he believed education begins when the spirit of life from the Lord enters the tabernacle of flesh, through the faith and obedience, or rebellion of their mothers. The power of example in training children is very great; and both fathers and mothers should seek to set before their children an example worthy of being patterned after. Wives should sustain their husbands and their authority in their families; and all should work together to do the will of God. He urged an exertion to be made on the Temple, that the blessings to be received there by the people might be enjoyed by them. He encouraged the young to marry and fulfil the measure of their creation; advised all to save up wheat; and, while he encouraged industry, he advocated wisdom in eating and working, and the keeping of the Word of Wisdom.
[Wilford Woodruff]
[DNW 16:411, 2/5/68, p 2]
REMARKS
By Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Tabernacle, G.
S. L. City, Oct. 7th, 1867.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
Yesterday
morning when I came into this tabernacle it was some little time before I could
tell whether what I saw was in vision, or whether it was real and literal; but
I soon became thoroughly convinced that I was in the tabernacle of the Lord
built here in the mountains, and saw before me some ten or twelve thousand
Latter-day Saints.
I have
been interested in the counsels and instructions which we have received here in
this house, and when we, as elders, have texts given us to preach from I feel
that we, in a measure, are bound to confine ourselves to those texts. In the
few remarks that I may make I wish to speak upon them.
The first
text was the emigration. We have been gathered together by the gospel of Jesus
Christ. We have partaken of its blessings, and as far as lies in our power we
should extend those blessings to our brethren and sisters abroad. It is our
duty to do all we can to assist in emigrating the poor from the nations of the
earth, for the Lord requires it at our hands.
The
second text was the education of our children. The subject was addressed to
mothers; it applies also to the fathers. This is a subject of vast importance
to the Latter-day Saints. If any one were to ask me when the education of our
children begins; I will not tell you what you believe, but I will tell you what
I believe -- I believe that education begins when the spirit of life enters the
tabernacle of the child. That is the way I view it. If the mother has the
spirit of God upon her, when she prays and calls upon the Lord for his
blessing, I believe that that power and spirit affects her child, and will do
so until the day of its birth, and will affect it from that time henceforth and
forever. While the mother lives her influence, example, and teachings will
affect her child through life. If she teaches her child virtue, honesty and
righteous principles, if she teaches him to pray, these teachings will have
their effect upon him through life. If parents know the effect of their example
on their children, we should many times do very different from what we do. When
a father gives counsel to is wives and children about anything he desires done
about his place, his orchard, his garden or farm, and the wife teaches her
children to obey their father, that has its effect upon the children -- they
work together. But let the mother, as soon as the father's back is turned say
to her children "your father is gone and you may go and pick those apples
or grapes, or you may go and gather this, that and the other, your father will
not know anything about it, and it will be all right," she sets a very bad
example before her children, she teaches them to steal and to take an evil
course; but let the mother carry out the counsels of the father, and they both
work together in teaching their children righteous principles, and their
children will grow up having learned to obey their parents. Mothers in Israel
should remember that unless they do their best to carry out the counsels of the
head of the family, they set a bad example before the children and take a
course that the Lord will not approve and bless; but let them be one with their
husbands in carrying out his counsels and the Lord will bless them and their
children. Many a time, when in the vision of my mind, I contemplate the great
duties and responsibilities that will yet rest on the rising generation among
the Latter-day Saints, I feel that we as parents are too slow in our duties
towards our children. No better legacy can we bestow upon them than to teach
them every truth which we ourselves are in possession of; then they will honor
us, honor the priesthood, magnify their callings, and carry out the great
purposes of our God.
The next
subject referred to by the President was the call for a certain number of teams
to haul rock for the temple. I need not say much in relation to this. The
people have built this tabernacle, and we have got to build the temple. If the
inhabitants of Zion felt the lack, weight and blessings of the most high God
that are within their reach, there is not a man in Israel who would refuse for
one moment to do anything in his power to further the building of the temple.
God designs to bestow the blessings of heaven upon the Latter-day Saints. There
are very few in Israel who have received the fulness of the blessings of the
kingdom of God, while there are thousands, probably, who are worthy to receive
them. We must have a temple in order to bestow these blessings.
The next
text was some young men were called to go south to strengthen the southern
country. This is all right, they may just as well go there as anywhere else.
When we received this gospel we entered into covenant to obey the Lord. We then
received a mission that will never close as long as we dwell in the flesh
whether we go east, west, north or south. We are fulfilling that mission
whether we go to England or to Dixie; it is all the same as long as we are
under the dictation of the holy priesthood. Then let us fulfil all missions and
comply with all calls made upon us.
The next
pleasing text given was for the young men and maidens to marry. I want to say a
few words to the young ladies. A great many men are called south. They are
required by the Holy Priesthood to marry. Now, when these young men ask you
young ladies to marry them, do not ask them how rich they are, or how much gold
and silver they have; but let the question with you be, are they good, are they
virtuous, are they Latter-day Saints, are they obeying counsel and trying to do
what is required of them., If they are doing this, you should not require the
young men in Israel to be worth ten thousand dollars in gold, nor a dozen
carriages; and any father or mother who throws obstacles in the way of the
young folks being married through such considerations does not do right. Let
them fulfil the commandments. You may ask them if they have three straw beds
all but the ticks, and if the young men possess them, then marry them.
The next
text was to lay up your wheat. I do not want to say much about this. The army
of our God that has gone through this territory and which is about to visit the
nations of the earth will soon teach us this lesson. We certainly should begin
to feel the importance of carrying out this counsel. It has been given to us
for years and years past and gone.
The next
text presented by President Young was upon the necessity of learning and
observing the laws of health. I may say this is of vast importance. I do not
feel that I am particularly qualified to teach you on this principle; but I am
satisfied that if we will keep the Word of Wisdom, be temperate in our lives
and be faithful before the Lord that we shall have more of the Spirit of the
Lord, and may considerably prolong our lives. It is a maxim with President
Young -- and I believe it is true -- that a man should not teach what he does
not practice. We are intemperate in many things. We are intemperate in labor as
well as many other things. I have been intemperate in this myself. I have seen
so much to do in the world, so much around me that I felt ought to be done to
save things from going to waste, that many times I have felt that I have done
wrong in laboring so hard. I do not know however, but that it is better to wear
out than to rust out. I would far sooner see a man labor hard than see him a
lazy vagabond depending upon the exertions of others for his livelihood. The
Word of Wisdom covers a great deal of ground and I am satisfied that the day
will come when we shall change in a great many things in our manner of life,
and shall more properly appreciate teachings on this subject than we do now.
The last
text given was for the elders to preach only what they know. This is good
counsel, and as long as we keep within the bounds of this rule, we will always
be right. I never had more of the spirit of God in my life than when teaching
the first principles of the gospel, and bearing testimony to the inhabitants of
the earth that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon
was true, and that the first principles of the gospel, as revealed through him,
were the plan of life and salvation. Whenever we, the Elders of Israel, go
beyond these limits we are in the swamp, we do not know where we are nor where
we are going; but as long as we keep within the limits of our knowledge --
within what we know and have been taught us by the Holy Spirit, we are safe and
we will be saved with full salvation, even so: Amen.
Song, "Fair Lilly of the Vale," by the Spanish Fork Choir.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith urged the claims of the poor Saints yet in the nations of the earth, who have contributed freely of their limited means to the sustenance of the elders and the spread of the work; and, after stating that there is nearly a million of dollars owing to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, he said that those who are in debt to this fund, should make it their first solemn duty to pay their indebtedness to it. He called upon persons who have borrowed means from or made promises to those who are still in the old world, to pay the means they have borrowed, and keep the promises they have made; that the Saints there may be relieved from bondage, and be enabled to realize that they are remembered by their friends and the Saints in Zion.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 17:34, 3/11/68, p 2; JD 12:175]
REMARKS
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, delivered in the Tabernacle, G.
S. L. City, October 7th, 1867.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
There
are, at the present time, in Great Britain ten or twelve thousand Saints, some
of whom have been members of the Church for twenty or twenty-five years. They
have contributed of their scanty means to feed the Elders and to help to
emigrate their brethren and sisters, and in many cases many of them have gone
without their meals and beds to make the Elders comfortable, and now they are
without the means to gather with the Saints here in the mountains.
There are
a great many brethren, probably some are here to-day, who, in years past, have
been assisted to this country by the Perpetual Emigration Fond, to which fund
there is now due from individuals assisted about nine hundred thousand dollars.
I wish to call the attention of this class of individuals to the condition of
the poor Saints abroad. There are many Saints here who, before gathering home,
have said to their brethren and sisters in the old world—"When we get to
Zion, if God blesses us, we will remember you and do the best we can to aid you
to emigrate." A great many persons have failed to keep their promise, and
their friends back feel that they are forgotten and neglected. In many
instances, no doubt, Elders while on missions have promised to assist those who
have treated them with kindness and divided their morsel with them. I want to
bring these things to the consideration of all our brethren. They should
remember that our brethren and sisters in the old countries labor under the
disadvantage of the prejudice against Mormonism. Employers and business men,
who are under the influence of the priests of the day, are unwilling to extend
the same kindness and facilities for labor to the Latter-day Saints that they
do to other persons. Besides these disadvantages, many of our brethren there
have to work for a shilling, eighteen pence, or two shillings a day, as the
case may be, and out of this have to pay house rent, buy fuel, clothing, and
every necessary of life for their families, and in some cases, perhaps, they
have a sick father or mother to sustain out of their mere pittance, which is
barely enough to keep life in their bodies. Our brethren, who have had the
benefit of the emigration fund, should remember that their first duty, to God
and themselves, is to liquidate these liabilities with the very first, means
they acquire after their arrival here; and that if they go on accumulating
cattle, horses, houses, and lands, and these debts remain unpaid, they are
robbing the poor and the needy. This is a matter about which the brethren
should not feel neglectful or careless. Those who will come forward and
honorably discharge their liabilities to the Perpetual Emigration Fund will be
blessed in their substance and in their efforts. And you must remember that
while you are doing this you are acquiring experience and gaining information
that will make you more successful hereafter.
My desire
is that, when the Elders go from this Conference, that they should light a fire
in the breast of every person who has liabilities of this kind. Let every man
in Israel, whom God has blessed, be alive and awake to this matter, and respond
to the call the President has made for contributions to the Perpetual
Emigration Fund.
I
understand that over there, there are hundreds. of sisters who are determined
to remain single until they reach Zion, and there are men in our midst, and
some of them in debt to the Perpetual Emigration Fund, who are able to send for
a dozen or two of these sisters; they ought to bring them to this country and
place them where they can marry according to their wishes. May the blessings of
heaven be upon us that we may be able to gather all our brethren and sisters
from the old world.
I appeal
to the sons and daughters of Zion to be awake to this subject. Amen.
Singing "My own home, Deseret," by Elder Fishburne's choir.
Elder G. Q. Cannon then read the four following names of missionaries called to go south:
Seipto
A. Kenner; George Tribe; Alfred Randall, Jun., and Smith Thurston
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder George A. Smith.
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[MS 29:754-755]
Afternoon.
The Spanish Fork choir sang, "Arise, my soul, arise."
Elder E. T. Benson offered prayer.
Tabernacle choir sang the anthem, "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord."
[President Young]
President young said that they had no idea when Conference would terminate, but they would, he expected, have to continue their assemblies unusually long; and, to hear all those who had to speak, he would ask for short sermons. He furnished the following texts, on which he would expect the Elders to speak: --
1st. The opening of a subscription list in aid of the Perpetual Emigration Fund.
2nd. To teach our children the ways of the Lord in their youth, and to introduce into our schools the bible, book of Mormon, Book of doctrine and Covenants; also phonetics.
3rd. The young ladies to study arithmetic, book-keeping, and other branches of education necessary to qualify them for business -- attending in stores, operating in the telegraph offices, and so to let the men now attending to such things go to the kanyon, build houses, make farms, and prepare themselves for sustaining wives and children.
4th. Five hundred teams were wanted immediately after Conference to haul three loads of rock each, from Little Cottonwood, for the Temple.
5th. The best method of prolonging the present life; the manner of living frugally and temperately.
[Elder Taylor]
Elder Taylor expressed his gratification at the completion of the Tabernacle thus far, and spoke of the united labors of the Saints, and what they had accomplished. He alluded to the work of a receipt book-maker who had devoted a chapter to "Mormonism" in his "New America," in which that writer had stated that the "Mormons' had been gathered from the refuse and dregs f society. He challenged the world to the comparison. He looked upon a virtuous, industrious, God-loving people, that the world had never before witnessed -- and their labors in these mountains and valleys were the evidences of their worth. They would yet show to the world by their good works, hat they were as far above their traducers and vilifiers as the heavens are high above the earth. The Latter-day Saints were no slaves. They never would degrade themselves mentally, socially, or religiously, but rise above the follies and vices of the world, till they basked in the sunshine of eternal light and glory.
The Fishburn choir sang, "Hard times come again no more."
The following persons were selected to go on a mission to the southern part of the Territory: --
Thurston
Simpson, Samuel Riter, Oscar B. Young, ______. Weiler, Alma Cunningham, George
B. Spencer, George W. Grant, Isaac Young, John C. Young;, Charles Alley, Oliver
Free, George Milam, Miles Romney, Wm. Gibson, David Gibson, Geo. D. Watt, jun.,
Orson P. Miles, E. H. Harrington, Zabriskie Young, John K. Whitney, E. G.
Woolley, Edwin Woolley, jun., Robert Russel, Edwin Frost, Morris Wilkinson,
Joseph Felt, Moroni Reese, Ashton Nebeker, Guileilmo San Giovanni, Wilford
Woodruff, jun., Henry Toone, Clement Horsley, John Sharp, jun., Daniel McRae,
Israel Barlow, jun., Milton Davis, Ward E. Pack, Joseph Peck, W. J. F.
McAllister, Hyrum Folson, Conrad Wilkinson, Chas. Crisman, jr., Charles Taylor,
jun., Willis Darwin Fuller, Revilo Fuller, Edward Stevenson, jun., ______
Stewart, Joseph Eldredge, Helaman Pratt, Geo. J. Taylor, Edmund Ellsworth,
jun., David Lewis, Robert Watson, jun., Matthew Lyon, Richard Horne, John Wood,
______ Wood, William. T. Cromer, John F. Cahoon, William Cahoon, Albert
Merrill, Clarence Merrill, Franklin Merrill, Joseph Kesler, Ephraim Scott,
Robert Smithies, Emerson Shurtleff, Harrison Shurtleff, Samuel A. Woolley,
jun., Samuel H. Hill, George Stringham, Benjamin Stringham, Nathaniel Ashby,
Richard Ashby, John Reese, William Calder, Joseph Hyde, A. F. Dewey, Joseph S.
Murdock, Samuel Hamer, John Haslam, Joseph Russell, John G. Clark, Samuel
Malin, David Lewis, Charles J. Lambert, John Eardley, Samuel Atwood, Manly
Barrows, Richard Morris (grocer), ______ Millen (painter), Joseph Asay, and 3
sons, Henry George, ______ Hulbert, _____ McConnel (blacksmith), David Rideout,
______Staker, Sugar House Ward, Andrew Taysum, John Paul, William Seegmiller, Adam
Seegmiller, Aaron Nelson, Peter Beckstrom, Pleasant Bradford, Scipio A. Kenner,
George Tribe, Alfred Randall, jun., Smith Thurston.
Elder J. D. T. McAllister sang "The Mountain Dell."
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
Elder Wilford Woodruff expressed the pleasure he experienced in meeting with the Saints in such a building, and made brief remarks on the texts that had been read. His instructions were very excellent.
A few members of the three choirs sang, "The Lily of the Vale,"
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith spoke very pointedly on the obligations resting upon those who had been assisted by the Perpetual Emigration Fund, to be prompt in paying their indebtedness, and assisting those left in the old world who were unable to help themselves. It was the duty of the Saints to aid the poor. He made a powerful appeal in their behalf.
The Fishburn choir sang, "My own land, Deseret."
The Tabernacle choir sang, "Re ransomed of the Lord."
Dismissed by Elder Geo. A. Smith.
_____
[8 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 2]
Tuesday, 8th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the S. S. and P. choirs. Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow. Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson treated on the importance of our every-day duties. We believe differently from other people; we believe in and feel that we must obey the revelations of God; and we know that the counsel of God through His servants to us is given for our good, and it will result in blessing to us if we obey it. He referred to the word of the Lord to us, that we should adorn ourselves with the workmanship of our own hands; and asked if the Latter-day Saints were faithfully fulfilling that revelation. He urged the subject upon the people. He said the subject had more weight with him since the recent visit of President Young and company to the northern settlements; and exhorted the people to unite in their exertions for this purpose and see what they can do in home manufactures in one year from this date.
"The Mountain Brave" was sung by Elder Fishburne's choir.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young expressed his gratification at the Saints having kept the Word of Wisdom so closely during the past summer; and encouraged them to continue in observing it. It is wisdom for us not to drink liquor, tea and coffee, and to let tobacco alone. If there are any cases where a cup of tea or a little tobacco will do good he would not object to their being taken; but who is to be the judge of when they will do good. He was satisfied that where the least lenity is given, there would be a disposition to treat resolution. Some seem to think that this thing will soon die away, and that the people will return to the use of tea, coffee, tobacco and liquor. He would say that if any of the elders of Israel would treat this counsel lightly, he would promise them that the curse of God would be upon them. It is required of the Latter-day Saints that they keep the Word of Wisdom; and if they trifle with this thing they will be sorry for it.
Elder W. C. Dunbar sang "Oh Zion, dear Zion."
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow said the revelation called the Word of Wisdom had been before the people for over thirty years; and he was satisfied that the words of President Young on the subject were promptings from on High and given by inspiration of God. He urged the Bishops and elders to teach it, and teach it wisely, not to the exclusion of every other principle; but to exercise a healthy influence in its favor. He spoke of marriage, and said that those young men and women who are faithful to their duties, prayerful and diligent in seeking to live according to the gospel, do not need any urging to fulfil this great command; nor will they be found associating with the ungodly. He touched upon education showing that teachers should not only be qualified, but should have the spirit to teach. In reply to some querists who wanted to know what is the use of the southern mission, he would say, Wait a few years and you will see. We need to develop all the elements of prosperity that are around us or within our reach; and there are abundance of elements in the southern part of this Territory which we can develop to our great advantage. He spoke briefly of the condition of the southern settlements; and expressed his thankfulness at so many young men with small families being called to go there.
[Erastus Snow]
[DNW 17:34, 3/11/68, p 2; JD 12:176, 177]
REMARKS
By Elder ERASTUS SNOW, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt
Lake City, October 8th, 1867
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
I am
persuaded that the subject last referred to by President Young—the prolongation
of life and the preservation of health cannot be over-rated. This is one of the
subjects relating to our temporal welfare that received the early attention of
the Prophet Joseph, and the revelation commonly called the Word of Wisdom has
been before the people for over thirty years. I feel assured that award on this
subject kindly spoken by our President is a prompting from on high, and I
believe that every true Elder in Israel will bear witness that this is the word
of the Lord to us at this time. I exhort every Bishop and presiding Elder in
this city as well as throughout the country to lay this matter to heart as one
subject requiring their special attention. Not to make it a hobby to the
exclusion of everything else, so as to disgust the people, but in the true
spirit of the Gospel seek to bring this matter home to the hearts and understandings
of the people of their respective wards and settlements. Feel after those who
may be stupid and ignorant, who do not come to meeting, and do not receive the
spirit of this Conference. Let the Bishops and others in authority endeavor
through their teachers and otherwise to search out such individuals, and
dig round about them, and prune them that they may perchance bring forth fruit.
In
relation to matrimony—one of the texts before the Conference—perhaps there is
not so much a lack of disposition on the part of the ladies as there is on the
part of the gentlemen. The latter sometimes feel themselves unworthy or
unprepared, and in many instances, perhaps, they are so. And if you ask why
they are unprepared to assume these responsibilities as husbands and heads of
families, it is mostly because they have neglected the word of the Lord which
they have heard from this stand. They have not given their hearts to prayer
sufficiently; they have not read the scriptures and educated their spirits;
they have not drunk in the spirit of the Gospel. Every young man who has been
taught by his parents to pray in secret, to mingle with the family in devotion,
to attend meeting and receive the counsels of the servants of Lord, has grown
in the spirit of the Gospel, and this has given them a disposition which has
impelled them, as soon as they arrive at a suitable age, to move forward in the
duties and responsibilities that they have been called upon, during this
Conference, to assume. And they will meet with alike response everywhere from
the opposite sex who are living their religion. If there is any lack of
disposition on the part of the ladies it is because they are not living their
religion, for the neglect of one duty leads to the neglect of another, and if
our young men and women fail to make themselves acquainted with the law of God
they are liable to be led away. Young men or women seeking the society of the
wicked are soon befogged and led to destruction. If the young men of Israel are
not alive to their duties, the young ladies may be left to wander in the
society of the ungodly. This happens many times through the neglect of parents
to impress on the minds of their daughters the value of the kingdom of heaven
and the value and importance of salvation, exaltation and glory. Through the
neglect of parents in properly educating their children many of them are now,
perhaps, unable to discern between saint and sinner, and they would as soon
associate with the wicked and unbelieving as with the righteous. It is a grievous
sight to those who have laboured twenty-five or thirty years travelling over
the world to preach the gospel and to gather the people to see the rising
generation without that culture they so much need to develop Within them a love
of righteousness, truth, and every holy principle. There is a great a field for
missionary labor in Utah, as in any part of the world. There is as great a
necessity for preaching here at home in our settlements, even in some parts of
Great Salt Lake City, at there is in any part of the world. There are those
here who neglect the opportunities offered them and they need to be felt after
personally.
The
subject of education is another of the texts given by our President for the
elders of Israel to preach upon. I have already touched on it in a few words. I
will say that our school teachers should not only be men qualified to teach the
various branches of education, but they should be men possessing the spirit of
the gospel, and who, in every look and word, and in all their discipline and
intercourse with their pupils are influenced by that spirit. They should govern
and control, not by brute force, but by superior intellect, sound judgement and
the wisdom that the Gospel teaches that they may win the hearts of their
pupils, and so be able to impress their minds with those principles they
present before them.
I can not
speak too highly in favor of those good books that have been recommended to our
schools—the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and all
other good books; but especially those that contain the history of the dealings
of God with his people from the beginning of the world to the present time, as
well as the teachings of the prophets and apostles; for the foundation of all
true education is the wisdom and knowledge of God. In the absence of these,
though we obtain a knowledge of every art and science and acquire what is
termed by the world a first class education, we but obtain the froth and lack
the foundation on which to rear a proper education.
In relation
to the missionaries south, I will say that I have heard some say when referring
to this subject, "what is the use of the southern mission? what good can
result from our going or sending there?" I will say to all such querying,
grumbling, fault-finding, growling spirits, just wait a few years, and we will
show you the good of the southern mission. I do not know but time would fail me
to bring argument in favor of it, but I will say just wait and by the help of
God we will show you.
The
subject of home production and becoming a self-sustaining people is another
text, and this will probably guide me right back to "Dixie." I will
ask the question, How are we going to become self-sustaining unless we avail
ourselves of the elements around us and provide ourselves and families with
what we need to eat, drink and wear, and our implements of husbandry and other
thing of like nature? We need iron ware and machine shops. Our sons need
teaching the various mechanical arts. Instead of raising them all to be farmers
or mule drivers, we want a goodly portion of machinists, painters, artists,
smiths, school teachers, and all other useful professions. We shall also need
lawyers. I do not mean dishonest contemptible petti-foggers; but
statesmen-lawyers in the true sense of the word who understand the principles
of justice and equity, and who make themselves acquainted with those general
principles of jurisprudence, that wise statesmen have recognized throughout the
civilized world, that they may not only be competent judges in the land, but be
able to thwart the wicked efforts of this ungodly set of pettifoggers. The
southern country affords us facilities for rising many things that can not be
successfully raised in the north. We have had one four years of internecine war
that has almost entirely prevented the raising of cotton—perhaps the most
essential of all productions for articles of clothing. Will we as a people be
blind to this fact, and now, that the first woe is past, lull ourselves to
sleep and forget that there is another coming. Saint George, though the centre
of our present operation in cotton raising is only on the borders of the cotton
district. From three hundred to five hundred acres is the most that we can
water from one dam and canal in that district of country, while lower down, the
same labor would encircle a field of six or eight thousand acres of better
land; but a little handful of people cannot grapple with so great a labor. We
have commenced some small settlements on the Muddy. The settlers there were
mostly substitutes,—Bro. Henry Miller calls them destitutes. Most of them got
discouraged and came back, the rest stick and hang like a dog to a root—but
they scarcely know what to do. The question is shall we allow this little
handful to be worn out, or shall we strengthen their hands, and so keep moving
and progressing, and hold what we have and get more.
I like
the idea of sending young men down there. It struck me as a decided hit when I
heard the names read out yesterday. We can do with a number of young men who
have small families or who are about to get them, and I say God bless them, and
speed them and their wives on their way and by the help of God we will help
them.
Singing by Elder Fishburne's Choir.
[Pres. Joseph Young]
Pres. Joseph Young expressed his gratification at the erection of the New Tabernacle; and followed on the subject of marriage, urging its importance upon the young, and advocating the right of the young ladies to make their own choice and express it, instead of being compelled to wait until they are asked in marriage. He also urged the keeping of the Word of Wisdom.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young followed in a few brief remarks on the same subject.
Elder G. Q. Cannon then read the names of the following brethren who have also been called to go to the south:
John Heiner, Walter C. Brown, Joseph H. King, Elijah
Fuller, Homer Roberts, Milton O. Turnbow, William H. Streeper, James Fogg,
James Hansen, Christian Christiansen, Amasa Mikesell, Richard Carlisle, Edward
Pugh, James Hague, Jun., John Gregory, (Draperville,) Mark Burgess,
(Farmington,) Warren Hardie, Wm. Miller, Ethan Burrows, Abraham Kimball, Henry
P. Houtz, John J. Lamb, W. M. Rydalch, Erastus F. Hall, Thomas G. Lewis, Wm.
Heber Clayton, Arthur Vickey, Eglebert Olsen, Duncan Spears Caspar. Wm. W.
Caspar, Wm. Casto, W. D. Park, Wm. J. Spencer, Ludwig Suhrke, Ephraim T.
Williams, Daniel Daniels, Abinadi Pratt, Edward Cox, Jun., John S. Gressman,
Walter Conrad, Jasper Conrad, James K. Baldwin, James L. Bess, William H. Bess,
Wm. Wood, James L. Tibbets, Preston A. Blair, Henry Horsely, Albert Keats,
Charles M. Johnson.
The following Elders have also been called to go on preaching missions:
Jesse W. Crosby, Jesse W. Crosby, Jun., Geo. Crosby, John
D. Holladay, Wm. O. Smoot, Jesse Murphy, David M. Stewart.
Singing by S. S. and P. Choirs, "Hail Smiling Morn." Elder Willes sang an original hymn. Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde.
[8 Oct, 10 am]
[MS 29:755-756]
Tuesday Forenoon
The Springville choir sang, "God moves in a mysterious way."
Elder Erastus Snow offered prayer.
The Tabernacle choir sang, "Let sinners take their course."
[Elder E. T. Benson]
Elder E. T. Benson expressed the joy that he had experienced in the Gospel, and the universal testimony of the Elders that they knew it was the work of the Most High God in which they were engaged. He commended highly the industry of the Saints, and spoke of the advantage to the community that must inevitably accrue from the support of home manufactures.
The Fishburn choir, on request sang again "The mountain Brave."
[President Young]
President Young spoke briefly on the Word of Wisdom. He alluded to the sayings of some who were slow in obedience to it, that the present teaching on the Word of Wisdom was merely temporary. He wished it to be understood that it would be continued till the Saints overcame the weaknesses that had grown up with them, to live in accordance with the laws of God. He wanted all to understand that it was required of the Saints to observe it. This Word of Wisdom could not be neglected, and the Spirit and blessing of the Almighty preserved.
The President made some very excellent and emphatic remarks on this subject, and closed with the words -- "I say, in the name of Israel's God, keep the Word of Wisdom."
Elder Dunbar sang that beautiful hymn, "O ! Zion."
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow made allusion to the Word of Wisdom, and called upon the Bishops, Elders, and Teachers, in their labors among the Saints, to be kind, and lead the weak on, from effort to effort, till they overcame their habits.
The speaker made allusion to the inquiries about the brethren going down to the South. Some expected but little from that mission and that portion of the Territory, but he only asked for time, and the people would yet see what the South would do. He made very encouraging remarks to those who had been selected to go and open farms in the South. He also added some pertinent remarks on the texts given by the President.
The fishburn choir sang, "O Zion, forever."
[President Joseph Young]
President Joseph Young spoke of the counsel that had been given to the young men in Israel to take unto themselves wives, and encouraged the young men and maidens to go forth in faith and keep the commandments of the Lord, and labor to build up the Zion of the Lord.
[President]
President made a few pleasant remarks on the same subject.
The following names were added to the list of those selected to go South: --
John Heiner, Walter Brown, Joseph King, Elijah Fuller, Homer Roberts, Milton Turnbow, William Streeper, James Fogg, James Hansen, Christian Christiansen, Amasa Mikesell, Richard Carlisle, Edward Pugh, James Hague, Jun., John Gregory, (Draperville,) Mark Burgess, (Farmington,) Warren Hardie, William Miller (son of Eleazer), Ethan Burrows, Abraham Kimball, Henry Houtz, John J. Lamb, William Rydalch, Erastus Hall, Thomas Lewis, Wm. Heber Clayton,
The following Elders were appointed to preach the Gospel to places of which they will be notified: --
Jesse
W. Crosby, Jesse W. Crosby, jun., George Crosby, John D. Holladay, William C.
A. Smoot, Jesse Murphy, David M. Stewart.
The Spanish Fork choir sang "Hail smiling morn."
Elder Wiles sang a new Hymn.
Elder Hyde dismissed the meeting.
_____
[8 Oct, 2 pm*]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 2-3]
2 p.m.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow. Singing by the Spanish Fork choir.
Elder George Q. Cannon then presented the authorities of the Church to the Conference in the following order, who were unanimously sustained by vote: --
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young his counselors.
William Eddington, John T. Caine, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, Peter Nebeker and Charles S. Kimball, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldridge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardie and Jesse C. Little his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; William Carmichael and Robert Price, his counselors.
Adam Spoiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
James Leach, president of the Deacon's Quorum; Warren Hardie and Peter Johnson his Counselors
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter his assistants for said fund.
George A. Smith Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.
A lengthy statement was read by Elder Cannon, showing the reasons why br. Amasa M. Lyman was removed from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his Apostleship taken from him. The action of the First Presidency and the members of the Twelve in that matter was laid before the Conference and unanimously sustained by vote. Elder Joseph F. Smith was sustained as a member of the Twelve to fill the vacancy.
[Elder G. Q. Cannon]
Elder G. Q. Cannon expressed his pleasure at seeing the progress made by the Saints in every direction. He was especially gratified at knowing how closely the Saints were living according to the Word of Wisdom. This was a beginning, which if followed will lead to the physical regeneration of our race. It seems to be time we should begin to teach the world something besides theology, something more than that which they are accustomed to call religion, -- the principles by which we can live long upon the earth. He reasoned on the great importance of education. If education makes the difference between a refined and cultivated young lady and one of the savage Indians in these mountains, and if the latter could not associate with the former on anything like equality; how much need is there for our being educated and improved, refined and cultivated, to associate with angels and holy beings whose society we yet expect to enjoy. He urged abstinence from hot drinks, tea, coffee, tobacco, liquor, and the following a course of living that will produce good health, and a sound body for the residence of a sound mind. He advocated the claims of he Perpetual Emigration Fund; and called upon those indebted to it to pay that indebtedness, and relieve the hands of President B. Young, the President of the Company. He also urged that the people should pay their tithing, and particularly that the money tithing should be paid by those who have it to pay. An open and liberal heart is prepared to receive the blessings of God; and the Lord will pour His blessings upon such.
Singing by Elder Fishburn's choir.
[Elder Charles C. Rich]
Elder Charles C. Rich called attention to the text given last April Conference, for the Saints to be united; and said he believed there never had been greater exertions made by the Saints than since that time to be united and obey the counsels of the servants of God. When we receive instruction through this channel we look upon it as the word of God to us; and when we hearken unto and live according to the counsels given to us, He pours out His blessings upon us abundantly. Elder Rich spoke on education, showing its importance, and the necessity of our using all diligence to have ourselves and the rising generation properly instructed. He bore testimony that he had never been to a Conference since 1832 but the Lord had made manifest at it, through His servants, His mind and will to the people. He has done it at this Conference; and it is our duty to carry out the instructions we have received.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young said his feelings would be to continue the conference day after day teaching the people; but he had no desire to keep them together until their spirits would flag and they would grow weary. People are not able to remember much at a time; and it is by constant instructing that the truth becomes impressed upon their minds. We are here in these mountains to build up the Kingdom of God; the eyes of the world are upon us; our names are in their mouths for good or for evil; and we have to prove to them that we have the gospel of life and salvation. This gospel must be preached as a witness of the name of Jesus to all the world before the end comes; and we are to be the exemplars of that gospel, not to pattern after those we have left behind us in the world. This is what the Lord does not want; and if we will do as the Lord requires, we will begin to set an example before the world, that will show them how they may live walking in the ways of the Lord. We must do the will of the Lord instead of following the lusts of the eye. He thanked the people for observing the Word of Wisdom as faithfully as they have; and said it was the will of the Lord that we should observe it. He again thanked the workmen who have been engaged on the Tabernacle. He said the Lord wishes us to learn how to live to be handsome, well preserved and intelligent. Everything that appertains to life and happiness is within the bounds of our religion. He instructed the people in the laws f life, and the means by which existence can be prolonged in happiness; and encouraged the young sisters to study all needful kinds of intelligence to qualify themselves for future positions as housekeepers, wives and mothers. He said he would send to every ward in the Territory and ask the men of wealth how many of the poor Saints yet in the old world they will emigrate next year. He referred again to the call for five hundred teams to haul fifteen hundred loads of rock; and told the manner in which they should be sent to do the work.
A vote being taken by the President, if the Conference should adjourn till next April, or be continued on Wednesday, it was unanimously voted that Conference should meet again the next day.
Singing by the Tabernacle Choir. Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
[8 Oct, 2 pm]
[MS 29:756-757]
Afternoon
The Tabernacle choir sang, "The time is nigh, that happy time."
Elder Lorenzo Snow offered prayer.
The Spanish Fork choir sang, "Messiah's Reign."
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon present for re-election the presiding Authorities of the Church. They were unanimously sustained, with the exception of Elder Amasa M. Lyman, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, whose Priesthood was withdrawn from him. Elder Cannon read a very elaborate statement of the cause of this action, embracing the course which had been pursued by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles towards brother Lyman, and the final result -- the withdrawal of fellowship. The charge against brother Lyman was his denial of the necessity of the sacrifice of the life of Jesus Christ as an atonement for the sins of the world. After long and patient labor with him, the Twelve Apostles concluded that their duty to God, to truth, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to all its members, and to the world at large, demanded that they should pronounce the preaching of Elder Lyman a heresy, and now presented it for the action of the Church. The congregation, with uplifted hands, unanimously sustained the motion, that brother Lyman's Priesthood be withdrawn from him, and that he be left a lay member of the Church. The other members of the Twelve had elected Elder Joseph f. Smith to fill up the Quorum, which was unanimously sustained. In consequence of this change, Elder Charles S. Kimball was elected to the High Council, replacing Elder Joseph F. Smith in that Council. The other orders of the Priesthood were unanimously sustained.
[Elder Cannon]
Elder Cannon spoke on the benefits of the Word of Wisdom on health, and encouraged the Saints to be faithful. He alluded to the very heavy burden that rested upon the Trustee-in-Trust in meeting all the obligations of the Church, and asked those indebted to be prompt in the liquidation of their obligations.
The Fishburn choir sang, "We are volunteers."
[Elder C. C. Rich]
Elder C. C. Rich said that, while it had been very stormy outside during Conference, everything had been quiet and pleasant within. A text had been given at last Conference, "Let the Saints be united." He could say that he had never seen the Saints more united than they had been since that time. There were evidences everywhere he travelled that the Saints were making great progress. He never had attended a Conference but what it was visible that the Lord manifested what he required of his people, and it had been so on the present occasion. With the progress within our reach, we would always be ready for whatever the Lord had to teach us.
[President Young]
President Young said he often thought that when he looked at the people he had a thousand things to say to them. He thought of them by day and by night. It seemed to him that they could scarcely get together, sing and pray, till it was time to dismiss. He would have liked to remain together till they had said all that they wanted to speak about, but it became a question with him, how much could they remember of what they had already heard. The Church had been travelling now some thirty-seven years. On their former history they had been tossed from pillar to post, and driven from place to place; but here the people shall stay if they keep the commandments of the Lord, till they receive the word to gather up, go back, and build up the centre Stake of Zion. Some entertained the idea that we came here to hide ourselves up from the world; but we very soon learned that our light had to be placed where the inhabitants of the earth could see that we had the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the light of the world. We have a mission to preach the Gospel to all nations for a witness before the end shall come. It devolved upon the people here to set an example to the nations to pattern after. Some of the people gathered with the idea that they had to pattern after the people that they had left. This was wrong. It was contrary to the will of God. The question then came up, shall the Saints pattern after the world with all its weaknesses, follies, and vices, or shall they accomplish that which the Lord wants them to do? He was here expressly to tell them what the Lord wants them to do. He thanked the people for their faithfulness in keeping the Word of Wisdom; he thanked the workmen for their labors, and the sisters who had assisted them to come early to work. The Lord wishes of us to show to our neighbors, friends, and foes, how to live, how to be great, how to live to a hundred years in the beauty of life.
He would say to the Latter-day Saints, that there was nothing in life, in the heavens, in the earth, but what was incorporated within our religion. We had not to go outside of our religion to learn what to do, and what nourishment we should use. We should turn our attention to cheaper living, using milk, butter, fish, fruit, vegetables, everything that was nourishing and contributed to temperate living. He had much to say on that subject, and if the ladies would get up meetings for instruction, he would come and lecture to them. And if ladies would get up societies by which they could promote the home labor of their sex, they would to what was well-pleasing in the sight of heaven. He wanted the young ladies to learn everything that was useful in the domestic circle, and never mind whether a man who asks them to marry has thousands o dollars, carriages, horses, &c. Let the young ladies be able to say, we can knit, we can bake, we can feed the chickens, w can do any work that becomes a woman to do.
On the subject of emigration, he wished it known that they would have the men in the Territory asked how many persons would they emigrate in the coming year? Three or four persons present were asked how many they would send for, and the willingness and the numbers named were a very excellent beginning.
He alluded again to the rock hauling for the Temple, and to the completion of that edifice. The blessings promised to the Saints would be there given, and the devils would howl.
It was suggested to terminate the Conference, but on taking the vote, the people were unanimous in their desire for another day's session.
Tabernacle choir sang, "Come let us anew, our journey pursue."
Dismissed by Elder Woodruff.
_____
[9 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 3]
Wednesday, 9th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the S. S. and P. choirs, "Daughter of Zion." Prayer by Elder W. W. Phelps. Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith spoke in favor of aiding the Saints still in the nations to emigrate; and on the importance of the English language being studied by those who are not fully familiar with it, and education being sought after by all, whether old or young. He reprobated the use of intemperate or violent language, and said we should never under any circumstances lay aside our religion. He encouraged the study of the Deseret Alphabet, or phonetics, in our common schools, as an ordinary branch of education; and the formation of evening classes for the study of every kind of useful knowledge for males and females, that they may be qualified for future duties. He urged the vast importance of the counsel given years ago to lay up breadstuffs, year by year, until seven years provision is saved and laid by. And advocated the making of our own fashions, our hats, bonnets, and clothing, raising our silk, flax, cotton and other requisites, showing the value of the southern settlements and of the cotton raised there. He also advocated improvement in all things that will enable us to live long on the earth in peace and happiness to serve the Lord and help to accomplish His purposes.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 3/4/68, p 1; JD 12:138]
REMARKS
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt
Lake City, Oct. 9th, 1867.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
We are
composed of persons from various nationalities. We speak a number of languages.
the languages and dialects of the British empire, the Scandinavian, the French,
Dutch, German, Swiss, and Italian are all represented here. It appears that God
in His divine wisdom revealed the gospel in the English language, which is the
native tongue of the majority of the Saints, probably more than half of them
having acquired it, in America, and a large portion of the remainder in the old
world. It is very desirable that all of our brethren who are not acquainted
with the English language should learn it. We do not wish to blot out the
original languages that they may have spoken, but we want them all—men and
woman, old and young—to learn the English language so perfectly that they will
be able to thoroughly understand for themselves the teachings and instructions
and the published works of the Church, as well as the laws of the country. And
while we preach to all classes—all the boys and girls under ninety—to go
to school and educate themselves in the various useful branches, we do not want
our brethren who do not speak the English language to think that they are
neglected or without the pale of this call. We hope the bishops and teachers
will make every reasonable exertion to stir up the minds of the brethren and
sisters who do not thoroughly understand English to the importance of this
particular item of counsel. We of course, wish them to stir up everybody on the
subject of education, and to encourage, in every possible manner, our day and
Sunday schools, for the cause of education should be popular in Israel now, as
it was in the days of Joseph; and old and young should go to school together. I
recollect a school that I attended in Kirtland under the direction of the prophet
Joseph; the oldest scholar in my class was sixty-three years old. We shall have
long winter evenings directly, and a good deal of time to spend in
self-improvement, and it is our duty to become a cultivated people in all the
useful branches of education known among mankind. There is a spirit among some
of our young men in different settlements to appear rough and reckless;
they indulge in rowdyism and cultivate the savage side of human nature. We
ought to use all the influence and power we possess to suppress this, and to
stir up in the minds of our young and old the necessity of cultivating simple,
plain, innocent, and genteel manners. There is an idea out that a man who has
to go to the kanyon cannot do it without swearing, or that when he gets to the
mouth of the kanyon he must throw off his religion and swear all the way up and
back again. Any man who entertains such a sentiment should dispense with it at
once, for he needs his religion more there than anywhere else. The roads are
rough, and there is danger of him being tipped over and breaking his neck, or
mashing up his wagon or his team, and he needs the influence of his religion as
much under such circumstances as under any others. The Elders of Israel should
avoid indulging in rough language under all circumstances. Most men, if they
thought there was a probability of them dying by some sudden accident, would
begin to think about praying. When a man is more exposed to danger than at any
other time I am sure he needs his religion, for if he should have a log roll
over him, and be sent into eternity with a big oath in his mouth, he might not
be recognized as a Saint on the other side of the vail. Hence I would like our
brethren, and would recommend them to dispense with the idea, that on some occasions
they can lay their religion to one side. It is said that an old Quaker, I on a
certain occasion when his family were grossly insulted and abused, felt very
much like chastising the offender, but his religion forbade him fighting. He
bore it tolerably well for a time, but at last his patience was exhausted, and,
pulling off his broad-brimmed hat and his broad-tailed coat, said he—"Lie
there religion until I lick this man." He might just as well have kept
his religion on while doing the flogging. He might have felt as an uncle of
Joseph Smith—Rev. Mr. Mack—did on a certain occasion. He was a Baptist
minister, and was celebrated for his great physical strength. A professional
pugilist went to see him once, and told him that hearing he was one of the strongest
men in the state he had come to test his strength. The old man was too pious to
wrestle or scuffle. The stranger said he would fight him, but Mr. Mack was too
religious to fight. The stranger told him he had no ill will towards him, but
said he—"I must and will know which is the strongest." Mr. Mack did
his best to put him off, telling him that he was a minister and so forth, but
the stranger would not be disappointed, and, as Mr. Mack turned round, he
kicked him. The reverend gentleman's religion could not stand this, and he set
to and gave the stranger a good thrashing. He went before his congregation and
made a confession, which was something like unto this—"I bore all this
patiently, notwithstanding my own nature was to try the man's strength, but after
he kicked me I took off my coat and flogged him most properly." I think
that kind of a rule might work under some circumstances; but at the same time a
man should never lay down his religion, and should never believe that it is
necessary to swear, not even in the kanyon. I tell you that every vile word we
utter and every vile sentiment we entertain is a wrong for which we, some day,
will have to atone. When I hear men—young or old—talking intemperately or
improperly, I realize that they have that folly to overcome and repent of.
In
speaking of the education of our children, I wish to draw the attention of the
Saints particularly to the system of phonetics, or the Deseret alphabet, which
has been referred to by President Young and some of the brethren. This is
calculated to considerably abridge the labor of our foreign brethren in
learning to read English. I think that in all our schools phonetics should form
one branch of study, and as fast as works of phonotopy can be obtained they
should be introduced, for there is no doubt that a general reformation will be
effected in our English orthography. It is said that the Lord will restore to
the people a pure language, that they may all call upon Him with one consent.
While we urge our brethren to acquire the English language, and to make
themselves proficient in the useful branches of education, we wish them to
remember that the orthography which the English nation has adopted is by no
means perfect, for our present mode of spelling might be materially improved.
According to the present system, it is a very long and difficult job for a man
to learn to spell. I commenced as soon as I was old enough to put three letters
together, and I have been at it ever since, and I hardly dare write a letter
now without consulting the dictionary to see how some word or other should be
spelled. The spelling of the English language is very arbitrary. For several
generations it has been undergoing improvements and modifications, and it will,
no doubt, go on until English orthography will become so perfect that every
letter will have but a single sound, instead of having, as now, in some cases,
four or five sounds to the same letter. Now, when a child learns to spell, he
learns first to give to the vowel a its long sound, as heard in the word male,
supposing that to be its only sound. In another position he gives It the
Italian or grave sound—as in the word father, and so on, until he finds it has
four or five distinct sounds, and then he has to continually exercise his
judgment, or has to depend upon the judgment of some other man, to know which
of these sounds to use.
I wish
our brethren to give this subject their serious and candid consideration, and
do their best to introduce into our schools a system that will greatly abridge the
time required to gain the various branches of a good education. No greater or
more blessed mission can be given to an Elder in Israel than to teach the true
principles of education to the rising generation of this Territory. I would
advise our brethren, aside from the ordinary schools, to get up evening reading
classes in all our settlements for the instruction of those who cannot attend
at other times. The instruction of our wives and daughters is of the utmost
importance. The disposition of some to neglect the education of girls is the
extreme of folly. If we take pains to have the English language taught
correctly to our wives and daughters, they will teach it to their children, and
this will lay the foundation for the permanent improvement of the language of
the state, of which we form the nucleus. Some of the ablest men in the
Territory received the most of their education from their mothers, and it is
said that the President of the United States was educated by his wife. I wish
to call the attention of the Conference to the text of President Young in
relation to storing our wheat. This is a question of vast importance. A few
years ago President Young gave counsel to the people of the Territory—most of
whom agreed to it—to lay by seven years provisions. We were to have commenced
three years ago, and were to have laid up one year's bread over and above the
year's supply. The following year we were to add another year's supply, and so
have continued until we had our seven years' supply laid up. How faithful the
people have been in keeping this counsel I am not prepared to say, but I am
afraid that few men in Israel, even among those who have raised breadstuffs and
have had the power to control considerable quantities of it, had three years'
bread laid aside when the grasshoppers made their descent this season and swept
off half the grains, vegetables, and fruit raised in the Territory, and were
prepared, if the whole had been swept off, to live for the next three years
without laying in more bread. I am aware that some of our brethren thought this
counsel extravagant; they considered that it could not be necessary to lay up
such a quantity of bread; and some of them, instead of getting out lumber and
making good substantial bins for the preservation of their wheat, turned out
their means for teams, and freighted their bread to the north, to the east, and
to the west; and not only so, but in many instances they gave it away, if they
could only get half price for hauling it. Hundreds and thousands of sacks of flour
have been hauled away, when it should have been stored up here against a day of
want. I feel just as keenly on this matter now as when this counsel was given,
and a little more so, for the army of the Lord—the grasshoppers—may have
awakened my mind to the importance of the subject.
All
nations have to take more or less precaution for their general preservation,
and, as they are occasionally visited with years of scarcity, if they failed to
do so the consequences might be disastrous. We are situated in the heart of a
great desert, surrounded a portion of the year by impassable mountains. We have
no railroads, no seaports, no great navigable rivers and canals by which we can
bring provisions from abroad; and if there had been ten grasshoppers this year where
there was but one every particle of food raised in the Territory would have
been consumed; then where would our bread have been? Where could we have gained
our subsistence?
In the
empire of China provision is made for the general preservation, and one-fifth
of the produce of the country is stored in the public granaries against a day
of famine. A famine occurred not long since in one of the provinces of China
containing thirty-three millions of people—a little more than the whole
population of the United States—and they lost their entire crop. China,
however, is favored with large navigable rivers, some capable of navigation for
over two thousand miles. There are also many canals and seaport towns that are
used in the coasting trade; the result is that when this famine came on this
province the storehouses were opened, and the grain or rice was carried to its
inhabitants, and they were kept from starvation. We are differently situated.
We have no public storehouses, neither can we bring sufficient provisions from
abroad without it costing more than we are able to pay. A good many of us claim
our descent from Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. He was the instrument of the
Almighty in saving the Egyptians, through the interpretation of the King's
dream of the seven fat and the seven lean kine, and the seven full and the
seven blighted ears of corn. He prescribed the means by which the storehouses
of Egypt were filled with corn, and when the seven years of famine came the
whole people were actually saved from death through the wisdom of Joseph in
laying up bread. We expect to be saviors on Mount Zion in the last days. We all
exercise faith that, God may give to our President wisdom and understanding to
foresee the evils with which we may be threatened, and to take measures to
avert them. Suppose that he comes forward and tells us how to prepare, and we
neglect his counsel, then the watchman is clear, and we are liable to the
dangers and difficulties resulting from disobedience. If the King of Egypt, had
not observed the counsels of Joseph almost the whole people would have been
destroyed. As it was, those who did not obey Joseph's counsel were under the
necessity of selling all their property, and ultimately themselves, for slaves
to the king, in order to obtain that bread which they could bare laid up during
the seven years of plenty, if they had obeyed Joseph's counsel.
Now,
brethren, let us not treat this subject lightly. If we have been neglectful in
times past, let us remember that we live in a high altitude, in a country
subject to frost and to extreme drouth, that we have several times lost our
crops, and that we have twice been reduced to famine or half rations through
the crickets or grasshoppers. Let us heed the counsel given about storing up
provisions, and, instead of freighting our food away to feed strangers, let us
go to work and build good substantial granaries, and fill them with breadstuff,
until every man and woman has enough on hand to last for seven years. Terrible
destruction awaits the wicked. They will come to us by thousands by-and-by,
saying—"Can you not feed us? Can you not do something for us?" It is
said by the prophets they shall come bending, and shall say you are the priests
of the Lord. What priest could administer greater earthly blessings than food
to the hungry, who have fled from a country where the sword, famine, and
pestilence were sweeping away their thousands? I look upon the subject of
storing grain and other kinds of food as a very religious matter. How could a
man who was half starved enjoy his religion? How on the face of the earth could
a man enjoy his religion when he had been told by the Lord how to prepare for a
day of famine, when, instead of doing so, he had fooled away that which would
have sustained him and his family. I wish our brethren to lay this matter to
heart, and riot rest until they have obeyed this particular item of counsel.
I also
advise them to live within their means, and avoid getting into debt. I suppose
our nation at the present time owes about three thousand millions of dollars,
and the several states owe one thousand five hundred million dollars more, and
that the countries, cities, towns, and village owe as much more, making a total
of about six thousand million dollars. All this is the result of folly,
corruption, and wickedness of men in authority. I do advise my brethren to
avoid getting into debt. "Well," say you, "how are we going to
do it?" A few years ago, during the war, while money was plentiful and
almost everybody had greenbacks, the President devised a plan. Said
he—"You bishops, go to work and sow rye, and set our sisters and their
children to work to make straw hats and bonnets and ornaments for the whole
Territory." What does a nice straw cost now? I have bought so few of such
things that I am not very well posted as to the prices, but I suppose five or
six dollars. What would have been the result if this counsel had been
faithfully kept for the last few years? The result would have been a saving of
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars that have been paid out of the Territory
for straw hats and bonnets and trimmings. "But," say some, "if
we had not bought these things we should not have been in the fashion."
Why bless you, sisters, in my young days, in northern New York, I wore hats made
in the neighbourhood of lambs' wool. Why not produce them here? Why not,
manufacture and wear the beaver and other furs collected in our mountains
rather than send them to the States to be manufactured, and brought back to be
sold to us at exorbitant profits. If ninety-nine out of every hundred of you
present were wearing these home made articles at this Conference, she who was
not wearing one would have been the only one out of the fashion. Why she would
be as odd as Dick's hat band, which was said to go half way round and tuck
under. And if the brethren had all worn home made hats, the man wearing any
other kind would have been an odd fellow among us. Why not make our own
fashions, and keep the money in our pockets to do good with? It is a very simple
matter to do, and the hats we can manufacture here are just as pretty and just
as comfortable as the imported articles, most of which are made abroad out of
materials that can be raised in abundance here! When any of the brethren start
in the hat business here we cannot wear them, they are too heavy; we must buy
hats that will not last more than a month. Why not go to work and manufacture
our own, and have them suitable for either winter or summer? Why not plant the
mulberry? President Young imported the seed, and he has on hand a half million
of trees for sale. The silkworms are here, and our sisters and children have
nimble fingers to handle them, and this is naturally as good a silk producing
country as Italy or France. There is nothing on the face of the earth to hinder
us, as a people, from making our own ribbons, silk handkerchiefs, and dresses;
and it is believed, by those who are acquainted with the business, that we can
actually produce silk here at a lower figure than other material for clothing,
taking into account the time it will last.
I advise
all the brethren to cultivate the mulberry, and raise silk, as well as flax and
wool, and let us extend our efforts to the cotton region. There is no mission
more important to the welfare and development of Israel than a mission to the
cotton region. We have entered into the Church to build up the kingdom of God,
and to labor where the master builder says we can labor to the best
advantage. In that region we have a climate and a little land suitable for the
production of cotton. What could we have done without what has been already
raised there? When cotton rose to a dollar and a half a pound in the States,
and it would actually pay to raise it in Santa Clara and send it to San
Francisco and St. Louis for sale, what could we have done here but for our home
grown article? Look at the thousands of pounds that have been grown and
manufactured in this Territory. Where could we have got our clothing without
the efforts that have been made in this direction by our brethren in Dixie? God
bless them for their exertions. Every man who has done what has been required
of him on the southern mission is entitled to the eternal gratitude of the
Saints and will have the blessing of the Almighty.
In
relation to the Word of Wisdom, I wish to impress upon the minds of the
brethren the fact referred to by President Young yesterday—that it is
perpetual.
When I
was in the States I had a conversation with a professor of some pretensions to
learning, who declared that, if we carried out the institutions we had
commenced here in the mountains, including the Word of Wisdom and our system of
marriage, in about seventy years we should produce a race of men who would be
able to walk the rest of the human race under foot. This is just what we
expect. Do not let us be negligent or careless on these subjects, but, pay
strict attention and be diligent. And let us inaugurate a system of fashions of
our own. I do not care about the shape of our hats and bonnets so long as they
are of our own manufacture. I would just as soon a man should wear a bellows
hat or a stove pipe as anything else, if it please him; but I say, encourage
home manufactures instead of paying ten dollars for a hat made in Paris, or in
the United States, with the word "Paris" put in the inside. I do not
care whether the ladies wear a bunch of flowers, a cabbage leaf, a squash, or a
scoop, or a saucer on their heads, if it pleases them; but let it be made at
home. I would recommend the brethren and sisters to establish societies for the
promotion of home manufactures. With the money that has been spent and sent off
for hats, bonnets, and trimmings since the President counselled the Bishops to
raise rye to manufacture them, we could have built woollen and cotton factories
in nearly every country in the Territory, with which we could have manufactured
our own clothing, besides establishing other branches of business. These things
are a great part of our holy religion. I tell you that the judgments of the
Almighty are coming upon the earth, and the Saints will barely escape. God has
gathered us here to these mountains to prepare for the storm. We were told in a
revelation, given more than thirty years ago, to let the beauty of our garments
be the workmanship of our own hands, and a great many have tried to carry it
out. The old fashioned spinning wheel, hand loom, and cards have been brought
into requisition; but the majority prefer to buy everything that is imported.
Our young men are afraid to get married because they cannot afford to buy all
these trimmings. Say they—:"We cannot do it, it is impossible with our
limited means." Young men, when you get married take wives who will be a
help to you. You do not want women who can only waste your means. Choose women
who can spin, card, and make a mattress or comforter, if necessary, and, if she
cannot do it, let her be willing to learn, and be zealous to make herself
useful, for the woman who is really ornamental in society is the one who is
useful as well. You go to New England, that is where a great many of us came
from, regular old down east Yankeedom, and you will find many of the farms
occupied by our grandfathers owned by Irishmen, and the girls who descended
from that old Puritanic stock are above work now-a-days, and Irish girls are
hired to do it. While the American ladies are living on the proceeds of their
fathers' estates, and making a great display in following the fashions—they
deem it not fashionable to work or even to have children—the boys are marrying
Irish girls. If asked why they do this, they will say they are compelled to do
it, for they cannot afford to marry a woman and hire another to wait upon her.
Our girls ought to adopt a different policy. Every man and woman in the world
ought to be useful. No man is too rich to labor. All men and women, according
to their health, strength, and ability, ought to labor to sustain themselves,
and for the welfare of the community. "The idler shall not eat the bread
of the laborer." This is the law of Heaven. In connection with labor we
should also take into consideration our manner of living. It is really probable
that in many houses in this Territory fall one-third of the provisions brought
in for the support of the family is wasted, and what is cooked is not as
palatable and healthful as it might be. Every female should study and become
acquainted with the best modes of cooking, and introduce it into their families
and wards. A great many of our sisters have come from districts of country in
Europe where they have had to work in factories, and to follow other branches
of business, and consequently have had but little opportunity to learn cookery
and other household work; but I have known many of them, after arriving here,
become very proficient housekeepers, and all may if they will try.
I feel to
impress these sentiments on your minds that we may become a practical people,
and learn to provide within ourselves the necessaries of life, that in all
things we may be pleasing to the Lord. Let us live in accordance with the laws
of life, avoiding excess, all vulgarity and unnecessary levity, and endeavor to
conduct ourselves wisely, properly, and genteelly, and use our influence to
promote that class of manners that will command respect everywhere. We shall
thus lay the foundation of a great, polished, and highly civilized people,
setting an example worthy of imitation in all things to all nations.
May God
bless us, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Singing by Elder Fishburn's choir.
[Elder Hyrum Dayton]
Elder Hyrum Dayton bore his testimony to the work, after having been a member of the Church for 35 years, being baptized by the Prophet Joseph Smith in February 1832.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow spoke of the blessings promised to the early Apostles when they were called to preach the gospel without purse or scrip; and referred to those called to go on missions to the southern settlements, showing that their duty is to fill the mission appointed them in the manner prescribed, that they may enjoy all the promised blessings. He referred to the case of Pharaoh of Egypt, and the interpretation of his dreams by Joseph, pointing out how little grounds the Egyptians had to place confidence in Joseph, -- a dream given to a gentile king, and interpreted by a young man, a stranger to them and a slave, who was brought out of prison to give that interpretation; yet, because they would not believe him nor his interpretation, as he went through the land buying their grain during the seven years of plenty, they were left in poverty, and themselves and all they had passed into the possession of the King of Egypt and Joseph for bread. The nations of the earth have been warned for years that judgments and calamities are coming upon them; and they have been promised if they will obey the gospel and bow down before the Lord, He will bestow upon them revelations that will bring certainty to their minds. The speaker rejoiced at the prosperity of Zion and the progress of the people; and encouraged the Saints to cultivate their spirits, that they may grow better, purer, wiser, having more power over themselves, and manifesting more godliness in their lives.
[Lorenzo Snow]
[DNW 17:58, 4/1/68 p ?; JD 12:146]
Knowing
our religion to be true, we ought to be the most devoted people on the face of
the earth to the cause we have embraced. Knowing as we do, or should know, that
the gospel we have received promises all our hearts can wish or desire, if we
are faithful, we ought to be very faithful, devoted, energetic, and ambitious
in carrying out the designs and wishes of the Lord, as He reveals them from
time to time through His servants. We ought not to be lukewarm or negligent in
attending to our duties, but with all our might, strength and souls we should
try to understand the spirit of our calling and nature of the work in which we
are engaged. When Jesus was upon the earth he commanded his disciples to go
forth and preach the gospel without purse or scrip, taking no thought
beforehand as to what they should eat or drink, or wherewithal they should be
clothed, but simply go forth and to testify of those things which had been
revealed to them. In doing this they secured to themselves the blessings of the
Almighty, and success attended all their exertions. They were bound to succeed;
no power could cross their path and prevent them reaping the most sanguine
success, because they went forth in the strength of the Almighty to perform His
will, and it was His business to sustain and support them and to furnish them
all the means of success. Through obedience to the commands of the Lord they
secured to themselves the blessings of life with the privilege of coming forth
in the morning of the first resurrection, and they had the assurance that in
their labors no power on earth could successfully oppose them. These were the
kind of prospects I should have liked had I been in their position, or in any
other position, for to the thoughtful mind the idea of ultimate success in any
pursuit is very pleasing. Now, had the Apostles, instead of doing as they were
commanded, imagined that by doing something else they could have answered the
same purpose, they would not have succeeded so well in their operations,
neither would they have possessed that assurance of success which, under all
the trials and persecutions to which they were exposed, was, doubtless, to them
a source of constant pleasure and satisfaction.
Quite a
number of young men have been called to go to the southern portion of our
Territory for the purpose of developing the resources thereof and building up
Zion. Now, should they imagine that they could be as successful by taking upon
themselves a mission similar to that given by Jesus to his disciples, they
would find themselves very much mistaken. Had the Apostles or Seventies in the
days of Jesus imagined that they could have fulfilled the missions given them
by building an ark as Noah did, or building granaries and storing grain as
Joseph did, they would have been grandly mistaken.
Joseph,
in the land of Egypt, was called upon to perform a certain class of duties,
which were made incumbent upon him. He was not called to preach the gospel
without purse or scrip, but to build granaries, and to use all his influence
with the king, nobles, and people of Egypt to store their grain against a day
of famine. I have often thought, in reflecting upon this subject, how little
proof they had of the importance of doing what Joseph required of them, when
compared with the abundance of proof we possess in relation to the importance
of the duties required of us. There was Pharoah—a Gentile, making no profession
of religion—had a dream which none could interpret save Joseph, a stranger in
the land, whom no one knew, who had been bought for money, and who was taken
from prison into the presence of the king. No doubt the nobles and the people
who heard of the interpretation of the dream believed that Joseph made that for
his own benefit, glory, and exaltation, and that the king might think well of
him; and when they saw him riding round in pomp and splendor, trying to
establish granaries all through the country, they, no doubt, thought he was an
imposter, and placed no credence in his predictions. In fact, I think I could
hardly have believed it myself had I lived in those days. Many of the people
placed such little faith in his words that, failing to lay up their food, when
the famine overtook them, to save themselves from starvation they had to sell
themselves for slaves to the King. Now, supposing that Joseph had gone to work
and built an ark, he would not have been accepted of the Lord, neither could he
have saved the people of Egypt nor his father's house. When Noah was commanded
to build an ark, supposing he had established granaries, he and his house could
not have been saved. So in regard to ourselves, when duties are required at our
hands, whether it is to go to the southern part of our Territory, to Europe, to
contribute to the Perpetual Emigration Fund, or to build temples, or whatever
we may be required to do within the pale of the kingdom of the Almighty, we
have to walk in the spirit of these requiremens, and perform them, if we would
gain power and influence with our God.
I am
pleased, indeed, to see the prosperity of Zion. I feel a spirit of solemnity
upon me while standing here gazing upon this multitude of Saints. Seeing the
difficulties through which we have passed, our present prosperity is
astonishing to ourselves and equally so to the world. I feel to thank God for
the prosperity of Zion as it presents itself at this time. And when we
contemplate our individual position, and see the blessings God has conferred
upon us in gathering us from the nations of the earth to the valleys of the
mountains, where we are under the guidance of the Priesthood, we should be a
contented, joyous, and happy people.
I feel to
say a word or two in reference to education. There are very few people who have
arrived at the age of fifty and upwards who feel like studying
mathematics; they do not feel like attending school and applying their minds to
the acquisition of the sciences, but there is a kind of education worthy the
best attention of all, and in which all ought to engage—that is the education
of the Spirit. As we advance in life we one and all ought to be less
passionate, more spiritually minded. The men ought to be more fatherly at home,
possessing finer feelings in reference to their wives and children, neighbors
and friends, more kindly and godlike. When I go into a family I do admire
to see the head of that family administering to it as a man of God, kind and
gentle, filled with the Holy Ghost and with the wisdom and understanding of
Heaven. Men and women can increase their spiritual knowledge; they can grow
better as years multiply upon them. It was so, in a measure, with the old
prophets. When they stood on the verge of the grave, ready to give up the ghost
and to pass from this life to another, they were full of the power of the
Almighty, and could lay their hands on the heads of their children and tell
them what would befall them down to the latest ages. The High Priests and Elders
of Israel should cultivate this spirit, and live continually that they can have
the revelations of the Almighty to guide them, that they may grow wiser and
better as age advances.
Nothing
can be more foolish than the idea of a man laying off his religion like a cloak
or garment. There is no such thing as a man laying off his religion unless he
lays off himself. Our religion should be incorporated within ourselves, a part
of our being that cannot be laid off. If there can be such a thing as a man laying
off his religion, the moment he does so he gets on to ground he knows nothing
about, he gives himself over to the powers of darkness; he is not on his own
ground; he has no business there. The idea of Elders in Israel swearing, lying,
and giving way to intoxication is far beneath them; they ought to be above such
things. Let us put from as every evil, and live by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God. Let us lay hold of every duty assigned to us with
ambition and energy, that we may have the spirit of our God, the light of
truth, and the revelations of Jesus Christ within us continually. God bless the
Latter-day Saints. God bless the President, the Priesthood, and all Israel, and
may we be successful m winning our way onward in the path of eternal truth and
glory; and that, as we advance in life, we may not only have the privilege of
gazing upon this beautiful scenery within these walls, but of meeting together
in a temple built by the power of the Almighty and the united efforts of His
Saints; of building the Center Stake of Zion; and above all, when we have
finished our course on the earth, that we may have the privilege of coming
forth in the morning of the first resurrection with our bodies glorified and
singing the new song. Amen.
President B. Young requested that the doors might be kept shut during the meetings. Though cases might arise where it is necessary for persons to go out, as a rule he wished them to emain in meeitng until the services closed.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir. Prayer by Elder E. L. Sloan.
[9 Oct, 10 am]
[MS 29:57-758]
Wednesday Forenoon
The Springville choir sang the anthem, "Daughter of Zion"
Elder W. W. Phelps offered prayer.
The Tabernacle choir sang, "See all creation joins, to praise the Eternal God."
[Elder Geo. A. Smith]
Elder Geo. A. Smith spoke on educating the people and making phonetics, or the Deseret Alphabet, a branch of common education among us. He made some very severe strictures upon the foolish course of some young men entertaining the idea that course language and rude habits were indicative of manliness. No such notions should be entertained in Israel. He also repudiated the notion of a man laying off his religion in going into the kanyon. There was no time when a man needed it more than when he was beset with difficult labor, and when danger and accident surrounded him. He counselled everybody to be wise and prudent in all their labors and intercourse one with the other.
Saving grain was an important subject for the consideration of all the people. The necessity of doing so was every day more and more manifest. Home manufactures should have a very large share of preserving attention. It was ridiculous for the people to spend their money upon imported goods, while they had the same elements around them with which to manufacture all that they required. He spoke of the great blessing that the cotton raising mission had been to the community, and asked the blessing of the Lord upon all who had been engaged in that mission. He wanted to see the young women fitting themselves to be helpmeets for their husbands.
The Fishburn choir sang, "Jerusalem, my glorious home."
The following names were called to go South: --
Ephraim S. Williams, Daniel Daniels, Abinadi Pratt, Edward Cox, jun., John L. Gressman, Walter Conrad, Jasper Conrad, James Baldwin, James Bess, William Bess, William Woods, James Tibbets, Preston A. Blair, Henry Horsley, Albert Keats, Charles M. Johnson, Arthur Vickey, Bishop Brinton's Ward, Eglebert Olsen, do., Duncan Spears Caspar, do., Wiilliam W. Caspar, Bishop Miller's Ward, William Casto, do., William D. Farker, Mill Creek Ward, William Spencer, West Jordan, Henry Larter, Thomas Romney, George W. Larking.
[Dayton]
A brother named Dayton spoke for some time.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow spoke interestingly on the general instructions given to the Conference, and exhorted the Saints to be ambitious, and progress in everything that was kind, good and Godlike.
Tabernacle choir sang, "Seraph's Anthem."
Dismissed by Elder E. L. Sloan.
_____
[9 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 3]
2 p.m.
Singing by the S. S. and P. choirs. Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith. Singing by the Tabernacle choir.
[Elder John Van Cott]
Elder John Van Cott spoke of the progress of the Saints and what they have accomplished during the past twenty years, and inquired what might we not be able to accomplish during the next twenty years with our increased prosperity, union, and power for the performance of anything required; pointing out some of the labors which we have yet to perform, and our ability to do them. He claimed that individuals indebted to the P. E. Fund should pay those liabilities, that others may become the recipients of its benefits; and called upon persons who have borrowed means from friends in the old world, who are now waiting for aid to help them in emigrating, to pay that means.
Elder Charles W. Leah, of Spanish Fork, sang "The Mountain Brave."
[Elder Joseph F. Smith]
Elder Joseph F. Smith reasoned on the necessity of our being faithful, energeic and united in the performance of the duties that devolve upon us; while every individual must perform their individual work, be faithful for themselves, and build upon their own foundation. He spoke on the importance of those not familiar with it studying the English language, being that in which the lord has chosen to give the revelations of His will in these last days. He urged the Saints to take up the requirements which had been laid before them during the present Conference, and perform them faithfully and whole-souledly, that they may enjoy the blessings which will follow obedience to the counsels given. Our mission is to work righteousness, and bring all things subservient to the will of God.
[Joseph F. Smith]
[DNW 17:10, 2/19/68, p 2]
REMARKS
By Elder JOSEPH F. SMITH, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt
Lake City, October 9th, 1867.
_____
REPORTED BY D. W. EVANS.
_____
It is a
great pleasure to me to have the privilege of meeting with the Saints. I
delight to listen to the counsels and teachings of the servants of God in
relation to those things which pertain to our salvation. I have enjoyed the
instructions that have been given during this Conference, and I can bear my testimony
that they have all been good, and we will be blessed if we treasure them in our
hearts and practice them in our lives. We are a blessed people, and we can be
more so if we are more diligent and faithful, for God will mete out His rewards
and blessings as we merit them. If we desire blessings we must seek after them;
if we desire advancement we must seek to advance ourselves by being energetic
and faithful. for, although we compose the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, and it requires the strength of the multitude to perform any great
work, such as the gathering of the poor, the rearing of temples, or the
building of a tabernacle like this,yet every man should perform his part
however small that may be. We must do our individual work, be faithful for
ourselves, and build upon our own foundation.
I was
particularly interested just now in listening to the remarks of Bro. Van Cott,
and I thought while he was speaking that a part of his remarks came very near
hitting me. I have had some little experience with our Danish brethren and
sisters in the Endowment House, and have felt sometimes, perhaps, when a little
impatient, that it was but little use for them to come to get their endowments
when they did not understand more than half a dozen words in the English
language, and consequently were unable to make their wants known; but I am
willing to accept the explanation given by Bro. Van Cott, and I think, that in
the future I shall be more cautious in saying that it is useless for those who
do not understand the English language to partake of the ordinances of the
House of the Lord. Still I think it is highly desirable for our foreign
brethren and sisters to learn the English language so far as to be able to
understand the counsels of the servants of go; for though the gift of
interpretation may occasionally be given, as in the case referred to by Bro.
Van Cott, yet I think it is by no means a common occurrence. I have no doubt
that English is very difficult to be learned by those who are advanced in years,
for its construction, sounds and accents are very different from almost any
other language; still it is quite possible for nearly all to learn it so that
they can understand it when they hear it spoken if they cannot learn to speak
it. I believe this to be true, for I remember, on the Sandwich Islands,
missionaries of the American Board who had labored for upwards of thirty years
in the study of the Hawaiian language, who were scarcely able to speak a
sentence intelligibly, but they could very well understand everything that was
said. I infer from this that our foreign brethren may learn English so as to
understand it, though they may not be able to speak it. And as the Lord has
seen fit to reveal the gospel and its ordinances in the English language, it is
a duty devolving upon us all to perfect ourselves therein, so that we may
comprehend the teachings of the servants of God. In connection with this I
would say, if I may be permitted to do so, that it would be well for all
foreign Saints who cannot talk the English language, who come to receive their
endowments, to have their genealogies written before coming, in good, plain
writing, by an interpreter, so that their genealogies may be correctly
recorded. At present this is an exceedingly difficult matter, for it is seldom
that there are those present who can act as interpreters, and consequently it
is impossible to keep our records as correctly as they ought to be kept. When
people can talk and make themselves understood, all that is necessary is to post
their minds in relation to those particulars that will be required of them,
which they can easily learn from their bishops or from some one who has had his
endowments, and so be able to answer the questions that may be asked of them.
I feel
thankful that I am associated with the Saints. I have felt grateful to the Lord
for the instructions and counsels that have been given during this Conference.
Every discourse seemed to possess more than ordinary interest. They have been
full of light, truth and wisdom, and of consolation to the Saints. We have a
great labor to perform, a great mission to fill, and it is necessary that we
should be faithful and diligent, humble and submissive in all things required
of us. If we are called to go on a mission let us be on hand to go, no matter
whether to preach or build up Zion, with our hands. This is the express
business of every man and woman who has a standing in the Church and Kingdom of
God, If any of us have not yet learned this, it is certainly time we had. This
is a lesson we have to learn, and the Lord will teach it to us sooner or later,
whether we want to learn it or not, unless we turn away from the truth. We must
willing to hearken and be obedient to all the counsels of the servants of God
or we cannot retain our standing and fellowship in the midst of the Saints.
Then let
u s go to, and adopt the counsels given to us. Let us make our own clothing and
hats and bonnets; gather the poor from the nations, haul the rock from the
canyons to build the temple, and let the young men who have been called to go
south take wives along with them. Let us contribute our mite as far as the Lord
requires of us that we may do something towards the building up of His Kingdom.
This is the way I feel. I have ever felt that my interests were identified with
the Kingdom of God, in other words that I had no interest apart from the
Kingdom of God, no friends aside from the Saints of the Most High.
I seek no
friendship and desire no familiarity or associations but with those who have embraced
the gospel of the Son of God. This has ever been my feeling, so much so that I
could no more associate or mingle with those who are not Saints than I could be
persuaded to cut off my right arm. I can not do it. Such associations are
repugnant to my feelings, and I have never yet been able to overcome that
repugnance. I have been placed in circumstances where I have tried to be
sociable and friendly; but it was all I could do to be courteous and pleasant,
and I am of opinion that it was all that was necessary. I desire to be numbered
with the Saints, to dwell with them in time and eternity. My interests are with
the Kingdom and I desire to labor to build it up, and for the establishment of
the gospel in the earth; that wickedness may cease and righteousness
predominate; that the wisdom of the Lord may prevail and take possession of our
minds; that we may know the truth, understand God and His ways, work
righteousness, be faithful, pure, holy and upright in all our thoughts and
straightforward in all our dealings one with another. This is our mission as
Saints. We see sin and folly all around us, ignorance and superstition
everywhere; we see that the adversary of souls has great power over the minds
of the children of men. We see that the world is prone to folly; right in the
midst of Israel we see this. The rising generation is given to vanity and
foolishness; they seek after and follow the fashions of the world. I is a part
of the mission of the Latter-day Saints to overcome these things, to put them under
our feet and to make all subservient to the accomplishment of the purposes of
the Almighty. Let the gospel of Jesus Christ be the ruling passion of our
minds; our guide all the day long, and let all other things be secondary, then
we will not be led away and become subject to the world.
When we
begin to follow after the fashions and follies of the world we are like the sow
that was washed returning to her wallowing in the mire, or the dog to his
vomit, we are returning to the pit whence we were dug; we are bringing
ourselves into bondage to those things that are forbidden. We are acting
foolishly in the sight of God for we are commanded to abstain from these
things. You can easily tell the young men or women whose minds are solely
occupied with dress, with their external appearance or with the desire for
admiration. -- You may tell by their walk and actions what occupies their
minds. Young men you may easily tell whether a young woman will make you a
useful wife -- a help meet, or not, by observing her actions, her walk and
conversation. I advise young men and young women to be careful. We all have
experience to gain. Experience is a dear schoolmaster, and we are such dull
scholars that we oftener learn by buying our experience than by being taught.
We are slow to believe, to listen and deceive instruction and admonition from
those who have had experience, and we too often go blindly along until we learn
by the things we suffer. Look well, be wise, make a wise choice of our company,
your principles; speak wisely and kindly. Seek wisdom at the hand of God; ask
the Lord to teach you the way to walk that you may keep in the path of truth,
and prosper. If we take our own course we are sure to fall.
I believe
I have occupied my allotted time. I am thankful to be with you here, and I pray
that the Lord will bless us individually and collectively, that we may enjoy
his spirit, increase in wisdom, faithfulness and all good works, which may God
grant for Christ's sake, amen.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young then made the following remarks, which were reported by Elder George D. Watt:--
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 16:311, 10/9/67, p 3]
I will
commence my remarks where bro. Joseph F. Smith left off, with regard to the
appearance of the Latter-day Saints. I will, in a few words, give you my views
touching us as a people, and our appearance. What is your ideas regarding the
appearance of the heavenly hosts? Do you not think that they are the most
chaste in their deportment, most beautiful in their appearance, most simple,
clean and elegant in their dress and the most courteous and kind in their
manners of any beings that you can imagine? You can answer this for yourselves.
I have my ideas regarding them. If ever we become Saints of God, fully
sanctified and made perfect before Him, I shall expect to see the most
healthful and beautiful people that ever lived upon the earth: I shall expect
to see a people full of knowledge of the great laws which govern organized
life, for health, for adornment and for beauty. We will know how to adorn
ourselves in the most comely manner to present ourselves before each other,
before those who live godly in Christ Jesus, and before the Lord, and to form
fit companions for angels. It would gratify me very much if the people of the
Latter-day Saints would begin to use discretion and judgment in this matter
more than they have formerly done, and cease to copy after the fashions of this
world. A reformation of this kind should begin with the sisters in this Church,
and it should be extended to every portion of human life. Our living should be
plain and simple, that it may be healthful, giving vigor and long life to us
and our generations after us. I have not time now to enlarge upon this
exceedingly interesting subject.
