MAN MUST USE HIS ENERGIES AND CULTIVATE THE GIFTS OF GOD--NECESSITY OF FOLLOWING COUNSEL--REFORMATION MUST BE INTRINSIC AND NOT A MATTER OF EXCITEMENT.
A Discourse by Elder Lorenzo Snow, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, January 18, 1857.
By the request of the President of this Stake, Elder Spencer, I will occupy a short time in speaking such things as may come to my mind, or as the Lord shall see proper to dictate.
I have observed, brethren, that both speakers and hearers are frequently troubled with certain weaknesses, and I want to occupy a moment or two in pointing out some of those weaknesses, as this is a time of reformation. I presume when Elders rise to speak, those who have not been in the habit of speaking before assemblies, that it is sometimes very hard and difficult for them, but they will stand before a congregation because it is absolutely their duty to do so. They do it because it is obligatory upon them; they do it because they cannot well escape that situation, which, peradventure, they would be well pleased to do, if they could do so and feel approbated in their own consciences. This is a weakness that individuals in this position feel more than they do in any other, though I do not think that this will apply to the Elders of Israel very extensively. Another weakness consists in their not taking care how they express themselves in the communication of their ideas and instructions.
I would not wish to stand before you this morning for the purpose of being seen or of getting rid of an unpleasant feeling, nor that my oratory may be spoken of hereafter, but I wish to stand before you for the purpose of communicating that which shall be for your good and benefit.
I understand that we are brethren together, that we are of the same Father in the celestial worlds, and that if we knew each other as we should, if each one was endowed by the power of God, our sympathies would be excited more than they are at the present time, and there would be a desire on the part of every individual to study in their own minds how they might do their brethren good, how they might alleviate their sorrows and build them up in truth, how remove [sic] the darkness from their minds. If we understood each other and the real relationship which we hold to each other, we should feel different from what we do; but this knowledge can be obtained only as we obtain the Spirit of life, and as we are desirous of building each other up in righteousness.
Again, I have noticed on the part of the people what I have attributed to weakness. They come together, some of them, more for the purpose of being pleased with the oratory of their speaker, for the purpose of admiring the style in which he may address them, or they come together more for the purpose of seeing the speaker or speculating in regard to his character, or the true relationship that he sustains to the Lord in the Priesthood, than for the purpose of receiving instructions that will do them good and build them up in righteousness.
I think that speakers ought to try and improve themselves, wherein they see their weaknesses, the hearers ought to try to eschew their weaknesses, so that when the Elders are called upon to speak they may have it in their hearts to do the people good.
One of the greatest prayers that a man can offer, so far as I understand prayers and their consistency, is that, when an Elder of Israel stands before the people, he may communicate and tell some thoughts to do the people good, and build them up in the principles of truth and salvation. Prayers of this kind are as agreeable in the ears of the Lord as any prayers that an Elder of Israel can possibly offer, for when an Elder stands before the people he should do so realizing that he stands before them for the purpose of communicating knowledge, that they may receive truth in their souls and be built up in righteousness by receiving further light, progressing in their education in the principles of holiness.
This cannot be done, except by a labour of mind, by an energy of faith, and by seeking with all one's heart the Spirit of the Lord our God. It is just so on the part of the hearers; unless particular attention is paid to that which is required of them from time to time by those who address the people from this stand, and unless individuals labour in their minds with all their mights and with all their strength in their prayers before the Lord, they will not receive that good and benefit to themselves which they ought to receive. If, for instance, you are attending school, you have your lessons to learn, and just in proportion to your energy and faithfulness, and intelligence in regard to acquiring a knowledge of those lessons, you will be prepared to enjoy their benefit, that for which they are designed. And, just in proportion to your neglecting to exercise your mind and your intelligence, your mind will be barren and unfruitful in relation to that knowledge which you should have attained.
You remember, probably, a revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants giving to Oliver Cowdery the privilege of translating certain records, and that after receiving this he got the idea that all he had to do was to stand idle and not do anything; but he found that his mind was barren. The Lord gave a revelation to inform him of the difficulty, and told him that because he did not exercise his mind, the powers or intellect that were given him, his mind had become darkened.
It is precisely so in regard to ourselves. If we do not exercise those faculties given us, and get the Spirit of the Lord, but little information will be received from speakers, even though ideas may be communicated of great value and worth. Notwithstanding, ideas may be communicated in a very broken style, if the people will exert themselves, as a boy should at school, they will soon learn that they will never return from meeting without their minds being benefitted by the speakers.
Brethren, I will tell you there is a fault, a weakness, with regard to this principle, and I know it. There must be a labour of mind, an exertion of those talents that God has given us; they must be put into exercise. Then, being enlightened by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, we may get those ideas and that intelligence, and those blessings that are necessary to prepare us for the future, for sceneries that are to come.
The same principle will apply in all our actions in relation to the things of God. We have to exert ourselves, brethren. This remaining idle without putting ourselves into action is of no use; if we remain perfectly neutral, nothing is accomplished. Every principle that is revealed from the heavens is for our benefit, for our life, for our salvation, and for our happiness.
Counsel that is given to us when it comes from the proper authority, is given for a certain purpose; and that purpose is our happiness, so far as the present time is concerned; it is for the purpose of adding happiness unto us in the present state, and also for the purpose of communicating benefits unto us in a state hereafter. Upon this principle is counsel established, upon the principle of doing our fellow-men good; for the purpose of doing them good here and hereafter.
The design of the Lord in regard to ourselves, in regard to His people generally, is to bring them to that state and fulness of knowledge, and to that perfection which their spiritual organizations are susceptible of receiving or arriving at. There are certain laws established from all eternity for the purpose of effecting this object.
The question is asked, "Why are we under obligations to follow counsel?" Because that counsel possesses those qualities necessary to make us better here, and to exalt us to honour and glory hereafter. If it were not so, there would be no obligation on our part to follow counsel. A minor is under obligation to follow his father's counsel, for that counsel is designed to make him happy while in the state of boyhood, and to qualify him to act in an after state, in a state of manhood. That counsel is designed to benefit that father who gave it, as well as the son to whom it is given. It is the father's privilege to counsel as shall be for the benefit of that father, and as shall contribute to the greatest happiness of that boy while in his boyhood, so that it shall benefit him to the greatest extent when he shall arrive at the state of manhood.
In the same light President Brigham Young is a counsellor to this whole people, and the counsel he gives is for the purpose of benefitting them in this state, also for preparing them to receive the greatest happiness it is possible for human beings to receive in the world to come. It accomplishes the two-fold object of benefitting himself and those to whom it is given. No man can give counsel to any one, but what it has a tendency to benefit himself as well as others. We are so constituted and organized, that we cannot counsel that which will contribue [sic] to the benefit and exaltation of others, without at the same time contributing to our own good.
A father, in communicating counsel to his son, should in the first place prepare himself to communicate those proper counsels which will suit the condition of his son. It is his privilege to extend happiness to himself; it is his privilege to increase his own happiness, and in increasing his own happiness he should extend it throughout his family dominions. And when he is increasing his own happiness, his own glory, his own authority, he at the same time is increasing that of his children, provided that counsel which he reveals is all the time that which is best for his family. If good counsel was not established for the benefit of the individual that communicates it, also of those who receive it, it would be of no service.
The people are under obligation to obey the counsel that is given; they are necessarily required to apply the counsel of brother Brigham, because that counsel possesses those objects. No man can be more happy than by obeying brother Brigham's counsel. You may go from east to west, from north to south, and tread this footstool of the Lord all over, and you cannot find a man that can make himself happy in this Church, only by applying the counsel of brother Brigham in this life; it is a matter of impossibility for a man to receive a fulness who is not susceptible of receiving and carrying out brother Brigham's counsel. An individual that applies the counsel of this Church is bound to increase in all that is good, for there is a fountain of counsel which the Lord has established. He has made it, has deposited that counsel, that wisdom and those riches, and it will circumscribe all that pertains unto good, unto salvation; all that pertains unto peace and unto happiness; all things that pertain to glory and to the exaltation of the Saints in this world and in the world to come.
If that counsel, if that intelligence, that is deposited in the President of this Church, was calculated to bring misery and misfortune and unhappiness upon the people, and to undo or hinder that which their nature is susceptible of receiving, then it would not be upon that principle of which we have been speaking. But it is our privilege to follow it; and if we carry out the principles that are established in our nature and that are being taught us, we shall keep rising and being exalted. If we follow that counsel, we shall advance in those principles that pertain to happiness in this world and the world to come.
It is the business of the father to be qualified to teach and instruct his children, and to lay principles before them, so that by conforming to those instructions they can be the most happy that their natures are susceptible of in a state of childhood, while at the same time they learn the principles upon which they can gain the most happiness and enjoyment in a state of manhood. Those children are under obligations to follow their father's counsel precisely, so long as the counsel which the father gives is calculated for this express purpose. They are under obligations to follow that and carry it out in its design and in its object, and the moment they break off and separate themselves from the father they become like a branch that is separated from a tree; they no longer flourish nor bring forth fruit. The branch that is cut off from the tree ceases to have the life-giving power, ceases to bring forth fruit. Let a person be cut off from this Church and he no longer remains a wise director and counsellor for his children, but only so long as he has the privilege of receiving and having counsel in which is deposited that wisdom and knowledge, and power that can give life to those that are around him.
There is a necessity of our being more industrious, many of us, in getting into the spirit of this reformation more than what has already been received. There is a danger of our being satisfied with a superficial advancement, with merely advancing on the surface. We talk of walking in the light of the Spirit and of feeling it upon us, but do we do these things? We ought to dig deep into the things of God, lay our foundation upon the rock, until we come to that water which shall be in us an everlasting fountain of eternal life in the midst of the people in this reformation. When the Elders stand forth in the various ward meetings, the prayer meetings, the general assembly meetings, and when the Bishops exercise themselves in the power of their Priesthood, and feel pretty bright themselves, there has all along been this fact, these circumstances, a certain overwhelming spirit which the people feel more or less; and there is a spirit of excitement attending the exercise of those powers. Some individuals, I am fearful, do not partake of the spirit of this reformation any more than the external effect that it has upon them; there is nothing more than show, by the power that is around them and that is being exercised among them. With some it is simply the popularity of the reformation, if I may be allowed that expression, for the reformation has become very popular.
If a person does not see the necessity of a reformation, he is set down as being grossly ignorant. But few people would have the boldness to say that there was no necessity of a reformation in this day, when the people know that it has become popular. We ought to be careful not to be carried away with popularity alone, but lay a good, a strong foundation to build upon, and know precisely the foundation of this reformation, and get the Spirit ourselves, and not be satisfied to walk in the light as it is shadowed forth by others; we should have it incorporated with our spiritual organizations. We should not merely rest satisfied with the necessity of this reformation, but we should have the spirit of it within ourselves.
I will, for the purpose of expressing my ideas, present a figure. We will suppose that here is a large army organized for the purpose of contending against their enemies. All the officers in that army, from the general down to the lesser officers, are clad in bright uniforms; that bands are playing their thrilling martial music, and everything, to use a worldly expression, is grand and glorious. Here is a general excitement, a war spirit is upon every man, from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and the only feeling is, "Let me go forth to battle against the enemy." They all feel strong in the midst of this excitement, but who will pronounce in reference to the bravery of this army? Everybody is excited to push ahead to battle, but is every one prepared? Are those that cry, "Lead us forth to the battle field?" When the day of test and trial comes, when they are in the battle field, with the death balls flying, the artillery playing, then there is a different scene. The gay flags are no longer seen, the martial music is drowned by the groans of the dying, and, instead of the sun in full splendor and everything in grandeur, the air is filled with smoke, rendered lurid by the flashes of musketry and artillery. Then you will see a different feeling with those soldiers; the pomp, the splendor, the show are seen no longer, but they then stand in their callings, in proportion to the real intrinsic value and worth that they have acquired by a long series of experience, and which have got thoroughly incorporated in their systems.
When individuals are first baptized into the Church, there is more or less excitement about them; they feel well, they feel good; every thing seems to wear a new appearance. They love everybody and everything; they wish they could at once take the line of march to the valleys of the mountains, there to contribute their exertions to the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. They see everything in a delightful condition and in a very pleasing state, but in a few days or weeks they feel that there is something for them to do, something that requires a strong sacrifice to enable them to conform to the doctrines that they have espoused.