I will
embrace the present opportunity of expressing myself upon a subject that I
think has not been before spoken upon by any of the elders of this Church. We
have ordained men to take the place of others who have from time to time left
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and I have ordained all who have been
ordained into the Quorum, since it was first organized, assisted by br. Kimball
and others, but have never named this subject at any of those ordinations
except at that of the last man who has been received in the Quorum. If I am
wrong in my views, I shall be righted in due time. The subject I refer to is in
regard to a man taking the crown of another, by being ordained to his
priesthood or calling in any of the quorums of this Church. Now, my idea is this,
that there is a crown for each and every one who proves faithful to his
covenant to the end. Shall we leave two crowns when we are crowned with glory,
immortality and eternal lives? My opinion is that each man will have his own
crown, the glory and greatness and might of which will be according to his
works, or according to that which he merits. If this be true, I do not ordain
brother Joseph F. Smith, to take the crown of Amasa M. Lyman. Joseph F. Smith
has been faithful from his childhood, has fulfilled missions to the nations of
the earth, traveled and preached in the midst of the Saints, laboring
faithfully in the Kingdom of God to save the honest-in-heart, and to perfect
himself and others in the grace of God. Is he deserving of a crown? He is; and
he will get just such a one as he deserves. This may be said of every other
faithful man. If a man forfeits his crown by any act of his own, it is not for
me to say what becomes of it, it is in the hands of Him whose right it is to
give. I think that Joseph F. Smith is the sixteenth person upon whom I have
laid hands and ordained into the Quorum of the Twelve since the first Quorum
was formed. Let no person then suppose that Joseph F. Smith has got Amasa M.
Lyman's crown: he will not get it, but he will be perfectly satisfied with his
own crown which he has faithfully earned. I do. not wish to wear Thomas B.
Marsh's crown; I want my own. We build our own kingdoms, and obtain, by our
faithfulness, our own crowns that will exactly fit us; and the brightness of
them, and the greatness of them in glory, will grow or pass away as we are
faithful or unfaithful to the priesthood and opportunities which we have had
bestowed upon us from the Lord. Let us all be satisfied in striving to be
faithful that we may receive the crown laid up for us.
I wish
now to say to the Bishops who are present at this Conference, from the north
and from the south, when you return home cease not your labors until you get
the names of each individual who will engage to bring from Liverpool to the
terminus of the Pacific Railroad one or more of the poor Saints. I do not ask
them to turn in cows or horses for this purpose; we do not want property, but
we want them to say that they will be responsible to bring so many from
England. We asked a few brethren in the Conference yesterday, and in a few
minutes forty-five of the poor Saints were provided for with passages. We want
fifteen thousand thus provided for. We wish a list of the names of brethren,
who will thus engage themselves, forwarded to us immediately. How many hearts
will be made glad by this movement which we are about to engage in for the
deliverance of our poor brethren and sisters in the old countries! Their hearts
will be raised in thanksgiving that the day of their deliverance is drawing
nigh, when they hear the report of our efforts for their good. When we find our
feet established in pleasant places, let us not forget the pit from whence we
have been taken, but stretch out a helping hand to assist our relatives and
friends who are struggling for deliverance as we have done. Consider this all
ye Latter-day Saints. We say to those who will not pay their indebtedness to
the P. E. Fund, we shall be glad to have you bring some of the poor Saints of
the old countries to the terminus of the railroad the next season; and we will
say you have done well, and we will give you credit on your Fund account. Any
means you expend for the deliverance of the poor, you will look to them for
payment when they come here, but nothing will be refunded to you by the P. E.
Fund. You can name the persons you wish to bring out, and then look to them for
your pay; and if you look to them for your pay I shall not credit you on the P.
E. Fund books for what you may have done for them.
I wish
the Bishops of the two counties north, two counties west and two counties south
to send on teams to haul rock for the temple. And do not forget to send in your
reports from all the settlements how many you can bring out from the old world,
as we wish to appoint our agents at different points to negotiate with the
shipping and railway companies. By emigrating a large company we can lessen the
cost very materially.
Singing by Elder Fishburne's choir.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
Elder George Q. Cannon read the names of Thomas Romney and George W. Larkin who have been selected to go to the south. He then spoke on the subject of education, advocating a proper organization among the Sunday Schools of the various wards, which would be highly beneficial for one thing, in selecting Sunday school libraries, so that the schools in the various wards of a city could have libraries of different books, which could be loaned around among the schools, and would be the same as a general library. He spoke of the importance of a Sunday School Union, with a Superintendent for each county, as members of the Union; and sketched briefly a plan of an organization for future consideration.
President B. Young moved that this Conference adjourn until the 6th of next April, at 10 o'clock in the morning, to meet in this Tabernacle; and dismissed the congregation with the following benediction:-
I feel to bless you collectively and individually. I bless my brethren of the Apostles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and pray the choicest blessings of heaven to rest upon them; and upon the Seventies and the Presidents of Seventies. I bless them in the name of the Lord Jesus; and I bless the High Priests and the Elders with all the blessings that their hearts can desire in righteousness. I bless the Bishops and the wards over which they preside, and the land that we occupy. And I bless these my sisters and their children. I bless these choirs, those who have sung for us and played for us. I bless you as parents and as children; as brothers and sisters; and as the Church and Kingdom of our God upon the earth. And I bless the house that has so conveniently accommodated us, and all who have taken part in this Conference; with the land of Joseph, which I feel to bless. And our inheritances, and all that pertains to Israel I bless in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
At a meeting of the missionaries, held on Thursday morning, 10th, in the old Tabernacle, the name of Nelson A. Empey was added to the number.
EDWARD L. SLOAN, Clerk of conference.
[9 Oct 2 pm]
[MS 29:758-759]
Afternoon
The Spanish Fork choir sang, "Praise ye the Lord."
Elder Joseph F. Smith offered prayer.
The Tabernacle choir sang the anthem, "The earth is the Lord's."
[Elder John Van Cott]
Elder John Van Cott spoke of the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord upon the peoples of all nations when they embrace the Gospel. He related a very pleasant incident of a Danish brother retiring from the house of the Lord impressed with the conviction that "President Young spoke very good Danish," for he was fully convinced that the President had administered to him in Danish, while it was he himself who had been blessed with the gift of interpretation. Brother Van Cott's remarks were very interesting.
Brother Charles W. Leah sang the "Mountain Brave," to the air of "The Brave Old Oak," with good effect.
[Elder Joseph F. Smith]
Elder Joseph F. Smith spoke some time on matters of general interest.
The Fishburn choir sang.
[President Young]
President Young said that he would like to speak on some matters of domestic life had he time, but he could only say now that the attention of the young ladies was required to the instructions that had been given during conference on matters of home fashion and healthy living. On another subject, he remarked that every man would wear the crown of glory which his own labors entitled him to, and he was skeptical on the statement that any faithful man would wear the crown of another who had lost it by unfaithfulness. Reference was made to the successorship that had taken place from time to time in the Quorum of the Twelve.
The President urged again upon the Bishops to go to work on the instructions given about the emigration of the poor, and to do it immediately.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon recommended the organization of a Sunday School Union.
President Young moved the adjournment of the Conference till the 6th of April next.
The following was the benediction pronounced by President Young: --
I will bless you collectively and individually. I bless my brethren the Apostles. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and pray that his choice blessings may rest upon you; upon the Seventies and the Presidents of Seventies, I bless them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I bless the High Priests, and the Elders with all the blessings their hearts can desire in righteousness. I bless the Bishops and their Wards, and I bless all who hold the Priesthood. I bless my sisters and their children. I bless these choirs who have sung for us. I bless you as parents and as children, as brothers and as sisters. I bless this house which has so conveniently accommodated us, and all who have taken part in this Conference. The land of Joseph I feel to bless, and our inheritances, and all that pertain to Israel, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
_____
5-8 Apr 1868, 38th Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 17:68, 74, 4/8/68, p 4, 4/15/68, p2; MS 30:309, 321]
[5 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 17:68, 4/8/68, p 4]
THIRTY-EIGHT
GENERAL
CONFERENCE
_____
To-day is the thirty-eighth anniversary of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Much as the Church has been called to pass through during those thirty-eight years; bitter and cruel as have been the persecutions that have been heaped upon us; relentless the animosity with which, during long and suffering years, wicked and malignant sectaries followed our weary and broken footsteps, we can, to-day, look around at the condition of the world, and be stirred with lively emotions of gratitude at our condition as a people. We enjoy peace, while the commotion which shakes nations and kingdoms, is looked upon by the wisest statesmen of the day as but the prelude to renewed, bitter and deadly war, which will shake the civilized world from centre to circumference.
As we assemble together in our meetings at this General Conference the feelings of union and confidence in each other and in our leaders, which pervade the thousands who thus come together, are confined -- in anything like such extent -- to these valleys and this people alone. The Lord, who led us by His servants, and preserved us in our journeyings and wanderings, has blessed us abundantly in these mountains; and we have much reason to be filled with gratitude to Him for His abundant mercies.
Though the thirty-eighth General Conference of the Church convened this morning at 10 o'clock, the meetings yesterday were held in the New Tabernacle, were largely attended and very interesting, hence we append a brief synopsis of the discourses with the regular Conference Minutes.
Sunday, April 5th, 1868.
10 a.m.
Singing, by the Tabernacle choir. "Sing to the Great Jehovah's praise." Prayer by Elder W. W. Phelps. Singing, "Behold the Mountain of the Lord."
[Elder Joseph F. Smith]
Elder Joseph F. Smith rejoiced in the truth, and rejoiced that he had a testimony of it to bear to the children of men. He knew the Gospel, of which he is a minister, to be true, and that it would bring blessings to all the human family who will obey its principles. Every one who engages in the work of God, shares a portion of the responsibility of building up His kingdom. It is the duty of all such, equally with their brethren, to seek to extend truth and salvation among the children of men. We must cling close to the Lord in prayer, lean upon and seek aid form Him, and He will strengthen and sustain us; we will be able to see His hand in all things and have power to do His will. But if we neglect to call upon His name, we will be weak and powerless, left to wander in darkness, knowing not God nor His ways.
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
Elder Wilford Woodruff spoke of the work to be performed in this dispensation by the people of God, and the privileges bestowed upon them, compared with the labors required of and the privileges bestowed upon them, compared with the labors required of and the privileges bestowed upon the people of preceding dispensations. Seeing the greatness of the work to be performed, the question which every Latter-day Saint should ask himself is, "What can I do to advance the purposes of God." The Lord has declared by his prophets in all preceding dispensations, that in this one He will redeem the earth from the power of Satan, and set up His kingdom never more to be thrown down. We are engaged in that work, and we should seek diligently to perform our duties in connection therewith, and fulfil the purposes of the Lord.
[Elder Joseph W. Young]
Elder Joseph W. Young stated that he had just returned with Elder Erastus Snow from the southern settlements, and gave a brief description of his trip and the condition of matters south. The brethren who had gone from this part of the Territory last Fall, are generally doing pretty well, laboring to make themselves homes. A few had gone up the Muddy a distance, to make a new settlement, without due consideration which had operated somewhat against their progress for a time; but now they are acting according to good counsel given them by President E. Snow, and their prospects are brightening. He treated on the principle of faith and the works that had been accomplished by this people through faith, urging that in the south and in the north, and wherever we have to live and labor, we must possess faith to accomplish that which is required of us; and we must be humble and obedient, to learn wisdom and be truly united.
Singing by the choir. Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
[5 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 17:68-69, 4/8/68, p 4-5]
2 p.m.
Singing, "Happy the man who finds the grace," by the choir. Prayer by Bishop E. D. Woolley. Singing, "Creation speaks with awful voice."
[President B. Young]
President B. Young inquired of persons in different parts of the house whether they could hear, and being answered in the affirmative from a number of points, he said one fact was very apparent, that we have never been able to get a hall sufficiently large in which the people could convene at General Conference. This was proved last October Conference, when many were precluded from hearing and obtaining seats, because of the lack of room. The design is to put a gallery in the New Tabernacle, that more space may thus be obtained for seating a still larger number of people.
The gospel which we have received, and which we wish brought to the hearing of all the men and women on the earth, comprises within it every blessing pertaining to time or to eternity. Everything that is desirable, that pertains to life, that will make mankind happy in this life or in the eternal worlds, is to be found within the religion we have embraced, the Gospel that has been revealed for the salvation of man. We have scarcely commenced to learn the first lesson concerning our exaltation. There is an eternity of knowledge before us; and as our understandings are opened to comprehend in part the works of God around us, we see the visible hand of Providence in all, and realize a little how vast the amount of knowledge is that has to be acquired before we are exalted in the presence of our Father and God. What do the philosophers of the world know of death, its operations, and the existence beyond the tomb. Death is an active, living thing. What do they know of life, or its causes? Of the human mind, hits power and workings? They speculate and theorize, but what real knowledge have they? All who have received any knowledge of these things, have received it through revelation.
Our religion is practical. Its observance is not confined to any one day, but to all of our lives. He was satisfied even before he had heard the Gospel, or had seen the Prophet Joseph, that the sects of the age were powerless to bring salvation to any soul. But the Gospel comes with power to those who receive it; and if they live so as to possess the Holy Spirit and have the revelations of Heaven, light and intelligence and truth and understanding will increase with them continually. He exhorted the people to live close to God; instructing them that it is not the performance of some particular duty, such as preaching the gospel, that is alone acceptable with God; but the faithful discharging of every duty required of us is pleasing in His sight. If we wish to be useful, let us be useful here. And let us learn to prolong our lives upon the earth, live so as to give healthy organizations to our offspring, and good health to ourselves, by exercising wisdom in the food we use, in our labors, and in properly caring for the bodies which have ben given us. And let us live so that the power of God may be with us to rebuke the destroyer, and cast him out from our tabernacles and our families.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith touched upon the wickedness that characterized the generations of men from the earliest days, and the frustration thereby of the means employed by the Lord at various times to bring salvation to the human family. He referred to the history of the Nephites recorded in the Book of Mormon, to show that the lives of men were prolonged under the reign of righteousness among that people. The Lord has commenced a reign of righteousness in this age, and He has gathered a few people here to these valleys to instruct them, to change their habits and customs, and make of them a people who will fear His laws and obey His commandments, and we should learn to hearken to the instruction given us, that we may be prepared to aid in accomplishing the purposes of the Almighty.
Singing, "Daughter of Zion." Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 17:69, 4/8/68, p 5]
Monday morning, April 6.
Conference convened pursuant to adjournment from the 9th of last October, and was called to order at 10 o'clock, by President B. Young.
There were present: In the stand of the First Presidency, Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, and John Young, President of the High Priest's Quorum.
In the apostles' stand, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, of the Quorum of the Twelve.
In the stand of the Presidency of this stake of Zion, Daniel Spencer, George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young, the Presidency of the Stake, John Smith, Patriarch, E. D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priest's Quorum, and Levi W. Hancock of the Presidency of the Seventies.
In the Bishop's stand, Bishop Edward Hunter, his Counselors, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, Bishop N. Davis, Elders J. D. T. McAllister and George Goddard.
On the general stand were a large number of Bishops, High Priests and Elders, from this Stake of Zion and from other parts of the Territory.
At the Reporter's table were George D. Watt, David W. Evans, T. B. H. Stenhouse and Edward L. Sloan.
Singing by the Choir, "Praise ye the Lord! 'tis good to praise." Prayer by President Heber C. Kimball. Singing, anthem, "The Lord is King."
President B. Young stated the objects of the Conference, and intimated that the time would be occupied in speaking to the people, presenting the Authorities of the Church for their acceptance or rejection, and attending to such other matters as might be deemed necessary.
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball reasoned on the principle of unity, its growth among the Saints, and the course to be pursued by them -- the obedience, faithfulness and diligence necessary, to reach that condition of unity required of us. We look forward with anticipation to building up the centre stake of Zion; and many are anxious for it and will expect to be included among those called to go to Jackson county, who realize but little of the progress they have to make before they are prepared to do so. We have to become much more united, to put away evil from us, to shun evil speaking, and realize the full meaning of the injunction, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." If we do wrong we must make restitution, cease all wickedness, shun iniquity of every kind, and live to so possess the spirit of God that it will guide and direct us. The angels and holy beings in the eternal worlds are interested in the work of God in which we are engaged; they watch its progress; and they exercise care over those who are laboring to spread truth and righteousness.
Bro. Kimball referred to incidents in his own experience, of the ministration of beings from the eternal world; and exhorted the people to continued and increasing righteousness.
[Pesident D. H. Wells]
President D. H. Wells treated on the completeness of the gospel, the perfection of the government of God, and the fulness of the blessings which are brought to all those who embrace and live according to the principles of truth. He referred to the statement of President Young, made yesterday, that the individuals who have obeyed the Word of Wisdom during the past year, have enjoyed far better health than those who have not done so; and reasoned that our obedience to this requirement would not only directly conduce to our health, but would increase our faith and confidence in God, and His power would be with and attend us to a far greater extent; and when sickness would seize upon us our our families, we could call upon the elders with confidence, and their administrations would be owned and blessed by the Lord. The Church and Kingdom of God is growing rapidly, and the purposes of the Almighty are being accomplished, and it devolves upon us to grow in faith and in knowledge, in power and in understanding proportionate therewith. The gospel will teach us to make farms, build houses and cities, and develop the resources of the earth where we reside. It will bring the down-trodden myriads of the world from the poverty-stricken homes where they are tyrannized over, to a land of freedom, and teach them how to live in comfort, and lead them onwards and upwards to salvation. He urged wisdom in our work, in our eating and drinking, and in all that appertains to life, showing that the laws of Heaven are the laws of life, and will prolong our lives and make us happy if we obey them. He advocated the cultivation of a breadth of land which can be well and thoroughly labored; the caring properly for stock and domestic animals, and the hearkening to the counsels given with regard to home manufactures and the means to be used to become truly independent.
Singing "Israel, Israel, God is calling." Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.
[6 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 17:74, 4/15/68, p 2]
THIRTY-EIGHTH
GENERAL
CONFERENCE
____
Monday, 2 p.m.
A vast congregation of people had assembled together by the time for commencing the afternoon meeting.
The choir sang the hymn commencing "An Angel from on high;" prayer was offered by Elder Orson Pratt; after which the choir sang an anthem.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith dwelt upon the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy, quoting from the revelations in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, 149th page, and second section, and 160th page, and fourth section, where it is enjoined upon the Saints to observe the Sabbath day. We should not work on that day, but we should meet together to offer up our oblations and sacraments to the Lord. And not only is it right in a religious view, being a command of God; but it is also necessary that the human system should have regular seasons of resting when it can relax from the constant strain of work, and these the Sabbath affords. He referred to the efforts made to gather the Saints, and said that though much had been done, much remains to be done; and he urged the preparing of teams and wagons, food, &c., to bring them from the railway terminus. He advocated fish-culture, maintaining that fish can be as easily and as cheaply raised as any kind of food, and is superior to the flesh of animals. Silk making and silk manufacture were urged by him as a most profitable branch of industry. Our climate and soil are excellent for these purposes and we possess advantages such as can be found in few if any other places on the earth, for keeping worms and obtaining an excellent quality of silk. We can have silk as cheaply as we can woolen and cotton fabrics, though it is much richer and more durable.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 17:98, 5/6/68, p 2; JD 12:196]
DISCOURSE
By Elder GEORGE A. SMITH, delivered in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1868.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
We have
been in the habit of looking contemptuously on the sectarian world, so far as
their habits appear to us to be indications of hypocrisy. Among them men take
great pains to seem to be religious. They will put on a. long face, a sad
countenance, and on the Sabbath day they will endeavor to seem to be very holy.
But as soon as the Sabbath has gone by, a great many men will not scruple to
commit the most outrageous acts of dishonesty and corruption, thinking,
perhaps, by being so very good on the Sabbath day, that the wickedness and
corruption of the remaining six days will be sanctified and justified.
Well, we
have looked contemptuously upon a spirit of this kind, and in so doing some of
us may have failed to appreciate, as we ought, the importance of observing the
Sabbath day. We may have felt that it was a tradition that we and our fathers
had inherited from the sectarian world. There are many instances of our
brethren failing to observe the Sabbath day. Some going to the kanyon on a
Saturday for wood or lumber, knowing that they could not return with their
loads until Sunday; or going out to hunt cattle when they knew they could not
accomplish what they desired without breaking the Sabbath. I feel a desire to
call the attention of the Conference to the consideration of this subject,
because it not only involves a commandment given in the law of Moses, and
endorsed by the New Testament, but it has been also enjoined upon us by revelation,
through Joseph Smith in the present generation; and if we neglect it we have no
right to expect the blessings of God to that extent that its observance would
ensure. We find on the 149th page of the Doctrine and Covenants something on
this subject, to which I wish to call the attention of the brethren and
sisters. It reads as follows:
"Wherefore
I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind and strength, and in the name of
Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like
unto it. Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. Thou shalt offer a
sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart
and a contrite spirit. And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted
from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy
sacraments upon my holy day; for verily this is a day appointed unto you to
rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;
nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days, and at
all times; but remember that on this the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine
oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy
brethren, and before the Lord.
"And
on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with
singleness, of heart that thy fasting may be perfect; or, in other words, that
thy joy may be full. Verily this is fasting and prayer; or, in other words,
rejoicing and prayer."
I read
this simply to call your attention to the law as it has been given to us
through Joseph Smith, our Prophet, and to impress upon the minds of the Elders
the necessity of observing it.
We find
it also enjoined upon us in a portion of section 4, of a revelation on page
160, of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, which reads as follows:
"And
the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it
holy."
I have
felt that it was necessary to call the attention of the Saints—the brethren
especially, to this subject, because I believe it affects us in various ways.
We should come together on the Sabbath day and partake of the Sacrament, and we
should do no work, but what is necessary to prepare food for ourselves, or to
feed our animals. We should observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, and if we do
it faithfully we shall live longer; for my impression is, saying nothing about
the commandment of the Lord, that nature requires one-seventh of our time for
rest, and that when a man has worked fifty-two Sundays in a year, he is at
least fifty-two days older than he needs to be, and has not done as much work
during the year as if he had worked only six days a week and had rested the
seventh. I hope our brethren will hereafter make their calculations to observe
the Sabbath and thus act in accordance with the law of God. The evidence is plain
on the face of the Book of Mormon, that when men commence to live in accordance
with the laws of the gospel, as the people of Nephi did for about two hundred
years after the Savior visited the land Bountiful, they shall begin to be
stronger and to live longer. Amos, the son of Nephi, kept the records on the
plates of Nephi eighty-four years, and his son Amos kept them one hundred and
eleven years: Book of Mormon, pages 494-6, sections 8 and 11. Previous to this
period the Book of Mormon shows that the Nephites were a short-lived race. The
observance of the Sabbath, as well as the observance of every other commandment
of God, has a tendency to prolong human life. There is nothing to prevent us
commencing, by observing the Word of Wisdom, to lengthen our days, in
accordance with the words of the prophecies of Isaiah, which says, "for as
the days of a tree are the days of my people."
There are
several subjects I wish to refer to in addressing my brethren in Conference.
One of them is the emigration of the poor from Europe, which was agitated last
Fall Conference. Some of the brethren have contributed liberally, and
sufficient means has been collected to aid a considerable number; but nothing
like what was desired. Yet with what has been raised here, with that which may
be possessed by some who are partly able to help themselves, we expect to bring
five thousand adults to the railway terminus. We also expect to raise the
wagons, mules and oxen necessary to fit up teams, and the necessary provisions
and teamsters, guards and arms, to go from here to the terminus of the
railroad, and bring home the brethren and sisters and their children who may
gather to that point. We else want to make plans and calculations, and every
man and woman throughout the Territory should feel that it is a part of their
duty to contribute his or her share to accomplish this; and then to lay a
foundation for setting all these people to work at something that will enable
them to live and acquire a competence as well as return the means expended in
bringing them here. Those indebted to the Perpetual Emigration Fund should feel
the importance of paying their indebtedness; and those who are not indebted
should feel alive and awake to the accomplishment of this object. It is a great
and glorious work which we have undertaken, and it will never do for us to be
discouraged and leave it half done.
There is
another subject under consideration, which weights very heavily upon the minds
of the Saints. The Word of Wisdom recommends us to use the flesh of animals
sparingly. The law of Moses prohibited to Israel the use of swine's flesh; but
in the Gentile world at the present day it is considered superior, as food, to
almost every other kind of flesh. And even among us, with the education and
training that we have received, there is a great deal of it used. It seems to
be a pretty general idea among the people that swine's flesh can be more easily
raised than any other; but there is no doubt that, with proper care and
attention, other kinds of meat might be produced with equal facility. For some
reason God, by Special law, prohibited its use to the children of Israel; and
it certainly seems desirable that we should also discontinue its use, as within
the past few years in some countries where a great amount of pork has been
consumed the people have been afflicted with a kind of pestilence—a disease
which is considered incurable. It is therefore wise and prudent for us to adopt
plans to procure supplies from other sources. In some countries the culture of
fish has recently been introduced. It was commenced, in the first place, by
sportsmen for the purpose of increasing the amusement of anglers; but the
French government, under the reign of the present Emperor, have commenced to
stock the rivers of France with fish for the purpose of increasing the supply
of healthful food to the people. This is being done successfully in New
England, where rivers were formerly well stocked with salmon and other
varieties of fish, though for many years they have become extinct. Laws have
been passed in New Hampshire, Maine and other Eastern States, requiring the
owners of mills to construct fishways over their dams, so that fish can pass
freely up and down the streams, the dams having heretofore effectually
prevented this.
Persons
have also been employed to re-stock the rivers, and in this way many choice
varieties of fish have been again successfully introduced. The real fact is,
they are as easily raised as hogs, if the proper attention is paid to them. Our
beautiful lakes—such as Utah Lake and. Bear Lake,—our rivers, and even our
springs can, with a very little trouble and expense, be made to yield an immense
quantity of this healthful food. I wish to call the attention of the Bishops
and Elders, at home and abroad, to the propriety of studying this question; and
if they lack information on the subject just let them drop a note to the Hon.
W. H. Hooper, our Delegate at Washington, and ask him to furnish information on
the culture of fish. He has it in his reach through the Bureau of Agriculture,
and can send it under his own frank, and that will put you in possession of the
information you require. You can feed fish as well as hogs, and they will eat a
great many things you are little aware of, and with a little trouble you can
procure that which will furnish an agreeable and healthy change in our diet.
I also
wish to advise our brethren,—the Bishops especially, to consider the propriety
of taking proper measures for the production of poultry. Their flesh is
agreeable and much more healthful as food than using great quantities of pork,
as we are compelled to do in many instances.
I will
also call the attention of the congregation to the subject of raising silk. We
are anxious to dress in broadcloth, and to wear fine clothing; but there is a
difficulty in the way of our sending abroad for them, for we have scarcely
anything that we can send to purchase the necessary material; hence the
necessity of taking measures to raise it here. The revelation given to the
Church years ago to let the beauty of our garments be the workmanship of our
own hands, although it has not remained a dead letter, has never been fully
complied with; and it is time that we, as a people, should be thinking of some
new industry by which the kinds of clothing we desire may be produced, and also
have a production or staple of some kind that we can send abroad that will
bring us wealth in return, instead of sending away all our money, and bringing
nothing back.
It has
been proven by a few years' experience that the mulberry tree grows in this
country; the climate agrees with it, and it grows rapidly and thrives well. It
has also been proven that the silkworm is healthy in this climate, and
experiments have proven the fact that silk of a fine quality can be produced
here in abundance. Now, silk has commanded gold in all ages. It once would pay
for transportation overland on the backs of animals from the frontiers of China
to the west of Europe; and silk garments have been considered so delightful
that they were worth their weight in gold. And in consequence of the high
esteem in which it has ever been and is yet held, the trade in silk is still
very remunerative. We would like to see our wives and daughters clad in the
most delightful silk, but we cannot get it; and yet it can be cultivated and
produced by their own nimble fingers, in this climate, just as easily as flax
or wool, and at very little more expense. Several years ago in the States there
was quite an excitement on this subject; but it proved a failure. The reason
was that in many of the States where the experiment was tried the climate was
too severe for the culture of the proper varieties of the mulberry; they would
kill with the winter frosts, and then the summers were too damp or rainy for
the healthy production of the worm. Our climate is peculiarly fitted in these
respects. Our dry summers and mild winters are both suitable, and there is not
a doubt but as fine silk may be produced here as anywhere in the world.
President Young has taken pains to introduce the mulberry. He sent to Europe
and obtained the proper kind of seed. It can be grown from the seed and
multiplied to any extent from the cuttings. Our brethren in every ward should
take this matter in hand and plant out these cuttings, and send for the
silkworms, and set in operation a new branch of industry, which will employ us
some six weeks or two months in the summer time in feeding and taking care of
the worms; the residue of the labor—winding and manufacturing the raw material
into silk can be conducted through the year. Millions of dollars worth of silk
might thus be annually produced in this Territory, from labor that now counts
very little.
The
feeble, the aged, the lame, and almost any person, no matter how weakly, might
be employed at this business; and silk always fetches such a price that it
would pay us for sending it abroad, in addition to the amount we might use.
It is
just as easy for us to clothe ourselves with silk, the workmanship of our own
hands, as to go ragged. Then, I feel it, concientiously, to be a duty we owe to
ourselves as a people, and the obedience we owe to the revelations of the Lord
that we should add this industry to the branches we have already commenced.
We should
also take care of our sheep, and continue to erect woolen manufactories, and
never relax our efforts in the cultivation of flax, hemp and cotton, for all
these articles in their time and season are indispensable; and with the whole
of them put together—the silk, wool, flax, hemp and cotton, we need ask no odds
of mankind for clothes to wear, how ever beautiful we may choose to make them.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
Elder George Q. Cannon said that to properly enjoy the blessings within our reach, we must pursue a course to prolong our lives and preserve our health. Abstinence from stimulants, such as tea, coffee, tobacco and alcoholic liquors is not only desirable but necessary; and the very sparing use of beef and mutton in hot weather is conducive to health while swine's flesh should be entirely abstained from. But we must have sufficient variety of food, not a great variety at every meal, but our food varied at different times, that the stomach my be kept healthy and the appetite unpalled. He advocated the importance of fish-cultue, and when the value of fish as an article of diet, which was declared to possess brain-making material to a greater extent than any other kind of animal food. Simplicity of diet is necessary, so that the digestive powers may not be overburthened, and that our wives and daughters may not be overtasked with unnecessary household duties.
[George Q. Cannon]
[DNW 17:138, 6/10/68, p 2; JD 12:221]
DISCOURSE
By Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON, delivered in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, April 7th [6th], 1868
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS
_____
The
subjects which have been touched upon by brother George A. Smith ought to be of
paramount importance to us as a people under our present circumstances. The
gospel of life and salvation, which we have received, would be of comparatively
little avail to us unless we can prolong our lives and the lives of our
children and posterity on the earth. The greatest boon that God has given us,
and that upon which every other hinges, is life. With life we need health, the
power to carry out designs of cur being upon the earth. Without these blessings
every one must perceive that other blessings which we value very highly would
be of little or no account. God has moved upon His servant Brigham in a very
powerful manner of late to stir up the peoples minds to the consideration of a
great variety of subjects connected with our temporal well-being; and the more
these subjects are reflected upon the more important do they appear, and the
more we hear about them, the more we are impressed with the necessity of paying
attention to them.
We have
heard considerable of late, especially since twelve months to-day, on the
subject of the Word of Wisdom. Almost every elder who has spoken from this
stand has felt the necessity and importance of calling the attention of the
people to this subject. We are told, and very plainly too, that hot drinks—tea,
coffee, chocolate, cocoa and all drinks of this kind are not good for man. We
are also told that alcoholic drinks are not, good, and that tobacco when either
smoked or chewed is an evil. We are told that swine's flesh is not good, and
that we should dispense with it; and we are told that flesh of any kind is not
suitable to man the summer time, and ought to be eaten sparingly in the winter.
The question arises in the minds of a great many people, "What then are we
to eat if we drop swine's flesh and eat very little beef or mutton, and cannot
drink tea or coffee, why, dear me, we shall starve to death." In
conversation with one of the brethren the other day, he remarked "the diet
of the poor is principally bread and meat, and if they dispense with meat, they
will be reduced to very hard fare." I reasoned with him on the subject,
and before we had got through, I believe I convinced him that other articles of
food could be raised more cheaply and in greater variety than the flesh of
animals. But just at the present time we are destitute, to some extent, of this
needed variety; and, hence, the very apparent necessity that we as a people
should turn our attention to the multiplication of varieties of food in our
midst. We should not confine ourselves to a few articles of diet and be content
therewith; but the people who have the opportunity of so doing should cultivate
a variety of food for the benefit of themselves and families.
It is a
fact, which the experience of ages has confirmed. That man of all creatures,
requires the greatest variety of food. His stomach is fitted to digest a
greater variety of food than the stomach of any other animal. God has created
him lord of creation, and all that is created around us is created for man's
use and benefit. It would therefore be very unwise for intelligent man, inasmuch
as God has given to him the vegetable creation, and has made him lord of the
animal creation and placed him as monarch of the finny tribes, to be content to
sit down and eat as our degraded Indians do.
It is to
remedy this that we hear the teachings that are given at the present time by
the servants of God. Man requires food to build up his body. He requires food
that is adapted to the development of bone, muscle and sinew; but this is not
all. He requires food that is suitable to feed his brain and to supply the
waste sustained in consequence of the use of his mental faculties. There is a
necessity, therefore, for us to take these things into consideration. My
opinion is that it will be most difficult for fathers of families to induce
their wives and children to refrain from the use of tea and coffee, if they do
not supply their tables with other articles in their place, and unless food,
suitable to the requirements of the human system, is provided, our wives and
children will be exposed to constant temptation to transgress the counsels that
are given in regard to our diet. It is an exeedingly difficult thing for most
people to break off and discontinue cherished and long standing habits. A man
who has never drunk tea, coffee or spirit, or one who has never chewed or
smoked tobacco, is not at all affected by the counsel to discontinue their use;
but they who have been accustomed to them miss them when they are deprived of
them, and they want something to supply their place. I speak, now, not from my
own experience, but from what I have heard others say on these things. There is
a craving felt by parties when they discontinue the use of these stimulants,
and they need variety. This variety must be supplied, and we must take steps to
supply it.
The
culture of fish has been alluded to. Physiologists say that fish contains more
of the elements necessary to strengthen and build up the brain than almost any
other known substance. It would supply a great want if we had it in abundance.
But our supply of this article of food is very limited, and hence we are taught
at the present time to take measures for its increase. I see no reason why we
should not raise our own fish as we do our eggs or chickens. This Territory is
better adapted to the raising of fish, in consequence of our system of
irrigation, than any on the Continent we know anything of, and I believe that
the time is not far distant when our farmers will raise fish for their own
tables as they now raise beef, mutton, pork, fruit or any other article of diet
now in use. It can be done easily by bestowing a little attention, thought and
care on the subject.
We must
also cultivate fruit more extensively than we now do; and we must multiply
every variety of diet, and if it is possible discover new varieties. It is only
a few hundred years since the potatoe was discovered, and what a blessings it
has proven to man. There are other vegetables, probably, as good and as
healthful as it is if we could only bring them into use. But vegetables are not
grown among us as they should be; there is not that attention paid to them
that, it seems to me, they should receive. My theory is, that if we wish to
raise a healthy, noble looking, intellectual and perfect race of men and women
we must feed our children properly. We must prevent the use by them of every
article that is hurtful or noxious in its nature. We must not permit them to
drink liquor or hot drinks, or hot soups or to use tobacco or other articles
that are injurious. I do not believe that you could ever make as great and
noble race of men, if you feed them on one article of food alone, as if you
gave them a variety of diet. We have illustrations of this in India, where the
chief diet is rice—of itself a very good article of food. We have other
illustrations in the case of other races. A people who, for instance, are fed
on potatoes alone do not have the stamina that they would have if they had a
greater variety of food. Such a people could, I believe, be kept subjected more
easily to thraldon than a nation which is better fed. The millions of India are
kept in subjection by as many thousands of Europeans. There are doubtless many
causes for this, among the chief of which is their diet.
God has
given to us a land that is bounteous; every variety of food can be produced
here in the greatest profusion. It only requires the exercise of the powers
with which we are endowed, with proper industry, to bring forth food in the
greatest abundance and supply every want of man and beast. But whilst I speak
in this strain about a variety of food, I am opposed in my own feelings, to a
great variety of food at one meal. I believe that we enslave our women; we
crash out their lives by following the pernicious habits of our forefathers in
this respect. We sit down to table and, especially if we have friends, our
tables are covered with every delicacy and variety that we can think of. I
believe in variety at different meals, but not at one reek I do not believe in
mixing up our food. This is hurtful. It destroys the stomach by overtaxing the
digestive powers; and in addition to that it almost wears out the lives of our
females by keeping them so closely confined over cooking stoves. A variety of
food is not incompatible with simplicity of cooking; they can go hand in hand.
We can have a variety in diet, and yet have simplicity. We can have a diet that
will be easily prepared, and yet have it healthful. We can have a diet; that
will be tasteful, nutritious and delightful to us, and easy to digest; and yet
not wear out the lives of our mothers, wives, daughters and sisters in its
preparation.
These are
topics, my brethren and sisters, that should claim the attention of the
Latter-day Saints, because they pertain to our every-day existence here on the
earth; and if we follow the course marked out, and seek to follow the counsels
given, the result will be that, here in these valleys, we shall raise a race of
men who will be the joy of the earth, whose complexions will be like the
complexions of angels—fall of health, purity, innocence and vitality; men who
will live until the wheels of life will stand still in consequence of the
gradual decay of the body; not afflicted and brought to the grave prematurely
by disease engendered by improper feeding and other unhealthy habits. We can do
what no other people ever could do, at least no other people living in the
present generation. We are here a new people, forming our habits and laying the
foundation of a great work, and of course are in a state of transition. We can
therefore, if we so please, accommodate ourselves to new habits—habits
recommended and taught to us by the servants of God. One of the great
advantages that would result from our having a more simple diet would be that
we should be less apt to overload our stomachs through the tempting character
of the food we eat. How often is it the case, after we have eaten enough,
somebody will say, "Here is something I would like you to eat a little of;
do taste it." Well, you taste, and before you are aware of it, you have
eaten more than you should; your stomach rebels, and you feel that you have
done a wrong, and if your stomachs are weak, you have to pay the penalty of
your imprudence.
We are
expecting a heavy emigration this season. We hope too see them come by
thousands. How are these brethren and sisters to be employed? Already we are
under tribute. The great majority of the articles of clothing that we wear is
imported, and there is nothing more apparent, to those who reflect on this
subject, than that we as a people must turn our attention to the creation of
new industries. Our President has led out in this direction. He has set an
example to the capitalists of this Territory, worthy of all imitation by
introducing machinery and urging upon the people the cultivation of certain
articles—such, for instance, as cotton and wool. It is a matter of necessity
for us to turn our attention to these branches. We must use the facilities God
has given us in the best possible manner for increasing the means of employing
those who come into our midst. It should be our aim as individuals, as families
and as a community to dispense with everything that we cannot manufacture. I am
told that thousands of dollars a year are expended in supplying our tables with
mustard imported from the East. I have no means of knowing the truth of this,
but it seems incredible, that we, with the facilities we have for its
production, should depend upon importation for the supply of a common article like
mustard.
But this
is only one article. When we sit down to our tables, and take a survey, we find
many articles that are thus imported. It may be, and frequently is said by a
certain class of persons that articles can be imported much cheaper than they
can be manufactured here. This is urged by them as a reason for importing; but
it is a delusion and a snare, and the man who utters such a sentiment is an
ignoramus. He knows nothing about the true principles of building up a people
and kingdom. That which is manufactured here, though it cost ten times the
amount it would cost in the east, is the cheaper, for that is the commencement
of independence. The man or the family who carries on home manufacture is
laying the foundation for true and lasting independence. They are helping to
emancipate the people here from the thraldom under which we have groaned,
sweat, toiled and bled for years. This Territory has been bled of its money and
life by this erroneous idea. We must stop this drain or we will sink into slavery
more abject than that felt by any other people on the continent. The cause of
God requires us to take a different course, and if we pursue that marked, out
for us, means and facilities will increase on every hand. We would like to see
it fashionable in the Territory to dispense with all articles that are
imported. But now, when one family procures an imported article, their
neighbors feel that they are not in the fashion unless they have the same. One
lady and gentleman must have a fashionable bonnet and hat, and their neighbors
must have the same. You can see the result—these fashions make us slaves. Our
young ladies are ashamed to go into company unless they can dress like their
companions; our young men feel the same. And it is not confined to one class;
we all partake of it to a certain extent. We must reform; there is nothing more
apparent than that. We must change our habits, and make it fashionable to have
articles of our own manufacture, and dispense with all articles that are not
so, unless they are absolutely necessary for our comfort and well-being.
The Lord
has multiplied around us every facility for making us a great and mighty
people. We have been able, in an astonishing manner, to create comfortable
homes; the land has been touched by the power of God, and it yields to us of
its strength in abundance. Nowhere on the face of the earth can food be raised
of a better quality than here. Our cereals, fruit and vegetables are
unsurpassed in the world. We can also produce the finest of hemp, flax, wool
and silk. All these articles can be produced in abundance here, if we will
bestow the attention and care necessary for their culture.
When we
reflect upon our position twenty years ago—then this Territory was a desert and
we were cut off by almost illimitable stretches of barren waste from the rest
of the world—we can realize to some extent what God has done for us. Now we and
our children and the stranger can dwell here in peace, comfort and security.
This should stimulate us to press forward. There is no work too great, under
the blessing of God, for us to accomplish if we will only exercise the ability
and power that He has bestowed upon us. I look forward to the day, and I trust
it is not far distant, when we will have everything in our midst necessary to
make us a great and mighty people; when our young people will be the best
educated, trained to the best manners, dressed in the best clothing, and appear
to better advantage than any people on the continent or in the world. I look
forward to this; and it seems to me that it is in the near future. Great and
wonderful changes will be affected in Zion. Our young people will be educated
in true principles; they will be healthy and beautiful, filled with the Holy
Spirit, and attractive to God and man. Our habitations will be delightful to
visit; our orchards and gardens and all our surroundings will be the most
beautiful that can be imagined. Is there anything to prevent it? Nothing but
our own unfaithfulness. God, who has blessed us as we are blessed today, is
willing to bless us more abundantly. Heaven is full of blessings to be poured
out upon us, if we will only prepare ourselves to receive them. The faith that
the Saints are now manifesting in sending for the poor will bring down the
blessings of God upon them, and will increase our faith to accomplish those
labors that we have yet to perform. Send for five thousand people! Yes, and the
Latter-day Saints can do it and perform their other labors too. What effect
does this have upon us? It fills us with faith and confidence that there is no
labor that can he assigned to us that we can not perform. And this is the
training that God is giving to us. It is upon the principle that gymnasts
perform their feats of almost super human strength—by continued practice. It is
so with us. God in the beginning gave us small works to accomplish. We
performed them, and as a consequence, had faith to attempt greater, and thus we
have gone on until to-day. And the work we are now doing is preparatory to some
greater work that He has yet in store for us to accomplish.
May God
bless us, my brethren and sisters and His wisdom be given unto us. May His Holy
Spirit rest mightily on all the Latter-day Saints that their minds may he
filled with it, that when the prophet and servants of God speak unto us, our
hearts may be prepared to receive their counsels, treasure up our words and
carry them out in our lives, that when Jesus comes we may be prepared to meet
Him, which may God grant for Christ's sake. Amen.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young referred to the efforts made in the beginning of cotton growing to get machinery introduced; and to the labors which have been performed by the Saints. He instructed the congregation on the use of meat, and said it was the will of the Lord that this people should cease eating swine's flesh. We should cultivate fruit to a still greater extent than we now do. And fish, as an article of food, is as healthy as any animal food that we can eat. He recommended the sisters to organize Relief Societies where it has not been done, and to organize societies to take the lead in fashions and in everything good and useful; called upon the Bishops to plant rye, that the straw might be used in braiding hats and bonnets; and urged the raising of silk, and carryig out the counsels given with regard to home manufactures and other means requisite to make us independent in applying our wants.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 17:91, 4/29/68, p 3; JD 12:192]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, in the New Tabernacle, afternoon,
April 6, 1868
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
The items
of instruction which have been laid before us by Elders George A Smith and
George Q. Cannon are very important to us, they are subjects which we have
dwelt upon for years. It is generally known among us that we commenced some
years ago to raise cotton in the southern portion of our Territory, and it is
also known that machinery to manufacture it has been introduced into this
country. All this has been done to encourage the people to become self-sustaining.
I am ready to acknowledge that the Latter-day Saints are the best people, and
the most willing people to do right that I know anything about. But when we
take into particular and close consideration their acts, and compare them with
the teaching they are constantly receiving, we think and say they are very far
from taking all the counsel given them of the Lord through His servants. But
were they to be counseled, for instance, to go to the gold mines, many of them
would obey with alacrity. If they were to be counseled to chew or smoke
tobacco, many would lift up both hands for this, and shout for joy? If the
sisters many of them, were counseled to continue the use of tea and coffee they
would sit up all night to bless you. When we are counseled to do that which
pleases us then are we willing to obey counsel. Yet when I consider the pit
from whence we have been taken, and the rock from whence we have been hewn, I
can say, praise to the Latter-day Saints. Again, when we consider the immensity
of knowledge and wisdom and understanding pertaining to the things of this
life, pertaining to the learning of this world, pertaining to that which is
within our reach, and ready for the use and profit of the people, and
particularly with regard to taking care of ourselves, and then consider our
shortcomings, and slothfulness, we may look upon ourselves with shame-facedness
because of the smallness of our attainments in the midst of so many great
advantages.
A
thorough reformation is needed in regard to our eating and drinking, and on
this point I will freely express myself, and shall be glad if the people will
hear, believe and obey. If the people were willing to receive the true
knowledge from heaven in regard to their diet they would cease eating swine's flesh.
I know this as well as Moses knew it, and without putting it in a code of
commandments. When I tell you that it is the will of the Lord to cease eating
swine's flesh, very likely some one will tell you that it is the will of the
Lord to stop eating beef and mutton, and another that it is the will of the
Lord to stop eating fowl and fish until the minds of the people become
bewildered, so that they know not how to decide between right and wrong, truth
and error. The beef fed upon our mountain grasses is as healthy food as we need
at present. Beef, so fattened, is as good as wild meat, and is quite different
in its nature from stall-fed meat. But we can eat fish; and I ask the people of
this community, Who hinders you from raising fowls for their eggs? Who hinders
you from cultivating fruit of every variety that will flourish in the different
parts of this Territory? There has not been a day through the whole winter that
I have not had fresh peaches, and plenty of apples and strawberries. Who
hinders any person in this community from having these different kinds of food
in their families? Fish is as healthy a food as we can eat, if we except
vegetables and fruit, and with them will become a very wholesome click. What
hinders us from surrounding ourselves with an abundance of those various
articles of food which will promote health and produce longevity? If it is
anything, it is our own neglect; or, in other words, which will answer my
purpose better, the want of knowing how.
We cannot
say there are loafers off our streets; still, there are persons in our
community who seem to have no other aim in existence, than to pass away their
time to no purpose or use to themselves or the community. They have nothing to
do, and think that they cannot apply themselves to anything that will benefit
themselves and their families, when they might with great propriety be engaged
in laying out a garden, fencing and planting it, and laying a foundation to
make themselves and their families comfortable. It is true we have taken a
great share of this people from manufacturing districts, where the great masses
of the people know nothing about cultivating the earth; but they can learn it
soon, if they will, after they get here. Let your minds be at home, and let
your attention be directed to that which the Lord has given you for honor and
glory to yourself, instead of being, like the fool which Solomon wrote about,
whose eyes are in the ends of the earth. Consider that you are at home, and
strive to make your homes happy, comfortable and delightful; let the spirit
which you enjoy yourself abound therein.
What is
the reason that our brethren do not progress faster in their improvements? In a
great measure it is for the want of leaders. But this is not altogether so.
Generally it is for lack of judgment and wisdom, tact and talent, taste,
industry and prudence in our Bishops. As it has been said, as with the priest
so with the people. This is the case in a great measure; and we can say, as is
the Bishop so are the members of his ward. It is the duty of the Bishops to
take a course to make their lives, characters, doings and sayings fit examples
in all things to the people of their wards. Some of our Bishops have made no
improvements for eighteen years. I have asked the Bishops to sow a little rye,
to make straw for hats and bonnets. A few have done so. I have asked them to do
the same thing this spring, that the sisters of their wards may have straw to
manufacture. If the Bishops have not time to do this, or have not the ground,
get some of the brethren to do it who have time and ground, and let there be an
acre of rye sown to each ward, and then ask the sisters to gather it in the
proper season. Some say that wheat straw is as good as rye, if properly
prepared. Gather the straw, and make your bonnets and hats, and wear them when
you come to this tabernacle; and make hats for your husbands and sons to wear,
and for your brothers and your sisters, your daughters and your mothers, and
let us see all the sisters and all our brethren and all our children wearing
hats and bonnets of material produced and manufactured by ourselves. I have
been pleading for this for years and years.
This is
leap year; let the ladies take the lead in this and every other species of home
industry at which they can be employed. We have asked the sisters to organize
themselves into Relief Societies; I again ask the sisters in every ward of the
Territory to do so, and get women of good understanding to be your leaders, and
then get counsel from men of understanding; and let your fashions proceed from
yourselves, and become acquainted. with those noble traits of character which
belong to your sex. Ever since I knew that my mother was a woman I have loved
the sex, and delight in their chastity. The man who abuses, or tries to bring
dishonor upon the female sex is a feel, and does not know that his mother and
his sisters were women. Women are more ready to do and love the right that men
are; and if they could have a little guidance, and were encouraged to carry out
the instincts of their nature, they would effect a revolution for good in any
community a great deal quicker than men can accomplish it. Men have been placed
on the earth to bear rule and to lead in every good work, and if they would do
their duty to-day in our own government, and then throughout the world, they
would stop whining about the "Mormons" marrying so many wives, and
the ladies would have somebody to protect them and they would not need to flee
to the "Mormon" Elders for protection. But outside of this community
they are destroying the sex, ruining all they can, and then they boast of their
villainy. Shall I say that the women are short-sighted? I will say they are
weak; I will say that it is in their nature to confide in and look to the
sterner sex for guidance, and thus they are the more liable to be led astray
and ruined. It is the decree of the Almighty upon them to lean upon man as
their superior, and he has abused his privilege as their natural protector and
covered them with abuse and dishonor.
I wish
the whole people of the United States could hear me now, I would say to them,
let every man in the land over eighteen years of age take a wife, and then go
to work with your hands and cultivate the earth, or labor at some mechanical
business, or some honest trade to provide an honest living for yourselves and
those who depend upon you for their subsistence; observing temperance, and
loving truth and virtue; then would the women be cared for, be nourished,
honored and blest, becoming honorable mothers of a race of men and women
farther advanced in physical and mental perfection than their fathers. This
would create a revolution in our country, and would produce results that would
be of incalculable good. If they would do this, the Elders of this Church would
not be under the necessity of taking so many wives. Will they do this? No, they
will not; and there are many who will continue to ruin every virtuous woman
they can, buying the virtue of woman with money and deception, and thus, the
lords of creation proceed from one conquest to another, boasting of their
victories, leaving ruin, tears and death in their pathway; and what have they
conquered? A poor, weak, confiding, loving woman. And what have they broken and
crushed and destroyed? One of the fairest gems of all God's creation. O man!
for shame. If the men of the city of New York alone had done for the last
twenty years as the men of this community have done, from two to four hundred
thousand females from sixteen yeats of age and upwards, whose dishonor and ruin
are mercifully covered in the grave, would now be in life and health, moving in
the circles of happy homes, prayed for, respected, loved and honored.
Now,
ladies, go to and organize yourselves into industrial societies, and get your
husbands to produce you some straw, and commence bonnet and hat making. If
every ward would commence and continue this and other industrial pursuits, it
would not be long before the females of the wards of our Territory would have
stores in their wards, and means sufficient to send and get the articles which
they need, that cannot yet be manufactured here and which they may want to
distribute.
It is an
old saying that a woman can throw out of the window with a spoon as fast as a
man can throw into the door wish a shovel; but a good house-keeper will be
saving and economical, and teach her children to be good housekeepers, and how
to take care of everything that is put in their charge. I do not wish to go
into detail here; I see too much; I know too much of the waste and neglect of
our females to feel satisfied with them. Is this any more so with the female
portion of our community than among the males? No, not at all; but the neglect,
the idleness, the waste, and the extravagance of men in our community are
ridiculous. They are constantly taught better; they know better; yet, in many
instances, the same reckless waste is indulged in by the whole family. If we
will learn to be wise and careful, we shall devote all our time in that way
that will be of the greatest advantage to us and to our common cause,
continually bettering our condition, and become more and more competent to do
good.
I have
tried continually to get this people to pursue a course that will make them
self-sustaining, taking care of their poor—the lame, the halt and the blind,
lifting the ignorant from where they have no opportunity of observing the ways
of the world, and of understanding the common knowledge possessed among the
children of men, bringing them together from the four quarters of the world, and
making of them an intelligent, thrifty and self-sustaining people. This is a
work that is worthy the attention of the Saints. We have gathered thousands
from many nations; By the aid of the Almighty we have raised them out of penury
and miserable dependence, and have taught them how to become wealthy in
possessions, useful to themselves and their neighbors, good citizens, and, I
trust, faithful Saints. We are still continuing our labors in gathering the
poor from foreign lands, and the people are doing marvels in contributing their
means for this purpose; and it is still coming, and we hope to be able to still
enlarge our operations for the deliverance of the poor and downtrodden Saints
of all nations. We can continue to receive and send means until July.
Now,
sisters, will you commence to pay attention to the raising of silk? There are
numbers of sisters in our community who could pay attention to this industry,
and teach the children to gather the mulberry leaves and to feed the worms. I
wish all those sisters whose hands are not tied with large families to enter
into this business with heart and hand in their different wards. Plant the
mulberry tree, and raise silk every year, also silk worm eggs. By pursuing this
business faithfully, year by year, it will bring a yearly revenue to each ward
of thousands of dollars, making the people more and more able to perform works
of benevolence and mercy, and to make themselves more and more comfortable in
their living.
The
Kingdom of God is upward and onward, and will so continue until its power and
influence extend to the relief of the honest of all nations. It is for us to
look to the welfare of the Kingdom of God; for it alone will sustain us, build
us up and save us now and hereafter, and prepare us to enjoy a blessed
eternity. May God bless you. Amen.
Singing, Anthem, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven." Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
[7 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 17:74-75, 4/15/68, p 2-3]
Tuesday, 7th.
10 a.m.
Singing. "The towers of Zion soon shall rise." Prayer by Elder Ezra T. Benson. Singing, anthem, "O, come let us sing."
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor glanced at what has been performed by the Saints during the past thirty-eight years, since the Church was organized, in spreading the Gospel and extending a knowledge of truth among mankind. The principles which we have proclaimed and others which are yet to be taught, are not new, as many in the world say, but they are as etenal as the heavens, and only appears to be new to degenerate man, who if sunk in ignorance and knows not the purposes of God nor understands the principles of truth. The Gospel has been revealed to raise those who will obey it from the low condition in which it finds them, to salvation and exaltation. We have been so enveloped in ignorance and evil, that it is often difficult to discern between truth and error, between good and evil, between light and darkness. Many think they have the most perfect right to do, eat, drink and wear whatever they please, no matter how injurious it may be. As moral agents, as members of society, as beings endowed with the power of procreating our kind, we have no right to do or partake of tat which will injure our bodies, shorten our lives, or excite us to wrong doing. We are accountable to God for abusing the tabernacles and powers which he has bestowed upon us; we are responsible to society of which we are members, for our actions in society, and our influence for good or evil; and we have no right to entail disease, suffering and enfeebled organizations upon our posterity. He took up the subject of home manufactures and cited the examples of France and Britain, nations which trace their greatness to and base it upon their manufactures. If we wish to be independent, we must be self-sustaining. President Young has led the way in the cultivation and manufacture of cotton, and in the manufacture of wool, and in other things; and his example is being followed. He is now leading out in silk. There is a duty devolving on the Saints that they should cease to pattern after the world in foolishness; to live as servants of God and obey His laws; and to strive earnestly to follow the examples set before them, in the initiative steps to becoming self-sustaining.
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
Elder Ezra T. Benson testified to the joy he experienced in obeying the principles of the Gospel. He referred to the efforts made to gather the Saints this coming season, and urged a continuation of them until the work proposed to be done is accomplished. He exhorted the Saints to obedience and diligence in righteousness, and to hearken to the word of the Lord, that they might realize their desires and become indeed Saints of God. In advocating abstinence from stimulants and heating food, he cited the case of Daniel and his associates in Babylon, who refused to use the rich viands of the King's palace, and grew ruddy and fat on pulse and other simple articles of food. Other examples were cited to show the superiority of abstinence from strong drinks and of a simple diet, such being conducive to sound health and life. The work we have to perform is binding on every Latter-day Saint; it is that we obey the requirements of Heaven, purify ourselves, and carry out the counsels given unto us from the Lord through His servant, President Young.
Singing, anthem, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth." Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.
[7 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 17:75, 4/15/68, p 3]
Tuesday, 2 p.m.
At the hour for commencing meeting, the immense building was crowded, a large number being compelled to stand.
Singing, "Ye ransomed of our God." Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde. Singing, "Great is the Lord and marvellous."
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde expressed his gratitude to God for the privilege of meeting with and having the oportunity of speaking to so vast a congregation. He spoke on the Word of Wisdom, and dwelt upon abandoning the use of swine's flesh, as soon as it can be done by the introduction of more healthy substitutes. Greater varieties of food must be obtained. Among these rice might be named. Upland rice can be produced here cheaply and with good results. We should grow more fruit and greater varieties, so that we can have fresh fruit all the year. He referred to the coming season's immigration, and exhorted the people to have liberal feellings in preparing for sending to the railway terminus to bring the immigration here.
Elder Hyde took up the subject of home manufactures, and gave a practical illustration of his faith in it, by the suit of clothes in which he stood to preach, the yarn of which was spun and the cloth made by his own family, and he took pleasure, he said, in wearing it for their sakes. He encouraged the culture of silk, and spoke in hopeful terms of the future, though the prospects a fair for a more than liberal suply of grasshoppers. He belileved that the Lord would preserve His people, though they may be scourged a little to teach them to prize the counsels given them for their salvation, present and future. He urged upon the Saints the adoption of the principles of dietetics laid before them during the present Conference.
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt said the Latter-day Saints had covenanted to serve the Lord, not for a time, but for all time; and that meant to do the will of the Lord when it is known, whether commanded or not. The Word of Wisdom had not been given as a command when it was revealed, because of the weaknesses of the human family; for they would have risked the penalty of disobedience, sooner than obey it, had it been a command. Thirty-five years, on February last, have elapsed since the Word of Wisdom was given, and it is time we had learned to do the will of God in this matter, as well as obey His commandments, when made known to us.
The speaker reasoned at length on the relations of the lower animal creation to the human family, and the uses for which they have been made. He quoted various scriptures and revelations to show that they were made to be used by man with care and judgment, and not to be destroyed, when necessity does not require it. If we wantonly kill the wild animals around us that can be used for food, we might see the time when we would be glad that our sage plains were filled with them. The glorious time of peace that will be enjoyed in the millennium, will see the brute creation robbed of their ferocity and their savage nature changed; and we should now view them as the creatures of our Father and God, and not destroy them in wantonness.
Singing by the choir. Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 17:75, 4/15/68, p 3]
Wednesday,
8th.
10 a.m.
Singing, "What wondrous things we now behold." Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow. Singing, glee, "Pull away cheerily."
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder Erastus Snow reasoned on the foolishness of those who, having gathered to these valleys from the nations to serve God and help to build up His kingdom, allow themselves to be led away after the things that perish, striving to find gold and precious metals, associating with the wicked and ungodly in seeking wealth, and casting away the pearl of salvation that they may lay hold of things of little value, and which, if obtained, soon pass from the possession of those who have sacrificed so much to gain them. All things are for the Saints; and though the wealth of this world has been claimed for so many ages by the Adversary, the Saints are the rightful heirs to it, and it will yet be given into the possession of those who remain faithful. How foolish then, for them to seek to obtain wealth in ways forbidden by the Lord! The development of manufactures and producing articles of usefulness and value, are of infinitely more worth to us, than the discovery of any number of gold and silver mines.
He recommended all who have not declared their intentions of becoming citizens of the United States to do so, and prepare themselves for exercising the right to express themselves at the ballot box for their representatives and rulers, when circumstances and legislation shall place the citizens of this Territory in that position.
This season's immigration was referred to, and continued liberality towards it was encouraged. Instead of dreading the locusts, we should exercise faith in God, who can control their movements. We have been tried in this way before, and if we should be again, all right; let us learn wisdom from experience. The speaker advocated the exercise of the gospel feeling of charity towards the Lamanites. Though savage, blood-thirsty and cruel, they have a work yet to perform in the future, and are preserved by the Lord for its accomplishment. But all who are exposed to Indian attacks and depredations shuld exercise the utmost vigilance, and yet with constant watchfulness they should possess generous feelings and be able to deal in justice with the savages
He spoke in an interesting manner of the condition of the settlements on the Muddy, stating that those who had gone down south to St. Thomas last Fall are prosperous and doing well. A number of those who went to St Joseph, were induced to go farther up the river to settle, and returned disapointed, which threw them back for six weeks or two months; but now they are bidding fair to do well. He advised those who were called to go there last Fall and have not yet done so, to honorably fill their mission, and preserve their usefulness and the spirit of the work of God.
[Erastus Snow]
[DNW 17:186, 7/22/68, p 2; JD 12:211]
DISCOURSE
By Elder ERASTUS SNOW, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt
Lake City, April 8, 1868.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
Thirty-eight
years ago the Prophet Joseph Smith, in a little upper room in Father Whitmer's
house, Fayette, Seneca County, New York State, gathered six men together by
commandment of God, and proceeded to organize the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Perhaps this was the smallest number with which a church was
ever organized. But the Savior compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard
seed, which, He said, is the least of all seeds, but which, when grown, becomes
greater than all herbs, so that the fowls of the air can lodge in its branches.
From this small beginning the Latter-day Saints have become a great people.
That which has brought this about, specially, has been the fulfilling of the
commandments of God, given through Joseph and the ancient prophets, in
reference to the gathering of His people from Babylon in the latter days. One
reason assigned by the Lord for the gathering of His people is set forth in the
revelations of St. John, where He says, "Come out of her O, my people that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
This, in a few words, explains the chief reason for the Lord requiring His
people to gather together. But the prophets Isaiah and Micah assign another
good reason—they predict that the mountain of the Lord's house in the last days
shall be established in the tops of the mountains, and the nations shall flow
unto it, saying. "Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the
house of the God of Jacob, for He will teach us of His ways, that we may learn
to walk in his paths."
These two
scriptures show unto us that the Lord has required His people to gather in the
last days, that they might escape the sins of the wicked, and the plagues which
shall be poured out upon them, and that they might be taught in His paths,
taught to govern themselves, to correct their foolish habits and customs, and
to train themselves and their offspring that they may be able to build up Zion
according to the law and order of Heaven.
We have
already made a commendable advance in this direction. I rejoice in moving to
and fro among this people to see the spirit of improvement manifested by them
in both temporal and spiritual things, and the increase of unity in their
midst. Yet there is still room for further improvement in all these matters.
There is one principle which fathers and mothers, and the Elders of Israel
generally, should understand and teach to their children, that is, what trials
and tribulations this people have passed through to establish themselves in
this, their mountain home; and that these things have been borne for the
Kingdom of Heaven's sake and not for filthy lucre's sake. Had it been gold or
silver or worldly comfort we had followed after, we should not have gathered
together; but should have been scattered through this wicked world. We left
these worldly considerations when we embraced the gospel and emigrated to this
country. Yet our common foe is on the alert to neutralize our efforts and to
draw away our young men, and many of the middle aged who have forgotten the
testimony of Jesus and have ceased to realize that this is the work of God, and
when they hear reports of the discovery of gold or silver, or think they see a chance
to make money by digging for gold or by freighting, they launch forth and
strike hands with unbelievers, engage in their enterprises, and neglect the
good work of God. This ought not to be. Our young men are heirs to the
priesthood and of all the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant, and
they ought not to employ themselves in building up the kingdom of darkness or
spending their strength with unbelievers. But I suppose it is all right to have
these temptations spread before us, in order that the people may be proven more
effectually. It is important that our young men, and all Israel who do not
thoroughly understand these principles, should be taught, so that the love of
the gospel may be uppermost in their hearts.
I am
persuaded that the Lord is perfectly willing that His people should possess
every good thing the earth will afford, orchards, gardens, vineyards, houses,
carriages and every other good thing, to be enjoyed with thanksgiving and used
with prudence and judgment. I am aware that the hosts of hell have sought to
control the wealth of the world, and Lucifer has ever sought to allure the
righteous, as he did the Savior when he offered Him the kingdoms and wealth of
the world if He would only fell down and worship him. It becomes the Elders of
Israel, young, middle-aged or old, to imitate the example of the Savior, in
saying, "Get thee behind me Satan." As to the riches of the world
they belong to the Lord, and He gives them to whom He will. If we are
determined to devote our lives to the kingdom of Heaven, and not to this world,
we shall in due time inherit all that is good for us to inherit; and unless we
realize the objects of our existence, and learn to govern and control our
spirits so as to devote ourselves and our energies and all the means given to
us to build up Zion, then the good things of this life would be wasted upon us
comparatively.
During
the progress of this Conference there have been various means of industry and
enterprise spoken of and presented for the consideration of the people, such as
the producing of wool, flax, hemp, cotton and silk, and the introduction of
machinery for the manufacture of the raw material into the various fabrics
necessary for the use of the people in cold and warm weather. The subject of
developing the mineral resources of our Territory is one of great importance.
Iron, copper, coal, lead zinc and tin abound in our mountain home, and the
development of these minerals is of far more importance to the welfare and
prosperity of a nation, than the development of mines containing the precious
metals; for the latter are limited in their use, while the grosset metals are
those that, in their uses, enter into all the ramifications of life. The
discovering and opening of gold and silver mines tempt the cupidity of the
blind worshipers of mammon, and spread corruption among the people. The prayers
of every good man and woman should ascend to God, that in Zion these precious
metals may be covered up and concealed until it is His good pleasure for His
Saints to possess the kingdom, so that they may be governed and controled by
the righteous instead of the wicked.
There is
much neglect in some of the distant settlements on the part of our foreign
brethren, with regard to taking out their naturalization papers. The word
"white" is stricken from the Constitution of Deseret, and when the
citizens of African descent are admitted to the polls, the adopted sons of
America who have come here to obtain homes for themselves and their posterity,
should not be indifferent respecting the rights of citizenship and neglect to
take the steps necessary to secure to themselves the full privileges pertaining
thereto.
The
emigration of the poor has commended itself to the hearts and feelings of the
people, and I am sure that their liberal response to the calls made upon them
last October will do much to commend them to the favor of Heaven, and to secure
the blessing of the Lord upon the labor of their hands. Let us continue in this
great work, and let every bishop and elder exert himself in his sphere, to
encourage the people to send in their available means of every kind, that our
President and those whom he calls to assist him may be able to carry out the
glorious programme that he has adopted for the gathering of the poor. Let the
people in every ward be awake and alive to this subject, that neither
provisions nor teams for the outfit may be lacking when the time comes to send
for the poor. If the people find that their plans for freighting and other
business are thwarted to some extent in doing this, they will in the end find
themselves richer, for the Lord has given us abundant evidence in times past
that He controls the avenues of wealth and prosperity to this people. And who
need fear the locusts and grasshoppers? Have we not been tried in these things
before? and if it is essential that we should be again, all right. I can say
with David of old, "I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his
seed begging bread." The Lord has said, "it is my business to provide
for my Saints," and if He does not do it we certainly can not. We may
plow, sow, and irrigate, but we cannot give the increase. And if the blade
grows, it may wither or the locusts devour it; and if they do God directs them,
for there is not a sparrow which is not fed by our Father in Heaven, neither
does a hair of our heads fall to the ground without being numbered; neither is
there a locust that is not cared for by Him who rules all things, and He can
dispose of them as seems to Him good He can move them east, west, north or
south, and can destroy or multiply them at pleasure. And He can preserve our
crops; but He certainly will not do it unless we adopt the measures He has
ordained. We must plow and sow and plan and leave the event with Him. He will
not forsake His people, and He will provide for the multitude that we may
gather up.
We may
exert ourselves to the utmost to gather the poor and send forth our teams to
bring them to our homes and He will provide abundance for us to feed them and
ourselves and the locusts that He sends among us. And when the locusts have
eaten enough, He will bid them leave, providing we are not over anxious to
transport our substance to feed the wicked and build up hell in our midst. If
the Lord thinks that the locusts will be less offensive and do less harm than
herders of the ungodly in our borders, I am contended to feed them, provided
our people will cease feeding their enemies. I do not mean that we shall cease
feeding the hungry, no matter whether he is Saint or sinner; but cease to feed
and build up the wicked who will not labor with us to develop the resources of
the country and help to build up Zion. God has called us to turn away from the
folly of sustaining and building up Babylon—the worshipers of mammon—those who
have no interest in common with us in establishing Zion and building up the
Kingdom of our God upon the earth.
With
regard to the aborigines of this continent, there are several prophecies in the
Book of Mormon to the effect that they will one day become a pure people; but
that will not take place until the fulness of the Gentiles has come. Then,
according to the promise, the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out upon them
and they will inherit the blessings promised. Until that time we expect they
will be a scourge upon the people of Zion, as the Lamanites were a scourge to
the Nephites of old. That which the Lord is pleased to use as a scourge to-day,
He may use in days to come as a means of support and of strength. It becomes
the Latter-day Saints as a people to cherish the principles of love and good
will to all men, and especially the household of faith; and also to the
natives, who are blind and ignorant pertaining to the principles of the gospel,
and not to thirst for their blood, nor be very revengeful for every wrong that
they, in their blindness, may commit; but to exercise generous forbearance. God
will enable us to inflict such summary chastisement upon them as circumstances
may require, when it is His good pleasure that they should be chastened. Or
else He will take it in hand Himself, for He can easily destroy, by various
diseases, those who are shedding the blood of the Saints. And this will be far
more acceptable to Him than if it were done by us.
It
certainly ought not to be specially gratifying to any one to shed the blood of
his fellows, whether red, black or white. I have seen that the Lord has taken
care of the Lamanites as well as of the Latter-day Saints, and He requires that
we should exercise our reasoning powers, and not throw ourselves heedlessly into
positions where we are exposed to the wrath of the savages. Inexperienced men
who are unacquainted with Indian habits and customs, and their mode of warfare,
should never be trusted beyond the confines of our settlements with their wives
and families, to commence operation on their own account. They thereby tempt
the cupidity of the savages. Men of experience, energy, watchfulness—men with
kind hearts and generous impulses, who can forgive an injury—are the men who
should be selected on all occasions to lead out in the formation of new
settlements on our frontiers; and they should be sustained by obedient and
experienced men, who will help to control and take care of the people and keep
them out of danger.
I have
thought many a time that the Lord has suffered the natives in various places to
drive in our outpost; just as a wise vine dresser will clip off the end of his
vines that they may produce more fruit and make less wood. We are sometimes in
the habit of scattering too far. Being over anxious to spread, we lay on more
warp than we have filling for.
I would
say a word in relation to the missionaries who went South last fall to the
Muddy. Brother Joseph W. Young and myself left here on the second of March and
visited the settlements between this place and St. Thomas on the Muddy. The bad
condition of the roads and the limited amount of time at our command, having to
return here to Conference, prevented us devoting that amount of time to the
settlements that we wished to. But we found them generally in a prosperous
condition; though in some places we were reminded of what we saw last winter in
Salt Lake City, and of Israel of old when Moses went up into the mountain and
they got Aaron to make them a calf. Still as a general thing we found the
people prosperous.
I will
say for the benefit of those who have sons and daughters and friends there, who
have been reared in and about Salt Lake City and the older settlements, that it
must not be expected that everything will run smooth with them, or that they
will realize all their expectations. There are many here who assisted in
establishing settlements in Salt Lake Valley, and who know the difficulties we
had to encounter for the first two or three years; and there are others who
have gone out and buffetted the difficulties of establishing settlements upon
our borders north and south. The country on the Muddy affords facilities for
extensive and prosperous settlements, but there is a lack of timber. They have
done very well for fuel, as within about thirty miles of St. Thomas there are
large groves of cedar and pinion pine, which will supply them with fuel for
many years, and a good natural road to it, and springs of water in the grove.
There is also considerable sawing timber in the mountains twenty miles east of
St. Thomas; and a much larger body of excellent saw timber in the mountains
west of St. Thomas about fifty or sixty miles. But in both these places
portable steam mills are necessary, as there are springs of water in the
timber, but no creeks sufficient for water mills. And until they are able to
get mills to saw their lumber, they cannot make very much advance towards
building. As to fencing, the only fences in that region of country are two
stone corrals, one in each settlement for coralling the stock at night which is
herded in the day. And I am fully satisfied that it is very much cheaper; and
that they will make far greater progress in developing the country by adopting
this system of herding their stock, than they would by attempting to fence
their land. And I will say that in my visit to that country I have not, to the
best of my recollection, seen one single animal preying on the crops in that
section of country. I wish I could say as much for the best fenced sections of
country in the other portions of our Territory.
Those who
went down to St. Thomas last Fall seem comfortable, pleasant and happy.
Everything around them exhibits an air of thrift and comfort. I cannot say
quite as much for those located at St. Joseph. For many of those who went to
that settlements heard of a country higher up stream, and they felt anxious to
visit it; and instead of settling down at once and beginning to improve and
make themselves a home, they waited in hope of finding a better country. By and
by in the course of the Winter a man, who was responsible and ought to have
taken a different course, led them out to the Upper Muddy, and when they were
called back again to St. Joseph, they came feeling disappointed. The result
was, there feelings were unsettled, and six weeks or two months of their labor
may be said to have been thrown away; and yet not thrown away, for I trust the
experience they have received, and the instruction which followed, have sealed
lessons on their minds that they will not forget, and that will prove more
valuable to them than any amount of means they would have earned by that two
month's labor. And I trust God will overrule it for their good.
They were
much pleased and rejoiced to see us among them, and to hear our word; and were
ready and willing to be told what to do, and to go with their might and do it;
and I believe that since our visit among them they have settled down in their
feelings and have gone to work in good earnest to make themselves homes. They
have not Salt Lake market to go to, and they cannot procure all the little
luxuries of life; and their food and manner of living will necessarily be
somewhat crude and primitive, but wholesome and healthy. I scarcely know of a
single instance of sickness among them. There were a few who, when they were
migrating south last year during the months of November and December, and were
exposed to severe storms, took cold and fever, but since their arrival in that
country they have been healthy.
It is
very natural for them, like children, to feel after home and father and mother,
and the scenes of their youth. And it is very natural, too, for the sympathies
of parents to be with their children. But let not this mistaken sympathy lead
parents to give wrong counsel to their children to their hurt. It requires
stout hearts to develop a new country like that; but perseverance, time and
patience will accomplish it. There is plenty of bread—the staff of life—in the
country, and no necessity for actual want among any of them. It is not now as
it has been in St. George and on the Muddy, where there was no bread in the
country and we had to come to Sanpete or to Salt Lake City to fetch it.
I would say
to all who have been called and have not gone,—for judging from the best
information I have, not above half of those called are in the southern
country,—for the sake of your own future welfare and prosperity, respond to the
calls that have been made upon you and strive to fill that mission with
confidence, boldness and energy. Or if there are good and sufficient reasons
why you should riot do so, go to the President and make known your
circumstances, that you may be released, that your consciences may not condemn
you and that your God may not condemn you, and that your future usefulness may
not be curtailed. Let no one flatter himself that he can pass along in
obscurity, unnoticed, and neither magnify his calling, nor yet be discharged
from it. It will linger around you, it will haunt you and will be like a canker
worm gnawing at the root of your felicity. Take steps to be exonerated one way
or the other, and God will bless you: Amen.
[President H. C. Kimball]
President H. C. Kimball said if anybody wished to see a miracle they had only to look upon the congregation before him, and look back over the growth of the Church from the time when the entire members of it could be seated in a small room; and we are increasing rapidly. He urged the exercising of increasing watchcare over our growing sons and daughters. They should all attend meetings regularly, learn the principles of truth and grow up to be more useful. He was in favor of ordaining the boys to the priesthood, and watching and training them with great care, that they might learn of the power and importance of the blessing thus bestowed upon them. The spirit and sealing power of Elias are with President Young, to seal together the fathers and the children, that they may be one and that the whole people may be united in working out salvation. We should all take a course to save our offspring; and the man who cannot save his children -- his family, cannot save himself.
Singing, seraph's anthem, "Our King is risen indeed, hallelujah!" Prayer by Elder Ezra T. Benson.
[8 Apr, 2 pm*]
[DNW 17:75, 4/15/68, p 3]
2 p.m.
Singing, "Come O Thou King of kings." Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow. singing, anthem, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord."
President B. Young presented the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles to the Conference; and Elder George Q. Cannon presented the rest of the Authorities of the Church in the following order. All were sustained and every vote was unanimous.
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Heber C. Kimball his first and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith members of said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young his counselors.
William Eddington, John T. Caine, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, Peter Nebeker and Charles S. Kimball, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Wooley and Samuel W. Richards his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardle and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Samuel W. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; William Carmichael and Robert Price his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Warren Hardie and Charles S. Cram his counselors
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
Truman O. Angel, Architect for the church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells and Edward Hunter his assistants for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
The names of the following brethren, who are called to go on missions to preach the Gospel were then read tot he conference, and a vote taken if the people would sustain them by their faith and prayers, which was unanimous.
Lewis Grant, Sessions' Settlement.
M. F. Farnsworth, Salt Lake City.
Wm. C. Thomas, Brigham City.
Wm. Jackson Bell, Provo City.
George Teasdale, Salt Lake City.
Haden W. Church St. George.
Owen Dix, St. George.
John Hawley, Pine Valley.
Newton Adair, Washington.
James E. Fisher, Provo, Valley.
John Albiston, Cache Valley.
Hans Peterson, Hyrum, Cache County.
Lucius Peck, Salt Lake City.
O. H. Riggs, " "
Lyman Shaffer, Provo City.
John Hindley, Salt Lake City & American Fork
Peteq Nebeker, Salt Lake City.
Theodore B. Lewis, Cottonwood, Salt Lake co.
Edmund Eldredge, Coalville.
Josiah M. Ferren, Ogden Valley.
Hyrum B. Clemens, Coalville.
William Howard, senr., Big Cottonwood.
[President Young]
President Young then gave to all of the young brethren over twenty years of age missions to marry and make homes for themselves, and the young sisters to learn household and domestic duties. He recommended the sisters to organize societies for silk culture and other useful purposes, and to get straw and make their own hats and bonnets. He instructed mothers how to take care of their children, that they may be clean and nice and beautiful and pleasant to look upon; and he advised the Bishops to keep these counsels before the people. He instructed the congregation on various practical matters, showing the young people whom he advised to marry, how they can make for themselves comfortable and pleasant and happy homes. Fish culture, poultry raising, wool growing, flax culture, and other branches of industry, were dwelt upon in an interesting and most instructive manner.
During the course of his remarks, he strongly urged the brethren not to go hunting gold nor gold mining; but to stay at home and attend to the duties which are here for them to perform, and they will prosper.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 17:106, 5/13/68, p 6; JD 12:200]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG,in the New Tabernacle,
afternoon, April 8, 1868.
_____
REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
_____
President
Heber C. Kimball has exhorted the bishops to gather around them the young men
and teach them the privileges which they enjoy, and try to lead them in the
right way. Bishops, I wish you to hearken to this piece of good advice. I will
give each of the young men in Israel, who have arrived at an age to marry, a
mission to go straightway and get married to a good sister, fence a city lot,
lay out a garden and orchard and make a home, and especially do not forget to
plant a proper proportion of mulberry trees. This is the mission that I give to
all the young men in Israel. And I say to you, sisters, if you do not know how
to milk a cow, you can soon learn. If you do not know how to feed the cows, you
can learn. If you do not know how to feed the chickens, get them and learn how,
and if your husband takes you to live in ever so small and humble a cottage,
make it neat and nice and clean, and set out flowers around the doors, and let
the husband plant fruit trees and shade trees, and let wives help their
husbands that they may be encouraged to take hold of more important business
that will create an income sufficient to sustain their wives, and by economy
and care become wealthy in a short time, and have your carriage to ride in.
What a satisfaction it will be to you to know that what you possess is the
result of your industry and economy. "It was not given to us by grandfather,
or by father, or by mother, or any relation; but we have got these comforts by
our industry, saving, and the blessings of the Lord." By this means our
young men and maidens will gain for themselves credit, respect, and a name in
Israel worthy of the admiration of all good persons. How much better is this
course than the opposite, to spend precious time to no profit, always being in
a state of dependence. Were the Lord to speak of such conduct, he would use
terms to show that He is not well pleased with it.
I have a
short sermon for my sisters. I wish you, under the direction of your bishops
and wise men, to establish your relief societies, and organize yourselves under
the direction of the brethren, and establish yourselves for doing business,
gathering up your little amounts of means that would otherwise go to waste, and
put them to usury, and make more of them, and thus keep gathering in. Let this
be commenced forthwith. Ask your husbands to furnish you some straw for hats
and bonnets, and when you get it put more than three straws over your head, and
make a hat that will shade you from the scorching sun. I have a great desire to
live and see the prosperity of this people, and one thing among the rest, I
would like to see the time when our sisters will take more pains to beautify
their children. When your children arise in the morning instead of sending them
out of doors to wash in cold, hard water, with a little soft soap, and wiping
them as though you would tear the skin off them, creating roughness and
darkness of skin, take a piece of soft flannel, and wipe the faces of your
children smooth and nice, dry them with a soft cloth; and instead of giving
them pork for their breakfast, give them good wholesome bread and sweet milk,
baked potatoes, and also buttermilk if they like it, and a little fruit, and I
would have no objections to their eating a little rice. Rice is an excellent
food for children, and I wish some of the brethren would cultivate it in these
valleys. Upland rice will flourish in this country. Train up your children to
be beautiful and fair, instead of neglecting them until they are sunburned and
become like the natives of our mountains. Let the sisters take care of
themselves, and make themselves beautiful, and if any of you are so superstitious
and ignorant as to say that this is pride, I can say that you are not informed
as to the pride which is sinful before the Lord, you are also ignorant as to
the excellency of the heavens, and of the beauty which dwells in the society of
the Gods. Were you to see an angel, you would see a beautiful and lovely
creature. Make yourselves like angels in goodness and beauty. Let the mothers
in Israel make their sons and daughters healthy and beautiful, by cleanliness
and a proper diet. Whether you have much or little clothing for your children,
it can be kept clean and healthy, and be made to fit their persons neatly. Make
your children lovely and fair that you may delight in them. Cease to send out
your children to herd sheep with their skins exposed to the hot sun, until
their hands and faces appear as though they lived in an ash heap. I call upon
my sisters to lead out in these things; and create your own fashions, and make
your clothing to please yourselves, independent of outside influences; and make
your hats and bonnets to shade you. I wish you, sisters, to listen to these
counsels, and place yourselves in a condition to administer to the poor. Get
your husbands to provide you with a little of this and a little of that of
which you can make something by adding your own labor. I do not mean that you
shall apply to them for five dollars and ten dollars to spend for that, which
is of no profit, but manufacture something that will be useful, as well as
beautiful and comely.
You ought
to enter into the cultivation of silk. Our bench lands are well adapted to the
growth of the mulberry tree, the leaves of which produce the natural food for
the silk worm. There is no better land nor climate in the world than we have
for this branch of business. We can make ourselves independently rich at this
business alone, if it is properly pursued. There ought to be a plot of land in
each ward devoted to the cultivation of silk, and a cocoonery built in the
centre of it, and in the season thereof let the children of the wards who have
nothing to do, and aged people, gather the leaves and feed the worms. The work
is light and interesting, while the sales of wound silk, for which there is
always a market to be found, will do much towards feeding and clothing poor
persons that would otherwise be entirely dependent. If the worms are well taken
Care of, the season of feeding only lasts froth thirty-five to forty days. If I
cannot succeed in getting the sisters with their children to attend to this
business, I shall be under the necessity of sending to China for Chinamen to
come here and raise silk for us, which I do not wish to do. To pay people the
wages they want here would prevent us from raising silk profitably. We look
forward to the period when the price of labor here will be brought to a
reasonable and judicious standard.
Now,
sisters, go to forthwith and get you an acre of land, and get, the Bishops and
the brethren to fence it, and prepare it for the reception of the trees, and go
and help them; but, be sure to wear a wide brimmed hat while doing it, so as
not to get tanned with the sun and the wind. Go to and raise silk. You can do
it, and those who cannot set themselves to work we will set them to work
gathering straw, and making straw hats and straw bonnets; we will set others to
gathering willows, and others to making baskets; we will set others to
gathering flags and rushes, and to making mats, and bottoming chairs, and
making carpets. I pray you in Christ's stead to let gold hunting alone, and
pray the Lord to cover it up in our region of country that it cannot be found.
Those among us who are anxious to find rich gold deposits, are equally anxious
to destroy themselves, and are no wiser than our little children are in
handling sharp-edged tools. They would not only destroy themselves, but all
around them if they had the power to do it. Instead of hunting gold, let every
man go to work at raising wheat, oats, barley, corn, and vegetables; and fruit
in abundance, that there may be plenty in the land. Raise sheep, and produce
the finest quality of wool in large quantities. By the migratory system of
feeding sheep in this country they will be healthy, and produce large clips of
wool. I hope, by the blessings of the Lord, to demonstrate this the present
season. In these pursuits are the true sources of wealth, and we have as much
capital in these, mountains to begin with as any people in the world, according
to the number of our community. Real capital consists in knowledge and physical
strength. If we know how to apply our labor, it will produce for us everything
we can ask for; it will bring to us the food and the clothing we want, and
every facility we need for comfort, for refinement, for excellence, for beauty,
and for adornment. It will bring to us the wealth of the world, the gold and
the silver, although gold and silver are not real wealth. They are useful as a
medium of exchange, as foundation upon which to base a currency, and to use as
ornaments and household vessels; and so gold should be regarded until there is enough
of it to pave our streets. O, ye Elders of Israel who are greedy for gold,
instead of wasting your time in search of it, gather around you the comforts of
life, with which the elements are loaded, and make yourselves rich in all the
elegancies and conveniences by means of economy and industry. I wish the
sisters to lead out in the fashions. It is very little difference what fashion
you produce. I would just as soon see you wear hats with wide brims as not, if
you have that fashion that will give comfort and convenience and produce health
and longevity. We wish to promote the longevity of the people. Tell your
husbands to get you a heifer calf or two and some chickens, and you will feed
them, and take care of them, instead of feeding pigs, and if your husbands have
springs on their land, get them to clean them out and dam them up a little, and
introduce the spawn of the best fish we herein these mountains, and collect all
the information that has been printed, and which comes within your reach on the
subject of raising fish. And raise your potatoes and parsnips and carrots for
feeding them with, adding a little corn meal, or a little oat meal. We can
raise fish here, and the cost will be one fourth less per pound than other
meats. You may think that fowls are injurious to the garden; but they are not.
They will pick up grubs and cut worms and other destructive insects, and the
good they do in this respect. Will far overbalance any trifling injury they may
do to young plants. They will keep your gardens clean of these pests, and
fatten, giving you plenty of eggs to eat. Take care of them, and get a little
patch of lucerne planted to give to your young heifer, and rear her until she
gives you her increase. This is for you young women who want to get husbands.
Tell the young men that you will sustain yourselves, and teach them how to
sustain themselves if they do not know how, if they will only come and marry
you. Now, girls, court up the boys, it is leap year. Give them to understand in
some way that it is all right. You are ready, and you want to help them to make
a good home, to form a nucleus around which to gather the blessings and
comforts of life, a place to rally to. While you are on the move and unsettled
you can get nothing that [p.204] is permanent. Tell the boys what to do, and
you sisters of experience, ye mothers in Israel, go to and get up your
societies, and teach these girls what to do, and how to get the boys to come
and marry them. The neglect and lazy habits which our boys are falling into are
a disgrace to us, to say nothing about the sin of such conduct. They produce
nothing, and consider themselves unable to take care of a family, and they will
not marry. This conduct of theirs leaves our young women without partners; they
want somebody to look to, and something that they can do to advantage and bless
themselves, and have a home to go to. Young men, fit you up a little log cabin,
if it is not more than ten feet square, and then get you a bird to put in your
little cage. You can then work all day with satisfaction to yourself,
considering that you have a home to go to, and a loving heart to welcome you.
You will then have something to encourage you to labor and gather around you
the comforts of life, and a place to gather them to. Strive to make your little
home attractive. Use lime freely, and let your houses nestle beneath the cool
shades of trees, and be made fragrant with perfumes of flowers.
These are
practical teachings; they are things which this people must be taught, for if
we do not learn to take care of ourselves and save ourselves who will do it for
us? Will the Gentiles help us, and care for us? Will they do us good? No. And I
tell you further, Elders of Israel, that you do not know the day of your
visitation, neither do you understand the signs of the times, for if you did
you would be awake to these things. Every organization of our government, the
best government in the world, is crumbling to pieces. Those who have it in
their hands are the ones who are destroying it. How long will it be before the
words of the prophet Joseph will be fulfilled? He said if the Constitution of
the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people. It will not
be many years before these words come to pass. How long will it be before they
will be coming here for bread, for the bread of life, and for the bread which
sustains the body? Do you know this? You do not. This community live as it were
from hand to mouth. They must learn to lay up food. Notwithstanding all that
has been said to the people on this subject, not one man to thirty has bread
sufficient to last him one year. As our mechanics are paid, they might have
laid up their hundreds if not their thousands a year. Brethren, learn. You have
learned a good deal it is true; but learn more; learn to Sustain yourselves;
lay up grain and flour, and save it against a day of scarcity. Sisters, do not
ask your husbands to sell the last bushel of grain you have to buy something
for you out of the stores, but aid your husbands in storing it up against a day
of want, and always have a year or two's provision on hand. A great abundance
of fruit can be dried, There are but few families in this city who do not have
the privilege of drying and laying up fruit. Yet the majority of families in
this community, instead of using fruit that was dried last fall but one, are
using fruit dried last, year when the grasshoppers were here. A year's supply
should be kept ahead, so that families would not be compelled to eat fruit that
had been injured by grasshoppers and other insects. We should accumulate all
kinds of nutritive substances, and preserve them from worms, which can easily
be done. If we do not take care of ourselves, we shall have a very poor chance
to be taken care of. If we will hearken to the counsel that is given to us we
shall know how to sustain ourselves in every particular. Mothers in Israel,
sisters, ask your husbands to take care of the sheep they have got, and not
wilfully waste them; but multiply them and bring our wool to the factories to
be manufactured, or trade it for yarn and cloth. The woolen mills which we now
have in the country will work up a great deal of wool if they can get it. Who
is there in our community that raises flax? Is there any attention paid to this
culture? I think not, but it is, "Husband, sell your wheat, sell your oats
to buy me the linen I want." We shall in the future have flax machines
here to make the finest of linen; and we can make the cotton and silk in
abundance. I would urge the brethren of the southern Country to plant cotton
sufficient to supply the wants of the factories that are now in the country,
and let us continue our labors until we can manufacture everything we want. All
this is embraced in our religion, every good word and work, all things temporal,
and all things spiritual, things in heaven, things on earth, and things that
are under the earth are circumscribed by our religion. We are in the fastnesses
of the mountains, and if we do these things, and delight in doing right, our
feet will be made fast and immovable like the bases of these everlasting hills.
We ought not to desire anything only on righteous principles, and if we want
right, let us then deal it out to others, being kind and full of love and
charity to all. My brethren and sisters, I have occupied considerable time; but
I have not spoken one tenth of what I wish to say to you. By the authority that
the Lord has granted to me, I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder Lorenzo Snow touched upon the practical character of the counsels given and requirements made of us, showing a similarity, in this respect, between them and those given to ancient Israel, the results desired in either case being to communicate knowledge by which those who lack it can learn to take care of themselves, and organize from the elements around that which will sustain life, and contribute to make it comfortable, enjoyable and happy. He treated upon the elevating nature of the gospel; and dwelt at some length on the evil results of going gold hunting.
Singing, "Lo, the Gentile chain is broken," with chorus.
The conference was adjourned till the 6th of October next, at 10 o'clock in the morning, to meet in the New Tabernacle. Benediction by Elder George A. Smith.
EDWARD
L. SLOAN,
Clerk of Conference
_____
6-8 Oct 1868, 38th
Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 17:282, 10/14/68, p 2; MS 30:721,
737]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 17:282, 10/14/68, p 2]
THIRTY-EIGHTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
The Thirty-eighth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened this morning in the New Tabernacle at ten o'clock. The congregation at that hour was a large one, though the vast building was not filled; and as the voices of the choir mingled in harmony with the sonorous tones of the great organ, in the opening hymn, the solemnities of the occasion pervaded the assembled thousands.
On the stands we noticed President B. Young and President D. H. Wells, of the First Presidency; Apostles Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. A. Smith, E. T. Benson, C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith; John Smith, Patriarch; John Young, E. D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priests Quorum; George B. Wallace and Joseph W. Young, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, of the First Presidency of the Seventies; Edward Hunter, L. W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishopric; Bishops, presiding Elders, and leading men from settlements the most remote and those at nearer points of distance, Idaho, Utah and Arizona being represented.
One notable point in connection with this Conference is, that it is the first General Conference of the Church held in Utah at which there has been a full Quorum of the Twelve Apostles present. The nature of the duties and labors of the Twelve causes one or more of their number to be nearly always absent in some parts of the earth, aiding to build up the Kingdom of God; but this October, through the recent arrival of Elder Franklin D. Richards, all are in the Territory and all are assembled at Conference. The communion and counselings of President Young, President Wells and the full Quorum of the Twelve, with their united wisdom, wide experience, and the spirit and inspiration which accompany them, will, beyond doubt, give birth to much most valuable instruction and counsel to the people, and the adoption of such measures, under the dictation of the spirit of God, as will be of incalculable benefit to the interests of the community. We record this meeting together of all the Twelve at Conference, as most noteworthy.
The meeting was called to order by President B. Young, and the Tabernacle Choir sang the opening hymn: "The morning breaks, &c." Elder George A. Smith offered up prayer: and the 20th Ward Choir, which occupied a position on the left of the stand sang the hymn, "Father, how wide thy glory shines, &c."
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder Orson Hyde first addressed the Conference, reasoning at some length on he principles of temporal and spiritual salvation. As many followed the Savior for the loaves and fishes, so, many seek the home of the Saints for mere sordid and pecuhniary motives, caring for nothing higher than the accumulation of this world's goods. But the Saints have to work out their salvation, to build up the Kingdom of God, and further the cause of human redemption. The feeling which many have, that now is a season of scarcity of bread, and from which they are led to shut up their bowels of compassion, is not one that should be indulged in. We should succor the needy and do good to all. The approach of the railroad toward compltion, and the spirit which animates those engaged in its construction, are evidences of the manner in which God is working for the accomplishment of His holy purposes. When that road is completed it will be found to be a mighty instrument in the hands of the Lord for furthering His work. The speaker exhorted the Saints to labor diligently to build up the Kingdom of God; and learn to become saviors before the Lord.
The Brigham City choir, under the leadership of R. L. Fishburne, which occupied a position to the right of the stand, sang the anthem, "I will lift up mine eyes!"
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder Orson Pratt then addressed the congregation. He noticed the reasons why we came here -- not because we wanted to, but because we were compelled to, and could not help ourselves. The spirit of opposition, which drove the Saints beyond the Rocky Mountains and compelled them to seek a shelter in the then almost unknown wilds of this mountainous country, has operated against the church and its leaders, from the time the Prophet Joseph obtained the plates up to the present. The same spirit has ever manifested is opposition to the people of God, whenever he has had a priesthood and power upon the earth and communicated His revelations to His people. The Saints have been called upon to gather out from the nations of the earth, that they may be separated from every thing unrighteous and corrupt. We have toiled and labored here to make ourselves homes. We were compelled to labor by the force of circumstances and the exigencies of our situation. No other people have toiled as we have done, for no other people have been placed in such untoward circumsaances? Who has done all that is to be seen in this Territory, in changing it from a wilderness to a beautiful, well cultivated and productive country? The old settlers have done it. They pioneered this region and gave to government a country which would have been unsettled perhaps for another century, for they made a base of supplies for the exploring parties, prospectors and mining camps, which have been the birth of several surrounding States and Territories. We were refused our rights in Missouri and Illinois, because the people there said we were not the old settlers in those regions. We are the old settlers here; and we have come here to enjoy freedom and the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution of our country. With our religious rights and liberties, we have many others and among these is the right to trade with whom we please and where we please, so long as we do not break any law nor infringe upon the rights of others. We have fostered here men who have used all the influence in their power to injure us as a people; we have given them our grain, paid them our money and impoverished the Territory by putting millions and millions in their hands, to be carried away. Did they profess friendship? Yes. But as an individual, unless men repent and keep the commandments of God, the speaker said he would not trade with them to the extent of one dime.
Elder Pratt reasoned on this principle at some length, and dwelt in a plain and forcible manner on the course pursued by merchants who openly professed friendship for the "Mormons," but secretly did everything in their power to injure and if possible destry them; and said he would rather go into the mountains, kill the wolves and dress in the skins thus obtained, than put money in the hands of those who would destroy him, his brethren and the institutions of the Kingdom of God.
[Orson Pratt]
[JD 12:302]
DISCOURSE
by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 6th, 1868.
[Reported By David W. Evans]
Through
the mercies of our God we have assembled here in the capacity of a Conference
to receive instruction and impart the same.
There are
a great many points connected with the Zion of our God, now being established
on the earth, which are necessary for us as a people to understand. God has not
gathered us out from among the nations of the earth into these valleys without,
having a great purpose in view. Whatever portion of His purposes I understand I
desire to abide by with all my heart, and I presume that every honest, upright
Latter-day Saint desires the same.
We came
to this formerly isolated place, and separated ourselves as far as we possibly
could from what was termed civilization, not because we really desired to do
so, or because of the fertility of the soil in this region, or the advantages
we would enjoy in temporal things; but because we were in a measure obliged to
do so. It is true that the Lord foretold to us, through the mouths of His
servants, that the day would come when we should have to flee from our enemies,
and that we would settle west of the Rocky Mountains. When we were dwelling in
the State of Illinois, and had had a few years of comparative peace, the Spirit
of the Lord rested upon His servant Joseph and made manifest to him that the
wicked had it in their hearts to uproot His people who were established in
Nauvoo, the same as they had done in our former settlements. The testimony of
the Spirit to the servant of God was, that however peaceable the people around
us might seem, yet, if they would not receive the Gospel and acknowledge the
authority which God had restored from Heaven, they would fight against His
people. Our Savior said, "he that is not for us is against us." The
truth of this saying we, as a people, have proven since the day that Joseph
took the plates of the Book of Mormon from the hill Cumorah, in the town of
Manchester, Ontario county, State of New York; and even before he succeeded in
getting the plates, some seven years before the Lord entrasted them to his
care, the prophet Joseph proved the truth of this saying. The Lord revealed
himself. to this youth when he was between fourteen and fifteen years of age,
and as soon as he related this vision, although at that young and tender age,
the wrath and indignation of the people were stirred up against him.
From that
time, until he was between twenty-one and twenty-two years of age the
opposition was continued. It did not matter how righteous, humble or meek he
was; it did not matter how straightforward his course of conduct was, all that
the world wanted to know was, Does he profess something different from our
religious notions? Does he believe that the heavens can be opened to men in our
day? If so, the order of the day was, "persecute him." Let every
religious minister speak against him from the pulpit, let all pious hypocrites
of all sects and parties unite with the drunkard, swearer and blasphemer and persecute
the poor boy.
This is
the enmity that exists between that which is of God and advanced of the
Almighty, and that which is ordained of man and by the power of the Devil; they
are at swords' points against each other. They always have been from the period
man first accepted this earth, down to the present time. There has been no
union between them; it is impossible for them to fellowship one another.
Wickedness
and righteousness are in direct opposition. The Devil is opposed to God, and
God is opposed to the Devil. All the heavenly hosts are opposed to wickedness,
and all persons who are wicked are opposed to the heavenly hosts. This will be
so as long as there are wicked people in existence. It does not matter how
smooth they may be in their outward appearance, or how sociable they may be in
their conversation. They, with their tongues, may make you think they are the
most gentle, polite, civilized and moral people on the face of the earth, while
within their hearts lurks a poison which would destroy the Saints of the living
God.
As this
has been the case in every former age and dispensation, so it is now; hence the
Latter-day Saints in every part of the globe are commanded to gather out from
the midst of wickedness, corruption and priestcraft, and every abomination that
exists, and assemble themselves in one place. For what purpose? That we may be
separated from the world and its corruptions, which would otherwise work our
temporal and spiritual destruction. We have come here, then, in obedience to
this command, and we have labored and toiled with all our might to redeem this
barren country and to render it capable of sustaining as. What other people on
the face of the whole earth have had to toil as the Latter-day Saints have? In
some of the poverty stricken districts of Europe, where all the capital is in
the hands of the rich and where the poor are made slaves, it may be that some
of the latter have to work as hard as we have to work here. But without being
placed in such circumstances we have been compelled to undergo this toil. When
we came here we were more than a thousand miles from any place where we could
obtain the comforts and necessaries to preserve life. We could not live if we
could not labor. We were obliged to go for miles into the rugged cañons and
there labor and toil month after month to open up roads to obtain timber for
fuel, for building, and for fences for our farms. In addition to this severe
toil we had to open water ditches from the cañons in order to obtain water to
spread over the face of this barren soil, that the desert might be reclaimed
and made to yield us a subsistence. This is the labor which the first settlers
who came here had to perform, and this was the way they made this country. And
were it not for the poor Latter-day Saints who were driven by their enemies
from city to city and from State to State, and who ultimately were driven,
twenty-one years ago, to the great interior of these mountains where they
established a colony, where would have been the railroad now? Would there have
been any railroad across these mountains? I doubt whether there would have been
pioneers among the wicked sufficiently brave to have launched forth into this
wild country and have settled in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, unless they
had repented of their sins and had become one with the Latter-day Saints. The
wicked never would have done it, or another century, at least, would have passed
away before settlements to any very great extent would have been found in the
midst of these mountains.
If it had
not been for the "Mormons" where would have been the gold mines of
California? They might not have been opened up for fifty years yet if it not
had been for the Mormon battalion, which went forth to fight the battles of the
nation in her war with Mexico. Had it not been for this the world might still
have been in ignorance of their existence unless God, for the accomplishment of
His own wise purposes, had revealed them in some other way. The settlement, in
the heart of the American continent, of the Latter-day Saints established a
great highway across the continent, so that the people, in their journeyings
from the Atlantic to the Pacific have found a place where they could rest their
weary heads as they passed through. The settlement of this Territory has
materially facilitated the opening up of the adjoining Territories. If it had
not been for the Latter-day Saints settling this Territory, when would Idaho,
Montana, Colorado, Arizona or Nevada have been settled?
In 1831,
when we went into Jackson county, Missouri—then a comparatively new country,
and commenced to lay the foundation of new settlements, the great complaint
against us was that we were not the old settlers. Their cry was, "You
Mormons are not the old settlers, and you have neither civil nor religious
rights here." "What is the reason?" we would enquire; "Are
we not American citizens?" "Oh, yes," said the people in Jackson
county, "you are American citizens, but we are the old settlers, and
consequently you must leave this part of the country."
After we
had been driven out of Jackson county into Clay county, and had been there a few
years, the people rose en masse and said to us again, "You
Mormons have no right in Clay county." And when we enquired why, the reply
again was, "because you are not the old settlers." After dwelling
there two or three years, an edict was issued by a mass meeting of the people
assembled at Liberty, that we must seek a new location. We then fled to
Caldwell county, in the State of Missouri. But, alas, after having bought a
great many thousand acres of land and given signs of prosperity far beyond that
of the old settlers who lived in surrounding counties, they, emboldened by the
example of the people of Clay county, got up the old cry, and after having
destroyed our farms and property they, in the midst of a severe winter, drove
us into Illinois.
There we
again gathered up our people, and not yet discouraged, we purchased a large
tract of country on both sides of the Mississippi and founded a city called
Nauvoo, to which a charter was given by the Legislature of Illinois. In a short
time, the people of the regions round about were excited to jealousy, because
the Latter-day Saints, through their industrious habits, were flourishing and
were beautifying and extending their city; they could not bear to see us
outstripping them. They saw that the people of Missouri had never been brought
to account for murdering our people and robbing them of millions of dollars'
worth of property, so they, in Illinois, made up their minds to take a similar
course. Said they, "You Latter-day Saints are new settlers, and if we suffer
you to remain you will soon be able to out-vote us for all the officers of the
county. But you have no civil nor religious rights here, and you must leave
your fine farms, houses, cities, towns and villages, and you must go out of the
United States. We will make a treaty with you as if you were a foreign nation,
and you must undertake that you will not settle again within the hounds of the
United Stales, and your only salvation is to go west beyond the Rocky
Mountains, nearly 1,500 miles from your present abode." We felt that this
was the only course we could adopt, so we left in the month of February, 1846.
After ferrying some of our teams across the Mississippi the river froze over so
hard that the remainder crossed on the ice. In this cold weather we camped out
on the prairie, and took up our march for this place, our enemies expecting
that they had seen the last of us, that we should most certainly be killed by
Indians or die by famine. We reached this portion of the Rocky Mountains, then
under Mexican rule, and settled here. By and by, after the war between the
United States and Mexico, a treaty was made between them, and this land, which
we occupied and to which we had been driven by our enemies, was ceded to
the United States.
I have
already told you what we have done here, the toils we have undergone, and the
hardships we have suffered; and that we are gathering in our people from among
the nations that we may enjoy civil and religious liberty, which are guaranteed
by the Constitution of our country. We do not ask the United States for
anything more. We do not want liberty that is not thus guaranteed; but we
demand that liberty to which, as American citizens, we are entitled as a sacred
right. And in having this liberty we shall have the liberty of dealing with
whom we please, providing we infringe no law. That is the right of all American
citizens. It does not matter whether they are Methodists, Baptists,
Presbyterians, Democrat, Whigs, or whatever they maybe, all have the undoubted
right guaranteed to them, by the laws of our country, to deal just as they
please and with whom the please if they do not infringe upon the laws nor
injure their neighbors.
Ever
since the settlement of this Territory I have felt how much better it would be
if this people would unite together and appoint their merchants to go and buy
their goods and bring them here and sell them at a reasonable profit to the
rest of the community, and never trade here to the amount of one dime with
those who are outside of us. But while this has been my feeling it has not been
the feeling of all, for we have supported scores of merchants who have not been
members of our Church. Have we done this because they were our friends? I will
tell you the only thing that proves the existence of friendly feelings on the
part of outsiders to this people:—when they repent of their sins, and receive
the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God has said, in the revelations
which He has given in these days, "There is no people on the face of the
whole earth who do good save it be those who are ready and willing to receive
the fullness of my Gospel."
We have
proven this from the beginning of this work. There never has been yet, with all
the apparent friendliness and politeness of outsiders, a proof of good will
rendered to the Latter-day Saints, except it has been a willingness to receive
the Gospel. Yet, notwithstanding that the word of the Lord and our experience
have proven the truth of this, we have fostered these individuals in our midst
for nearly twenty years. We have given them our grain, and have impoverished
the Territory by paying millions and millions of our money into their hands.
What have they done with it? Why, some who have been changed from poor men into
heavy capitalists by the hundreds of thousands they have drained from this
people, have gone away and used all the influence they could to destroy us. Did
they appear to be friendly when in our midst? O, yes, you would have thought
they were the most friendly and polite people imaginable. Why the Latter-day
Saints never saw such manifestations of politeness, gentility and friendliness
as were made by some of those we have nourished in our midst. What was the
cause of this apparent friendliness? The dimes and dollars, the wheat, flour, produce,
cattle and means that you had in your possession. It was the hope of gain which
made them friendly, for that was the god they worshiped. But when they have
made fortunes out of the Latter-day Saints and gulled them all they could they
have gone and tried to destroy them.
As an
individual I do pot care how much a person in this place, outside of the
Church, professes; if he will not repent of his sins and receive the message
God has sent, I will not give him my dimes nor dollars if I know it. This ought
to be the feeling of this whole people, otherwise we have got Babylon right in
our midst. We have prayed a long time for God to deliver us from Babylon, and
we have been gathered out, as we supposed, from Babylon; but we can soon
establish a kind of young Babylon—one of the daughters of Babylon, if you
will—and we can have it in our midst to our hearts' content. But what would be
their feelings if they had the power? Judging from the experience of the past,
their feelings would be that the Latter-day Saints should have no civil rights,
no religious rights here in this land of Utah which they have sought for their
own. It is true that our enemies here cannot plead like the people of Jackson,
Clay and other places, that we are not the old settlers. They have not this for
a plea, for the "Mormons" are the old settlers; but they have such
enmity towards us that they would uproot us here, as they have five or six
times before, if they had the power. "How do you know," says one,
"that these are the feelings entertained by the wicked towards this
people? They profess to be very friendly, then how do you know their feelings
are as you describe them?" From the fact that when this people elected one
of their own number as Delegate to Congress by 15,000 votes, the man whom they
voted for—giving him 105 votes, sixty of which wore cast in a town where there
were only twenty voters—contested his seat, and fought him month after
month in the Hails of Congress, being sustained while so doing, by those who
profess such friendship towards us. And what was the object of this would-be
delegate? It was to deprive the "Mormons" of citizenship and of the
privilege of taking up the land, by influencing the government to pass a law to
that effect. This was his object, and to do all the injury in his power to this
people. Who supported him? These men whom you support, Latter-day Saints, and
to whom you pay your money. Merchants and others in this city gave their votes
to that man after you had paid your thousands into their hands. They gave their
votes for an individual who would deprive you of the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution of our country. Will you still continue to support such men? Will
you go down here and trade with them year after year? If you do I know what the
result will be; it is plainly visible. They will get a foothold here, and if
they can only get numbers sufficient, you Latter-day Saints will have no civil
rights here in this Territory. If a jury is to be empannelled it will be
composed of our bitter enemies. If a Latter-day Saint has to be tried before
the courts, it will be before those who are ready to eat him up. If there is a
delegate to be elected to Congress they will seek very diligently to get the
greatest enemy to this people they can find, so that, if possible, he may
succeed in getting a large army sent up here to use us up. Why should they do
this? To make money; that is their object. They feel, "If we can only stir
up the government and get them to send an army to Utah it will be money in our pocket.
Bless you, we don't care how much suffering it produces, or how many Latter-day
Saints may be deprived of their rights; we would sell the whole of them for a
dollar a-head, if we could only become rich. We care nothing about them, or
their rights as American citizens." These are their feelings.
Moreover,
has there not been published here year after year a scandalous paper, every
number of which has teemed with lies of the blackest dye concerning us? Yet we
have scarcely noticed that such a paper is in existence. Who have supported
this paper? The merchants here, those whom you have been feeding and paying
your money to. They are the ones who have sustained this paper. Do you suppose
that a paper which is continually belching forth falsehoods of the blackest dye
against you, your religion, and against the man who led you forth and planted
you here, could be sustained here if the people outside of this church did not
support it? If they support it, what is it for? That it may arouse the feelings
of the enemies of the Saints throughout the States, and may, peradventure,
result in the sending of an army here that they may make morley out of it. That
is what they hope to effect.
Now,
Latter-day Saints, I have spoken plainly. I take the responsibility of what I have
said on my own shoulders. If I have spoken too harshly I am willing to be
corrected. I have spoken my feelings plainly, without trying to hide them or
gloss them over. I say I would rather go and kill wolves in the forests and
mountains, and skin them and tan their skins and wear wolfskin pantaloons, and
wolfskin coats and vests, and have everything I wear the skin of beasts, than
spend one dime with one outsider in the Territory of Utah. (The congregation
said "amen.") I do not know what are the feelings of my brethren on
this subject, but I do know, unless there is a change among this people in
regard to this matter, farewell to our homes again, farewell to our fine
buildings, to our farms, and to the country which we now occupy as the old
settlers; farewell to many of our friends who will fall victims to our enemies;
yes, farewell to home and the comforts which now surround us, and we shall have
to seek an asylum somewhere else, in these mountains or in some other part of
this continent, through being driven again, if we, through our own foolishness,
will nourish vipers in our midst. Amen.
Singing by the Tabernacle choir; prayer by Elder E. T. Benson.
Conference adjourned till 2 o'clock.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 17:282, 10/14/68, p 2]
2 p.m.
The 20th Ward choir sang "My soul is full of peace and love," with Hallelujah by Bro. J. J. Daynes.
Elder Erastus Snow prayed.
The Fishburne choir sang a quartette -- "Pray for the Peace of Deseret."
[Elder John Taylor]
Elder John Taylor spoke of the character of our Conferences, and the objects for which we assembled together in such a capacity. The subjects dwelt upon at such times are not confined to that which is usually called religious by the sectarian world, but comprise everything that relates to man's welfare, happiness, prosperity and existence all of which is embraced in our religion. The subject of trading, spoken of in the forenoon, would bear considerable investigation. It had been a principle acted upon by all nations to adopt measues calculated to further the general good. Our position is such a one as many nations have been placed in at some period of their existence. Nations make treaties of commerce, appoint cousuls and take other steps to protect their trade and commercial relations. Special advantages are conferred upon various industries; protection is extended to home manufactures and prohibition is exercised to a greater or less extent against imported goods. No one questions the right to do thus; no one thinks of bringing charges against any people or nation who try to further their own interests in such a manner. We are not a nation, but as a part of this Republic and in our Terriorial condition we hold political relations with the general government. We are somewhat different from other communities. Our religion has brought us together; our faith unites us; yet we have rights which we cannot neglect and be justified. Numerous and strong reasons were adduced by Elder Taylor why we should not trade with those who have tried and continue to try to injure us; and why we should support ourselves, do our own trading, our own merchandising, and build up the Territory that is our home. This is done by political organizations and by religious societies all through Christendom, and we have an equal right with others to protect ourselves and our own interests.
Yesterday Afternoon.
After Elder John Taylor closed,
Several rules for the guidance of the moral course of the Saints were then read, and submitted to the vote of the congregation, who unanimously agreed to sustain and live by them.
[Elder Joseph W. Young]
Elder Joseph W. Young testified to the truth and importance of the doctrines advanced to-day. The question is, will we sustain ourselves? He quoted the words of Jesus, "He that is not with us is against us," and urged the necessity of our being united and faithfully acting uoon the principles advanced touching this matter.
The Tabernacle choir then sang the following hymn, composed for the occasion by Sister Eliza R. Snow:
O God of life and glory,
Hear Thou a people's prayer:
Bless, bless our prophet Brigham,
And let him, Thy fullness share
He is Thy chosen servant,
To lead Thine Israel forth;
Till Zion crown'd with joy, shall be
A praise in all the earth.
He draws from Christ, the fountain
Of everlasting truth,
The wise and prudent counsels
Which he gives to age and youth.
Thyself in him reflected,
Through mortal agency --
He is Thy representative,
To set Thy people free.
Thou richly hast endow'd him
With wisdom's bounteous store
And Thou has made him mighty,
By Thy own almighty power:
O, let his life be precious --
Bless Thou, his brethren, too,
Who firmly join him side by side --
Who're true as he is true.
Help him to found Thy kingdom
In majesty and power:
With peace in every palace,
And with strength in every tow'r.
And when Thy chosen Israel
Their noblest strains have sung:
The swelling chorus then shall be,
Our prophet, Brigham Young.
Bishop E. D. Woolley offered up prayer and the Conference adjourned till Wednesday morning, 7th, at 10 o'clock; a meeting of the pristhood being called for half-past six o'clock in the evening.
[6 Oct, 6:30 pm]
[DNW 17:282, 10/14/68, p 2]
6½ p.m.
Pursuant to call, the bishops, their counselors, with the priesthood generally, convened in the Old Tabernacle, Presidents B. Young and D. H. Wells, the Twelve Apostles, and over three thousand elders being present.
"Softly beams the Sacred Dawning" was sung by Elders J. D. T. McAllister and G. Goddard; and Elder Orson Hyde offered prayer.
"Glorious things are sung of Zion" was then sung.
[Bishop Edward Hunter]
Bishop Edward Hunter made some remarks, recalling personal reminiscences of his early history in the church, and touching on some scenes through which he had passed. He said we are here and in the right place to build up the kingdom of God. When he came here the country was a barren desert, and there seemed to be no natural soil that would produce sustenance for human life; but the Lord blessed the land and the elements, and now the country is productive and our labor is blessed. He called attention to the negligence which some manifest with regard to paying their tithing. He said some evaded doing their duty in this respect when they should rejoice in the privilege; and he urged the brethren to do their duty and act like men of God; to pay their tithing and realize the blessing which accompanies obedience to the commandments of the Lord.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young said that he thought he could be able to make the congregation hear without injure to himself, if the brethren would keep very still. We have a great work to perform to save the house of Israel and gather the honest-in-heart. Much was done since the last Fall Conference to bring the poor Saints from the nations and while the disposition was manifested by the brethren to do everything in their power, much faith had to be exercized to accomplish what has been done. At the first of February last there had only been received $9000 towards gathering the poor this season; yet when Elders H. B. Clawson and William G. Staines were sent east on the 17th of the same month, there was $27,000, to send with them. Over $70,000 had been received for this purpose. There had been 3197 persons emigrated from Liverpool; and as on a calculation it was found that it would cost about sixty-five dollars a head, or $65,000 for one thousand adults, to being them from Liverpool to the terminus of the U.P.R.R., it would be seen that the agents had been greatly blessed in furthering the immigration, although a number of those brought on were able to help themselves in part. He said we have still much to do to gather those who remain; and after he had related what had been done by some last year, he proposed that we should re-commence our efforts in the same direction. He offered a donation of another thousand dollars this year; and Captain W. H. Hooper proposed also to give a thousand. He spoke of the railroad as one of the greatest blessings, of a temporal character, which had ever been conferred upon the Saints; and referred to the honorable manner in which those connected with it had delt with us; and said they should be blessed of the Lord. He spoke in a calm, clear and impressive manner on the subject of trading with those not connected with the Church. A report of his remarks will be published, to which we refer our readers.
[Elder George A. Smith]
Elder George A. Smith urged the brethren on a subject which he has often dwelt upon -- the importance of those who have not done so taking out their naturalization papers, that they may be in a position to assume the responsibility and claim the rights of citizenship He also advocated the importance of educating our own teachers, by sending young men and women to normal schools where they can be qualified for successfully taking charge of schools.
An expression of opinion was called for relative to the subject of trading, when it was unanimously voted that we sustain ourselves and those who sustain us.
Elder Joseph F. Smith offered the closing prayer.
[7 Oct, 10 am*]
[DNW 17:282-283, 10/14/68, p 2-3]
Wednesday, 7th, 10 a.m.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn commencing on the 67th page -- "Praise ye the Lord." Prayer by Elder Jacob Gates. Singing by the 20th Ward choir, the Anthem, "Zion Awake."
President B. Young then said the authorities of the church would be presented to the Conference; and Elder George Q. Cannon presented them in the following order. It will be seen that Elder George A. Smith was caled to fill the position of President H. C. Kimball as First counselor to President Young; and Elder Brigham Young, Junr., was appointed to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve thus created. Every vote, was, as usual, unanimous.
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George A. Smith his first and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Joseph F. Smith, and Brigham Young jun., members of the said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church. Daniel Spencer, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counsellors.
William Eddington, John W. Young, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. spencer, John Squires, William H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, Peter Nebeker, and Charles S. Kimball, members of the High council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Wooley and Samuel W. Richards his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy, and Jesse C. Little, his counsellors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum, Robert Price and Wm. McLaughlin his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi his counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Truman O. Angel, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, and Edward Hunter his assistants for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
[Elder John Van Cott]
Elder John Van Cott in some spirited and pointed remarks contended that we should govern ourselves in wisdom in our appetites and labors, and cease to be "hewers of wood and drawers of water" for those who grow strong on our weaknesses and fat on our leanness. As a people we have had to labor very hard to conquer this wilderness and subdue the elements around us, that we might draw a sustenance from the earth. We have labored to excess and have been unwise in so doing. We should learn to govern our lives so as to prolong them. He testified to the truth and wisdom of the teachings given during this Conference, and said the Saints should take care of themselves, exalt themselves and sustain the interests of the Kingdom of God.
Fishburne's choir sang, "Do they pray for me at home," sweetly and touchingly.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
Elder George Q. Cannon said this was a momentous period, and he felt deeply impressed with its importance. He was extremely desirous that the people should realize the full force of the course they had been persuing. He reviewed the circumstances which had given power and influence to our enemies here in our midst; and referred to the events which occurred in Nauvoo immediately preceding the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. The threat is made that we will be crushed and destroyed, and this threat is not made covertly, quietly nor in a corner, but it is purlished in our principal city and sent forth to the world, north, south, east and west; and with it slanders the most foul and abominable have been circulated. No greater evidence of our patience, forbearance and law-abiding tendencies could be given than the fact that the author of these threats, falsehoods and slanders is not hung. He walks our streets unnoticed and unchallenged. In any oher territory he would be hung up to a telegraph pole by an outraged community. If the people will not sustain the author of these outrages on themselves, let them cease sustaining those who do sustain him; for the paper he publishes is subscribed for, fostered and sustained by individuals in this city who seek the support of this people. It has been claimed that those from whom we are withdrawing our patronage here, have been the means of bringing prosperity and trade to us -- that they have benefitted us instead of us benefitting them. If such is the case it will not hurt them nor do them any injury for us to cease contributing our strength to them. There are among the merchants here fine gentlemen, and were they in the east he would as soon trade with them as any others; but the reason why he would trade with them there and not here, is, if they were there they would have no interest in exciting a crusade against us, they would have no fat contracts to seek for, and no reasons for creating bitterness against us that the results consequent upon it might make contracts for them to gain money by. Elder Cannon said the subject was one that should be investigated wisely and dispassionately; and he urged the people to serve God and keep His commandments.
[George Q. Cannon]
[DNW 17:306, 11/4/68, p 2; JD 12:289]
DISCOURSE
By Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON, delivered in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Oct 7th, 1868
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
There
have been some exeedingly important questions presented before us for our
consideration at this Conference. I look upon them as of momentous importance,
because upon their correct solution depends, to a very great extent, the
perpetuity of our homes, and of the institution which God has given us. God has
entrusted to this people His Gospel. He has placed in His church the oracles of
the holy priesthood. He has given unto us the labor of up-building His Zion on
the earth, and it is for us, if we expect to receive the reward that. He has
promised, to fulfill that trust faithfully, let the consequences be what they
may.
Already
the establishment of this work has cost the best blood of this generation.
Already a prophet, a patriarch, apostles and numerous Saints have laid down
their lives to establish the work with which we are connected. It is for us to
decide during this Conference whether that blood has been shed in vain; whether
the sufferings, trials, difficulties and hardships, our exodus from the lands
which we formerly occupied and inhabited, our pilgrimage to this country, our
sufferings since we came here, the labors we have expended in rearing this city
and in extending civilization throughout this Territory—I say it is for us to
decide to-day and during this Conference whether or not all this has been in
vain; and whether we will build up His kingdom according to His divine
commandment, or divide our strength and energy, and the talents with which He
has endowed us in building up a system or systems that are opposed to this work.
It is for us to decide whether we will submit to the jurisdiction of the holy
priesthood, or whether we will renounce that jurisdiction and our allegiance to
God. These are the questions which present themselves before us to-day. They
are important questions, and should he decided carefully and understandingly.
I look
upon the position which we occupy to-day as, in some respects, a critical one.
Not that I anticipate any danger, or have any fears that we are going to be
overthrown, if the people will only be true to themselves and their God. I
know, as I know that I live and am speaking to you to-day, that this is the
work of God. I know that He has promised that it shall stand for ever, and that
it, shall break in pieces everything that is opposed to it. But I also know
that in order for it to accomplish this great work, and for us to share in all
its benefit and blessings, we individually must be faithful to it, for the
blessings which are promised to us are meade conditionally. If we prove
recreant to the trust that God has given to us, others will be raised in our
places to take the great work in their hands, and carry it forward to its full
consummation.
I look
upon the present time, as I have said, as a critical one. I feel that if we do
not listen to the counsels that are given to us, God has a scourge in store for
the Latter-day Saints. I feel in every fibre of my body, in every nerve of my
system that this is a turning point with the Latter-day Saints, and that there
is required of us to-day, a decision upon this subject. We have now, for a long
period, done as we pleased. We have gone here or there, and done to a certain
extent to suit ourselves, regardless of God, the counsels of His servants or
the interests of His kingdom, and regardless of every thing save our own
general interests. The consequence is that there is growing up in our midst a
power that menaces us with utter destruction and overthrow. We are told—openly
and without disguise, that when the railroad is completed there will be such a
flood of so-called "civilization" brought in here that every vestige
of us, our church and institutions shall be completely obliterated. When we are
told thus plainly and undisguisedly, would it not be folly, nay insanity, for
us to sit still, fold our arms supinely and await the crash without making a
single effort to ward it off? A people who would be thus besotted would be
unworthy the blessings which God has bestowed upon us.
I know
there is a feeling of great confidence in the minds of our brethren and
sisters. They have, as President Young has often said, a great amount of faith;
they have so great trust in God as to go and sell their grain, expecting that
God will feed them whether the grain is in the bin or not. Some such confidence
as this seems to pervade their minds respecting that which is in the future,
and they manifest to a certain extent, carelessness and indifference in regard
to carrying out the counsels that are given them, thinking that God, who has so
signally preserved them in times past, will still continue to protect them. It
is an excellent thing for us to have faith, but we should not have faith alone.
Our faith should be associated with works, and the latter should correspond
with the former. When our faith and works are united we can call upon God for
help to enable us to accomplish that which he requires at our hands.
When I
reflect, my brethren and sisters, on past scenes, as I have been doing while
listening to the remarks of the brethren during this Conference; when I reflect
on the condition we were in when driven from Nauvoo, and on our journey from
the Mississippi to this valley—the sufferings of the women and children, and of
the aged among us; when I reflect upon the hundreds we buried in
Winter-Quarters, and the privations the people endured while there; on the
hardships the people were compelled to endure after their arrival here, and
remember that all this was caused by the red hand of persecution, by mobocracy
and the violence of wicked men, who envied us the possession of our
Heaven-given rights; when I reflect upon all this, and also upon our
circumstances now, I feel thankful for what God has done for us, and my prayer,
oft repeated, has been "O God, never let this people again become a prey
to mobocrats, never let us fall again into the hands of our enemies, but if we
do wrong, do Thou chasten us and save us from the hands of those Who have
persecuted us." This has been my feeling. But when I look at our
circumstances now, I feel as though the people had, forgotten that which they
have passed through, and were not averse to having a repetition of those
scenes.
For years
after we came into these valleys we felt as though we never wanted to see the
lace of an enemy again, and if we could only have bread and water and peace we
could be content. We felt, as Bro. Pratt expressed himself yesterday, that if
we had only wolf and deer skins to clothe ourselves with we would be satisfied,
if we could only have peace. It was peace we came here to enjoy. It was for
peace that we fled from our former homes and made the long and wearisome
journey to these valleys.
But, how
is it to-day? What are the circumstances which surround us now? Why, here in
the head city of Zion, in the Centre city, where the foundations of the temple
are laid and where the House of the Lord. has been reared in which endowments
and sacred ordinances are given, what do we find? We find a power growing up in
our midst that threatens us, in the most plain and undisguised manner, with
utter destruction. Is this so? It is, and has been so for years; and this power
has been fostered by us as a people. It has grown, flourished and fattened upon
us and the means we have produced. Is it not necessary, then, that something
should be done? To my mind it is clear that some effort, such as has been
proposed, should be made to concentrate the Saints and to set before them the
principles of salvation in such a manner that they will understand the course
they ought to take.
While the
brethren were talking yesterday, and while we were South, I often had brought
to my mind a circumstance that occurred in Nauvoo. It was on the 10th of June,
1844, I had occasion to go to the City Council of Nauvoo, with some proof
sheets to the editor of the "Nauvoo Neighbor,"—Elder John Taylor. I was
a boy at the time, the printer's "devil," as it is technically
called. While there, the subject under discussion, was the declaring of the
"Nauvoo Expositor" a nuisance. Doubtless many of you recollect that
paper, one number of which was issued by the Laws and other apostates. You who
do not recollect the paper may recollect reading about it. There was some
excitement at the time in the Council. They had passed an ordinance declaring
it a nuisance, and empowering the city marshal, John P. Green, to abate it.
Joseph and Hyrum ware in conversation at one of the windows of the room. Hyrum
remarked to Joseph: "Before I will consent to have that paper continued to
defame our wives, sisters and daughters, as it has done, I will lay my body on
the walls of the building." The sentiment as he uttered it, ran through
me. I felt as he did. Yet we, for years, have had in our city a paper which
publishes, if possible, more abominable lies about us and our people than were
published by the "Nauvoo Expositor," for the abatement of which Hyrum
Smith said he was willing to die. We have not noticed it; we have suffered it
to go on undisturbed. But the time has come for us to take this matter into
consideration. Brother Pratt said yesterday, that our papers scarcely ever alluded
to it. We have never alluded to it; we have deemed it unworthy of allusion, it
is so utterly contemptible; but I now lay it before you. What we are doing on
the present occasion is to fully bring it home to our minds, that we may see
and understand the nature of the power that is growing in our midst, which we
foster and sustain.
I glanced
over a few of these papers that are now being published here, and there are two
from which I will read you a few extracts so that you may see the spirit which
animates our opponents.
In an
editorial of the 11th of August we find the following, written in regard to an
extract taken from one of our papers:
"The
hankering for seclusion and exclusion, and the foul spirit of the assassinstor
to secure them, stick out in every word of the above extract. It is as full of
the fell spirit that has always actuated the crew, whose spokesman this Editor
is in this instance, as the sting of the adder is of venom. But it is the vain
and weak boast of a throttled bully. The day has gone by when hired bands of
cut throats, "destroying angels," can ply their heinous avocation,
and drive from the Territory, or murder all whom Brigham Young and his crew do
not want in it. This fellow, who at the bidding of his master, Brigham, to whom
he servilely and profanely bows as his god, insults the citizens of the United
States by telling them that no one but those who bow as servilely as himself to
Brigham, shall have leave to stay in this Territory, ignores the fact that the
Salt Lake basin is a rich oasis in which nature has lavishly congregated all
that is needed at the Halfway Point on the great National highway, the Pacfic
Railroad, and that it all belongs to the citizens of the United States, and not
to Brigham and his crew. We speak advisedly when we say Brigham and his crew,
for by reference to the doings of the Latter-day Saints' Legislature it will be
seen that they have attempted to give Brigham and his set very great quantities
of the richest part of this valley, including mill privileges, &c.
Hitherto
this Territory has only been of interest to the people of the United States
because of the infamous establishment sought to be set up in it in the sacred
name of religion, and the motor of the warfare against the gross outrage has
been alone the moral sense of the country, but now for the reason just named, a
commercial interest is added, and the two together will as surely as truth is
truth, and right is right, crush out the vile thing and rid the country of the
foul blot, peaceably if possible, but with a bosom of destruction if that is
inevitable." [Mark these words! How much they sound like the language of
the manifesto of the mob in Jackson County, Missouri!]
"This
Editor, in his shallow boasting, forgets, or purposely keeps out of sight,
the truth that this Mormonism, which is sacrilegiously called a religion, is a
heathenish heterodoxy, and that therefore the orthodox churches of the land,
whose members number millions, will throw themselves against the spurious
monster of Utah with all their force. This force only awaits the opportunity
that the railroad will give it. In that day it will do you no good to buy a
pitiful Congressman, and he must be a pitiful one indeed who would sell himself
to Brigham."
In
another article which appeared on, the 8th of September, we find the following:
"There
are numbers of foreigners in this Territory, who have never abjured their
allegiance to the foreign ruler from whose dominions they emigrated; and who
have year after year voted for local officers and a delegate to Congress. There
are others who, deceived by the representations of the Probate Judges, either
wilfully or ignorantly made, that they had power to naturalize, have taken out
their papers from the Probate Courts, in many instances paying a larger fee
therefor than the clerk of the District Court would be entitled to charge.
These foreigners all occupy and hold more or less land in this Territory, and
expect to avail themselves of the pre-emption law to the exclusion of actual
citizens who are ready and desirous of occupying the land which the laws of the
United States gives them aright to do. Many of these foreigners, either holding
no papers at all or those spurious ones issued by Probate Courts, have since
the passage of the act of 1862, prohibiting polygamy in the Territories of the
United States, openly and persistently violated its provisions; and have been
loud in the expressions of disloyalty towards the government of the United
States."
If we
were living in the days of Nauvoo, and I had heard these extracts read, I
should have thought they were from the "Warsaw Signal." But these
execrable sentiments were not published in Warsaw, they were not published at
the Sweetwater, at Austin, or Virginia in Montana, but they were published at
Salt Lake City, in the centre stake of Zion, as at present organized. They are
circulated through our streets, and placed in the hands of our children. They
are disseminated throughout the Territory, so far as they can be; they are sent
to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, and everywhere as
far as the influence of our enemies extends. In these infamous sheets the
public are informed that the Latter-day Saints are assassins and everything
that is vile, low and degraded. And no attempts are spared to excite against us
in the minds of the officers of the parent government feelings of hatred, and
to make them believe that a crusade ought to be inaugurated against us. When a
paper of this kind is published in our midst and goes forth to the world
unchallenged, it is a difficult thing for men and women outside of this
Territory to realize that everything in its pages concerning us is false. If
there were any greater evidence needed of our patience and forbearance and of
our lawabiding tendencies than we have already given, they are to be found in
the fact that the editor of this paper is not hung. (Hear, hear.) In any other
community he would have been strung up to a telegraph pole; but here, in Utah
Territory, in Salt Lake City, under the nose and in the eyes of the people and
their leaders, this man who proclaims these infamous falsehoods travels our
streets unnoticed and unchallenged. Let it be known throughout the world what
we have submitted to in this respect, and there is not a man from Texas to
Maine, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, who would not, say we are the most
patient and forbearing people on the Continent, or we would not submit to it.
In any other Territory that office would be "gutted" within five
days.
I allude
to this matter because this paper is sustained in our midst, and those whom we
sustain, sustain it; our money pays for its subscriptions. Our money pays its
editor, buys its ink, paper and type, and pays its compositors and pressmen.
I will
refer to another instance of the growth of this antagonistic power in our
midst. A short time ago a circular, got up secretly by certain reverend
gentlemen dwelling in this City, and probably printed and mailed by night, was
sent broadcast throughout the East, in which every vile epithet that so called
religious men could consistently use, was applied to us as a people. In these
circular, those so-called Christian divines appealed as they said, from a
strange land and from the midst of a strange people, to their brethren in the East,
invoking them, if they wished to save this land from barbarism and to
civilization, to raise $15,000 to buy a lot, on which a rectory might be
established and a school built. And the purpose for which that school was
designed was to inoculate the children of the Latter-day Saints with their
damnable and pernicious doctrines. Who sustains this institution and who
sustains and has sustained this paper? You can answer these questions. Will we
patiently submit to these things? Shall we bow ourselves as willing slaves to
the yoke they would fasten upon us? (Cries of "No, No.") Well, then,
if you will not bow to it, stop your trading with men of this class and sustain
your friends; sustain those who want to build up the kingdom of God, who are
one with us. If this fight must come and we have to cut off all from the church
who will not reform in this respect, I would rather have it done now than wait
until, environed by enemies, we are thrust out of our possessions at the point
of the bayonet and compelled to flee to the mountains for safety. (Congregation
said "Amen.")
As an
individual, I have no fellowship with those who sustain the enemies of the
kingdom of God. I never did have. From my childhood my heart has been in this
kingdom; every pulsation of it has been for Zion.
For years
we have submitted to this treatment at the hands of outsiders in our midst. The
present paper has been, if anything, better than its predecessor, for that had
no editor's name to it. Fostered on the hill here, its contributors were men
who wore the uniform of our respected "Uncle." Its printers were men
who were paid as soldiers. There was no name published at the head of its
columns, and it was more base even than the present publication, because no one
was responsible for its contents. I have not made any quotations from that. It,
too, was sustained and contributed to by merchants in this City who seek the
support of this people. I am informed, however, that the one at present
published here is now issued without an editor's name to it.
It may be
said, and is said by a great many, that this outside element has brought us
trade. We have heard it stated time and time again that until the advent of
Colonel Johnson and his army we were distitute of a circulating medium, but
that since that period we have increased in wealth, money is more plentiful,
and we have grown and spread abroad. And they take the glory to themselves and
say it is their presence here that has produced this change. If this be so, the
withdrawal of our support will make no difference to them. They cannot complain
if we withdraw our support from them, because, if their statements be true, we
are likely to be the greatest sufferers from this withdrawal. But let them test
the truth of this themselves practically as we intend to do.
It is
very plain to be seen, from the extracts which I have read to you, what the
intention is, we have seen it carried out before at other places where we have
dwelt. As soon as we began to increase in wealth, to build comfortable houses,
and to open farms, the cupidity of our enemies was excited against us. When we
came here we were poor and poverty stricken. We possessed nothing to excite
anybody's cupidity. It was hoped that we would perish in the wilderness; but
when it was found that we had money, there was a class, who, like vultures
scenting the carrion from afar, came here, and to hear them talk one would have
thought that the "Mormons" had thousands of friends. Why, they always
sympathised with and pitied us! they always felt kindly towards us and thought,
we were a very much abused people! Unfortunately, we never heard that they were
thus sympathetic or had any feelings of kindness towards us—we had never seen
their publications appealing in our behalf, or heard their voices imploring the
authorities or the parent government to shield us from the attacks of our
enemies. We had never heard anything of this kind, and should never have known
anything about it had they not come and communicated this pleasing
intelligence. But unfortunately the knowledge came too late for us to avail
ourselves of it.
Allusion
was made here, yesterday, to the fact that not one of those who have fattened
at our expense ever lifted up his tongue or voice, or used his pen in defence
of us in times of difficulty or danger; and should there be danger to-day, and
we be menaced from without in the most unjustifiable manner, you would find
that these fair-weather friends would soon take their flight and leave us to
our fate, just as their predecessors did when the army came here from the east,
as I met a whole company of them going to California by the southern route. It
may be said "these are exceptions." I do not doubt but there are men
among our merchants who are very fine men. I would as soon deal with them in
the eastern States as with anybody else; but it is because they are in Salt
Lake City that I am opposed to them. "Ah, that is exclusive," it may
be said. I confess it is exclusive. I do not want a power to be brought into
our midst as the wooden horse was into Troy. I do not want a power in our midst
inimical to us, and that, as President Young has said, poisons everything
around it. If such a power flourishes here, I wish it to flourish without our
aid, and subsist without our contributing to its subsistence. If it can sustain
itself after we have withdrawn our support, well and good. If there is
government patronage and travel enough to sustain a class of this kind in our
midst, all right, I have no objections. But the point at issue is for us to
withdraw our support from this power, leave it to itself and sustain ourselves,
and trade with those who are one with us in building up the kingdom of God. If
outsiders want a paper, Sunday Schools and preachers, all right, if they
sustain them themselves. Then they are in the hands of God. But while we
sustain them or contribute of our strength to do so, we have no claim on the
providence and deliverance of God our Heavenly Father. We can not ask Him to
deliver us from a power that we ourselves have fostered, and which we are
sustaining. As I have said, if they were in the East we would have no
objections to do it. Some can not see any difference between sustaining them
here or elsewhere. Why, when they are there they have no interest in exciting a
crusade against us. If they have no contracts to get, it is no object for them
to have thousands of soldiers here. But while they are here it is an object for
them to try and create a feeling against us in the East. It is an object with
them while here to try and have men of their choice elected for city and
Territorial officers, and to get the whole machinery of the Territorial
government into their own hands. Why? Because they are here, and consequently
their interests are here; but if they were in New York, Chicago, London or San
Francisco they would have no interest in any of these things. They would look
at our money and be as glad to take it as anybody else's money.
I expect
some of our friends will say this is a confession of weakness on our part, and
that we are alarmed for the perpetuity of the power of the Priesthood. Let it
be granted; I am willing they should put this construction upon it. I care not
what construction they put on our words or our addresses during this
Conference. The fact is we want to warn the people, and to stir them up to the
necessity of taking the course we are urging upon them. That is our duty, and
it makes no difference what others may think about it. Time will prove whether
the Priesthood will be perpetuated or not, or whether the majority of this
people will give heed to those who are not of us or not; and whether they will
apostatize because they can get goods cheaper from an outsider than they can
somewhere else; even if such is the case, which, however, is not true. Time is
the great rectifier of all these things. We may labor for a time under
misconstruction; but we can afford to wait. We shall outlive all erroneous
ideas.
There are
a great many points connected with this question which might be dwelt upon. It
is an important matter, and one that should claim our earnest attention and
calm consideration. The question is, Will we sustain the Kingdom of God or will
we not? Will we sustain the priesthood of God or will we not? This power of
which I have been speaking, or more properly, this antagonistic class in our
midst, flatter themselves with the idea that when it comes to the test this
people will desert their leaders and cleave to something else. This is an
illusory hope. The Latter-day Saints know too well the source of their blessings.
We have obtained a knowledge from God respecting this work; we know that it is
of more value to us than all the earth besides. As I have said, we have
forsaken former homes for it. The great majority of the first settlers came
without shoes to their feet, and passed the first two or three winters in
mocassins, and ate but a very scanty allowance of food. What was this for?
Because we had obtained a knowledge of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. It is no less dear to us now that twenty-one or twenty-two years have
elapsed. God has proven to us that He is still willing to bless and sustain us
and to give us the victory over all our enemies. He has endowed His servant
with superhuman wisdom to guide this people. We have seen this and we rejoice
in it. Amen.
Anthem, by the Tabernacle Choir -- "O, Praise the Lord."
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 17:283, 10/14/68, p 3]
2 p.m.
The 20th Ward choir sang the anthem "O, come, let us sing unto the Lord," composed and arranged by Brother J. J. Daynes.
Elder John Taylor offered up prayer.
Br. Fishburne's choir sang "How will the Saints rejoice to tell."
[President George A. Smith]
President George A. Smith expressed peculiar sensations and feelings that were elicited by thinking that at every general conference for years past our beloved brother and President, Heber C. Kimball, was with us. But now he is gone; and while we feel the loss, we cannot but rejoice that he has received the reward of his life of humility, integrity, righteousness and unswerving faithfulness.
Brother Smith reviewed at length the early history of the Church, and the persecutions which commenced as soon as the Prophet Joseph received the plates. About forty-nine times was the Prophet brought before the courts on various charges trumped up against him, and in every instance he was acquitted. He was again arrested and without examination was lodged in prison a Carthage; and while there, though under the pledged faith of the State of Illinois, given by its governor for his security, he was basely murdered, and Elder John Taylor who was with them received four balls.
A summary of the discourse during the time occupied by the afternoon meeting would only do it injustice, the history of the Church being brought down to the expuslion of the Saints from Nauvoo; and some interesting documents were read illustrating the historical remarks made.
[George A. Smith]
[JD 13:103-118]
Historical
Address By President George A. Smith,
Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake
City, October 8th and 9th, [7th and 8th]1868.
(Reported by David W. Evans)
The
circumstances by which we are surrounded are such as to cause feeling of no
ordinary character. In all the Conferences held hitherto, in this city and in
Nauvoo, we have enjoyed the society of our late lamented President, Heber C.
Kimball; and his being called away from a useful field in which he had long
labored, should remind us that each of us, at any moment, may be called to
close our career here for time, and to await our reward in the resurrection. We
can but rejoice that our brother, in his long life and labors in the Church, was
a pattern of humility, faith and diligence, and was instrumental in the hands
of God in bringing many thousands to a knowledge of the truth. The blow which
has fallen upon us in being deprived of his company, counsel and instruction,
should remind us of the necessity of diligence in the discharge of all our
duties, that, like him, we may be prepared to inherit celestial glory, and to
associate with Joseph and Hyrum Smith and David Patten, and the martyrs who
have gone before.
The
incidents that have been brought to our notice by our brethren who have spoken
during the Conference, give rise to a series of reflections in relation to our
early history as a people, which, I presume, it would be well for us all to
review. There are some in this Territory who have been in the Church
thirty-six, thirty-seven or thirty-eight years, but a great many of the people
have been in only a few years. A very large portion of our population have been
reared here, and consequently a brief sketch of the early incidents of our
history may not be unprofitable to any.
When
Joseph Smith took the plates of Mormon from the hill Cumorah, he was
immediately surrounded by enemies, and though he was a young man of
unexceptional character, he was compelled to go from place to place, while
translating the work, to avoid persecution. The press and the pulpit denounced
him as an impostor and his followers as dupes. As soon as he preached the
doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, and organized a Church with six
members, he was arrested and brought before a magistrate, honorably
discharged by him, and immediatly arrested again and hurried into an
adjoining county, where he was insulted, spit upon, and kept without food
during the day, and then given crusts of bread and water. The next day he was
taken before magistrates who, after a rigid examination, found no fault in him.
A mob resolved to "tar and feather" him, but through the
instrumentality of the constable, who previously treated him roughly, but who
now became his friend, he made his escape in safety. All these proceedings were
instigated by clergymen and professors of religion in high standing. A similar
spirit of persecution was manifested in a greater or less degree in every place
where the Gospel was proclaimed, not only against Joseph Smith, but also
against other Elders who preached the word.
This
system of persecution continued, especially in the shape of vexatious law
suits, numbering some fifty in all, up to the day of his death, and in all of
which a most vicious and vindictive spirit was manifested outside of judicial
questions. In every case he was honorably acquitted, and upon the charge of
treason upon which he was detained in Carthage gail, when murdered, he had not
even been lawfully examined before a magistrate. In all these trials except one
he had been before persons religiously opposed to him—his enemies were his
judges—and all this while every act of his life was prompted by a firm desire
to do good to his fellow men—to preach, the Gospel of peace, to magnify the
high and holy calling he had received from the Lord, and thereby lead back to
the ancient faith of Jesus Christ his fellow beings who had fallen into
darkness.
Vexatious
law suits not accomplishing the work to the satisfaction of the persecutors of
the Saints, mob violence was resorted to, as being more effective. On the 25th
day of March, 1832, in Hyrum, Portage Co., Ohio, Joseph Smith was dragged from
his bed and carried to the woods, daubed with tar and feathers, and otherwise
ill-treated. The following is his account of the outrage:
"On
the 25th of March, the twins before mentioned, which had been sick for some
time with the measles, caused us to be broke of our rest in taking care of
them, especially my wife. In the evening I told her she had better retire to
rest with one of the children, and I would watch with the sickest child. In the
night she told me I had better lie down on the trundle bed, and I did so, and
was soon after awoke by her screaming 'murder!' when I found myself going out
of the door, in the hands of about a dozen men, some of whose hands were in my
hair, and some had hold of my shirt, drawers, and limbs. The foot of the
trundle bed was towards the door, leaving only room enough for the door to
swing. My wife heard a gentle tapping on the windows, which she then took no
particular notice of (but which was unquestionably designed for ascertaining
whether we were all asleep), and soon after the mob burst open the door and
surrounded the bed in an instant, and, as I said, the first I knew, I was going
out of the door in the hands of an infuriated mob. I made a desperate struggle,
as I was forced out, to extricate myself, but only cleared one leg, with which
I made a pass at one man, and he fell on the door steps. I was immediately confined
again; and they swore by God they would kill me if I did not be still, which
quieted me. As they passed around the house with me, the fellow that I
kicked came to me and thrust his hand into my face, all covered with blood (for
I hit him on the nose), and with an exulting horse laugh, muttered, 'Ge, gee,
God damn ye, I'll fix ye.'
"They
then seized me by the throat, and held on till I lost my breath. After I came
to, as they passed along with me, about thirty rods from the house, I saw Elder
Rigdon stretched out on the ground, whither they had dragged him by the heels.
I supposed he was dead. I began to plead with them, saying, 'You will have
mercy and spare my life, I hope,' to which they replied, 'God damn ye,
call on your God for help, we'll show ye no mercy;' and the people began
to show themselves in every direction; one coming from the orchard had a plank,
and I expected they would kill me, and carry me off on the plank. They then
turned to the right and went on about thirty rods further, about sixty rods
from the house and thirty from where I saw Elder Rigdon, into the meadow, where
they stopped, and one said, 'Simonds, Simonds,' (meaning, I suppose, Simonds
Rider,) 'pull up his drawers, pull up his drawers, he will take cold.' Another
replied, 'Ain't ye going to kill 'im, ain't ye going to kill 'im?' when a group
of mobbers collected a little way off and said, 'Simonds, Simonds, come here;'
and Simonds charged those who had hold of me to keep me from touching the
ground (as they had all the time done), lest I should get a spring upon them.
They went and held a council, and, as I could occasionally overhear a word, I
supposed it was to know whether it was best to kill me. They returned after a
while when I learned they had concluded not to kill me, but pound and scratch
me well, tear off my shirt and drawers, and leave me naked. One cried,
'Simonds, Simonds, where's the tar bucket?' 'I don't know,' answered one,
'where 'tis, Eli's left it.' They ran back and fetched the bucket of tar, when
one exclaimed,' God damn it, let us tar up his mouth;' and they tried to force
the tar-paddle into my mouth; I twisted my head around, so that they could not,
and they cried out, 'God damn ye, hold up your head and let us give ye some
tar.' They then tried to force a vial into my mouth, and broke it in my teeth.
All my clothes were torn off me except my shirt collar, and one man fell on me
and scratched my body with his nails like a mad cat, and then muttered out,
'God damn ye, that's the way the Holy Ghost falls on folks.'
"They
then left me, and I attempted to rise, but fell again. I pulled the tar away
from my lips, so that I could breathe more freely, and raised myself up, when I
saw two lights. I made my way towards one of them, and found it was Father
Johnson's. When I had come to the door, I was naked, and the tar made me look
as though I had been covered with blood; and when my wife saw me she thought I
was mashed all to pieces, and fainted. During the affray abroad, the sisters of
the neighborhood had collected at my room. I called for a blanket, they threw
me one, and shut the door. I wrapped it around me and went in." History of
Joseph Smith, Mill. Star, vol. 14, page 148.
I will
add that the exposure of the child above referred to, to the night air, caused
its death This murdered child was doubtless the first martyr of the last
dispensation.
In a
revelation given Sept, 1831, the Lord said, "It is my will that the Saints
retain a strong hold in the land of Kirtland for the space of five years."
The
Saints owned several farms in Kirtland. Mr. Lyman, a Presbyterian, also owned a
grist mill there, and many of us got our grinding done at his, mill, although
our brethren owned mills two or three miles distant. We had commenced building
the Kirtland Temple. A portion of the city site had been surveyed, and many of
the Saints who had recently come in were building houses on the lots. Mr. Lyman
associated himself with a combination to starve us out. The authorities
proceeded to warn all the Latter-day Saints out of the township, and formed a
compact not to employ us or sell us grain, which was scarce at the time. Mr.
Lyman had 3000 bushels of wheat, but refused to let us have it at any
reasonable price, and it was believed we were so destitute of money that we would
have to scatter abroad. The warning out of town was designed to prevent our
becoming a township charge, the law of Ohio being that if a person, who had
been warned out of town, applied for assistance, he was to be carried to the
next town and so on till he was taken out of the State or to the town from
which he formerly came.
We were
obliged to send fifty miles for grain, which cost us one dollar and six cents
per bushel delivered in Kirtland. Mr. Lyman's grain remained unsold and his
effort to starve us taught us better than to longer patronize his mill,
although it cost us the trouble of going two or three miles to mills belonging
to our brethren. We built a magnificent temple and a large city. We paid our
quota of taxes and we were as noted and remarkable for our industry,
temperance, thrift and morality there, as our people are at the present day. We
also patronized a Mr. Lyon, who was a gentlemanly outside merchant, but the
moment he got an opportunity he united with our enemies to oppress us.
We sent
our children to school to Mr. Bates, a Presbyterian minister, who soon after
went into court and bore false witness against the Elders, and further
testified on oath that every "Mormon" was intellectually insane. This
lesson did admonish us not to longer intrust the education of our youth to
canting hypocrites.
For
several years we had used the paper of Geauga Bank at Painesville, as money. A
loan of a few hundred dollars was asked for by Joseph Smith, with ample
security, but was refused, and Elder Reynolds Cahoon was told they would not
accommodate the "Mormon Prophet," although they acknowledged the
endorsers were above question, simply because it would encourage
"Mormonism." So much of their specie was drawn by Joseph Smith during
the three succeeding days, as greatly improved their tempers, and they said to
Elder Cahoon, "Tell Mr. Smith he must stop this, and any favor he wants we
are ready to accord him."
Subsequently
application was made to the Legislature of the State for a bank charter, the
notes to be redeemed with specie and their redemption secured by real estate.
The charter was denied us on the grounds that we were "Mormons," and
soon I a combination of apostates and outsiders caused us to leave Kirtland,
the most of our property unsold; and our beautiful Temple yet remains a lasting
monument of our perseverance and industry. The loss sustained through this
persecution was probably not less than one million dollars.
MISSOURI
On the
20th day of July, 1831, at Independence, Jackson county, Joseph Smith set apart
and dedicated a lot as the site of the Temple of the centre stake of Zion,
ground having been purchased for this purpose, and it still is known as the
"Temple lot." The Saints entered lands in different parts of the
county, built houses, opened farms, constructed mills, established a printing
office (owned by W. W. Phelps and Co., and the first in Western Missouri), and
opened a mercantile establishment, the largest, in the county, owned by Messrs.
Gilbert and Whitney.
In July,
1833, a mob was organized by signing a circular, which set forth that the civil
law did not afford them a sufficient guarantee against the "Mormons,"
whom they accused of "blasphemously pretending to heal the sick by the
administration of holy oil," and consequently they must be either
"fanatics" or "knaves." Under the influence of Methodist,
Baptist and Presbyterian ministers, they tore down the printing office of the Evening
and Morning Star, which cost some $6000. They stripped and tarred and
feathered Bishop Partridge and Elder Charles Allen, and seized several other
Elders and cast them into prison, compelled Gilbert and Whitney to close their
store, and soon after broke it open and scattered their goods to the four
winds. They tore down twenty houses over the heads of the inmates, and whipped
and terribly lacerated with hickory withes many of the Elders, killed Andrew
Barber, and severely wounded many others; robbed the houses of their property,
and finally expelled fifteen hundred people from the county. They also
destroyed some two hundred and sixteen dwellings, and much of the land, being
valuable timber land, became public plunder. The Saints were robbed of most of
their horses, cattle, implements of husbandry, etc. The total loss in these
transactions is estimated at half a million dollars.
"Horrible
to relate, several women thus driven from their homes gave birth to
children in the woods and on the prairies, destitute of beds or clothing,
having escaped in fright. It is stated on the authority of Solomen Hancock, an
eye witness, that he, with the assistance of two or three others, protected one
hundred and twenty women and children for the space of ten days, who were
obliged to keep themselves hid from their pursuers, while they were hourly
expecting to be massacred, and who finally escaped into Clay county, by finding
a circuitous route to the ferry."
They
could be traced by the blood from their feet, on the burnt prairie. This
occurred in the month of November, and is a specimen of the kindness that
law-abiding Latter-day Saints received at the hands of those who had power over
them. The Saints were so law-abiding that not a single process had been issued
against any member of the Church in Jackson county up to the organization of
the mob, although all the offices, civil and military, were in the hands
of their enemies.
Prominent
in these cruelties as actors and apologists were the Revds. Isaac McCoy and D.
Pixley, the former a Baptist and the latter a Presbyterian missionary to the
Indians.
CLAY COUNTY
The
arrival of the Saints in Clay county was a blessing to the inhabitants, who had
just opened small prairie farms and planted them with Indian corn, much of
which was unharvested. They had cattle on the bottoms and hogs in the woods.
The majority of the people received the Saints with gladness and gave them
employment, and paid them in corn, pork and beef. The wages were low, but
sufficient to supply the more pressing wants of the people. From time to time Joseph
Smith forwarded money from Kirtland to Bishop Partridge to supply the most
needy. The mob in Jackson county sent committees to stir up the feelings of the
people of Clay against the Saints. For some time their oft-repeated efforts to
do so were unsuccessful Parties of the mob would come over from Jackson and
seize our brethren and inflict violence upon them. The industry of our people
soon enabled them to make some purchases of land, and then their numbers were
increased by arrivals from the east. The mob of Jackson county continued their
endeavors to stir up dissatisfaction among the people of Clay county against
the Saints. At length the citizens of Clay county held a public meeting and
requested the "Mormons" to seek another home, when the Saints located
in the new county of Caldwell, which contained only seven families, who were
bee hunters As the county was mostly prairie, their business was not very
profitable, and they gladly embraced the opportunity of selling their claims.
Caldwell
county, being nearly destitute of timber, was regarded by the people of upper
Missouri as worthless. Every Saint that could raise fifty dollars entered forty
acres of land, and there were few but what could do that much, while many
entered large tracts. The Saints migrated from the east and settled Caldwell in
great numbers.
In three
years they had built mills, shops, school, meeting and dwelling houses, and
opened and fenced hundreds of farms. Our industry and temperance rendered our
settlements the most prosperous of any in Missouri, while they embraced all of
Caldwell, most of Davis, and large portions of Clinton, Ray, Cartel and
Livingston counties, when the storm of moboeracy was again aroused and aided by
the Governor of the State, Lilburn W. Boggs, who issued the order expelling all
the Latter-day Saints from the State under penalty of extermination. This
caused the loss of hundreds of lives through violence and suffering. Houses
were plundered, women were violated, men were whipped, and a great variety of
cruelties inflicted, and a loss of property amounting to millions was
sustained, while any one that would renounce his religion was permitted to
remain.
Joseph
and Hyrum Smith, Alexander McRae, Lyman Wight and others were for several
months thrust; into prison, and in one instance, while there, were fed on human
flesh and tantalized with the inquiry, "How they liked Mormon
beef"—it being the flesh of some of their murdered brethren.
The Lord
softened the hearts of the people of Quincy, Illinois, and while the hundreds
of Saints were fleeing over the snow-clad prairies of Missouri, not knowing
where to go, the people of Quincy were holding public meetings, raising
subscriptions and adopting measures to give the fugitives employment and
succor, for which our hearts overflow with gratitude.
As soon
as the Saints were all expelled from Missouri, Joseph Smith went to Washington
and laid the grievances of the people before the President and Congress of the
United States. Mr. Van Buren said, "Your cause is just, but we can do
nothing for you." Mr. Clay, when appealed to, said we "had better go
to Oregon." Mr. Calhoun informed Mr. Smith it would involve the question
of State rights, and was a dangerous question, and it would not do to agitate
it. Mr. Cass, as chairman of the Senate committee, to which the petition was
referred, reported that Congress had no business with it.
Elder
John P. Green went east, and published an appeal in behalf of the Saints,
holding public meetings in Cincinnati and New York, and received some small
contributions for the assistance of the most needy.