Take a person that is penurious, one that thinks a great deal of his property, and who has accumulated a good deal; it never comes to his mind, when the good spirit is upon him, that there will be anything that will be difficult. When a call comes from the Church for the property he has, because it is wanted for a certain necessary purpose, it strikes in upon him like an electric shock. The spirit strikes in so that he feels perfectly powerless and palsied, when an exertion is required on his part. All that feeling of joy and gladness, that being sealed up unto the Spirit of goodness that was before him, is gone and he is left so that he feels all is gone. But there is a certain knowledge left which tells him that it is right for him to comply with the call, inasmuch as he calculates to follow up to the doctrines of the Church. He stands the test; he is just able to reach forth and contribute that which is required; he feels that he has done a duty, and he feels that he has past through the field of battle and come off unscathed; he did not get wounded but came off clear. This individual, then, must pronounce to himself that he has gained a victory, and he can gain faith and confidence in himself and in his God. He can see that he has been tried in doing that which was required of him, and he can look back upon that point and the position in which he stood, and can see that he acted wisely and faithfully. Then he can say to himself what he will do, if circumstances of a similar character should come before him; he can say, with a little confidence, what he will do if, in future, a similar or even a greater requirement shall be made of him.
Individuals that have not past through such an ordeal cannot say in regard to themselves what they will do, with that confidence which those can who have had the experience. In this way we have to learn to do what is required. But it is a warfare, and we have to live so that we can be approbated in our doings. We have to look at things camly [sic], coolly, seriously, and firmly, and to live in a way to get righteousness incorporated in our systems. We are placed under certain regulations, certain restrictions, that we may get the notion of acting from practice.
An individual undertaking to learn to play upon a flute at first finds a difficulty in making the notes, and in order to play a tune correctly there is a great deal of diligence and patience required. He has to go on, to pause, to turn back and commence afresh, but after a time he is enabled, through a great deal of exertions, to master that tune. When called upon to play that tune afterwards, there is no necessity for remembering where to place the fingers, but he plays it naturally. It was not natural at the first; there had to be a great deal of patience and labour, before it became natural to go through with the tune.
It is just so in regard to matters that pertain to the things of God. We have to exert ourselves and go from grace to grace, to get the law of action so incorporated in our systems, that it may be natural to do those things that are required of us. The son cannot always see the intrinsic benefit of a father's counsel when it is given, but that which he does know is that his father has a right to give that counsel; he also knows that he is in duty bound to act in accordance with that counsel and that knowledge. By acting in that way he will feel well, and he will do his duty.
It is a great matter to act firm, for one of the main objects that the Saints should accomplish is to be perfectly calm and serene, no matter how sudden accidents may occur. If you find that you are surrounded by a host of evil spirits that are choking you to death, have presence of mind enough to call upon the Lord; but some have not had presence of mind enough for that.
I will say, in relation to the counsel given by brother Brigham, that often all you know is that he has the right to give that counsel; you cannot always see that the counsel is for your good, neither can you see the propriety of many things, until you put them into practice; you have a right to know that the source is legal, but its intrinsic value you cannot always foresee.
The son acts upon the counsel of his father, that he may have the law established in himself, that he may be put forth by the law that is or has been incorporated in him. It is just so with ourselves; we value the counsel that is given and learn the principles of righteousness, and to conform to those things that are necessary for us, until we get the law of the celestial kingdom incorprorated [sic] in our systems; a law that will have a direct tendency to benefit us here and hereafter. But in our present state of blidness [sic] the perfect law is not always in us, we do not fully understand it.
Then again, I will bring another figure in regard to bringing about and getting this spirit in us, and digging deep, that we in the time of storm may not be driven off. Place a cucumber in a barrel of vinegar and there is but little effect produced upon it the first hour, nor in the first twelve hours. Examine it and you will find that the effect produced is merely upon the rind, for it requires a longer time to pickle it. A person being baptized into this Churh [sic] has an effect upon him, but not the effect to pickle him immediately. It does not establish the law of right and of duty in him during the first twelve or twenty-four hours; he must remain in the Church, like the cucumber in the vinegar, until he becomes saturated with the right spirit, until he becomes picked in "Mormonism," in the law of God; we have got to have those things incorporated in our systems.
With these few words and with these exhortations, brethren and sisters, I will give way and leave the subject to your close application, consideration, and meditation, praying the Lord God of our fathers to pour out His Spirit upon His people. You are those whom the Lord has selected to glorify Him in His presence, and may the Lord bless you and fill you with His Spirit, and may your eyes be clear to discern the things that pertain to your salvation. And if there is any man or woman that is nor fairly awake, may the time soon come that the Spirit and power of the Holy Ghost may be upon them, that it may teach them things past, present, and to come, and by the assistance of the Lord, plant righteousness and the principle of truth in their systems, that they may be prepared for the storms that are coming. These are my prayers, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
EXHORTATION TO CLEANLINESS--MANY OF THE SAINTS SPIRITUALLY DEAD.
Remarks, by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the 17th Ward School-house, Great Salt Lake City, October 2, 1856.
You are not acquainted with the spirit that prevails with this work, neither with the fact that many of the people who come to this place think that the Presidency will save them, regardless of their own individual conduct.
We gather all kinds of people in this kingdom; some of them are as corrupt as men can be, and they are scattered all over the Territory, and I think you have a few of them in your Ward.
Elders while abroad in the vineyard feel to have the Holy Ghost, but many of them, when they get home, act like the devil. They will do well until they get their companies here in the Valley and turn them over to the Presidency of the Church; then they will say, "I will not have them in my charge any more, let the consequences be what they may." They will not render the Presidency any encouragement or assistance about their companies after they arrive here.
Now we have all kinds of people in this Church, and you have some of the different kinds. Some cannot pray night or day, nor ask a blessing, lest they should spend some time which they wish to use for something else. Some think the reason why we do not progress more rapidly is because we are continually adding new clay, but I would rather have new clay than to undertake to make a vessel of honour out of a good deal of our old clay, for much of it has stuck to the tempering vessel until it stinks.
If there is a place on the earth where we should be faithful, it is in this city; or if there is a place where we should watch our children, it is here. Go to all the quorums in this city, and you will find some of their Presidents and Officers as corrupt as the devil. We have men that can beat the Gentiles in any mean tricks they are a mind to start up, but those who intend to serve God should do right.
I want to see the Bishops of the Wards right, then I want to see the Teachers right; I want to see them all filled with the Holy Ghost, then they can do something. Did I ever cry peace and safety to this people, that they were ALL doing well, and that their warfare was over? No, I never did. When I know that sudden destruction awaits a people, if they do not awake to their situation, I cannot cry peace.
This people are asleep; and I will vouch that there are many of them who do not pray, or if they do, three such prayers "would freeze hell over," as a Methodist minister once said. I want you to pray with the Holy Ghost upon you.
It is your duty to keep clean. I have given the Teachers a new set of questions to ask the people. I say to them, ask the people whether they keep clean. Do you wash your bodies once in each week, when circumstances will permit? Do you keep your dwellings, outhouses, and dooryards clean? The first work of the reformation with some, should be to clean away the filth about their premises. How would some like to have President Young visit them and go through their buildings, examine their rooms, bedding, &c.?
Many houses stink so bad, that a clean man could not live in them, nor hardly breathe in them. Some men were raised in stink, and so were their fathers before them. I would not attempt to bless any body in such places. You may inquire why I talk so. Can you talk in a better style about dirt, nastiness, and filth? If you can, I cannot, and at the same time make people feel enough upon the subject to put away their filth and be clean. If you want me to speak smoother, do better and keep cleaner. Were I to talk about God, heaven, angels, or anything good, I could talk in a more refined style, but I have to talk about things as they do exist among us.
Some people wish to have me shut my mouth, and to have President Young talk. But, thank God, they cannot shut my mouth until I get through, for I never had a gag in my mouth.
I now want to tell you of another fault there is among some of the people; they want to hear a new man preach and teach, and do not wish to hear the Bishop of their own Ward. I understand that to-night, while we have a meeting here, there must be a party got up in this same Ward. I would see them in Tophet before I would allow it.
There are many of the Seventies who are spiritually dead and damned, and so are many of the Elders. Many of the Presidents of Quorums are like pipe which needs to be burnt out, before it is fit to be used. It is the same with many of the High Priests and others. I pray God that this people may rise up and get the Holy Ghost, and wake up and live their religion, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NECESSITY OF OBEYING THE INSTRUCTIONS AND REVELATIONS GIVEN--THE IMPORTANCE OF OBTAINING THE HOLY GHOST--THE LABOURS OF THE SAINTS ARE FOR THEIR OWN SALVATION, AND NOT TO ENRICH THE LORD.
Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, January 25, 1857.
I am requested to get up and address you a short time. I do not know that I will be able to make this large assembly of people hear me this morning, but I will do the best I can to accomplish it. I feel that it is a very good sign to see so many people out to meeting, it seems as though they felt interested in meeting together to receive instructions; to see as crowded a house as this is this morning, is a proof that there is an increasing interest resting upon the people to hear the word of the Lord and receive instructions from the servants of God, and I do hope, brethren and sisters, that what instructions you do receive, you will prize, lay it up, and practise it, whether it be much or little.
I realize that the salvation of this people does not depend upon the great amount of teaching, instruction, or revelation that is given unto them, but their salvation depends more upon their obeying the commandments of God which are given unto them, their becoming a doer of the word, and following the counsel of those who are set to lead them. We certainly have a great amount of teaching, of instruction, of principle, of revelation, and of the word of God, which has been given unto this people, not only that which is recorded in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the Church History, but we have day by day, and night by night, instructions given unto us, we have a little here and a little there, a discourse to-day and another to-night, and we are continually receiving instructions from the servants of God. We receive instructions in our Ward meetings, and almost every time a few of us meet together, we do so for the purpose of receiving the word of the Lord.
It appears to me, then, that we are certainly a favoured people, and that we are having a great deal of important instruction, such as is calculated to lead us unto salvation. Inasmuch then as we have been called upon to reform, or to advance and to grow in the principles of eternal life, and to become holy in our lives, I hope there are none of us but that will take hold with our whole soul and carry out the instruction, and try to practise it in word and deed. We frequently hear remarks made about the reformation being over, and about their having got through with it in this place or in that place, but the amount of it is there never will be any end to the reformation, or in other words there will never be any end to our advancement, there will be no end to our improvement nor to our increase, neither in time nor in all eternity.
If we act up to our privileges as a people, we have no more time to lose or to spend in an unprofitable manner. We should not act indifferently with regard to the blessings which the Lord is offering unto us, and which we have the privilege of obtaining; we should labour with all our might to build up the kingdom of God, that we may secure unto ourselves every blessing necessary for our salvation. We live in an important day; it is a day of mercy and a day of great blessings unto us as a people, and we should appreciate it as such.
I have reflected a good deal within the last few months, and especially while sitting and listening to the teachings of the First Presidency, the Twelve, and the Elders of Israel, in their various spheres and callings in which they are called to act. In my prayers and reflections I have thought much of our present position, and I have concluded that if we do not enjoy the Holy Spirit, and if the vision of our mind is not open to comprehend the things of God, and the power which is being made manifest for our benefit and good, that we are in great danger of suffering loss; we should see more fully the importance of taking hold with our might, and then, as brother Kimball says, the Holy Spirit of God would be diffused through our whole bodies, and through the whole body and Church of Christ.
I feel and see the importance of this work, and I see the necessity of our walking up to the line of our duty, that we may live and walk daily in the light of the Lord. I realize that the Presidency of this Church stand between this people and the Lord, for they are the head, and I realize that God reveals to them His will, and therefore we should look unto them for light and for information. The head may be full of light, of inspiration, revelation, and of the mind and will of God, but if those officers who stand next to them, and if we ourselves are asleep in relation to our duties, and are not in a fit state to receive that light, do you not see that the river is dammed up at the head? There is no current or medium through which the light may flow to the limbs and branches of the body.