As soon
as Joseph Smith escaped from Missouri to Illinois, he purchased lands at a
place known as Commerce, in Hancock county, and commenced the survey of a city
which he called Nauvoo, the word being derived from the Hebrew, meaning beauty
and rest. Although the situation was handsome, it was famed for being
unhealthy. There were but few inhabitants in the vicinity, but many graves in
the burying ground, and much of the subsequent sickness was the result of
exposure and the want of suitable means of nursing the sick. The swamps in the
vicinity of Nauvoo were soon drained, and the lands around put under
cultivation. Numerous dwellings and several mills were erected, and thrift and
prosperity, the invariable results of industry and sobriety, were manifest.
Demands
were made from Missouri for the persons of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Joseph was
arrested and tried at Monmouth, before Judge Stephen A. Douglas, and honorably
discharged. His principal attorney in this case was the Hon. O. H. Browning,
now U.S. Secretary of the Interior. This suit cost him upwards of three
thousand dollars. He was soon again arrested on a demand from Missouri, and
discharged by Judge Pope, of the U.S. District Court. This time it cost him
twelve thousand dollars. Not long after this second acquittal he was again
arrested in Lee County, Illinois, and an attempt made, in the face of the State
authorities, to kidnap him into Missouri. Nauvoo sent out three hundred men and
rescued him. He was afterwards discharged by the municipal court of that place,
and Thomas Ford, Governor of Illinois, sanctioned his discharge.
In 1844
Joseph and Hyrum were arrested on a charge of treason, under pledge of the
executive that they should have a fair trial, but they were murdered by one
hundred and fifty men with blackened faces; merchants and men that we had
sustained in business, and apostates, took a leading part in bringing this
about.
EXPENSES ATTENDANT UPON THE ARREST OF JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith,
the Prophet, was subjected, during his short ministerial career of fifteen
years, to about fifty vexatious law suits. The principal expense was incurred
in liquidating lawyers bills, and the brethren's time and expenditure in
attending courts to defend the Prophet from mob violence.
Magistrates
court expenses were generally one hundred dollars. The Prophet paid Generals
Doniphan and Atehison for legal services at Richmond, Mo., in 1838-9, sixteen
thousand dollars; but this amount was fruitlessly expended, as the benefits of
the law were not accorded to him, because of the predominance and overruling
power of a mob.
At the
Prophet's trial at Monmouth, Ill., in 1841, before Judge Douglas, the lawyers'
fees and expenses amounted to three thousand dollars.
His next
trial was before Judge Pope, U.S. District. Court, in 1842-3, the expenses of
which may be reasonable estimated at twelve thousand dollars.
Cyrus
Walker charged ten thousand dollars for defending Joseph in his political
arrest, or the attempt at kidnapping him at Dixon, Ill., in 1843. There, were
four other lawyers employed for the defence besides Walker. The expenses of the
defence in this trial were enormous, involving the amounts incurred by the
horse companies who went in pursuit to aid Joseph, and the trip of the steamer Maid
of Iowa, from Nauvoo to Otawa, and may be fairly estimated at one hundred
thousand dollars.
When the
mantle of Joseph Smith fell upon Brigham Young, the enemies of God and His
kingdom sought to inaugurate a similar career for President Young; but he took
his revolver from his pocket at the public stand in Nauvoo, and declared that
upon the first attempt of an officer to read a writ to him in a State that had
violated its plighted faith in the murder of the Prophet and Patriarch while
under arrest, he should serve the contents of this writ (holding his loaded
revolver in his hand) first; to this the vast congregation assembled said, Amen.
He was never arrested.
APPEAL TO THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATES
In 1845,
the storm of mobocracy raging around us, we sent an appeal to the President of
the United States, and to the Governor of every State in the Union, except
Missouri, of which the following, addressed to Governor Drew, of Arkansas, is a
copy to the Governor, he being the only one from whom an answer was received—
"To His Excellency Thomas S. Drew, Governor of
Arkansas.
"Nauvoo, Ill., May 1, 1845.
"Honorable
Sir,—Suffer us, sir, in behalf of a disfranchised and long afflicted people, to
prefer a few suggestions for your serious consideration, in hope of a friendly
and unequivocal response, at as early a period as may suit your convenience,
and the extreme urgency of the case seems to demand.
"It
is not our present design to detail the multiplied and aggravated wrongs that
we have received in the midst of a nation that gave us birth. Some of us have
long been loyal citizens of the State over which you have the honor to preside,
while others' claim citizenship in each of the States of this great
confederacy. We say we are a disfranchised people. We are privately told by the
highest authorities of this State, that it is neither prudent nor safe for us
to vote at the polls; still we have continued to maintain our right to vote,
until the blood of our best men has been shed, both in Missouri and the State
of Illinois, with impunity.
"You
are doubtless somewhat familiar with the history of our extermination from the
State of Missouri, wherein scores of our brethren were massacred, hundreds died
through want and sickness, occasioned by their unparalleled sufferings, some
millions of our property were confiscated or destroyed, and some fifteen
thousand souls fled for their lives to the then hospitable and peaceful shores
of Illinois; and that the State of Illinois granted to us a liberal charter, for
the term of perpetual succession, and under its provisions private rights
have become invested, and the largest city in the State has grown up, numbering
about twenty thousand inhabitants.
"But,
sir, the startling attitude recently assumed by the State of Illinois forbids
us to think that her designs are any less vindictive than those of Missouri.
She has already used the military of the State, with the Executive at their
head, to coerce and surrender up our best men to unparalleled murder, and that,
too, under the most sacred pledges of protection and safety. As a salve for
such unearthly perfidy and guilt, she told us, through her highest Executive
officer, that the laws should be magnified, and the murderers brought to
justice; but the blood of her innocent victims had not been wholly wiped from
the floor of the awful arena, where the citizens of a sovereign State pounced
upon two defenceless servants of God, our Prophet and our Patriarch, before the
Senate of that State rescued one of the indicted aurora in that mournful
tragedy from the sheriff of Hancock county, and gave him an honorable seat in
her halls of legislation. And all others who were indicted by the grand jury of
Hancock county for the murders of Generals Joseph and Hyrum Smith, are suffered
to roam at large, watching for further prey.
"To
crown the climax of those bloody deeds, the State has repealed all those
chartered rights by which we might have defended ourselves against aggressors.
If we defend ourselves hereafter against violence, whether it comes under the
shadow of law or otherwise (for we have reason to expect it both ways), we
shall then be charged with treason, and suffer the penalty; and if we continue
passive and non-resistant, we must certainly expect to perish, for our enemies
have sworn it.
"And
here, sir, permit us to state that General Joseph Smith, during this short
life, was arraigned at the bar of his country about fifty times, charged with
criminal offences, but was acquitted every time by his country, or rather his
religious opponents almost invariably being his judges. And we further testify,
that as a people we are law-abiding, peaceable, and without crimes; and we
challenge the world to prove the contrary. And while other less cities in
Illinois have had special courts instituted to try their criminals, we have
been stript of every source of arraigning marauders and murderers who are
prowling around to destroy us, except the common magistracy.
"With
these facts before you, sir, will you write to us without delay, as a father
and friend, and advise us what to do? We are, many of us, citizens of your
State, and all members of the same great confederacy. Our fathers, nay, some of
us, have fought and bled for our country, and we love her dearly.
"In
the name of Israel's God, and by virtue of multiplied ties of country and
kindred, we ask your friendly interposition in our favor. Will it be too much
to ask you to convene a special session of your State Legislature, and furnish
us an asylum where we can enjoy our rights of conscience and religion
unmolested? Or will you in a special message to that body, when convened,
recommend a remonstrance against such unhallowed acts of oppression and
expatriation, as this people have continued to receive from the States of
Missouri and Illinois? Or will you favor us by your personal influence, and by
your official [p.112] rank? Or will you express your views concerning what is
called the Great Western Measure, of colonizing the Latter-day Saints in
Oregon, the north-western Territory, or some location, remote from the States,
where the hand of oppression shall not crush every noble principle, and
extinguish every patriotic feeling?
"And
now, honored sir, having reached out our imploring hands to you with deep
solemnity, we would importune with you as a father, a friend, a patriot and
statesman; by the constitution of American liberty; by the blood of our
fathers, who have fought for the independence of this Republic; by the blood of
the martyrs which has been shed in our midst; by the wailings of the widows and
orphans; by our murdered fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, wives and
children; by the dread of immediate destruction from secret combinations now
forming for our overthrow; and by every endearing tie that binds men to men,
and renders life bearable, and that, too, for aught we know, for the last time,
that you will lend your immediate aid to quell the violence of mobocracy, and
exert your influence to establish us as a people in our civil and religious
rights, where we now are, or in some part of the United States, or at some
place remote therefrom, where we may colonize in peace and safety as soon as
circumstances will permit.
"We
sincerely hope that your future prompt measures towards us will be dictated
by the best feelings that dwell in the bosom of humanity; and the blessings of,
a grateful people, and of many ready to perish, shall come upon you.
"We are, sir, with great respect,
"Your obedient servants,
"Brigham Young, Chairman.
"W. Richards, |
"Orson Spencer, |
"Orson Pratt, | Committee.
"W. W. Phelps, |
"A. W. Babbit, |
"Jno. M. Bernhisel, |
"In
behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at Nauvoo, Ill.
"P.S.—As
many of our communications postmarked at Nauvoo, have failed of their
destination, and the mails around us have been intercepted by our enemies, we
shall send this to some distant office by the hand of a special
messenger."
The
following reply was received from Governer Drew:—
"Executive Office, Little Rock,
Ark., May 27, 1845.
"Hon.
Brigham Young, President of the Committee of Twelve of Christ's Church of
Latter-day Saints at Nauvoo, Ill.
"Sir,—Your
letter of the 1st inst. has been received, and claims my earnest attention. I
must acknowledge my inability to serve your people by calling an extra Session
of the General Assembly of this State for the object contemplated. And although
I do not know that prejudice against your tenets in Arkansas would weigh aught
against the action of that body, in refusing to furnish within our borders an
asylum from the oppression of which you so sorely complain; yet I am sure the
representatives of the people would long hesitate to extend to any class of
citizens exclusive privileges, however innocent their motives, aims, objects or
actions might appear, when the prospects of collision, from causes of which in
your case I know nothing, appear so evident from the two very recent
manifestations presented in the States of Missouri and Illinois. I have no
doubt Illinois, prompted by the kindest of sympathies for your people in the
late struggle and overthrow they encountered in Missouri, extended a liberal
helping hand, but to repent her supposed folly. Could Arkansas, after
witnessing the same scene re-enacted in Illinois, calculate on anything short
of a like catastrophe?
"I
am not sufficiently informed of the course taken against you by the authorities
of the State of Illinois, in the difficulties detailed in your communication,
to justify a recommendation from me to the Legislature to remonstrate against
the acts of Illinois—the detailed statement of facts afforded me by your
communication being of an ex parte character. But were I
regularly informed of all the facts from both parties, and felt able to form a
correct opinion as to the justice of the course pursued by the State of
Illinois, yet I am of opinion that this State would not have, nor would I have
as its chief Executive officer, the right to interfere in the least with the
internal concerns or police of the State of Illinois, or of any other
neighboring State, where its operations do not distract or in any way affect
the good order of the citizens of the State of Arkansas. There are instances,
but they are rare, where the interposition of one State to arrest the progress
of violence in another, would be at all admissible. Such, for instance, as
where the public authorities of the State affected are palpably incompetent to
quell an insurrection within her limits, and the violence is likely to extend
its ravages and bad influence to such neighboring State, or where a proper call
has been made for succor.
"Nor
can I afford to exercise my official rank as chief Executive of this State, in
behalf of a faction in a neighboring State; and I humbly conceive that my
personal influence would add nothing to your cause, unless it should prove to
be a just one, in which event public opinion will afford you support of a
character more lasting in the eye of an enlightened public, than wiser and
greater men than your humble servant—than official rank, or force backed by
power. It is true that while prejudice may have the ascendency over the minds
of the neighboring community, your people may be exposed more or less to loss
of life and destruction of property; I therefore heartily agree with you in the
proposed plan of emigration to the Oregon Territory—or to California—the north
of Texas, or to Nebraska; thereby placing your community beyond the reach of
contention, until, at least, you shall have had time and opportunity to test
the practicability of your system, and to develop its contemplated superior
advantages in ameliorating the condition of the human race, and adding to the
blessings of civil and religious liberty. That such a community, constituted as
yours, with the mass of prejudice which surrounds and obstructs its progress at
this time, cannot prosper in that or any of the neighboring States, appears
very evident from the signal failures upon two occasions under auspices at
least as favorable as you could reasonably expect from any of the States.
"My
personal sympathies are strong for the oppressed, though my official station
can know nothing but what is sanctioned by the strictest justice, and that
circumscribed to the limited jurisdiction of my own State; and while I deplore,
as a man and a philanthropist, your distressed situation, I would refer you to
the emphatic and patriarchal proposition of Abraham to Lot; and whilst I allude
to the eloquent paraphrase of one of Virginia's most gifted sons, wherein he
circumscribed the bounds of our domain within to the great valley of the
Mississippi, I would only add that the way is now open to the Pacific without
let or hindrance. Should the Latter-day Saints migrate to Oregon, they will
carry with them the good will of philanthropists, and the blessing of every
friend of humanity. If they are wrong, their wrongs will be abated with many
degrees of allowance, and if right, migration will afford an opportunity to
make it manifest in due season to the whole civilized world.
"With
my hearty desires for your peace and prosperity, I subscribe myself
respectfully yours,
"THOMAS S. DRAW."
This
correspondence shows us the necessity of our being united in sustaining the
Latter-day Saints, that we may not build up, by our own acts, a power to renew
persecution again in our midst.
EXPULSION FROM ILLINOIS
In
September, 1845, the mob commenced burning the houses of the Saints in the
southern part of the county of Hancock, and continued until stopped by the
sheriff, who summoned a posse comitatus, while few but Latter-day Saints
would serve under him. The Governor sent troops and disbanded the posse. The
murderers of Joseph and Hyrum had a sham trial and were acquitted. A convention
of nine counties notified us that we must leave the State. The Governor
informed us through General John J. Harding and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, that
we could not be protected in Illinois. We commenced our emigration west on the
6th of February, 1846. During that month some twelve hundred wagons crossed the
Mississippi, many of them on the ice. Everybody that was able to leave
continued to do so until late in the summer, and the outfits with which they
left were insufficient, while the winter and spring weather was inclement,
which caused a great deal of suffering.
While the
strength of Israel had gone westward, the Illinois mob commenced their
hostilities with redoubled fury. They whipped, plundered and murdered men,
abused women and children, and drove all the scattering ones into Nauvoo, then
laid siege to the place and bombarded it for three days, killing several
persons and wounding others, and peremptorily expelled the remainder across the
river into Iowa, after robbing them of the remainder of the property they
possessed, and leaving them on the shore to perish.
Their
encampment was probably one of the most miserable and distressed that ever
existed. All who were able, by any possible means, had got away; those left
were the poor and the helpless. Great numbers were sick, and they were without
tents or conveniences of any kind to make them comfortable. Encamped on the
foggy bottoms of the Mississippi river, they were scorched with fevers, without
medicine or proper food.
In this
helpless condition a merciful Providence smiled on them by sending quails, so
tame that many caught them with their hands; yet many perished within sight of
hundreds of houses belonging to them and their friends, which were under the
dominion of the Rev. Thomas S. Brockman and his mob legions, who viciously
trampled the constitution and laws of Illinois, and the laws of humanity, under
their feet.
The
victims continued to suffer until the camps in the west sent them relief. For a
more full description of these scenes, I read from the historical address of
Col. (now General) Thomas L. Kane, who was an eye witness.
"A
few years ago," said Colonel Kane, "ascending the Upper Mississippi,
in the autumn, when its waters were low, I was compelled to travel by land past
the region of the Rapids. My road lay through the Half-breed Tract, a fine
section of Iowa, which the unsettled state of its land-titles had appropriated
as a sanctuary for coiners, horse thieves, and other outlaws. I had left my
steamer at Keokuk, at the foot of the Lower Fall, to hire a carriage, and to
contend for some fragments of a dirty meal with the swarming flies, the only
scavengers of the locality.
"From
this place to where the deep water of the river returns, my eye wearied to see
everywhere sordid, vagabond, and idle settlers, and a country marred, without
being improved, by their careless hands. I was descending the last hill-side
upon my journey, when a landscape in delightful contrast broke upon my view.
Half encircled by a bend of the river, a beautiful city lay glittering in the
fresh morning sun; its bright new dwellings, set in cool green gardens, ranging
up around a stately dome-shaped hill, which was crowned by a noble edifice,
whose high tapering spire was radiant with white and gold. The city appeared to
cover several miles, and beyond it, in the background, there rolled off a fair
country, chequered by the careful lines of fruitful husbandry. The
un-mistakeable marks of industry, enterprise, and educated wealth everywhere,
made the scene one of singular and most striking beauty. It was a natural
impulse to visit this inviting region. I procured a skiff, and rowing across
the river, landed at the chief wharf of the city. No one met me there. I
looked, and saw no one. I could hear no one move, though the quiet everywhere
was such that I heard the flies buzz, and the water-ripples break against the
shallow of the beach. I walked through the solitary street. The town lay as in
a dream, under some deadening spell of loneliness, from which I almost feared
to wake it, for plainly it had not slept long. There was no grass growing up in
the paved ways; rains had not entirely washed away the prints of dusty
footsteps.
"Yet
I went about unchecked. I went into empty workshops, rope-walks and
smithies. The spinner's wheel was idle; the carpenter had gone from his
work-bench and shavings, his unfinished sash and casing. Fresh bark was in the
tanner's vat, and the fresh-chopped lightwood stood piled against the baker's
oven. The blacksmith's shop was cold; but his coal heap and lading pool, and
crooked water horn were all there, as if he had just gone off for a holiday. No
work-people anywhere looked to know my errand.
"If
I went into the gardens, clinking the wicket-latch loudly after me, to pull
the marigolds, heartsease, and lady-slippers, and draw a drink with the
water-sodden well-bucket and its noisy chain; or, knocking off with my stick
the tall, heavy-headed dahlias and sunflowers, hunted over the beds for
cucumbers and love-apples—no one called out to me from any opened window, or
dog sprang forward to bark an alarm.
"I
could have supposed the people hidden in the houses, but the doors were
unfastened; and when at last I timidly entered them, I found dead ashes white
upon the hearths, and had to tread a tip-toe, as if walking down the aisle of a
country church, to avoid rousing irreverent echoes from the naked floors. On
the outskirts of the town was the city graveyard; but there was no record of
plague there, nor did it in anywise differ much from other Protestant American
cemeteries. Some of the mounds were not long sodded; some of the stones were
newly set, their dates recent, and their black inscriptions glossy in the mason's
hardly dried lettering ink. Beyond the graveyard, out in the fields, I saw, in
one spot hard by where the fruited boughs of a young orchard had been roughly
torn down, the still smouldering remains of a barbecue fire, that had been
constructed of rails from the fencing around it. It was the latest sign of life
there. Fields upon fields of heavy-headed yellow grain lay rotting un-gathered
upon the ground. No one was there to take in their rich harvest.
"As
far as the eye could reach they stretched away—they sleeping, too, in the
hazy air of autumn. Only two portions of the city seemed to suggest the import
of this mysterious solitude. On the southern suburb, the houses looking out
upon the country showed, by their splintered wood-work and walls battered to
the foundation, that they had lately been the mark of a destructive cannonade.
And in and around the splendid Temple, which had been the chief object of my
admiration, armed men were barracked, surrounded by their stacks of musketry
and pieces of heavy ordnance. These challenged me to render an account of
myself, and why I had had the temerity to cross the water without written
permit from a leader of their band.
"Though
these men were generally more or less under the influence of ardent spirits,
after I had explained myself as a passing stranger, they seemed anxious to gain
my good opinion. They told the story of the Dead City; that it had been a
notable manufacturing and commercial mart, sheltering over twenty thousand
persons; that they had waged war with its inhabitants for several years, and
had been finally successful only a few days before my visit, in an action
fought in front of the ruined suburb; after which they had driven them forth at
the point of the sword. The defence, they said, had been obstinate, but gave
way on the third day's bombardment. They boasted greatly of their prowess,
especially in this battle, as they called it; but I discovered they were not of
one mind as to certain of the exploits that had distinguished it, one of which,
as I remember, was, that they had slain a father and his son, a boy of fifteen,
not long residents of the fated city, whom they admitted to have borne a
character without reproach.
"They
also conducted me inside the massive sculptured walls of the curious Temple, in
which they said the banished inhabitants were accustomed to celebrate the
mystic rites of an unhallowed worship. They particularly pointed out to me
certain features of the building which, having been the peculiar objects of a
former superstitious regard, they had, as a matter of duty, sedulously defiled
and defaced. The reputed sites of certain shrines they had thus particularly
noticed; and various sheltered chambers, in one of which was a deep well,
constructed, they believed, with a dreadful design. Beside these, they led me
to see a large and deep chiselled marble vase or basin, supported upon twelve
oxen, also of marble, and of the size of life, of which they told some romantic
stories. They said the deluded persons, most of whom were emigrants from a
great distance, believed their Deity countenanced their reception here of a
baptism of regeneration, as proxies for whomsoever they held in warm affection
in the countries from which they had come. That here parents 'went into the
water' for their lost children, children for their parents, widows for their
spouses, and young persons for their lovers; that thus the Great Vase came to
be for them associated with all dear and distant memories, and was therefore
the object, of all others in the building, to which they attached the greatest
degree of idolatrous affection. On this account, the victors had so diligently
desecrated it, as to render the apartment in which it was contained too noisome
to abide in.
"They
permitted me also to ascend into the steeple, to see where it had been
lightning-struck the Sabbath before; and to look out, east and south, on wasted
farms like those I had seen near the city, extending till they were lost in the
distance. Here, in the face of the pure day, close to the scar of the divine
wrath left by the thunderbolt, were fragments of food, cruises of liquor, and
broken drinking vessels, with a bass drum and a steamboat signal bell, of which
I afterwards learned the use with pain.
"It
was after nightfall when I was ready to cross the river on my return. The wind
had freshened since the sunset, and the water beating roughly into my little
boat, I edged higher up the stream than the point I had left in the morning,
and landed where a faint glimmering light invited me to steer.
"Here,
among the dock and rushes, sheltered only by the darkness, without roof between
them and the sky, I came upon a crowd of several hundred human beings, whom my
movements roused from uneasy slumber on the ground.
"Passing
these on my way to the light, I found it came from a tallow candle in a paper
funnel shade, such as is used by street vendors of apples and peanuts, and
which, flaming and guttering away in the bleak air off the water, shone
flickeringly on the emaciated features of a man in the last stage of a billious
remittent fever. They had done their best for him. Over his head was something
like a tent, made of a sheet or two, and he rested on a partially ripped open
old straw mattress, with a hair sofa cushion under his head for a pillow. His
gaping jaw and glazing eye told how short a time he would monopolize these
luxuries; though a seemingly bewildered and excited person, who might have been
his wife, seemed to find hope in occasionally forcing him to swallow,
awkwardly, sips of the tepid river water, from a burned and battered
bitter-smelling tin coffee-pot. Those who knew better had furnished the
apothecary he needed; a toothless old bald-head, whose manner had the repulsive
dullness of a man familiar with death scenes. He, so long as I remained,
mumbled in his patient's ear a monotonous and melancholy prayer, between the
pauses of which I heard the hiccup and sobbing of two little girls, who were
sitting upon a piece of drift wood outside.
"Dreadful,
indeed, was the suffering of these forsaken beings; bowed and cramped with cold
and sunburn, alternating as each weary day and night dragged on, they were,
almost all of them, the crippled victims of disease. They were there because
they had no homes, nor hospital, nor poor-house, nor friends to offer them any.
They could not satisfy the feeble cravings of their sick; they had not bread to
quiet the fractious hunger-cries of their children. Mothers and babes,
daughters and grand-parents, all of them alike, were bivouacked in tatters, wanting
even covering to comfort those whom the sick shiver of fever was searching to
the marrow.
"These
were Mormons, in Lee county, Iowa, in the fourth week of the month of
September, in the year of our Lord 1846. The city—it was Nauvoo, Ill. The
Mormons were the owners of that city, and the smiling country around. And those
who had stopped their ploughs, who had silenced their hammers, their axes,
their shuttles, and their workshop wheels; those who had put out their fires,
who had eaten their food, spoiled their orchards, and trampled under foot their
thousands of acres of un-harvested bread; these were the keepers of their
dwellings, the carousers in their Temple, whose drunken riot insulted the ears
of the dying.
"I
think it was as I turned from the wretched night-watch of which I have spoken,
that I first listened to the sounds of revel of a party of the guard within the
city. Above the distant hum of the voices of many, occasionally rose distinct
the loud oath-tainted exclamation, and the falsely intonated scrap of vulgar
song; but lest this requiem should go unheeded, every now and then, when their
boisterous orgies strove to attain a sort of ecstatic climax, a cruel spirit of
insulting frolic carried some of them up into the high belfry of the Temple steeple,
and there, with the wicked childishness of inebriates, they whooped, and
shrieked, and beat the drum that I had seen, and rang in charivaric unison
their loud-tongued steam-boat bell.
They
were, all told, not more than six hundred and forty persons who were thus lying
on the river fiats. But the Mormons in Nauvoo and its dependencies had been
numbered the year before at over twenty thousand. Where were they? They had
last been seen carrying in mournful train their sick and wounded, halt and
blind, to disappear behind the western horizon, pursuing the phantom of another
home. Hardly anything else was known of them; and people asked with
curiosity, 'What had been their fate—what their fortunes?'"
The conclusion of the discourse was postponed till to-morrow morning.
Singing, "Rejoice in the Lord," by the Tabernacle choir.
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young, junr.
[8 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 17:283, 10/14/68, p 3]
Thursday, 8th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the 20th Ward Choir, Anthem, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord."
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
Bro. Fishburne's Choir sang, "An Angel from on high."
[President George A. Smith]
President George A. Smith continued his historical discourse.
After bringing it down to the point where the persecuted Saints reached this valley, under the guidance of President B. Young, he described the appearance of the country when they arrived, so barren looking and burnt-up that scarcely a particle of green vegetation was to be seen, and the gournd black with hideous-looking crickets, that seemed to eat up and destroy every particle of vegetation. As the trains now bring the immigrating Saints to these valleys, where smiling plenty and a beautiful country greet them on every hand, they cannot realize what this place then was. Yet here, having arrived in extreme destitution, many of them barefooted and almost naked, the early settlers lived and labored, under he direction of the Priesthood; and while yet in the midst of great poverty, steps were taken to gather out the Saints still left behind in the East and those in the nations of the earth. The Perpetual Emigration Fund was organized and the work of gathering commenced and has continued.
He referred to the opening of commercial houses here owned by men not belonging to the Church, and to the vast sums of money made by them in an incredibly short time. The Buchanan expedition was alluded to, and the fact noted that it destroyed and wasted forty millions of dollors of money belonging to government, and that was all it did.It is said by some that the money brought into the country by that expedition, and the merchandising consequent upon it, were a source of great prosperity to the people. But the flour which government paid twenty-eight and a half dollars a hundred for, was bought from the Saints at abouot five dollars a hundred, and paid for in poor good. The men who had made money from us had not employed it for the benefit of the Saints, but they had used their influence and means to add to our troubles and heap injuries upon us. Papers have been sustained from such sources that have spread abroad and persistently circulated the most vile and false calumnies against us; and that have called us assassins, cut-throats, vile and abominable; and represented our religion and institutions in the most odius light which corrupt imaginations can suggest, to stir up enmity against us, and to send armed bodies here to destroy your lives and property, and drive us from our home. We crossed the great plains to come here and serve God. Shall we do so; or shall we forget the object of our gathering together? Shall we continue to sustain an influence and a power that would destroy us, and have the responsibility of our destruction upon our own heads; or shall we sustain righteousness, truth, virtue and the Kingdom of God?
He would fellowship no one who would give aid to strengthening the power of evil; and he exhorted the Saints to fellowship no one who would not sustain the Zion of God.
[George A. Smith]
[JD 13:118-124
The rear
of the camp of the Saints that were driven out of Nauvoo, as we left them last
evening lying on the banks of the Mississippi—a very uncomfortable and
distressing situation—were frequently annoyed by the firing of cannon from the
opposite side of the river, many of the shot landing in the river, but
occasionally some would pass over into the camp. One of them, picked up in the
camp, was sent as a present to the Governor of Iowa.
The Rev.
Thomas S. Brockman, leader of the mob who expelled the Saints from Nauvoo, said
when he entered the city, that he considered he had gained a tremendous
triumph; but there is no language sufficient to describe the ignominy and
disgrace that must attach, in all time to come, to him and his associates, in
the accomplishment of so brutal a work on an innocent and unoffending people on
account of their religions opinions.
The
settlements of Iowa on the west side of the Mississippi river were scattering,
extending back about seventy miles. We passed through these settlements on our
journey westward, that is, President Young and the party that left Nauvoo in
the winter. We diverged a little from the regular route in order to be in the
vicinity of the settlements of Missouri. Our brethren scattered wherever there
was an opportunity to take jobs from the people, making rails, building log
houses, and doing a variety of work, by which they obtained grain for their
animals and breadstuff for themselves. We were enabled to do this while moving
slowly. In fact, the spring rains soon rendered the ground so muddy that it was
impossible to travel but a very short distance at a time. Soon after, when the
grass grew, this divergence from the road southerly was discontinued, by
pursuing a direction further north, until we reached a point on the east fork
of Grand River, where the President's company commenced a settlement called
Garden Grove, then another called Pisgah was commenced on the west fork of the
same river. These streams and a number of others had to be bridged at a heavy
expense, which was done by the advanced parties. Our travel west of the
settlements, before we reached the Missouri river, was about 300 miles. The
country was in the possession of Pottawattamie Indians. They, however, had sold
their lands to the United States, and were to give possession the following
year. We were delayed building ferry boats and crossing the Missouri river. A
large portion of our people crossed at a point now known as Omaha city; some
crossed a little below, at Bellevue, or what we sometimes termed Whisky Point,
there being some missionaries and Indian traders there, who occupied their time
in selling whisky to and swindling the Indians.
We were
met there by Captain James Allen, of United States dragoons, with an order from
the War Department to enroll five hundred volunteers for the war in Mexico. The
volunteers were enrolled in a very few days. A portion of our wagons had
crossed the Missouri at this time, and the residue of our people, from whom the
volunteers were drawn, were scattered on the way two hundred miles towards
Nauvoo. The men, however, volunteered, leaving their families and teams on the
prairies without protectors, and very materially weakened the camp, because
they were the flower of the people. They marched direct for Leavenworth, and
there received the arms of infantry, and then marched for California by way of
Santa Fe. Their commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Allen, died at Leavenworth, and
they were subsequently placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel P. Saint
George Cooke. They made a march of 2050 miles, to San Diego. History may be
searched in vain for a parallel to this march of infantry. During a portion of
this route they were on three-quarter rations, a portion on half rations, and a
large portion of it on quarter rations of bread, their only meat being such
draught animals as were unable to proceed further. They were, at one time,
temporarily relieved from this pressure through an encounter with a herd of
wild bulls. These men were discharged on the coast of California; but the
Government, finding it necessary to maintain some show of force in the southern
part of California, requested a company of them to re-enlist, which they did,
and served for a term of six months.
The
departure of all these men from our party, left a great burden on the shoulders
of those who remained. President Young gathered them together to a place now
called Florence, which we denominated Winter Quarters. While there we built
seven hundred log houses, one water-power and several horse mills for grinding
grain, and some hundred and fifty dug-outs, being a kind of cave dug in the
earth, or houses half underground.
We
gathered up the families of the battalion the best we could, but a great many
were sick. Our exposures through the season, being deprived of vegetable food,
and the overwork through so much bridge and road making, brought on sickness;
and all who were in Winter Quarters remember it as being a place where a great
many persons were afflicted, and many died.
Our
brethren who were on the other side of the river established camps in various
localities. There were probably two thousand wagons scattered about on the east
side of the river in different parts of the Pottawattamie country, each grove
or camping ground taking the name of its leader. Many of those names are still
retained, the various camping grounds being known as Cutler's, Perkins',
Miller's, &c.
Elders
Orson Hyde, P. P. Pratt and John Taylor, left the camp and went on a mission to
England. Brother Benson, accompanied by other brethren, went to the east to
solicit donations from our eastern friends. I am not aware of the exact amount
that was donated, but it was only a trifle. There were a few old clothes also
contributed, which I believe were scarcely worth the freight. Christian
sympathy was not very strong for the Latter-day Saints. But we feel very
thankful to those who did contribute, and shall ever remember with kindness
their generosity towards the Saints.
We were
here visited by Col. Thos. L. Kane, of Philadelphia, an extract from whose
historical address was read yesterday. He visited our camp and saw our
condition, and was the only man, I believe, who by words and deeds manifested
that he felt to sympathise with the outraged and plundered people called
Latter-day Saints. It may be that he was not the only man, but he was the only
man who made himself conspicuous by his sympathy towards us. It is true that we
have had men come here, as merchants and officers, who have expressed to us
that they did have great sympathy with us at that time. It does us a great deal
of good now to hear them say so, we did not know anything about it then.
In the
spring of 1847, President Young, with one hundred and forty-three pioneers,
started in search of a place of settlement. We started early, before there was
a particle of grass in the Platte valley. We carried our food with us, and fed
our animals on the cottonwood bark, until the grass grew, and managed to get
along, making the road for six hundred and fifty miles, and followed the
trappers' trail about four hundred miles more until we arrived in this valley.
The whole company arrived here on the 24th of July, 1847. There were a few
bushes along the streams of City Creek, and other creeks south. The land was
barren; it was covered with large black crickets, which seemed to be devouring
everything that had outlived the drouth and desolation. Here we commenced our
work by making an irrigation ditch, and planting potatoes, which we had brought
from the States; and late as it was in the season, with all the disadvantages with
which we had to contend, we raised enough to preserve the seed, though very few
were as large as chesnuts. For the next three years we were reduced to
considerable straits for food. Fast-meetings were held, and contributions
constantly made for those who had no provisions. Every head of a family issued
rations to those dependent upon him, for fear his supply of provisions should
fall short. Rawhides, wolves, rabbits, thistle roots, segos, and everything
that could be thought of that would preserve life, were resorted to; there were
a few deaths by eating poisonous roots. A great deal of the grain planted here
the first year grew only a few inches high; it was so short it could not be
cut. The people had to pull it. A great many got discouraged and wanted to
leave the country; some did leave. The discovery of gold mines in California by
the brethren of the battalion, caused many of the discontented to go to that
paradise of gold.
During
all these trials President Young was firm and decided; he put on a smile when
among the people, and said this was the place God had pointed out for the
gathering place of the Saints, and it would be blessed and become one of the
most productive places in the world. In this way he encouraged the people, and
he was sustained by men who felt that God had inspired him to lead us here.
President
Young went back to Winter Quarters the first season, and in 1848 returned with
his family. John Smith, my honored father, who was subsequently Patriarch of
the whole Church, and who had been President of the Stake in Nauvoo, presided
during the absence of President Young. I think that, for a man of his age and
health, it was, in many respects, a very unpleasant position to be placed in,
for all the murmuring, complaining, fault-finding, distress, hunger,
annoyances, fears and doubts of the whole people were poured into his ear. But
God inspired him, although a feeble man, to keep up their spirits, and to
sustain the work that was entrusted to him until the arrival of the President
next season.
In three
years—1850, the idea of a man issuing rations to his family to keep them from
starving had passed away; but the grasshopper war of 1856 inflicted upon us so
great a scarcity, that issuing rations had to be resorted to again. Through all
these circumstances no one was permitted to suffer, though all had to be
pinched. I shall not attempt to give a detailed account of all the
circumstances connected with our position in those trying times. But when our
brethren arrive here by railroad and see a country smiling with plenty, I think
they can hardly appreciate how it looked when we came.
When I
first sat down on this ground, in 1847, I was dressed in buckskin, having torn
most of my clothes to pieces. I had rawhide soles on my feet, and had a piece
of hard bread and a piece of dried antelope meat to eat. I lay down, took my
pistol in my hand, and held on to my horse by a lariet while eating my meat and
biscuit, for fear the Indians might take a notion to my hair, of which I was
always very choice. I took that meal near where our City Hall now stands. There
has been quite an improvement since then.
The first
year of our settlement here the crops were greatly injured by crickets, and
many of the people gave up all hope, and it seemed as if actual starvation was
inevitable for the whole colony. God sent gulls from the Lake, and they came
and devoured the crickets. It seemed as if they were heavenly messengers sent
to stay the famine. They would eat until they were filled, and would then
disgorge; and so they continued eating and vomiting until the fields were
cleared, and the colony saved: Praise the Lord! During the time of scarcity,
when there was a short allowance of bread, the people were remarkably healthy,
more so than they were afterwards when food became more plentiful.
In 1847
it was the counsel for every person leaving the Missouri river to be provided
with three hundred and sixty-five pounds of bread stuff; many, however, came
with less. The next season they were to bring three hundred pounds, the season
after two hundred and fifty pounds; but in 1850 the people came with just
enough to serve them during their journey across the Plains. In 1849, President
Young founded the P. E. Fund. We had covenanted while in Conference in the
Temple at Nauvoo, that we would never quit our exertions to the extent of our
influence and property, until every man, woman and child of the Latter-day
Saints who wanted to come to the mountains had been gathered. In 1849,
notwithstanding all our poverty, a large sum in gold was contributed by the
brethren for emigration purposes, and Bishop Edward Hunter went back and
commenced the work. We also recommenced the work of missions, which for a short
time had been partially suspended. Missionaries were sent to Denmark, Sweden,
Norway, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the islands of the Pacific.
The first
commercial house established here by strangers was Livingston and Kinkead's.
Mr. Livingston had about eight thousand dollars, which was all the money the
firm had to invest. Kinkead was taken in as a partner, and they obtained credit
in the east for twenty thousand dollars' worth of goods, freighted them here
and opened their store. They reported to their creditors that on the first day
of opening they received ten thousand dollars in gold. They remained here until
they made themselves fortunes, and carried gold from this Territory, perhaps to
the amount of millions, and established themselves elsewhere. They were an
honorable business house, but I have often reflected upon the bad policy that
we, as servants of God, adopted at that time in sustaining strangers. If the
ten thousand dollars which were paid into that house the first day, had been
handled by some of our experienced merchants in a co-operative institution, it
would have been just as easy to have furnished our own merchandize as to have
bought their's. Bishop N. K. Whitney, who was then living, or Bishop Woolley,
and numbers of others were well acquainted with mercantile business; but they
had been robbed of all they had, and had no capital. It only wanted unity and
willingness on the part of the people to sustain their brethren in their
business relations, to have laid the foundation to supply all that was ever
supplied by Livingston and Kinkead.
I would
like every one to inquire for himself—What would have been the result if,
instead of sustaining Livingston and Kinkead and other merchants, our people
had sustained Latter-day Saints? The result would have been, that large sums of
money would have remained here and been used for building up the country; and
when a dark cloud had lowered over us, our brethren with this means in their
possession would have been on hand to aid the Saints in defending and
preserving their lives and liberties; while, as it was, the influence of the
men we had enriched was turned against us, they believing they could make more
money out of the Government, and get rich quicker through war, than they could
by continuing their honest, legitimate business with the people here. This firm
is but one; several other firms might be mentioned who pursued a similar
course.
As soon
as it was known in Christendom that the Latter-day Saints were not dead, but
that they were alive and flourishing, and were gathering their people to the
mountains at the rate of from two to five thousand a year, and that they had
succeeded in reclaiming the desert, and in making grain and grass grow where
nothing would grow before, it seemed as though all hell was aroused again.
Federal officers were sent here, and they thought it policy to join in the
general hue and cry, or at least some of them; there were a few honorable
exceptions. But the majority of them raised a hue and cry against us, and it
was thought so much of, that one of the rotten planks in the platform of the
great rising party which contested the elevation of James Buchanan to the
Presidency, was the destruction of polygamy. This brought to our country immense
armies, more men being concerned in the matter than in some of the principal
battles of the revolution, or even in the war of 1812. Some six thousand
regulars were marched in this direction, while teamsters and hangers on
increased this number to about seventeen thousand. There were also several
thousand freight wagons, and everything on the face of the earth, seemingly,
that could be done to hurl into this country destruction and vengeance, was
done. But God overruled it. When they got here they found that they really had
been deceived. They went and established themselves at Camp Floyd, and spent
their time in destroying arms and ammunition, and breaking up the property of
the United States, until forty million dollars, the reported cost of the expedition,
had been wasted. The armies then scattered to the four winds of the heaven.
This expenditure of the Government money laid the foundation of these outside
mercantile establishments which have been nursed by us to so great an extent
from that time to this.
It has
been believed that great benefit, financially, accrued to the Saints through
this expedition; but I think that as a whole it has been a hindrance to our
real progress. Very little of the money came into the hands of the Saints, but
some merchandize at high prices, which might have been a temporary convenience.
But it caused our people to relax their energies in producing from the elements
what they needed, such as flax, cotton and wool; and also turned their
attention from the manufacture of iron. The burning of wagons, the bursting of
shell, and the destruction of arms, furnished much of the latter at
comparatively nominal prices; hence a present benefit worked a permanent
injury. The speculators who made vast fortunes at the expense of the nation
soon squandered them, and part of this army, and even its commander, and many
of the officers, were soon found arrayed against the flag of our country, and
taking an active part in the terrible war between the North and South, the
results of which are being so severely felt at the present time.
Scandalous
sheets have been issued here for years, and, as far as possible, sent to all
parts of the world, filled with lies, defamation and abuse, and everything that
would tend to rouse the indignation of the Christian world against us, and to
get up an excuse for our annihilation. These sheets have been sustained by men
in the mercantile business whom we have sustained by our trade, and
consequently have been supported indirectly by our money. I have been horrified
at such a use of our means, and have felt that it was our duty, as Saints, to
stop supporting these slanders, lest, peradventure, should they continue until
they produced the designed effect, our blood should be upon our own heads.
What did
we cross the Plains for? To get where we could enjoy peace and religious
liberty. Why did we drag hand-carts across the Plains? That we might have the
privilege of dwelling and associating with Saints, and not build up a hostile
influence in our midst, and place wealth in the hands of our enemies, who use
it to spread abroad defamation and falsehood, and to light a flame that will
again have the direct result, unless overruled by the almighty power of God, of
bringing upon the Latter-day Saints here the same sorrow, distress and
desolation that have followed them elsewhere. For my part I do not fellowship
Latter-day Saints who thus use their money. I advise the Saints to form
co-operative societies and associations all over the Territory, and to import
everything they need that they cannot manufacture, and not to pay their money
to men who use it to buy bayonets to slay them with, and to stir up the
indignation of our fellow-men against us. Our outside friends should feel
contented with the privilege of paying us the money for the products of our
labor, and we should exact it at their hands, as a due reward for our exertions
in producing the necessaries of life in this desert.
Some may
say, "We are afraid the brethren are making money too fast," or,
"We do not like to trade with them, they charge us too high." Suppose
they do, you need not buy of them; but do not go and buy of men who would use
that money to cut your throats, or to publish lies about you, and endeavor to
induce all men to come here and dispossess you of your homes. Do not be so mad
as that. "Well," says one, "I really want some little article
that I cannot buy elsewhere." Man's wants are very numerous, but his
necessities are really very few, and we should abridge our wants, and go to
work and manufacture everything we can within ourselves; and what we cannot
manufacture we can import, and save ourselves the 40, 120, 400, or 1000 per
cent. that we are now paying for our merchandize, and so stop building up those
who are laying a foundation, openly and above board, for our destruction. And
furthermore, cease to fellowship every man that will not build up Zion. Amen.
Singing "Hard times come again no more," by Bro. Fishburne's choir.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young instructed the Saints on the principles of salvation, and treated on a number of subjects. A synopsis of his discourse would convey a very inadequate idea of it; and as it was reported in full we direct attention to it when published.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 17:290, 10/21/68, p 2; JD 12:281]
DISCOURSE.
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Oct. 8th, 1868.
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
I wish to
say a few words to the congregation, but if they are not perfectly still it
will be very difficult for them to hear, as usual. I wish to speak to the
people on salvation, and to teach them, as my brethren have been doing, how to
preserve themselves. The object of the teachings at this Conference, and I may
say for years past, has been to teach the people how to save themselves daily,
in a temporal point of view, and also spiritually, that when the morrow comes
they may be saved that day, and the next day, and so continue in a stale of
salvation every day that they live. According to the traditions of our fathers
the salvation of the body and the salvation of the soul have no connection the
one with the other. This is not in accordance with the doctrine which has been
revealed to us in this our day. The kingdom that the Lord is about to establish
and has commenced on the earth will, in every part and portion be a literal
kingdom, a temporal kingdom and a spiritual kingdom; but while we are in a
temporal state, and possess our temporalities, our abilities must correspond
with the spiritual kingdom that we believe in. Consequently we have a kingdom
that is actually spiritual, and to the natural eye it looks like a temporal
kingdom. Still it is the kingdom where God dwells, even in these earthly
tabernacles, consequently these tabernacles must be preserved in the truth, in
righteousness, purity and holiness, or the Lord will not dwell therein.
We are
called upon as individuals, each of us who form this community, to come out
from the wicked world, from Babylon. All those who believe the history given by
John, the "beloved disciple," know that the time would come when the
Lord would call upon all people, who believe in Him, delight to do His will,
and seek to understand the requirements of heaven, to gather out from the midst
of Babylon. John wrote plainly in reference to this gathering, and we have
believed it. We are called upon to come out from among the wicked, as it is
written, "Come out of her, O my people," that is, come out of
Babylon. What is Babylon? Why, it is the confused world: come out of her, then,
and cease to partake other sins, for if you do not you will be partakers of her
plagues.
This
people, whether they wished to Separate themselves or not from the rest of
mankind, have been forced to do it. Ask the Latter-day Saints, if after
embracing the Gospel, they had the privilege of associating with former friends
and neighbors on the same terms as they did previous to receiving the Gospel,
and their answers will be, that the thread of affection that formerly existed
seemed to be severed, that former friends forsook them, they passed them by and
turned their eyes another way, and would hardly speak even when they met in
company. Is not this the fact? It is as far as my experience has gone, and I
have had a tolerable opportunity of testing the matter. We have been forced to
separate ourselves, been under the necessity of leaving the society of those
who did not believe as we did. We have been driven from our homes time and time
again without the privilege of disposing of our property, and have taken
joyfully the spoiling of our goods repeatedly, until we were under the
necessity of fleeing to some land where there were none whom we could annoy.
If we
have annoyed our neighbors so seriously, the question naturally arises, From
what did this annoyance proceed? Was it from drinking and carousing, or
hallooing in the streets by night? Was it from revelling by day or night? Was
it from intruding on the rights of our neighbors? No, not from any of these causes
by any means. What was it, then? This people believe in revelation. This
people did believe, and do believe that the Lord has spoken from the heavens.
They did believe and do believe that God has sent angels to proclaim the
everlasting Gospel, according to the testimony of John. It was this that gave
rise to the malice, hatred and vindictive feelings that have been so often made
manifest against them. Some may say it was the political world. It was not so,
although they had a share in it. It may be said that it was the moral world,
but why should they entertain these feelings towards us? Are the Latter-day
Saints immoral? O, no, their faith teaches men, women and children to be as
moral as people can be. This cannot be the reason then. It was neither the
political nor moral world; then whence did this hatred proceed? From the fanatically
religious world. There was the rise and foundation of that hatred and malice
that ultimately forced us to separate from the rest of mankind.
What are
the teachings of the Christian world? Many of you have had an experience among
them, and can answer this question very well. I have had an experience in their
midst, though I never bowed down to their creeds. I never could submit to their
doctrines, for they taught that which was not in the Bible, and denied that
which was found in the Bible, consequently I could not be a convert to their
fanaticism. I am not to-day. When I can hear a man, on his knees before a
congregation, pray for God to come down into their midst and be one with
them,—"Come, O Lord, and dwell with us, open the heavens to us, give unto
us the Holy Ghost, send Thine angels and administer to us," and then get
up and preach to the people that there is no such thing as revelations no gift
of the Holy Ghost, no such thing as the Lord speaking from the heavens, or men
knowing anything about Heaven, I cannot receive nor bow in obedience to such
absurdities. I have asked of the Christian world, "Where is heaven, where
does the Lord dwell? What kind of Being is He, and is He a Being of
tabernacle?" To all of which their reply would be "We do not
know;" and they have mystified the character of the Deity—our
Father and our God—to that degree that every person is left in the dark,
feeling his way to the grave through a dark, cold unfriendly and benighted
world as best he may. Is this the state of Christendom? Yes, verily it is. They
have mystified everything concerning God, heaven and eternity, until there is
no man on earth, when you turn from the Latter-day Saints, who is capable of
teaching the people the way of life and salvation. This is the grand
difficulty, this is what stirs up the people. The priests are at the root of
the matter. In the whole history of this people you cannot find on
instance of a mob ever being led on except by a priest; and then the political
world would take the advantage of it and come in for their share of the spoil.
Now,
although it is so popular to cry delusion when referring to this Latter-day
Gospel, I frequently ask myself, if it does not circumscribe all that is good
and true, possessed by either the infidel or the Christian world, by our
Mother Church, or any of her daughters? If the world were to embrace the Gospel
we teach, would they believe all that is true in the faith of the Catholic?
Yes, every iota. Would they believe all that is true in the faith of the
Episcopalian, or in the faiths of the whole Christian world? Yes, every
particle, every excellency, every good word and work they possess is
circumscribed by and contained in the Gospel as taught by the Latter-day
Saints. Then go to the scientific or philosophical world, and this Latter-day
work circumscribes all the truth they possess. Well, then, we ask, why are we
worse than other people? Do we teach our people to swear or to take God's name
in vain? Oh, no, to the reverse; we forbid it. The Lord says, "Thou shalt
not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Is this good in and of
itself? It is. Are we worse than other Christians? if so, wherein? Do they
pray? So do we. Do he Christian world believe in being strictly honest? So do
the Latter-day Saints. Do the Christian word believe in intruding upon the
rights of heir neighbors? No; neither do the Latter-day Saints, Do the
Christian world profess to believe in charity? Yes; and the Latter-day Saints
more abundantly. Do they believe in God the Father and in God the Son? Yes, so
do the Latter-day Saints. Do they believe in the Holy Ghost? They say they
do; so do the Latter-day Saints. Then wherein do we differ? Why, the Latter-day
Saints believe that God has spoken from the heavens. The Christian world do not
believe this. They do not believe that the Lord has called upon His people to
come out from amongst the wicked world; but the Latter-day Saints do believe
so. Is there any harm in their believing so? I frequently ask myself if there
is any harm in a man having his own family around him, or in associating with
his friends and neighbors? No, there is no harm in this; the Christian, world
believe that it is a man's privilege to do this. Is there any harm in the
Latter-day Saints doing the same thing? Not the least. There is no law against
it in heaven or on earth that we know of. Then wherein are we worse than our
Christian friends, that is, the so-called Christian world? Are they
Christ-like, or are they not? This is a matter we Can test by reading the
Bible, if we choose to do so. Do they lack wisdom? Apparently they do. If they,
as individuals, do not acknowledge it, their neighbors acknowledge it. Do they
ask of God? If they do, they do not receive. Where is there a Christian sect,
now on the earth, except the Latter-day Saints, who preach the Gospel that
Jesus taught—faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the laying
on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the gift of tongues, the gift of
healing and the discerning of spirits? Who, in all the Christian world believes
such a doctrine? None that we know of, except the Latter-day Saints. It is this
which separates us and draws the division line. Well, is there any harm in our
gathering out and living according to the revelations that have been given to
us? Not the least. Do we injure any person in so doing? No, we do not.
This
people have got to be self-sustaining, if they believe in the revelations given
to them. You will find by and by that this same Babylon, which the Saints of
God are required to leave, will fall. Will there be any-body left on the face
of the earth? Yes, probably millions. Who will they be? Why the servants and
handmaidens of the Almighty, those who love and serve Him. Now, I will ask the
question, suppose this is true concerning the gathering out of the Saints, and
that Babylon, or a confused and wicked world, will cease its operations as they
are now going on, and the time spoken of shall have come, when the merchants
will mourn and weep because there is no one to buy their merchandise, will the
inhabitants of Zion go down to buy their silks and satins and keep up his
trade? No. By and by there will be a gulf between the righteous and the wicked
so that they can not trade with each other, and national intercourse will
cease. It is not so now, they can pass from one to the other with ease. But if
this is the Kingdom of God and if we are the Saints of God—I leave you all to
judge for yourselves about this—are we not required to sustain ourselves and to
manufacture that which we consume, to cease our bartering, trading, mingling,
drinking, smoking, chewing and joining with all the filth of Babylon? You may
judge for yourselves in relation to this. But I can say that we have been
striving for twenty-one years in these valleys, and before we came here, to
bring this people to this point. When we look at ladies and gentlemen we can
see that their wants are many, but their real necessities are very few. Now let
the Latter-day Saints see that their necessities are supplied, and omit their
wants for the present, and until we can manufacture what we want. We want yea
henceforth to be a self-sustaining people. Hear it, O Israel! hear it
neighbors, friends and enemies, this is what the Lord requires of this people.
We have
been driven from our homes time and time again. I have been driven from a good
handsome property and home five times without having the privilege of selling
it, or making fifty cents from it, and what for? Because I was a thief? No.
Because my brethren were thieves? No. Because they were liars? No. Because they
were swearers? No. Because they were swindlers? No. Because they were
adulterers or fornicators? No. Because they loved and made lies? No; but
because they believed that God had spoken from the heavens and had bestowed
upon His servant Joseph the keys of the holy priesthood of His Son. The
Latter-day Saints believed this, and because they did so the Christian world
said, "Up, get ye out of this place, we want your houses and possessions."
And they took them; but I will swear to them that they will never take them
again. (The congregations said, Amen.)
When Colonel
Kane was here I and others said to him, "Colonel, you will find this the
entering wedge for the division of our government." Said we, "If the
Government of the United States consent to rout this people again, and take it
into their own hands to break us in pieces, they will go to pieces." Did
they? Did they have war? Answer the question yourselves. Have they made peace
yet? Answer for yourselves. Is there any such thing today as the thirty-four
United States that once composed the Federal Union, or is there not? Answer
this question for yourselves, and then I will answer it, by saying there never
will be again, unless they are brought together and cemented by the power of
God.
Well,
again I ask, what worse are the Latter-day Saints than other people? Have we
the privilege of planting and eating the fruits thereof like others? Yes,
politically, morally, religiously and financially. Have we the privilege of
building and inhabiting our houses? Yes, we have, and there if no law against
it. But this is not the question at all. I will say to my brethren who have
talked to the congregation, the question is not whether we have the right to be
self-sustaining or not, but will we be sell sustaining? This is the question,
and we say we will be. What do you say brethren and sisters? All of you
who say that we will be a self-sustaining people signify it by the show of your
right hands.
[The
motion was put and unanimously carried.]
This is
what terrifies the Christian world, not the moral nor political portion of it;
but it is the fanatics, the priests who are afraid, and they continually seek
to stir up strife and mischief. They are not all so; but our past experience,
has given us good reason to come to this conclusion.
Bro.
George A. related something in the historical discourse delivered by him
yesterday and to-day, about he brethren going to solicit donations. In
reference to this I will say that when we found we were obliged to leave
Nauvoo, to deprive this nation of all excuse, and to clear our skirts of their
blood, we wrote to all the governors of the States and Territories and also to
the President soliciting aid and redress. We did this to deprive them of the
chance of saying at the day of judgement, "you could have had an asylum
with us if you had applied for it." The result of our appeal you have
already heard; redress or sympathy there was none, but "you, Mormons, may
seek a home on Mexican or some other soil."
As for
the donations, here are Bro's Benson and Little, who went with Colonel, now
General Thomas L. Kane, to Philadelphia, Boston, New York and other places, and
solicited aid of the mayors and city councils of the various places they
visited, for this people who had been robbed, plundered and driven, and who, in
answer to a requisition from the Government, had sent 503 men, the flower of
their strength, to the Mexican war, leaving their fathers, mothers, wives and
children destitute, sick and dying on the naked prairie. The result of the
appeal for donations was the raising of a trifling sum. I will venture to say
that we have given hundreds of dollars to them where they have given us one,
consequently we are not in their debt, neither are we in debt to our merchants,
not in the least. We did not ask them to come here; we do not not ask them to
stay, neither do we ask them to go away. We do not ask them to give us their
goods, neither do we ask them to take them away. They are at perfect liberty to
open their stores and exhibit their goods for sale, and we have the privilege
of letting them alone; and that is not all, I mean that we shall do so.
Are we
going to cut off all communication and deal with outsiders? No. If they want a
house built, we will build it for them, if they will pay us the money. If they
want our grain, they are welcome to it, if they will pay us the money for it.
And we will take that money, and make the percentage they have made. We have as
good a right to it as they have. We will furnish this little corps of United
States men, here on the hill, all the hay, flour, oats and barley, and
everything that they want; but we must have their money in return for it. We do
not want them to stick their trade into the hands of our enemies, and thus
furnish them money to use against us, while they pay us for our produce in rags
at an extravagant advance above cost. This we do not want, and we will not have
it. Why, how tight are you going to draw the reins? I want to tell my brethren,
my grinds and my enemies, that we are going to draw the reins so tight as not
to let a Latter-day Saint trade with an outsider. We will trade with you, if
you will give us your money; we are entitled to it. We made and broke the road
from Nauvoo to this place. Some of the time we followed Indian trails; some of
the time we ran by the compass; when we left the Missouri river we followed the
Platte. And we killed rattlesnakes by the cord in some places; and made roads
and built bridges till our backs ached. Where we could not build bridges across
rivers we ferried our people across, until we arrived here, where we found a
few naked Indians, a few wolves and rabbits, and any amount of crickets; but as
for a green tree or a fruit tree, or any green fields, we found nothing of the
kind, with the exception of a few cottonwoods and willows on the edge of City
Creek. For some 1200 or 1300 miles we carried every particle of provision we
had when we arrived here. When we left our homes we picked up what the mob did
not steal of our horses, oxen and calves, and some women drove their own teams
here. Instead of 365 pounds of breadstuff when they started from the Missouri
river, there was not half of them had half of it. We had to bring our seed
grain, our farming utensils, bureaus, secretaries, sideboards, sofas, pianos,
large looking glasses, fine chairs, carpets, nice shovels and tongs, and other
fine furniture, with all the parlor, cook stoves, &c.; and we had to bring
these things piled together with the women and children, helter skelter, topsy
turvy, with broken down horses, ring-boned, spavined, pole evil, fistula and
hipped; oxen with three legs, and cows with one tit. This was our only means of
transportation, and if we had not brought our goods in this manner we should
not have had them, for there was nothing here. You may say this is a burlesque.
Well, I mean it as such, for we, comparatively speaking, really came here naked
and barefoot.
Instead
of crying over our sufferings, as some seem inclined to do, I would rather tell
a good story, and leave the crying to others. I do not know that I have ever
suffered; I do not realize it. Have I not gone without eating and not half
clad? Yes, but that was not suffering. I was used to that in my youth. I used to
work in the woods logging and driving team, summer and winter, not half clad,
and with insufficient food until my stomach would ache, so that I am used to
all this, and have had no suffering. As I said to the brethren the other night,
the only suffering I ever realized in this Church was to preserve my temper
towards my enemies. But I have even got pretty much over this. Do what you
please, and we will not be angry; it is not becoming in Saints to be so. Let us
do right ourselves, and we will find honor. Let the Latter-day Saints live
their religion, and they will be the most honored of any people in the world by
saint and sinner. Will we associate with outsiders? Yes, we will invite them to
our houses, and go to theirs, if we have a mind to. We will treat gentlemen as
gentlemen, friends as friends, speculators as speculators, and we will treat
our enemies as enemies, by letting them alone.
Now, some
of the people, I expect, will think they are never going to have the privilege
of trading or doing anything again with outsiders. I will tell you how I feel
with regard to such persons—they are the very ones we want to apostatize. All
men and women that long after sin and sinners, iniquity and corruption we want
to apostatize immediately and go their own way, go with those who are corrupt.
Our
outside friends say they want to civilize us here. What do they mean by
civilization? Why they mean by that, to establish gambling holes—they are
called gambling hells—grog shops and houses of ill fame on every corner of every
block in the city; also swearing, drinking, shooting and debauching each other.
Then they would send their missionaries, here with faces as long as jackasses'
ears, who would go crying and groaning through the streets "Oh, what a
poor, miserable, sinful world!" That is what is meant by civilization.
That is what priests and deacons want to introduce here; tradesmen want it,
lawyers and doctors want it, and all hell wants it. But the Saints do not want
it, and we will not have it. (Congregation said, AMEN.) Why, with all the
boasted attainments of the world in art and science they are as far from being
really civilized as our Indians here, and farther in reality. A true system of
civilization will not encourage the existence of every abomination and crime in
a community but will lead them to observe the laws Heaven has laid down for the
regulation of the life of man. There is no other civilization. A truly
civilized person is one who is a real gentleman or lady; in language and
manners he is truly refined, and gives way to no practice that is unhallowed or
uncomely. This is what we are after, and trying to attain to.
We have
been driven here to these mountains and have been followed up. We want to be
followed up by gentlemen; we want gentlemen to associate with. We want to
associate, with men who aspire after pure knowledge, wisdom and advancement,
and who are for introducing every improvement in the midst of the people, like
the company who are building this railroad. We thank them and the government
for it. Every time I think of it I fed God bless them, hallelujah! Do they want
to skin us? I hope not. Do they want to destroy us? I think not. They want to
meet us as friends, and we want to meet them as friends, and to share equally
with them in the business of the country. Do we believe in trade and commerce?
Yes. And by and by we will send our products to the east and to the west. And
how long will it be before they will be sending for our dried peaches and
apples? How is it now for growing fruit in the country in which Joseph obtained
the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated? I remember when it was
the cream of the world in this respect. But can they raise an apple or peach
there now that is sound and good? No, they can not. And where we used to reap
and cradle sixty bushels I of wheat to the acre they don't get more than from
five to ten now. The land is barren, waste and desolate; the curse of God is
upon it, and it will be so wherever the Latter-day Saints have to leave. Talk
about these rich valleys, why there is not another people on the earth that
could have come here and lived. We prayed over the land, and dedicated it and
the water, air and everything pertaining to them unto the Lord, and the smiles
of Heaven rested on the land and it became productive, and to-day yields us the
best of grain, fruit and vegetables. But if the Latter-day Saints were
compelled to leave here it would not be five years until the sail would cease
to yield to sustain a community as it does now. Do you believe this, outsiders?
No, you do not. No matter, I say it, and we know it, and if we know it that is
satisfactory to us, without being any interruption to the faith or views of any
person in the world.
There is
an idea abroad that the "Mormons" are going to give way; but there is
no fear that the kingdom of God—"Mormonism"—will ever give way. The
only thing for you and me to fear, is whether we will build up the kingdom,
whether our souls are in the kingdom or not. Here is the fear; it is not with
regard to the kingdom, it will stand for ever and ever; but you and I may not.
The kingdom is pure; you and I are not pure. The doctrine we preach is pure and
holy, and if we will abide it, it will make us pure and holy. Are we as good
now as the rest of the Christian world? They say we are fools to believe in
revelation. But I ask, What harm does such believe cause? It leads men and
women to truth and righteousness, and leads every individual by whom it is
entertained to purity and holiness of character on the earth. It also teaches
us to deal justly, love mercy, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the
widow and the fatherless, the poor and the homeless, and to deal kindly with
all the inhabitants of the earth. To take the young and tender mind and teach
it all that it can grasp, until it can comprehend all the science and
philosophy of the day, and then the revelations of the Lord. Jesus resting upon
it teach that which cannot be learned by the wisdom of man. What harm is there
in a faith like this? If Universalism is true, and the Lord is going to save
all, He would certainly save those who believe thus as soon as He would a
murderer or an infidel. You ask the outside world, an infidel or a
Universalian, and they will say we are as well off as they are. Then I ask what
harm is there in a man or woman being a Christian? Is there any harm in it? If
there is will you not point it out to us? We say to the priest and the people,
if you have anything better than we have; hand it over, it is ours. If we have
errors by the thousand, and you have truth, we will give you all our errors for
one truth. Is there any harm in being Saints, or in our producing what we need?
No. I look upon the people, and I can say our wants are many, but our real
necessities are very few. Let us govern our wants by our necessities, and we
shall find that we are not compelled to spend our money for nought. Let us save
our money to enter and pay for our land, to buy flocks of sheep and improve
them, and to buy machinery and start more woolen factories. We have a good many
now, and the people will sustain them. You may call this tyranny, and say it is
abridging the privileges of the Latter-day Saints. No, it is not; God requires
it, angels require it; the ancient apostles and prophets required it, and why
should not we require it? It does not infringe upon me in the least, why should
it upon you? We will make up our wool and our flax, and manufacture our silk,
we will do this here. There is no harm in it, no law against it, and we have
the indisputable right to do it.
I will
tell you how I feel, God bless every good man. God bless the works of nature,
God bless His own work, overthrow the wicked and ungodly and them that would
destroy their fellowbeings, that war and contentions may cease on the earth O Lord,
remove these from office and place good men at the head of the nations, that
they may learn war no more, but go to, like rational and civilized beings,
sustain peace on the earth and do good to each other. May the Lord help us.
Amen.
The Tabernacle Choir sang "Glory be to God in the highest."
Prayer by Elder E. L. Sloan.
[8 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 17:283, 10/14/68, p 3]
2 p.m.
Singing by the 20th Ward choir; anthem, "Praise ye the Lord."
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards. Bro. Fishburne's choir sang, "Now pray we for our country."
[President D. H. Wells]
President D. H. Wells spoke of the overruling providences of the Almighty in our behalf, manifested in the prosperity and progress of the Saints. But the blessings He has to bestow upon us cannot be enjoyed by us unless we are obedient; and we must prove by our actions that we will employ those blessings to further the cause of truth, and not aid in building up the kingdom of the evil one. We have gathered out from the nations and we have desired to see our children trained up uncontaminated with the errors and false opinions existing in the world; but we must keep ourselves separate and apart from the society of the wicked, or we shall have with us the iniquity and wickedness of the babylon from which we have gathered. We do not expect to cease communication with the outside world. We are on the highway of the nations, and we expect many will come here. Some will wish to remain, which they have a perfect right to do; but we must keep ourselves uncontaminated by wickedness; we must preserve our own interests and sustain ourselves, and we must build up the kingdom of God, or He will find a people who will do it and keep His commandments in all things.
The names of the following brethren, form the palces specified, were then presented to the conference to go on a mission to the Southern settlements, and were unanimously sustained:
Albert W.
Davies, Adam Spiers, Geo. Naylor, B. L. Adams, Ward Pack, Alfred Lampson,
William Asper, S. L. Sprague, jr., Jno. Houtz, Elliot Hartwell, Silvester
Jackman, W. L. N. Allen, Boyd Stewart, John W. Chamberlain, David Stewart,
Barnard Rigby, Fred. Heath, George Goodrich, William Atkins, John Wayman, Amos
Neff, Isaac Groo, Moses Thurston, Charles B. Taylor, Wm. Red, Daniel
Seegmiller, Charles Seegmiller, James Vantassel, John Gabbott, Smith Bros.
Spanish
Fork -- Geo. B. Snell, Willard O. Creer, August Swensen, John H. Koil.
Payson --
Daniel Stark, _____ Curtis, William Heaton, Joseph Tanner, William Whiteman,
Jesse Taylor, Newell Potter, John burr, John W. Keil, Christopher F. Dixon,
Charles C. Burr.
American
Fork. -- Arza Adams, Alexander Nichol, Henry Chipman, Steven Mott, Alexander
Miller, William Robinson, Nathan Adams, William Kelly.
Springville.
-- Elmer Taylor, Lyman S. Wood, _____ Bird, Lorenzo Johnson, Richard Thorn,
Nelson spafford.
Nephi --
Samuel Claridge, Samuel Linton, Charles Foote, George Harmon, Israel Hoyt, John
Esplin, Thomas Vicors.
Battle
Creek -- Ben. W. Driggs, Chauncy Bacon, Henson Walker, John Long.
Bountiful
-- William S. Muir, Israel Barlow, Jun., David Thackerel, Thomas James, David
Thompson, Brigham Y. Baird, Christian Christiansen, Thomas Atkinson, Peter
Corney, Chester Call.
Farmington.
-- Job Welling, David Hess, Oliver robinson, Thomas Grover, jr., David
Saunders, Alma Hayes, Philander Brown, Elias Van Fleit, Lorenzo Watson, Thomas
Steids.
Centreville.
-- William Myers, Ira Parks, Z. Cheeny, Michael Garns, Lyman Leavitt, Thomas
Stolworthy, Chas. Hogg, John Myers, George Leavitt.
Coalville.
-- Hyrum Eldredge.
West
Jordan -- John Benion, Samuel Egbert, John Egbert, Robert Pickston, Samuel
Bateman, Joseph Bateman, Benj. Cuttler.
Mill
Creek -- Edward Pugh;, James Miller.
Grantsville
-- Aroet Hale, Ara W. Sabin, James Karl.
Tooele --
David H. Leonard, Robert McHendrie, Peter Phister, George coleman, Captain John
Gillespie, Wm. A. Picket, Orson P. Bates, Enos Stookey.
Herriman's
Fort -- Thomas Butterfield.
Draperville
-- Joseph G. Brown.
Kaysville
-- Geo. Stevens, William A. Flint, Robert Egbert, James Shearer, John Weaver,
James Green, James Sheen.
Big
Cottonwood -- James Spillet, Daniel G. Bryan, Charles Bagley, Preston Lewis,
Wm. Newman, Samuel Rich, Duncan S. Casper.
Provo
City -- Martin W. Mills, Riley G. Clark, Samuel Pratt, Zenos T. Pratt, Wm.
Brown, Alfred D. Young, Benjamin K. Bullock, Thos. B. Clark, Lyman L. Wood,
Benjamin M. Roberts, James Stratton, John H. Carter, James C. Snow, George
Baum, Caleb C. Baldwin, Hyram Pratt.
Morgan
County -- Sanford Porer.
Ogden
City -- Chauncey W. West, Jun., Nathaniel Leavitt.
[President B. Young]
President B. Young then addressed the Conference on a number of subjects. His remarks were reported in full for publication.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 17:314, 11/11/68, p 2; JD 12:297]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 8th 1868.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS
_____
I wish to
say to those who are called to go on the Southern mission, that I expect some
of them can not conveniently go; if so, they can be excused just as others have
been. I think we called about one hundred and seventy-five one year ago to go
on the Southern mission. Of those who responded to that call and went south,
twelve or fifteen stayed; the rest have returned, I do not know whether to see
their mothers or not. We hope a few will go out of this company, and a few of
those will return who were called last year. We have our reasons for requesting
the brethren to go into those new settlements; if they do not know the reasons
now, let them wait until they do. We calculate to spread abroad, and when we
have settled one valley we calculate to settle another. We are settling north,
south, east and west, and we mean to keep it up. There are some who will be
excused. One of the brethren has excused himself on the ground that he is
building himself a barn. Now, this is so reasonable that I think we will excuse
him, at any rate until he gets it finished. Perhaps we will find some who have
married wives, others who have bought a yoke of oxen, and because of this they
cannot go.
There is
no necessity for the brethren hurrying away. They can go down this Fall, tarry
through the Winter, and be prepared for the Spring. We shall excuse those who
ought to be excused, and especially if they are building barns. As for those
who have been there and have left, we expect to see the time that they will
wish they had stayed there; and that those who have been called and have not
gone will wish they had done so.
There are
a few items I wish to lay before the Conference before we dismiss, which I
think we shall do when we get through our meeting this afternoon. One of these
items is to present to the congregation the Deseret Alphabet. We have now many
thousands of small books, called the first and second readers, adapted to
school purposes, on the way to this city. As soon as they arrive we shall
distribute them throughout the Territory. We wish to introduce this alphabet
into our schools, consequently we give this public notice. We have been
contemplating this for years. The advantages of this alphabet will soon be
realized, especially by foreigners. Brethren who come here knowing nothing of
the English language will find its acquisition greatly facilitated by means of
this alphabet, by which all the sounds of the language can be represented and
expressed with the greatest ease. As this is the grand difficulty foreigners
experience in learning the English language, they will find a knowledge of this
alphabet will greatly facilitate their efforts in acquiring at least a partial
English education. It will also be very advantageous to our children. It will
be the means of introducing uniformity in our orthography, and the years that
are now required to learn to read and spell can be devoted to other studies.
I wish to
call the attention of our sisters to our Relief Societies. We are happy to say
that many of them have done a great deal. We wish them to continue and
progress. During this Conference, many of the ladies have, worn very nice straw
hats of home manufacture. This is commendable, and this course should be
presevered in, until our hats and dresses are the workmanship of our own hands.
To my view no trimming for a hat looks more beautiful than a nice straw
rosette, bow or button; it looks better than a feather or artificial flower. In
our Relief Societies we wish to introduce many improvements. We wish our
sisters of experience to teach the young girls not to be so anxious for the
gratification of their imaginary wants, but to confine themselves more to their
real necessities. Fancy has no bounds, and I often think it is without form and
comeliness. We are too apt to give way to the imagination of our hearts, but if
we will be guided by wisdom, our judgment will be corrected, and we will find
that we can improve very much. We can improve the language we use. I want my
children to use better language than I sometimes use. Still, I have thought as
the prophet Joseph has said, when you speak to a people or person you must use
language to represent your ideas, so that they will be remembered. When you
wish the people to feel what you say, you have got to use language that they
will remember, or else the ideas are lost to them. Consequently, in many
instances we use language that we would rather not use. When talking to a
refined people we should use refined language. When we become perfectly
civilized we will leave off every harsh expression. We should correct our
children in these matters, and teach them good language. I would like to rage
upon my brethren and sisters the necessity of doing this. We should instill
into the minds of our children good ideas and principles. If we teach them that
there are prophets and apostles now on the earth, we shall teach them the
truth. If we teach them that the Bible is true, it will be very wholesome for
them to believe; but instead of teaching them that it requires a spiritual
explanation, by men not endowed with the Spirit of God, teach them that such a
notion is incorrect, and that if the word of God does not mean what it says, no
man or woman can explain it without a direct revelation from Heaven.
We wish
to introduce into this community manufactures and manufacturing so thoroughly
that the people will consider themselves under obligation to feed and clothe
themselves. Many of us are in the habit of doing only just what we like to do
or of sitting with our arms folded, trusting to others to feed and clothe us.
It is the duty of the husband to provide for the wife or wives and children,
and it is the duty of the wife or wives and children to assist the husband and
father all they can. If it is required of the father or husband to furnish his
wives and children with flour, it is equally required of the wives, sisters and
daughters to be careful in the use of that flour and see that it is not wasted.
If it is the duty of the husband or father to furnish his family with cloth to
dress themselves, it is their duty to see that that cloth is cut and made
prudently and not wasted. It is a disgrace to a community to drag their cloth
in the dirt. How many women are there here to-day who walked to this Tabernacle
without throwing dirt every step they took, not only on themselves but upon
those who walked near them? I shun them; when I see them coming I try to make
my way in some other direction in order to avoid their dust. I can get enough
of it without receiving it from them. If there is a nuisance in the path, they
are sure to wipe up a portion of it with their dress, and then trail it on to
their carpet or into the bedrooms and distribute it through the house. This is
a disgrace to them. It is not the duty of my brethren to buy cloth to be
dragged through these streets, and the wife or daughter who will not cease
dragging her dress through them, ought to have it cut shorter. I have borne it
and so have my brethren until duty demands that we put a step to it. I have
politely expostulated with my wives and daughters on this subject. I have asked
them if they think it looks nice, and have been told that it did, their reason
for thinking so being that somebody else wore it so. That is all the argument
that can be brought in its favor. There is no reason in the world why a dress
looks well trailing through the streets.
On the
other hand I will say, ladies, if we ask you to make your dresses a little
shorter, do not be extravagant and cut them so short that we can see the tops
of your stockings. Bring them down to the top of your shoes, and have them so
that you can walk and clear the dust, and do not expose your persons. Have your
dresses neat and comely, and conduct yourselves, in the strictest sense of the
word, in chastity. If you do this yea set a good example before the rising
generation. Use good language, wear comely clothing and act in all things so
that you can respect yourselves and respect each other. We wish you to remember
and carry out these counsels.
Can you,
ladies, manufacture bonnets for yourselves and daughters, and hats for your
husbands, sons and brothers? Yes, you can, and save us scores of thousands of
dollars.
I wonder
if there is any person in our community who understands the manufacture of
silk. We have some raw silk on hand that could be manufactured if we can find
persons who understand the business. I am now building a house that will be
sufficient to contain a million worms another year, it is a hundred feet long
in the clear, and twenty broad. I calculate to fill it with worms next season,
and make silk. I am going to invite some of the brethren to make up this silk
into thread, and to color it and weave it. We can make our own thread and twist
as easily as we can buy it I have never seen better sewing silk than I once
bought of a sister here, of her own manufacture. I would like to find somebody
who knows how to manage the worms, and to double, twist, reel and weave the
silk.
By
ceasing the foolish practice of which we have so long been guilty—namely,
trading off our produce at the stores for every little thing we have thought we
needed—we shall drive ourselves to the necessity of sustaining ourselves. If we
take this course and live our religion, do you think we will be respected? Yes.
We are frequently told that the world is increasing in wickedness. We want the
Saints to increase in goodness, until our mechanics, for instance, are so
honest and reliable that this Railroad Company will say, "Give us a Mormon
elder for an engineer, then none need have the least fear to ride, for if he knows
there is danger he will take every measure necessary to preserve the lives of
those entrusted to his care." I want to see our elders so full of
integrity that they will be preferred by this Company for their engine
builders, watchmen, engineers, clerks and business managers. If we live our
religion and are worthy the name of Latter-day Saints, we are just the men that
all such business can be entrusted to with perfect safety; if it can not it
will prove that we do not live our religion.
A few
words with regard to our Emigration Fund. We are going to continue our
donations to this fund. We started our new subscriptions here on Tuesday night,
and what do you think they amounted to? To two thousand dollars. That was a
pretty good beginning. How many names do you think it took for that sum? Just
two—a thousand dollars each. Now, sisters, do as you did last year—save the
money you usually spend in tea and coffee and ribbons, and let us have it to
send for the poor. We did remarkably well last year, though our prospects were
not very flattering at the start. On the 1st of February, the time we thought
of sending our agents East, we had nine thousand dollars, but on the 17th of
the same month when brothers Clawson and Staines started we had a little over
twenty-nine thousand. When the brethren said, "How dare you think of
sending for the poor, we are getting no means?" I replied, "We will
send for them and trust in God for the means." And the means came in fast.
The brethren and sisters brought in their five dollars, their tens, fifties,
hundreds, and their thousands, and the poor were gathered. The Walker Brothers
gave a thousand dollars, and they will be blest for it, if we do not wish to
trade with them. Others of our merchants also contributed liberally. The poor
are deserving of it. Why? Because from them they got their means. The merchants
of this city have got hundreds of thousands of dollars from the poor, and if
they give a little back to them it is no more than their due.
How our
friends, the outside merchants will complain because we are going to stop
trading with them! We can not help it. It is not our duty to do it. Our policy
in this respect, hitherto, has been one of the most foolish in the world.
Henceforth it must be to let this trade alone, and save our means for other
purposes than to enrich outsiders. We must use it to spread the Gospel, to
gather the poor, build temples, sustain our poor, build houses for ourselves,
and convert this means to a better use than to give it to those who will use it
against us.
We have
talked to the brethren and sisters a great deal with regard to sustaining
ourselves and ceasing this outside trade. Now what say you, are you for it as
well as we? Are we of one heart and one mind on this subject? We can get what
we wish by sending to New York for it ourselves, as well as letting others send
for us. We have skill and ability to trade for all we need; and if we have to
send abroad we can send our agents to buy and bring home what we need. My
feelings are that every man and woman who will not obey this counsel shall be
severed from the Church, and let all who feel as I do lift up the right hand.
[The vote was unanimous.] That is a pretty good vote. You who feel otherwise
have the privilege of lifting up your hand to signify the same. I guess it was
pretty nigh right. Joseph used to say, "When you get the Latter-day Saints
to agree on any point, you may know it is the voice of God." I knew this
before, but now it is proven to the whole people.
Will the
nation find fault with us for this? No. Will the commercial world find fault?
No; they will say, "This is the first trait in the 'Mormon' character we
ever saw worthy of notice; it is praiseworthy, and they will be blessed."
That is what they will say. Why there is scarcely a decent man comes here but
what says "Why don't you 'Mormons' do your own trading? Why do you sustain
outsiders? It is the most impolitic thing you can do."
I wish to
say to the Conference that for one I feel well satisfied with our labors. We
have labored diligently to sanctify ourselves and the people. If we succeed in
doing this we shall be prepared to inherit life everlasting in the presence of
our Father. I will say to all people, to those in the church and to those out,
I want it distinctly understood that if we, that is myself, my counselors and
my brethren the Twelve Apostles, and all who are heart and hand with us, can
succeed in getting this people to come together in their feelings to sustain
themselves and let other people alone, it will be one of the proudest days of
our lives. We spread this to the world. Would to God that we had influence
enough to induce all the inhabitants of the earth to listen to and obey the
voice of God through his servants, to repent of their sins, be baptized for
their remission and live to the glory of God that they might receive eternal
life. I pray that this may be our lot, and I ask it in the name of Jesus.
This
Conference is now adjourned until the 6th of next April.
The name of Elder Joseph W. Young, who was appointed last winter to go south and assist President Erastus Snow, was presented to the conference, by the President, who unanimously voted that he should fill the mission and be blessed and prospered.
Conference was then adjourned till April 6th, 1869, at 10 o'clock in the morning, to meet in the New Tabernacle.
Singing "Children of Zion awake from thy sadness," by the Tabernacle choir.
President Young pronounced the closing benediction.
E.
L. SLOAN,
Clerk of Conference.
_____
6-8 Apr 1869, 39th
Annual (says 40th Annual) General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 18:115, 4/14/69, p 7; MS 31:315, 331,
347]
[6 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 18:115, 4/14/69, p 7]
FORTIETH
[THIRTY-NINTH] ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
_____
The Fortieth [Thirty-Ninth] Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the new Tabernacle at ten o'clock this morning. The weather being very beautiful, the saints who live in the country settlements came to the Conference in large numbers.
On and around the stand we noticed President Brigham Young, President Geo. A. Smith and President Daniel H. Wells of the First Presidency. Apostles Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, junr., and Joseph F. Smith. Patriarch: John Smith, John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum. George B. Wallace and John T. Caine, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion. Joseph Young] Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies. Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishopric. There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.
The congregation sang the hymn on page 257, "Come all ye Sons of Zion."
President Geo. A. Smith opened the Conference with prayer.
The hymn on page 2268 was sung, commencing, "The Spirit of God like a fire is burning."
[President George A. Smith]
PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH first addressed the Conference. He said the last six months had been remarkable with the Latter-day Saints on account of the great progress they had made during that time. They were beginning to understand the proper course to pursue in relation to business and other matters. This was the result of the principle mentioned and acted upon by Joseph Smith. The people were taught true principle and were learning to govern themselves. An effort had been made last year to gather the poor from the nations. The result of this effort had been a pretty large emigration. Another effort to accomplish this laudable object would be made during this Conference. The Saints should not forget their friends in the old countries, especially those who have befriended them. In relation to his late visit to the southern settlements, President Smith said he never in his life had seen such good feelings manifested by the people as he had seen evinced by the saints in those places he had visited. The majority of the people in the "Cotton Country" were filled with energy and zeal for the work of God.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 18:235, 6/23/69, p 7; JD 13:20]
REMARKS
By President GEORGE A. SMITH, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1869
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I am
glad, my brethren and sisters, of meeting with you again in General Conference.
Our Conferences form a peculiar feature in our history, and the people in all
parts of the Territory look forward to these occasions with far more than
ordinary interest, and make calculations to participate therein.
the past
six months have been a period of remarkable interest. There has been a marked
advancement in the progress of the work of the Lord and a great increase and
improvement in the knowledge, sentiments, and feelings of the Saints since our
last Conference, perhaps more so than in the same space of time at any period
in the history of the Church since its organization. The Saints are becoming
more united in their business relations, and in all their associations for the
purpose of accomplishing the work that is before them, and if the old adage,
"Union is strength," be true, we are certainly growing stronger.
The
teachings during this Conference will, as a matter of course, have a tendency
to increase this union, to enlarge the understandings and judgments of the
Saints, and to banish certain antiquated ideas which, more or less, have been
woven into our being, and have formed part of our existence, enable us to free
ourselves from the shackles of tradition and ignorance and to move forward more
effectually in the discharge of those duties devolving upon us in connection
with the great and glorious work which God has entrusted to our charge. It
will also be necessary for us to take into consideration tire different points
pertaining to the progress of that work.
It was a
saying of Joseph Smith, that he taught the people correct principles and they
governed themselves. A feeling has been engendered and sent abroad that the
Latter-day Saints are subject to bondage; but instead of this being so, they
are controlled wholly on the principle to which I have just referred, as having
been enunciated by Joseph—they are taught correct principles and then govern
themselves. When the elders of Israel have succeeded in informing the minds of
the Saints in relation to any topic pertaining to the work of God in the last
days, they have accomplished a great work, and that work is followed by a
feeling of willingness and obedience to carry out that principle on the part of
the great mass of the Saints.
Last year
we made an effort to bring home the Saints froth the Old World, and a pretty
strong emigration was the result. It will be remembered that when the matter
was first agitated, it seemed as if there was but a small amount of means to be
obtained. Many of the brethren in the wards felt that they could do but little,
but they went to work and brought home some five thousand Saints. This same
work is still before us, and appeals to our sympathy, and we still have
occasion to call the attention of each other to the importance of the work of
bringing home to Zion our brethren and sisters in foreign lands who are
deprived of the privileges that we enjoy because of their inability to gather.
An appeal is to be made from this Conference to the Saints generally throughout
the Territory, to contribute again of their substance to bring home the Saints
from foreign lands.
The
facilities for gathering the Saints are far greater than they have been
heretofore. We wish to say to any of those who are already gathered, who may be
indebted to those who are left behind. that they should remember and discharge
their obligations. We also advise the Saints to write to their friends abroad
and inform them how things are progressing here. I am aware that when the
people land here there are many inconveniences with which they have to contend,
and they have to struggle for a time before they can again make a start in the
world; but they should not, on that account, forget the brethren and sisters
they have left behind, and especially those who may have advanced means to aid
them in emigrating. One of our first great duties should be to square our
accounts and to stand honourably with our fellow-beings.
Although
a great advance has been made within the last two years in the observance of
the "'Word of Wisdom," there is yet room to talk on that subject. We
find that the tobacco trade is still very considerable in this Territory, and
we cannot yet lose sight of the fact that we are compelled to pay a tribute to
the Emperor of China for tea, and to the Emperor of Brazil for coffee; and
there are still men in Israel who do not seem to realize the importance of
observing the "Word of Wisdom." It is, therefore, necessary to
preach, teach, and exhort, and to enforce upon the Saints the importance of its
observance, for it is preparatory to great blessings which God has in store for
the faithful. The elders will instruct us in relation to these matters as the
Spirit of the Lord may dictate.
It has
been my privilege this last month to visit most of the branches in the southern
part of the Territory. At a large portion of those branches I have attended
meetings, and have seen many of the brethren and sisters, and I feel to testify
that in all my travels in Zion, I have not found a better spirit, a more united
determination, or a warmer feeling with regard to the work of the Lord, and to
build up His kingdom, than I found on this visit. I felt thankful to learn that
our brethren in the cotton country were filled with the spirit and were zealous
for the accomplishment of their work, and that they were progressing very
satisfactorily in the accomplishment of their mission, or at any rate that
portion of them who have taken hold of it with the zeal which becomes men who
are honoured with the privilege of labouring in any department for the building
up of Zion. The testimony of the work of the Lord in the hearts of the Saints
is a living and abiding testimony. While the work is progressing we must be
alive to the fact, and we must not get behind, we must be faithful, live humble
before the Lord, observe His counsels and laws, not; even forgetting the
principles contained in the "Word of Wisdom." If we take this course
the blessings of life and peace will continue to abide with us, which may God
grant in the name of Jesus. Amen.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON next spoke. He thought that this was the most important Conference that had ever been held by the Latter-day Saints. We are entering upon a revolution. Revelations were given from the Lord to Joseph Smith which inculcated the order of Enoch. The principles were simple, and although they were new to this generation yet they were old as eternity. Those principles were called the Order of Enoch, because the people of Enoch had practised them. When this order was revealed to Joseph Smith, the people were not prepared to receive it. The Latter-day Saints, like all other people were more advanced in theory than in practice. Yet the Saints are far ahead of any other people in practising the theories they advance. The principles of the Order of Enoch have been thus far, except in a few instances, a dead letter. But those principles have never been lost sight of from the time they were revealed thirty-six years ago. Unless we can agree with and practise those principles in our lives we are told unqualifiedly that we cannot be permitted to go back to build up the centre stake and accomplish the redemption of Zion.
Evils are existing in the world that have existed to a greater or lesser extent in all ages. They are to be seen in our own country. When the foundation of this great Republic was laid it was expected to become the glory of the world. The evils of the old countries, however, have been transplanted and become common in this land. An aristocracy of wealth is steadily arising whilst another class are steeped in misery and squalid poverty. Attempts have been made to stay the progress of these evils. The attempt of the Icarians to establish a system of communism at Nauvoo, from which the Saints had been driven, was an instance of this kind. This attempt proved a failure, so have all other attempts of men of themselves, to attain this object. It required the Lord to accomplish the uniting of mankind together in one common bond. As soon as the Almighty commenced His work, unity was manifested and love diffused among those who obeyed His revelations. The Lord has said that unless we are equal in temporal things we cannot be equal in spiritual things. This does not mean that we shall wear the same clothes, have hair of the same color, etc., but to have an equal claim on the treasury of the Lord, on the blessings of God and His Holy Spirit. The object of the introduction of the Order of Enoch among this people was to introduce on earth a state of things that would be a pattern of what existed in the heavens, and thus make preparations for the coming of the Savior. Elder Cannon then read extracts from several revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, on the Order of Enoch.
It was not the intention of the Lord to allow the same evils to find place in His church that prevail in the world. Some have thought that should the Order of Enoch be introduced it would encourage he indolent. None need fear this. Those stewards who do not increase upon their talents will not receive the same blessings as those who are diligent. This is one of the greatest principles to check grasping dishonesty and other evils. Here is the solution of one of the great problems of the age.
[George Q. Cannon]
[DNW 18:257, 7/7/69, p 5; JD 13:95]
DISCOURSE
By Elder GEO. Q. CANNON, delivered in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1869.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS
_____
I look
upon this Conference as one of the most important, in many respects, that we
have ever had the privilege of participating in, for, to my view, there are
more interesting and important events connected with the work of God at the
present time than have ever been developed before in our history. We are
undergoing a great change, a great revolution is in progress in our midst—a
revolution foreshadowed by the predictions of both the ancient and modern
prophets, but which we, as yet, have scarcely been prepared for.
Nearly 37
years ago the Prophet Joseph, or rather the Lord, through him, gave revelations
upon the Order of Enoch. Those revelations were taught to the people in
plainness so far as they went. They were simple and easily understood; but they
embodied within themselves what might have been termed new principles, and
indicated a new course of action and a new organization of society. I say new,
because they were new so far as this generation is concerned. The principles
taught by those revelations were as old as eternity; and the Order sought to be
introduced by their means was called the "Order of Enoch," in
consequence of its having been revealed to and practised by Enoch; and through
its practice he and his people were prepared for translation and, as we read in
the Scriptures, were taken from the earth.
The Lord
inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith to once more communicate these principles
unto the children of men; but, as I have remarked, the people were not prepared
to carry them out. They, to some extent, could see and understand their beauty
and consistency, but in the practical part they were deficient. As a people the
Latter-day Saints are like their fellows in many respects. We are very
progressive in theory, but our theories are far ahead of our practice. The
teachings of the elders are of that character that years of practice on the
part of the people is required before they come up to them in their every-day
life. It is so with mankind generally. They can comprehend the theory and
realize the importance of practically observing certain principles long before
they are sufficiently advanced to carry them out in everyday life. But we may
say, without boasting, that as a people we excel the world in carrying out in
our lives the principles that we teach.
Those
principles to which I have been referring were received and admired by the
people, but it required faith, knowledge and experience to enable them to carry
them out. For years they have remained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants to
be read by the curious or by those who had a desire to search after the
principles of life and salvation; but, not being a part of our practice in our
lives, they have been practically a dead letter.
I speak,
now, generally; of course, there have been exceptions in regard to this, as
there have been with regard to the "Word of Wisdom." There have been
men and women who have endeavored to carry out the latter strictly and
truthfully so far as their knowledge extended. And so with the principles
contained in the revelations touching the "Order of
Enoch"—there have, doubtless, been men in the Church who have lived in
accordance with them so far as it was practicable under the circumstances; but
the entire people have not carried them out. But though thirty-six or
thirty-seven years have elapsed since these principles were first revealed,
they have never been lost sight of by the President and those associated with
him. It has been their aim from the day they were given until to-day, the 6th
of April, 1869, to bring the Latter-day Saints to such a, condition of union,
faith and knowledge that they would receive these principles and carry them out
in their lives.
The
labors of the elders to accomplish this have been incessant; they have ever
felt to impress them upon the minds of the Saints, but more particularly within
the last four or five years. It is essentially necessary that we should receive
them now, for upon the reception and proper carrying out of this Order hinges
the prosperity, development and triumph of the kingdom of God on the earth; and
unless we as a people arrive at such a standard of faith and perfection as to
practically carry them out, we are assured, on the best of authority, that we
cannot be permitted to go back and build up the Centre Stake and fully
accomplish the redemption of Zion. The consequences involved in not being able
to accomplish that are familiar to the minds of those who are members of the
Church of Jesus Christ, especially if they are old members. One of the greatest
calamities that could be thought of by us as a congregation, or a Church,
to-day, would be to learn from the Lord through His servants that we should
not, be permitted to go back to build up the Centre Stake of Zion. The edict
pronounced by the prophet Moses when he told Israel that not one who had
arrived at the age of twenty-one years should ever enter the "Promised
Land," had not a greater effect upon Israel than the prohibition I have
just referred to would have upon the Latter-day Saints. We can realize then,
the importance of adopting and carrying out the principles that will prepare us
for that great work.
It is not
to be expected that we shall attain to perfection in the carrying out of such
principles at once. That is not the way we have progressed in the past; our
progress has been gradual. It has been from principle to principle, from
knowledge to knowledge, one step after another until we have reached the
point for which we have aimed. And so it will be with the principles pertaining
to the "Order of Enoch"—we shall take step after step, progressing
from one point to another until we have reached the point that God, our
Heavenly Father, has designed us to attain to.
When we
look abroad among the nations of the earth we see a great many evils in
existence—evils that have existed for many centuries; in fact, they have
existed from the earliest ages of which we have any account until the present
time, in every nation and among all people. Our own nation is a case in point.
When the foundations of the Government were laid, and liberty proclaimed
throughout the length and breadth of the land, it was anticipated that this
nation would grow to a pitch of glory and attain to a greatness and power that
no other nation on the face of the earth had ever attained. Everything was
favorable to this: a free Government had been established; a continent of
almost illimitable extent spread itself before the people, and all that was
necessary to develop its boundless resources was population, and industry on
the part of that population. But little over ninety years have elapsed since
the foundations of our Government were laid, and in that time we have grown to
be a great people; but that which has been enacted in other nations has been
re-enacted here. The evils that have flourished so long in what is called the
Old World have been transplanted to this land. If Western men travel through
the Eastern States they are struck with the great distinction of classes that
exist there. There is an aristocracy of wealth fast growing up there; and at
the same time there is another class in degradation and poverty, utterly unable
to obtain the blessings and comforts of life. This is owing to various causes,
the chief of Which is the incorrect organization of society. It is so in Europe
and in Asia, and, in fact, wherever wealth abounds.
Many men
have risen from time to time, who have seen and deplored these evils, and they
have sought with all the wisdom and knowledge they possessed to correct them.
Doubtless many of the Latter-day Saints recollect an instance of this kind at
Nauvoo. After the Saints evacuated that place, a community of Socialists,
called Icarians, whose leader was Mr. Cabet, came to Nauvoo and settled there.
There were the houses, gardens, farms and orchards of the Latter-day Saints;
the country was a healthy one when compared with what it was when first settled
by the Saints. Many philanthropic men in France were interested in this
experiment, and were anxious to have it succeed. They forwarded their means
with considerable liberality to sustain the settlement; but, despite their
efforts and exertions, it fell to pieces. Yet the object they had in view was a
good one, and the means they used were effective, so far as they went. But
there was a lack of cohesive power in the system; there was a lack of union,
and a lack of wisdom in the management of the affair. They sought to ameliorate
the condition of mankind and to diffuse the blessings of life equally among the
people, so that hunger, poverty and wretchedness and the dreadful consequences
which follow in their train might he removed from the midst of mankind and a
better elder of things established. But with all the advantages of which I have
spoken, their attempt was a signal failure: the society was broken up and
to-day has no existence.
This is a
case in point with which many of you are familiar. Similar experiments, having
the same ends in view, have been tried at other places at various times, but
like results have attended them.
It has
been seen by thinking men that there is something radically wrong in the
organization of society in this respect, but they have not known how to remedy
the evils. It is so in the religious world. Religionists have to mourn and
deplore the divisions that exist among the so, called followers of Christ; and
reformers have risen one after another endeavoring to bring about greater union
and to develop a greater amount of love, but with what success let the history
of the various sects of Christendom answer. They are split up into innumerable
parties, and the effort of every reformer has only resulted in the increase of
religious sects. He has been unable, and his inability has been confessed by
himself, to unite the Christian world and bring about that oneness which
characterized the followers of Christ in the early days of Christianity. It
required the Lord our God to stretch forth His arm to bring this to pass. It
required the revelation of the Gospel in its purity from the heavens; it
required the restoration of the holy Priesthood to the earth in the plentitude
of its power to bring it about; and as soon as the Priesthood was restored, as
soon as the Gospel was given again in purity to man, and the Church of Christ
was again organized, then the object for which these reformers labored in vain
began to be accomplished—oneness began to prevail, union began to manifest
itself, love was diffused, the Holy Ghost was bestowed, its gifts were enjoyed,
and men and women from various nations and from the midst of various churches
were gathered together in one as we are here to-day. It required the wisdom,
power and Spirit of the Almighty to restore this condition of things for which
many men had so long labored in vain.
And so it
is in relation to the social organization of society. It requires the wisdom of
Almighty God to correct the evils under which mankind groan. Men may labor and
devise schemes, expend means and do all that is possible for human beings, not
directed by the Spirit and power of God, to do, and after they have done it all
they are compelled to confess that they are weak and fallible, and incapable of
accomplishing that which they have aimed at. But with God to aid them, with His
wisdom to guide and His Spirit to direct, and His blessings to smile upon them
they can accomplish all that is necessary to redeem and save the human family,
both in a physical and spiritual point of view. God has chosen His people, the
Latter-day Saints, to solve these knotty problems that have troubled the brains
and affected the children of men for so many centuries.
The Lord
has said that "if ye are not equal in earthly things, ye cannot be in
obtaining heavenly things" He has revealed a plan by which this equality
can be brought about. Yet, He does not design to make us of equal height; He
does not design that we should all bare the same colored hair or eyes, or that
we should dress exactly alike. This is not the meaning of the word
"equality," as as it is used in the revelation; but it means to have
an equal claim on the blessings of our Heavenly Father—on the properties
of the Lord's treasury, and the influences and gifts of His Holy Spirit. This
is the equality meant in the revelations, and until we attain to this equality
we cannot be equal in spiritual things, and the blessings of God cannot be
bestowed upon us until we attain to this as they otherwise would. As a people
we are expecting the day to come when Jesus will descend in the clouds of
Heaven; but before this day comes we must be prepared to receive him. the organization
of society that exists in the heavens must exist on the earth; the same
condition of society, so far as it is applicable to mortal beings, must exist
here. And for this purpose God has revealed this Order; for this purpose He is
bringing us into our present condition.
A great
many of the Latter-day Saints scarcely understand the persistency with which
the Presidency of the Church has labored to bring about the oneness of the
people in temporal things; and this co-operative movement is an important step
in this direction and is designed to prepare them for the ushering in of this
Order to which I have been alluding. It has already produced greater union, and
it will produce still greater union than anything that has been witnessed among
us; and if we carry it out in the spirit in which it has been taught to us it
will produce immense results. The Lord will bless us; He will increase our
means and pour into the laps of this people everything necessary for their
greatness in the earth. For be it known unto you and to all people than God
designs to make of the Latter-day Saints the head; He intends to place in their
hands and keeping the wealth of the world. But before blessings of this
description can be poured upon us we must be prepared to receive and use them
aright. Suppose these things were to he poured upon us in our present
condition, what would be the result? Every one can answer flits question for
himself. Each one knows his or her own heart, and the feelings by which it is
animated. We know that if the whole people were to be made rich it would be an
exceedingly difficult matter to control them; even with the little means we
have to-day it is one of the most difficult things to control the people in
regard to the disposition and correct use of that means.
In a
revelation given on this subject in the year 1834 the Lord says—
"I,
the Lord, stretched out the heavens and built the earth as a very handy work,
and all things therein are mine, and it is my purpose to provide for my Saints,
for all things are mine; but it must needs be done in mine own way, and behold,
this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my Saints, that
the poor shall be exalted in that the rich are made low; for the earth is full
and there is enough and to spare. Yea, I prepared all things and have given
unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves; therefore if any man
shall take of the abundance which I have made and impart not his portion,
according to the law of my Gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall with
the wicked lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment."
In
another revelation on the same subject given in 1832, the Lord says—
"For
Zion must increase in beauty and holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her
stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily, I say unto you, Zion must arise and
put on her beautiful garments: therefore I give unto you this commandment that
ye bind yourselves by this covenant, and it shall be done according to the laws
of the Lord. Behold, here is wisdom also in me for your good. And you are to be
equal, or in other words you are to have equal claims on the properties for the
benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to
his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just, and all this for the
benefit of the Church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his
talent, and every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundredfold, to be
east into the Lord's storehouse, to become the common property of the whole
Church, every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things
with an eye single to the glory of God.
"This
order I have appointed to be an everlasting order unto you, and unto your
successors, inasmuch as you sin not; and the soul that sins against this
covenant, and hardeneth his heart against it, shall be dealt with according to
the laws of my Church, and shall be delivered over to the buffetings of Satan
until the day of redemption."
While I
am reading I will read another extract, that you may get the idea more fully in
your mind. After speaking of the Treasury that shall be appointed, in which
shall be preserved the sacred things in the Treasury for sacred and holy
purposes, which shall be called the Treasury of the Lord, the Lord continues—
"And
again, there shall be another Treasury prepared and a treasurer appointed to
keep the Treasury, and a seal shall be placed upon it; and all monies that you
receive in your stewardships, by improving upon the properties which I have
appointed unto you, in houses, or in lands, or in cattle, or in all things,
save it be the holy and sacred writings, which I have reserved unto myself for
holy and sacred purposes, shall be cast into the Treasury as fast as you
receive the moneys, by hundreds, or by fifties, or by twenties, or by tens, or
by fives; or in other words, if any man among you obtain five talents, let him
east them into the Treasury; or if he obtain ten, or twenty, or fifty or an
hundred, let him do likewise, and let not any man among you say that it is his
own, for it shall not be called his, nor any part of it, and there shall not
any part of it be used or taken out of the Treasury, only by the voice and
common consent of the Order. And this shall be the voice and common consent of
the Order—that any man among you say unto the treasurer, I have need of this to
help me in my stewardship; if it be five talents, or if it be ten talents, or
twenty, or fifty, or an hundred, the treasurer shall give unto him the sum
which he requires, to help him in his stewardship, until he be found a
transgressor, and it is manifest before the Council of the Order plainly, that
he is an unfaithful and an unwise steward; but so long as he is in full
fellowship, and is faithful, and wise in his stewardship, this shall be his
token unto the treasurer, that the treasurer shall not withhold."
From
these extracts which I have read in your hearing you can form an idea of the
Order which God, our Heavenly Father, intends to establish among us as soon as
we are willing to enter upon it. It is not the design of God that we should
fall a prey to the evils that have existed and that have worked out such misery
and ruin among other people. It is God's design to save and redeem us from the
evils that others have endured. It has been frequently remarked to me by men
out of our faith, when conversing upon our principles and the success which has
attended their proclamation: "Mr. Cannon, as long as the Latter-day Saints
are poor you will do very well; as long as you are persecuted you will stand;
but you will be like other people when wealth increases in your midst—when you
grow up into classes and some are wealthy and some are poor, and your Church
becomes popular, you will be very likely to fall into the same evils and errors
that have characterized other churches." If God did not preside over this
Church, such expectations and predictions would doubtless be fulfilled. But God
presides; it is His Church, and He has provided remedies for every one of these
evils, by which the Church can be preserved, and by which wealth can be
increased in the midst of the Latter-day Saints and yet not work out the
injurious results that we see elsewhere where it abounds. God has provided a
way to prevent this, and that way is to be found in the revelations that were
given unto us upwards of thirty-six years ago, and we can read and understand
them.
"Well,"
says one, "if such an Order as this you speak of be established,
will not the careless and indolent enjoy a share in the blessings of those who
are industrious? and will it not weaken the hands of the energetic?" Not
in the least. The man who is energetic and faithful will receive the reward of
his faithfulness. If he has a large surplus Of means he has more to put into
the Treasury to help to forward that kingdom he loves, and he is credited with
it. In the day of the Lord Jesus we are told He will say to him, "Thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many,"
and such individuals will receive a reward in proportion to their faithfulness.
But if they hide up their talent in a napkin and bury it in the ground, that
which was given to, them will be taken from them. They who use their talents
righteously and faithfully will have them increased, but the unfaithful will be
deprived of that which he seems to have.
This
Order will not have the effect that some anticipate, but it will be a blessing
to all who are engaged in it. There will not be any temptation to seek for
wealth for the sake of aggrandizing one's self or to place one's heart upon
riches, as there is now. This temptation will be removed. I shall be able to
love my neighbor. Why? Because if I make off him in a trade I know that
whatever I make goes into the treasury and becomes the property of the whole
Church, therefore what inducement would there be to soil my soul and bring a
blot on my character by taking advantage of my neighbor when it is not going to
specially benefit me?
I look
upon this principle as one of the greatest principles to save people from
avaricious and sordid feelings that God has ever revealed. It will bare a
tendency to check dishonesty and remove want. It will have a tendency to stop
stealing and to cure the evils under which mankind have groaned from the
beginning until now. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is a remedy for every
evil that exists among men. Here is the "social problem," that
troubles the minds of all nations to-day. The cities of Christendom are crowded
with prostitutes; their young men are destroyed in the dawn of their days by the
terrible crime of prostitution. How shall these fearful evils be cured? Has
there been sufficient wisdom found among men to do it? No; they have confessed
their utter inability to cope with it. It is overwhelming them and sweeping
them off like a fiord throughout the length and breadth of the land, until
physicians say that half the diseases that prevail among mankind in Christendom
are directly traceable to this devouring evil, What is to correct it? I answer,
the Lord, through His people—the Latter-day Saints—is revealing the remedy. You
travel throughout the Territory of Utah, from Bear Lake in the north to St.
George in the south, and what do you see? You see a people free from secret
diseases, you see a people free from the dreadful curse of prostitution. Our
young men and maidens grow up in all the vigor of health and there is nothing
to sap that vigor and lead them to a premature grave. Then what is to correct
these evils in the world? The plan which God has revealed. It will bring about
a pure condition of things. If it were universally adopted the "social
evil" would be removed, and prostitution would soon cease to exist on the
face of the earth.
Will this
plan—this glorious Order which God has revealed—correct the other evils with
which the world is afflicted? Yes, when that Order is universally established
there will no longer be any temptation to steal, defraud one's neighbor or to
commit any wrongs of this kind, for it is said, and truly, that the love of
money is the root of all evil. The Order of which I speak will correct these
evils because there will be a treasury in the midst of the people, from which
those who are worthy can get that which they need to sustain them in their
stewardship, and into which all who have a surplus will pour their wealth until
it will become the common property of the church; and the church under this
organization which God has revealed will become a great and mighty power in the
midst of the earth.
We have
great power now, though not numerically strong; we are not a very great people
so far as numbers are concerned, but we are strong because we are united. The
more wealth we have the greater is our power, because the President of this
Church can control this people, therefore the people have power, and when our wealth
shall be controlled by the President of this Church, we shall have greater
power in the earth than we have to-day. But will that power be used for hurtful
purposes? No; it will be used for beneficial ends, for the amelioration of the
condition of the human family, for the practical inauguration of these great
and glorious principles which God has revealed; and it is to bring you to this
condition that the elders are laboring as they are; it is to bring you to this
oneness that they labor as they do continually—that they travel and preach to
and exhort the Saints all the day long to listen to the counsels of God.
Although
it has been deferred a good while it will yet be accomplished and fulfilled and
the people brought to a condition that is desired.
Much more
might be said on this subject; but I am intruding on your time. May God bless
you, my brethren and sisters, and prepare us, as a people, to receive the
revelations of His will, which are true and perfect and intended to elevate and
exalt us, and to bring us back into His presence, there to be crowned with
glory and immortality: which I pray may be the case with us all in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Elder Ezra T. Benson]
ELDER EZRA T. BENSON was the next speaker. He said, we are here to learn and obey the Order of Enoch. All the property we may appear to possess belonged to the Lord, and was only loaned to us to build up His kingdom to gather the poor and accomplish HIs work. We have no legal excuse for neglecting to obey the counsels of the servants of God. The co-operative movement was one of vast importance. The laws of Utah and its conditions are beginning to be respected by what is called the outside world. Many express the opinion that President b. Young is the greatest financier in the world, else the united condition of the Latter-day Saints could never have been brought about. We might have arrived at a greater degree of perfection, as Elders in Israel, if we had laid aside all petty jealousies which sometimes beset us. Although we might have bettered our condition in many things, yet his heart was filled with joy and thanksgiving and praise to God that our condition is as favorable as it is let President Young rule, and we shall be blessed. Whether he desires us to raise silk, enter into co-operation, or do anything else, let us do it, and it will result in the prosperity of Israel. Let us co-operate in every good thing, for the Lord is operating among this people.
The congregation sang the hymn on page 29, Arise, O Glorious Zion."
Conference adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.
President D. H. Wells dismissed the meeting.
[6 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 18:115, 4/14/69, p 7]
APRIL 6, 2 P.M.
The congregation this afternoon was much larger than in the morning, the large Tabernacle being nearly filled. The congregation was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The Tabernacle Choir, led by Bro. Sands, sang the first hymn, commencing "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."
Prayer was offered up by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 263, beginning "Know this that every soul is free."
[Elder Franklin D. Richards]
ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS addressed the congregation. The Saints come together to be strengthened that they may be able to dispel whatever darkness may beset their path. When we first heard the principles of faith, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, those principles were as staggering to us as those advanced principles that are now taught in relation to temporal things. It was at first difficult for us to understand those beautiful principles that are necessary to be attended to for the salvation of our dead. Since that time the Saints have advanced. By obeying the counsels of the servants of God in relation to our temporal affairs we shall become, to the world, as great a subject for astonishment in regard to our temporal condition as we are in spiritual matters. We should become a pattern for them to follow after. The true order of government is that which is after the Patriarchal order. That order alone will bring about an assimilation of interests and consequent harmony and good will. We have not yet attained to a very great degree of unity in relation to temporal matters, but we are advancing in that direction. It was the design of the Almighty to make the interests of one portion of his family the interests of the other portion that the whole human family may become one. some, doubtless, think that they are too wise to be taught by the servants of the Lord. This was comparable with instances where children would not be taught by their parents. If the parents would inform themselves in regard to all necessary matters, they would be able to teach their children and increase their knowledge. So it is with the servants of God in respect to the Saints. It is the privilege of those who hold the Holy priesthood to teach and instruct us. All things that we do ought to be done in the name of our Lord and Master Jesus. Whether we take possession of farms, or build factories, we should do it in his name. In the changes that are taking place in our temporal affairs we are going through another conversion. We are like a child who is making its first attempt to walk: Our faith in those matters will increase until the order of Enoch could be introduced and the interest of the entire people become identified with each other.
ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON read a report of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, showing the progress that had been made in this great movement by the various branches of the Institution. He also read a report of the Female Relief Societies.
[President Brigham Young]
PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered an interesting and instructive discourse upon the subject of co-operation and other temporal matters. His remarks were reported in full and will shortly be published.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 18:187, 5/26/69, p 7; JD 12:372]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, April 6, 1869.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I have it
in my mind to say a few words upon co-operation. I will quote a saying of one,
whose partial history is given to us in the New Testament. The saying is this,
"my yoke is easy, my burden is light." The knowledge I have gained in
my private experience proves to me that there is not a man or woman, community
or family, but what, if they will hearken to the council that God gives them,
can do better in everything, spiritual or temporal, than they can if they take
their own way.
Taking up
the system of our cooperative method of merchandizing, it gives to the people
ease and money. They are not obliged to run a mile or two through the mud to
buy a yard of ribbon, they have it in their own Ward, and they can purchase it
twenty or thirty per cent cheaper than they ever could before I know it is
frequently said by our Elders when any new system is introduced to the people,
"put down your names, hand over your money, and if you are required
to pay two dollars for that which is worth only one, do it and ask no
questions." I have never requested my brethren and sisters to act in any
such way. I want their eyes opened and their understandings enlightened; I wish
them to know and understand their business transactions and everything they do
just as perfectly as a woman knows how to wash dishes, sweep a room, make a bed
or bake a cake. I want it to be just as familiar to the brethren as to make a
pair of shoes, to sow and gather their grain or any other portion of their
ordinary labor. I do not ask any of you to go blindfolded into any matters or
any system of business whatever; instead of that I prefer that you should know
and understand all about it. I wish to enlighten your minds a little with
regard to the system of merchandizing which has heretofore prevailed in this
Territory.
There is
quite a number of the community who were acquainted with the first merchants
who came here. It is true that a few of our own brethren brought a few goods;
but the first merchants who came here were Livingston and Kinkead. They, to my
certain knowledge, commenced by selling the goods they brought at from two to
five hundred per cent above cost. There were a few articles, with the real
value of which everybody was acquainted, that they did not put quite so high;
but just as quick as they came to a piece of goods, the value of which
everybody did not understand, the people might leak out for the five hundred
per cent. They continued their operations here until they made hundreds of
thousands of dollars. I do not think I ever heard a person, professing to be a
Latter-day Saint, complain of those merchants. Others followed them. They came
here, commenced their trade and made money, in fact we poured it into their
laps. I recollect once going into the store of Livingston and Kinkead, and
there being a press of people in the store, I passed behind one of the
counters. I saw several brass kettles under it, full of gold pieces,—sovereigns,
eagles, half eagles, etc. One of the men shouted, "Bring another
brass kettle." They did so, and set it down, and the gold was thrown into
it, "chink," "chink," "chink," until, in a short
time it was filled. I saw this; the whole drift of the people was to get rid of
their money. I have heard more complaints the last few, weeks about the
co-operative movement than I ever heard before about merchandizing.
Now, I
will tell you the facts about this movement. We started the co-operative system
here when we thought we would wait no longer; we opened the Wholesale
Co-operative Store, and since that, retail stores have been established,
although some of the latter were opened before the Wholesale store was opened.
I know this, that as soon as this movement was commenced the price of goods
came down from twenty to thirty per cent. I recollect very well, after our vote
last October Conference, that it was soon buzzed around, "Why you can get
calico down street at eighteen, and seventeen cents a yard;" and it came
down to sixteen. But when it came down to sixteen cents, who had a chance to
buy any? Why nobody, unless it was just a few yards that were sold to them as a
favor. But when it came to the Wholesale Co-operative Store the price was put
at sixteen cents, and retail stores are selling it to-day at seventeen and a
half or eighteen cents a yard. I will tell you that which I expect will hurt
the feelings of many of you: Among this people, called Latter-day Saints, when
the devil has got the crowns, sovereigns, guineas and the twenty dollar pieces,
it has been all right; but let the Lord get a sixpence and there is an eternal
grunt about it.
I will
relate a little circumstance in relation to co-operation at Lehi. Five months
after they had commenced their retail store on this co-operative system there,
they struck a dividend to see what they had made; and they found that every man
who bad paid in twenty-five dollars—the price of a share, had a few cents over
twenty-eight dollars handed back or credited to him. Is not, this cruel? Is not
this a shame? It is ridiculous to think that they are making money so fast. Did
they sell their goods cheaper than the people of Lehi could buy them before?
Yes. Did they fetch the goods to them? O, yes, and yet they made money. A few
weeks ago I was in the Wholesale Store in this city, and I was asking a brother
from American Fork how co-operation worked there; and I learned that three
months after commencing every man who had put in five dollars, or twenty-five
dollars had that amount handed back to him and still had this capital stock in
the Institution; and still they had sold their goods cheaper than anybody else
had ever sold them there.
The
question may arise with some how can this be? I will tell you how it is: our
own merchants make a calculation of charging you just fifty per cent. on their
staple goods, and from one hundred to five hundred on their fancy goods. Now
these Co-operative Stores sell their goods for twenty per cent. less than they
can be bought from the merchants; and although they sell at a lower rate, the
reason is they recruit their stock of goods every week if necessary, while our
merchants, up till very recently, did it only about once a year. These little
stores at American Fork, Lehi, Provo, and other wards and places around, can
drive their teams here in a day and replenish their stocks of goods, and that
enables them to turn over their money quickly; and if they put on six or eight
per cent. instead of fifty, by turning their money over every week, in about
twelve weeks they make a dollar double itself. That comes the nearest keeping
the cake and eating it of anything I know. I have heard people say you can not
do that, but those who are investing their little means in these stores are
actually doing it.
I know
that many of our traders in this city are feeling very bad and sore over this.
They say, "you are taking the bread out of our mouths." We
wish to do it, for they have made themselves rich. Take my community,
three-eighths of whom are living on the labor of the remaining five-eighths,
and you will find the few are living on the many. Take the whole world, and
comparatively few of its inhabitants are producers. If the members of this
community wish to get rich and to enjoy the fruits of the earth they must be
producers as well as consumers.
As to
these little traders, we are going to shut them off. We feel a little sorry for
them. Some of them have but just commenced their trading operations, and they
want to keep them up. They have made, perhaps, a few hundred dollars, and they
would like to continue so as to make a few thousands; and then they would want
scores of thousands and then hundreds of thousands. Instead of trading we want
them to go into some other branches of business. Do you say, what business?
Why, some of them may go to raising broom corn to supply the Territory with
brooms, instead of bringing them from the States. Others may go to raising
sugar cane, and thus supply the Territory with a good sweet; we have to send to
the States for our sugar now. We will get some more of them to gathering up
hides and making them into leather, and manufacturing that leather into boots
and shoes; this will be far more profitable than letting hundreds and thousands
of hides go to waste as they have done. Others may go and make baskets; we do
not care what they go at, provided they produce that which will prove of
general benefit. Those who are able can erect woolen factories, get a few
spindles, raise sheep and manufacture the wool. Others may raise flax and
manufacture that into linen cloth, that we may not be under the necessity of
sending abroad for it. If we go on in this way, we shall turn these little
traders into producers, which will help to enrich the entire people.
Another
thing I will say with regard to our trading. Our Female Relief Societies are
doing immense good now, but they can take hold and do all the trading for these
wards just as well as to keep a big loafer to do it. It is always disgusting to
me to see a big, fat, lubberly fellow handing out calicoes and measuring
ribbon; I would rather see the ladies do it. The ladies can learn to keep books
as well as the men; we have some few, already, who are just as good accountants
as any of our brethren. Why not teach more to keep books and sell goods, and
let them do this business, and let the men go to raising sheep, wheat, or
cattle, or go and do something or other to beautify the earth and help to make
it like the Garden of Eden, instead of spending their time in a lazy, loafing
manner?
Now, if
you think this is speculation, brethren and sisters, just enter into it for it
is the best speculation that has been got up for a great while. I recollect the
people used to say we were speculating when we were preaching the Gospel. They
accused "Joe Smith," as they called him, of being a speculator and a
money-digger" I acknowledged then, and I acknowledge now, that I am
engaged in the greatest speculation a man can be engaged in. the best business
to pursue that was ever introduced on the face of the earth is to follow the
path of eternal life. Why, it gives us fathers, mothers, wives, friends, houses
and lands. Jesus said they who followed Him would have to forsake these things.
I reckon some of as have done it already; and all who will live faithful, may
have the privilege of so doing. Many of this people have sacrificed all they
possessed on this earth, over and over again, for the truth's sake; and if
Jesus gave us the truth in relation to this, we shall be entitled to fathers,
mothers, wives, children, gold and silver, houses, lands and possessions a
hundred fold. But we do not want the spirit of the world with all this. What is
the advantage of following the path of life? It makes good neighbors, and fills
everybody with peace, joy and contentment. Is there contention in a family that
follows in the path of eternal life? Not the least. Is there quarrelling among
neighbors where this course is followed? No. Any going to law one with another?
Such a thing is unknown. I say praise to the Latter-day Saints, as far as these
things are concerned.
What I
have in my mind with regard to this co-operative business is this:—There are
very few people who cannot get twenty-five dollars to put into one of these
co-operative stores. There are hundreds and thousands of women who, by prudence
and industry, can obtain this sum. And we say to you put your capital into one
of these stores. What for? To bring you interest for your money. Put your time
and talents to usury. We have the parable before us. If we have one, two, three
or five talents, of what advantage will they be if we wrap them in a napkin and
lay them away? None at all. Put them out to usury. These co-operative stores
are instituted to give the poor a little advantage as well as the rich. I have
said to my brethren, in starting these stores in different places, "If you
want help I will find means to put in to give the tiling a start;" but I
have only found two places in the Territory in which they were willing to sell
me stock—Provo, where they wanted a wholesale store, and the wholesale store in
tills city. Go to this ward or the other and the answer is invariably, "we
want, no more means, we can get all we need." They did not think they
could before starting. I recollect the Tenth Ward in this city had but seven
hundred dollars to start with; in two or three weeks after they commenced I
asked some of the brethren how they were prospering, and was told they had a
thousand dollars' worth of goods on the shelves and money in the drawer and
owed nothing. This is considered one of the poorest wards in the city, but it
is not so.
Now take
upon you this yoke; it is a great deal easier than to pay so much more for
goods as you have been doing. I say the "yoke is easy and the burden is
light" and we can bear it. If we will work unitedly, we can work ourselves
into wealth, health, prosperity and power, and this is required of us. It is
the duty of a Saint of God to gain all the influence he can on this earth, and
to use every particle of that influence to do good. If this is not his duty, I
do not understand what the duty of man is. I thank you for your attention,
brethren and sisters. God bless you. Amen.
The hymn on page 166, commencing, "We thank Thee O God for a Prophet," was sung. conference adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.
Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.
_____
[7 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 18:115, 4/14/69, p 7]
Wednesday, April 7, 10 a.m.
The Conference was called to order by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Tabernacle Choir sang, "Praise ye the Lord."
Elder Wilford Woodruff prayed.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on the last page.
[Elder Erastus Snow]
ELDER ERASTUS SNOW addressed the Conference. We come together as Bishops, Elders, Priests, teachers, etc., to receive the bread of life from the lips of the servants of God, that we may all become one. We are wonder to the nations of the earth. If they had eyes to see and hearts to understand, they would know that, to bring a people like this from all parts of the world, and form as complete and united an organization as exists among us, is as great a miracle as to raise the dead. The Lord Jesus has said, "except ye are one ye are not mine." He prayed that His disciples might be one. This oneness is not meant in a physical sense. We differ in statue and proportion. It is a unity or oneness of faith, purpose and interest that is desirable we should arrive at. Classes and aristocracies of wealth should be abolished. The Constitution framed and established by the Fathers on this continent was the best government on the earth. Yet there is great disproportion betwixt classes in this country. The struggle between capital and labor is very great. The laboring classes are under the necessity of combining to resist the encroachments of capital. The Quakers are, to some extent, an exception to this rule. By economy and frugality they have become almost universally rich and are a class of themselves. Among the Saints there are instances where parents allow their children to stay at home rather than go to Sunday School, and the parents themselves will not attend meetings, because, probably, they cannot appear so well dressed as others. These things are not pleasing in the sight of God. The co-operative movement, which has been recently inaugurated by our President, will correct many evils such as these. It would be well for the Saints to read the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants in relation to the Order of Enoch. According to that order, the means placed in our hands could not be used for self-aggrandizement, but would be the common property of the Kingdom of God, to be used for the benefit of the whole. Thirty-seven years ago the Saints were not prepared to build up the Centre Stake of Zion. We have come to these barren wastes to redeem the land and gain an experience to prepare us for that great work. There is a tendency among men to take honor and glory to themselves. The Lord is willing we should all have our due, but He reserves to Himself the privilege of awarding it. May God bless us all. Amen.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS next spoke. We are here to take into consideration those things that will conduce to our best interests. There is a propensity in the human heart to walk according to its own imagination instead of obeying the voice of God. We need instruction continually. If we are not instructed, we shall never learn any more than a child can learn to read and write who is never taught. This is the first moment in the existence of this people that the principle of co-operation could be established, and even now many are inclined to grumble at its introduction. Those who have lost their trade by this means need not despair. In a new country like this there are many things to which such may turn their attention. They can become producers instead of merely consumers. They can cultivate the soil. Many articles of produce are sold at prices one half of which would be remunerative to the producer. Here then is a direction into which honest industry may turn. No person should be above learning some useful occupation or trade. Thousands of articles are imported to this Territory that might just as well be produced here. This would make the community rich and independent. Every one of our young men should apply themselves to learning some useful trade and accustom themselves to habits of industry, and not number themselves with that class who seek to get their living by their wits. To whatever plan legitimate labor calls us the elders in Israel should wrap themselves, as it were in a mantle. If men who go to work on the railroad have to some extent to mix with the wicked, it is not necessary that they should indulge in the evil practices of the wicked. all should eradicate from their own bosoms the besetments of sin. some are not willing to be controlled by their Bishops and Presidents in their temporal concerns. Say they, "We know as much as the Bishop or the President," or whoever it may be, but the sequel will show that they are wrong. Those who cannot understand that co-operation is right cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven in it. This is the cause of the prejudice that some have concerning it, but the Kingdom of God is in it. There is no power on earth that can stem the current of vice that is flooding the world but the power that is in the Kingdom of God.
The Latter-day Saints have cause to rejoice above all other people, because they have seen the Kingdom of God. Those who build upon that rick, which is the principles of the Kingdom of God, will stand for ever. If we attain to an exaltation we shall halve to conform to the terms proposed by the Almighty Himself. We can never bring the Lord to our terms. The Scriptures are good, the bible and Book of Mormon are filled with sparkling gems on every page, yet the living oracles are worth more to us; they teach us how to save ourselves to-day. The Scriptures were the living oracles to those unto whom they were delivered. May we pursue that course that will enable us to obtain the blessings promised to the faithful.
[Daniel H. Wells]
[DNW 18:189, 4/28/69, p 7; JD 13:22]
REMARKS.
By President D. H. Wells, Delivered in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, April 7, 1869.
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS
_____
After our
usual custom we have met in a general council of the church to receive
instruction in those things which are necessary for the government and
well-being of the people, and to be instructed in that which is calculated to
promote our best interests. At our Conferences a general interchange of thought
and feeling in the midst of Israel takes place. At these meetings we receive
great blessings; rich treasures of knowledge and understanding are opened up,
and made known to the people throughout the valleys of the mountains. We come
here to be instructed; we gather from the nations of the earth that we may be
taught in the ways of the Lord and that we may learn to walk in His paths.
We can
see a glorious future before us; we can dwell upon the words of the holy
prophets and picture to ourselves great things in time to come concerning the
beauty and glory of Zion, when she shall be built up. We can talk of
exaltations in the Kingdom of God, of thrones, dominions principalities, and
powers, but how are we going to attain to these things? It seems as though,
when we receive the Gospel and our hearts are lit up with the spirit of truth,
we expect, without any particular effort on our part, at some time in the
future, to attain to these great excellencies and glories. We are a good deal
like children. We tell them of reading and writing, but they will never be able
to do either, unless they take the trouble to learn. We often hear it said that
if we wish to have a heaven we shall have to create it for ourselves. There is
considerable truth in this. In the days of Joseph could he have accomplished
with this people what can now be accomplished in the days of Brigham? No; it
would have been impossible. I remember hearing him talk, and seeing his
endeavors to establish merchandizing on a similar footing to that which has
been recently introduced among the Saints; but there were difficulties in the
way.
In those
days there was a tendency of feeling that each should share alike in
everything, so much so that it was impossible for any man to do business in the
mercantile line. A good brother who was needy would think it was selfish if he
could not go to a store and get what he wanted without paying the money for it.
It was a good deal so when we first came here. Let a brother commence the
mercantile business, and the first thing he knew his whole capital stock was
credited out to the brethren. He could not refuse to credit a brother. O, no!
if he did it was said at once that he was selfish and was no friend to the
poor. I have never seen the time when cooperation could have been established
in the midst of the people until the present. Some will doubtless find fault
with it now; but we do not expect to be clear of fault-finders. We have to be
instructed; and the Lord has been merciful and kind. He has sought all the day
long to train us in the way we should go. We never can learn the principles
pertaining to the building up of the Kingdom of God while scattered abroad;
hence, the necessity of gathering together that we may be instructed in the
ways of the Lord.
There is
a great tendency among the people to go into the business of trading, and to
shun the more laborious pursuits and avocations of life. A great many seem to
think that trading or merchandizing is more genteel, and that it is more
gentlemanly not to learn some profitable trade or business. A considerable
number who have been engaged in mercantile pursuits, owing to this change in
our system of business, will no doubt be thrown out of employment; they will
have to seek other avocations. Some persons who possess capital will have to
seek other avenues in which to invest that capital. In a new country like this
there is a variety of ways open to them for its safe and profitable investment.
A man may
invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in goods and put them on his shelves,
and in his warehouses, and dispose of them again to other parties; but what
does such a man produce or create with his means that is beneficial to his
fallow creatures? Nothing; it is merely an interchange. It is useful and
necessary in its way and place, and it is all well enough; but sufficient
should be done and no more than sufficient. Trading is overdone; there are too
many employed in this kind of business; they should seek employment in some
other way, and find other channels for investing their capital that are better
calculated to produce something from the earth, and bring forth from the
elements that which is necessary for the comfort and well-being of man and
beast. Just think how many things could be raised and manufactured here,
that, if we had them to-day, would fetch very remunerative prices. Butter, for
instance, that at the present time is selling for a dollar and a quarter a
pound, in a country like this should not bring more than twenty-five cents.
Cheese the same. These two articles are imported twelve or fifteen hundred
miles, and then the Territory is not near supplied. Wool and flax, too, might be
raised profitably; not near enough of these is raised; and in these articles
our surplus means might be safely and profitably invested. There is not near
enough grain raised in the Territory. Wheat is selling to-day at four dollars a
bushel, when it should not be more than half that price, and even then would
well remunerate the producer. It is so with every other article of our own
consumption and that is required for the sustenance of our animals; and the
same may be said of the animals themselves. Stock raising offers a profitable
avenue for the investment of means. Here are many avenues in which they, who
have been overturned in their mercantile pursuits, can invest their means,
which will pay larger profits, and which are far less liable to fluctuation,
because mercantile pursuits are often subject to great depression through being
overdone, or through scarcity of money and other causes. If a person has a farm
his produce will keep until he can obtain remunerative prior, and he is more
free and independent than the merchant; for the earth being his banker, he is
not called upon to meet his bills and obligations by any particular and
specified time, as the merchant is. By turning our attention in these
directions our capital may be safely and profitably invested, and many who are
now but little better than idlers in Israel might be remuneratively employed.
I should
say let every young man, and woman too, learn some way to procure their own
subsistence, and to promote their own independence; this is incumbent upon all.
No person should be above learning some useful occupation, trade, or business
that is calculated to produce something for his own and the general benefit.
Hundreds and thousands of articles are imported here that might just as well be
made in our midst, and if they were made here it would render us, as a people,
a great deal more independent and comfortable than we are now. That man only is
truly rich who knows how to provide for himself and his household. I do not
care how much means he has in his possession, he only is independent who has
the means of subsistence within himself, who has the capability of going forth,
and, by his own industry, drawing from the elements those things which are
necessary for his own subsistence.
I
remember reading an anecdote of Stephen Girard and of a young man he had had in
his employment a long time, who had received some encouragement, and had large
expectations from him, that when he had attained his majority he would set him
up in business. When that time arrived, instead of giving the young man a draft
for a certain amount of money, he told him to go and serve an apprenticeship to
some useful trade, by which, in case of a reverse of fortune, he would be
enabled to earn his own subsistence. The young man went and bound himself to a
cooper and learned that trade. In a year's time he went back to his patron with
a barrel of his own make. The old gentleman examined the barrel, and asked the
price he could afford them at, and was told "a dollar each." Mr.
Girard said it was a good article, and worth the money, and if he could make as
good barrels as that for that price, he had insured to himself a living in any
event that, might happen. For his obedience in going and learning a trade as
the old gentleman had directed him, he was rewarded with a check for
twenty-five thousand dollars to set him up in business.
In case
of any reverse of fortune this man had something to fall back upon. I have
always thought this was a very good principle to act upon. I would like to see
all of our young men learn some useful trade or occupation which would produce
for them an honourable living by their own industry; and if they acquire this
in early life, habits of industry and order become natural.
By
industry we thrive; industry, in the mechanical and agricultural pursuits, is
the foundation of our independence, and they who obtain a livelihood by habits
of industry are far more honourable members of society than they who live by
their wits.
I heard
recently of a city that the outsiders are endeavoring to start, called Corinne,
which it is said is to be the great city of the interior West. Who are going
there to expend their labour? Can cities be built without labour? I think not.
I have no idea that a great city will be built in the location designated,
unless a different class of people go there than is to be found in such places
generally. I have no doubt that the soil is rich, and that by industry the
elements necessary for the building up of a great city could be developed. But any
person who expects that a large city is going to be reared without industry and
hard labour reckons without his host. There may be a rush there, for a short
time, of speculators, loafers, and rowdies; but if these are the only classes
of people who go there—as there is good reason to believe—this great city that
is to be, like others of the same class, will soon die out, and the people be
scattered to some other places.
Can men
be industrious and follow the various avocations and pursuits of life and still
be servants of God? Yes, such things are conducive to good morals. It is said
that an idle brain is the workshop of the devil, and it is far more likely to
be so than the brain of a person who is occupied with some useful employment.
Can a person work on the railroad, for instance, and be associated with the
wicked without being contaminated by them? O yes, if he is so disposed. An
elder of Israel should wrap himself as with a mantle, from sin, whether he goes
to preach the Gospel to a wicked world, or whether he goes to labour among the
wicked. Such a man will lose nothing, but he will gain the esteem even of the
wicked themselves, by being faithful and true to his calling, keeping the
commandments of God, and observing the Word of Wisdom; and no matter what
society he may be in he will be respected, and will be far more likely to be so
for the strict observance of the principles of the religion he professes than
he will be if he does not observe them. I do not know that it is any excuse for
a man to smoke, chew, drink whisky, take the name of God in vain, swear, or
drink tea or coffee because he mingles with those who do such things. Do you
think your associates would respect you the more for it? No, not a whit; but
they would respect you more for not doing such things. They would have greater
confidence in you, and if they had money they wished to entrust to the care of
any one, they would sooner entrust it to the care of a man who was faithful to
the principles of his religion than to their associates who get drunk, gamble,
swear, and commit every abomination.
This
people have been awakened to a sense of their duty in keeping the Word of
Wisdom, yet many of them think it a sufficient excuse for them to use hot
drinks, if they happen to be where others use them; in this way they are
falling back to the use of tobacco, and are smoking their pipes or cigars, and
are drinking tea and coffee or a little whisky now and again, and are letting
those old habits grow on them again. This is wrong; they should not do it. I
mention this in order to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. We
should not forget that we have entered into covenant not to do so. Latter-day
Saints should remember that there is not a day, hour, or moment in which they
can afford to lay aside the armor of righteousness; there is no time but what
the adversary is at their elbows ready to enter in, take hold, and lead them
into forbidden paths. It is and ever has been a struggle with this people to
trample the wickedness of the world under their feet. It rises before us
continually and we are never without it. We do not expect to be without it in
our midst if this is the kingdom of God. I suppose Jesus had as good an idea of
what constituted the kingdom of God as any of us, and he said it was like a net
cast into the sea which brought forth all kinds both good and bad; therefore
let no one say this cannot be the kingdom of God because there are some who are
not righteous in our midst. Because the wicked and unrighteous are in the
world, must we be partakers of their wickedness? By no means; it is not at all
necessary that it should be so. Let us endeavor to eradicate from our own
bosoms all sin. It is not a matter of enthusiasm, to last for an hour, a day or
a week and then die out; it is in this way that people forget God and do
wickedly. You know that the Scriptures inform us that they who do wickedly, and
all the nations who forget God, shall be turned into hell. The paths of virtue
and truth are the paths of peace. The paths of union, that the leaders of this
people are striving incessantly to introduce among us, are calculated to create
excellence, greatness and power in our midst. By pursuing these paths we shall
grow in every virtue and excellence until we shall attain to those great glories
that are for the faithful, about which we sing and pray, and the contemplation
of which always lights up our minds with so much joy and bliss. By faithfully
observing the counsels given to us we shall actually come into possession of
these things as naturally as a child, by constant instruction, comes to
attainments in learning. It will be done by gaining item by item, by living our
holy religion day by day, hour by hour, and all the time.
Blessed
is that person, man and woman, who can retain, from youth up, a good, holy and
righteous influence; who have never committed an overt act, preserving
themselves righteously before the Lord in all good faith and conscience all the
days of their lives. I say blessed are such persons. Persons are liable to be overtaken
in liquor; but in Zion we should be free from these practices to a far greater
extent than in the world. It is to overcame the evils that exist in the world
that the Lord is gathering His Saints together. Why, if every man and woman who
gathers to Zion were determined to follow their own ways, the state of things
that exists in the world would soon be established here, and the object of the
Lord, in gathering His people together, would be frustrated. Yet there are many
people here who cannot see this; and they feel themselves infringed upon. Why,
such persons are greater than the Saviour of the world in their own estimation!
He came here to do his Father's will, and in his greatest agony he prayed that
the cup might be taken from him, if it wore possible, Nevertheless," he
said, "not my will, but Thine be done." His own will was swallowed up
in the will of his Father; and yet we, poor, miserable mortals can stick up our
noses and say, "We will do as we please," if anything is brought
forth by the inspiration of the Almighty that seems to cut our corners. Are we
a band of brethren, standing shoulder to shoulder under the banner of Emanuel
--him who said, "Let not my will, but, Thine be done?" If we are, we
shall walk in the path marked out for us by the Captain of our salvation.
"Oh? says one, "I think I understand, comprehend, and know better
than any one else; I am not going to do as such a one tells me--my Bishop,
President, or some one else in authority over me; he does not know as much as I
do." Perhaps not, the sequel will show who know most.
If we
have a proper conception of the counsels given to us, we shall never utter such
sentiments, or let them have place in our hearts. It is difficult sometimes to
get into our ears and hearts what is required of us, hence the amount of
instruction that has to be given to the people. It was years and years before
we got the people to take hold of the Word of Wisdom. There have been such
things as reformations in the midst of the people of God, I suppose because of
the proneness of the people to relapse into the ways of the world. Hence, it
becomes necessary every once in a while to arouse Israel to a sense of their
duties, that they may sustain the Kingdom of God.
There are
a great many people who cannot see the Kingdom of God, although the events,
long since foretold, which should transpire in connexion with that Kingdom are
actually transpiring before their eyes. The people of the world are blind, they
cannot see the Kingdom; and a great many Saints, and pretty good at that, who
should see the Kingdom of Heaven in the introduction of a new principle,
oftentimes fail to do so. Is the Word of Wisdom of the Kingdom of Heaven? Yes.
Is co-operation of the Kingdom of Heaven? Yes. Is union in the midst of this
people of the Kingdom of Heaven? Yes. Is the one-man power, with which the
world find so much fault, and talk about so much, of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Yes, if God is our Father and is at the head of it, it is. Then why should
there be so much dread and fear of the Lord establishing His government in the
world? Did it ever do anybody any harm? O, no. Did it ever do anybody any good,
or is it calculated in its nature to do anybody any good? Yes, the greatest
good. Then why so much dread and fear of it? Because the people cannot see the
Kingdom of God in it. But is it not very far from them; God is not very far
from them, nor from any of us, and His work is established and is transpiring
right before our face and eyes. The government of God is being established on the
earth, and the world does not know it; yet it is like a city set on a hill for
everybody to gaze upon and investigate. Yet they treat it as if it were of no
moment to them. Time will show that it is of the utmost importance to them. Let
no person pass it by as an idle tale, for time will disclose that it is of the
utmost importance to every son and daughter of Adam. They had better, at least,
give it a passing notice and investigate it with honesty of purpose. Our hopes
for the present and future, our happiness and prosperity, and even existence
itself, are bound up in the Kingdom and government of God. What else is there
now upon the face of the earth but what has a tendency to destruction? Look at
the stream of vice and corruption that is flowing on, bearing its votaries to
the gulf of despair. Who can stem the torrent? People can see it, but can they
stop it? No, it bears them along on its surface, and they are lost for ever. Is
it not time that some standard should be erected on the earth, around which
those who are disposed to do right, may rally, where they will be safe from
this great gulf-stream of destruction? I think it is time, because the Lord has
thought so, and He has commenced His work; He has erected His standard, and is
calling to the people and pointing the way to safety. Not that He or any one
else expects this stream to be checked or stopped in its mad career; it will
bear its onward course until, finally, it finds its depths. But we may save one
here and another there, and so the Lord may get to Himself a people. It is like
being snatched as brands from the burning. He will bring them to a place where
they can be instructed. This has been the case with us. The Lord has brought us
together and He is seeking to instruct us, that we and our children after us
may escape those great evils which are so prevalent in the world. I need not
mention them, they are patent to the eyes of all. The people have
forgotten God; they do not not know His ways, although there are many
well-intentioned people who are seeking to do their duty and are living in the
hope of a blessed reward hereafter. They will obtain it. They are trying to
stem the torrent of evil as far as it is in their power; but they do not know
"the only true and wise God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent,"
"whom to know is eternal life;" and another evil is, they do not try
to know Him, or they would investigate and try to find out God and His Kingdom.
The Lord
is not responsible for all the evil of which I have been speaking, neither for
all the diversities of religion in the world. He created man upright, but man
has sought out many inventions. If the people would seek after the Lord and be
content to walk in His ways, do you think the diversities in regard to religion
that now exist would be known? By no means; we should all come, then, to a
unity of the faith.
The
Latter-day Saints have great cause to rejoice, because they are blessed above
all other people. They are learning the ways of the Lord; and more blessed are
they still, if they follow in them. They are laying a foundation that
will stand for ever. There is no principle of virtue, truth, holiness and
righteousness but what is calculated to exalt man in time and for ever and
ever. Those who build not on these principles are building on sand, and their
superstructure will be washed away when the tempest comes; while they who build
on the rock of truth will be able to withstand all opposition, and they will
eventually obtain that glory and exaltation that the Saints now talk about.
These
principles are true and can be depended upon. God is their author; He is at the
helm. He is our Father and we may come to exaltation in His presence if we will
live for it; and in this earthly probation we can be co-workers with Him in the
establishment of His kingdom on the earth if we will serve Him and keep His
commandments. We may come to Him on His own platform, on His own terms, but not
on our own. That is the trouble with Christendom, and the world at large. They
are trying to make the Lord's ways correspond with theirs. Why, they would tear
Him to pieces if they could have their wishes carried out; they would dethrone
Jehovah and overturn His power and kingdom. Could He exist if the world could
have their own way? A great many called Latter-day Saints feel a little the
same way; perhaps they do not know it, but it amounts to no less. I have known
people come for counsel when they bad their own minds made up about the course
they intended to pursue. All they wanted was to receive counsel that corresponded
with their notions. If they received that, all right; otherwise it would not
do. All the world is after is to try to make the Lord come to their terms; He
cannot do it.
It would
be well for as, sometimes, if we could see a few of our own in. consistencies,
and what we require of the Lord. The plan of salvation is amply sufficient to
save to the uttermost. How? In our own way? No, in the way that the Lord has
devised. If we are saved in His Kingdom we shall have to bow to His laws; we
cannot be saved without. He has a right to dictate; He has done so, and it is
for us to do His bidding.
We are
blessed in having the living oracles in our midst, and in having a standard
erected around which we can rally. The Bible is good, and we believe in it more
than any other people. The Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants are the word of God, and they contain many precious gems; every line
is full of knowledge, intelligence, and truth, and is calculated to be a
benefit to us; but yet, above and far beyond all, we have the living oracles in
our midst to tell us what to do to-day. A great portion of the Scripture we
have was the living oracles to the people in the day in which it was given, and
it has become Scripture because it was given by the inspiration of the
Almighty. It was applicable to the day in which it was given. We have the
living oracles in our midst to give us that which is applicable to our day. Let
us make our ways correspond to the Lord's, for we read that "as high as
the heavens are above the earth so are His ways higher than our ways, and His
thoughts than our thoughts." We are blessed in having His ways made known
to us, because He knows best. He has more knowledge and understanding and
greater ability, and can perform and accomplish more than any other power that
exists; and that people only may be said to be blessed who walk in His ways and
do His bidding.
I feel
sometimes as though I had never lived, in reality, until I became acquainted
with the principles of the Gospel; I feel as though my whole existence had been
a waste, In one sense it has. I did not know how to serve God acceptably in His
sight. I did not comprehend righteousness, neither did I know how to sanctify
myself before Him. We are taught that obedience is better than sacrifice,
therefore let us go to, brethren and sisters, with our heights to serve God and
keep His commandments, so shall we come, finally, to inherit those blessings
which are promised to the faithful, which I pray we may ultimately attain for
Christ's sake, Amen.
Elder George Q. Cannon then read the names of the brethren who are called to go on Missions.
The congregation sang "Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning."
Conference adjourned till two o'clock p.m.
Elder Brigham Young, jun., dismissed the Conference.
[7 Apr, 2 pm]
[DNW 18:115-116, 4/14/69, p 7-8]
2 p.m., April 7.
Conference was called to order by President George A. Smith.
The Tabernacle Choir sang "Great God attend while Zion sings."
Elder Lorenzo Snow prayed.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the anthem, "Rejoice in the Lord"
[Elder Orson Pratt]
ELDER ORSON PRATT addressed the conference. Thirty-nine years ago yesterday, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. Although we have been driven and persecuted so many times, yet by the providences of God we have been always permitted to commemorate the anniversary of that great event. Our journeyings to this place have, heretofore, been slow and laborious. The Lord has put it into the hearts of the people of this continent to construct a great highway, so that what heretofore was a journey of months is now reduced to one of a few days. notwithstanding the facilities for gathering Israel are greatly increased, the poor cannot be brought here without great expense.
Many of the Saints who are yet in the world are looking with longing eyes to this people for assistance to enable them to gather. When many of the latter left their relatives and friends in the lands of their birth, they felt in their hearts that if the Lord would bless them temporally they would assist those friends and relatives to come to Zion. Those Saints have come here and have been prospered. Then they should not forget those whom they have left behind when they have means to use for their deliverance. We have made sacred and holy covenants before God. Those covenants will have to be answered upon our heads before the Great Judge of all. The covenants we make by silently lifting our hands to Heaven, are as binding upon us as though they had been spoken, or entered into in writing. Many make covenants and then break them in a few days after they are made. Such give themselves up to fault-finding, grumbling and the powers of darkness. We often make covenants at our conferences. If we have made a covenant to keep what is called "the Word of Wisdom," and have broken that covenant, shall we not come under condemnation? None can plead ignorance in relation to this matter, for it has been taught to the people in every part of this Territory. Have we not arrived at a point in our history, as the people of God, when we can attend to these simple matters? If the people were more faithful, the Destroyer would have less power. The Lord has promised that the destroying angel should pass by those who comply with his word. In some instances the people do not conform to the teachings and examples of the highest authorities of the Church. Another cause is the physical weakness we have inherited from our fathers.
Money is said to be the root of all evil. When the love of money is allowed to be implanted in our hearts, we have within us a fruitful source of many of the evils that exist in the world.
This love of money has been sown in the hearts of the human family, and is very difficult to eradicate. The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that the Saints should consecrate all property that they did not need for the support of their families, and throw it into the treasury of the Lord's House. The Order of Enoch comprehended not only spiritual, but temporal things. This consecrated property was to be used for a variety of purposes. for the support of widows and orphans and the building up of the New Jerusalem. Since we came here, what have many been doing? Building up our enemies with our means, yet the servants of the Lord have been pleading with this people in relation to our property concerns. The co-operative movement is but one step towards that great order of things that has been revealed by the Lord. Until the people are prepared to carry out the revealed laws in relation to property, Zion cannot be redeemed. We have made one step in the right direction, but we will not stop here. The draining of thousands of dollars from this people into the hands of our enemies, who would use the means thus obtained to destroy us, has been stayed. The outsiders who have filled their pockets with the means of this people do not like this movement. Yet, as our President has said, sensible men will say "this is a wise move of you, 'Mormons.'" The surest mode for the enrichment of the people is to manufacture everything needed to supply our own necessities. As our President has sometimes said, our wants are many, but our real necessities are few.
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF next spoke: Joseph Smith laid the foundation of a great work that was to be accomplished by those who should follow, after. The day has come when the saints will have to take hold of temporal matters in a proper manner. It has been said that the introduction of the true order of temporal things will prove an antidote to grasping dishonesty. This is true. We have been enriching many who would willingly have sold every member of the Church and Kingdom of God for a dollar each, and thought they had made a good bargain. This should cease. We are living in a momentous period, a time when God will bring about His great purposes. Joseph Smith was commissioned by the Almighty to inaugurate His great work. His mantle has fallen upon President Young to carry that work forward. in the vision of my mind I can see a mighty people; I can see the Jews setting their faces Eastward for the holy land. May the Lord so bless us that we may understand our position. I pray that I may see the Order of Enoch introduced. I pray that God may bless President young, that he may live to see the accomplishment of that for which he has labored so many years.
[President Brigham Young]
PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered a short, but powerful discourse, which was replete with good counsel, in relation to the Word of Wisdom, home manufacture, the Order of Enoch, &c. His remarks will shortly be published verbatim.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 18:199, 6/2/69, p 7; JD 13:1]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1869.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I think I
shall not be under the necessity of talking long, as there has been a great
deal said to the people this afternoon. I will commence by saying to the
Latter-day Saints and to all the inhabitants of the earth that I am responsible
for the doctrine I teach; but I am not responsible for the obedience of the
people to that doctrine. My position in the presence of God, before the Angels
and upon the face of the earth, is that it is easier and more delightful to
serve God than to serve ourselves and the devil.
There has
been considerable said this afternoon with regard to redeeming and building up
Zion, the Order of Enoch, &c. I see men and women in this congregation—only
a few of them—who were driven from the central stake of Zion. Ask them if they
had any sorrow or trouble; then let them look at the beautiful land that the
Lord would have given them if all had been faithful in keeping His
commandments, and had walked before Him as they should; and then ask them with
regard to the blessings they would have received. If they tell you the
sentiments of their minds, they will tell you that the yoke of Jesus would have
been easy and his burden would have been light, and that it would have been a
delightful task to have walked in obedience to his commands and to have been of
one heart and one mind; but through the selfishness of some, which is idolatry,
through their covetousness, which is the same, and the lustful desire of their
minds, they were cast out and driven from their homes. We have been driven many
times; but each time, if they who professed to be the servants of God had
served Him with an undivided heart, they would have had the privilege of living
in their houses, possessing their lands, attending to their meetings, and
spreading abroad on the right and the left, lengthening the cords of Zion, and
strengthening her stakes until the land had been dedicated to the Gospel of the
Son of God. Well, I have been with the rest and I expect I have been covetous
like them, and probably I am now; but if I am, I wish somebody would tell me
wherein.
Brother
Pratt, in his discourse, had considerable to say with regard to the property of
the Saints. I would like very much if the time was now when the Lord would say,
"Lay down your substance at the feet of the bishops," and find out
who in this Church would be willing to give up all. This co-operative movement
is only a stepping stone to what is called the Order of Enoch, but which is in
reality the Order of Heaven. It was revealed to Enoch when he built up his city
and gathered the people together and sanctified them, so that they became so
holy and pure that they could not live among the rest of the people and the
Lord took them away.
Ask any
Christian in the world if he thinks the Lord rules and reigns supreme in
heaven, and he will tell you, "Yes." Is it right for the Lord to
reign? "Certainly it is." Ask him if he would delight to live in a
place where one character rules and reigns supreme, and he will answer, "Yes,
if I could go to heaven." Why? "Why, the Lord reigns there."
Just ask the Christian if he knows the Lord, and he will tell you,
"No." Did you ever see him? "No." Can you tell me anything
of His character? "No, only He is something without body, parts, and
passions." One of the apostles says that "God is love, and they who
dwell in God dwell in love." Ask the Christian world if their know
anything about God, and they will tell you they do not. Ask if He has eyes, and
they will say, "No,—yes, He is all eyes." Has he a head? "Yes,
He is all head." Has he ears? "Yes, He is all ears, He is all mouth,
He is all body, and all limbs;" and still without, body, parts, or
passions. Why what do they make of Him? A monster, if He is anything; that is
what they make of Him. Would you like to go to heaven? "O, yes," says
the Christian, "the Lord reigns there." How do you know you would
like the place and the order when you get there? Do you think you will have
your farm and your substance by yourself, and live in the gratification of your
selfish propensities as you now do? "O, no, we expect to be made pure and
holy." Where will you begin to be pure and holy? If you do not begin here,
I do not know where you will begin. "O," says the Christian, "if
we are going to heaven, where God and angels dwell, and live where one-man
power prevails, we should all be satisfied, I expect." We, Latter-day
Saints, say so, too. We like to see that power manifested by those whom God
calls to lead the people in righteousness, purity, and holiness. This opens up
a subject that I am not going to talk about.
Brother
Orson has spoken on the Word of Wisdom. The people have done pretty well in
keeping it for the last year or two. But are they going to continue, or will
they return to their old habits like the dog to his vomit, or like the sow that
is washed, to her wallowing in the mire? The sale of tobacco, tea, and coffee
is increasing in the midst of this people at the present time. What does this
prove? It proves that, stealthily or openly, the people are eating and drinking
that which is not good for them. Hot drinks, tobacco, and spirits are not good
for them. Will the people continue to keep the Word of Wisdom, or will they
become like the brutes in the parable, or, like fools, return to that which
will injure and destroy them? The elders of Israel have talked a great deal to
the people upon the principles of life and about the course they should pursue
to lay a foundation for health. Let a mother stimulate her system with tobacco,
tea, coffee, or liquor, or suffer herself to hanker after such things at
certain times, and she lays the foundation for the destruction of her
offspring. Do they realize this? No, and in very many instances they care
nothing about it. With all the teachings given to this people I think they are
very much like the rest of the world, or like the dumb brute beasts that are
made to be taken and destroyed. And it almost seems that the last comparison is
the most appropriate, for intelligence is given us to preserve ourselves, to
preserve our health and prolong our natural lives, preserve our posterity,
preserve and beautify the earth and make it like the Garden of Eden. But what
is the disposition of the people? It is true we are in advance of the world, but
we are only just commencing to learn the things of God. I know that some say
the revelations upon these points are not given by way of commandment. Very
well, but we are commanded to observe every word that proceeds from the mouth
of God.
I cannot
say that my family is clear in this respect. They want a little of this and a
little of that that it is not wise to use, and I suppose it is the same in
other families. Every man, I expect, indulges his wife and children and allows
them to take this or that when he knows it is not the best for them. But we, in
and of ourselves, ought to be independent; every son and daughter in Israel
should say, we will keep the "Word of Wisdom" independent of father,
mother, or any elder in the church; we know what is right and we will do it. By
so doing this people will increase health in their systems, and the destroying
angel, when he comes along, will pass them by. Will you take this course? I, as
the leader and dictator of this people, feel disgraced when I think they are becoming
slothful and negligent and are returning to their former foolish and useless
habits; and, refusing to hearken to the least counsel, are turning away to the
counsel of the Evil One and doing that which leads to death.
I want to
say a few words still further to the people with regard to their faith in
temporal things. If the people called Latter-day Saints do not become one in
temporal things as they are in spiritual things, they will not redeem and build
up the Zion of God upon the earth. This co-operative movement is a stepping
stone. We say to the people, take advantage of it, it is your privilege.
Instead of giving it into the hands of a few individuals to make their hundreds
and thousands, let the people, generally, enjoy the benefit arising from the
sale of merchandize. I have already told you that this will stop the operations
of many little traders, but it will make them producers as well as consumers.
You will find that if the people unitedly hearken to the counsel that is given
them, it will not be long before the hats, caps, bonnets, boots and shoes,
pants, coats, vests and underclothing of this entire community will all be made
in our midst. What next? Shall we have to run to London, Paris, or New York for
the fashions? When I see the disposition among the Latter-day Saints to follow
the fashions and customs of the world, I think, why do you stay here? You had
better go back again. I am tired of this everlasting ding-dong about fashions.
If I happen to have a coat on that is not what is called fashionable, some of
my wives will be sure to say, "Husband, or Mr. President, may I give this
away;" or, "I wish it was out of sight, it is not fashionable."
If I were to tell the truth I should say, who cares for the fashions of the
world? I do not; if I get anything that is comfortable and sits well, and suits
my system, it is all I ask. I do not care who wears a bonnet that is six feet
above the head behind, twelve feet in front, or that sits close to the crown of
her head, or whether it is three straws thrown over the head with ribbons to
them. But to see a people who say, "We are the teachers of life and
salvation," and yet are anxious to follow the nasty, pernicious fashions
of the day, I say it is too insipid to talk or think about. It is beneath the
character of the Latter-day Saints that they should have no more independence
of mind or feeling than to follow after the grovelling customs and fashions of
a poor, miserable, wicked world. All who do not want to sustain co-operation
and fall into the ranks of improvement, and endeavor to improve themselves by
every good book and then by every principle that has been received from heaven,
had better go back to England, Ireland, France, Scandinavia, or the Eastern
States; we do not care where you go, if you will only go.
I will
take up my text again—I am responsible for the doctrine I teach. I will say to
this people, as I have said ever since I commenced to lift up my voice
to the inhabitants of the earth, I will read to them out of the Book of
Life. If they will hear it, well; if they will not, I am clear of their blood.