I realize that it is the duty, not only of us who hold the Priesthood but of this people generally, to present ourselves in humility and faith before the Lord, that we may obtain the blessings which are in readiness for us, and we can obtain all the light, the knowledge, the faith the intelligence and power which is necessary for our salvation by humility, obedience, and submission to the will of God. We should attend to this in order that our minds may be prepared, and our bodies become fit subjects for the reception of the Holy Ghost, so that the Spirit of God may flow freely through the whole body from the head to the foot. Then when this is the case we will all see alike, feel alike, and be alike, and become one as far as the Gospel and kingdom of God is concerned, as the Father and Son are one, and then this people will begin to see the position and relationship which we bear towards each other and towards God, and we shall feel the importance of attending to our duties, and we will willingly step forward and improve our time, make good use of our talents, and obtain the blessings that the Lord has for us to enjoy; but do you not see that if the people are asleep, and slothful, and not living up to their privileges, and the Spirit of God begins to flow from the head to the body, that it soon becomes obstructed and dammed up?
We may trace this principle through the Church and kingdom of God, and you may carry it into the family government, and you will find it as brother Kimball has already presented it to us. It is like the vine with its limbs, its branches, and its twigs. This is a very good figure to teach us the principle of righteousness.
In order for us to be prepared to do the will of God, and be in a position to build up His kingdom upon the earth, and to carry out His purposes, we must not only become united and act as the heart of one man, but we must obtain the Holy Spirit of God, and the mind and will of God concerning us, and be governed and controlled by it in all of our movements and acts, in order to be safe, and to secure unto ourselves salvation.
If I do not enjoy the Holy Spirit, there is something the matter, and I should labour until that is removed, for I consider that to be the first turning key, and we should do this to prove that we are honest before the Lord, and that we desire to do right in our minds and in our hearts. Yet, as I have said before, unless that Spirit is with us, we do not know whether we are doing right or wrong.
[President Kimball: Shut that door and let it remain so, for I tell you there is no one can enjoy the peaceful influence of the Holy Spirit where there is confusion; and I am sure this congregation cannot while that door is going clickitty-clack.]
As I was remarking, unless we do obtain the Holy Spirit, we are in danger every step we take, we are not safe, neither are we in a condition to build up the kingdom of God or do His work. I consider that the Lord requires this at the hand of every man and woman in Israel, every Latter-day Saint, that we first obtain the Holy Spirit, then bring forth the fruits of it unto salvation, then you will see this people keep their covenants and obey the commandments of God; this is the duty of all of us, and we should live our religion and follow its dictates. When this is done, you will see this people awake and bring forth works of righteousness, then they will have faith, and they will have power, and rise up, and the power and glory of God will be made manifest through such instruments as the Lord has chosen in this dispensation upon the earth, into whose hands He has committed the Holy Priesthood.
Ask any people, nations, kingdoms, or generations of men the question, and they will tell you they are seeking for happiness, but how are they seeking for it? Take the greatest portion of mankind as an ensample, and how are they seeking for happiness? By serving the devil as fast as they can, and almost the last being or thing that the children of men worship, and the last being whose laws they want to keep are the laws of the God of heaven. They will not worship God nor honour His name, nor keep His laws, but blaspheme His name, from day to day, and nearly all the world are seeking for happiness by committing sins, breaking the law of God, and blaspheming His name and rejecting the only source whence happiness flows.
If we really understood that we could not obtain happiness by walking in the paths of sin and breaking the laws of God, we should then see the folly of it, every man and every woman would see that to obtain happiness we should go to work and perform the works of righteousness, and do the will of our Father in heaven, for we shall receive at His hand all the happiness, blessing, glory, salvation, exaltation, and eternal lives, that we ever do receive, either in time or eternity.
We should understand that we should not deceive ourselves in this matter, for if we deceive ourselves we shall suffer the loss. We may just as well search our own hearts, and at once resolve that we will do the works of righteousness, honour our Father in heaven, do our duty to God and man, take hold and build up the kingdom of God, and we will then understand that in order to obtain happiness and satisfy the immortal soul in a fulness of glory, that man must abide a celestial law, and be quickened by a portion of the celestial Spirit of God; and we will also understand that to commit sin, break the law of God, and blaspheme His name, will bring sorrow and misery, and it will bring death, both temporally and spiritually. If we walk in the paths of unrighteousness, we grieve the Holy Spirit, and grieve our brethren, and injure ourselves.
Again, I wish to say a few words upon the blessings to be obtained by what we do, the labours we perform, the work we are called upon to do in paying our tithing, in building temples, and in doing those things that are required of us. These are things that are for our own benefit and good, these, with other subjects, have been impressed upon my mind for some weeks past, and it does appear to me that the people have not understood these things in their proper light.
Some of the people have looked upon the law of tithing as a kind of tax and burthen laid upon them, but who is it for? Our tithing, our labour, and all that we do in the kingdom of God, who is it all for? The tithing is not to exalt the Lord, or to feed or clothe Him, He has had His endowments long ago; it is thousands and millions of years since He received His blessings, and if He had not received them, we could not give them to Him, for He is far in advance of us. I want the brethren to understand this one thing, that our tithing, our labour, our works are not for the exaltation of the Almighty, but they are for us. Not but what the Lord is pleased to see us obey His commandments, because by doing this it will place us in a position that will fulfil and accomplish the object of our creation tion [sic], and bring about the end designed by our coming to take tabernacles here in the flesh. Again, when we do wrong, the Lord knows we shall inherit sorrow and misery if we continue in that wrong. Then I say, brethren, let us understand this as it is, and we shall do well. In paying our tithing, in obeying every law that is given to exalt us and to do us good, it is all for our individual benefit and the benefit of our children, and it is not of any particular benefit to the Lord, only as He is pleased in the faithfulness of His children and desires to see them walk in the path which leads to salvation and eternal life.
If we look upon things in this light, we shall do every thing cheerfully, and whatever calls are made upon us, we shall gladly respond, and then the channels will be opened, there will be no obstruction in the edification of the body of Christ, and light and intelligence will flow from the fountain-head unto the people, then when a man speaks, the people will, by their prayers and faith, draw forth the word of the Lord from him, and they will have their minds upon the things of God, and not upon everything else as it has been heretofore.
If this people would rise up and do their duty, when men rise before them in this stand to point out the way of life, the Spirit of the Lord would reveal the things necessary for the people to understand, for the faith of the people would draw them out. All that is required is for the people to arouse themselves, and get the light of God within them.
Brethren, I do not feel to speak much longer; I have done what I was required to do--to occupy a few moments in opening the meeting this morning, and there are two of the Presidency here who will speak to the people, and we wish to hear from them. I will say, let us awake to righteousness, and in doing this we will see that there is no time to go to sleep; this we shall all know when we come to the end of the race, if not before. We are now in our alphabet, we are yet engaged in doing our first works, and there are many lessons and principles which we have yet to learn before we get to those who are gone far in the advance of us and received their reward with the just; and, therefore, I say, there is no time to be lost. Let us make the best use of our time, and in doing so, I pray that our minds may be enlightened, that we may live our religion, that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of God, from this time forth, that we may improve the talents we have received, and that we may be satisfied at the end of the race, which may God grant, for Christ's sake. Amen.
PROPHETS WEEP BECAUSE OF THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE--ONE GENERATION SHOULD IMPROVE UPON THE EXPERIENCE OF ANOTHER--MANY SET THEIR HEARTS ON PERISHABLE THINGS--PROVISIONS ARE MADE FOR THE EXALTATION OF ALL--THE SPIRIT SHOULD RULE THE FLESH--LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF MAN--PHENOMENON OF FORGETFULNESS--NATURAL PHILOSOPHY--EMIGRATION.
A Discourse, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 1, 1857.
Let the congregation be as still as possible.
I wish to occupy a short time in speaking to you, and I am not able to talk with the ease that I could wish, for my health has for some time obliged me to confine myself pretty closely to my rooms. This is the first time that I have walked so far as to come to this Tabernacle since the burial of Jedediah M. Grant. My bodily afflictions would not permit me to walk much, and they also still hinder my efforts in speaking or exercising. I have been troubled this winter as are many in this high altitude, with a rising of the blood to the head; that is what is troubling me this morning, insomuch that I hardly felt able to get here.
Aided by the faith and prayers of the Saints, I will endeavour to speak so that you can hear me, and to edify you according to the best of my ability.
I have a great desire to teach people the way of life and salvation; I have been occupied in that labour for many years. It has been my chief business to instruct the inhabitants of the earth how they can secure unto themselves eternal life. The more I become acquainted with the principles pertaining to salvation, and the more strictly I adhere to them, the more importance I attach to them.
If I do not always view people as they really are, yet I see them partially as they are, perhaps, as looking through a glass darkly, and in the vision of my mind, looking at this people called Latter-day Saints, and leaving out the residue of the inhabitants of the earth, to give vent to my understanding, I could cry aloud and weep before the Lord. It appears to me that very many, in their understandings, according to the past conduct of the people, leaving out the present, are too much like brute beasts, or like the door on its hinges, which opens and shuts as it is acted upon, and is insensible. This appears to be the situation of some of the people.
Sometimes this seems strange and inconsistent, knowing that mankind are organized to receive and continue to receive, and that receiving one fact in the understanding does not deprive them in the least of receiving another. There is no heathen nation but what expects their posterity to improve in all the knowledge they possess, and that is required by the parents. But the Christian nations with whom we have been associated, boast of their intelligence, suppose that they are exhibiting great knowledge, and that it towers to the heavens, and expect their children to improve in all the arts and sciences in their possession.
When people have the privilege of securing to themselves eternal exaltation, when the words of eternal life are given to them, what a pity it is that they do not understand, how liable they are to fall out by the way, and that this is necessary in this state of probation. Place before some persons that which their appetites crave and require, and they will forsake every other thing, even their best friends. They will contend against their best friends and benefactors, in order to glut their appetites. When I look at this people, to say nothing about any people but the Latter-day Saints, if I have a correct understanding, some few of them look to me to be much like what we call brute beasts. The people are instructed, from their youth, that there is no end to their learning. They are taught by their parents and by their teachers that they can continue to learn, that they can store up knowledge, treasure up the wisdom of the world, and never see the time, although they shall live to the age of Methusela or older, but what they can add to their store of knowledge.
When I apply these principles to the Latter-day Saints, it would seem that when they are once filled, when they are once fed upon the words of eternal life until their souls are satisfied, they conclude that that meal will last for ever. They think they will never require any more, and so they become empty, faint, wearied, dull, stupid, and before they are aware of it, they need a spirit of reformation; they need a fresh manifestation of the power of God to stir them up and waken them out of their sleep, to remove the scales from their eyes, to arouse them from their lethargy. And when again awakened, they begin to see that they have been without food; then they can realize that they have neglected the more weighty matters. I ask the Latter-day Saints, is such the case? Is it true that any of the Elders of Israel, with their wives and children, neglect the things of God, and turn to the paltry, corruptible things of earth, and let their affections and feelings be attracted from holy principles, and placed on objects of no moment? You can answer this question at your leisure.
You that see and understand things as they are, you who can obtain the visions of eternity, whose minds soar aloft to things beyond this vale of tears, how does it appear to you? Do you feel as though you can weep over the people? Whether you do or not, that is my feeling. To observe for what trifling things men and women will turn away from the spirit of the holy Gospel, after travelling a few hundred miles with, perhaps, a few little trials to pass through, such as being perplexed with wild cattle in their teams, with misfortunes and losses; and they thirst, thirst greedily for the vain and foolish things of the world, and neglect the Spirit and principles of the holy Gospel. It has killed them spiritually to pass through those sorrows, privations, and trials.
You may ponder these ideas in your hearts, at your leisure. Such conduct is one of the most astonishing things to me that ever I have experienced or beheld; yet I have reasons for thinking that I understand the natural causes why the people are as they are.
I flattered myself years ago, that whoevever [sic] embraced the doctrine of salvation would so live as to enter in at the straight gate, in this, however, I have been mistaken. If we this day had congregated the vast multitudes that have taken upon them the name of Christ, that have entered into the new and everlasting covenant to serve the Lord our God, those who have embraced the Gospel of salvation that has been revealed through His Prophet and Seer in the last days, and then selected out those who still stand firm in the faith, you would find that but a small portion of the vast congregation had kept the faith; far the greatest number would be on the left hand. If you were to inquire of them individually, "after you heard the Gospel, believed and embraced it, did you think you would ever leave the faith?" every man and woman would reply, "No, no; I will believe and obey until death; no power on earth shall deprive me of the blessings of the Gospel that I have embraced; for it I have sacrificed my all."