I read to the Latter-day Saints out of the Book of Life, and I can give them
lessons that will lead them back to the presence of God in the celestial
kingdom. But oh, the slothfulness, negligence, and the low, groveling feelings
in the midst of this people are a disgrace to them. Will we improve? Yes, let
us try and redeem the time and commence anew.
Yesterday
we explained a little with regard to co-operation; we can explain just as far
as the people wish to hear and know. Those who rise up against this or any
other measure do it because darkness and the spirit of the Evil One reign
within them. There is not a man and woman in this Church and Kingdom, who is in
possession of the Holy Ghost, but what will lift up their hands to heaven and
say, "Blessed be God, there is somebody to lead and improve the
people," when they contemplate this movement and the results it will work
out; and they who fight against it and feel to murmur are actuated by a spirit
from beneath.
I
frequently think of the difference between the power of God and the power of
the devil. To illustrate, here is a structure in which we can be seated
comfortably, protected from the beat of summer or the cold of winter. Now, it
required labour, mechanical skill and ingenuity and faithfulness and diligence
to erect this building, but any poor, miserable feel or devil can set fire to
it and destroy it. That is just what the devil can do, but he never can build
anything. The difference between God and the devil is that God creates and
organizes, while the whole study of the devil is to destroy. Every one that
follows the evil inclinations of his own natural evil heart, is going to
destruction, and sooner or later he will be no more. I pray you Latter-day
Saints to live your religion. Amen.
The congregation sang "O ye Mountains high."
Conference adjourned till to-morrow at 10 o'clock a. m.
Elder Orson Pratt dismissed.
There was a much larger attendance at the Conference to-day than yesterday. For over an hour before each meeting a living stream poured into the huge Tabernacle. This afternoon the building was densely filled in every part. A view from the stand of the sea of upturned faces was well calculated to inspire the looker-on with peculiar feelings. To behold the spectacle of such a multitude of people, representing almost every nationality on the face of the globe, who have willingly left the homes of their birth and the friends of their youth and come with one common object to the place designated by the Almighty as the gathering place of His people, and who had met on this occasion to be instructed in the ways of the Lord was a sight not soon to be forgotten.
[8 Apr, 10 am]
[DNW 18:116, 4/14/69, p 8]
Thursday Morning, April 8th, 1869.
Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.
Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 292, commencing "I saw a mighty Angel fly."
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon prayed.
Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 293, "Go ye Messengers of Glory," &c.
[President Brigham Young]
PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG addressed the Conference. He understood that many of the Saints had borrowed money from their friends in the old countries to assist them to come here and have not paid it back. Even Elders in Israel had obtained money and had not returned it. Such excused themselves by saying they received it as a gift. He wished all such to pay such monies back with interest, that the gift may go around. If any should refuse to refund what they had borrowed, the Bishops should cut such off from the Church. We wish the Saints to make liberal donations for the gathering of their brethren and sisters this year. I should like to propose a condition as to whom we shall gather. We see many after they come here indulge in evil practices and depart from the faith. Would it not be well to have all whom we shall gather, before they leave the old countries, make a solemn covenant that they will keep the Word of Wisdom and otherwise live in accordance with their religion when they get here? This people should cease entirely and forever to trade with those who would destroy us. Many think they have a perfect right to trade where they please; such have not the light of the gospel in them. They are filled with darkness. It was said by one of the brethren that it would be easier to raise the dead than it is to govern and control the people. This is true. It would be easy for the Lord to resuscitate a body that the breath had left, but He cannot control and govern this people but by His laws and His persuasions. It is no miracle for the Lord to raise the dead. There is no such thing as a miracle only to those who are ignorant of the laws by which such things are performed. We see the effects to-day of the people being so far controlled in relation to trading with their enemies. The number of merchants, clerks, &c. of those who are not of us, such as would use their influence and means against us, has been greatly reduced. I have been driven from my home five times. I do not wish to see those scenes re-enacted. In relation to the Female Relief Societies, they have been instrumental in doing a large amount of good. The names of those sisters who have been diligent in doing good will be handed down through all eternity. The sisters should take the lead in abolishing the tendency of the mothers and daughters in Israel to follow after the foolish fashions of the world. This matter lies principally with sisters and but few of the brethren care anything about fashion. Let every ward and settlement have a Female Relief Society and also a store that they may do their own trading. Some wanted to know whether it was right to send east for goods or trade at the parent store. At Lehi the co-operative store at the end of five months was able to pay a dividend of about $28.00 on each share of $25,00 which was the result of replenishing their stock often instead of once or twice a year from the east. At other places they had done even better than this. I do not want the men of capital to buy out all the shares in these stores. The poor should have a chance. Let the men of capital build factories, raise and purchase wool, flax &c., manufacture cloth, linen and other fabrics. Let the people observe every word of God which leads to life, happiness and glory.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 18:223, 6/16/69, p 7; JD 13:29]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1869.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I
understand that many of the brethren and sisters in the old country lent money
to their friends now here to assist them to emigrate; quite a number of letters
have been sent, stating that those friends covenanted before leaving that they
would repay that means with the first money they earned after arriving here,
and that they would also send more than they had borrowed, in order to assist
those who had previously assisted them. A number of our elders who have been
from here on missions to England and other countries, have been in the habit of
borrowing money, or of getting it in some way. Some of these elders, when asked
to refund what they had borrowed, have said, "We did not borrow it, it was
a gift to as." I wish to say to such elders, return the money with
interest. If it was a gift, return the gift, that it may go back and help many
instead of one.
I do not
wish to spend much time on this subject, I wish to give instruction, and to
tell you my mind with regard to those elders who have borrowed money from the
Saints in Europe. They may pretend to say that it was given to them to excuse
themselves for not repaying it, but if they do not refund it, they are unworthy
of the fellowship of the Saints, and I ask their bishops to cut every one of
them from the Church, without favor or affection. If the bishops do this, they
will be doing their duty. Disfellowship them, they are not worthy of a standing
in the Church and Kingdom of God.
I wish to
ask my brethren, the elders of Israel, to give liberally to help home our
brethren and sisters who are now in bondage in the old countries. We have not
said anything to the people for a long time with regard to donations. A year
ago last fall we commenced a subscription to bring home the Saints. By the
following February the amount reached, I think, some nine thousand dollars. Our
agent left here about the 27th of February, and about ten days before he
started we gave notice that he was going, and between that time and the time he
left, the nine thousand had swelled to about thirty thousand; and in the course
of three months from then the amount had increased to seventy-six or
seventy-seven thousand dollars. With this amount a great many were helped here
who could only rinse part means, some were brought all the way. The brethren
and sisters continued to give through the summer, and if I recollect rightly,
we have now over thirty thousand dollars in money to help home the poor. Most
of this has been sent to Liverpool, but we have some in this city. Now we wish
the charity of the brethren and sisters to be extended to bring home the poor
Saints, and perhaps it would be as well for me to commence the list. I will say
to our clerk he may put down two thousand dollars for Brother Brigham; also one
thousand for William H. Hooper, our delegate in Congress, who told me before he
went away that he would give another thousand. Now we are ready to receive your
thousands or your hundreds, and we will not refuse a five-dollar bill. We got a
great many of them from the sisters last fall, more than the people would
imagine; if the list were read of the sisters who put in five dollars, ten
dollars, and some twenty-five, it would astonish you. This is a short sermon on
this subject. The brethren here from the settlements throughout the Territory
can carry it home, and it will become generally known.
I have
thought of proposing certain conditions in relation to those who are helped
here from abroad; but whether it would be prudent and consistent to do so, I
leave the Latter-day Saints to judge. The cogitations of my mind on the subject
of bringing home the Saints are somewhat strict. I have thought it would be as
well, before helping the poor to emigrate, to have them covenant that after
arriving here they would be Saints in every sense of the word. Now, to
particularize, I will say that we gather a family here, consisting of father,
mother, four, eight, or twelve children, as the case may be. They are
Latter-day Saints; they wish to gather to Zion and to enjoy all the blessings
of Zion; they are anxiously waiting for every gift and blessing God has in
store for the faithful, and to be numbered with the Church of the Firstborn;
but when they reach here, if we go into their houses, we shall very often find,
if they have the means to do it, that they will perfectly soak their systems
with tea and coffee, and are perhaps chewing tobacco and doing a little
tippling, a little swearing, and so on. This is the way with some who were
gathered last year. Now, whether it is better to leave such people to die in
the faith in their native lands, or to bring them here to apostatize and deny
their Lord and Master, is a question. I think, if I had the knowledge and the
power, I would never gather another member of the Church who would apostatize;
but I have not this knowledge. I cannot say to a man, you stop and let your
family come to Zion. I cannot say to a woman, you stop where you are, you are
in the faith now, but if you gather you will apostatize; but your husband and
family can gather, they will stick to the faith. I cannot say this, I have not
the power, and hence we see many after they arrive here turn away from the holy
commandments. I do not know but what it would be perfectly reasonable to make
every man and woman, before leaving their native lands, covenant before God to
observe the Word of Wisdom, let liquor alone, use no language unbecoming a
Saint, and, in a word, live their religion after arriving here. Whether it
would be reasonable and consistent to lay such injunctions on the people before
assisting them to gather I do not know. If we were to say to them, before
leaving their homes, "Now if we gather you home, will you live your
religion?" they would jump up, clap their hands together, shout
"hallelujah," and say, "Yes, we will do anything you require if
you will only gather us to Zion."
Do you
not see that I am perfectly tied up? and so are all the elders of Israel in
this respect. We may lay all these injunctions on the Saints, and some would
break them all. All these things are turned over in my mind, and I look at
every side of the question, sound every principle and behold the people as they
are. Well, what is to be done? I do not know any better way, perhaps, than to gather
the Saints and try to sanctify them after they are gathered together, for when
they are baptized they virtually covenant to observe all these rules. When we
see the course that the Saints, or those professing to be such, have taken in
feeding, clothing and making our enemies rich here in our midst, it makes me
feel that it is time to cease gathering those who will not be Saints indeed. I
know, as well as I know that I am a living being, that there is not one
professing to be a Latter-day Saint, who has the spirit of his calling, who
would not cease this course as quick as he would draw his hands out of the
fire, if he thoroughly knew and understood that it tends to the overthrow of
the Kingdom of God; and the fact that he helped to sustain the enemies of the
Kingdom of God must be attributed to his ignorance. The people have eyes, but
they see not; they have hearts, but they do not understand. I will ensure that
there are scores, and perhaps hundreds, looking at me while I am speaking, who
think, "Brother Brigham, you are a fool; we have as good a right to trade
with one man as another; and we will go to what store we please, and do what we
please with our means, and we will trade with those who will do the best by
us." Yet there are hundreds who, and in fact the most of the people,
understand the folly of this course, as the experience of the past six months
has proved. During that period we have done wonders in guiding the minds and
the movements of the Latter-day Saints. Still there are some who seem to have
no understanding. I will venture to say they are the foolish virgins. I was
going to say they are like the foolish virgins; but they are the
foolish virgins, and by and by they will find they have no oil in their
vessels, and nothing to prepare them to go and meet the bridegroom, and they
will be found wanting. But so it is, and we must cultivate the wheat with the
tares; the sheep and the goats have to run together. Here I am thinking of
exacting a covenant from men and women before they are gathered, that they will
be Saints indeed afterwards; but while I have such feelings the question stares
me in the face, how do you know whether they will be or not? You see men and
women here who have been in the Church thirty years, and the most trifling, frivolous,
foolish little circumstance imaginable will throw them off the track, and they
will go to the devil. It is astonishing, it is marvelous! When I think of these
things it recalls a saying that I have sometimes made, that I do my swearing in
the pulpit, for they make me think that we have those in our midst who profess
to be Latter-day Saints, but who are damned fools. You may say that is
swearing; but they are damned, and the wrath of God is upon them, just as much
as it was in the days of the old apostles. Men and women would take a very
different course if they could see and understand things as they are. But I
will take back the expression "if they could see and understand." I
say they can see and understand, if they have a mind to cast out of their hearts
the love of the world, the love of riches, and the little frivolous traits of
character they so often manifest. The love of fashion, for instance, which
darkens, beclouds, and casts a shade over the spirits of our sisters. They
cannot have this, and they do not like that, and the next thing anger creeps
into their hearts and they feel revengeful, and "I wish I could do
somebody an injury; I wish I could come up with my husband; I wish I could do
something or other to mar his peace, inasmuch as mine is marred, because I
cannot follow somebody else's fashion." Such little, trifling,
contemptible, frivolous, things cast a dark shade over their feelings, and the
first thing they know they give way to a revengeful, vindictive, wicked spirit,
which leads them to destruction.
Now, I
will go back again to my text—whether we should exact the injunctions I have
named of the Saints before gathering, or whether we should not? I leave it to
the people, for I do not care much about it, for the simple reason that I do
not know enough to decide, and yet I know as much as anybody else. I might pick
up this man and that woman, and this family and that family, and leave others
because I might not think them worthy, when those who are left behind would
probably stick to the faith, while those who are gathered might apostatize. I
do not know how to do any better than we are doing, unless the Lord reveals it.
I will say to the brethren and sisters, we are ready to receive your donations.
Open your hearts and your purse strings. I leave this matter now for your
action.
I spoke a
little here yesterday and the day before; but I have not really said what I
wish, and whether I shall be able to answer my own feelings with regard to our
success in our cooperative system of merchandising I do not know. I want to say
to the Latter-day Saints we have wrought wonders. It was observed here by one
of the brethren that to guide the minds of the people and to govern and control
them is a greater miracle than to raise the dead. That is very true. The Lord
Almighty could resuscitate a corpse lying before us a thousand times easier
than He could control the congregation in this house. He has the material on
hand, and He knows every process, and He could give life to a lifeless being,
with ease, by the elements lie would operate upon and with. This is a great
miracle in our estimation; but it would be no miracle at all to the Lord,
because He knows precisely how to do it. There is no miracle to any being in
the heavens or on the earth, only to the ignorant. To a man who understands the
philosophy of all the phenomena that transpire, there is no such thing as a
miracle. A great many think there are results without causes; there is no such
thing in existence; there is a cause for every result that ever was or ever
will be, and they are all in the providences and in the work of the
Lord. It would be no particular miracle for the Lord to resuscitate a person
whose breath had left the body. By bringing the elements to bear on the system,
He could make that system breathe again and live, but to control this people
can only be done by persuasion. We have the privilege of choosing, refusing,
acting, rising up, sitting down, doing this or not doing; we are just as
independent in our sphere as the Gods are in theirs, and our agency is our own,
and we can do as we please. We can govern and control ourselves, and when we do
this by the law of truth it produces life within us and leads to eternal life;
but when we take the opposite course and yield to principles that tend downward
the result is death and destruction. Now I will make the application, that you
and I have done just as we please. We have traded with whom we please. We shall
do so as far as we can. We cannot all do just as we please, because a great many
times we want to and cannot, and that is what produces misery, which is called
hell. We have done as we please with regard to trading. We requested the people
last Conference in this room to cease trading with their enemies. Do you see
the effects of this? Yes, they are apparent to every inhabitant of this
Territory; they are apparent to the passer-by, to the transient person and to
the world; and the commercial world has said, "This is the first thing we
have ever seen in the character of you Latter-day Saints, that manifested that
you knew enough to take care of yourselves." It tells also upon our
enemies. Suppose we had not checked this trading with outsiders, and had not
turned the stream into another channel, you would have seen, perhaps, one
hundred merchants in this city now more than last year. They would have brought
their clerks and friends and a great number who would have operated against us.
Not but what there are many here now, and have been, who have been very
gentlemanly and kind; but where is their friendship? Is there a man who does
not belong to this church who would not vote for a man out of the church for
mayor of the city, and for men who do not belong to the church for aldermen and
councillors? No, there is not one amongst them but what would do this. And what
would they not do? They would not do right and righteously, that is what they
would not do. But anything on the face of this earth to remove power and
influence from the Latter-day Saints, and to remove them from their homes, many
of them would do. We have been able to check this, and it is for our advantage.
Many of us have suffered the loss of all things several times. I have been
broken up five times and left a handsome property, and have taken the spoiling
of my goods just as patiently as I could. I do not want to see these things
enacted again. I know how to avert them. If the people will hearken to the
counsel which God gives through His servants, they will never experience any
such thing again; but if they will not, they will, perhaps, suffer just as they
have heretofore—the good with the bad, the righteous through the evil deeds of
those who profess to be righteous and are not; the simple, the honest and the
good will have to suffer with the hypocrite and the wicked. I am thankful to
God that the ears of the Latter-day Saints have been open to hear and their
hearts open to receive and act upon good counsel as far as they have been.
The
sisters in our Female Relief Societies have done great good. Can you tell the
amount of good that the mothers and daughters in Israel are capable of doing?
No, it is impossible. And the good they do will follow them to all eternity. If
we get the sisters on our side with regard to trading in stores, with regard to
donations, or with regard to improvement, we have gained all that we can ask.
What do men care about fashion? You will not find one man in a thousand that
cares anything about it. Men have their business before them, and their care
and attention is occupied with that. You will find that the farmer, the
blacksmith, the carpenter and even the merchant, were it not that he is
compelled to appear decently in society, care nothing about fashion. They want
the dollars and the dimes. The lawyer cares nothing about fashion, only to gain
the feelings of the people and have influence over them, that he can bring them
one against another, so that he may get their dimes; that is all he cares about
fashion. The doctor cares nothing about fashion. If he can make the people
believe that he knows it all, and that they know nothing, he would as soon wear
a hat with a brim six inches wide, and the crown an inch and a half high, as he
would wear one with the crown six inches high and the brim an inch and a half
wide. He cares no more for fashion than that, if he can only get the purses of
the people, that is all he cares for. I speak now in general terms, for there
are exceptions in every class. It is the ladies who care for fashion. They are
looking continually to see how this and that lady are dressed. But if we can
enlist their feelings and interests in business matters, then victory is sure.
The mothers and daughters in Israel have better judgment, and they do know more
than females in the world. They do understand the true principles of comfort,
and how to adorn their persons so that they may present an attractive
appearance to their husbands, families, friends and neighbours; and if we can
make them believe this, I reckon that, by and by, they will begin and make
fashions to suit themselves, and will not be under the necessity of sending to
Paris or to the East to find out the fashions or to find out whether they shall
make their Grecian bends one-half, two-thirds or one-third as large as in New
York; or whether they shall cut a frock so as to show their garters every step
or to drag yards on the ground behind them. I think that, after a while, they
will consider that they know a little of something as well as other people, and
if we can enlist their sympathies and judgments, tastes and abilities with regard
to trading, fashion, etc., the battle is won.
The
sisters have already done much good, and I wish them to continue and go ahead.
Have a Female Relief Society in every ward in the mountains; and have a
Co-operative store in every ward, and let the people do their own trading.
There are some of the brethren around who have asked me whether they shall
trade at the Parent Store or whether they shall send East for their goods. They
cannot see and understand things; after a while they will. You take the Lehi
Co-operative Store, for instance: Bishop Evans started it there last summer.
Suppose he had sent East for his goods in July; if he had had the same luck
that others have had, they would have been landed about this time, and some of
them by and by, and when they had been operating three months what would they
have made? Nothing. But they came down here and bought their goods and took
them home, only a thirty miles' drive, and put them on the shelves, and they
were soon bought up. They sent to Salt Lake City about once a week to replenish
their store, and when five months had passed away they struck a balance sheet
and every man that had put in twenty-five dollars—the amount of a share—had, in
addition to that amount, a little over twenty-eight dollars to his credit. Have
any of our city merchants who have traded from here to New York, made money
like this? Not one, and yet the people here have paid one-third more for their
goods than the people had to pay in the Co-operative Stores. I understand the
brethren in Cache Valley are going to send East for their goods. Well, send for
them, and you will get a little knowledge; but you will buy it; however bought
wit is pretty good, if you do not pay too dear for it.
Recollect
that in trading there is great advantage in turning over your capital often.
Suppose the Cooperative Stores were to send to New York for their goods, they
might turn over their capital once a year; then instead of making anything they
would run under.
I want to
impress one thing on the minds of the people, which will be for their advantage
if they will hear it. When you start your Co-operative Store in a ward, you
will find the men of capital stepping forward, and one says, "I will put
in ten thousand dollars;" another says, "I will put in five thousand."
But I say to you, bishops, do not let these men take five thousand, or one
thousand, but call on the brethren and sisters who are poor and tell them to
put in their five dollars or their twenty-five, and let those who have capital
stand back and give the poor the advantage of this quick trading. This is what
I am after and have been all the time. I have capital, and have offered some to
every ward in the country when I have had a chance. I would take shares in such
institutions. I am not at all afraid; but nobody would let me take any, except
in Provo and in the wholesale store here. I will say to Bishop Woolley, in the
13th ward, do not let these men with capital take all the shares, but let the
poor have them. I say the same to the 14th ward and to every ward in the city;
and you bishops, tell the man who has five thousand or two thousand to put in,
to stand back, he cannot have it. If your capital is doubled every three
months, it would make him rich too fast, and he cannot have the privilege; we
want the poor brethren and sisters to have the advantage of it. Do you
understand this, bishops and people?
The
capitalists may say, "What are we to do with our means?" Go and build
factories and have one, two, or three thousand spindles going. Send for fifty,
a hundred, or a thousand sheep and raise wool. Some of you go to raising flax
and build a factory to manufacture it, and do not take every advantage and
pocket every dollar that is to be made. You are rich, and I want to turn the
stream so as to do good to the whole community.
I am
delighted every time I hear a company say, "We do not want your capital,
we have plenty." I know what to do with mine. I have been the means, in
the hands of God, of starting every woollen and cotton factory there is in the
Territory, and almost every carding machine. We are going to build a large
factory at Provo. Some say we have not wool to carry on the business. Yes, we
have, and we have plenty of capital. Suppose we send to the States and buy a
hundred thousand or five hundred thousand pounds of wool; we are as well able
to do it as others; or suppose we send to California or Oregon and buy fifty
thousand pounds of wool, and ship it on the railroad and work it up. Will the
people wear it? Yes, just as quick as we get the women to tell their husbands
to wear home-made instead of broadcloth, they will do it. I would not even wear
out the cloth that has been given to me were it not that my wives and daughters
want me. If they were to say, "Brother Brigham, wear your home-made, we
like to see you in it," I would give away my broadcloth, but to please the
dear creatures I wear almost anything. Only let us get the sisters into this
mind, and home-made clothing will soon become the fashion throughout the
Territory. I had a present sent me the other day of some home-made linen for a
coat, and I calculate to wear it this summer. I wear my home-made a great deal,
but I have not got it on to-day; if I could only get my wives to say,
"Brother Brigham, your home-made is very nice, and we should like to see
you wear it," I should certainly wear it.
When the
first merchants came here I foresaw all that we have passed through. I knew the
foundation was laid for the destruction of this people if they were fostered
here, and I know so to-day. We have turned the current, and we are controlling
it, and the sisters are helping us. Now, sisters, if you will continue to help
us, and will trade with none but Latter-day Saints, just hold up your hands.
[The vote was unanimous.] Now, I will tell you why we bother you women, though
I acknowledge that if we did not go to see the women they would come and see
us; but we are so anxious to see you that we follow you up. But the reason why
we are so anxious to have you sisters on our side in regard to these trading
matters, is because we know if you will only say whom you will trade with and
with whom you will not trade, that we shall follow you.
What I
have been saying with regard to these ward co-operative stores doubling their
capital once in three months, is for the encouragement of the poor, and to
induce them to invest their little means and do something for themselves. Here
is the 10th and the 5th and 6th wards, which are looked upon as the poorest
wards in the city, though I believe the bishop of the 3rd ward feels that his
ward is the poorest in the city; but I will venture to say that if these wards
will each establish a store and concentrate their influence, they will double
their capital every three months. I know that the 10th ward, which started with
700 dollars, three weeks afterwards had a thousand dollars worth of goods paid
for and considerable money in the drawer. Think of that, in that poor little
ward, though I will give it the praise of being one of the best wards in the
city. It has one of the finest bands of music in the city, and they make one of
the best turn-outs when they exhibit themselves.
I have
talked long enough. I will turn again to my starting point. Let us have your
money to bring home the poor Saints. I feel also to urge upon my brethren and
sisters to observe every word that the Lord speaks. Observe the counsel that
leads to life, peace, glory and happiness, but do not observe that which leads
to contention, ruin and destruction. Amen.
PRESIDENT YOUNG headed a subscription list to gather the poor with a donation of $2,000.
[President G. A. Smith]
PRESIDENT G. A. SMITH next spoke. Any who manifest a spirit that would prevent our consolidation in business and other matters are led towards apostacy. The manuscript of the Book of Mormon is in the deseret alphabet, and is now ready for publication. It is designed to publish an edition of ten thousand copies, suitable for the use of schools. It's publication will involve considerable expense.
Complaints have been made that men without character or reputation, have been engaged to teach in schools. This has been, measurably, on account of the brethren being diffident in taking schools. A department has been instituted in the University of Deseret to prepare young men and women to take charge of schools.
It is advisable that parents should send their children to the University, that they may be qualified as teachers. Every man who has not done so should take the earliest opportunity of declaring his intentions of citizenship. It was necessary for our well being and protection. Congress, last season, concluded to give the people some rights in regard to the land they had cultivated.
A number have been called to go South to strengthen the settlements there. Some have not gone on account of their being engaged in building the railroad. Those who are now free from their engagements on the railroad are expected to fulfill their mission, unless they have been called to go on other missions.
The inhabitants of this Territory should strictly observe the militia laws that we may be able to protect ourselves. Let us have our arms in order and never let our ammunition grow scarce. Above all things, let us sustain and build up Zion.
President George A. Smith's discourse consisted of a number of texts which he wished the people to elaborate in their own minds.
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON. -- One point has been advanced which is very striking, namely that Zion can never be redeemed until his people are prepared to enter into what is called the Order of Enoch. The interest in regard to building up the centre stake of Zion should never flag. Our individual work is to prepare ourselves to enter upon this Order. Although this is a beautiful city yet it is very far from being what we expect the New Jerusalem to be. The servants of God have had much trouble in preventing many from selling out their homes here. Until we become imbued with the feeling that all we have belongs to the Lord we can never go to Jackson County, there to re-build up Zion. Here is an individual question to ask ourselves: Are we ready to lay all we possess at the feet of the Bishop, and take our stewardship from him, be it much or little, and turn all our surplus property into the treasury of the Lord? What is the Celestial law? It is being revealed, but probably will not be revealed in its fullness until we enter the Celestial kingdom.
Elder McAllister sang the hymn on page 71, "O, say what is Truth."
Conference adjourned till two p.m.
Elder Brigham Young, jr., dismissed.
The authorities of the Church were sustained this afternoon. The particulars will be published, with the Minutes, to-morrow.
[8 Apr, 2 pm*]
[DNW 18:116, 4/14/69, p 8]
Thursday, 2 p.m.
Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.
Tabernacle choir sang, "The Glorious Day is rolling on."
Prayer by Elder E. T. Benson.
"Ye ransomed of the Lord," was sung by the Tabernacle choir.
ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the Authorities of the Church for the approval or disapproval of the Saints, as follows:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George A. Smith his first and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow; Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, jun., and Joseph F. Smith members of the said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counselors.
William Eddington, John L Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, Charles S. Kimball, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, Nathaniel H. Felt, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Hampden S. Beatie, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington and Theodore McKean, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, Edwin D. Wooley and Samuel W. Richards his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum, President of the Elders' Quorum, Milton H. Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Robert Price and Wm. McLaughlin his counsellors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi his counsellors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counsellors
Brigham young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, and Edward Hunter his assistants for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, is assistant.
The votes in favor of sustaining the Authorities were unanimous.
[President Brigham Young]
PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered a powerful and eloquent discourse, of which it would be impossible to give a correct idea in a short synopsis. His remarks will, in a short time, be published entire.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 18:211, 6/9/69, p 7; CDBY 5:2631]
REMARKS.
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1869.
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
We will
now look to the Bishops to collect the means in their several wards for
gathering the Saints; and, when it shall be collected, they must forward it to
my office. I feel disposed to say to the Latter-day Saints and to all people,
that as far as we have collected means to bring home the Saints from the Old
World to the land of Zion, we have never yet suffered any man to use one dollar
of it, or to divert it in the least from the purpose for which it was intended.
There is a large amount due the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company; how much I
do not know. The last report I had there were between nine and ten hundred
thousand dollars due to this Fund, from parties who had been emigrated by it;
but how much there is now I do not know. When the brethren and sisters put
anything into that Fund, no matter how much or how little, they may put it down
for a fact in their own minds, that this money is never diverted from the
channel for which it is intended. It is spent to bring the people here; but
after their arrival many of them neglect to pay it back, although we gather
some little means; but had it not been for donations, the gathering of the poor
from the nations would have stopped years ago. We attend to this business, buy
and keep the books, and all who are engaged in doing this business are
sustained without infringing upon this means. We should be glad if the feeling
was more general among those who are indebted to the P. E. Fund to pay their
indebtedness; it would be very satisfactory, as the money could then be
returned directly to our friends in the old country to bring them here; but as
this is not done we have to depend on donations. We want the Bishops to collect
what they can, and as soon as they can, so that we may send for the Saints who
are scattered abroad. There are a great many of them who can come part of the
way with their own means, and with a little help they can come through. Some
have to be brought all the way by the Fund, but most of the means donated goes
to assist those who are able to help themselves a little. We wish the bishops
to hearken to this, and when they reach their homes from this Conference pay
attention to this business.
We are
building up the kingdom of God, and we have something to do besides sitting and
singing ourselves away to everlasting bliss. This Work entails upon the Saints
manual labor and a variety of business transactions; it is a national affair;
it is a kingdom, it is the kingdom of God. He has set up this kingdom; He has
blessed those who sustain it. He has poured out His Spirit upon the people, so
that many have received the truth and gathered within the pale of the church;
and a percentage of those who have received the truth still cling to the faith.
But I will say to the Latter-day Saints that not fifty percent of those who have
received the truth are now in the church, and I suppose not over thirty per
cent.; but a great many are still in the faith. It is a matter of wonder
sometimes what has become of those who have bowed in obedience to the gospel.
They are scattered all over the country. I doubt whether you can find a county
or even a city on the continent of North America that does not contain apostate
"Mormons." California and Oregon were started and built up by
apostate "Mormons." What is now called Washington Territory received
a percentage from this church in its early settlement and development. St.
Louis was partly built up by apostate "Mormons," and it is still
sustained by them; and in the whole western country foundations have been laid
for settlements of the "Mormons" and those who have left the church.
The "Mormons" started the first printing press west of the
Mississippi river, with the exception of one at the seat of government in the
State of Missouri. The first wheat sown in the western country was sown by the "Mormons;"
they planted the first fruit trees, built the first mills, taught the first
schools and made the first improvements, with very few exceptions. And on the
Pacific slope who first brought civilization? I mean true civilization, not that
we see following the railroad. Why, the "Mormons." Who brought the
first library? The Latter-day Saints. Who made the first bricks, built the
first houses and started the first city? The Latter-day Saints. It is marvelous
but it is true. We have been the pioneers from the Mississippi to the Pacific
ocean.
Do you
think the devil will give us one inch of ground that we do not gain and retain
by our own power, or rather by the strength which God bestows upon us? No, not
an inch; neither will the inhabitants of the earth if they can help it. Would
they let us live any more than they did in Missouri or Illinois if they had the
power to remove us? I think not. But the Lord Almighty is a bulwark around this
people, and will be as long as they trust in Him. Were it not for the
fortresses of the Almighty, we should have been driven from our homes long
before this. What will the world do for us? What will our Government do for us?
Why, after settling this country for twenty years, they have at last deigned to
extend to Utah the benefit of the land laws,--pre-emption rights, homestead
advantages. Whom have they sent here as our officers. As a general thing, such
men as Drake and his associates. How did they love the "Mormons?"
They make me think of a man named Bell in the eastern country, who used to say
if he did not love a man he would damn him, and would damn the man that would
not walk ten miles over hetchell teeth to damn him. It was so with this man
Drake; he would damn the "Mormons" and he would damn the man who
would not get up at midnight and walk barefooted ten miles over hetchell teeth
to damn them. I think hereafter that we will take such men up gently and carry
them out of the Territory, and tell them not to come back again. But we have
gentlemen here as officers, men whom we respect and who respect us. But in some
instances they have sent us thieves, liars, whoremongers, adulterers and
swindlers. You may think this is hard talk. I do not like to be under the
necessity of using such language; but it is nevertheless true; yet it is not
often these things are mentioned. What would the Government do for us? Judging
from the past, if we were to ask them for bread, they would give us a stone,
for a fish they would give us a serpent; ask for an egg and they would send us
a scorpion. This has been too much the case. The government is just as good as
ever existed; but the administrators of the government, have in many instances,
been the most contemptible men that ever disgraced God's footstool. Some may
say this is coming out against the Government. No, it is not, it is against
wicked administrators. Now I will come back again. This kingdom is a kingdom of
labor, a kingdom of people, a kingdom of territory, a kingdom that God will
own, bless and sustain, and we will fight the devils until we gain the victory
and turn the earth upside down and devote it to God.
Now,
Bishops, when you go home do not sit down and be lazy. I like to see the
Bishops active. As for myself it does not appear that I am going to have the
privilege of rusting out; I have enough around me to keep me bright. Go home
and organize your Relief Societies and Co-operative stores, and let the poor
people take stock in these stores that they may have a chance to make a little.
Gather the means due to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. If a man refuses to pay
when he is able to do so, cut him off from the Church. He is not fit to be
called a Latter-day Saint who will foster and hoard up his money here and let
his brethren and sisters starve and suffer to death in the old country.
Excuse me
for my hard sayings. I scold the Latter-day Saints and talk just as I have a
mind to, and any person, "outsider" or "insider," who
thinks this people are held together by flattery and smooth words, is greatly
mistaken. We ask no odds of the Latter-day Saints or anybody else on earth. If
we can have God for our friend and be dictated by Him, we can build up His
Kingdom. Do not be scared at anything I have said. I have talked no worse about
"outsiders" than I have about "insiders." I use my liberty
and chasten both Saints and "outsiders.
Do you
think we will sustain ourselves? Yes; if we do right. Do you think we shall be
able to maintain our foothold here in these mountains? Yes; if we do right. I
never had put one fear with regard to the work of God since I have been in this
Kingdom, that is, that the people will not do right. But let the people live
their religion and serve God and I defy all the powers of earth and hell; I ask
no odds of them. They tried their best when we were in their midst and they
killed our Prophet and Patriarch and a great many men and women who belonged to
the Church; but the Church is not obliterated. It spreads and prospers although
we have the whole world to carry on our backs. Do you think the world loves us?
If it did, I should say "farewell to the Kingdom of God." The world
does not love us. Do we hate them? No; we hate . their actions. Do we love
them? If they will repent of their sins and turn to God we will love them; but
we will not love their sins, neither will God. He despises those who operate
against Him. He is angry every day of His life with the wicked. Does He love
their souls and delight in their welfare? Yes, and so do the Latter-day Saints,
but they do not love wickedness.
It is for
the Latter-day Saints to build up the Kingdom. Go forward; hold fast to the
"iron rod" and to everything that is good! Hold fast to the truth
which God has revealed and you will learn this one fact,--that if you will
serve God with an undivided heart, it is a thousand times easier to live on
this earth than it is to live in the spirit of rebellion and apostasy to God
and His providence. Be reconciled to God and take the counsels given, for they
lead to life. In all our counsels and business transactions we never ask the
people to go blindfolded into this, that, or the other measure. Hearken to
reason, good counsel, true principle and you will know that the ways of the
Lord are just, pure, right, righteous and that the ways of the Lord are the
easiest to walk in that can be found.
It is
said the railroad was built expressly to overthrow the Latter-day Saints and
the work of God on the earth; but it will promote His work. It is put into our
hands, we thank Him for it, and we say "God bless those who built it; and
God bless every good man and every one who speaks well of Zion.["] But
what will be done with them that fight against Zion? We know how they are. Now
is the very time spoken of by the prophet, when he says they shall say:
"Let her (Zion) be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion," but they
know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel. They
have said, "Zion, we look upon you and we say you shall be defiled."
But they know not that the Lord rules in the hearts of the children of men,
that He turns them as the rivers of water are turned, and governs and controls
them at His pleasure. Kingdoms, thrones and empires come into existence by His
word and will, and they pass away whenever He says the word.
It is for
you and me to serve God. We need have but one fear, and that is that we shall
not do right. If we do right, God will be for us, and who then can be against
us? We neither know nor care. We know that the devil and all who will serve him
will be against Christ; and we know that the two powers will remain on the
earth until one overcomes the other. Which do you think will overcome? If we
are living in the last times, wherein God has set His hand to gather Israel and
restore the kingdom to His people on the earth, which do you think will conquer,
Jesus or the devil? I say the Lord Jesus. I hold up my hands for Him, I shall
open my mouth for Him, I shall fight and contend for His cause on the earth
until it overcomes sin and iniquity.
I want to
say, again, to you Latter-day Saints, if you live your religion you will prove
the truth of those words said to have been uttered by Jesus,-namely, "my
yoke is easy and my burden is light." But let no man or men, woman or
women imagine that the religion of Jesus Christ is a phantom, a scheme devised
to work upon the feelings and fears of the children of men, and a system that
is incapable of demonstration; if any person imagines any such thing he is
entirely mistaken. As I observed here today with regard to miracles,
"there is no miracle except to the ignorant." There is always a cause
for every effect. There is no such thing in existence as an effect without a
cause. There are many effects, the causes of which we do not understand. The
religion which God has instituted for the salvation of His children is
calculated in its very nature, and upon strictly philosophical and natural
principles, to reach the condition, and to save every son and daughter, of Adam
and Eve, who can be saved. Now go to, rationally, sensibly and understandingly
and take hold of the religion of Jesus Christ and live according to its
precepts wherever you go.
I know
that some of our elders, when they come from their missions think their work is
through and they have nothing more to do and they can turn to the spirit of the
world; but it is not so. You will find, when you have finished your labors here
on this earth and your bodies fall asleep, that your works will follow you. You
will enter then upon a higher state of labor and intelligence, and there you
will operate and officiate and do and deal as you are ordered and directed by
your superiors until you finish your work in that sphere. And when your body is
resurrected and united to your spirit again your work will not be done even
then.
In
reference to the resurrection, the Latter-day Saints should understand that the
man. whom the Lord called in this generation and dispensation, and to whom He
delivered the keys of the holy priesthood, will be the first one that will be
resurrected. He will be the first one belonging to this dispensation who will
come forth from the tomb; and then the keys of the resurrection will be given
to him, and he will go forth "from conquering to conquer," and he
will resurrect his brethren and commit to them the keys of the resurrection,
and they will continue the work with Jesus until the whole earth is subdued,
renovated and brought back into its paradisiac state and sanctified; and then
until it is glorified and the Lord moves it right back into His presence where
it was when it was created. This work will continue through the Millennium.
Will the work of God be finished then? No, it will not. There is an eternity of
matter to operate upon, and when those who have proven themselves worthy, are
crowned Gods, even the sons of God: they will enter upon their work in a more
glorious sphere and will create, people and redeem worlds until they are
brought back into the presence of God. Do you think your work will ever cease?
No, never. We shall never reach that point where we shall have nought to do but
to "sit and sing ourselves away to everlasting bliss," our work is
without beginning or end. The whole plan of creation and redemption is
systematized most perfectly. But we, here upon the earth, are very ignorant of
the work of God; in comparison, we know little more than the brutes. If you
want a comparison, I will say we are something like the horse that the boy goes
to the field or pasture to catch. To accomplish this he takes along a measure
of oats, and the horse, seeing there is something to eat in the measure, is
caught and managed; but he never thinks anything about where the oats came
from. It is a good deal so with us. We find ourselves here, but the causes of
our being here we seldom think about or try to find out.
My
brethren and sisters, there is a word before us, and it will never end. Jesus
will continue His work, the brethren and sisters assisting Him, until every
person who can be saved is brought into a kingdom and into a glory that is
fitted to their capacity. If it is not like the sun it may be like the moon; if
not like the moon it may be like the stars; and if not like those bright, full
and glorious stars we see in the firmament, it may be like an inferior one. All
will receive glory according to the deeds done in the body.
We are
about to adjourn this conference, although there are still a great many things
we should like to talk about. We have not said anything about silk. We want the
brethren and sisters to pay attention to silk raising. We have one of the
finest countries in the world for this business. Pay attention to it! Get your
mulberry trees, and when they are large enough get some worms and make your
sewing silk, and silken fabrics to wear. There are a thousand things before us
to which we wish to pay attention. We are not going to stop and sit down and
say we are as far as we can go, we can go no further. No, we shall progress in
spiritual and temporal things. But until this people progress in temporal
matters better than they have done hitherto the spiritual things of God will be
withheld from them.
I have
thought a great many times, I would like to ask the sisters a question upon
another subject entirely,--that subject they are always thinking
about,--namely, plurality of wives. I have thought a thousand times I would ask
the female portion of our community whether, if it were left to their option,
they would retain the practice of this principle in our midst, or whether they
would have it obliterated. I want to tell them a little about it,--namely, it
is a principle that always has existed and that always will. Have we any
reasons to assign for this? There are many that might be given. If from the
days of Adam until now every man that has lived on the earth had been a
righteous man he would have fulfilled the first commandment, and have got him a
wife and have done his part towards replenishing the earth, and subduing and
making it like the Garden of Eden; and he would have planted the standard of
righteousness in his habitation. If this had been the case, the millions and
millions that have been killed in battle could have taken the fair daughters of
Eve to wife. But men have not been righteous, they have been just about as they
are now. They are the lords of the earth, and they will do evil and gratify the
lusts of the flesh, and they will not serve God. But provided it had been
otherwise we would not have had the wars that have been, and all the fine young
men that have died through them might have had families, and there would not
have been much reason for any man to have had more than one wife.
Another
argument used by men and women against plurality of wives is that there are
about as many men as there are women. Suppose that to be so! Acknowledge that
proposition to be true, and say that there are no more women than men and that
every man should have a wife. What of it? Men will not be righteous, and women
are left to desolation and destruction. Read the statistics of such matters in
our eastern cities. In New York, for instance, from eleven to fourteen thousand
young women, from sixteen to twenty-one years of age, perish annually in the
gutters, on the side walks, on door steps or in the hovels around. This is no
worse than it is in other places where prostitution prevails. Many would like
to prostitute the women of Utah, but I pray they may never be able to do it. So
far as the mere number of wives is concerned, I do not care whether I have one,
a dozen, or forty. A great many ask me how many wives I have, but to tell the
honest truth I never thought enough about it to stop and think. But I will get
up the facts in the case and tell everybody so that they may stop asking me
these questions. I suppose I have a dozen or fifteen that I am taking care of,
perhaps a few more, I do not know, and I care nothing about it. I try to do
good and try to save the people, and I say do not let a lady come to
destruction. It is grievous to me to think that, right in this city, there
should be any necessity for ladies to marry wicked men, which they would not
do, if the "Mormon" elders would do their duty. It looks as if our
young men are indolent and slothful and do not understand the principles of
life. As an excuse, however, they will say "My dear friend and brother
Brigham, I can not get married; why, if I get me a wife she wants a carriage to
ride in, a hired girl to wait upon her, and a piano in the parlor to thump upon
when she pleases, and I can not sustain it." I am sorry to say there is
too much truth in this. Now, you young women, tell the young men you will work
and help them to live; tell them so that they may marry you. There are a great
many single men in our midst who ought to have wives, and a great many young
women who ought to have husbands. There is a radical wrong somewhere.
Young
man, go and get you a partner; get you a little house, then plant out your
shade trees and fruit trees. Land is plenty here, you can get it "without
money and without price." You have the privilege now, if you are a citizen
of the United States, of taking up 160 acres, and it will only cost you ten or
fifteen dollars. Can not you get a home? Yes, you can, right here in the midst
of the Saints. Then go and do it, and do not neglect the first commandment
given to Adam and Eve,--to replenish, subdue and beautify the earth.
Now,
sisters, what shall we do? Shall we take more wives than one, or shall we not?
If we do not, it will not help the case with those who do not take any; they
will not get any because we have only one; and we should see hundreds and
thousands of our females with no home, nobody to protect them, nobody that they
can call husband, and they would wander off. Shall we do this or not? If the
men will be righteous all will be right.
They have
said a great deal in Washington with regard to our having more wives than one.
I have said in public, and have written, that if they will cease their
whoredoms, and each one get a wife and be true to her and strictly virtuous,
and then will cause the nation to take the same course, we will submit to their
wishes and will have but one wife. Here is a bargain,--if you will have no more
than one woman we will not. But the thing is here,-they want women but no
wives. We take many women but we make wives and mothers of them and they are
not castoff; and their children have the privilege of bearing the names of
their fathers instead of being cast off. As I saw an advertisement, not long
since, of a young man, hailing from the West, who claimed to be a son of a
certain gentleman, in Congress; but the gentleman advertised that he had no son
of that name in the West. No, he cast him off, rejected and refused to own him.
I say God will damn the man and the nation that will act so; God will damn the
nation in which women, with no arm to shield and protect them, are seduced and
left to mourn over their lost, fallen and degraded condition. God bless you.
Amen.
Conference adjourned until the 6th day of next October.
Elder McAllister and the congregation sang the hymn on page 165, beginning "Do what is right, the day dawn is breaking."
Benediction by President Geo. A. Smith.
JOHN
NICHOLSON,
Clerk of conference.
_____
NAMES
OF MISSIONARIES CALLED BY THE CONFERENCE
_____
TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
Amos
Neff; John Toone, sen.; Charles John Moseley, of Santaquin; Johan Carl Larsen;
George Romney; Eli Whipple, St. George; Levi Garrett; Thomas Weaver; E. H.
Harrington, Kanarra, Washington Co.; A. P. Shumway; _____Shumway, (brother to
A. P.); George H. Dunford; Erik Pehrsen, Rush Valley; Erik Petersen, Salt Lake
City; Johan Holmberg; Johan Ergren; John Tudenham.
WEDNESDAY MORNING
John
Jaques; Charles Wilcken; Hamilton G. Park; John Hougard, jun.; Geo. W.
Thurmond, Cedar Fort, Utah Co.; Samuel Savery; Alexander Beard, of West Jordan;
Geo. Moesser, of West Jordan; Henry Rudy; Samuel P. Teasdel; Geo. Barton; Hiram
Kimball; Geo. W. Groo; Albert P. Dewey; Robert J. Golding; Granville Gillet, of
9th Ward; Anthony Godbe; George Henry Snell; Geo. Lake; Abraham F. Doremus; J.
Quincy Knowlton;
THURSDAY AFTERNOON
Samuel
M. Price, Cache County; George O. Noble; Theodore W. Curtis, jr., Milford B.
Shipp; Charles Wilcken; William Taylor, of Lehi; George H. Knowlden; Alma
Eldredge; George Peterson, Weber Valley.
_____
6-10 Oct 1869 39th
Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 18:426, 10/13/69, p 6-8; MS 31:715, 731, 747, 763]
[6 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 18:426, 10/13/69, p 6]
THIRTY-NINTH
SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
_____
The Thirty-ninth Semi-Annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints convened this morning at ten o-clock, in the new Tabernacle.
On and around the stand we noticed President Brigham Young, President Geo. A. Smith and President Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency. Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, junr., and Joseph F. Smith. Patriarch: John Smith. John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum. John W. Young, George B. Wallace and John T. Caine, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion. Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies. Edward Hunter, Leonard W Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishopric. There were also bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.
The meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young, and the Tabernacle Choir, led by Bro. Geo. Careless, sung the first Hymn, The Morning Breaks the Shadows Flee." Prayer was offered by Elder Orson Hyde. The hymn on page 288 was sung by the Tabernacle Choir.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS addressed the Conference. He was pleased at having the privilege of meeting with so many of the people who had come from distant parts of the Territory to be instructed in the ways of the Lord. He was pleased that we had Territory teeming with Saints. Whether Saints of God are willing to become self-sustaining is an important point for their consideration. There is a warfare in existence betwixt the powers of good and evil, the latter striving continually to overthrow the authority and power of the holy priesthood. We may expect to have this power to contend against continually. We have the inestimable privilege of living under the best and most benign Government on the face of the earth. It is a government that has come down from heaven. The Lord could not have instituted His government among the nations of the earth in their scattered condition, hence those willing to obey His laws have gathered together. The Almighty uses agencies for the accomplishment of His purposes. We cannot attain to the glorious blessings of the celestial kingdom unless we obey the laws of that kingdom. Every kingdom has a law. To attain to the blessings of the celestial kingdom, to go into the presence of the father and of the Son, is worth living for. We must, in order to attain those things, obey the counsels of the servants of God. There is not that amount of unity among the Saints that there ought to be. We are still somewhat divided in temporal matters. If we are approximating to unity in temporal things we are traveling towards the condition which the Lord desires, that is the Order of Enoch. It is desirable that the Latter-day Saints should patronize each other, and not any sore, unless compelled by necessity to do so; if there is anything that they cannot possibly do without, then they can go to the co-operative stores and obtain it. At our territorial Fair there have been just as good and useful articles of home-manufacture exhibited as can be manufactured elsewhere. This shows we have the power to sustain ourselves if we have but the will. To be self-sustaining is one of the most important principles of political economy and is acknowledged to be such in every community.
Our exports should exceed our imports. If we attain to this point instead of the means of the Latter-day Saints being drained out of the territory they would be increased. We can make as good fabrics here as elsewhere, but we cannot produce them as cheap as in some other places. This brings in the labor question, which if not properly regulated will cause others to step in from a distance and do the labor which ought to be done by the Saints.. The high price of labor will bring them here. It is to provide against this contingency that so much has been said upon this matter. If the powers that are in opposition to this kingdom had the majority here they would trample us under foot. It rests with the Latter-day Saints to say whether this shall be so or not; it depends on the unity of the people here, and their producing what they need to supply their wants, and not sustain those who are opposed to the work of God. Who can reasonably find fault with people for pursuing this course? It is necessary for the preservation of our existence. The Almighty is at the head of His work and He has never told us to do anything but what would be for our benefit. If any one thinks the Lord does not know His own business and has not placed the right man at the head of the Church, let them produce a better if they can; if they cannot, let them forever hold their peace.
Many of the faithful servants of God have been taken away from the earth because the inhabitants of the earth were unworthy of them. If we live consistently with the counsels of the servants of God, by doing all in our power to bring about the Order of Enoch, we shall be preparing to associate with them. A short time since, a gentleman who was here on a visit, asked him whether a citizen residing here could sell a house and lot if he had one to dispose of, to an outsider. He told him certainly he could if he wanted to; but said the speaker, if I had a house to sell, I would prefer to sell it to a friend rather than an enemy. The stranger agreed with that, saying that he had a house and lot where he lived, and he would see some men in a warm place before he would sell his house to them.
May the lord prosper and bless us all, Amen.
Brigham City Choir, under Bro. Fishburn, sang "When there's love at home."
[President George A. Smith]
PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH next spoke. He said it is very gratifying to meet the Saints in Conference, to see so many familiar faces, from all parts of the Territory, and from every part of the world. It has been my privilege to do so many times.
On the evening of the dedication of the kirtland Temple, the priesthood numbered 416. At that time I was acquainted with nearly every one in the Church. It is very different now.
We expect to go back to Jackson Co., Saints were expelled in 1833. Some are now living who were driven, at that time. The Saints were guilty of the heinous crime, s our enemies said, of anointing the sick with holy oil, that they might be healed. For this they were driven from their homes. The losses consequent on their being driven are estimated at $500,000, the interest on which, to this date, would amount to $1,800,000. What the compound interest would be I cannot say.
He did not design to give details of the five times we have been driven. those who drove the Saints, left them to their own resources. They came here poor and commenced to develop this barren country. In the history of nations and individuals those who have had to take the world roughly have made the mightiest men, whilst those who have been nurtured in ease have not so often become distinguished. This may in some way apply to our case. Other peoples who have settled in new countries have been favored and nurtured by the government; as in the case of the people of Oregon and other places. With the settlers of Utah it has been different. Every scribbler who haw passed through this Territory has filled his sheets with misrepresentations and falsehoods. for what we have and are, we are indebted to God alone and to no other source. At one time a scapegrace who had been sent here by the government to fill an official position, after his time expired, took it into his head to resign, and to represent the Latter-day Saints as being in rebellion against the government, and although The authorities at Washington had abundant testimony that this man lied, yet they inaugurated what has been termed the "contractors' war," and the coffers of the government were robbed of $25,000,000. But thanks to the overruling hand of our Heavenly Father, they accomplished nothing to the injury of the Latter-day Saints.
The gathering together of the Saints from the nations of the earth is as wonderful as the prophecy of Jeremiah, -- "It shall no longer be said the Lord liveth who brought us out of the land of Egypt, but the Lord liveth who hath brought us out of the various nations of the earth where we were scattered." The people came here in poverty. Yet at the present time there are not ten percent of them that are not living in their own houses. Some have said why co-operate to do our merchandizing? On the same grounds it might be asked why do we co-operate to dig a water ditch, or to fence a track of land that belongs to a hundred or more persons? Simply because that is the easiest way to accomplish it. So it has been with the opening of new roads to the kanyons to get timber. It could not be done by one man. How is it that we have built this magnificent organ, which is the admiration of all visitor? It is the finest organ ever built in America. Why cannot this principle be extended to merchandizing and everything else, when the same gratifying results would follow? We ought to introduce tanneries, build factories and produce machinery on the same principle. Some feel that they have a right to go tot he store of an outsider to purchase articles they want because they can obtain them a little cheaper. What has caused the reduction in price? The co-operative movement.
The Zion of God is not limited in its extent on this continent; but, as the prophet Joseph has frequently declared it shall comprehend all North and South America. Notwithstanding the powers of the adversary, the Saints will in due time go back to Jackson county, and build a magnificent Temple and the most beautiful city in the world. May God grant us the righteous desires of our hearts, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn commencing "Glorious things of Thee are Spoken."
Conference adjourned till two o'clock p.m.
Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.
[6 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 18:426, 10/13/69, p 6]
Wednesday, 2 p.m.
The meeting was called to order by President Young. The Tabernacle Choir sang the Hymn on page 115, commencing "On the mountain tops appearing."
Prayer by Elder Horace S. Eldredge.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on the 199th page, beginning "The glorious day is rolling on."
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder ORSON PRATT addressed the Conference. During his absence from this city he had neglected no opportunity to meet with the few Saints who live in Williamsburg. It was with the Saints that he had joy, for ever since the church was organized God has been with us. At its commencement it only comprised six members. God gave revelations in relation to the Holy Priesthood to those few individuals. In the year 1831 He gave additional revelations concerning that Priesthood and its power, and new councils were organized. Then the saints were inexperienced and were liable to be led astray by spirits not of God; some pretended to have manifestations and revelations for the purpose of leading the Church. The Lord declared in a revelation that the Saints were not to be led by those influences, and said that He had appointed His servant Joseph, through whom he would lead His people. He directed that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles should be organized, whose business it would be to preach the gospel to the nations, to the gentiles first and then to the Jews. The Priesthood were called together after the building of the Kirtland Temple, and, in speaking of the Twelve Apostles, the Prophet Joseph said they had received the Apostleship with all the powers pertaining to the same, just as the ancient Apostles; in this God had fulfilled His word to His people -- He had bestowed upon men all the power and authority necessary to carry on the building up of the kingdom of God. When Joseph was taken from the earth, all that was necessary was for the people to select one to preside over them who had already received an ordination to the apostleship, which is the highest authority ever bestowed upon man. If the people had not been satisfied with the selection that was made, I would not see before me this great congregation. There may be many people here who have never investigated the nature and authority of the Holy Priesthood. Many revelations have been given; one was given instructing the Saints to build a house to the name of the Lord, in which revelation it was stated that if His people would go to work with all their might to build that house, and that, should their enemies come upon them and drive them and prevent them from fulfilling that work, He could no longer require that work at the hands of His servants. God has permitted us to be driven many times from our homes, but He has never taken from us the priesthood and kingdom. There is every evidence that can be desired that all the authority of that priesthood has been and is now with us. It is stated in the Book of Mormon that if the people of this nation rejected the gospel, He would take it from their midst. We had to leave our homes in the east before this prophecy could be fulfilled. It is still being fulfilled. The people are coming from the nations in hundreds and thousands. He heartily endorsed those great co-operative movements that had been introduced into the midst of the Saints. Unless we manufacture and export we will be unable to keep among us a circulating medium. May God grant that His blessings may be with all his Saints. Amen.
[President Brigham Young]
President BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered a short but very interesting and instructive discourse, in which he gave some interesting facts concerning the benefits arising from the system of Co-operation, and other matters of imortants. His remarks were reported in full and will shortly be published.
Bro. Fishborn's choir sang a song entitled, "Our Prophet Brigham Young."
[Elder Orson Hyde]
Elder ORSON HYDE was the next speaker. He rejoiced in everything that tends to the defense of the Kingdom of God. If the Saints take heed to the counsels of the servants of God he did not opine that any serious inroads would be made by any power that might be arrayed against the Zion of God. There are living witnesses that lived and associated with the Prophet Joseph, and will continue to live and testify to the truth until the Kingdom can take care of itself, and till that time God will take care of it. As long as those witnesses remain, it will be difficult for inroads to be made into the work which the Lord has commenced. At one time the Prophet Joseph said that he would shortly rest from his labors and exclaimed: "I now roll the responsibility of bearing off this kingdom on the shoulders of the Twelve Apostles." We did not think then that he was so soon to be taken from us. After he had been taken away, when the Twelve returned to Nauvoo, a meeting was appointed. President Brigham Young went to the stand, most of the rest of the Twelve dispersed themselves in the congregation to learn the feelings of the people, and when President Young arose to speak, his voice, gestures, his features, his form, and even his stature was Joseph's. There are many who can testify to this fact as well as myself. Here was eveidence that required no argument to prove that President Brigham was the chosen of God to lead Israel, for here was Joseph in the person of Brigham. We need have no fears as to who should lead the Church, for whatever may happen, the Lord makes manifest his choice in so plain a manner that it can be comprehended even by a child. It is the constitutional right of President Young to wield all the influence over the people of this Territory that he can obtain. Many, when they see the influence wielded by our President are jealous; they are not willing that a man should have influence who has legitimately and honestly earned it. In relation to the Government interfering with the Latter-day Saints, he wished to know why should it do so? We have done nothing wrong. I will say that to any power who will lay a stumbling block in the way of the progress of the Latter-day Saints, God will place two stumbling blocks in their way. If the Latter-day Saints are faithful, the Lord will protect us until the kingdom can take care of itself. God bless us all. Amen.
[Orson Hyde]
[DNW 18:484, 11/17/69, p 8; JD 13:179]
REMARKS.
By Elder ORSON HYDE, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt
Lake City, Wednesday Oct. 6, 1869.
_____
[REPORTED BY JOHN GRIMSHAW]
_____
Being
requested to make a few remarks to the Saints at the present time, I have risen
with cheerfulness to add my testimony to what has been said, and to speak a few
words more in relation to the Church and kingdom of God, and the Gospel of
Jesus Christ His Son. I rejoice in the opportunity of meeting with the
Saints and seeing their friendly faces, which beam as though their hearts felt
glad to associate together—to commune one with another, and to hear what the
Lord may say through His servants who may be called upon to address you.
Brethren and sisters, the feelings of my heart are—The Lord bless you, and pour
His Spirit upon you and upon all His Saints everywhere.
I have
listened with interest to the remarks that have been made. I rejoice in
anything that goes to advance the cause of Zion; and I know of no one thing
more potent to that effect than our living by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of God. And I apprehend that, if the Saints will listen to the words
of counsel and unto the commandments of God, no very serious inroads will ever
be made upon us, either by contestants for the supremacy in this kingdom, or by
Congress itself. These are my feelings.
I became
connected with the Church of God on the 31st day of October 1831. I do not know
how many there are now living that can date their connection with the Church to
an earlier period than this. There is one, and perhaps there are two, that I
know of, I know of no more; still, I cannot say in relation to this. Now, if I
had only improved upon the time that has been allotted to me, and gained the
experience I might have gained, perhaps I would have been further in advance
than I am at the present time. But I am not discouraged; I have no feelings to
linger or flag, but feel to persevere and to do all I can for the building up
of the Zion of our God.
I
apprehend, brethren and sisters, that there are faithful witnesses in this
Church who have lived with the Prophet—who have travelled with him, who have
eaten with him, who have slept with him, who have preached and prayed with him,
and have been as familiar with him as a child ever was with his father. There
are, I say, witnesses that lived co-temporary with him, who will continue to
live and be able to bear a faithful testimony to the truth, until the kingdom
can take care of itself, or God will take care of it. I tell you that light
will come upon you pretty soon—the glorious light of heaven. Be patient,
enduring—the sun will rise and darkness will flee away. By and by, true to the
word of promise, the sun does rise, and darkness flees away; and the sun
ascends to the meridian, and his rays illuminate the whole face of nature. You
can then see, you can then appreciate the word of promise. Would it be any
satisfaction to you if I were to continue and tell you that the sun does shine?
It shines in the face of you all. You have no need of my testimony, you have no
need of my assurance. It displays its light to all the world, and you behold
it, and no one could convince you that the sun does not shine.
So let me
say here, that there are faithful witnesses, who will testify to the truth,
that lived contemporary with Joseph, the martyred prophet; and they will
continue to live and testify till this kingdom can take care of itself. What do
you mean by the kingdom taking care of itself? I mean that the veil which is
now cast over the world will be rent asunder, and every eye will see and every
heart feel. Then the kingdom can take care of itself, and have no need of
witnesses to prove that the sun shines. Well, then, if the veil of the covering
which has caused so great darkness is rent in twain, and the whole people, as
it were, see as they are seen and know as they are known, have they any
particular use for the testimony of a feeble mortal, that the power of God, in
streams of light from on high, is being poured down upon the children of God on
earth? Why it is a character of evidence beyond the feeble voice of mortals.
I
apprehend that, so long as these witnesses remain, it will be a pretty hard
matter for Congress or for apostates to make many inroads upon the truth, while
the servants of the Most High, inspired by the Spirit of God, stand like a
flaming sword to guard the way of the Tree of Life.
I will
tell you, brethren and sisters, the Apostleship is of some importance to the
Saints of God; but I will say, furthermore, that it is very satisfactory to me
when I call to mind the remarks of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I will give you my
testimony. In one particular place, in the presence of about sixty men, he
said, "My work is about done; I am going to step aside awhile. I am going
to rest from my labors; for I have borne the burthen and heat of the day, and
now I am going to step aside and rest a little. And I roll the burthen off my
shoulders on the shoulders of the Twelve Apostles. Now," said he,
"round up your shoulders and bear off this kingdom." Has he ever said
this to any one else? I do not know; I do not care. It is enough for me to know
that he said it to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And since that time we
have endeavored to do our duty and perform the work that was given us to do.
We did
not consider, at the time he bore this testimony, that he was going to die or
be taken from us; but we considered that as he had been borne down with
excessive labors, by day and night, he was going to retire to rest and regain
his health, and we should act under his direction and bear the responsibility
of the work. But when the fatal news came to us, in the Eastern States, that he,
with his brother Hyrum, had been massacred in Carthage jail, I will tell you it
brought his words home to our minds, and we could then realize that he had
spoken in sober earnest; and the twelve men upon whom he had conferred this
power, then stepped forth and took their position. When the Twelve, united
heart and soul, stepped forth, everything yielded before them.
Well,
now, I will give it as the feelings of my heart—and if I am wrong, I can be
corrected right here—that no one need be curious or anxious as to who is going
to lead and guide this people. I will tell you that as long as God has a Church
on the earth, He will govern it. Now I will tell you a little of my feelings in
relation to it. I know that when President Young returned with the Twelve to Nauvoo,
he gathered them around him, and said he, "I want you to disperse among
the congregation and feel the pulse of the people, while I go upon the stand
and speak."
We went
among the congregation and President Young went on the stand. Well, he spoke, and
his words went through me like electricity. "Am I mistaken?" said I,
"or is it really the voice of Joseph Smith?" This is my testimony; it
was not only the voice of Joseph, but there were the features, the gestures and
even the stature of Joseph before us in the person of Brigham. And
though it may be said that President Young is a complete mimic, and can
mimic anybody, I would like to see the man who can mimic another in stature who
was about four or five inches higher than himself. Every one in the congregation—every
one who was inspired by the Spirit of the Lord—felt it. They knew it. They
realized it.
I sat
myself down in the midst of the congregation, with my two wives, whom Joseph
had given and sealed to me. When President Young began to speak, one of them
said, "It is the voice of Joseph! It is Joseph Smith!" The
exclamation of the other was," I do not see him, where is he?" Well,
the thought occurred to my mind respecting the Scripture which President Young
has just quoted—"My sheep know my voice and follow me." Where is the
one that recognized the voice of Joseph in President Young? Where is she? She
is in the line of her duty. But where is the other? Gone where I wish she were
not. The sheep of the good shepherd will follow the voice they know, but they
will not follow the voice of a stranger.
Now this
was a manifestation of the power of the Almighty—it was the power of God
resting on an individual in the eyes of all the people, not only in feature and
voice, but actually in stature. This is my testimony. I might go on and
add many more testimonies. I recollect reading that when our Savior was
baptized by John in the Jordan, the Spirit of the Lord descended and rested
upon him in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven was heard, saying, "This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him."
Well,
now, it did not depend upon argument, it did not depend upon reason. The voice
of the Almighty—the form of a dove descending and resting upon him, were
sufficient evidence to prove he was the Son of God. Argument was out of the
question. Did it require argument to prove that brother Brigham Young held the
position of Joseph, the martyred Prophet? Did it require proof that Joseph was
there in the person of Brigham, speaking with an angel's voice? It required no
argument; with those who feared God and loved truth, it required none.
Well,
now, we have the consolation to know that, whatever changes may take place in
the government of the Church and kingdom of God, we shall not be left in the
dark nor will our destiny be suspended on the frailty of argument; but I
believe that whatever changes take place will be brought about by a power that
every child of God will recognize.
These are
the feelings of my heart; and consequently I dismiss every anxiety in relation
to it. It is for me to live my religion and honor my God, and to let Him steady
His own ark. Let me do my duty and all will work for the best. This is how I
feel, brethren. When I began to speak, I had quite an argument fixed up in my
mind, but I cannot touch it now, and it is useless to try. I will say, however,
that it is all summed up in the excellent quotation made by our
President—"My sheep know my voice and will follow me; but a stranger they
will not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers."
We must
learn, brethren and sisters, to be wise. We must learn to let the world alone.
The Lord has brought us out from the nations. Said He, "Come out of her,
my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her
plagues." Now, why should we ever have any lingering desire for any
connection with the world again? Will we invite them here and scatter our means
among them, and put a weapon in their hands to destroy us?
An
illustrious visitor, the one only second in office in the United States,
expressed a desire that we should see the necessity of inviting men of
capital to our midst, to aid in developing the resources of the country,
thereby making our Territory a great commercial centre. The Lord knows His own
business best, and He will conduct it in a manner and way that will please Him.
I apprehend He will take care of His people. And if we will do His will and
keep His commandments, He will provide for us; and we may yet learn, in the midst
of all our reasoning and argument, that God has never yet desired us to live
after the manner of the world. It is for us to keep His commandments and He
will provide for His children. He will provide for His servants. Brethren and
sisters, you will see the servants of God will have joy at heart; but the
enemies of righteousness will have sorrow.
It is
well for us to adhere to the principle of co-operation and everything else that
is calculated to advance our interests as a people. It is well for us to adhere
to the teachings that we receive, and let our enemies and outsiders alone. Is
there anything wrong in our concentrating our time and means in a certain
channel? Can we not trade where and with whom we will? Are we doing any one any
injustice in this? No. Have we the Constitutional right to invest our capital
wherever we like? Yes, we have the Constitutional right. Is it my
Constitutional right to get all the power and influence that I can? Yes, it is.
Is there anything unlawful in it? Nothing at all. I will venture to say that
the Hon. Vice. President would not object, to-day, to have influence over all
the citizens of the United States. He would not object to it at all; neither
would any other politician.
We say
there is nothing unlawful in Brigham Young getting all the influence that he
can; but they want him out of the way. They are not willing—they cannot be
willing, to see a man who has earned the position he occupies, use his
influence for the welfare, elevation and advancement of the people. They want
to occupy it themselves, and they are jealous.
I do not
feel to detain you a great while, brethren and sisters, but there are two or
three things in my mind that I wish to make known. Congress, it is said, is
going to give the people "their rights!" I wonder why they
never thought of giving us our rights? That is another thing; it is a
horse of another color. But our rights are safe. Our rights are in the hands of
God; and we will trust in Him for them; and when He does give them to us, He
will give them on a large scale.
Brother
George A. Smith was computing the interest and indebtedness of Missouri to us;
but I tell you when the Lord pays us up, it will be a "big" reward.
Be patient, live your religion, and when the Almighty does reward, it will be
on a large scale.
And now
let me give you my feelings in relation to the interference of the Government
of the United States. What do they want to interfere with us for? Whom have we
injured? Have we injured any one? Have we done wrong to any one, Jew or
Gentile? Have we done wrong to the Indians? Have we done wrong in cultivating
the soil, and in making this barren and waste desert fertile? What wrong have
we done, that it is necessary for Congress to interfere? They say, "We
are afraid you intend to do wrong." Well, then you punish us in advance
for the wrong we have not done. They say, "You are guilty of practising
polygamy." Well, now, this is only one feather in the bird; only one
single feather. I will tell you, everything is wrong about us in their
estimation. It is wrong of us to get such an influence on the earth, both at
home and abroad. And the reason why so much is said about polygamy, is because
it is the only handle that they think they can get hold of; but they will
discover that even this is so doubtful, in the eye of Constitutional law, that
it can give them no assurance of success against us; and they will find it the
very principle that will break in pieces the power that would set it aside.
I would
not say that I am speaking now as a representative of the minds of the
Latter-day Saints as a body; I wish merely to express my own sentiments and
feelings, and if I say anything that is wrong, let me be corrected for it right
here. I will tell you that, just in proportion as any power, whether the United
States or any other nation, seeks to hinder or oppose the progress of the
Latter-day Saints, or lay any stumbling block in their way, the Lord will lay
two stumbling blocks in their way, to their laying one in ours.
We have
something more potent than our own arm to defend us—we have the arm of Jehovah
pledged for our protection. He will make bare His arm in the eyes of the
nations, and they will feel it. It is getting too late in the day. The battle
is too far advanced.
Then let
us, as Latter-day Saints, be filled with reverence for the kingdom of
God—for His laws and institutions; remembering our prayers, being faithful,
doing our duty in all things, and the Lord will bear off His kingdom. God bless
you. Amen.
The Tabernacle Choir sang, "Praise the Lord, O, Jerusalem."
Conference adjourned until ten a.m. to-morrow.
The meeting was dismissed by Elder John W. Young.
[7 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 18:426-427, 10/13/69, p 6-7]
Oct. 7th, 10 A.M.
Meeting was called to order by President George A. Smith.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 36, commencing, "Be it my only wisdom here."
Prayer was offered by Elder Brigham Young, jun.
The Tabernacle Choir sang "Give ear to my Words."
[Elder Lorenzo Snow]
Elder LORENZO SNOW spoke. We are peculiar and distinct from all other people. What we do, we perform in the name of the God of Israel. When Moses was selected to lead the ancient people of God, he was clothed upon with the authority of Heaven; so it is in this day. The work in which we are now engaged did not originate in the brain of any individual. The Almighty is the originator of it. The work which is called by our neighbors "Mormonism," is admired in its effects by many; they admire the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints and the peace and quiet which reigns throughout our cities and settlements which are not equalled anywhere else; but when it is said these excellent effects are produced by the Latter-day Saints performing all things in the name of the Lord, the world does not like it. If we professed to act as the world does, in our own name only, they would say all right, Probably if Jesus had come to the Jews in his own name, instead of the name of his Father, he would have been received with open arms.
The gospel has accomplished much for the temporal salvation of the Latter-day Saints. Thousands have come from the old countries who, before obeying the command to gather, were living under bondage and in poverty. They were dependent on the fluctuations of trade and the whims and caprices of their employers for their daily bread. They have come here and been able to lift themselves above that condition. Philanthropists admire this, yet they do not like the fact of it all being done in the name of the Almighty. If an individual goes to the nations and declares that he is a missionary from America, it is considered nothing surprising, but when he asserts that he has come in the name of the Lord to deliver all who will receive his message, from their condition of bondage, and declare to them that, if they will obey the principles taught by him they will know for themselves that he is not an impostor, that there need by no decption, his message is not received.
This work is the work of the Almighty, and it is His business to sustain it, and as long as we do right, we shall be sustained in our efforts to promote His cause. If, in our labors having this end in view, we do things that are disagreeable to other people, we cannot help it; we must do as the Lord directs at all hazards, and we must worship God in the way He has appointed.
It would doubtless be agreeable to us when we go forth to declare the truth to the people, if we were received pleasantly, yet, if it be otherwise, we must nevertheless go forth in the name of the Lord. If we are faithful, the work cannot be hindered in its progress, but will surmount every obstacle and come off triumphant; which may God grant for Jesus' sake: Amen.
[Lorenzo Snow]
[DNW 18:517, 12/8/69, p 5; JD 13:253]
REMARKS
By ELDER LORENZO SNOW, delivered in the New Tabernacle, S.
L. City, October 9th [7th], 1869
_____
[REPORTED BY JOHN GRIMSHAW.]
_____
I am very
much pleased in having an opportunity to make a few remarks to this Conference.
The subjects that, have been presented to our consideration are fraught with
many very interesting reflections. Every privilege that is afforded us of
meeting together in the capacity of a Conference, and taking a retrospective
view of he past, gives us a chance to behold the great and marvellous success
that has hitherto attended our labors, as the servants of God, in this great
and glorious work of the redemption of Israel and the gathering of the
Latter-day Saints from the four quarters of the world, to establish the kingdom
of God on the earth in the last days.
There are
many peculiarities that distinguish the order of things pertaining to the work
of God in which we are engaged, from the different systems of religion that are
to be met with in Christendom and throughout the various parts of the world.
What we do we perform in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and are willing to
acknowledge the hand of the Almighty in everything we do. When Moses stood
forth as the deliverer of the children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage,
he did not present himself in the manner of a common deliverer, but he went in
the name of the Lord God of Israel, having been commanded to accomplish their
redemption by the power and authority which he received from God. And from the
moment that he appeared before them in this capacity, until he had accomplished
his work, he acted in and through the name of the Lord, and not by his own
wisdom or ingenuity, nor because he possessed superior intelligence to the rest
of mankind. The Lord appeared to him in the burning bush, and commanded him to
go forth and accomplish a certain work, which concerned the peace, happiness
and salvation of a great people; and its success and prosperity depended upon
the carrying out of the order of things revealed to him by the God of heaven.
His success and prosperity were made perfectly sure from the fact that the work
to which he was assigned was not a thing of his own invention, but it emanated
from Jehovah.
A great
deal of speculation might have been entertained by some in reference to his
mode of procedure. There might have been some things in the working of the
system he introduced that were very disagreeable to certain parties whom they
concerned—to the government of Egypt and King Pharaoh, for instance; but that was
a matter of very small consideration with him and with the people whom he had
occasion to deliver from bondage.
It is so
in reference to ourselves. The great work now being accomplished—the gathering
of the people from the nations of the earth, had not its origin in the mind of
any man or any set of men, but it emanated from the Lord Almighty. Joseph Smith
received a revelation and commandment from the Lord, to go forth and preach the
Gospel of salvation to the nations of the earth, with power and authority to
baptize those who would repent of their sins and be immersed in water for the
remission of them; he was also commanded to preach the gathering to them, that
a people might be drawn together who would be willing to hearken to the voice
of the Lord and keep His laws, that a righteous seed might thereby be preserved
when the great day of His wrath should come. This Gospel was preached, and
thousands of Saints have been gathered from almost all parts of the globe, who
are now scattered throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, making
farms, building houses, planting orchards and reclaiming the soil; creating
villages, towns and cities where nothing but wild beasts and savages used to
roam, and causing the desert to blossom as the rose. Yet all this has not been
accomplished by human wisdom, although the enemies of the Saints would try to
make the world believe so; it has been done by the wisdom and power of Almighty
God, whose outstretched arm has been over His Saints, preserving them from evil
of every kind.
Jesus,
while travelling here on earth, fulfilling his mission, told the people he did
not perform the miracles he wrought in their midst by his own power, nor by his
own wisdom; but he was there in order to accomplish the will of his Father. He
came not to seek the glory of men, and the honor of men; but to seek the honor
and glory of his Father that sent him. Said he, "I am come in my Father's
name, and ye receive me not, if another shall come in his own name, him ye will
receive."
Now, the
peculiarity of his mission, and that which distinguished it from other
missions, was this: he came not to seek the glory and honor of men, but to seek
the honer and glory of his Father, and to accomplish the work of his Father who
sent him. Herein lay the secret of his prosperity; and herein lies the secret
of the prosperity of every individual who works upon the same principle.
There are
many things that are admirable in what is called by our neighbors
"Mormonism." Great men admire the effects that are produced by its
operations, or the work of preaching the Gospel, gathering the people from the
nations of the earth and settling them in this Territory, in establishing
towns, villages and settlements, in gathering the poor from their indigent
circumstances, from their conditions of poverty and distress, and placing them
in a position where they can sustain themselves and have an opportunity of
educating their childish and gathering around them the necessaries, comforts
and conveniences of life.
People admire
the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, they admire the wisdom that is
manifest in the perfect organization observable in their cities, towns and
settlements, and the unity existing amongst them. They are struck with the
peace and good order that reign in our midst, which are not found, to the same
extent, in any of the cities of the United States or Europe. One hundred and
fifty thousand people, who have been gathered from the poorest classes of
persons and brought from the various nations and established in prosperous and
happy circumstances, are admired by every one. But all this is being done in
the name of the Lord, and professedly through the commandments of the Almighty;
and herein lies the difficulty. Our acknowledgement of the hand of God in what
we do is something they do not approve of. If we gathered the people from the
various nations, built cities, towns and villages in our own name, and in our
own strength and wisdom, and gave ourselves the honor and glory, we should be a
very admirable people indeed, and everybody would admire the
"Mormons," and would be pleased with our operations; and as far as
the influence of politicians and members of Congress is concerned, it would be
employed in obtaining our admission into the Union as a State.
It may be
considered by some as unfortunate that we have a principle in the operations of
"Mormonism" so disagreeable and annoying; but we cannot help it. This
work is not one of our own getting up, and we have not the responsibility of
its success resting upon us. Jesus says himself that he would have been
received by the people if he had sought the honor of men. If he had not come in
the name of his Father, but simply in his own, the people would have received
him, honored him and made him King of the Jews; and all would have been
agreeable, pleased and satisfied.
It was
said by the Prophet that Israel should be scattered, that they should be sifted
among the nations, and in the latter days they should be gathered out, two from
a city and one from a family, and there should be a time when the people would
be gathered from the nations when it should be said to them, "Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not
of her plagues."
Joseph
Smith received a commandment of the Almighty similar to that which Moses received
to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The command to the
Prophet Joseph was to go forth and declare the Gospel to the children of men,
to gather them from the nations of the earth and place them in a land of peace
and plenty, where they could plant and reap the fruit thereof. In many
instances the people who received this Gospel were in a far worse condition
than the children of Israel, when found by Moses in their bondage.
There are
hundreds of Elders here who have travelled through England, Scotland, Wales,
Germany, Switzerland, Norway and elsewhere, who know very well that the people
were found in most of those lands in circumstances of slavery—bondage far worse
than the "blacks" in the South previous to their liberation. There
was nothing before the people but the prospect of starvation; and they were
subject to the will and caprice of their masters, and dependent upon them for
their labor and daily bread; and when work was dull, they had before them
nothing but the prospect of being turned from their employment and to have
their only source of obtaining food for themselves and families entirely cut
off. They did not own a foot of land, a plough, an ox, a wagon, a cow, a mule,
a horse, in fact, nothing they saw around them could they call their own. They
were, in short, entirely dependent upon the will and disposition of their
employers for what they wanted, and had to look to them for their only means of
gaining a living. Thousands upon thousands of these people are now located in
various parts of this Territory, in a far more prosperous and independent
condition than that in which they lived while abroad among the nations. Many of
them are comparatively rich in this world's goods. The command of the Almighty
to this people is to come out of Babylon to a land where his Saints may gather
around them such things as are necessary to the well-being of his children.
This is a greater work than that performed by Moses, of redeeming the children
of Israel from Egyptian bondage; yet it is done on the same principle. The
voice of God to Moses was to deliver His people from their bondage and he would
he with him and assist him. The command is now for the people to be delivered
from their bondage, poverty and distress, and come to these valleys of the
mountains, where they can sustain themselves.
There are
many philanthropists who admire the works that have been accomplished in this
respect. They say, "The 'Mormons' have done a great deal more than any
religious society ever did or even expected to do. They have increased the
population of the nation and have extended their cities to the east, to the
west, to the north and to the south." But it has been done by the command
of the Almighty, and that is where the trouble lies. As for polygamy, our
enemies would not be so wrath about our practising it, so long as we did not do
so in the name of the Lord. But as these things are done in His name, they are
obnoxious in the eyes of the world. The same state of feeling existed in the
days of Moses, the same in the days when Jesus appeared among the Jews. Had
Moses presented himself in the same way as Washington or William Tell, the
deliverer of the people of Switzerland from the yoke of bondage under which they
labored, or as Wallace, the hero of Scotland—had he, I say, appeared in his own
name, and presented himself before the people as a person of superior powers
and ability, and [not] claimed power greater than that he possessed as a man,
all would have been well. But when he went before them in the name of the Lord
Almighty, he experienced some difficulty in performing the work which had been
assigned him.
We know
well we differ very much in our religious concerns from the various
denominations existing in the world. An Elder goes in the name of the Lord; he
crosses the ocean, calls into an individual's house and says, "I am a
missionary; I have come from America to preach the Gospel." It is not a
very unusual thing for persona to cross the ocean, as missionaries and go to
Europe. This is all very natural; but when an Elder goes and says he
comes in the name of the Lord to deliver them from their circumstances of
poverty and distress, and to call upon them to repent of their sins and
be immersed in water for the remission of them, promising them the Gift of the
Holy Ghost, he creates a distinction between his mission and that of the
various systems introduced by the different sects of the day. Says he, "I
come to tell you that the time for the fulfilment of the predictions of the
Prophets has arrived. The Lord wants His people gathered from Babylon unto the
place where there shall be deliverance." There is deliverance. There is
something that can be realized and experienced, that can be seen and felt dud
known. There is the promise that, if any man will do the will of God, he shall
know for himself that the doctrine we teach is true. There is no chance of
imposition. There is an opportunity to know whether the message of this Elder
is true or false.
If a
sectarian minister had gone to the children of Israel and discovered them in
the same condition in which Moses found them, his message would have been
entirely different from that of Moses, as would also his conversation and
address. Moses said to them, "In the name of the Almighty, having received
authority from God, I come to deliver you from bondage and to give you a
national existence; to take you to a land that the Lord God has commanded you
to go to, and which He has promised you shall receive." Had a sectarian
minister gone under similar circumstances, his ideas and manner would have been
entirely different. Says he, "I have come to beseech you who are now
subject to your masters' will and have to recline upon straw, to be patient and
long-suffering. Servants, be obedient to your masters and wait upon the
providence of the Lord. Bear up, and be kind," and so on. Anything in
regard to delivering them from their bondage under which they are suffering?
No, nothing of the kind.
It is the
same when a sectarian minister goes to England. He knocks at a man's door and
says, "I am a missionary from America." Well, the man on whom he
calls is in distress. Says he, "I am sorry I cannot take you in; but I am
in distress. It is meal-time, but my family has nothing to eat. I am out of
employment and have nothing to live upon. I wish I could relieve your wants,
but I have nothing with which to assist you." Oh, says the minister, you
must wait upon Providence, you must have a great deal of patience and
long-suffering. I am come to preach to you the Gospel, and you must pray and
keep praying until you think you have got a pardon of your sins; but still
remain where you are. No redemption!
Well, now,
that is different from the "Mormon" Elder's manner. He presents
himself in something like this way: "I have come in the name of the
Almighty, in obedience to a call from God, to deliver you from your present
circumstances. Repent of your sins and be baptized, and the Holy Ghost shall
rest upon you, and you shall know that I have the authority to administer the
ordinances of the Gospel by the power of the Almighty and the revelations of
God. Gather out from this nation, for it is ripening in iniquity, there is no
salvation here. Flee to a place of safety." And as the messenger who went
to Sodom said to the family whom he found there, so says the Elder of Israel,
telling them, as Moses did the children of Israel, to go to the land that the
Lord God has appointed for the gathering of His people.
There is
a great difference between the operations of the Latter-day Saints and these of
the Christian world. With us there is no deception; nor indeed is there any
chance for any. People gather here in thousands on the principle that the Lord
God has revealed, and they have an opportunity of knowing that the Almighty has
spoken from the heavens. They are not left to the mere statement of any one.
Jesus
says that if any man will do the will of God, he shall know His doctrine. If he
will repent of his sins and be immersed in water, by the laying on of the hands
of these having authority, the gift of the Holy Ghost shall be given to him and
he shall receive knowledge from God in regard to the divine authenticity of these
ordinances. People are not left in the dark, they have a chance to know for
themselves. They get this intelligence and know what they are doing.
Will we
do these things in the name of the Lord God that sent us? This work is the
Almighty's, and it is His business to sustain and support it. If, in keeping
the laws of God we do things that are not quite so pleasant to the people
around us or the Government under which we dwell, we cannot help it. We cannot
act save we do so in the name of the Lord. When Nebuchadnezzar established a
certain edict, and that edict was contrary to the revelations of the Almighty,
it was disagreeable to many persons whom it concerned. There were three men,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who received a command from the Almighty that
they should not worship any other God than the Lord God of Israel, that they
should worship no images. But King Nebuchadnezzar set up an image and commanded
that every nation, kindred and tongue, over whom he reigned, should bow down
and worship it, when they heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music.
It so
happened that the King's edict concerned, among others, the three men who had
received the revelation from the Lord that they should not worship any image.
They were in a rather awkward fix. Either they must set aside the command of
Jehovah to worship no God but Him, or, on the other hand, disobey the mandate
of the King. They knew if they refused to comply with the wishes of so mighty a
man as Nebuchadnezzar, their lives would not be of much value, unless they were
preserved by the hand of the God of Israel. But they feared not the King and
trusted in the arm of Jehovah to shield them from evil. Accordingly, when the
signal was given for the people to fall down and worship the image, these three
men refused to do so; and being observed, they were taken before the King, who
was greatly enraged at the idea that there could be found any one in all his
dominions so fearless as to refuse to comply with his wishes. When they
appeared before him he looked at them in a fierce and savage manner and said,
"Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods,
nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at
what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery and
dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I
have made, well; but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you
out of my hands?"
I often
admire the answer of those men, placed as they were in such a perplexing
position. A person might he brought before the Emperor of France or Russia and
get along very well; but it was something awful to come in collision with a man
like Nebuchadnezzar, whose will was as the word of the Almighty, and had never
been disobeyed. When the King had done speaking, they answered, "O
Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer" thee in this matter. If it
be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery
furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it
known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the
golden image which thou hast set up." Upon hearing this, the King was
extremely angry, and caused the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than
usual, at the same time commanding the most mighty men of his army to bind them
and thrust them into the furnace. After a while, however, he discovered he had
made a grand mistake. He had been deceived, and hastily calling his counselors
together, he demanded of them whether only three men were cast into the
furnace. They answered, yes. "Well," said he, "I see four there;
and one of them is like the Son of God." He then sent forth another edict,
that all those who refused to worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
should be cut in pieces and their houses should he made into dunghills.
Now,
Nebuchadnezzar was honest, but through ignorance he was led to act in this way.
It would
he very agreeable and pleasant when we carry the words of life and salvation to
the various nations, if every part and operation of the work of God should be
in perfect harmony with the feelings of the people to whom it is preached; if
it is not so, we cannot help it. We know this, that the Almighty has given us
power and authority to go forth and gather the people from the nations of the
earth and establish them in the land of Zion. But strip from this operation the
supernatural part, and the people of the world, members of Congress included,
would be pleased; and the Vice-President would be proud of us. They would say
we were very patriotic. But they do not like our doing these things in the name
of the Lord our God. They are afraid that in getting power and influence, and
uniting our interests as one great people, we will do something by and by.
Let us
continue, brethren and sisters, to work in the name of the Lord our God;
gathering wisdom and intelligence day by day, that every circumstance which
transpires may minister to our good and increase our faith and intelligence. If
we continue to work righteousness, being faithful to each other and to God, no
power will be able to overthrow us, and as brother Hyde remarked, for every
stumbling block that our enemies place in our way, to hinder and prevent the
work of God from moving forward, two will be placed in the paths of those who
put one in ours. If we are faithful and keep the commandments of God, His works
will continue to prosper until the prophecies are fulfilled, and we become a
great, a glorious and a mighty people. God bless you. Amen.
The Brigham City Choir sang "My own loved Deseret," in a very sweet and tasteful manner, reflecting great credit upon the training of their leader, Bro. Fishburn.
The names of the following brethren were presented to the Conference, by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, having been called to go on short missions to the Eastern States:
Bishop
A H Raleigh, 19th ward.
Bishop C H Bryan, Nephi
Bishop R T Burton, 15th ward
Bishop Jacob Weiler, 3d "
Bishop John W Hess, Farmington
Bishop John Stoker, Bountiful
Bishop L W Hardy, 12th ward
Bishop A K Thurber, Spanish Fork
Bishop E F Sheets, 8th ward
Bishop Samuel a Woolley, 9th ward
Bishop Reuben Miller, Mill Creek
Bishop Alex McRae, 11th ward
Bishop David Evans, Lehi
Bishop Robert D Covington, Washington
Bishop Charles S Peterson, Weber City
Bishop Alex F Barron, Panacca
C V Spencer, 13th ward
Le Grand Young, 17th ward
Angus M Cannon, 15th "
Richard Maxfield, Cottonwood
Robert Maxfield, "
Ezra Clark, Farmington
William Johnson, 15th ward
Henry McEwan 12th "
Millen Atwood, 13th "
Bolivar Roberts, " "
Henry Houtz, " "
E T Browning, 7th "
Israel Canfield, Ogden
Augutus Canfield "
Edward Stevenson, 14th ward
N H Felt, 17th ward
Julian Moses, Mill Creek
W H Folson, 14th ward
W W Riter, 9th "
Roswell Hyde, Kaysville
William G Young, North Mill Creek
Absalom Smith, Draperville
Daniel Cahoon, Cottonwood
Silas Richards, Union
Preston Thomas, Rich Co
Ben F Steward, Payson
Samuel L Sprague, Sen., 13th ward
Daniel Carter, Bountiful
Elisha H Davis, Lehi
John Nebeker, Tokerville
Lewis Robison, Pleasant Grove
David Candland
E W East, 14th ward
Z Snow, 13th "
Geo. G Snyder, Wanship
W. I Appleby, 14th ward
Theo McKean, 16th "
Henry G Boyle, Payson
Adam Paul, 8th ward
Albert Merrill, Sen., 17th ward
Albert Merrill, Jun., 17th ward
N Groesbeck, 17th ward
Joseph C Rich, Paris, Rich Co
F A Hammond, Huntsville
John Pack, Sen., 17th ward
A R Wright, 14th ward
Samuel L Serrine, 14th ward
Horace K Whitney, 18th Ward
Burr Frost, 8th ward
Thomas Naylor, 13th ward
Nelson Empy, 12th ward
Andrew J Pendleton, 2nd ward
E L T Harrison, 13th ward
J M Barlow, 15th ward
Walter Conrad, 15th ward
J D M Crockwell, 9th ward
Phares Wells, 12th ward
Geo D Grant, Bountiful
Samuel Atwood, 13th ward
Elnathan Eldredge, Sen. 16th ward
William Bringhurst, Springville
Levi Thornton, Farmington
Byron Groo, 9th ward
Daniel Corbett, 2nd ward
Charles Bird, Mendon
Charles Shumway, Mendon
Charles P Squires, Brigham City
James May, Brigham City
Joseph Wight, Brigham City
Peter Madsen, Brigham City
Geo Harding, Willard City
Omer Call, Willard City
John Thatcher, Logan
William H. Wright, Richmond
Matthew W Dalton, Willard city
Henry Peck, Malad
Abel Lamb, Farmington
John S Gleason, Farmington
Hector C Haight, Farmington
Henry W Brizzee, Wanship
Jacob Zundel, Willard City
Thos E Ricks, Logan
Oliver E Ormsby, Brigham City
Evan M Greene, Smithfield
Alanson Norton, Brigham City
Charles Nibley, "
Joseph tibbits, "
Angus McDonald, "
William H Shearman, Logan
Jesse N Perkins, Bountiful
Lewis Perkins, "
Thos Higgs, 17th ward
Ward E Pack, 17th ward
Parley P Pratt, 14th ward
Moroni Pratt, Pleasant Grove
Alma Pratt, Big Field
Henry Lee, Bountiful
Wm Henry Lee, "
Milo Andrus, Dry Creek
William C Neal, 19th ward
Theo Curtis, 7th ward
Samuel W Richards, 14th ward
Moroni Bigelow, Provo
Samuel McIntyre, St George
William McIndyre, "
Geo B Wallace, 17th ward
D B Huntington, 16th ward
William Gibson, 20th ward
Daniel Wood, Bountiful
Andrew Galloway, Tooele
Chas Steward, Pleasant Grove
Orville M Allen, Tokerville
Ira N Spalding, East Weber
Hopkins Pender, Morgan City
Wm Miller, "
John Thornton, Farmington
T B Foote, Nephi
Thos Jackson, Payson
Thos E Daniels "
Aaron F Farr, Ogden
Andrew Love, Nephi.
Aaron Sceva, Grantsville
Nathan T Porter, Centerville
Wm C Rydalch, Grantsville
Frederick Kesler, jr, 16th Ward
William Tripp, "
Jacob Gates, St George.
The following Elders were presented by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, having been called to go on foreign missions:
Mons
Anderson, (for Norway)
Edward Schonfeld (for Switzerland)
Chauncey W. West, Jr., "
It was then motioned that we sustain these brethren on their missions with our faith and prayers which motion was unanimously carried by the vast congregation.
The Brigham City Choir sang "Do they pray for me at Home?"
[Elder Wilford Woodruff]
Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF addressed the Conference. Previous speakers have alluded to our past history. The doings of our enemies are recorded in the heavens and on the earth. Those things are past, and we have a great future before us, for the set time to favor Zion has come. The Lord has promised that He will never forget Zion, and He never will. Men may seek to overthrow this work, but they will never prevail.
I rejoice at the host of men of God who are going forth to this nation to call on the people to repent of their sins and turn unto the Lord, before His judgments are poured out upon the in habitants of this country. It is the future that our minds should be directed towards, for Zion is not yet what it will be. In relation to being subject to the laws, there is an important consideration, which is, whether the law is righteous or not. For instance, if a law were in existence to the effect that we should not be baptized for the remission of sins, this would be in opposition to the law of God and it would consequently be wrong to obey it. We must obey the law of God at all hazards. It is right for us to obey every righteous law, and every principle which is constant with the glorious constitution of our country. We are required to build temples and attend to those ordinances that will unite us with the dead who have gone behind the vail before us, without whom we cannot be perfected, neither can they be perfected without us. It is our duty to labor and to pay our tithes to build the temple. Zion is arising. We have no time to lose, We must listen to the living oracles, without which we would be as lost sheep. He felt as an individual that he would be glad if the Lord should command that this people should not buy another yard of cloth anywhere until they had used up all now in the Territory. Let us do what is right, independent of consequences. Amen.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 118, "How Beuateous are their Feet."
Elder John T. Caine dismissed with prayer.
[7 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 18:427, 10/13/69, p 7]
Thursday, 2 p.m.
Meeting was called to oder by President Brigham young. The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 132, "Sweet is the Work, my God, my King."
Prayer by Elder Samuel W. Richards.
Sister Careless sang "Little Footsteps," the choir joining in the chorus.
[Elder Orson Pratt]
Elder ORSON PRATT spoke. Our Fathers who framed the Constitution of our country, incorporated in it that all people dwelling under this Government should have the inalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. In ancient times, under the Mosiac law those who broke the Sabbath were put to death. Although the Constitution does not admit that we should inflict such a penalty, yet we have the privilege of keeping the Sabbath if we choose.
God created man and gave him laws to govern him, and gave unto him a help-meet, also, that the earth might teem with inhabitants. In men and women God implanted the imperishable principle of love one towards the other, that this great object might be accomplished. He also gave laws to regulate that love; He gave the law of marriage. Marriage for eternity was the first kind of union of the sexes that we have any knowledge of. Adam and Eve were eternal beings, therefore, when God gave Eve unto Adam, he gave her as an eternal wife. Death, in consequence of the fall, tore asunder those two hio had been united, but the Lord had provided a plan of redemption by which they would be restored to each other. That is the true order of marriage, but men have departed from that order. We never hear in the present age men speak of marriage for eternity. They marry for the brief space during which mortality lasts only. How is it in the resurrection? does a man come forth possessing all the attributes of manhood and woman all the attributes of womanhood? If the same love existed before and since the fall, will it exist in the future? God has ordained that the highest order of beings shall dwell in the capacity of families, having the power to increase and bring forth immutal intelligences. When the Saints of the Most High come forth on the morning of the resurrection, they shall mpossess all the attributes of love and friendship which they possess here, only more intensified, and with far greater capacity to live in the position of husband and wife. There are others who have not attained to that glorious position, and have not the privilege of increasing their posterity through all ages of eternity; such have not attained to a fullness of glory.
For the benefit of strangers I will say that God's people in all ages have generally been polygamists. This was the case with Abraham. God approbated his taking more wives than one. The Lord permitted jacob to take four living, legal wive, and to show that He approved of his having a plurality of wives, He listened to the prayer of Jacob's second wife, just as he would have done to the first. The privileges of the first-born were conferred upon Joseph, the son of the second wife. In the days of Moses polygamy was approved of by God, for Moses, himself, had two wives. If the idea of the people of the present age were correct, how could Moses have dared to go upon Mount Siani and converse with the Almighty himself. The Lord not only approbates the wives of those who have obeyed polygamy, but also blesses their posterity. In ancient times the Lord provided a law for the purpose of keeping family inheritances in the family line and not allow them to go to strangers. When a man died without leaving issue, the brother of the deceased husband was required to marry the wife of his brother. The prophets and kings of Israel were polygamists; one of the latter -- David, was called by God a man after His own heart. Before David was exalted to the throne of Israel the Lord gave him eight wives, and even then the Lord did not think he had a sufficient number of wives, for He afterwards gave unto him all of Saul's wives. Afterwards, David transgressed, but his crime did not consist in his being a polygamist; it was because he had taken another man's wife, thus committing adultery. This was an abomination in the sight of the Lord. If Solomon had been a bastard, as many people would have us suppose, he would not have been permitted to enter the congregation of the Lord, even unto the tenth generation; instead of that he was exalted to be King over Israel. Many who oppose the principle of polygmy appeal to the Book of Mormon to support them in their position, but, although God said, as recorded in the Book of Jacob, that David and Solomon were guilty of abominations, those abominations did not consist in their having a number of wives whom they had obtained legally, but because they had taken some illegally. In 1832, the Prophet Joseph stated to a number of the Saints that even at that early day he had enquired of the Lord concerning polygamy, and that the Lord had informed him that it was a true principle, but the proper time to practice it had not yet come. When the time arrived for the practice of that principle it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph. The revelation was given in 1843. That revelation has long been published to the world. If the inhabitants of the earth were all righteous, and the number of males and females were exactly equal, there would be no necessity for practicing this principle. The law of compulsory celibacy and monogamy, which emanated from old Rome, has made a great inequality of the sexes. Statistics of verious parts show a large preponderance of females over males. What is to be done with the surplus females? for in those places laws have been passed to the effect that they shall not be permitted to marry. They are not permitted to marry a man who already has a wife. We purpose carrying out the will of God in this and all other matters; which may God enable us to do. Amen.
[Orson Pratt]
[DNW 18:439, 10/20/69, p 7; JD 13:183]
DISCOURSE
On Celestial Marriage, delivered by Elder ORSON PRATT, in
the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 7th, 1869
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
It was
announced at the close of the forenoon meeting that I would address the
congregation this afternoon upon the subject of Celestial Marriage; I do so
with the greatest pleasure.
In the
first place, let us inquire whether it is lawful and right, according to the
Constitution of our country, to examine and practice this Bible doctrine? Our
fathers, who framed the Constitution of our country devised it so as to give
freedom of religions worship of the Almighty God; so that all people under our
Government should have the inalienable right—a right by virtue of the
Constitution—to believe in any Bible principle which the Almighty has revealed
in any age of the world to the human family. I do not think, however, that our
forefathers, in framing that instrument, intended to embrace all the religions
of the world. I mean the idolatrous and Pagan religions. They say nothing about
those religions in the Constitution; but they give the express privilege in
that instrument to all people dwelling under this Government and under the
institutions of our country, to believe in all things which the Almighty has
revealed to the human family. There is no restriction nor limitation so far as
Bible religion is concerned, or any principle or form of religion believed to
have emanated from the Almighty; yet they would not admit idolatrous nations to
come here and practice their religion, because it is not included in the Bible;
it is not the religion of the Almighty. Those people worship idols, the work of
their own hands, they have instituted rights and ceremonies pertaining to those
idols, in the observance of which they, no doubt, suppose they are worshiping
correctly and sincerely, yet some of them are of the most revolting and
barbarous character. Such, for instance, as the offering up of a widow on a
funeral pile, as a burnt sacrifice, in order to follow her husband into the
eternal worlds. That is no part of the religion mentioned in the Constitution
of our country, it is no part of the religion of Almighty God.
But
confining ourselves within the limits of the Constitution, and coming back to
the religion of the Bible, we have the privilege to believe in the Patriarchal,
in the Mosaic, or in the Christian order of things; for the God of the
patriarchal, and the God of Moses is also the Christians' God.
It is
true that many laws were given under the Patriarchal or Mosaic dispensations,
against certain crimes, the penalties for violating which, religious bodies,
under our Constitution, have not the right to inflict. The Government has
reserved, in its own hands, the power, so far as affixing the penalties of certain
crimes is concerned.
In
ancient times there was a law strictly enforcing the observance of the Sabbath
day, and the man or woman who violated that law was subjected to the punishment
of death. Ecclesiastical bodies have the right, under our Government and
Constitution, to observe the Sabbath day or to disregard it, but they have not
the right to inflict corporeal punishment for its non-observance.
The
subject proposed to be investigated this afternoon is that of Celestial
Marriage, as believed in by the Latter-day Saints, and which they claim is
strictly a Bible doctrine and part of the revealed religion of the Almighty. It
is well known by all the Latter-day Saints that we have not derived all our
knowledge concerning God, heaven, angels, this life and the life to come
entirely from the books of the Bible; yet we believe that all of our religious
principles and notions are in accordance with and are sustained by the Bible;
consequently, though we believe in new revelation, and believe that God has revealed
many things pertaining to our religion, we also believe that He has revealed
none that are inconsistent with the worship of Almighty God, a sacred right
guaranteed to all religious denominations by the Constitution of our country.
God
created man, male and female. He is the Author of our existence He placed us on
this creation. He ordained laws to govern us. He gave to man, whom He created,
a help-meet—a woman, a wife to be one with him, to be a joy and a comfort to
him; and also for another very great and wise purpose—namely, that the human
species might be propagated on this creation, that the earth might teem with
population according to the decree of God before the foundation of the world,
that the intelligent spirits whom He had formed and created, before this world
was rolled into existence, might have their probation, might have an existence
in fleshly bodies on this planet, and be governed by laws emanating from their
great Creator. In the breast of male and female He establisbed certain qualities
and attributes that never will be eradicated—namely, love towards each other.
Love comes from God. The love which man possesses for the opposite sex came
from God. The same God who created the two sexes implanted in the hearts of
each love towards the other. What was the object of placing this passion or
affection within the hearts of male and female? It was in order to carry out,
so far as this world was concerned, His great and eternal purposes pertaining
to the future. But He not only did establish this principle in the heart of man
and woman, but gave divine laws to regulate them in relation to this passion or
affection, that they might be limited and prescribed in the exercise of it
towards each other. He therefore ordained the Marriage Institution. The
marriage that was instituted in the first place was between two immortal
beings, hence it was marriage for eternity in the very first case which we have
recorded for an example. Marriage for eternity was the order God instituted on
our globe; as early as the Garden of Eden; as early as the day when our first
parents were placed in the garden to keep it and till it, they, as two immortal
beings, were united in the bonds of the new and everlasting covenant. This was
before man fell, before the forbidden fruit was eaten, and before the penalty
of death was pronounced upon the heads of our first parents and all their
posterity, hence, when God gave to Adam his wife Eve, He gave her to him as an
immortal wife, and there was no end contemplated of the relation they held to
each other as husband and wife.
By and
by, after this marriage had taken place, they transgressed the law of God, and
by reason of that transgression the penalty of death came, not only upon them,
but also upon all their posterity. Death, in its operations, tore asunder, as
it were, these two beings who had hitherto been immortal, and if God had not,
before the foundation of the world, provided a plan of redemption, they would,
perhaps, have been torn asunder for ever; but inasmuch as a plan of redemption
had been provided, by which man could be rescued from the effects of the fall,
Adam and Eve were restored to that condition of union, in respect to
immortality, from which they had been separated for a short season of time by
death. The Atonement reached after them and brought forth their bodies from the
dust, and restored them as husband and wife, to all the privileges that were
pronounced upon them before the Fall.
That was
eternal marriage; that was lawful marriage ordained by God That was the divine
institution which was revealed and practiced in the early period of our globe.
How has it been since that day? Mankind have strayed from that order of things,
or, at least, they have done so in latter times. We hear nothing among the
religious societies of the world which profess to believe in the Bible about
this marriage for eternity. It is among the things that are obsolete. Now all
marriages are consummated until death only; they do not believe in that great
pattern and prototype established in the beginning; hence we never hear of
their official characters, whether civil or religious, uniting men and women in
the capacity of husband and wife as immortal beings. No, they marry as mortal
beings only, and until death does them part.
What is
to become of them after death? What will take place among all those nations who
have been marrying for centuries for time only? Do both men and women receive a
resurrection? Do they come forth with all the various affections, attributes
and passions that God gave them in the beginning? Does the male come forth from
the grave with all the attributes of a man? Does the female come forth from her
grave with all the attributes of a woman? If so, what is their future destiny?
Is there no object or purpose in this new creation, save to give them life, a
state of existence? or is there a more important object in view, in the mind of
God, in thus creating them anew? Will that principle of love which exists now,
and which has existed from the beginning, exist after the resurrection? I mean
this sexual love. If that existed before the Fall, and if it has existed since
then, will it exist in the eternal worlds after the resurrection? This is a
very important question to be decided.
We read
in the revelations of God that there are various classes of beings in the
eternal worlds. There are some who are kings, priests, and Gods, others that
are angels; and also among them are the orders denominated celestial,
terrestrial, and telestial. God, however, according to the faith of the
Latter-day Saints, has ordained that the highest order and class of beings that
should exist in the eternal worlds should exist in the capacity of husbands and
wives, and that they alone should have the privilege of propagating their
species—intelligent immortal beings. Now it is wise, no doubt, in the Great
Creator to thus limit this great and heavenly principle to those who have
arrived or come to the highest state of exaltation, excellency, wisdom,
knowledge, power, glory, and faithfulness, to dwell in His presence, that they
by this means shall be prepared to bring up their spirit offspring in all pure
and holy principles in the eternal worlds, in order that they may be made
happy. Consequently, He does not entrust this privilege of multiplying spirits
with the terrestrial or telestial, or the lower order of beings there, nor with
angels. But why not? Because they have not proved themselves worthy of this
great privilege. We might reason, of the eternal worlds, as some of the enemies
of polygamy may reason of this state of existence, and say that there
are just as many males as females there, some celestial, some terrestrial, and
some telestial; and why not have all these paired off, two by two? Because God
administers His gifts and His blessings to those who are most faithful, giving
them more bountifully to the faithful, and taking away from the unfaithful that
with which they had been entrusted, and which they had not improved upon. That
is the order of God in the eternal worlds, and if such an order exists there,
it may in a degree exist here
When the
sons and daughters of the Most High God come forth in the morning of the
resurrection, this principle of love will exist in their bosoms just as it
exists here, only intensified according to the increased knowledge and
understanding which they possess; hence they will be capacitated to enjoy the
relationships of husband and wife, of parents and children, in a hundred fold
degree greater, than they could in mortality. We are not capable, while
surrounded with the weaknesses of our flesh, to enjoy these eternal principles
in the same degree that will then exist. Shall these principles of conjugal and
parental love and affection be thwarted in the eternal worlds? Shall they be
rooted out and overcome? No, most decidedly not. According to the religious
notions of the world these principles will not exist after the resurrection;
but our religion teaches the fallacy of such notions. It is true that we read
in the New Testament that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given
in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven. These are the words of our Savior
when he was addressing himself to a very wicked class of people, the Sadducees,
a portion of the Jewish nation, who rejected Jesus, and the counsel of God
against their own souls. They had not attained to the blessings and privileges
of their fathers, but had apostatized; and Jesus, in speaking to them, says
that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are
as the angels of God.
Now, how
are the angels of God after the resurrection? According to the revelations
which God has given, there are different classes of angels. Some angels are
Gods, and still possess the lower office called angels. Adam is called an
Archangel, yet he is a God. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, no doubt, have the right
to officiate in the capacity of angels if they choose, but still they have
ascended to their exaltation, to a higher state than that of angels—namely, to thrones,
kingdoms, principalities and powers, to reign over kingdoms and to hold the
everlasting Priesthood. Then there is another order of angels who never have
ascended to these powers and dignities, to this greatness and exaltation in the
presence of God. Who are they? Those who never received the everlasting
covenant of marriage for eternity; those who have not continued in nor received
that law with all their hearts, or who, perhaps, have fought against it. They
become angels. They have no power to increase and extend forth to kingdoms.
They have no wives, no husbands, and they are servants to those that sit upon
thrones and rule over kingdoms, and are counted worthy of a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory. These, no doubt, were the kind of angels Jesus had
reference to when speaking to those ungodly classes of beings called Sadducees
and Pharisees, one of which denied the doctrine of the resurrection altogether.
There is
a difference between the classes of angels called celestial, terrestrial and
telestial. The celestial angels have not attained to all of the power and
greatness and exaltation of kings and priests in the presence of God; they are
blessed with glory, happiness, peace and joy; but they are not blessed with the
privilege of increasing their posterity to all ages of eternity, neither have
they thrones and kingdoms, but they are servants to those of the highest order.
The angels of the terrestrial and telestial orders, while possessing a degree
of happiness and glory, are lower than those of the celestial order. We might
inquire, have angels not also these affections which belong to the higher class
of beings, inasmuch as they are resurrected beings? Yes, but herein they have
lost, through disobedience, the privilege of attaining to the higher glory and
exaltation. They have affections and desires that never can be gratified, and
in this respect their glory is not full.
I am
talking, to-day, to Latter-day Saints; I am not reasoning with unbelievers. If
I were, I should appeal more fully to the Old Testament Scriptures to bring in
arguments and testimonies to prove the divine authenticity of polygamic
marriages. Pehaps I may touch upon this for a few moments, for the benefit of
strangers, should there be any in our midst. Let me say, then, that God's
people, under every dispensation since the creation of the world, have,
generally, been polygamists. I say this for the benefit of strangers. According
to the good old book called the Bible, when God saw proper to call out Abraham
from all the heathen nations, and made him a great man in the world, He saw
proper, also, to make him a polygamist, and approbated him in taking unto
himself more wives than one. Was it wrong in Abraham to do this thing? If it
were, when did God reprove him for so doing? When did He ever reproach Jacob
for doing the same thing? Who can find the record in the lids of the Bible of
God reproving Abraham, as being a sinner, and having committed a crime, in
taking to himself two living wives? No such thing is recorded. He was just as
much blessed after doing this thing as before, and more so, for God promised
blessings upon the issue of Abraham by his second wife the same as that of the
first wife, providing he was equally faithful. This was a proviso in every
case.
When we
come down to Jacob, the Lord permitted him to take four wives. They are so
called in Holy Writ. They are not denominated prostitutes, neither are they
called concubines, but they are called wives, legal wives; and to show that God
approved of the course of Jacob in taking these wives, He blessed them
abundantly, and hearkened to the prayer of the second wife just the same as the
first. Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, and our great mother; for you know
that many of the Latter-day Saints by revelation know themselves to be the
descendants of Joseph, and he was the son of Rachel, the second wife of Jacob.
God in a peculiar manner blessed the posterity of this second wife. Instead of
condemning the old patriarch, He ordained that Joseph, the first-born of this
second wife, should be considered the first-born of all the twelve tribes, and
into his hands was given the double birthright, according to the laws of the
ancients. And yet he was the offspring of plurality—of the second wife of
Jacob. Of course, if Reuben, who was indeed the first-born unto Jacob, had
conducted himself properly, he might have retained the birthright and the
greater inheritance; but he lost that through his transgression, and it was
given to a polygamic child, who had the privilege of inheriting the blessing to
the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills—the great continent of North and
South America was conferred upon him. Another proof that God did not disapprove
of a man having more wives than one, is to be found in the fact that Rachel,
after she had been a long time barren, prayed to the Lord to give her seed. The
Lord hearkened to her cry and granted her prayer; and when she received seed
from the Lord by her polygamic husband, she exclaimed, "The Lord hath
hearkened unto me and hath answered my prayer." Now do you think the Lord
would have done this if he had considered polygamy a crime? Would He have
hearkened to the prayer of this woman if Jacob had been living with her in
adultery? and he certainly was doing so if the ideas of this generation are
correct.
Again,
what says the Lord in the days of Moses, under another dispensation? We
have seen that in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He approved of polygamy
and blessed His servants who practised it, and also their wives and children.
Now, let us come down to the days of Moses. We read that, on a certain occasion
the sister of Moses, Miriam, and certain others in the great congregation of
Israel, got very jealous. What were they jealous about? About the Ethiopian
woman that Moses had taken to wife, in addition to the daughter of Jethro, whom
he had taken before in the land of Midian. How dare the great law-giver, after
having committed, according to the ideas of the present generation, a great
crime, show his face on Mount Sinai when it was clothed with the glory of the
God of Israel? But what did the Lord do in the case of Miriam, for finding
fault with her brother Moses? Instead of saying, "You are right, Miriam,
he has committed a great crime, and no matter how much you speak against
him," He smote her with a leprosy the very moment she began to complain,
and she was considered unclean for a certain number of days. Here the Lord
manifested by the display of a signal judgment, that He disapproved of any one
speaking against His servants for taking more wives than one, because it may
not happen to suit their notions of things.
I make
these remarks and wish to apply them to fault-finders against plural marriages
in our day. Are there any Miriams in our congregation to-day, any of those who,
professing to belong to the Israel of the latter days, sometimes find fault
with the man of God standing at their head, because he not only believes in but
practices this divine institution of the ancients? If there be such in our
midst, I say, remember Miriam the very next time you begin to talk with your
neighboring women, or anybody else against this holy principle. Remember the
awful curse and judgment that fell on the sister of Moses when she did the same
thing, and then fear and tremble before God, lest He, in His wrath, may swear
that; you shall not enjoy the blessings ordained for those who inherit the
highest degree of glory.
Let us
pass along to another instance under the dispensation of Moses. The Lord says,
on a certain occasion, if a man have married two wives, and he should happen to
hate one and love the other, is he to be punished—cast out and stoned to death
as an adulterer? No; instead of the Lord denouncing him as an adulterer because
of having two wives, He gave a commandment regulating the matter, so that this
principle of hate in the mind of the man towards one of his wives should not
control him in the important question of the division of his inheritance among
his children, compelling him to give just as much to the son of the hated wife
as to the son of the one beloved; and, if the son of the hated woman happened
to be the first-born, he should actually inherit the double portion.
Consequently,
the Lord approved, not only the two wives, but their posterity also. Now, if
the women had not been considered wives by the Lord, their children would have
been bastards, and you know that He has said that bastards shall not enter into
the congregation of the Lord, until the tenth generation, hence you see there is
a great distinction between those whom the Lord calls legitimate or legal, and
those who were bastards—begotten in adultery and whoredom. The latter, with
their posterity, were shut out of the congregation of the Lord until the tenth
generation, while the former were exalted to all the privileges of legitimate
birthright.
Again,
under that same law and dispensation, we find that the law provided for another
contingency among the hosts of Israel. In order that the inheritances of the
families of Israel might not run into the hands of strangers, the Lord, in the
book of Deuteronomy, gives a command that if a man die, leaving a wife, but no
issue, his brother shall marry his widow and take possession of the
inheritance; and to prevent this inheritance going out of the family a strict
command was given that the widow should marry the brother or nearest living
kinsman of her deceased husband. The law was in full force st the time of the
introduction of Christianity—a great many centuries after it was given. The
reasoning of the Sadducees on one occasion when conversing with Jesus proves
that the law was then observed. Said they, "There were seven brethren who
took a certain woman, each one taking her in succession after the death of the
other." and they inquired of Jesus which of the seven would have her for a
wife in the resurrection. The Sadducees, no doubt, used this figure to prove,
as they thought, the fallacy of the doctrine of the resurrection, but it also
proves that this law, given by the Creator while Israel walked acceptably
before Him, was acknowledged by their wicked descendants in the days of the
Savior. I merely quote the passage to show that the law was not considered
obsolete at that time. A case like this, when six of the brethren had died, leaving
the widow without issue, the seventh, whether married or unmarried, must
fulfill this law and take the widow to wife, or lay himself liable to a severe
penalty. What was that penalty? According to the testimony of the law of Moses
he would be cursed, for Moses says, "Cursed be he that doth not all things
according as it is written in this book of the law, and let all the people say
Amen." There can be no doubt that many men in those days were compelled to
be polygamists in the fulfilment of this law, for any man who would not take
the childless wife of a deceased brother and marry her, would come under the
tremendous curse recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, and all the people would
be obliged to sanction the curse, because he would not obey the law of God and
become a polygamist. They were not all Congressmen in those days, nor
Presidents, nor Presbyterians, nor Methodists, nor Roman Catholics; but they
were the people of God, governed by divine law, and were commanded to be
polygamists; not merely suffered to be so, but actually commanded to be.
There are
some Latter-day Saints who, perhaps, have not searched these things as they
ought, hence we occasionally find some who will say that God suffered these
things to be. I will go further, and say that He commanded them, and He
pronounced a curse, to which all the people had to say amen, if they did not
fulfil the commandment.
Coming
down to the days of the prophets we find that they were polygamists; also to
the days of the kings of Israel, whom God appointed Himself, and approbated and
blessed. This was especially the case with one of them, named David, who, the
Lord said, was a man after His own heart. David was called when yet a youth to
reign over the whole twelve tribes of Israel; but Saul, the reigning king of
Israel, persecuted him, and sought to take away his life. David fled from city
to city throughout all the coasts of Judea in order to get beyond the reach of
the relentless persecutions of Saul. While thus fleeing, the Lord was with him,
hearing his prayers, answering his petitions, giving him line upon line,
precept upon precept; permitting him to look into the Urim and Thummim and
receive revelations, which enabled him to escape from his enemies.
In
addition to all these blessings that God bestowed upon him in his youth, before
he was exalted to the throne, the Lord gave him eight wives; and after exalting
him to the throne, instead of denouncing him for having many wives, and
pronouncing him worthy of fourteen or twenty-one years of imprisonment, the
Lord was with His servant David, and, thinking he had not wives enough He gave
to him all the wives of his master Saul, in addition to the eight he had
previously given him. Was the Lord to be considered a criminal, and worthy of
being tried in a court of justice and sent to prison for thus increasing the
polygamic relations of David? No, certainly not; it was in accordance with His
own righteous laws, and He was with His servant, David the King, and blessed
him. By and by, when David transgressed, not in taking other wives, but in
taking the wife of another man, the anger of the Lord was kindled against him
and He chastened him and took away all the blessings He had given him. All the
wives David had received from the hand of God were taken from him. Why? Because
he had committed adultery. Here then is a great distinction between adultery
and plurality of wives. One brings honor and blessing to those who engage in
it, the other degradation and death.
After
David had repented with all his heart of his crime with the wife of Uriah, he,
notwithstanding the number of wives he had previously taken, took Bathsheba
legally, and by that legal marriage Solomon was born; the child born of her
unto David, begotten illegally, being a bastard, displeased the Lord and He
struck it with death; but with Solomon, a legal issue from the same woman, the
Lord was so pleased that He ordained Solomon and set him on the throne of his
father David. This shows the difference between the two classes of posterity,
the one begotten illegally, the other in the order of marriage. If Solomon had
been a bastard, as this pious generation would have us suppose, instead of
being blessed of the Lord and raised to the throne of his father, he would have
been banished from the congregation of Israel and his seed after him for ten
generations. But, notwithstanding that he was so highly blessed and honored of
the Lord, there was room for him to transgress and fall, and in the end he did
so. For a long time the Lord blessed Solomon, but eventually he violated that
law which the Lord had given forbidding Israel to take wives from the
idolatrous nations, and some of these wives succeeded in turning his heart from
the Lord, and induced him to worship the heathen gods, and the Lord was angry
with him and, as it is recorded in the Book of Mormon, considered the acts of
Solomon an abomination in His sight.
Let us
now come to the record in the Book of Mormon, when the Lord led forth Lehi and
Nephi, and Ishmael and his two sons and five daughters out of the land of
Jerusalem to the land of America, the males and females were about equal in
number. There were Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel, the four sons of Lehi, and
Zoram, brought out of Jerusalem. How many daughters of Ishmael were unmarried?
Just five. Would it have been just under these circumstances to ordain
plurality among them? No. Why? Because the males and females were equal in
number and they were all under the guidance of the Almighty, hence it would
have been unjust, and the Lord gave a revelation—the only one on record I
believe—in which a command was ever given to any branch of Israel to be
confined to the monogamic system. In this case the Lord through His servant
Levi, gave a command that they should have but one wife. The Lord had a perfect
right to vary His commands in this respect according to circumstances as He did
in others, as recorded in the Bible. There we find that the domestic relations
were governed according to the mind and will of God, and were varied according
to circumstances, as he thought proper.
By and
by, after the death of Lehi, some of his posterity began to disregard the
strict law that God had given to their father, and took more wives than one,
and the Lord put them in mind, through His servant Jacob, one of the sons of
Lehi, of this law, and told them that they were transgressing it, and then
referred to David and Solomon, as having committed abomination in His sight.
The Bible also tells us that they sinned in the sight of God; not in taking
wives legally, but only in those they took illegally, in doing which they
brought wrath and condemnation upon their heads.
But
because the Lord dealt thus with the small branch of the House of Israel that
came to America, under their peculiar circumstances, there are those at the
present day who will appeal to this passage in the Book of Mormon as something
universally applicable in regard to man's domestic relataions. The same God
that commanded one branch of the House of Israel in America, to take but one
wife when the numbers of the two sexes were about equal, gave a different
command to the hosts of Israel in Palestine. But let us see the qualifying
clause given in the Book of Mormon on this subject. After having reminded the
people of the commandment delivered by Lehi in regard to monogamy, the Lord
says, "For if I will raise up seed unto me I will command my people,
otherwise they shall hearken unto these things;" that is, if I will raise
up seed among my people of the House of Israel, according to the law that exists
among the tribes of Israel I will give them a commandment on the subject, but
if I do not give this commandment they shall hearken to the law which I give
unto their father Lehi. That is the meaning of the passage, and this very
passage goes to prove that plurality was a principle God did approve under
circumstances when it was authorized by Him.
In the
early rise of this Church, February, 183l, God gave a commandment to its
members, recorded in the Book of Covenants, wherein He says, "Thou shalt
love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and to none
else;" and then He gives a strict law against adultery. This you have, no
doubt, all read; but let me ask whether the Lord had the privilege and the
right to vary from this law. It was given in 1831, when the one-wife system
alone prevailed among this people. I will tell you what the Prophet Joseph said
in relation to this matter in 1831, also in 1832, the year in which the law
commanding the members of this Church to cleave to one wife only was given.
Joseph was then living in Portage county, in the town of Hiram, at the house of
Father John Johnson. Joseph was very intimate with that family, and they were
good people at that time, and enjoyed much of the Spirit of the Lord. In the
fore part of the year 1832, Joseph told individuals, then in the Church, that
he had inquired of the Lord concerning the principle of plurality of wives, and
he received for answer that the principle of taking more wives than one is a
true principle, but the time had not yet come for it to be practised. That was
before the Church was two years old. The Lord has His own time to do all things
pertaining to His purposes in the last dispensation; His own time for restoring
all things that have been predicted by the ancient prophets. If they have
predicted that the day would come when seven women would take hold of one man,
saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us
be called by thy name to take away our reproach;" and that, in that day
the branch of the Lord should be beautiful and glorious and the fruits of the
earth should be excellent and comely, the Lord has the right to say when that
time shall be.
Now
supposing the members of this Church had undertaken to vary from that law given
in 1831, to love their one wife with all their hearts and to cleave to none
other, they would have come under the curse and condemnation of God's holy law.
Some twelve years after that time the revelation on Celestial Marriage was
revealed. This is just republished at the Deseret News office, in a
pamphlet entitled, "Answers to Questions," by President George A.
Smith, and heretofore has been published in pamphlet form and in the Millennial
Star, and sent throughout the length and breadth of our country, being
included in our works and published in the works of our enemies. Then came the
Lord's time for this holy and ennobling principle to be practised again among
His people.
We have
not time to read the revelation this afternoon; suffice it to say that God
revealed the principle through His servant Joseph in 1843. It was known by many
individuals while the Church was yet in Illinois; and though it was not then
printed, it was a familiar thing through all the streets of Nauvoo, and indeed
throughout all Hancock county. Did I hear about it? I verily did. Did my
brethren of the Twelve know about it? They certainly did. Were there any
females who knew about it? There certainly were, for some received the
revelation and entered into the practice of the principle. Some may say, "Why
was it not printed, and made known to the people generally, if it was of such
importance?" I reply by asking another question. Why did not the
revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants come to us in print years
before they did? Why were they shut up in Joseph's cupboard years and years
without being suffered to be printed and sent broadcast throughout the land?
Because the Lord had His own time again to accomplish His purposes, and He
suffered the revelations to be printed just when He saw proper. He did not
suffer the revelation on the great American war to be published until some time
after it was given. So in regard to the revelation on plurality; it was only a
short time after Joseph's death that we published it, having a copy thereof.
But what became of the original? An apostate destroyed it; you have heard her
name. That same woman, in destroying the original, thought she had destroyed
the revelation from the face of the earth. She was embittered against Joseph,
her husband, and at times fought against him with all her heart; and then again
she would break down in her feelings, and humble herself before God and call
upon His holy name, and would then lead forth ladies and place their hands in
the hands of Joseph, and they were married to him according to the law of God.
That same woman has brought up her children to believe that no such thing as
plurality of wives existed in the days of Joseph, and has instilled the
bitterest principles of apostacy into their minds, to fight against the Church
that has come to these mountains according to the predictions of Joseph.
In the
year 1854, before his death, a large company was organized to come and search
out a location, west of the Rocky Mountains. We have been fulfilling and
carrying out his predictions in coming here and since our arrival. The course
pursued by this woman shows what apostates can do, and how wicked they can
become in their hearts. When they apostatize from the truth they can come out
and swear before God and the heavens that such and such things never existed,
when they know, as well as they know they exist themselves, that they are
swearing falsely. Why do they do this? Because they have no fear of God before
their eyes; because they have apostatized from the truth; because they have
taken it upon themselves to destroy the revelations of the Most High, and to
banish them from the face of the earth, and the Spirit of God withdraws from
them. We have come here to these mountains, and have continued to practice the
principle of Celestial Marriage from the day the revelation was given until the
present time; and we are a polygamic people, and a great people, comparatively
speaking, considering the difficult circumstances under which we came to this
land.
Let us
speak for a few moments upon another point connected with this subject—that is,
the reason why God has established polygamy under the present circumstances
among this people. If all the inhabitants of the earth, at the present time,
were righteous before God, and both males and females were faithful in keeping
His commandments, and the numbers of the sexes of a marriageable age were
exactly equal, there would be no necessity for any such institution. Every
righteous man could have his wife and there would be no overplus of females.
But what are the facts in relation to this matter? Since old Pagan Rome and
Greece—worshipers of idols—passed a law confining man to one wife, there has
been a great surplus of females who have had no possible chance of getting
married. You may think this a strange statement, but it is a fact that those
nations were the founders of what is termed monogamy. All other nations, with
few exceptions, bad followed the Scriptural plan of having more wives
than one. These nations, however, were very powerful and when Christianity came
to them, especially the Roman nation, it had to bow to their mandates and
customs, hence the Christians gradually adopted the monogamic system. The
consequence was that a great many marriageable ladies of those days, and of all
generations from that time to the present, have not had the privilege of
husbands, as the one-wife system has been established by law among the nations
descended from the great Roman empire—namely, the nations of modern Europe and
the American States. This law of monogamy, or the monogamic system, laid the
foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting
nature and character under which modern Christendom groans, for as God has
implanted, for a wise purpose, certain feelings in the breasts of females as
well as males, the gratification of which is necessary to health and happiness,
and which can only be accomplished legitimately in the married state, myriads
of those who have been deprived of the privilege of entering that state, rather
than be deprived of the gratification of those feelings altogether, have, in
despair, given way to wickedness and licentiousness; hence the whoredoms and
prostitution among the nations of the earth, where the "Mother of
Harlots" has her seat.
When the
religious Reformers came out, some two or three centuries ago, they neglected
to reform the marriage system—a subject demanding their urgent attention But
leaving these Reformers and their doings, let us come down to our own times and
see whether, as has been often said by many, the numbers of the sexes are
equal; and let us take as a basis for our investigations on this part of our
subject the censuses taken by several of the States in the American Union.
Many will
tell us that the number of males and the number of females born are just about
equal, and because they are so it is not reasonable to suppose that God ever
intended the nations to practice plurality of wives. Let me say a few words on
that. Supposing we should admit, for the sake of argument, that the sexes are
born in equal numbers, does that prove that the same equality exists when they
come to a marriageable age? By no means. There may be about equal numbers born,
but what do the statistics of our country show in regard to the deaths? Do as
many females as males die during the first year of their existence? If you go
to the published statistics you will find, almost without exception, that in
every State a greater number of males die the first year of their existence
than females. The same holds good from one year to five years, from five years
to ten, from ten to fifteen, and from fifteen to twenty. This shows that the
number of females is greatly in excess of the males when they come to a
marriageable age. Let us elucidate still further, in proof of the position here
assumed. Let us take, for instance, the census of the State of Pennsylvania in
the year 1860, and we shall find that there were 17,588 more females than males
between the ages of twenty and thirty years, which may strictly be termed a
marriageable age. Says one, "Probably the great war made that
difference." No, this was before the war. Now let us go to the statistics
of the State of New York, before the war, and we find according to the official
tables of the census taken in 1860, that there were 45,104 more females than
males in that one State, between the ages of twenty and thirty years—a
marriageable age, recollect! Now let us go to the State of Massachusetts, and
look at the statistics there. In the year 1865, there were 33,452 more females
than males between the age of twenty and thirty. We might go on from State to
State and then to the census taken by the United States, and a vast surplus
would be shown of females over males of a marriageable age. What is to be done
with them? I will tell you what Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York say.
They say, virtually, "We will pass a law so strict, that if these females
undertake to marry a man who has another wife, both they and the men they marry
shall be subject to a term of imprisonment in the penitentiary." Indeed!
Then what are you going to do with these hundreds of thousands of females of a
marriageable age? "We are going to make them either old maids or
prostitutes, and we would a little rather have them prostitutes, then we men
would have no need to marry." That is the conclusion many of these
marriageable males, between twenty and thirty years of age, have come to. They
will not marry because the laws of the land have a tendency to make
prostitutes, and they can purchase all the animal gratification they desire
without being bound to any woman; hence many of them have mistresses, by whom
they raise children, and, when they get tired of them, turn both mother and
children into the street, with nothing to support them, the law allowing them
to do so, because the women are not wives. Thus the poor creatures are plunged
into the depths of misery, wretchedness and degradation, because at all risks
they have followed the instincts implanted within them by their Creator, and
not having the opportunity to do so legally have done so unlawfully. There are
hundreds and thousands of [unmarried] females in this boasted land of liberty,
through the narrow, contracted, bigoted State laws, preventing them from ever
getting husbands. That is what the Lord is fighting against; we, also, are
fighting against it, and for the re-establishment of the Bible religion and the
celestial or patriarchal order of marriage.
It is no
matter according to the Constitution whether we believe in the patriarchal part
of the Bible, in the Mosaic or in the Christian part; whether we believe in
one-half, two-thirds, or in the whole of it; that is nobody's business. The
Constitution never granted power to Congress to prescribe what part of the
Bible any people should believe in or reject; it never intended any such thing.
Much more
might be said, but the congregation is large, and a speaker, of course, will
weary. Though my voice is tolerably good, I feel weary in attempting to make a
congregation of from eight to ten thousand people hear me, I have tried to do
so. May God bless you, and may He pour out His Spirit upon the rising
generation among us, and upon the missionaries who are about to be sent to the
United States and elsewhere, that the great principles, political, religious
and domestic, that God has ordained and established, may be made known to all
people.
In this
land of liberty in religious worship, let us boldly proclaim our rights to
believe in and practice any Bible precept, command or doctrine, whether in the
Old or New Testament, whether relating to ceremonies, ordinances, domestic
relations, or any thing else, not incompatible with the rights of others, and
the great revelations of Almighty God manifested in ancient and modern times.
Amen.
The congregation joined with the choir in singing the hymn on page 166, "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."
Conference adjourned till ten a.m. to-morrow.
Prayer by Bishop E. D. Woolley.
[8 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 18:427-428, 10/13/69, p 7-8]
Friday, 10 a.m.
The Conference was called to order by President brigham Young.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn commencing "Come ye that Love the Lord."
Prayer was offered up by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The Tabernacle choir sang a glee entitled, "Wake Æolian Lyre."
[Elder Charles C. Rich]
Elder CHARLES C. RICH said, It is an inestimable blessing to live under the immediate direction of the Almighty. It is a blessing that might be enjoyed by the whole world, if they were willing to receive it. The Lord has never required anything of us only what would tend to our salvation. The dispensation under which we live is different from all previous dispensations. We are required now to build up the Kingdom of God permanently upon the earth. If we were to undertake to build a house for an individual we should expect that the person for whom the house was to be built would indctate as to how it should be constructed. So it is in regard to the Kingdom of God. There are people who are not willing that righteousness should be established on the earth. This is not our feeling; yet there is much room for us to improve and become united. We have the same opportunity of becoming so as the people of Enoch, or any other people that ever lived on the earth. We should be careful how we find fault with the servants of God or any principle that He has revealed. I feel thankful that I lived in the days of the Prophet Joseph, that I associated with him and heard the principles which he taught. I am also thankful that I live in the day of President Young. I can testify that he has carried out the principles taught by Joseph, and that God has been with the people up to the present time. Let us be dictated continually by the Spirit of inspiration. That we may do so is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Brother Fishburn's Choir sang "O Zion forever."
[Elder Erastus Snow]
Elder ERASTUS SNOW addressed the Conference. The Savior said "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you."If we keep in mind continually the object for which we are gathered together, and not give way to sorid selfishness, we will attain the object we had in view when we first connected ourselves with the church of Christ. If the priesthood were all determined to support the kingdom of God and defend its interests, the servants of God would have but little difficulty in leading the people; but as yet the tares continue among the wheat. Great efforts have been made to cause a combination of effort in our merchandizing, manufacturing and other interests. The results thus far have been exceedingly gratifying. Yet there are many who are foolish enough to step aside for the sake of a few dimes from the wise policy sought to be universally adopted among us. Such are blind; they allow a few dollars to stand between them and salvation in the kingdom of God. We should learn the difference between our friends and our enemies. Instead of importing manufactured goods we ought to import labor-saving machinery, and if we have not yet learned to supply ourselves with all the raw material we need, let us import what we need of that until we can produce it ourselves. Let us, however, increase the necessary raw material, let us increase the wool, the flax, the silk and other material. Instead of our wives and our daughters parading the streets, decked in the fanciful, ridiculous articles of dress that are imported from abroad, it would be much more gratifying to see them engaged in some useful occupaton at home. Salt Lake City excels every other city or settlement in this Territory for those evils, and the sooner they are abolished the better. I was one of the founders of this city and one of the first two who set foot on this soil, therefore I claim the privilege of speaking my sentements in regard to these matters. Amen.
Bro. Fishburn's choir sang the anthem entitled, "I will lift up mine eyes to the Hills."
[President Brigham Young]
President BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered an interesting discourse, which will shortly be published.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 18:428, 10/13/69, p 14; CDBY 5:2672]
REMARKS
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the new
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 8th, 1869
_____
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
_____
For one I
shall take the rebuke of Bro. Snow; I really think it belongs to us, and the
coat fits so perfectly that I cannot help wearing it. I will appeal to my
brethren and sisters to see if it will fit them. I do not wish to cast any
reflections on any one, but if my beloved brother from St. George will stand up
beside me, you will be able to see who is the best dressed, and who has the
most foreign goods on; if he does not wear as much as I do I am mistaken. I
generally wear cloth of my own make, but I am not doing so today, I have on a
coat that was given me. But I must say that the rebuke is just; it comes in
good time. Let us receive and profit by it. There is a great deal in it, as you
will see, if you reflect. Bro. Snow says he is one of the two first men that
set their feet in this valley; and he has a right to rebuke, guide, direct and
teach us, and to give that instruction which is necessary to make the people of
this and the other valleys acceptable to the Lord. I am happy to hear from him
and the rest of my brethren that their whole hearts are engaged, and, I man say,
their hands too, for his are in trying to sanctify and purify the people and
make them in reality what they profess to be,--namely, Saints of the Most High,
and to make them one in building up Zion and in bringing forth salvation and
deliverance to all the inhabitants of the earth.
This is a
matter of reflection with a great many. Brother Snow talks about our enemies
and about the wicked we have in our midst; also about our friends, neighbors
and relatives. I can say that if our friends and our enemies and the world of
mankind knew what we are actually doing, in the Lord, they never would raise
their hands or voices against us while they lived; no, never! It is hidden from
them; they do not see it. They cannot see it, unless the Spirit of the Lord
reveals it to them. We are laboring for the redemption of the human family. Let
anybody look at it, even our most bitter enemies, and all who have any hope of
eternity or eternal life, or even a desire for life everlasting; let them
examine for themselves and learn what the Latter-day Saints are doing.
We say,
the ancients said, and the whole Christian world say, that Christ died for the
sins of the world. All who believe in the New Testament believe that Jesus will
do what His apostles said He would and what He himself promised--that is, to
save all the children of men in a kingdom of glory, light, purity, happiness,
peace, delight and comfort. Whom will He save? How many will He save? Every son
and daughter of Adam and Eve, except those who sin against the Holy Ghost; they
will become angels of the devil. This is the promise of the Savior; and this is
the work we are engaged in if we are what we profess, believe and think we
are,--namely the people that God has called upon to come out from Babylon and
separate ourselves from sinners and from sin. We are laboring with the Savior
to accomplish the work of redemption for the human family, and to bring them
into glory, or else we are doing nothing. Do the people of the world see this?
Can they see it? No; not unless they have eyes,--eyes to see, and then see.
Although
the Latter-day Saints are called to such a high and important mission, we have
many foolish customs and habits existing amongst us. While beholding this, we,
on the other hand, can also behold the sincerity of the people. Look at their
sacrifices! Is it not a spectacle to behold the Latter-day Saints gathering
from all parts of the earth--for we have them here from almost every nation
under heaven--for the sake of being with those who are building up Zion? Yet if
we view ourselves as in a glass, we find that many of us indulge in foolish
fashions and customs, and in feelings which are worse than the cut of a coat or
the shape of a bonnet. I do not consider that the coat makes any difference in
reality. I do not consider that it makes any difference with regard to the love
of truth in the heart of a lady whether she has three straws and a ribbon on
her head or whether she has a corn-fan as we used to call the old fashioned
bonnets. But, still, when the heart clings to these things that are so
perishable and unnecessary, and follows after the fashions of the world, so
wanting in comfort, I consider that we are very foolish and unwise.
This
people are required to come out from Babylon and from the wicked. They may say.
"Have
we not done so? We have left our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, our
uncles and aunts, our homes and comforts, or our poverty, and have gathered
with the Saints to build up Zion."
This is
all true; but still we are by no means free from the traditions and customs of
Babylon. We hear a sister say.
"I
want to send to New York to get the fashions;" or, "I want a dress or
a bonnet made;" or, "I want to get a dress from New York or Paris or
London, and I want to see the fashions."
"Sister,
do you take the fashion magazines?"
"Yes,
I take them, for I want to see how to have a skirt cut, or the waist of my
dress cut, or how to have this overgarment cut, made and trimmed."
Now,
instead of being influenced and controlled by the follies and fashions of the
world, a sensible lady would say.
"Who
cares what other folks wear? I have just as good judgment and taste as any lady
who lives in New York, London or Paris. My taste suits me, my judgment will
answer for me and I will have a fashion to suit myself, and I will cut and make
my garment for my comfort, beauty, and excellence, and I will dress according
to my own taste; I care nothing about the fashions of the world."
This
would be in accordance with the dictates of good sense and consistent with the
instincts of a true lady. I do not mean those female loafers Brother Snow has
been talking about, who are so useless; who think of nothing but riding, or
patrolling the streets, for the sake of displaying their dresses or their fine
bonnets, while their children, if they have any, are perhaps at home in the
dirt, uncared for, unwashed in the morning, and running the streets, with
nobody to teach them their letters. I do not call such characters ladies. A
real lady should possess all the refinement and good behavior necessary in good
society; she should possess all the knowledge of things pertaining to the cares
of life devolving upon her in her sphere as a woman:--how to take care of her
children, to keep her house clean and like a little palace, how to make beds,
make bread, cook, cleanse the cooking utensils,--and in addition to all this
she should be virtuous, and should strive continually to serve and obtain a
knowledge of God. All these qualifications are necessary for a lady, but such
things are disregarded to a very great extent now-a-days, especially in
fashionable life, among those who are styled ladies.
A young
man thinks he would like to get married, and having selected a young lady whom
he thinks he would like for a partner, he says.
"I
have some idea of entering the matrimonial state, and, having observed you for
some time, I think I would like to make a proposition to you with that end in
view. Can you milk a cow?"
"Oh,
no, I never milked in my life."
"Can
you make bread?"
"Oh,
no, my mother or the hired girl does that."
"Can
you make your bed?"
"I
never made a bed in my life."
"Can
you wash dishes?"
"Well,
really, my hands don't look as though they had been in the dish water."
The young
man is discouraged; he looks forward to life. Says he: "We have to eat and
drink; we want a good bed to sleep on, a good house to live in, good food for
our bodies and I am looking forward to know how to obtain these articles, and I
say to this young lady can you do these things and help me to gain a
livelihood, and gain knowledge for ourselves, bring up a family of children and
give them a good education?"
When a
young gentleman finds there is no prospect for these things he leaves in
disgust. This is the condition of the world today--with a few exceptions, in
the higher ranks who have means--everybody, especially the female portion of
society, seems to be anxious to obtain means to spend without labor.
The
Latter-day Saints are called to something else; they are called to build up the
Kingdom of God, and every person who has read the Old and New Testaments, and
believes them, can easily understand that the performance of that work involves
a great amount of labor. Is Zion to be built up on this earth? Yes, every
person who believes the Bible acknowledges that. Well, is God coming here to
build our houses and temples, to make our streets, or set out our orchards and
vineyards? O, no, we do not expect that. Is He going to send His angels here to
perform this labor? No, I rather think not. I have not yet learned any such
thing. Then how will he build up Zion? He will build up His Zion by gathering
His people together. Suppose the people believe the gospel, and, when they
gather together, bring Babylon with them, are they gathered from Babylon? No,
they are not; they are only gathered from one part of it to another.
There is
a great work to be done in building up Zion on the earth in the latter days. I
know very well that our enemies do not believe that we are building up Zion. I
am really glad of it. Why? Because they are helping to establish this Zion.
Shall I say they are doing all they can? No; they are doing a little, but they
do not know it; they are fulfilling the prophecies, but they do not understand
it. Do you suppose the enemies of God's kingdom would fulfil the prophecies if
they knew they were fulfilling them? No, I think not. I know they say they are
not the enemies of God or righteousness; but, if they are not, why do they not
practice righteousness? If they are not the enemies of God, why not obey His
commands? If they are not the enemies of truth and peace, and to all the
blessings that pertain to the holy gospel, which make men and women pure in
heart and pure in their lives, why do they not practice the principles of that
gospel? Do we not know men by their works and deeds? Is not a tree known by the
fruit it bears? They say they delight in righteousness and feel to promote it,
but they never do it. They say they bear beautiful fruit, but when it is
plucked it is sour and bitter to the taste. All people will be judged by their
works and the fruits thereof. I think that is the way that the Lord has said He
will judge the people of the nations of the earth.
The Lord
has spoken to the whole world of mankind through His servant Joseph Smith, the
Prophet; He has sent forth the words of eternal life to the whole world so far
as they would receive them. If there is a few who have harkened to the still
small voice, a few who have lent a listening ear to the whisperings of the
Spirit of God, and have gathered out from the wicked, they do not want Babylon
in their midst. The question may arise.
How do
you know you do not; have you tried it? Yes we have, and to our sorrow. We have
promoted the interests of the wicked in our midst; we have fed and clothed
them; we have made ourselves poor by giving them our money, and they have used
that means to destroy us. Would they do it again? Yes, they would do it again
and again, if we would permit them. But, saying nothing of the past, the time
has now come for us to say we will build up the kingdom of God, and build up
the kingdoms of this world no more. Is there any treason in this? No. Anything
contrary to the Constitution of our Government? No. Is it contrary to any of
the laws of our country? No; it is not. I can go and trade with James, my
friend, just as well as to go to Mr. Jones' store. I say.
"Friend
James, I wish to do my trading with you, and I shall send my orders to your
store."
James
says to Joseph, "Joseph, if thou wilt do thy trading with me, I will do
well by thee."
So they
mutually agree, and Joseph trades with James, and buys all his goods at James'
store, and there is no harm in it. He is not obliged to go to the store of a
Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Universalian, or infidel, or any
where else; but he can trade with James only, if he pleases, because he is his
friend, and there is no sin nor harm in it whatever.
Is there
any evil in the Latter-day Saints trading with one another? Oh, no, not the
least; but "it is impolitic" some will cry; "it is not policy
for you to shut yourselves up in this manner; you should not be so isolated and
exclusive in your dealings." I say we should be strictly so; we have not
been so in the past. We have made scores of merchants rich in this city who
never dared tell the truth about us; but when lies came along they would
sanction and foster them, and they do the same to-day. There are men here in
our midst today who tell that which is as false as false can be with regard to
the character of this people. They court contention and discord and alienation
of feeling. Is this righteous.
We do not
want Babylon in our midst, do we? If we are the people that we say and believe
we are, we never should do another deed to foster Babylon in our midst. Is
there any harm in this? I can not see that there is? I have the liberty of
trading, dealing and doing just as and where I please, as far as I can, if I
transgress no law and do not infringe upon the rights of any of my
fellowbeings. This is the law of liberty. All things, says the Apostle, are
yours: height, length, depth and breadth; every glory and every blessing and
privilege; every power that you can imagine is yours, provided you do not
infringe upon the rights of others. This is the-liberty of the gospel. Is there
any harm in living thus? There would be no harm that I can see if my sisters
were called upon here to form themselves into a society and make a covenant to
make their head dresses of material that grows in the country. In the fair that
has just been held I saw some hats and bonnets made of straw throughout; there
was no foreign or imported material used in them, and they were the handsomest
and most lovely and delicate I saw there. I can recollect when straw trimming
first came into fashion. They sent from England to Massachusetts, and would pay
four prices for bonnets that were trimmed with straw alone. Why not wear such
bonnets now? Has it become less beautiful, or has it less lustre than it had
forty, fifty or sixty years ago? Then why is it not worn? It is not
fashionable. That is a very silly word indeed.
How
short-sighted we are to say "it is not fashionable!" Why, the fashion
is whatever we are disposed to make it; we can make the fashion just to please
ourselves. If I am disposed to wear a hat with a brim two and a half inches
wide, that is my fashion as long as I continue to wear it, and it is just as
good as to call it after any other name. It is so with boots, hats, bonnets or
dresses. If a dress is made, possessing some peculiarity, and is called after a
queen or some fine lady, it is fashionable, and others must copy after it just
on that account. What folly! Have we not minds? Has not God endowed us with all
the qualifications to think and judge what is good for ourselves, as well as
anybody else in the world? He has. All the attributes that we read of Him
possessing are in mankind; we see them. They are developed more or less. Why
not use these attributes, and think and say that our own fashions are as good
as anybody else's.
Suppose
we should ask our sisters if they will covenant and agree to make their own
head dresses out of material produced here! We are raising silk, and if the
ladies do not know how to make ribbons, our silkweavers do; the raw material is
on hand in abundance, and they can go to work and weave silk ribbons enough for
the ladies to cover themselves. We are capable of making any kind we please,
and we can certainly make the straw. Suppose you ask the brethren if they will
wear a good substantial home-made straw hat in warm weather. Would there be any
harm in it? No. How much would it save this community if the ladies and
gentlemen were to wear home-made head-dresses for twelve months to come? Have
you any idea what it would save? Do you think it would be a thousand dollars?
If it were no more, a thousand dollars would bring out ten, twelve or fifteen
poor Saints, with what they could do for themselves. Say we save a thousand
dollars, that would help to emigrate some poor Saints. If we saved ten
thousand, that would emigrate a hundred perhaps, with what they could do for
themselves. If we do this, it would help to relieve suffering creatures who
would lick the dust off our feet to have the privilege that we have today.
Hundreds and thousands of them would crawl on their hands and knees to this
house and lick the dust where we walked to enjoy the privilege we enjoy today.
Do we esteem it? Do we realize our position before God and angels? Think of
these things! Now, brethren and sisters, suppose we say that we will make our
own head dresses, and save a hundred thousand dollars annually, and with that
amount feed the hungry, clothe the naked and put in the possession of those
poor, ignorant ones who come here the knowledge how to live, teach them from
good books, what the world is, what God is; would not this be infinitely better
than to waste our means for the gratification of vanity and fashion.
I may ask
again, are we obliged to import? Is it the law of the land that we shall
purchase our goods here in this city of those who would put a knife to our
throats and cut them if they had the power? I know of no such law, do you? If
there is any such a law I have never seen it. Still, some might say it is
policy for us to do so. I say there is no good policy in any such a course. If
we are the Saints of God, we should come out from the world and from the sins
of the world, and sanctify ourselves.
It is
true this is the emporium of fashion and folly for the Territory. I have often
been ashamed of the people of Salt Lake City. When I travel in the country,
which I do a good deal, I preach to congregations here and there, and the
ladies will have on sun-bonnets, or home-made straw bonnets and hats, and the
brethren will wear cloth that their wives have made. How commendable it looks!
And it looks very well, although sometimes made rude and rough. It looks comely
and keeps them warm and comfortable, both old and young. God delights in those
who will be industrious. I am thankful to see so much of it. I have many a time
said.
"Brethren
and sisters, I feel to thank and bless you, I see you have got your home-made
on.
We now
have factories in the Territory and can make cloth just as good as imported. Do
we want fine broadcloth? Then let the Elders of Israel do as they have been
instructed with regard to sheep. Now is the time for us to secure to ourselves
the finest wool there is in America. It is down now, it is worth comparatively
nothing. Why? Because somebody or other in Paris or some other place is making
coats and pantaloons out of what I call gunny cloth, and it is all the rage. It
will be but a few years before they will return to the fine wool again, then
you will, perhaps, have to pay five thousand dollars for an animal you can now
purchase for fifty. Now is the time to procure the animals that grow the
material we wish to wear. We are still building factories for its manufacture.
There is one or two in progress in the south, and we calculate to have a large
one in Provo; and we shall have the machinery to manufacture the finest wool
and cloth, and to give it all the finish that they do in the west of England,
then we can wear home-made and be dressed in fine broadcloth. We are making
cloth now that is commendable and which recommends itself to the most
cultivated taste in the country.
My
brethren and sisters, hearken to what has been told you at this Conference. We
are assembled together in order to give you good instruction. We have not half
spoken to you yet, and almost three days are gone. This is the first time I
have taken the liberty, this Conference, to talk to you. We want to keep you
here; we would like the whole of the Latter-day Saints to be here; and that is
not all when we teach the ways of life and salvation and economy to the people
we would like the whole world to hear it, and we would like them to know what
we practice. Our works are not in the dark, they are published to the world,
and a great more than our acts too. I have had a great many gentlemen call upon
me, who nave said.
"I
have been well used by your people, never treated better in my life, just as
well as if I had been in my own house or my father's house. Governor Young, I
am going to such a place, what can I do for you?
I have
answered, universally.
"I
have but one request, and that is that you will speak the truth about us,
nothing else; that is all I ask."
But who
will do it? Scarcely one, they who do are the very few exceptions. I smiled the
other day in reading a communication from George Francis Train, who took the
liberty to correct a mistake which he saw published in a paper about the people
of Utah. Afterwards, there was another notice of him which, in alluding to his
defense of us said "were it not that we consider him a lunatic, he would
be taken up for conspiracy." What an idea! It is about as good as many
others very generally entertained.
I will
now say a few words with regard to our position from the time that we have been
a people until now. Persecution commenced at the beginning of Joseph's career.
You would see a little one-horse priest with a constable, perhaps, by his side,
abusing the prophet and hatching up lawsuits. That was the commencement. What
was the result of this treatment? It made him depend upon his own resources and
upon God. Then towns and counties, with their persecutions, and what was the
result? Those by whom we were surrounded drove us to depend upon our resources
and abilities and upon the God we served. How was it with States? They drove
the Latter-day Saints to depend upon their own resources and ability; upon
their own economy, wisdom, strength and power,-that that God had given them.
What did the Government of the United States do, and what is it now doing?
Driving us to the necessity of becoming a selfsustaining people. Did they ever
foster us? No; we have spent more here, a hundred times over, than any other
Territory, for the Indians. What have we got for it? A song, and had to sing it
ourselves. I believe, since we have been here, we have had less than sixty
thousand dollars appropriated to pay the expenses of Indian wars, and a little
doled out to the Indians. How much the Superintendents and Agents have put
away, it is not for me to say. I do not know nor care how it was. When I was
Superintendent I know that every dollar and farthing, and scores of thousands
of dollars besides, that the Government refused to pay for years, were given to
the Indians. At last I got my bill settled, through Captain Hooper, our
delegate to Congress. Did they ever furnish me a sixpence in advance? No, not
one red cent. I recollect buying three guns, yagers, at six or eight dollars
apiece, and I returned them as Government property, because they were purchased
to furnish men when traveling among the Indians. Would they allow me anything
for them? No; not a red cent. Then what could I return as I made out my
quarterly reports? It must have been about like this, "three goose quills,
two steel pens and half a sheet of paper." Were these Government property?
No; I bought and paid for them myself; but they were in my office.
What does
this policy do? It drives people to be perfectly independent and become a
nation.
How were
we treated in Nauvoo? Stephen A. Douglass came to us, accompanied by one or two
other Congressmen, perhaps one was a Senator. They said they came to make a
treaty with us to leave the confines of the United States. We told them we
would do it, and they said if we would, they would see us paid for our property.
Did they ever see us paid one dollar? No, not one red cent. We left our houses,
farms, gardens and our property in the State of Illinois and came here without
it; but the agreement was that if we would leave the United States we should be
paid; but we never got it. I, with my brethren, wrote to the Governors of every
State and Territory, except Missouri, asking them to give us an asylum in their
domain. Every one of them, with the exception of one or two, did not take the
pains to answer. Those who did answer, refused us an asylum. Then we took up
the line of march and left them, to go beyond the confines of the United
States, and when we got right into the heart of an Indian country the
Government was so kind as to send a demand for 500 men to go to the Mexican
war. What did this show? It showed a determination on their part, which,
expressed in so many words, said "We will slay you Mormons if we can; we
will ruin you if we can get any excuse for so doing." How impolitic this
was! Instead of ruining us they were driving us to independence. I do think
there never was a nation in the world that had less good, sound sense than the
one we now live in. As for the policy necessary to pursue to preserve their
constituents, and the course to take to make a great, proud, noble and superior
nation, they do not understand it. I need not say they do not know how to build
up, sustain and make a great and good nation, But any body can tear to pieces.
I
recollect what Joseph told Stephen A. Douglas. He was a great friend of Joseph
and Joseph was a great friend of his. Said Joseph, "Mr. Douglass, I will
tell you one thing. You are now aspiring to become President of the United
States. This is your aspiration at the present time." "How do you
know that?" said Douglass. Joseph answered, "No matter how I know it,
I know this is your aspiration, but I want to inform you that, if ever you lift
your heel against the Latter-day Saints, God will smite you, and you will never
become President; but if you take a just, honorable and righteous course with
regard to this people, the Lord will lift you and you will preside over the
United States." When Douglass made that speech in Springfield, the die was
cast, and his doom was sealed. He was canvassing then, but I wrote to him and
told him he would never sit in the Presidential chair, and called to his mind
the prophecy of Joseph upon his head. He went straight down to the grave.
Well, we
left the confines of the United States, as I have told you, and the course that
has been pursued towards us has forced us to rely upon our own resources. When
a man comes here with his silken lips and tells how he loves us, if he does not
receive the truth and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, know ye that he is
not of us. "he that gathereth not with us, scattereth abroad." Said
Jesus, "He that is not for us is against us." Is it so today? It is
and has been, from that day to this, and ever will be. Christ and Baal have not
become friends. We do not expect such parties to be our friends any further than
political policy, good neighborhood and manly feelings demand; as for their
having real sympathy with us, they have not, if they have they will receive and
embrace the truth. But I say again, if those who revile us, knew what we are
doing to lay a foundation for their redemption, that they may not become angels
of the devil, they would rejoice, and bless us and sustain our hands.
We are
going to ask the congregation of Saints some questions with regard to temporal
matters, home productions, home manufacture, political economy and so forth.
This afternoon we shall present the Authorities to the Conference, and we want
you to have your ears open and be ready to hearken and act perfectly free. I
want every person to act as free as Mr. Hudson did yesterday when the memorial
was read here that is to be presented to Congress, when the contrary vote was
called for said he, "I think it rather too rabid." I admired the
independence of the man, but I am satisfied that he did not know anything about
the instrument.