Again, would not thousands that have forsaken their fathers, mothers, children, or companions, for the sake of the Gospel, but are now enveloped in the spirit of the world, when asked whether they know this Gospel to be true, reply, "We believe it;" and when asked whether Joseph Smith was a Prophet, reply, "We believe it?" Ask such persons why they do not gather with the Saints, and the ten thousand obstacles that would be presented would tower up like mountains and keep them from gathering. Ask them why they do not pay their tithing, and they have ten thousand excuses and reasons to render. Inquire why they do not do something for the Gospel, and instruct them if they cannot pay their tithing, nor gather with the Saints, to go and preach to their neighbours, and they will say to you, "O, my neighbours are pretty well off, they are good people; here are the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, &c., and they are good people, and I really do not feel it my duty to preach to them." Where are such persons? They are in darkness, they have apostatized. Another great class you will find have come out in open rebellion to the faith, to those principles they once testified they knew to be true, and that too by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Now leave that vast multitude, and come to this place. Here is the gathering of the people; here is the carcass, and the eagles gather to this place; here they are by thousands and scores of thousands. Look through this vast multitude before me, and through the inhabitants of this Territory, and then go to the United States and to Europe, and the Islands of the sea, and gather up all who profess to be Latter-day Saints, and how many of them are there in the way to enter into the straight gate? How many are going to be crowned with the Gods? You will all admit that this is a hard question to answer. Do you think one half of them will enter in at the straight gate, pass by the angels and the Gods, and receive a celestial exaltation? I pray they may, even if I do not believe so.
Is there any person deprived of this privilege? No, not one. Has the Lord cast an obstacle in the way of any individual, to deprive him of the privilege of being exalted? No, not one: but every thing that could be done has been done, every provision that could be made has been made, every law that could be instituted to encourage and elevate the people, to increase their faith, their knowledge, their understanding, and to lead them to life and salvation, the Lord has brought to this people. Then the Lord is not to blame. Are angels to blame? Are they hindering the people? No. Are the spirits of the just casting stumbling blocks before the people, or tying their hands, or turning them away from the right path? No.
Do you think that one half of the people walk up to every known duty, are so doing and labouring that they are in the straight and narrow path that leads to the lives? Answer this question at your leisure. Yet every person will acknowledge that every thing the Lord could do for our salvation has been done. All heaven is anxious that the people should be saved. The heavens weep over the people, because of their hard heartedness, unbelief, and slowness to believe and act.
You have been taught, all the day long, that you are in a world of sin; you have been taught, all your lives, that the seeds of sin are sown in your mortal bodies; you have been taught that the spirit warreth against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit; that the spirit of every man and woman that gets into the celestial kingdom must overcome the flesh, must war against the flesh until the seeds of sin that are sown in the flesh are brought into subjection to the law of Christ. This has been taught you, from your youth up. There is not a society in Christendom but what has taught these principles, and you have read them in your Bibles when you were children. Your mothers taught you that we were in a world of sin, and that the enemy of righteousness is all the time ready and watching to overcome every individual. You reply at once, "We believe this doctrine," and yet, from day to day, from week to week, from month to month, from year to year, we go on as we have. Some will say, "I did give way to my evil passion yesterday, and I will give way again to-day, and I will let the flesh overcome the spirit. I will bring my spirit into subjection to my evil passions and evil influences that the enemy of Christ has sown in the human system. I will let the tongue speak just what it pleases; I will rail out against my neighbour; when I get mad I will blaspheme; I will deceive my brother, or my neighbour," and thus they bring the spirit into subjection to the flesh, until the Lord Almighty will withdraw the light of truth from those individuals, and they are left, if not to apostatize, to deny Joseph as a Prophet, Jesus Christ as the Saviour, and to esteem Holy Writ and all the revelations from God as a burlesque. They are left in the dark, to welter in sorrow in the flesh, and in the spirit world they never can be exalted.
Is it, then, any marvel, that those who dwell in the heavens should weep over the people? Do you wonder, now, that the Prophets used to weep over the people in ancient times? That Joseph used to weep over the people in his day? If you do, I do not.
Here is a large number of the Latter-day Saints situated upon the mountain tops, and right before each individual is eternal day or eternal night; eternal light or eternal darkness; eternal love or eternal hatred; eternal glory or eternal misery. This would want a great deal of explaining, to bring it down to your capacities, so that you can understand; but I use one class of these expressions to convey an idea of the opposite of the glory prepared for the very people now before me. The Lord has done every thing He can do in justice and in truth; in His mercy and in His longsuffering and kindness there is nothing He has neglected, in order to put into the possession of this people power to secure to themselves eternal day, eternal peace, instead of eternal misery. Eternal glory, happiness, beauty, power, exaltation, excellency, and every good thing are prepared for the Elders that now sit before me to enter into the presence of the Father and the Son, where they could be exalted, sit with the Gods, be crowned with immortality and eternal lives; become the fathers, not only of many nations, but of an endless posterity; be the framers, not only of a kingdom, but of an endless chain of kingdoms. Nothing more can be done, than what has been done.
How many of those now looking on me will order their lives so that they will secure to themselves eternal happiness an exaltation? Do you think that one half of this congregation will answer that question? I pray that they may, whether I believe it or not.
Do you see people neglect their eternal welfare? A feeling prevails with some that, "we do not know these things, we have not seen these things, we do not understand that there is a kingdom prepared for the faithful; we do not understand that there is a place prepared for those that are unruly, those that disbelieve, those that neglect the truth and the Gospel when put in their possession. We do not know anything about these things." Is this so? What do you say, brethren and sisters? Have you seen the Father and the Son? Do you know where they live? "O, no." Have you seen the courts of glory, have they been opened to your view? "O, no." What next? The spirit of unbelief takes place in your hearts. The enemy, the evil that is in the world, that has caused the trouble, sorrow, and perplexity, is with you, is your constant companion, and is continually suggesting that you know nothing about these things, consequently, without the utmost care and exercise of faith, and close application in life of the requirements of heaven, you are left to drink into the spirit of infidelity.
In this manner people are left in darkness, do not understand the things of God, neglect their salvation, and go grovelling and feeling their way through this world, without a ray of light to shine on their path; hoping that there is a God, and, if there is, that He will be merciful to them; thinking that, if there is a heaven, they want to go there; if there is such a character as a Saviour, they hope his blood will atone for their sins; and if there are any such beings as angels, they hope they will pick them up, by and bye. It resolves itself to this, "If there is a God, O, be merciful to me." You do not know, do you? "O, no, we cannot realize it."
Let me ask a question, before I proceed further. How did you feel when the Spirit of the Gospel first entered into your hearts, when the light of the Gospel first shone in your understanding? Had you any such feelings then within you? Had you any doubts? How did you talk, when you first rose to testify that the Book of Mormon was true, that Joseph was a true Prophet, that this work was of God, that the Lord Almighty has revealed Himself in these our days? Had you any doubts? "No, I could not help bearing testimony to those things, I was so full of light and peace." Did you hate anybody, at that time? "No. I was filled with peace and union; I loved God and all the works of His hands. There was no anger, malice, or wrath in me." Do you feel so now? Many of you would tell me, "no." Have you abode in that Spirit and feeling? You will answer, "no."
You say within yourselves, "I believe the Gospel, I believe the Lord has revealed the truth concerning Himself, concerning the Son, concerning angels, salvation, eternal exaltation, &c.; I admit all this to be true." Then you have to admit that we are organized to inherit all glory, power, and excellency; to be filled with eternal salvation and exaltation, and to become the sons of God, as the Apostle says, to be "gods, even the sons of God;" fathers who shall endure, and whose posterity shall never end; though the Apostle turned the point very quick, because the people were not prepared to receive it. You admit the fact that we are organized expressly for the purpose of being exalted with the Gods.
You have the words of eternal life in your possession. What next? Take your own philosphy [sic]; if I am organized and capacitated to receive this glory and this exaltation, I must be the friend of Him who has brought me forth and instituted this exaltation for me; I must not be His enemy at any time. Again, you say, "we are organized to become Gods, even sons of God; to act independently." You expect to see the time when you will have at your control worlds on worlds, if your existence endures. Take Abraham, for instance, you can read the promise made to him, and again to Jesus. "Now," say you, "we are to have kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, &c." Can you read it in this book? This is the Old and New Testament, which you and I were taught, from our youth, to believe is the word of God. If I am to receive these blessings I will be an independent character, like those who dwell in eternity. If this is the case, let me pause for a moment and use my own natural philosophy. How can I prove myself the friend of God, who has placed all this glory within my reach, unless His influences are withdrawn from me, to see whether or not I will be His friend? At the time when you receive the greatest blessings by the manifestations of the power and Spirit of God, immediately the Lord may leave you to yourselves, that you may prove yourselves worthy of this exaltation. Multitudes, on the right hand and on the left, when this Spirit and power are withdrawn from them, sink into unbelief, and do not know whether there is a God, or not. Ask them, "What did you realize and experience yesterday?" The reply is, "I do not know anything about it. I can see this house, I can see the sun, I can see men and women, but I can say no more." "Do you believe what you believed yesterday?" "I do not know."
Can a man be exalted upon any other principle? When men are left to themselves, it is then they manifest their integrity, by saying and feeling, "I am the friend of God. Do all people realize that? If they did, let me tell you, they would cling fast to their integrity. When the mind of a righteous man is beclouded by darkness, when he does not know the first thing about the religion he believes in, it is because the vail is dropped so that he may act on the organization of his own individual person, which is calculated to be as independent as the Gods, in the end. When you are fully aware of this, then you are ready to lay down your lives for the cause of God and for His people, if you act on your own integrity and philosophy.
One of the greatest trials that ever came on the Son of God when he was in the flesh, upon that man whom we hold as our Saviour, was when the mob had him in their possession. They spit on him, scourged him, mocked him, and made a wreath of thorns and placed it upon his head, (and I will insure that it was so placed on his head as to cause the blood to start) and said to him, "Here is your cross, you poor, worthless scamp, take and carry it on to that hill, for there we are going to nail you to it." How would you feel in such a time, and at that very hour and moment when this tabernacle suffers, should the Father then withdraw Himself and say, "Now, my son, I will see whether you will prove yourself worthy or not." Did he walk up the hill? He did, and carried the cross until he fainted under it; then they took it and went on, and he submitted patiently to the will of his Father.
Will you submit patiently to the will of your Father in the hour of darkness? Will you say that you are the friends of God? O shame! Many of you will not say so, in the hour of darkness. Take these Latter-day Saints, the Elders of Israel, and let many of them pass where they can hear the name of Jesus Christ and the name of their Father and God blasphemed, and they will pass along as unconcerned, and will never move a muscle nor a nerve of their systems. That is nothing to them compared to what it would be to have their own dear name spoken against in the least. Speak against William, John, or Thomas, and then you will see the fire of resentment roused in that individual; while, at the same time, they may be opposed to their Father and God, to their Saviour, to the Prophet, and to their holy religion. People may scandalize these as much as the tongue of slander can, and not a word said, nor a look of disapprobation given. But, my dear brethren, those holy men and women, (pardon me if I burlesque the idea a little) your names are so dear to you that, let any one speak a word against them, you are at once for fight.
If you want to know what you should do, when you hear a man blaspheme the name of God, and you feel that there are ten thousand million devils around you to see whether you will be for your religion, knock down the man that blasphemes, and say, "If I cannot pray, I can fight for my religion and my God." When you are in darkness is the time for you to exhibit your integrity, and to prove that you are the friends of Him who has called you to this glory and eternal life.
Do you want to know how to pray in your families? I have told you, a great many times, how to do when you feel as though you have not a particle of the Spirit of prayer with you. Get your wives and your children together, lock the door so that none of them will get out, and get down on your knees; and if you feel as though you want to swear and fight, keep on your knees until they are pretty well wearied, saying, "Here I am; I will not abuse my Creator nor my religion, though I feel like hell inside, but I will stay on my knees until I overcome these devils around me." That will prove to me that you are the friend of God, that you are filled with integrity. This is good for every person to practise in the hour of trial and darkness. Say, "I am the friend of God, and if you abuse Him, I shall abuse you." This is what Abraham used to do. He would take his servants and go out, once in a while, and chastise the poor, miserable characters that ridiculed the Priesthood that was on him.
Here are the people that say they are Latter-day Saints. Now, if you can understand your own position, you will know, perhaps, better how to deal with yourselves and control yourselves; how to bring into subjection your own dispositions, your passions, appetites, and wills, and let the Spirit commence and conquer and overcome, little by little, until you gain the mastery in the spirit. This prepares the tabernacle for a resurrection and eternal life. You cannot inherit eternal life, unless your appetites are brought in subjection to the spirit that lives within you, that spirit which our Father in heaven gave. I mean the Father of your spirits, of those spirits which He has put into these tabernacles. The tabernacle must be brought in subjection to the spirit perfectly, or your bodies cannot be raised to inherit eternal life; if they to [sic-phrase] come forth, they must dwell in a lower kingdom. Seek diligently, until you bring all into subjection to the law of Christ.
As to the knowledge of the people, what do they know? They know many things. What do they not know? Ten thousands of millions of times more than they know, for, comparatively speaking, they know but little. What knowledge we have, we have obtained by an experience. No man could know that he could build a building, unless he was to go to work and try. Were he to go to work and erect a building, he would then know that he knew how to do it.
Some things you do know, and there are a great many things that you do not know. "Can you mention anything that we do not know?" Yes, we could enumerate a great many things, and then have mentioned only a small portion of what is unknown to man. I will take that class of this congregation that do not know anything about God, heaven, earth, or hell, nor about anything else only as they sense with their natural senses, and ask them, can you tell me your own origin? I would be glad to see such a person, but he is not to be found. Take a man who does not know anything about these things, and he cannot tell his origin.
Again, with all the wisdom there is in the world, I can refer you to another thing which you do not know; you do not know how to take the native elements and organize a body like the ones you possess. You may take the chemical apparatus of the most extensive laboratory, and go into these mountains, and see whether you can, with all your knowledge and appliances, make a human body that can breathe, to say nothing about the spirit: you cannot do that; then you do not know how.
If we were to ask the question how we came here, we cannot answer it. We know that we are here, and we know that we live. We know that we see, hear, smell, &c., through the the [sic] organization of our senses. We know that when we have something good to eat, and plenty of it, that we can satisfy our appetite, and we also know that we get hungry again; we get sleepy, awake, and go about our business. The brute beasts know all this, although their sensitive powers are not so acute, nor possessed of so extensive a range as are those of the human family; their attention more particularly belongs to the things of this earth.
The Scriptures say that man is created but a little lower than the angels, still the great majority do not know whether there is a God; they do not even know whether it is of any use to pray to our Father in heaven, nor whether they have got a Father there. We do not know how to make a spear of grass grow on the earth, nor a tree, nor any other kind of vegetation; all this is beyond our knowledge. They grow, but we do not understand how. They are produced from the elements, but undertake to organize the elements and make a cucumber grow, and we fail; that is beyond our knowledge.
We do know, by observation, that this earth revolves on its axis, that it has its circuit and performs its annual times. We know, by observation, that the firmament is filled with small flickering lights. The astronomer says he knows that many of those lights are actually suns to solar systems, the same as our sun is to us. Does he know that? Has he been there to see? "No." Then he may be deceived; men's eyes are often deceived. They have had their eyes, ears, and all the other sensitive organs brought to bear upon a person, and have been positive that they were conversing with and looking upon him, when at the same time that person was a hundred miles from them; they were certain that they heard him speak with their natural ears, yet they were deceived. So the astronomer may be deceived by his powerful glasses. But all the argument in the world could not make you believe that those stars, or lights, were not there; you see them. Suppose that our optical powers have all been deceived, just as they are in some instances. There is plenty of proof that the optic nerve has been deceived, even through a glass, persons supposing that they saw things which they, in reality, never did see.
Upon natural principles, leaving out the light of the Spirit, the light of revelation, or saying that there is no God, and such being the case, on the natural philosophy of the natural world, and the natural belief, and ideas of those who imbibe deistical principles, they do not know whether it is the sun or not that shines upon us; they feel warm, they think they see the sun. But if your optic nerve may deceive you, so the astronomer may be deceived. "No," says he, "I cannot be deceived," and this congregation says, "We cannot be deceived; we know that we hear you preach to-day; we see you in the stand to-day, and all the earth cannot make us believe to the contrary." May be you are deceived. "But we cannot be mistaken in this, we do know that it is certain." Suppose that you go home and to-night sleep very soundly, and that perchance a a [sic] stupor should come over you, causing you to forget what has transpired to-day; I have known such circumstances. Suppose you forget to-morrow what has transpired to-day in this Tabernacle, and somebody should come along and ask you whether you recollected what brother Brigham said yesterday, you would answer, "I did not hear him say anything." It would be said, "You were at the meeting, and I saw you." You would ask, "What meeting? I was not at any meeting." "Don't you recollect of going to meeting yesterday?" "No, I do not." Did you ever know a person so forgetful as this? Well, it is not more strange than much other forgetfulness, not a particle more.
A child says, "Mother, where did you put those shears, or that knitting? or, what did you do with your pipe?" The reply is, "I laid it up." "But you must have had it since." "Don't dispute me, child," while all the time she had the pipe in her mouth. I bring up these small things, to compare with greater things. Have you never laid things carefully away and entirely forgotten them, and, when you have accidentally found them, had all the circumstances opened to your mind, and said, "O, I know all about them now, but I have never before been able to bring them to mind, since the things were so carefully laid by"? That is no more strange than it is that you should forget what the Lord has done for you fifty years ago; that is no more strange, than it is for you to forget when your spirits came into your bodies, for you came here under a covenant to prove yourselves, in a day of darkness, to be friends of God, and under a covenant that you would forget everything that had past previous to your coming here.
What do you know? All that you know, aside from what God has taught you, is not worth much to you; that I will say on my own responsibility. You know that the sun shines; you can see the stars shine in a clear night. You know that when you embraced the Gospel of salvation in England, the State of New York, Vermont, &c., you felt happy; that your hearts were full of joy and peace; that you felt as though the heavens smiled upon you, and that all around was glory. There was no malice, wrath, or root of bitterness in you, but since then a cloud has come over you, the vail has been dropped over the vision of your minds, and you have been left to act for yourselves. You know all this.
What do you know on natural principles? I do not say natural philosophy, because my religion is natural philosophy. You never heard me preach a doctrine but what has a natural system to it, and, when understood, is as easy to comprehend as that two and two equal four. All the revelations of the Lord Almighty to the children of men, and all revealed doctrines of salvation are upon natural principles, upon natural philosophy. When I use this term, I use it as synonomous with the plan of salvation; natural philosophy is the plan of salvation, and the plan of salvation is natural philosophy. I need not say any more with regard to what you do not know.
I have shown you, by instancing small circumstances of common occurrence, that people are apt to deny to day what they knew yesterday; and you know that you have disputed others with regard to these little things which have transpired, after the circumstances connected therewith had escaped your memory. It is just so with regard to your religion. And when you come to the almighty philosophers, those who think they know so much, they are in the same dilemma; their optic nerves and their glasses may all deceive them. Unless a person is taught by the principle of eternity, and is insured by those principles that dwell with the Gods, he may be in doubt, because it is a doubtful case. All is doubtful, except what comes from the Almighty in His revelations to His people.
I will now say something about our immigration this season. In the providences of God when understood, you will see that one thing has a bearing upon another. The providences of God are natural principles, when they are all understood, but you take a little here and a little there, and you leave the people in mystery and doubt, and they will say that wonderful things have taken place, when at the same time you will find that they have all transpired upon natural principles.
Previous to the death of Joseph, he said that the time would come when the Saints would be glad to take a bundle, if they could get one, under their arms and start to the mountains, and that they would flee there, and that if they could pick up a change of linen they would be glad to start with that, and to go into the wilderness with anything, in order to escape from the destruction that is coming on the inhabitants of the earth. This we believed, or at least I did; though it seemed to be pretty hard that people should be obliged to leave their houses, farms, friends, and comforts that they had gathered around them, and run from them all. I am going to take that as a leading item for this season.
We have been experimenting. Five companies, I think, have come across the Plains with hand-carts, and they have come a great deal cheaper and better than other companies. I believe that if a company was to try it once with ox-teams and once with hand-carts, every one of them would decide in favour of the hand-carts, unless they could ride more and be more comfortable than people generally are with ox-teams.
I count the hand-cart operation a successful one, and there is a lesson in it which the people have overlooked. What is it? Let me ask the sisters and brethren here, what better off are you to-day, than as though you had started with a bundle under your arm? You started with an abundance, but have you any oxen, or wagons, or trunks of valuable clothing, or money? "No." What have you got? A sister says, "I have the underclothes I wore on the Plains, and a dress, and a handkerchief which I pinned over my head in the absence of my sun bonnets which were worn out, and I am here." Are you here? "Yes." Did you come across the Plains? "Yes." Do you feel bad? "O, no; I feel pretty well." Now reflect, what else do we want of you, and what else do you want of yourselves? "Why," says one, "I want a dress and a pair of shoes." Well, go to work, and earn them, and put them on and wear them. "I want a bonnet." Go to work and earn it, and then wear it as you used to do.
What do you want here but yourselves? Nothing, but yourselves and your religion; that is all you want to bring here. If you come naked and barefooted, (I would not care if you had naught but a deer skin around you when you arrive here) and bring your God and your religion, you are a thousand times better than if you come with wagon loads of silver and gold and left your God behind. If I want to take a wife from among the sisters who came in with the hand-cart trains, I would rather take one that had nothing, and say to her, I will throw a buckskin around you for the present, come into my house, I have plenty, or, if I have not, I can get plenty.
Some want to marry a woman because she has got property; some want a rich wife; but I never saw the day when I would not rather have a poor woman. I never saw the day that I wanted to be henpecked to death, for I should have been, if I had married a rich wife. I asked one of my family, when in conversation upon this very point, what did you bring, when you came to me? "I brought a shirt, and a dress, and a pair of slippers, and a sun-bonnet," and she is as high a prize as ever I got in my life, and a great deal higher than many would have been with cart loads of silver and gold.
The people are what we want. Reflect about this; and let the Elders when they go upon Missions, sound this in the ears of the Saints; and, if you please, philosophise upon it, weigh the matter well, and see what else there is that is in reality good for anything, but just the Saint at the gathering place; let the Saint come, and we have all we can get.
I want you to keep in mind what Joseph said, that the day would come when the Saints would be glad to take a bundle under their arms and run to the mountains. What else have they done this season? Men and women started with their fine things, they had their gold and their silver, their flocks and their herds, and their abundance, but they have nearly all come here naked and bare footed, comparatively speaking; thank God for that. What do I care, if not the first particle of the property that is left behind is ever gathered up again? You are situated precisely as we were when we left Nauvoo, Kirtland, Missouri, &c. We started naked and bare. If I can only take myself and my God, and my religion, it is all I want. The heavens are full, the earth is the Lord's, and we have nothing to do but go to work and organize the elements and get what we want.
This is the day in which we are to learn and to increase in our knowledge. Have we got a good lesson this time? I think we have. What is it? That the Saints, when they start from England, may stop buying their silks and satins, their ribbons and finery. You cannot bring them here, unless Providence provides different for you, than it did for the immigration last season. If you have a fine silk mantilla, a fine satin dress, fine kid shoes, a fine lace bonnet, and you say that you want to carry them to Zion, do as they did last season. Here are the poor we have to bring over. Now let me tell you that if you had taken the money you paid to William Walker to bring out the baggage, and used it for the gathering of the honest poor, it would have done some good; but that property is spoiled, I understand, and I am glad of it. Much of it was spoiled before it was taken from Iowa City, or, if it was not then, it probably is now. And I expect that the goods are all spoiled at the Devil's Gate. You will pardon me for my abruptness, but I will tell you what that operation made me think of, that what you did not leave in hell's kitchen, you had to leave at the Devil's Gate. If you only honour your God and your religion, the silks and the satins, and the money you paid out for them, may all go to hell with the balance. Live your religion, and the promise I make you is that you shall have what you want in righteousness. "Then," some one may say, "I will have a new dress to-morrow, if that is it." But will you not wait, until your patience is well tried? If you will not, I will make you, if I can. At the proper time, you will have all the riches you need. If you had riches now, they would do you no good.
Recollect the text, which is that the time will come when the Saints will be glad to catch a bundle under their arms and run to the mountains. The time has been when they undertook to come with an abundance, but they got here with nothing. Take the money that was laid out for those articles which you expected to put on when you came into this Tabernacle, and it would have more than made a comfortable fit-out for the companies from the States. If those articles had been left in the stores, and you had taken your sovereigns and half-sovereigns, and shillings, and pence, you would have had enough to have brought all the companies over those Plains. This is something that I want you Elders to think of; and I want you to thunder it among the people, long and loud, like the thunders of Mount Sinai.
Take the money heretofore spent for useless articles, and pick up your poor neighbours who have not the first shilling; make your way to Liverpool, pay your passage across the ocean to the United States, and then take a hand-cart, or a good hickory stick between two, and put you [sic] luggage on it, and let the hand cart go, and walk to Zion.
When you get here, we want nothing but yourselves, if you have your God and your religion with you; but if you have not them, stay back. We have already got enough half-hearted Christians here; we have enough poor devils here now, and half-hearted hypocrites, and we do not want any more of them to come here. All hell is boiling over to fill this place with such poor, miserable characters.
If you bring yourselves, it is all we want. Take the money that bought the goods which have been left on the way, and it would have brought every soul that came in last season, without the assistance of the P. E. Fund Company; and, instead of our paying out fifty or sixty thousand dollars, that sum would have been saved. That money would have made your fit-out across the Plains, to say nothing about what has been done for you at this end of the route.
Again, we could have taken every soul that has come in this season with the wagon trains, by the P. E. Fund, &c., and brought them from Liverpool cheaper than we brought them out of the snow at this end of the journey, to say nothing of the hardship and suffering. Do you not see that there has been a great outlay that we must save hereafter?
I will say to the Saints abroad, if you can get some good hickory cloth, or some buckskins, and let the sisters make dresses and garments that cannot be easily torn, and that will last till you get here, and come and bring yourselves, that is all we want. And for the time to come, let the P. E. Fund money alone, and let your silks and satins alone, and take the means you have, and bring yourselves to this place.
The Lord, in His providence, has shown you and me, and the community in this Territory, and will show to the people in the old countries, if the Elders are faithful, that they may bid farewell to bringing their millions' worth of goods here. If they bring anything, let them bring their sovereigns here; the gold will do them more good here than anything else. Do not peddle it out in the world. Get the Lord to send an angel with you; get His Holy Spirit to travel with you to this place, and leave all trash behind.
If the companies are composed solely of young females, they may come by tens of thousands, if they like, for I have never yet seen anything in this market than can equal the hand-cart girls.
I want to see men and women come as I have suggested; and I think just as much of them, if they come and bring their religion with them, as though they came with cart-loads of gold, silver and merchandize.
I wish you to contemplate upon these things! and I want you to listen to my exhortation in spiritual things. Here is a people before me that say they are in a reformation; I believe it. There is a good spirit they have now in their possession, which some have not had for some time.
I believe that the brethren and sisters are trying to do right, to make satisfaction, and to order their lives better before God and each other. And let me tell you that, when you have lived a whole life time, you will find that you have never righteously had a single hour to spend for anything except reformation, for an increase of faith, for a growth in the knowledge of the truth. You have no time to backslide, nor to spare for the world. It is God and His kingdom; all things else will be secondary considerations.
I am happy for the privilege of speaking to you to-day, and I trust that I shall see you here many times. I pray for you continually, and I know that you pray for me. I do not ask this people to pray for me, for I have the witness that there is not an honest heart in this kingdom but what is praying for me continually. You are before me always, and my whole desire is for your welfare, and the welfare of the kingdom of God on the earth. May God bless you. Amen.
THE PRESIDENCY--THE CONTINUANCE OF THE HEAD WITH THE BODY DEPENDS ON THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE MEMBERS--MEN WHEN THEY DIE CANNOT TAKE THEIR EARTHLY POSSESSIONS WITH THEM--ELDERS GOING ON MISSIONS WITH HAND-CARTS--THE VINEYARD, A PARABLE.
Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 1, 1857.
I do not know, but the people are getting weary, though I rather think not, for your eyes look pretty bright; when people become weary, their eyes look dim.
I assure you, brethren, that I feel well, that is, I feel very well in my mind, and it is a great pleasure to me to see brother Brigham here in this stand once more. I am satisfied that he will be with us a great many years, if this people will do right.
All, who have the Spirit of the Gospel and live their religion, will admit that brother Brigham is our head, to use the figure which I did three Sundays ago; and our head has two Counsellors, and together they are an independent Quorum. Still they are attached to the vine that runs through the vail. The vail is let down, and that throws brother Joseph on the other side of it, while we stand on this side, that is all the difference. The nearer you approach that organization, the nearer you approach the throne of God. I am talking to you who understand, there is no clip of that vine and Priesthood.
If this people are the members of that body of which brother Brigham is head this side of the vail, the more you rise up, the more active and useful those members become, the higher the head can rise, can it not? being elevated by each member acting firmly in its office. If that be the fact, he is out of the reach of his enemies, is he not? They cannot approach him, he is out of their reach.
If you will take this course, you will live, and he will live and will dwell with us a great many years; but if you do not, you have no assurance that he will be permitted to tarry with you for many years, nor that I will, nor that several other good men, whom I could name, will. The period of their sojourn with you for your guidance, comfort, and edification in righteousness, will depend more or less upon your faithfulness, inasmuch as you profess to be attached to the body. The more useless the members of my body are, the more they oppress the head and the members that are nearly connected to the head, do they not? They tend to destroy its fruitfulness. We are members of Christ, and if every one of those men, those members pertaining to the body of Christ, or to the Church, will do their duty, do you not see what a beautiful people we will be?
I know that this is the place of gathering, and I know that thousands, and tens of thousands, and millions will flock to this land, for wherever the carcass is, they will come with their budgets under their arms, I know that.
I want to know if persons who have nothing but a budget of clothing under their arms, nothing but one frock, one shirt, one pair of stockings, and one bonnet, are called to lay down their bodies and leave this earth, whether they are not just as well off as I would be, though I have millions of millions of gold, and thousands of wagon loads of the things of this world? At such a time, those persons would be just as well off as I would be, so far as taking any earthly possessions with them is concerned.
Suppose that to-morrow my body falls, that I die, these clothes will be taken from me, and a shirt and a shroud, and a pair of stockings will be put on this body, and a napkin about my head to keep my chin up, and that is all of this earth's goods I shall then need, with the exception of the narrow house you would make and deposit me in. And should you go to my grave in five years from this time, you would find everything there that you put there, even to the ring now on my finger, in case you had left it at the time of my burial.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie.
7 And the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
What do I take from this earth? Nothing but my spirit and those eternal principles connected therewith as it leaves this body, and the dross remains to turn to its native elements, which restores back to the earth that which had been organized from it. When I die, I die to everything that is of an earthly nature, and leave all that surrounds me here by way of property in earthly possessions. Nothing leaves here, but heavenly matters and those things that pertain to heaven and happiness.
Then what good does it do to hoard up earthly treasures? None, whatever. What should you do with them? Put them to a good use. In what way? Go and buy, for instance, one sheep, and when you have got one sheep you have got one root, if you cultivate it, it will add to itself, and by and bye you will have a large flock of sheep, whereas if you had the money in your pocket it would not have increased. If you will turn your means to raising sheep, horses, and cattle, to cultivating peach and apple trees, or to anything else that is useful, they will increase, just as we increase. We want to gather, and re-gather, and increase.
Many men are desirous to gather to themselves wives, and this, that, and the other thing. When I go into the world of spirits I throw off the old clothing and the old body, with all that pertains to it. And when I go there I shall be clothed anew, with the elements that are made in the country that I go to. Why? Because it is immortal and eternal duration. That is the difference between this world and that world; and then at the same time that world is this world, and this world is that world.
These are my feelings; and as for hurting my feelings to see my brethren and sisters come from the old countries without anything except a little food, and a budget under their arms, it did not worry me. Neither will it worry me to see the Elders, this season, take their hand-carts and go through to the States, on their way to foreign lands. I feel now that if I was in the old countries I would not hear a word an Elder from here said, unless he had crossed the Plains with a hand-cart, or with a bundle or knapsack, but I would listen to the man that came with the hand-cart, or budget. You would say, "This is the boy for me;" you would hear his words, or, if you did not, his example has preached louder than earthquakes, and is the power of God unto salvation to those that believe and practise.
That day has come, and the other day has past. I have known men from Nauvoo, men who were there worth $150 or $200,000, come here with nothing but a handkerchief, containing a change of shirts, under their arms. They left their property there; and what we did not leave in hell's kitchen we left at Devil's Gate. The devil has a gate where he may catch everything that is not to do us good, but that is calculated to create a craving appetite for that which is not here.
There are some of this people who have been kept as long as they have, only upon the principle of their being fondled and pampered. If they could not have the privilege of nursing at the breast and have a full supply, or the use of a sugar teat to keep them alive, they would dwindle and die; they must have something to suck, in order to keep them alive and in existence, for they are nothing but pets; pets they are, and pets they will go to hell, but will find no sugar teats there.
Probably a few will leave next spring; they are all fair weather while they are in our midst, but when it comes spring they will leave. Thank the Lord for that; and while I feel as I do now, I shall be thankful for everything that transpires from this time henceforth, that is, if I live my religion.
Supposing that I have a wife or a dozen of them, and she should say, "You cannot be exalted without me," and suppose they all should say so, what of that? The never will affect my salvation one particle. Whose salvation will they affect? Their own. They have got to live their religion, serve their God, and do right, as well as myself. Suppose that I lose the whole of them before I go into the spirit world, but that I have been a good, faithful man all the days of my life, and lived my religion, and had favour with God, and was kind to them, do you think I will be destitute there? No, the Lord says there are more there than there are here. They have been increasing there; they increase there a great deal faster than we do here, because there is no obstruction. They do not call upon the doctors to kill their offspring; there are no doctors there, that is, if they are there, their occupation is changed, which proves that they are not there, because they have ceased to be doctors. In this world very many of the doctors are studying to diminish the human family.
In the spirit world there is an increase of males and females, there are millions of them, and if I am faithful all the time, and continue right along with brother Brigham, we will go to brother Joseph and say, "Here we are brother Joseph; we are here ourselves are we not, with none of the property we possessed in our probationary state, not even the rings on our fingers?" He will say to us, "Come along, my boys, we will give you a good suit of clothes. Where are your wives?" "They are back yonder; they would not follow us." "Never mind," says Joseph, "here are thousands, have all you want." Perhaps some do not believe that, but I am just simple enough to believe it.
Help brother Brigham along, help brother Heber, brother Daniel, the Twelve, and every other good person. I am looking for the day, and it is close at hand, when we will have a most heavenly time, one that will be romantic, one with all kinds of ups and downs, which is what I call romantic, for it will occupy in full all the time, so that we may never become idle, nor sleepy, nor cease being active in the things of God, which will prevent dotage.
Am I thankful now? I never was more thankful in my life than I am to-day, to see this people. I know that the majority of them are rising, and that there are enough of them who will rise, and we shall see good days, and God will protect us and make a way for our escape, for this is the natural branch of the House of Israel, and it sprang from that root that was planted in the nethermost part of the garden. When it began to spread, the Lord said, "Cut away those bitter branches, but do not cut them away any faster than the vine grows." Let us grow together and be one vine, but many branches, and we shall prosper from this time henceforth and for ever.
"And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant, let us go to and hew down the trees of the vineyard, and cast them into the fire, that they shall not cumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have done all: what could I have done more for my vineyard? But, behold, the servant said unto the Lord of the vineyard, Spare it a little longer. And the Lord said, yea, I will spare it a little longer, for it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard. Wherefore let us take of the branches of these which I have planted in the nethermost parts of my vineyard, and let us graft them into the tree from whence they came; and let us pluck from the tree those branches whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in the natural branches of the tree in the stead thereof. And this will I do, that the tree may not perish, that, perhaps, I may preserve unto myself the roots thereof for mine own purpose. And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would, are yet alive; wherefore that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I will graft them in unto them. Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong, perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard.
"And it came to pass that they took from the natural tree which had become wild, and grafted in unto the natural trees, which also had become wild; and they also took of the natural trees which had become wild, and grafted into their mother tree. And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant, Pluck not the wild branches from the trees, save it be those which are most bitter; and in them ye shall graft according to that which I have said. And we will nourish again the trees of the vineyard, and we will trim up the branches thereof; and we will pluck from the trees those branches which are ripened, that must perish, and cast them into the fire. And this I do that, perhaps, the root thereof may take strength because of their goodness; and because of the change of the branches, that the good may overcome the evil; and because that I have preserved the natural branches and the roots thereof, and that I have grafted in the natural branches again into their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother tree, that, perhaps, the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again good fruit; and that I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard, and, perhaps, that I may rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the roots and the branches of the first fruit. Wherefore go to, and call servants, that we may labour diligently with our mights in the vineyard, that we may prepare the way, that I may bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good, and the most precious above all other fruit. Wherefore, let us go to and labour with our mights this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I shall prune my vineyard. Graft in the branches, begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last, and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time. Wherefore, dig about them, and prune them, and dung them once more, for the last time, for the end draweth nigh. And if it be so that these last grafts shall grow, and bring forth the natural fruit, then shall ye prepare the way for them, that they may grow; and as they begin to grow, ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof: and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard; for it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard; wherefore ye shall clear away the bad, according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down and cast into the fire, that they cumber not the ground of my vineyard; and thus will I sweep away the bad out of my vineyard; and the branches of the natural tree will I graft in again into the natural tree; and the branches of the natural tree will I graft into the natural branches of the tree; and thus will I bring them together again, that they shall bring forth the natural fruit and they shall be one. And the bad shall be cast away, yea, even out of all the land of my vineyard: for behold, only this once will I prune my vineyard.
"And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard sent his servant; and the servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him, and brought other servants; and they were few. And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them, go to, and labour in the vineyard, with your mights. For, behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard: for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if you labour with your mights with me, ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself, against the time which will soon come.
"And it came to pass that the servants did go, and labour with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard laboured also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things. And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off, and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof, equal, according to the strength thereof. And thus they laboured, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself, that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruit were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning.
"And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them, behold, for this last time, have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning; and blessed are thou. For because ye have been diligent in labouring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me, because of the fruit of my vineyard. For behold, for a long time, will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self, against the season, which speedily cometh; and for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it, and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken. And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire."--<Book of Mormon.>
I know that this is the work of God, and that we shall triumph. I am going to prophesy good pertaining to Israel, that is, to those that are Israel, for there are a great many who call themselves Israel that are not, and those that are not shall have the opposite. I will prophesy evil upon our enemies, upon those who hate God and kill His servants; may the curse of God be on them.
[The congregation responded with a loud voice, AMEN.]
God bless the good; God bless the oil and the wine, and all good men and good women, and good children; bless them from the crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet, that they may be sanctified in body and spirit, in root and branches, and in the seed that is in the root, that it may come forth pure.
These are my feelings, and they are good, are they not? You would feel just so, if you would get the same Spirit, which is the Spirit of God, and there is no bondage in the Spirit of God; it is freedom, it is glory, it is happiness, it is heaven when you go out and when you come in, and there is nothing impure or oppressive about it.
How does my heart feel towards brother Brigham: I have felt, time and again, as though I was a good mind to lay my hands upon him, and say, brother Brigham, God bless you with health, with the power of God, with the Holy Ghost, with angels and revelations, and every good thing, that you may be lifted up and get out of the way of the nasty little dogs and whelps, and bitches. Those are my feelings, and they are the feelings of every good man and woman in heaven and on earth.
Let us live our religion, serve our God, listen to the counsel we have received this day, and we will prosper always, for evermore, and we never will go down, but we will always be on the increase from this time henceforth and for ever, and I know it. Still I do not know how to make a spear of grass grow, nor how to make two loaves of bread from one, without I take and cut it in two.
Jesus had that power, so had Moses. When the Lord commanded Moses to tell Aaron to smite the waters of Egypt with his rod, he did so, and the waters were turned into blood; and when by the order of Moses, Aaron smote the dust with his rod, "the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt;" and many mighty miracles did Moses and Aaron perform in the sight of Pharaoh, by smiting with the rod. Are we in a day more mighty than that? Yes, and we will see more mighty works in the latter days, than were the wonders performed in Egypt. The power and manifestation that was in every dispensation will be manifested in this kingdom. It is the last time that God will set to His hand to gather His people. Then, brethren, let us be of this faith, all of us who are desirous, in this last time, to lay up fruit for our Father and our God, that we may have joy with Him. Amen.
A DREAM--WHEAT AND THE CHAFF--WAY OF ESCAPE FROM TRIBULATION--NECESSITY OF CONSECRATION.
Remarks, by President Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 21, 1856.
Being requested to make a few remarks this afternoon, I rise to comply with the request. I can say, like those that have spoken, and as I have spoken myself, I feel thankful to the Lord for the privilege of once more standing in your midst to speak to you of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. It is true we have had rather a cold time in coming through from the western portion of Utah, and I thought before we arrived within the borders of the settlements, we had had a pretty severe time; but after we arrived and ascertained what kind of times our brethren had had here in the eastern mountains, I concluded that we had had pretty fair times, and nothing to complain of. We are sound in body, limb, and joint, and none of us suffered materially, and what any of us might have suffered last year in the snows of the Sierra Nevada mountains, those injuries are fully repaired, and I believe we are all fit for service, and I feel thankful to God our Heavenly Father for these blessings. I have the privilege of meeting once more with my friends; I have met with friends and with enemies both since I have been gone.
I simply rise to relate a dream I had a few nights before I arrived within the borders of our settlements. The old Prophet says, "He that hath a dream, let him tell it; and he that hath my word, let him speak it faithfully." We had the word faithfully spoken in the former part of the day by brother Kimball.
I dreamt that I had a very large pile of wheat thrashed, but in the chaff, and also a good deal in the bundle stacked away that had to be thrashed, and there seemed to be a portion of the floor on which the wheat lay that had been removed, but there was quite a quantity of wheat that lodged on the beams or sleepers, and this was excellent wheat, but there was considerable dirt with it. I went to work with a shovel and wing to save that which was lodged on the beams, and to separate the wheat from the dirt, and threw it into the pile. But it seemed to be quite a task for me to clean that wheat. I threw it, by the shovel full, in the air, with the expectation, as usual, for the chaff to blow away with the wind, but a portion of the chaff would come down and settle with the wheat all the time, and I kept to work at in this way [sic-phrase]. It seemed, however, to get clearer and clearer of chaff and dirt, but all I could do a portion of the chaff would come down with the wheat. I thought it was excellent wheat and good.
You can judge for yourselves of the interpretation. At any rate I feel disposed to contribute my mite and what little strength I have to save and clean the wheat, that it may be prepared for the use for which it was intended.
The remarks made in the former part of the day are worthy to be indelibly written upon every heart; that they were made in truth and in power there is no doubt, and for one I have decreed to set about the work of repentance and reformation right off. I have tried to reform and live about as well as I thought I could; but when I come to look into the glass and see myself, I own there is room for improvement, and that improvement I intend to make, God being my helper, with all the speed in my power.
I think it was in August last that I wrote to my family, and told them I thought there was a day of trial near at hand, and that my feelings were that it would be general throughout the Church; I presume they have the letter now. These were my feelings back yonder, these are my feelings all the time. Well, it matters not how soon it transpires. But let me here, brethren and sisters, admonish and caution you all, and myself, too, that while we have the opportunity to right every wrong that is within our power, or that is within our control, that we do it forthwith, and that we right ourselves before the Lord. It is not necessary to say many words, the subject with me is too deep to spend much time in multiplying words about. I feel that plainness has been the characteristic of the remarks by brother Kimball this morning, and truth also; and in order that we may be benefited, let us cherish his words in our hearts and reduce them to practise, and square our lives according to the circumstance portrayed before us, and if we will do this, we shall have reason to hope in the mercy and favour of our God, that in the midst of tribulation there will be a way for our escape.
And with regard to my time, my talents, and every thing I possess on earth, it is at the service of this Church and the building up of the kingdom of God; whenever I, or anything I possess can be used to further the work of God on earth, I say, with all my heart, let it go; and furthermore, I feel proud of the opportunity of doing all in my power to build up this Church.
In fact, I will mention one little circumstance with regard to the consecration law. We heard a good deal about it in the early part of its agitation. I preached the principle; I believed in it. Yet business not having been arranged with me to make it exactly convenient as I thought, I did not subscribe to it, but put it off to a more convenient season. The Indians are hostile a portion of the way between here and Carson valley, and we did not know how we might fare in passing among them; and again, it had got to be late in the season, and the snows were coming thicker and faster, and more of them, and it was pretty difficult to tell whether we should get through safely or not. Thought I, what evidence have I ever given that I have made a consecration to God and His Church of that which I possess, suppose it be our misfortune not to return? In the resurrection what evidence will appear on record that I have consecrated to God and His Church? What can I produce? What will the book show? I prayed that I might, with my brethren, be spared to return and be allowed the privilege of consecrating to God my earthly goods, and felt a pleasure in dashing ahead, be the consequences what they might. Our prayers were answered, and I have, in part, complied with the dictates of conscience teaching this thing, so that when the books shall be opened, and another book opened, and the dead judged out of those things that are written in the books, I shall rejoice to see that the records will show my feelings towards the Church. Whatever earthly goods I possess, and what I am, are at the service and disposal of my brethren to advance the interests of the kingdom of God.
When I heard this morning the remarks that were made, all worldly interests looked like trash to me. I have laboured hard to lay a good foundation in the west for a settlement, but if what we have done must fall a sacrifice, so be it. We did what we thought was right, and tried to do considerable of it. The fact is, I count an inheritance in the kingdom of God greater than anything that this world can afford.
Let us remember what has been said to us to-day, and not forget it; and let us make our calling and election sure, and ask God Almighty to save us from every ill, except what He gives us strength to endure, that we may be accounted worthy to be crowned in His presence, which may He grant in the name of Jesus. Amen.
TO KNOW GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE--GOD THE FATHER OF OUR SPIRITS AND BODIES--THINGS CREATED SPIRITUALLY FIRST--ATONEMENT BY THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 8, 1857.
I feel myself somewhat under obligations to come here and talk to the people, inasmuch as I have absented myself for some time, and others have occupied this stand.
Perhaps I will not talk to you long, but I desire to pursue some of the ideas that brother Cummings has just laid before you. I can testify that every word he has spoken is true, even to the advancement of the Saints at a "small gallop." Though that is rather a novel expression, still it is true, as well as all the rest which he advanced.
The items that have been advanced are principles of real doctrine, whether you consider them so or not. It is one of the first principles of the doctrine of salvation to become acquaint- [sic] with our Father and our God. The Scriptures teach that this is eternal life, to "know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent;" this is as much as to say that no man can enjoy or be prepared for eternal life without that knowledge.
You hear a great deal of preaching upon this subject; and when people repent of their sins, they will get together, and pray and exhort each other, and try to get the spirit of revelation, try to have God their Father revealed to them, that they may know Him and become acquainted with Him.
There are some plain, simple facts that I wish to tell you, and I have but one desire in this, which is, that you should have understanding to receive them, to treasure them up in your hearts, to contemplate upon these facts, for they are simple facts, based upon natural principles; there is no mystery about them when once understood.
I want to tell you, each and every one of you, that you are well acquainted with God our heavenly Father, or the great Eloheim. You are all well acquainted with Him, for there is not a soul of you but what has lived in His house and dwelt with Him year after year; and yet you are seeking to become acquainted with Him, when the fact is, you have merely forgotten what you did know. I told you a little last Sabbath about forgetting things.
There is not a person here to-day but what is a son or a daughter of that Being. In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and brought forth, and they lived there with their parents for ages before they came here. This, perhaps, is hard for many to believe, but it is the greatest nonsense in the world not to believe it. If you do not believe it, cease to call Him Father; and when you pray, pray to some other character.
It would be inconsistent in you to disbelieve what I think you know, and then to go home and ask the Father to do so and so for you. The Scriptures which we believe have taught us from the beginning to call Him our Father, and we have been taught to pray to Him as our Father, in the name of our eldest brother whom we call Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world; and that Saviour, while here on earth, was so explicit on the point that he taught his disciples to call no man on earth father, for we have one which is in heaven. He is the Saviour, because it is his right to redeem the remainder of the family pertaining to the flesh on this earth, if any of you do not believe this, tell us how and what we should believe. If I am not telling you the truth, please to tell me the truth on this subject, and let me know more than I do know. If it is hard for you to believe, if you wish to be Latter-day Saints, admit the fact as I state it, and do not contend against it. Try to believe it, because you will never become acquainted with our Father, never enjoy the blessings of His Spirit, never be prepared to enter into His presence, until you most assuredly believe it; therefore you had better try to believe this great mystery about God.
I do not marvel that the world is clad in mystery, to them He is an unknown God; they cannot tell where He dwells nor how He lives, nor what kind of a being He is in appearance or character. They want to become acquainted with His character and attributes, but they know nothing of them. This is in consequence of the apostacy that is now in the world. They have departed from the knowledge of God, transgressed His laws, changed His ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant, so that the whole earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof. Consequently it is no mystery to us that the world knoweth not God, but it would be a mystery to me, with what I now know, to say that we cannot know anything of Him. We are His children.
To bring the truth of this matter close before you, I will instance your fathers who made the first permanent settlement in New England. There are a good many in this congregation whose fathers landed upon Plymouth Rock in the year 1620. Those fathers began to spread abroad; they had children, those children had children, and their children had children, and here are we their children. I am one of them, and many of this congregation belong to that class. Now ask yourselves this simple question upon natural principles, has the species altered? Were not the people who landed at Plymouth Rock the same species with us? Were they not organized as we are? Were not their countenances similar to ours? Did they not converse, have knowledge, read books? Were there not mechanics among them, and did they not understand agriculture, &c., as we do? Yes, every person admits this.
Now follow our fathers further back and take those who first came to the island of Great Britain, were they the same species of beings as those who came to America? Yes, all acknowledge this; this is upon natural principles. Thus you may continue and trace the human family back to Adam and Eve, and ask, "are we of the same species with Adam and Eve?" Yes, every person acknowledges this; this comes within the scope of our understanding.
But when we arrive at that point, a vail is dropt, and our knowledge is cut off. Were it not so, you could trace back your history to the Father of our spirits in the eternal world. He is a being of the same species as ourselves; He lives as we do, except the difference that we are earthly, and He is heavenly. He has been earthly, and is of precisely the same species of being that we are. Whether Adam is the personage that we should consider our heavenly Father, or not, is considerable of a mystery to a good many. I do not care for one moment how that is; it is no matter whether we are to consider Him our God, or whether His Father, or His Grandfather, for in either case we are of one species--of one family--and Jesus Christ is also of our species.
You may hear the divines of the day extol the character of the Saviour, undertake to exhibit his true character before the people, and give an account of his origin, and were it not ridiculous, I would tell what I have thought about their views. Brother Kimball wants me to tell it, therefore you will excuse me if I do. I have frequently thought of mules, which you know are half horse and half ass, when reflecting upon the representations made by those divines. I have heard sectarian priests undertake to tell the character of the Son of God, and they make him half of one species and half of another, and I could not avoid thinking at once of the mule, which is the most hateful creature that ever was made, I believe. You will excuse me, but I have thus thought many a time.
Now to the facts in the case; all the difference between Jesus Christ and any other man that ever lived on the earth, from the days of Adam until now, is simply this, the Father, after He had once been in the flesh, and lived as we live, obtained His exaltation, attained to thrones, gained the ascendancy over principalities and powers, and had the knowledge and power to create--to bring forth and organize the elements upon natural principles. This He did after His ascension, or His glory, or His eternity, and was actually classed with the Gods, with the beings who create, with those who have kept the celestial law while in the flesh, and again obtained their bodies. Then He was prepared to commence the work of creation, as the Scriptures teach. It is all here in the Bible; I am not telling you a word but what is contained in that book.
Things were first created spiritually; the Father actually begat the spirits, and they were brought forth and lived with Him. Then He commenced the work of creating earthly tabernacles, precisely as He had been created in this flesh himself, by partaking of the course material that was organized and composed this earth, until His system was charged with it, consequently the tabernacles of His children were organized from the coarse materials of this earth.
When the time came that His first-born, the Saviour, should come into the world and take a tabernacle, the Father came Himself and favoured that spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other man do it. The Saviour was begotten by the Father of His spirit, by the same Being who is the Father of our spirits, and that is all the organic difference between Jesus Christ and you and me. And a difference there is between our Father and us consists in that He has gained His exaltation, and has obtained eternal lives. The principle of eternal lives is an eternal existence, eternal duration, eternal exaltation. Endless are His kingdoms, endless His thrones and His dominions, and endless are His posterity; they never will cease to multiply from this time henceforth and forever.
To you who are prepared to enter into the presence of the Father and the Son, what I am now telling will eventually be no more strange than are the feelings of a person who returns to his father's house, brethren, and sisters, and enjoys the society of his old associates, after an absence of several years upon some distant island. Upon returning he would be happy to see his father, his relatives and friends. So also if we keep the celestial law when our spirits go to God who gave them, we shall find that we are acquainted there and distinctly realize that we know all about that world.
Tell me that you do not know anything about God! I will tell you one thing, it would better become you to lay your hands upon your mouths and them in the dust, and cry, "unclean, unclean."
Whether you receive these things or not, I tell you them in simplicity. I lay them before you like a child, because they are perfectly simple. If you see and understand these things, it will be by the Spirit of God; you will receive them by no other spirit. No matter whether they are told to you like the thunderings of the Almighty, or by simple conversation; if you enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, it will tell you whether they are right or not.
I am acquainted with my Father. I am as confident that I understand in part, see in part, and know and am acquainted with Him in part, as I am that I was acquainted with my earthly father who died in Quincy, Illinois, after we were driven from Missouri. My recollection is better with regard to my earthly father than it is in regard to my heavenly Father; but as to knowing of what species He is, and how He is organized, and with regard to His existence, I understand it in part as well as I understand the organization and existence of my earthly father. That is my opinion about it, and my opinion to me is just as good as yours is to you; and if you are of the same opinion you will be satisfied as I am.
I know my heavenly Father and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and this is eternal life. And if we will do as we have been told this morning, if you will enter into the Spirit of your calling, into the principle of securing to yourselves eternal lives, eternal existence, eternal exaltation, it will be well with you. But if, after being put into a carriage and placed upon the road, after having everything prepared for the journey that infinite wisdom could devise, this people stroll into the swamp, get into the woods among the brambles and briars, and wander around until night overtakes them, I say, shame on such people.
I am ashamed to talk about a reformation, for if you have entered into the spirit of your religion, you will know whether these things are so or not. If you have the spirit of your religion and have confidence in you, walk along and continue to do so, and secure to yourselves the life before you, and never let it be said, from this time henceforth, that you have wakened out of your sleep, from the fact that you are always awake.
We talk about the reformation, but recollect that you have only just commenced to walk in the way of life and salvation. You have just commenced in the career to obtain eternal life, which is that which you desire, therefore you have no time to spend only in that path. It is straight and narrow, simple and easy, and is an Almighty path, if you will keep in it. But if you wander off into swamps, or into brambles, and get into darkness, you will find it hard to get back.
Brother Cummings told you the truth this morning with regard to the sins of the people. And I will say that the time will come, and is now nigh at hand, when those who profess our faith, if they are guilty of what some of this people are guilty of, will find the axe laid at the root of the tree, and they will be hewn down. What has been must be again, for the Lord is coming to restore all things. The time has been in Israel under the law of God, the celestial law, or that which pertains to the celestial law, for it is one of the laws of that kingdom where our Father dwells, that if a man was found guilty of adultery, he must have his blood shed, and that is near at hand. But now I say, in the name of the Lord, that if this people will sin no more, but faithfully live their religion, their sins will be forgiven them without taking life.
You are aware that when brother Cummings came to the point of loving our neighbours as ourselves, he could say yes or no as the case might be, that is true. But I want to connect it with the doctrine you read in the Bible. When will we love our neighbour as ourselves? In the first place, Jesus said that no man hateth his own flesh. It is admitted by all that every person loves himself. Now if we do rightly love ourselves, we want to be saved and continue to exist, we want to go into the kingdom where we can enjoy eternity and see no more sorrow nor death. This is the desire of every person who believes in God. Now take a person in this congregation who has knowledge with regard to being saved in the kingdom of our God and our Father, and being exalted, one who knows and understands the principles of eternal life, and sees the beauty and excellency of the eternities before him compared with the vain and foolish things of the world, and suppose that he is overtaken in a gross fault, that he has committed a sin that he knows will deprive him of that exaltation which he desires, and that he cannot attain to it without the shedding of his blood, and also knows that by having his blood shed he will atone for that sin, and be saved and exalted with the Gods, is there a man of woman in this house but what would say, "shed my blood that I may be saved and exalted with the Gods?"
All mankind love themselves, and let these principles be known by an individual, and he would be glad to have his blood shed. That would be loving themselves, even unto an eternal exaltation. Will you love your brothers or sisters likewise, when they have committed a sin that cannot be atoned for without the sheding [sic] of their blood? Will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood? That is what Jesus Christ meant. He never told a man or woman to love their enemies in their wickedness, never. He never intended any such thing; his language is left as it is for those to read who have the Spirit to discern between truth and error; it was so left for those who can discern the things of God. Jesus Christ never meant that we should love a wicked man in his wickedness.
Now take the wicked, and I can refer to where the Lord had to slay every soul of the Israelites that went out of Egypt, except Caleb and Joshua. He slew them by the hands of their enemies, by the plague, and by the sword, why? Because He loved them, and promised Abraham that He would save them. And He loved Abraham because he was a friend to his God, and would stick to Him in the hour of darkness, hence He promised Abraham that He would save his seed. And He could save them upon no other principle, for they had forfeited their right to the land of Canaan by transgressing the law of God, and they could not have atoned for the sin if they had lived. But if they were slain, the Lord could bring them up in the resurrection, and give them the land of Canaan, and He could not do it on any other principle.
I could refer you to plenty of instances where men have been righteously slain, in order to atone for their sins. I have seen scores and hundreds of people for whom there would have been a chance (in the last resurrection there will be) if their lives had been taken and their blood spilled on the ground as a smoking incense to the Almighty, but who are now angels to the devil, until our elder brother Jesus Christ raises them up--conquers death, hell, and the grave. I have known a great many men who have left this Church for whom there is no chance whatever for exaltation, but if their blood had been spilled, it would have been better for them. The wickedness and ignorance of the nations forbid this principle's being in full force, but the time will come when the law of God will be in full force.
This is loving our neighbour as ourselves; if he needs help, help him; and if he wants salvation and it is necessary to spill his blood on the earth in order that he may be saved, spill it. Any of you who understand the principles of eternity, if you have sinned a sin requiring the shedding of blood, except the sin unto death, would not be satisfied nor rest until your blood should be spilled, that you might gain that salvation you desire. That is the way to love mankind.
Christ and Belial have not become friends; they have never shaken hands; they never have agreed to be brothers and to be on good terms; no, never; and they never will, because they are diametrically opposed to each other. If one conquers, the other is destroyed. One or the other of them must triumph and utterly destroy and cast down his opponent. Light and darkness cannot dwell together, and so it is with the kingdom of God.
Now, brethren and sisters, will you live your religion? How many hundreds of times have I asked you that question? Will the Latter-day Saints live their religion? I am ashamed to say anything about a reformation among Saints, but I am happy to think that the people called Latter-day Saints are striving now to obtain the Spirit of their calling and religion. They are just coming into the path, just waking up out of their sleep. It seems as though they are nearly all like babies; we are but children in one sense. Now let us begin, like children, and walk in the straight and narrow path, live our religion, and honour our God.
With these remarks, I pray the God of Israel to bless you forever and ever, for you are the best people on earth. I can say that I am happy that you are doing so well as you are. Continue to increase in all the graces of God's Spirit until the day of His coming, which I desire with all my heart, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE AX THAT IS LAID AT THE ROOT OF THE TREE--REGENERATION--PRODUCTS OF POLYGAMY, A NUMEROUS OFFSPRING, ETC.
A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 8, 1857.
I know not what I shall say or how I shall be led to address you, but I have no doubt many are thinking that perhaps I shall be led to speak as plainly as I did two or three weeks ago. With regard to that I wish to tell you, brethren and sisters, that I never could have led myself in such a train of ideas; the Holy Ghost led me to speak upon those items that you consider small items, for if you did not consider them of little moment you would reform in your practices touching those points, and take a different course from what you do. I do know, and that most positively, that if this people would put into practice those things that I recommend, they would be blessed, for they are fundamental principles of our holy religion.
These things are the ax that is laid at the root of your trees; and what is it? It is rottenness. Where is that rottenness? It is at the root of