We shall
adjourn our Conference tomorrow, at the end of the morning's meeting, and have
half a day's rest. Zion's Camp is invited, by Bishop Hunter to take dinner at
four o'clock. We shall resume our Conference on Sunday morning at ten o'clock,
and when it comes evening we will dismiss the Conference. Now make your
calculations. A great many people say they like to come to Conference, they
like to hear the preaching, the counsel and advice. Come, and fill this house.
Stay here through Conference you that live in St. George and St. Joseph; in
Richland, Richmond, Paris, or anywhere else. Stay here and get all the
instruction you can, that you may go home and know how to teach the people.
We will
now close our morning's services. [DWE]
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 272, commencing "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."
Prayer by Elder George B. Wallace.
[8 Oct, 2 pm*]
[DNW 18:428, 10/13/69, p 8]
Two p.m.
Meeting was called to order by President Geo. A. Smith. The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page seventy-none, commencing "Glorious things are sung of Zion."
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the anthem commencing "How beautiful upon the mountains."
Elder GEO. Q. CANNON presented the names of the following brethren to go on missions to the Eastern States, in addition to those who have already been presented to the Conference:
John P
Barnard, Brigham City
Arich C Brower, Richmond
Grandison Raymond, Kaysville
Jacob E Terry, Rockville, Kane Co
Agrippa Cooper, Oxford, Cache Co
William G Nelson, Oxford, Cache Co
Bishop John B Fairbanks, Payson
Zechariah B Decker, Sen., Paroway
Daniel McRae, 11th ward
Moroni Reese, 17th ward
Wellington Seeley, Mount Pleasant
W W Sterrett, Rich Co
Nathan Tanner, 14th ward
William H Walton, Bountiful
Hosiah Kilburn, Bountiful
The following brethren were also presented to the Conference as being called to go on missions to the Sandwich Islands:
James
Hawkins,
William King,
Harvey H. Cluff.
Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the Authorities of the Church for the approval or disapproval of the Saints, as follows:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George A. Smith his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham young, jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of the said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counselors.
William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Cladius V. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, Charles S. Kimball, Joseph S. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, Nathaniel H. Felt, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Hampton S. Beatle, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, and Theodore McKean, members of the High council.
John Young, President of the High Priests Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop. Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselos.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum, Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Robert Price and Wm. McLaughlin, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, and Edward Hunter his assistants for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
The votes in favor of sustaining the Authorities were unanimous.
Friday, 2 p.m.
[Elder Franklin D. Richards]
Elder FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS said that the responsibilities are increasing upon all who profess to be Latter-day Saints. The burden of carrying forward this great work rests upon the shoulders of all, but comparatively few realized it; yet the time seems drawing near when all will have to be alive to the carrying out of those measures which have been introduced, and which are so necessary for the welfare of the Kingdom of God. Those who cannot see the benefits to be derived from carrying out faithfully the system of Co-operation are indeed blind. We have already been told by President Young that during the few months that the system has been in operation some $600,000 have been saved to the Territory. Not only are the pecuniary benefits arising from it considerable, but if we adhere to this system, we will have the satisfaction of attending to our own concerns ourselves. An illustrious visitor to this city, declared, a short time since, that the very best policy we could adopt would be to invite outside capital in order to develop the resources of our Territory. This would be the most suicidal policy that could be adopted by us. The Lord has commanded His servant to build up Zion, and unite His people together. The Saints are increasing in faith and good works, but there is great room for improvement yet. May we continually increase in unity and every good and vital principle of the gospel. Amen.
[President Geo. A. Smith]
President GEO. A. SMITH addressed the Conference. I have rejoiced in hearing the instructions given by those who have spoken, for they show that the elders are growing in wisdom. I am glad that we are about to send forth so many experienced elders to preach the gospel to the inhabitants of our own country. Ever since I became acquainted with the gospel I have neglected no opportunity of bearing testimony to its truth. I know that the Prophet Joseph rejoiced that the law of Celestial Marriage was introduced in such a way that all the powers of earth and hell could not destroy it. The agent of a Bible Society asked me some time since, whether we circulated the Bible in our Territory. I answered certainly, for that Book supports the principles inculcated in our faith, especially the doctrine of plural marriage. There are some passages in the scriptures that monogamists use as arguments against polygamy. In the writings of the Apostle Paul it is stated that "a bishop should be the husband of one wife." It seems that the only inference that can be drawn from this passage is, that a bishop ought to be a married man. These men who are held up in the scriptures as patterns of excellence and godliness were polygamists; of this Jacob is a striking instance. When Jesus was on the earth he denounced fornication, adultery and all other vices, but never said one word condemnatory of a plurality of wives. He said He had not come to destroy, but to fulfil the law; and that law to which He had reference not only recognized, but under some circumstances, commands a plurality of wives. The ancient prophets of God, were commissioned of the Almighty to go forth and warn the people of their iniquities, and were told if they should neglect to do so, the curse of the Lord would rest upon them. They denounced all manner of crimes, but although the men in that day were living with a plurality of wives, no word escaped them derogatory of the practice of that order. Had polygamy been a crime, they would have been under condemnation for not denouncing it. Abraham is called the "father of the faithful," and many of the Christians speak of going to Abraham's bosom; yet he was a polygamist. All Christians expect to go into the New Jerusalem, and if they ever do go there, they will find twelve gates, and on those gates the names of the twelve sons of the four wives of Jacob. No monogamist will want to go in there; and this being the case, how can a monogamist ever get there? And further, me or women who lift their voice against this principle, under the government of God, will never get into that city. May God help us to gain admittance there, is my prayer. Amen.
[George A. Smith]
[DNW 18:452, 10/27/69, p 8; JD 13:37]
REMARKS.
By President GEO. A. SMITH, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, October 8th, 1869
_____
[REPORTED BY JOHN GRIMSHAW]
_____
It is a
difficult undertaking to address this immense audience. If a man commences
speaking loud, in a short time his voice gives out; whereas, if he commence
rather low, he may raise his voice by degrees, and be able to sustain himself
in speaking some length of time. But with children crying, a few persons
whispering, and some shuffling their feet, it is indeed a difficult task to
make an audience of ten thousand persons hear. I have listened with pleasure to
the instructions of our brethren from the commencement of our Conference to the
present time. I have rejoiced in their testimonies. I have felt that the elders
are improving in wisdom, in knowledge, in power, and in understanding; and I
rejoice in the privilege, which we have at the present day, of sending out to
our own country a few hundred of the elders who have had experience—who have
lived in Israel long enough to know, to feel, and to realize the importance of
the work in which they are engaged—to understand its principles and comprehend
the way of life. They can bear testimony to a generation that has nearly grown
from childhood since the death of the Prophet, Joseph Smith.
The Lord
said in relation to those who have driven the Saints that lie would visit
"judgment, wrath, and indignation, wailing and anguish, and gnashing of
teeth upon their heads unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they
repent not and hate me, saith the Lord your God."
I am a
native of Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York—a town somewhat famous for its
literary institutions, its learning and the religion and morality of its
inhabitants. I left there in my youth, with my father's family, because we had
received the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed through Joseph Smith; and
followed with the Saints through their drivings and trials unto the present
day.
I have
never seen the occasion, nor let the opportunity slip, from the time when I
first came to a knowledge of the truth of the work of the Lord in the last
days, that I understood it was in my power to do good for the advancement of
this work but what I have used my utmost endeavours to accomplish that good. I
have never failed to bear a faithful testimony to the work of God, or to carry
out to all intents and purposes, the wishes and designs of the Prophet, Joseph
Smith. I was his kinsman; was familiar with him, though several years his
junior; knew his views, his sentiments, his ways, his designs, and many of the
thoughts of his heart, and I do know that the servants of God, the Twelve
Apostles, upon whom he laid the authority to bear off the Kingdom of God, and
fulfil the work which he had commenced, have done according to his designs, in
every particular, up to the present time and are continuing to do so. And I
know, furthermore, that he rejoiced in the fact that the law of redemption and
Celestial Marriage was revealed unto the Church in such a manner that it would
be out of the power of earth and hell to destroy it; and that he rejoiced in
the fact that the servants of God were ready prepared, having the keys to bear
off the work he had commenced. Previous to my leaving Potsdam, there was but
one man that I ever heard of in that town who did not believe the Bible. He
proclaimed himself an atheist, and he drowned himself.
The
Latter-day Saints believe the Bible. An agent of the American Bible Society
called on me the other day and wanted to know if we would aid the Society in
circulating the Bible in our Territory? I replied yes, by all means, for it was
the book from which we were enabled to set forth our doctrines, and especially
the doctrine of plural marriage.
There is
an opinion in the breasts of many persons, who suppose that they believe the
Bible, that Christ, when he came, did away with plural marriage, and that he
inaugurated what is termed monogamy; and there are certain arguments and
quotations used to maintain this view of the subject, one of which is found in
Paul's first epistle to Timothy (3 chap. 2 v.), where Paul says: "A bishop
should be blameless, the husband of one wife." The friends of monogamy
render it in this way: "A bishop should be blameless, the husband of but
one wife." That would imply that any one but a bishop might have more.
But they will say, "We mean a bishop should be blameless, the husband of
one wife only." Well, that would also admit of the construction that other
people might have more than one. I understand it to mean that a bishop must be
a married man.
A short
time ago, the Minister from the King of Greece to the United States called on
President Young. I inquired of him in relation to the religion of his country,
and asked him if the clergy were allowed to marry. It is generally understood
that the Roman Catholic clergy are not allowed to marry. How is it with the
Greek clergy? "Well," said he, "all the clergy marry, except the
bishop." I replied, "You render the saying of Paul differently from
what we do. We interpret it to mean—a bishop should be blameless, the husband
of one wife at least;" and "we construe it," said he,
"directly the opposite."
Now this
passage does not prove that a man should have but one wife. It only proves that
a bishop should be a married man. The same remark is made of deacons, that they
also should have wives. Another passage is brought up where the Saviour speaks
of divorce. He tells us that it is very wrong to divorce, and that Moses
permitted it because of the hardness of their (the children of Israel's)
hearts. A man should leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife,
and they twain should be one flesh. That is the principal argument raised that
a man should have but one wife.
In the
New Testament in various places, certain eminent men are referred to as
patterns of faith, purity, righteousness and piety. For instance, if you read
the epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, the 11th chapter, you find therein selected
those persons "who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant
in fight, turning to flight the armies of the aliens;" and it is said by
faith Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, and that he conferred upon them a
blessing to the uttermost bounds of the everlasting hills. Who was Joseph? Why,
Joseph was the son of Rachel. And who was Rachel? Rachel was the second wife of
Jacob, a polygamist. Jacob had four wives, and after he had taken the second
(Rachel), she, being barren, gave a third wife unto her husband that she might
bear children unto him for her; and instead of being displeased with her for
giving her husband another wife, God heard her prayer, blessed her, worked a
miracle in her favour by opening her womb, and she bore a son, and called his
name Joseph, rejoicing in God, whom she testified would give her another son.
The question now arises, were not Rachel and Jacob one flesh? Yes. Leah and
Jacob were also one flesh. Jacob is selected by the Apostle Paul as a pattern
of faith for Christians to follow; he blessed his twelve sons, whom he had by
four wives. The law of God, as it existed in those days, and as laid down in
this book (the Bible) makes a child born of adultery or of fornication a
bastard; and the same is prohibited from entering into the congregation of the
Lord unto the tenth generation.
Now,
instead of God's blessing Rachel and Jacob and their offspring, as we
are told He did, we might have expected something entirely different, had it
not been that God was pleased with and approbated and sustained a plurality of
wives.
While we
are considering this subject, we will inquire, did the Saviour in any place
that we can read of, in the course of his mission on the earth, denounce a
plurality of wives? He lived in a nation of Jews; the law of Moses was in
force, plurality of wives was the custom, and thousands upon thousands of
people, from the highest to the lowest in the land, were polygamists. The
Saviour denounced adultery; he denounced fornication; he denounced lust; also
divorce; but is there a single sentence asserting that plurality of wives is
wrong? If so, where is it? Who can find it? Why did he not say it was wrong
"Think not," said he, "that I am come to destroy the law or the
Prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Not one jot or one tittle
shall pass from the law and the Prophets; but all shall be fulfilled." Of
what does the Saviour speak when he refers to "the law?" Why, of the
Ten Commandments, and other rules of life commanded by God and adopted by the
ancients, and which Brother Pratt referred to yesterday, showing you from the
sacred book that God legislated and made laws for the protection of a plurality
of wives (Exod. 21. 10), and that He commanded men to take a plurality under
some circumstances. Brother Pratt further showed that the Lord made
arrangements to protect to all intents and purposes the interests of the first
wife; and to shield and protect the children of a wife from disinheritance who
might be unfortunate enough not to have the affections of her husband. (Deut.
21. 15,) These things were plainly written in the law—that law of which the
Saviour says, "Not one jot or one tittle shall pass away."
Continuing our inquiry, we pass on to the epistles of John the Evangelist,
which we find in the Book of Revelations, written to the seven churches of
Asia. In them we find the Evangelist denounces adultery, fornication, and all
manner of iniquities and abominations of which these churches were guilty.
Anything against a plurality of wives? No, not a syllable. Yet those churches
were in a country in which plurality was the custom. Hundreds of Saints had
more wives than one; and if it had been wrong, what Would have been the result?
Why, John would have denounced the practice, the same as the children of Israel
were denounced for marrying heathen wives, had it not been that the law of
plurality was the commandment of God.
Again, on
this point, we can refer to the Prophets of the Old Testament—Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, and others. When God called those men He warned them that if they did
not deliver the message to the people which He gave them concerning
their sins and iniquities that His vengeance should rest upon their heads.
These are His words to Ezekiel, "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman
unto the house of Israel, therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them
warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die, and thou
givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to
save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his blood will
I require at thine hand; yet if thou warn the wicked and he turn not from his
wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast
delivered thy soul." (Ezek. 3. 17, 18, 19.) How do we find these Prophets
of the Lord fulfilling the commandments of the Almighty? We find them pouring
out denunciations upon the heads of the people—against adultery, fornication,
and every species of wickedness. All this, too, in a country in which, from the
King down to the lowest orders of the people, a plurality of wives was
practiced. Do they say anything against plurality of wives? Not one word. It
was only in cases where men and women took improper licence with each
other, in violation of the holy law of marriage, that they were guilty of sin.
If
plurality of wives had been a violation of the seventh commandment those
prophets would have denounced it, otherwise their silence on the matter would
have been dangerous to themselves, inasmuch as the blood of the people would
have been required at their hands. The opposers of Celestial Marriage sometimes
quote a passage in the seventh chapter of Romans, second and third verses, to
show that a plurality of wives is wrong; but when we come to read the passage
it shows that a plurality of husbands is wrong. You can read that passage for
yourselves. In the forcible parable used by the Saviour in relation to the rich
man and Lazarus, we find recorded that the poor man Lazarus was carried to
Abraham's bosom—Abraham the father of the faithful. The rich man calls unto
Father Abraham to send Lazarus, who is afar off. Who was Abraham? He was a man
who had a plurality of wives. And yet all good Christians, even pious church
deacons, expect when they die to go to Abraham's bosom. I am sorry to say,
however, that thousands of them will be disappointed, from the fact that they
cannot and will not go where any one has a plurality of wives; and I am
convinced that Abraham will not turn out his own wives to receive such
unbelievers in God's law. One peculiarity of this parable is the answer of
Abraham to the application of the rich man, to send Lazarus to his five
brothers "lest they come into this place of torment," which
was—"they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them; and if they
hear not Moses and the prophets neither would they be persuaded though one rose
from the dead." Moses' law provided for a plurality of wives, and the
prophets observed that law, and Isaiah predicts its observance even down to the
latter days. Isaiah, in his 4th chap. and 1st and 2nd verses, says, "Seven
women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear
our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.
In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the
fruit of the earth shall be excellent."
A
reference to the Scriptures shows that the reproach of women was to be barren,
Gen. 30 chap. and 23 v.; Luke 1st chap. and 25 v.
We will
now refer to John the Baptist. He came as a fore-runner of Christ. He was a
lineal descendant of the house of Levi. His father was a priest. John the
Baptist was a child born by miracle, God having revealed to his father that
Elizabeth who had been many years barren should bear a son. John feared not the
world, but went forth preaching in the wilderness of Judea, declaiming against
wickedness and corruption in the boldest terms. He preached against extortion;
against the cruelty exercised by soldiers and tax gatherers. He even was so
bold as to rebuke the king on his throne, to his face, for adultery. Did he say
anything against a plurality of wives? No; it cannot be found. Yet thousands
were believers in and practised this order of marriage, under the law of Moses
that God had revealed.
In
bringing this subject before you, we cannot help saying that God knew what was
best for His people. Hence He commanded them as He would have them act. The law
regulating marriage previous to Moses, recognized a plurality of wives. Abraham
and Jacob and others had a plurality. These are the men who are referred to in Scripture
as patterns of piety and purity. David had many wives. The Scripture says that
David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord and turned not aside
from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save in the
matter of Uriah the Hittite, 1 Kings. 15th chap. 5 v. "I have found David
the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart which shall fulfil all my will. Of
this man's seed hath God, according to His promise raised unto Israel a
Saviour, Jesus." Acts 13th chap. 22nd and 23rd verses. Did David sin in
taking so many wives? No. In what, then, did his sin consist? It was because he
took the wife of Uriah, the Hittite—that is, violated the law of God in taking
her. The Lord had given him the wives of Saul and would have given him many
more; but he had no right to take one who belonged to another. When he did so
the curse of adultery fell upon his head, and his wives were taken from him and
given to another. We will now inquire in relation to the Saviour himself. From
whom did he descend? From the house of David a polygamist; and if you will
trace the names of the families through which he descended you will find that
numbers of them had a plurality of wires. How appropriate it would have been
for Jesus, descending as he did from a race of polygamists, to have denounced
this institution of plural marriage and shown its sinfulness, had it been a
sin! Can we suppose, for one moment, if Patriarchal marriage were wrong, that
He would, under the circumstances, have been silent concerning it or failed to
denounce it in the most positive manner? Then if plural marriage be adultery
and the offspring spurious, Christ Jesus is not the Christ; and we must look
for another.
All good
Christians are flattering themselves with the hope that they will finally enter
the gates of the New Jerusalem. I presume this is the hope of all
denominations—Catholics, Protestants, Greeks and all who believe in the Bible.
Suppose they go there, what will they find? They will find at the twelve gates
twelve angels, and "names written thereon, which are the names of the
twelve tribes of the children of Israel." The names of the twelve sons of
Jacob, the polygamist Can a monogamist enter there? "And the walls
of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb;" and at the gates the names of the twelve
tribes of Israel—from the twelve sons of the four wives of Jacob. Those who
denounce Patriarchal Marriage will have to stay without and never walk the
golden streets. And any man or woman that lifts his or her voice to proclaim
against a plurality of wives, under the Government of God, will have to seek an
inheritance outside of that city. For "there shall in no wise enter into
it., anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a
lie, for without are sorcerers, whoremongers, and whosoever loveth and maketh a
lie." Is not the man that denounces Celestial Marriage a liar? Does he not
work abomination? "I Jesus have sent mine Angel to testify unto you these
things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of (the polygamist)
David, the bright and the morning star."
May God
enable us to keep His law, for "blessed are they that do His
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in
through the gate into the city." Amen.
Meeting adjourned till ten a.m. tomorrow.
` The Choir, joined by the congregation, sang the hymn on page 325, commencing "Praise to the Man who communed with Jehovah."
Prayer by Bishop Lorenzo D. Young.
[9 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 18:428, 10/13/69, p 8]
Saturday, 10 A.M.
Meeting was called to order by President Young.
Bro. Fishburn's Choir sang the hymn on page 218, "An Angel from on high."
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 124, "With all my powers of heart and tongue."
[Elder George Q. Cannon]
Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON addressed the Conference on the subject of Celestial Marriage. A full report of his discourse will shortly appear in the NEWS.
[George Q. Cannon]
[DNW 18:457, 11/03/69, p 6, JD 13:197]
DISCOURSE
On Celestial Marriage, delivered by Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 9th, 1869
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]
_____
I will
repeat a few verses in the tenth chapter of Mark, commencing at the
twenty-eighth verse.
"Then
Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
"And
Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left
house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or
lands, for my sake, and the Gospel's,
"But
he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and
sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the
world to come eternal life."
In rising
to address you this morning, my brethren and sisters, I rely upon your faith
and prayers and the blessing of God. We have heard, during Conference, a great
many precious instructions, and in none have I been more interested than in
those which have been given to the Saints concerning that much mooted doctrine
called Patriarchal or Celestial Marriage. I am interested in this doctrine,
because I see salvation, "temporal and spiritual, embodied therein. I
know, pretty well, what the popular feelings concerning this doctrine are; I am
familiar with the opinions of the world, having travelled and mingled with the
people sufficiently to be conversant with their ideas in relation to this
subject. I am also familiar with the feelings of the Latter-day Saints upon
this point. I know the sacrifice of feeling which it has caused for them to
adopt this principle in their faith and lives. It has required the revelation
of God, our heavenly Father, to enable His people to receive this principle and
carry it out. I wish, here, to make one remark in connection with this
subject—that while there is abundant proof to be found in the Scriptures and
elsewhere in support of this doctrine, still it is not because it was practiced
four thousand years ago by the servants and people of God, or because it has
been practiced by any people or nation in any period of the world's history,
that the Latter-day Saints have adopted it and made it part of their practice,
but it is because God, our heavenly Father, has revealed it unto us. If there
were no record of its practice to be found, and if the Bible, Book of Mormon
and Book of Doctrine and Covenants were totally silent in respect to this
doctrine, it would nevertheless be binding upon us as a people, God Himself
having given a revelation for us to practice it at the present time. This
should be understood by us as a people. It is gratifying to know, however, that
we are not the first of God's people unto whom this principle has been
revealed; it is gratifying to know that we are only following in the footsteps of
those who have preceded us in the work of God, and that we, to-day, are only
carrying out the principle which God's people observed, in obedience to
revelation from Him, thousands of years ago. It is gratifying to know that we
are suffering persecution, that we are threatened with fines and imprisonment
for the practice of precisely the same principle which Abraham, the
"Friend of God," practiced in his life and taught to his children
after him.
The
discourses of brother Orson Pratt and of President George A. Smith have left
but very little to be said in relation to the Scriptural arguments in favor of
this doctrine. I know that the general opinion among men is that the Old
Testament, to some extent, sustains it; but that the New Testament—Jesus and
the Apostles, were silent concerning it. It was clearly proved in our hearing
yesterday, and the afternoon of the day previous, that the New Testament,
though not so explicit in reference to the doctrine, is still decidedly in
favor of it and sustains it. Jesus very plainly told the Jews, when boasting of
being the seed of Abraham, that if they were, they would do the works of
Abraham. He and the Apostles, in various places, clearly set forth that Abraham
was the great exemplar of faith for them to follow, and that they must follow
him, if they ever expected to participate in the glory and exaltation enjoyed
by Abraham and his faithful seed. Throughout the New Testament Abraham is held
up to the converts to the doctrines which Jesus taught, as an example worthy of
imitation, and in no place is there a word of condemnation uttered concerning
him. The Apostle Paul, in speaking of him says:
"Know
ye, therefore, that they which are of the faith, the same are the children of
Abraham…So then they which be of the faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham."
He also
says that the Gentiles, through adoption, became Abraham's seed; that the
blessing of Abraham, says he, might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ, showing plainly that Jesus and all the Apostles who alluded to the
subject, held the deeds of Abraham to be, in every respect, worthy of
imitation.
Who was
this Abraham? I have heard the saying frequently advanced, that in early life,
being an idolater, it was an idolatrous, heathenish principle which he adopted
in taking to himself a second wife, while Sarah still lived. Those who make
this assertion in reference to the great patriarch, seem to be ignorant of the
fact that he was well advanced in life and had served God faithfully many
years, prior to making any addition to his family. He did not have a plurality
of wives until years after the Lord had revealed Himself to him, commanding him
to leave Ur, of the Chaldees, and go forth to a land which He would give to him
and his posterity for an everlasting possession. He went forth and lived in
that land many long years before the promise of God was fulfilled unto
him—namely, that in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed;
and Abraham was still without any heir, except Eliezer, of Damascus, the
steward of his house. At length, after living thus for ten years, God commanded
him to take to himself another wife, who was given to him by his wife Sarah.
When the offspring of this marriage was born, Abraham was eighty-six years old.
We read
of no word of condemnation from the Lord for this act—something which we might
naturally expect if, as this unbelieving and licentious generation affirm, the
act of taking more wives than one be such a vile crime, and so abominable in
the sight of God; for if it be evil in the sight of the Lord to-day, it was
then, for the Scriptures inform us that He changes not, He is the same
yesterday, to-day, and for ever, and is without variableness or the shadow of
turning. But instead of condemnation, God revealed Himself continually to His
friend Abraham, teaching His will unto him, revealing all things concerning the
future it was necessary for him to understand, and promising him that, though
he had been blessed with a son, Ishmael, yet in Isaac, a child of promise, not
yet born, should his seed be called. Abraham was to have yet another son.
Sarah, in her old age, because of her faithfulness, because of her willingness
to comply with the requirements and revelations of God, was to have a son given
unto her. Such an event was so unheard of among women at her time of life that,
though the Lord promised it, she could not help laughing at the idea. But God
fulfilled His promise, and in due time Isaac was born, and was greatly blessed
of the Lord.
Determined
to try His faithful servant Abraham to the uttermost, the Lord, some years
after the birth of this son, in whom He had promised that Abraham's seed should
be called, required him to offer up this boy as a burnt offering to Him; and
Abraham, nothing doubting, but full of faith and integrity, and of devotion to
his God, proved himself worthy of the honored title that had been conferred
upon him, namely, "the Friend of God," by taking his son Isaac, in
whom most of his hopes for the future centred, up the mountain, and there,
having built the altar, he bound the victim, and with knife uplifted, was about
to strike the fatal blow, when the angel of the Lord cried out of heaven
commanding him not to slay his son. The Lord was satisfied, having tried him to
the uttermost, and found him willing even to shed the blood of his well-beloved
son.
The Lord
was so pleased with the faithfulness of Abraham, that He gave unto him the
greatest promise He could give to any human being on the face of the earth.
What do you think was the nature of that promise? Did He promise to Abraham a
crown of eternal glory? Did He promise to him that he should be in the presence
of the Lamb, that he should tune his harp and sing praises to God and the Lamb
throughout the endless ages of eternity? Let me quote it to you, and it would
be well if all the inhabitants of the earth would reflect upon it. Said the
Lord:
"In
blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as
the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies."
This was
the promise which God gave to Abraham, in that hour of his triumph, in that
hour when there was joy in heaven over the faithfulness of one of God's noblest
and most devoted sons. Think of the greatness of this blessing! Can you count
the stars of heaven, or even the grains of a handful of sand? No, it is beyond
the power of earth's most gifted sons to do either, and yet God promised to
Abraham that his seed should be as innumerable as the stars of heaven or as the
sand on the sea-shore.
How
similar was this promise of God to Abraham to that made by Jesus as a reward
for faithfulness to those who followed him! Said Jesus, he that forsakes
brothers or sisters, houses or lands, father or mother, wives or children,
shall receive a hundred-fold in this life with persecution, and eternal life in
the world to come.
A very
similar blessing to that which God, long before, had made to Abraham, and
couched in very similar terms.
It is
pertinent ferns to inquire, on the present occasion, how the promises made by
Jesus and his Father, in ages of the world separated by a long interval the one
from the other, could be realized under the system which prevails throughout
Christendom at the present day? In the monogamic system, under which the
possession of more than one living wife is regarded as such a crime, and as
being so fearfully immoral, how could the promise of the Savior to his faithful
followers, that they should have a hundred-fold of wives and children, in this
present life, ever be realized? There is a way which God has provided in a
revelation given to this Church, in which He says:
"Strait
is the gate and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and
continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me
not in the world, neither do ye know me."
God
revealed that strait and narrow way to Abraham, and taught him how he could
enter therein. He taught him the principle of plurality of wives; Abraham
practiced it and bequeathed it to his children as a principle which they were
to practice. Under such a system it was a comparatively easy matter for men to
have a hundred-fold of wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and
everything else in proportion; and in no other way could the promises of Jesus
be realized by his followers, than in the way God has provided, and which He
has revealed to His Church and people in these latter days.
I have
felt led to dwell upon these few passages from the sayings of Jesus to show you
that there are abundance of Scriptural proofs in favor of this principle and
the position this Church has assumed, in addition to those previously referred
to.
It is a
blessed thing to know that, in this as every other doctrine and principle
taught by us as a Church, we are sustained by the revelations God gave to His
people anciently. One of the strongest supports the Elders of this Church have
had, in their labors among the nations, was the knowledge float the Bible and
New Testament sustained every principle they advanced to the people. When they
preached faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of
hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the gathering of the people from the
nations, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ, and every
other principle ever touched upon by them, it was gratifying to know that they
were sustained by the Scriptures, and that they could turn to chapter and verse
among the sayings of Jesus and his Apostles, or among those of the ancient
prophets, in confirmation of every doctrine they ever attempted to bring to the
attention of those to whom they ministered. There is nothing with which the
Latter-day Saints can, with more confidence, refer to the Scriptures for
confirmation and support, than the doctrine of plural marriage, which at the
present time, among one of the most wicked, adulterous and corrupt generations
the world has ever seen, is so much hated, and for which mankind generally are
so anxious to cast out and persecute the Latter-day Saints.
If we
look abroad and peruse the records of every day life throughout the whole of
Christendom, we find that crimes of every hue, and of the most appalling and
revolting character are constantly committed, exciting neither surprise nor
comment. Murder, robbery, adultery, seduction and every species of villainy
known in the voluminous catalogue of crime in modern times, are regarded as
mere matters of ordinary occurrence, and yet there is hue and cry raised,
almost as wide as Christendom, for the persecution, by fine, imprisonment,
proscription, outlawry or extermination of the people of Utah because, knowing
that God, the Eternal Father, has spoken in these days and revealed His mind
and will to them, they dare to carry out His behests. For years they have
meekly submitted to this persecution and contumely, but they appeal now, as
ever, to all rational, reflecting men, and invite comparison between the state
of society here and in any portion of this or any other country, knowing that
the verdict will be unanimous and overwhelming in their favor. In every
civilized country on the face of the earth the seducer plies his arts to
envelop his victim within his meshes, in order to accomplish her ruin most
completely; and it is well known that men holding positions of trust and
responsibility, looked upon as honorable and highly respectable members of
society, violate their marriage vows by carrying on their secret amours and
supporting mistresses, yet against the people of Utah, where such things are
totally unknown, there is an eternal and rabid outcry because they practice the
heaven-revealed system of a plurality of wives. It is a most astonishing thing,
and no greater evidence could be given that Satan reigns in the hearts of the
children of men, and that he is determined, if possible, to destroy the work of
God from the face of the earth.
The
Bible, the only work accepted by the nations of Christendom, as a divine
revelation, sustains this doctrine, from beginning to end. The only revelation
on record that can be quoted against it, came through the Prophet Joseph Smith,
and is contained in the Book of Mormon; and strange to say, here in Salt Lake
City, a day or two since, one of the leading men of the nation, in his eager
desire and determination to cast discredit on this doctrine, unable to do so by
reference to the Bible, which he, no doubt, in common with all Christians,
acknowledges as divine, was compelled to have recourse to the Book of Mormon, a
work which on any other point he would most unquestionably have scouted and
ridiculed as an emanation from the brain of an impostor. What consistency! A
strange revolution this, that men should have recourse to our own works, whose
authenticity they most emphatically deny, to prove us in the wrong. Yet, this
attempt, whenever made, cannot be sustained, for brother Pratt clearly shelved
to you, in his remarks the other day, that instead of the Book of Mormon being
opposed to this principle, it contains an express provision for the revelation
of the principle to us as a people at some future time—namely, that when the
Lord should desire to raise up unto Himself a righteous seed, He would command
His people to that effect, plainly setting forth that a time would come when He
would command His people to do so.
It is
necessary that this principle should be practiced under the auspices and control
of the Priesthood. God has placed that Priesthood in the Church to govern and
control all the affairs thereof, and this is a principle which, if not
practiced in the greatest holiness and purity, might lead men into great sin,
therefore the Priesthood is the more necessary to guide and control men in the
practice of this principle. There might be circumstances and situations in
which it would not be wisdom in the mind of God for His people to practice this
principle, but so long as a people are guided by the Priesthood and revelations
of God, there is no danger of evil arising therefrom. If we, as a people, had
attempted to practice this principle without revelation, it is likely that we
should have been led into grievous sins, and the condemnation of God would have
rested upon us; but the Church waited until the proper time came, and then the
people practiced it according to the mind and will of God, making a sacrifice
of their own feelings in so doing. But the history of the world goes to prove
that the practice of this principle, even by nations ignorant of the Gospel,
has resulted in greater good to them than the practice of monogamy or the
one-wife system in the so-called Christian nations. To-day, Christendom holds
itself and its institutions aloft as a pattern for all men to follow. If you
travel throughout the United States and through the nations of Europe in which
Christianity prevails, and talk with the people about their institutions, they
will boast of them as being the most permanent, indestructible and progressive
of any institutions existing upon the earth; yet it is a fact well known to
historians, that the Christian nations of Europe are the youngest nations on
the globe. Where are the nations that have existed from time immemorial? They are
not to be found in Christian monogamic Europe, but in Asia, among the polygamic
races—China, Japan, Hindostart and the various races of that vast continent.
Those nations, from the most remote times, practiced plural marriage handed
down to them by their forefathers. Although they are looked upon by the nations
of Europe as semi-civilized, you will not find among them woman prostituted,
debased and degraded as she is through Christendom. She may be treated coldly
and degraded, but among them, except where the Christian element prevails to a
large extent, she is not debased and polluted, as she is among the so-called
Christian nations. It is a fact worthy of note that the shortest-lived nations
of which we have record have been monogamic. Rome, with her arts, sciences and
warlike instincts, was once the mistress of the world; but her glory faded. She
was a mono-gamic nation, and the numerous evils attending that system early
laid the foundation for that ruin which eventually overtook her. The strongest
sayings of Jesus recorded in the New Testament were levelled against the
dreadful corruptions practiced in Rome and wherever the Romans held sway. The
leaven of their institutions had worked its way into the Jewish nation, Jewry
or Palestine being then a Roman province, and governed by Roman officers, who
brought with them their wicked institutions, and Jesus denounced the practices
which prevailed there.
A few
years before the birth of the Savior, Julius Caesar was First Consul at Rome;
he aimed at and obtained imperial power. He had four wives during his life, and
committed numerous adulteries. His first wife he married early; but, becoming
ambitious, the alliance did not suit him, and, as the Roman law did not permit
him to retain her and to marry another, he put her away. He then married the
daughter of a consul, thinking to advance his interests thereby. She died, and
a third was married. The third was divorced, and he married a fourth, with whom
he was living at the time he was murdered. His grandnephew, the Emperor
Augustus Caesar, reigned at the time of the birth of Christ. He is alluded to
in history as one of the greatest of the Caesars; he also had four wives. He
divorced one after another, except the last, who outlived him. These men were
not singular in this practice; it was common in Rome; the Romans did not
believe in plurality of wives, but in divorcing them; in taking wives for
convenience and putting them away when they got tired of them. In our country
divorces are increasing, yet Roman like, men expect purity and chastity from
their wives they do not practice themselves. You recollect, doubtless, the
famous answer of Caesar when his wife was accused of an intrigue with an
infamous man. Some one asked Caesar why he had put away his wife. Said he, "The
wife of Caesar must not only be incorrupt, but unsuspected." He could not
bear to have the virtue of his wife even suspected, yet his own life was
infamous in the extreme. He was a seducer, adulterer, and is reported to have
practiced even a worse crime, yet he expected his wife to possess a virtue
which, in his highest and holiest moments, was utterly beyond his conception in
his own life.
This
leaven was spreading itself over every country where the Roman Empire had
jurisdiction. It had reached Palestine in the days of the Savior, hence by
understanding the practices prevalent in those times amongst that people, you
will be better able to appreciate the strong language used by Jesus against
putting away, or divorcing wives. Rome continued to practice corruption until
she fell beneath the weight of it, and was overwhelmed, not by another
monogamic race, but by the vigorous polygamic hordes from the north, who swept
away Roman imperialism, establishing in the place thereof institutions of their
own. But they speedily fell into the same habit of having one wife and
multitudes of courtesans, and soon, like Rome, fell beneath their own
corruptions.
When
courtesans were taught every accomplishment and honored with the society of the
leading men of the nation, and wives wore deprived of these privileges, is it
any wonder that Rome should fall? or that the more pure, or barbarous nations,
as they were called, overwhelmed and destroyed her?
I have
had it quoted to me many times that no great nations ever practiced plural
marriage. They who make such an assertion are utterly ignorant of history. What
nations have left the deepest impress on the history of our race? Those which
have practiced plurality of marriage. They have prevented the dreadful crime of
prostitution by allowing men to have more wives than one. I know we are dazzled
by the glory of Christendom; we are dazzled with the glory of our own age. Like
every generation that has preceded it, the present generation thinks it is the
wisest and best, and nearer to God than any which has preceded it. This is
natural; it is a weakness of human nature. This is the case with nations as
well as generations. China, to-day, calls all western nations "outside
barbarians." Japan, Hindostan and all other polygamic nations do the same,
and in very many respects they have as much right to say that of the monogamic
nations, as the latter have to say it of them.
I heard a
traveller remark a few days ago, while in conversation with him, "I have
travelled through Asia Minor and Turkey, and I have blushed many times while
contrasting the practices and institutions of those people with those of my own
country," the United States. He was a gentleman with whom I had a
discussion some years ago on the principle of plural marriage. He has travelled
a good deal since then, and he remarked to me, "Travel enlarges a man's
head and his heart. I have learned a great many things since we had a
discussion together, and I have modified my views and opinions very materially
with regard to the excellence of the institutions, habits and morals which
prevail in Christendom." This gentleman told me that among those nations,
which we call semi-civilized, there are no drinking saloons, no brothels, nor
drunkenness, and an entire absence of many other evils which exist in our own
nation. I think this testimony, coming from a man who, previously, had such
strong prejudices, was very valuable. He is not the only one who has borne this
testimony, but all reliable travellers, who have lived in Oriental nations,
vouch for the absence of those monstrous evils which flourish in and fatten and
fester upon the vitals of all civilized or Christian nations.
In
speaking of Utah and this peculiar practice amongst its people, it is
frequently said, "Look at the Turks and other Oriental nations and see how
women are degraded and debased among them, and deprived of many privileges
which they enjoy among us!" But if it be true that woman does not occupy
her true position among those nations, is this not more attributable to their
rejection of the Gospel than to their practice of having a plurality of wives?
Whatever her condition may be there, however, I do not therefore accept, as a
necessary conclusion, that she must be degraded among us. We have received the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus, the principles of which elevate all who honor them,
and will impart to our sisters every blessing necessary to make them noble and
good in the presence of God and man.
Look at
the efforts which are being made to elevate the sex among the Latter-day
Saints! See the privileges that are given to them, and listen to the teachings
imparted to them day by day, week by week, and year by year, to encourage them
to press forward in the march of improvement! The elevation of the sex must
follow as a result of these instructions. The practice in the world is to
select a few of the sex and to elevate them. There is no country in the world,
probably, where women are idolized to the extent they are in the United States.
But is the entire sex in the United States thus honored and respected? No, it
is not. Any person who will travel, and observe while he is travelling, will
find that thousands of women are degraded and treated as something very vile,
and are terribly debased in consequence of the practices of men towards them.
But the Gospel of Jesus and the revelations which God has given unto us
concerning Patriarchal Marriage have a tendency to elevate the entire sex, and
give all the privilege of being honored matrons and respected wives. There are no
refuse among us—no class to be cast out, scorned and condemned; but every woman
who chooses can be an honored wife and move in society in the enjoyment of
every right which woman should enjoy to make her the equal of man as far as she
can be his equal.
This is
the result of the revelations of the Gospel unto us, and the effect of the
preaching and practice of this principle in our midst. I know, however, that
there are those who shrink from this, who feel their hearts rebel against the
principle, because of the equality which it bestows on the sex. They would like
to be the honored few—the aristocrats of society, as it were, while their
sisters might perish on every hand around them. They would not, if they could,
extend their hands to save their sisters from a life of degradation. This is
wrong and a thing which God is displeased at. He has revealed this principle
and commanded His servants to take wives. What for? That they may obey His
great command—a command by which Eternity is peopled, a command by which
Abraham's seed shall become as the stars of heaven for multitude, and as the
sand on the sea-shore, that cannot be counted. He has given to us this command,
and shall we, the sterner sex, submit to all the difficulties and trials
entailed in carrying it out? Shall we submit to all the afflictions and labor
incident to this life to save our sisters, while many of you who are of the
same sex, whose hearts ought to beat for their salvation as strongly as ours
do, will not help us? I leave you all to answer. There is a day of reckoning
coming when you will be held accountable as well as we. Every woman in this
Church should join heart and hand in this great work, which has for its result
the redemption of the sexes, both male and female. No woman should slacken her
hand or with hold her influence, but every one should seek by prayer and faith
unto God for the strength and grace necessary to enable her to do so.
"But," says one, "is not this a trial, and does it not inflict
upon us unnecessary trials?" There are afflictions and trials
connected with this principle. It is necessary there should be. Is there any
law that God reveals unattended with a trial of some kind? Think of the time,
you who are adults, and were born in the nations, when you joined the Church!
Think of the trials connected with your espousal of the Gospel. Did it not try
you to go forth and be baptized? Did it not try you, when called upon to
gather, to leave your homes and nearest and dearest friends, as many of you
have done? Did it not try you to do a great many things you have been required
to do in the Gospel? Every law of the Gospel has a trial connected with it, and
the higher the law the greater the trial; and as we ascend nearer and nearer to
the Lord our God we shall have greater trials to contend with in purifying
ourselves before Him. He has helped us thus far. He has helped us to conquer
our selfish feelings, and when our sisters seek unto Him He helps them to
overcome their feelings; He gives them strength to overcome their selfishness
and jealousy. There is not a woman under the sound of my voice to-day, but can
bear witness of this, if she has tried it. You, sisters, whose husbands have
taken other wives, can you not bear testimony that the principle has purified
your hearts, made you less selfisf, brought you nearer to God and given you
power you never had before? There are hundreds within the sound of my voice
to-day, both men and women, who can testify that this has been the effect that
the practice of this principle has had upon them.
I am
speaking now of what are called the spiritual benefits arising from the
righteous practice of this principle. I am sure that, through the practice of
this principle, we shall have a purer community, a community more experienced,
less selfish and with a higher knowledge of human nature than any other on the
face of the earth. It has already had this effect to a great extent, and its
effects in these directions will increase as the practice of the principle
becomes more general.
A lady
visitor remarked to me not long ago in speaking upon this subject, "Were I
man, I would feel differently probably to what I do; to your sex the
institution cannot be so objectionable." This may be the case to some
extent, but the practice of this principle is by no means without its trials
for the males. The difficulties and perplexities connected with the care of a
numerous family, to a man who has any ambition, are so great that nothing short
of the revelations of God or the command of Jesus Christ would tempt men to
enter this order; the mere increase of facilities to gratify the lower passions
of our natures would be no inducement to assume such an increase of grave
responsibilities. These desires have been implanted in both male and female for
a wise purpose, but their immoderate and illegal gratification is a source of
evil equal to that system of repression prevalent in the world, to which
thousands must submit or criminate themselves. Just think, in the single State
of Massachusetts, at the last census, there were 63,011 females more than
males. Brother Pratt, in his remarks on this subject, truly remarked that the
law of Massachusetts makes these 63,011 females either old maids or
prostitutes, for that law says they shall not marry a man who has a wife. Think
of this! And the same is true to a greater or less degree throughout all the
older States, for the females preponderate in every one.
Thus far
I have referred only to the necessity and benefit of this principle being
practiced in a moral point of view. I have said nothing about the physiological
side of the question. This is one, if not the strongest, source of argument in
its favor; but I do not propose to enter into that branch of the subject to any
great extent on the present occasion. We are all, both men and women,
physiologists enough to know that the procreative powers of man endure much
longer than those of woman. Granting, as some assert, that an equal number of
the sexes exist, what would this lead to? Man must practice that which is vile
and low or submit to a system of repression; because if he be married to a
woman who is physically incapable, he must either do himself violence or what
is far worse, he must have recourse to the dreadful and damning practice of
having illegal connection with women, or become altogether like the beasts. Do
you not see that if these things were introduced among our society they would
be pregnant with the worst results? The greatest conceivable evils would result
therefrom! How dreadful are the consequences of this system of which I am now
speaking, as witnessed at the present time throughout all the nations of
Christendom! You may see them on every hand. Yet the attempt is being
continually made to bring us to the same standard, and to compel us to share
the same evils.
When the
principle of plurality of wives was revealed I was but a boy. While reflecting
on the subject of the sealing power which was then being taught, the case of
Jacob, who had four wives, occurred to me, and I immediately concluded that the
time would come when light connected with this practice would be revealed to us
as a people. I was therefore prepared for the principle when it was revealed,
and I know it is true on the principle that I know that baptism, the laying on
of hands, the gathering, and everything connected with the Gospel is true. If
there were no books in existence, if the revelation itself were blotted out,
and there was nothing written in its favor, extant among men, still I could
bear testimony for myself that I know this is a principle which, if practiced
in purity and virtue, as it should be, will result in the exaltation and
benefit of the human family; and that it will exalt woman until she is redeemed
from the effects of the Fall, and from that curse pronounced upon her in the
beginning. I believe the correct practice of this principle will redeem woman
from the effects of that curse—namely, "Thy desire shall be to thy
husband, and he shall rule over thee." All the evils connected with
jealousy have their origin in this. It is natural for woman to cleave to man;
it was pronounced upon her in the beginning, seemingly as a punishment. I
believe the time will come when, by the practice of the virtuous principles
which God has revealed, woman will be emancipated from that punishment and that
feeling. Will she cease to love man? No, it is not necessary for her to cease
to love.
How is it
among the nations of the earth? Why, women, in their yearning after the other
sex and in their desire for maternity, will do anything to gratify that
instinct of their nature and yield to anything and be dishonored even rather
than not gratify it; and in consequence of that which has been pronounced upon
them, they are not held accountable to the same extent as men are. Man is
strong, he is the head of woman, and God will hold him responsible for the use
of the influence he exercises over the opposite sex. Hence we were told by
brother Pratt that there are degrees of glory, and that the faithful man may
receive the power of God—the greatest He has ever bestowed upon
man—namely, the power of procreation. It is a godlike power, but how it is
abused! How men debase themselves and the other sex by its unlawful and
improper exercise! We were told there is a glory to which alone that power will
be accorded in the life to come. Still there will be millions of women saved in
the kingdom of God, while men, through the abuse of this precious gift, will
not be counted worthy of such a privilege. And this very punishment will, in
the end, be woman's salvation, because she is not held accountable to the same
degree that men are.
This is a
subject that we would all do well to reflect upon. There are many points
connected with the question, physiologically, that might be dwelt upon with
great advantage. I have heard it said, and seen it printed, that the children
born here under this system are not so smart as others; that their eyes lack
lustre and that they are dull in intellect; and many strangers, especially ladies,
when arriving here, are anxious to see the children, having read accounts which
have led them to expect that most of the children born here are deficient. But
the testimony of Professor Park, the principal of the University of Deseret,
and of other leading teachers of the young here, is that they never saw
children with greater aptitude for the acquisition of knowledge than the
children raised in this Territory. There are no brighter children to be found
in the world than those born in this Territory. Under the system of Patriarchal
Marriage, the offspring, besides being equally as bright and brighter
intellectually, are much more healthy and strong. Need I go into particulars to
prove this? To you who are married there is no necessity of doing so; you know
what I mean. You all know that many women are sent to the grave prematurely
through the evils they have to endure from their husbands during pregnancy and
lactation, and that, their children often sustain irremediable injury.
Another
good effect of the institution here is that you may travel throughout our
entire Territory, and virtue prevails. Our young live virtuously until they
marry. But how is it under the monogamic system? Temptations are numerous on
every hand and young men fall a prey to vice. An eminent medical professor in
New York, recently declared, while delivering a lecture to his class in one of
the colleges there, that if he wanted a man twenty-five years of age, free from
a certain disease, he would not know where to find him. What a terrible
statement to make! In this community no such thing exists. Our boys grow up in
purity, honoring and respecting virtue; our girls do the same and the great
mass of them are pure. There may be impurities. We are human, and it would not
be consistent with our knowledge of human nature to say that we are entirely
pure, but we are the most pure of any people within the confines of the
Republic. We have fewer unvirtuous boys and girls in our midst than any other
community Within the range of my knowledge. Both sexes grow up in vigor, health
and purity.
These, my
brethren and sisters, are some of the results which I wanted to allude to in
connection with this subject. Much more might be said. There is not a man or
woman who has listened to me to-day, but he and she have thoughts, reasons and
arguments to sustain this principle passing through their minds which I have
not touched upon, or if touched upon at all, in a very hasty manner.
The
question arises, What is going to be done with this institution? Will it be
overcome? The conclusion arrived at long ago is that it is God and the people
for it. God has revealed it, He must sustain it, we cannot; we cannot bear it
off, He must. I know that Napoleon said Providence was on the side of the
heaviest artillery, and many men think that God is on the side of the strongest
party. The Midianites probably thought so when Gideon fell upon them with three
hundred men. Sennacherib and the Assyrians thought so when they came down in
their might to blot out Israel. But God is mighty; God will prevail; God will
sustain that which He has revealed, and He will uphold and strengthen His
servants and bear off His people. We need not be afflicted by a doubt; a shadow
of doubt need not cross our minds as to the result. We know that God can
sustain us; He has borne off His people in triumph thus far and will continue
to do so.
I did
intend, when I got up, to say something in relation to the effects of the
Priesthood; but as the time is so far gone, I feel that if I say anything it
must, be very brief. But in connection with the subject of plural marriage, the
Priesthood is intimately interwoven. It is the Priesthood which produces the
peace, harmony, good order, and everything which make us as a people peculiar,
and for which our Territory has become remarkable. It is that principle—the
Priesthood, which governs the heavenly hosts. God and Jesus rule through this
power, and through it we are made, so far as we have received it and rendered
obedience to its mandates, like our heavenly Father and God. He is our Father
and our God; He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; He is the Father of all
the inhabitants of the earth, and we inherit His divinity, if we choose to seek
for and cultivate it. We inherit His attributes; we can, by taking the proper
course, inherit the Priesthood by which He exercises control; by which the
heavenly orbs in the immensity of space are governed, and by which the earth
revolves in its seasons. It is the holy Priesthood that controls all the
creations of the Gods, and though men fight against it, and, if they could,
would blot it out of existence, it will prevail and go on increasing in power
and strength until the sceptre of Jesus is acknowledged by all, and the earth
is redeemed and sanctified.
That this
may be brought about speedily, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON then presented the names of the following brethren to go on missions to the Eastern States.
David
Nelson, Ogden.
James H. Nelson, "
Orrawell Simons, Payson.
Warren Tinney, "
Nelson Hollingshead, Parowan.
Albert Lutz, 12th ward.
Joseph Eldredge, 16th ward.
The name of E. M. Caste was presented to the Conference, as having been called to go on a mission to Sweden. These brethren were unanimously sustained by the Conference.
[President Young]
PRESIDENT YOUNG made some brief remarks in relation to the 109th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, showing how it was introduced there by Oliver Cowdery, against the wish of the Prophet Joseph. His remarks will be published in full.
Conference adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.
[10 Oct, 10 am]
[DNW 18:428, 10/13/69, p 8]
Sunday, 10 a.m., Oct. 10.
Meeting was called to order by Prest. George A. Smith. The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 28, "God moves in a mystrious way, his wonders to perform."
Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 209, "Come O thou king of kings."
Short and interesting addresses were delivered by Elders B. Young, Junr., Jos. F. Smith and Erastus Snow.
[President Geo. A. Smith]
President GEO. A. SMITH addressed the Conference. The course we pursue is calculated to empty all the money out of our pockets. We import nearly everything and export nothing. We should be alive to this matter. Is there anything we can raise and export? We could raise fine horses and cattle and send them abroad. We could make leather and clothe our feet. We can import sheep and take care of those we have to supply our cloth factories with wool. Our home-made cloth is warm, comfortable and fine looking. Instead of cheese being brought here from abroad, measures for the manufacture of that article should be adopted in each ward. Let this sentiment be scattered to each city and seqtlement in the Territory. About thirty-seven or thirty-eight years ago the Lord said to his people, "Let the beauty of your garments be the workmanship of your own hands." We should follow the advice and example of the man whom God has given to us to be a great leader. We have been prospered and blessed exceedingly; it has been the result of the course we have been led into by the Lord through his servant Brigham. God grant that we may be able to keep our covenents. Amen.
Conference then adjourned till two p.m.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 66, "I'll praise my Maker."
Prayer by Elder John T. Caine.
_____
[10 Oct, 2 pm]
[DNW 18:428, 10/13/69, p 8]
2 P.M.
Conference was called to order by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 143, "Oh my Father, thou that dwellest."
Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the congregation.
[President Brigham Young]
President BRIGHAM YOUNG dellivered an instructive and interesting discourse upon the nature and duties pertaining to the office of a Bishop, the nature and effects of the Holy Priesthood, home manufacture, co-operation and kindred subjects of importance. The discourse will appear in the columns of the NEWS within a few days.
[Brigham Young]
[DNW 18:507, 12/1/69, p 7; CDBY 5:2679]
DISCOURSE
By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New
Tabernacle, Oct. 10th, 1869
_____
[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS]
_____
I hope I
shall be able to speak to the congregation so that they will hear me; to do so
the people must cease whispering, or making any noise with their feet, and they
must pay close attention. I desire the prayers of the Saints to assist me, to
give me strength and wisdom so that I may say a few things which shall be
profitable to them and myself.
We have
not called the bishops together to instruct them since the commencement of this
Conference. I wish to say a few words to them as a body of men who are set to
preside guide and dictate in temporal affairs. While we are partaking of the
bread and witnessing to God the Father that we always remember His Son Jesus
Christ, let us draw in our hearts to worship Him in truth, acknowledge Him in
sincerity and believe on him with all our hearts, so that we may have the
spirit of charity in our bosoms, which will lead us to forgive one another our
trespasses that we may be forgiven. Let us endeavor to do this on the present
occasion and on all others when the sacrament is administered.
In my
remarks to the Bishops, I expect and hope and trust and pray that they will be
equally instructive to the Saints composing the wards over which the Bishops
preside; for they, equally with the Bishops, are engaged in building up the
kingdom of God on the earth. The business or labor assigned to the Latter-day
Saints in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times,--the time of
times,--in building up the kingdom of God, requires a great deal of knowledge
from God. The scanty history or sketches that we possess in the sayings of the
prophets and of Jesus and the Apostles give but a very faint idea with regard
to the building up of Zion on the earth; and without the revelations of Jesus
to His people who are called to perform this work, they would be altogether
useless. It would be labor in vain for any people to rely for guidance upon
these alone in establishing the kingdom and laws of God upon the earth,
gathering the honest in heart from the nations, gathering home and protecting
the House of Israel and preparing the way for the coming of the Son of Man.
This great work must be dictated, guided, and directed, day by day, by the
revelations of the Lord Jesus, by the Father, an angel, or by some messenger
that God shall see fit to send to the people. It is useless for any people to
attempt to accomplish this work without the Priesthood.
The
Priesthood of the Son of God is from everlasting to everlasting; it is without
beginning of days or end of years, or time. It is without father, without
mother, without descent; it is the power by which the worlds are and were
created, and the power by which they are now held in existence, and by which
all that are yet to come will be organized, governed, controlled and sustained.
This Priesthood must come to the children of men, in order for them to
understand the modus operandi of establishing the Kingdom of God upon the
earth. This Priesthood must govern and control the people who undertake to
build up this Kingdom; and the rule of the Priesthood of the Son of God will
extend to every avenue, and will control every department of the labor of those
engaged in this great work. This Priesthood must govern and control or else the
people will never become perfect.
The
Bishops are the class whose labors are more arduous and tedious, more patience-wearing,
faith-requiring and love-abounding than any other elders in Israel. No other
class of elders require the same amount of wisdom, grace, and the power of God
to dictate the affairs of His Zion upon the earth as the class called bishops;
and what will be good for the bishops will be good for the people over whom
they preside.
It has
been said to us, and scripture has been quoted, that "a bishop should be
blameless." He should be in all things; he should know how to preserve
himself in all integrity before the Lord, in the honesty of his intentions and
in the spirit of meekness. If there is any difference among the elders of
Israel, I am not prepared to say there is, but if there is, he who is called to
act in the office of a bishop should be more perfect than any others; but every
creature who has named the name of our Father in Heaven should seek continually
to live according to the dictates of the Holy Spirit and in the enjoyment of
the light, wisdom and intelligence which proceed from Him. To do this according
to the mind and will of God, requires the whole heart, the whole being, the
whole man; as Jesus has said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind and with all thy
strength."
All who
hold the Priesthood of the Son of God should devote themselves entirely to
magnifying their calling; no matter how seemingly insignificant that calling
may be, it requires every effort of which a person is capable. If persons be
only lay members in the Church and Kingdom of God, without any particular
ordination, endowment, anointing or sealing, it requires their undivided
energies, even then, to magnify their membership in the Church and their being
here on this earth before the God of Heaven. It requires every sincere effort
and every honest labor to fill up the measure of their creation here on the
earth, and to secure eternal life in the celestial Kingdom of God.
The
scriptures say that where much is given much will be required. This saying is
as true of our day as of that in which it was written, and all persons, in the
final reckoning, will learn the fact that they will have to give an account for
every blessing that has been bestowed upon them: of all the knowledge, wisdom,
light, intelligence and worldly means they have possessed, and also of their
standing, and their conduct in their various callings. I do not know of any
office more responsible than that of a Bishop.
A great
many persons have supposed that, after being honest and sincere enough to repent
of their sins, and to be baptized for the remission of them; and humble enough
to obtain the spirit of God, that the battle is over, that the victory is won
and that eternal life and glory are theirs. All who harbor and foster such a
notion will find themselves mistaken in the end. It is true that faith in God
and in His Son Jesus Christ, and obedience to the ordinances of the gospel of
life and salvation are required; but in addition to all this, we should be
governed, guided and controlled by the principles of that gospel and by the
priesthood of the Son of God in all our labors, business transactions and acts
through our entire lives. Can we, as Latter-day Saints, understand this? If we
do not now the time will come when we shall have to do so. The question often
arises.
"What
has a Bishop to do with the members of his Ward in buying farms, cultivating
the ground, keeping a herd, raising stock or grain, in dealing in merchandize,
in the pursuit of mechanical labor, or in the arts and sciences?"
A person
says:
"What
has my bishop to do with me, if I am disposed to traffic and trade and get gain
in this, or any other city?"
I merely
answer the question, very briefly, he has everything to do with you and me.
This may be a strange saying, even to many called Latter-day Saints. There are
men and women in the church who have studied the priesthood and its effects
until they can understand the economy of God and His providences to His
children; but take the masses of the Latter-day Saints and they are ignorant of
them.
If we had
Brother Heber C. Kimball here he would explain it in this way: We have had clay
in the mail for nearly 40 years, grinding, grinding, grinding bringing it out
and working it on the table, and if there is anything on it that should not be,
we are ready to cut it out, then mould the remainder, heat it and make a
vessels of it; or if it is not prepared, and some little things are still
wanting, it is thrown back into the mill and ground over again. Besides this,
we are all the time digging in the mountains and bring in new clay in our cards
and wagons, and we fling the new clay into the same mill and keep on grinding
the new and the old, the old with the new, the new with the hold until it is
prepared to mould into vessels of honor unto God. This is the way Brother Heber
would have explained it.
A word to
the new-comer. We have brought several thousand here this year. Some have come
with their own means; but a good many have been assisted. What is the idea of
many of these newcomers? Simply this: I have got home to Zion, I am going to
work now to get rich. I am looking around to see where I can get work. They
inquire around what does a plasterer get a day? Twenty dollars. What does a
paper hanger make? Twenty-five dollars. What does a common mason get a day for
laying rock, brick or Adobes? Oh, he certainly wants ten dollars a day.
"Well," says the new-comer, "I do not want anybody to know that
I used to work for five, ten, eighteen, or twenty shillings per week, for I
want to make my five or ten dollars a day now. Where can I get it? Where can I
do the best?" This is the chief concern with many, and their minds are on
the stretch to make means. Do such persons think of Zion? No, Zion will take
care of herself, the Kingdom of Zion owns the whole world, and "if I can
go," say they, "to work and get rich, that is all I want." Every
such mind leaps forth into an unknown sea, and the first thing its possessor
will now, he has no faith left in the gospel, and this is the cause of the
"isms," schisms, dreams, imaginations and apostasy that abound.
The whole
business that the Latter-day Saints have to look after is the building up of
Zion on the earth; no matter whether they came here twenty-two years ago or are
new-comers; whether they are just baptized or have been in the Church for
years. your labor is to build up the Kingdom of God. Says a man: "I am not
ordained." That makes no difference. Are you a member of the Kingdom?
"Yes," Well, we want all the men and women in the Church to spend their
whole time and building up Zion, saith the Lord Almighty. We have no time,
then, to look out for speculation. Sometimes, to illustrate, I have referred to
myself. I expect I was about as poor a man as ever gathered with the Saints.
The last property I had when I came into the Church I gave to my friends, and I
went to preaching the gospel everywhere I could until I was called home to the
gathering place, and was as poor as any man ever need to be. The first inquiry
of mine to the prophet was "What can I do to build up Zion?" The
prophet had told us never to spend another day to build up an outside city, or
a city of the world; for the business off the Latter-day Saints was to build up
Zion. When I inquired for work I found plenty who wanted to get work done; but
they had nothing to pay for it. The word was, "we can hire you but we
cannot pay you the first dollar or sixpence." I did not ask, what can you
pay me, but "where is the work that wants to be done? I am here to do
it."
Pardon me
for this digression; it is just as good an illustration as I can give. I have
worked for Zion from that day to this, instead of working for myself. God has
given me the means I possess, for I have never sought it. I have paid all
attention to the work that the Lord has called me to, and the Lord has made me
rich through being obedient in all things instead of halfhearted in His cause.
Let the
inquiry be, with the new-comers, instead of what can I get a day for this or
that job, what do you want me to do to build up Zion, and let wages, money and
means be an after consideration and trust in God if you want to get rich. If
you set your hearts on riches you will not obtain them; but if you set your
hearts on Zion and on Zion alone, sooner or later you will be rich. This is to
the new-comer. An elder of Israel may say, "look here my brother, have you
some work you want done? I think you are preaching to get your work done."
Yes; the work I want you to do is to build up Zion. I want you to go and offer
your services, without wages, not to me or to any one in particular; but when
you are willing to build up Zion, it proves that your heart is in the work. You
will then show whether your heart is for God or for gain. I want to hear every
elder in Israel, every Latter-day Saint, when gathered, say "Brother
Brigham, Brother George, or Brother Daniel, or any other in authority, if you
want any work done I am here to do it, no matter about the pay, I guess I can
get something to eat if the rest have any."
Is this
the priesthood? It is the result of the priesthood. Every man who loves the
priesthood of the Son of God and the building up of Zion does not set his mind
on worldly gain. "How do you know," says one? I know by experience,
and that is just as good evidence as I want in my Court. When a person knows by
experience he knows it just as it is. "Well what shall we do" say the
old clay and the new clay, the new-comer and those who have been here for
years? Go to your bishops and tell them you are here to build up Zion and you want
to know how to accomplish most effectually the desires of your hearts. Tell
them you have been here and have gained experience, and say, "now what can
we do to build up Zion?" You may possibly go to a bishop who has so much
worldly care on his mind, and who is so anxious to get rich, that he can not
exactly dictate you, and he may stand awhile and finally say, "well, I
guess I don't know what to say." When you come across such a bishop, know
that he is not in the line of his duty. He is one of those men who look after
earthly gain instead of after the welfare of Zion. That bishop says, "the
burden of building up the Kingdom of God is on the Presidency and the Twelve
and those missionaries who have been called to labor in the vineyard. I have
nothing to do with it." I want to say this to the bishops, if you do not
devote your whole time and labor to the regulation and dictation of the affairs
of your wards, in the end the honor and power of that priesthood which has been
conferred upon you will be taken from you and given to another. I want you to
hear this. Oh, ye bishops of Israel! I have already said that bishop's require
a great amount of patience; this is true. They also require a great amount of
wisdom to magnify their holy calling. I will ask you a question: Did you ever,
when you were honest, and sincere, go to the Father and ask for knowledge, in
the name of Jesus Christ, without receiving the light you needed? I can answer
the question for you--you never did.
What is
the duty of the bishops? If they act as presidents as well as bishops of their
Wards they should take charge of, and direct the temporal and spiritual labors
of every member of their respective Wards. Do they do it? No, they do not.
"Well," says a bishop, "I would be willing to dictate if the people
were willing that I should dictate them." I will say to the bishops that
if you wish to be successful in dictating and managing your Wards, in all their
affairs, in every good word and work, you must lead out yourselves, and set the
example. When a bishop is called to dictate and direct home-manufactures and
other interests of the ward, he should lead out, and have his own family
manufacture their own hats, bonnets and clothing. Perhaps they may say to the
First Presidency, "do your families do these things? I will acknowledge
that they do not. What is to be done? I do not know but that we shall have to
make a Ward by ourselves and introduce home-manufacture and invite all to join
us who will covenant to do the same. If I were too close or exacting with my
wives they might leave me, and I should be very sorry for that, but perhaps I
should be better without them than with them if they would not hearken to me.
Of this I leave Israel to judge. I can say, for myself, I would rather be in
these mountains with two or three hundred good elders to contend against the
prejudices of the whole world, than to have a million who were half hearted.
Like Gideon, when going against the Midianites, I should prefer the few, who
would lap water like a dog, if they were of the right kind, than millions of
any other kind. We could do more, do it faster, and do it better than we could
with multitudes of the wicked, or of those who were half hearted in observing
the precepts of the Lord.
The
question may be asked, is this included in the priesthood? Yes, it ( is; this
is the effect of the priesthood. The priesthood of the Son or God is eternal.
It fills immensity and governs all things. This priesthood has been revealed
from heaven, to the children of men, by the Almighty, though in a small degree,
and its effects are beginning to manifest themselves.
What is
the greatest miracle that can be wrought before God, our Savior, angels, the
inhabitants of the earth or the inhabitants of the infernal regions? Is it
raising the dead or healing the sick? No, it is not. It is in bringing a people
to a strict obedience to the rule of the priesthood. This is the greatest of
all miracles and the greatest testimony to God, to all the heavenly host, to
the devils in hell and to the inhabitants of the earth that the Latter-day
Saints are the people of God. The greatest miracle that can be wrought on the
face of the earth is for the power of the priesthood to make the people one,
and this tremendous labor devolves in a great measure upon the home ministry,
which includes the bishops, priests, teachers and deacons. By virtue of their
high-priesthood bishops act as Presidents in their Wards as well as in the
bishopric; but if we had the literal descendants of Aaron to act as bishops we
should then be under the necessity of appointing high priests to preside in the
Wards and settlements. I am ready to help them, and am doing it all the time.
The first Presidency are co-workers with you, in God, to sanctify the whole
people and bring them to a knowledge of the truth, and to reveal to them the
mind and will of God, and to lead them along step by step until the officers of
this people officiate commendably before the heavens.
Some may
say "if the Presidency does not set the example how can we follow?"
We shall, if it is absolutely necessary, take another step in this direction,
and call upon the elders of Israel to know who will build up Zion, and no other
kingdom or influence on the face of the earth. This would draw the line, and
this book, (the Bible) says the kingdom of God in the latter days, is to be
like a net cast into the sea, which would gather of all kinds,-good and bad.
This net is now circumscribing the whole world, and we expect the good and bad
will be gathered together, and it is not exactly time yet to draw this line of
distinction between those who are wholly devoted to the kingdom of God, and
those who are devoted to it only in part. If we were to draw this line now it
would not be according to the design of Heaven. The Elders of Israel are
casting the good seed of the word of God among the people, and that that does
not fall among the rocks and become parched, or dried up, or choked, takes root
and brings forth, some thirty, some sixty and some an hundred fold. There are a
great many tares in this field. What shall we do, pull up the tares? No, if we
do we shall pull up some of the wheat, so we must let them grow together until
the time of separation comes. When men apostatize from the church, we must, of
course, cut them off; but when they are striving to do right, we must bear with
them.
The great
work of going to all the world to tell the people what to do is for the
Presidency and the Twelve. When we gather together we appoint Bishops and
Presidents. What for? For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the
ministry and the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come to the unity
of the faith. You all know that, from first to last, I have found a great deal
of fault with the bishops. I do not know that I ever found fault with or
chastened them more than they deserved; and we can find fault with the rest of
the people with the same propriety that we can with the bishops.
To
explain the facts as they are in this Priesthood--let the people of any Ward be
united in God to build up His Kingdom on the earth, and they have a bishop who
is dilatory, slothful, negligent, lazy and destitute of the spirit of his
office, if the members of that Ward will be united in their faith and works as
one man, they will remove this bishop out of the way so quickly that they will
hardly know how it is done. This is the privilege of the people, so there is
something required of them as well as of the bishops. They are not to sit down
and say the bishop will dictate me; the bishops are not to sit down and say the
Twelve will dictate us; the Twelve are not to sit down and say the First
Presidency is to dictate us, and the First Presidency cannot sit down and say,
let the Lord do it; but, as one man, they should all reach forth, in the power
and strength of God, to build up His Kingdom and overcome the power of Satan on
the earth.
A few
words more to the bishops; and I wish them to hearken and give ear to this: In
all your dealing, doing, counselling and sitting in judgment in your Wards, it
is your imperative duty, and is required of you by the authorities of this
Kingdom, by God and angels, to have enough of the Spirit of the Lord to enable
you to judge righteously and to give judgment to each and every one without a
feeling of partiality one way or the other; and when you have chastened a man
let your feelings towards him be just the same as before, and live,
continually, so that you can chasten a child, a family or your entire Ward
without any feeling of animosity. If you do not live in this way you live beneath
your calling and duty. I want you to lend your ears to this. From this time
forth I never want to have anybody come to me and say, a bishop, presiding
officer or high council has decided partially or in a one-sided manner. All who
sit to preside or judge should hear both sides of the question --listen
diligently, learn everything, then, if you have the Spirit of the Lord you can
judge righteously. If the bishops will take this course they will have
influence in their Wards. Sometimes a bishop will complain of having no
influence. When such is the case it is because he lives beneath his privileges,
and not because God is negligent. All such bishops live so that the justice,
judgment, loving kindness and mercy of God cannot get to their hearts, or they
would be filled with the spirit of revelation, knowledge, wisdom, judgment and
decision and they would judge righteous judgment.
These
remarks are not only applicable to Bishops but to Presidents, High Councillors
and all who sit in judgment in the midst of Israel. Live so that you can judge
by the revelations of the Lord Jesus, then you will render righteous judgments,
the wicked will not have power to contend against you, the innocent will be
satisfied and justified, and will rejoice in the midst of Israel.
I will
now go a little further with my remarks. If I live upon the earth until the
Latter-day Saints walk up to their duties and privileges I shall see the time
when I can say to a Bishop, we want this canal dug, we want that field made, or
that factory built in your Ward; or we want your Ward to have so many sheep, or
so many cattle, or to raise so much sugarcane, or so much flax or hemp; make
this railroad, build your schoolhouse or meetinghouse; go to work on the Temple
or Tabernacle, improve here or improve there and give to the poor so that none
need go hungry; and it will only have to be said to be done, and done promptly;
there will be no more words about it. If I live in the flesh to see this people
as they ought to be, I shall see all this and much more.
I
frequently think of a little circumstance that has transpired this season, in
building our railroad from Ogden to this city. All who know anything about my
work on the Union Pacific road, know that the money for doing that work has not
yet been paid. We are getting iron in lieu of money, and we are going to place
it where it will do us good. The grading on our home-line is very light, and is
being done chiefly by the Wards lying between this city and the Central road.
Brother West took hold and did manfully and well. A great many individuals have
run to the Superintendent asking for a job here or there, and requesting this
or that for their pay. When we came to Kaysville, Bishop Christopher Layton
said "I and my Ward will do so much of the work," and from the time
the work commenced until the present, our Superintendent tells me that no
member of that Ward has said one word about it. They said they would do so much
and they have done it. This is the only Warding Israel that I know of that has
done as they were counseled. What is the cause of this? Is it because Brother
Layton is peculiarly adapted for acquiring influence? I do not know that it is;
but he takes the right course and leads out. He is honest, upright, merciful
and forgiving, and his loving-kindness is extended to all. He knows what to do;
he is a good business man. He says we will do so and so, and there is not a
word said about it by any member of his Ward. I will give him the praise of
this. There are many of our Elders who do not apply their minds to the building
up of Zion; it is all self,--my little self. I have my circle, and I can not
walk out of it. Instead of their minds expanding and reaching over, they are
contracting. Again to the Bishops, there are some of them who do not treat the
members of their Wards like the members of one family, they are treated like
strangers, who, in their business transactions, mean to cheat each other.
I expect
to live to see the time when men will cease being so greedy. I am pretty well
convinced that our Co-operative system here, in our wholesale store, touches
our merchants to the quick; I am convinced that some of them are so sore that
if you were to lay the weight of your finger on them it would hurt them. Many
of them, however, have done well in yielding up their former system of carrying
on business; yet there are those who, if they could, would grab up the means today,
every dime of it, and make the people pay twenty-five or thirty cents a yard of
calico. The movement now inaugurated amongst us for the destruction of
monopoly, although working so advantageously, is not something that has been
got up in a day or a year. I have been striving for it ever since I have been
in these valleys, and during the whole of the time have labored, toiled,
preached, guided and counselled for its accomplishment.
I have
said many times that I can tell any people, if they will follow my counsel, how
to get rich. I have been telling you how to do so this afternoon. If you will
build up Zion, you will get rich. If some of our merchants had had their way
for the past six or eight months, they would have drawn from the means of the
Latter-day Saints living in these mountains from five to eight hundred thousand
dollars, which they now have to dispose of in some other way; through the
mercies of God and the teachings of His servants this amount has been saved to
the people. But who knows or thinks about it? Very few ever give a thought to
it. This shows the ignorance of the people, in not giving credit to where it
belongs. I recollect hearing the Prophet Joseph say, many times in his day,
that no greater sin was ever committed on this earth than the sin of
ingratitude, except the shedding of innocent blood.
If the
bishops would lead out in all things, a great many of the people would follow
them in every good word and work, and there would be a good many who would not
follow them. Well, let the wheat and the tares grow together,-the murderer,
slanderer, adulterer and thief with the best that live on the face of the
earth. We have to submit to it until the people learn better.
I repeat
that if the bishops should lead out in every good word and work,-if they were
prepared to do so, the people are not all prepared to go with them; but many
would. The bishops are far behind, however, in their duties and callings as
well as the rest of us. They must wake up and lead out, and have influence
enough over their Wards to go and do as they are told. You will hear a bishop
say, occasionally: "The First Presidency has told my Ward to do so and so,
and I suppose we must go to and do it because they have said so." I
suppose no such thing, and the bishop who looks at it in this light is full of
darkness, and we want any men who have acted on that principle to cease doing
so, or give up papers and cease holding the bishopric. You have not got light
and knowledge: you are not pulling on the right thread, and do not understand
your business and calling. When required by the First Presidency to perform any
work, instead of doing it because they tell you to do it, do it because your
minds are open and quick, and the spirit of truth manifests to you that that is
what should be done. Do it because it ought to be done, and not because anybody
says so. Is not this correct? It is, and every Saint knows it, and we should
all live so that we may enjoy the revelations of the Holy Spirit, then we
should understand things past, present and to come, for it is the office of the
Holy Ghost to reveal these things to the minds of those who possess it, and to
bring all things to their remembrance that are necessary for them to
understand.
Bishops,
never do another thing because anybody says "do it." When you do as
you are required, let it be because you are prompted and dictated by the Holy
Ghost and the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although many men live, not
possessing the full amount of inspiration they might enjoy, they will say
"brethren, we never knew you to be mistaken; taking your counsel has
always proved the best for us." I say to the elders of Israel when you are
counseled to take a certain course, or to do certain things, act in accordance
with that counsel. If you do not see it exactly, go to with your might until
the revelations of God reveal it to you. You can all do as much as Colonel
Little did on one occasion, when Marshal of the city. He was told to do a
certain thing. Said he, "I know it is true, but I do not believe a word of
it." He could not believe it, reach it and grasp the spirit of it, and
say, yes I can see the result of it; but his judgment said "I know it is
right."
Now
brethren, bishops, when we ask you to do anything, no matter what it is, go to
and do it, for the simple reason that we never ask you to do anything only what
you ought to do, and, we are at the defiance of the inhabitants of the earth or
the regions below to prove to the contrary. If you have not enough of the
spirit of God to see its propriety and to understand all the workings of it,
and to know its utility, go to with your might, with faith in God, until you
get the revelations of Jesus upon you, then you will know for yourselves.
I have
only said a little; I should like to say more to the brethren and sisters, but
I shall defer my remarks to a future occasion. God bless you. Amen.
Brother Fishburn's Choir sang "Pray for the peace of Deseret."
[President George A. Smith]
President GEORGE A. SMITH addressed the Conference. The Book of Mormon has been translated into the Deseret Alphabet, and the first and second readers are published, suitable for those desirous of learning that Alphabet. It is desirable that the Bishops and others should interest themselves to disseminate a knowledge of those characters. A knowledge of them will result in much good to the present and to future generations.
Sink cultue should receive more attention than it has hitherto. The Female Relief Societies would do well to plant out mulberry trees. The Bishops of each ward should see that sufficient broom corn is planted in their wards to supply all the brooms necessary for the use of the people. It is a shame to us that we should be so slow to adopt principles of true economy. Awake to this subject and take the wise counsels of our President. Those in favor of this will raise their right hands. (Here a forest of hands were raised heavenward.) May the Lord enable us to carry out our good resolutions. Amen.
[President Daniel H. Wells]
President DANIEL H. WELLS spoke. The Prophet Joseph at one time published his views concerning government. He advised the abolishment of slavery and the remuneration of the slave owners for the pecuniary loss that would be incurred by the adoption of that policy. The experience of the United States has shown how much misery the nation would have been spared had the advice of the Prophet been taken. This is the case in many instances with ourselves. We often cannot see what would be for our best good until we learn it by bitter experience. We are apt to take our own way in preference tot he way pointed out by the Lord through His servants. May God enable us to carry out every righteous principle, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the names of the following brethren to the Conference, they having been called to go on missions:
John
Loveless, Payson
Charles H Oliphant, Eagleville
Thomas R King, Fillmore
Joseph V Robinson, Fillmore
Jesse Taylor Jackson, Nephi
Peter C Wood, Bountiful
Henry Nisonger, Santaquin
Jacob Houtz, Sen., Springville
Hiram Mace, Fillmore
On motion of President Young it was resolved that Conference adjourn until the 6th day of next April at this place.
The Tabernacle choir, joined by the congregation, sang the hymn on page 268, "The Spirit of God like a fire is Burning."
Benediction by President George A. Smith
JOHN
NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference.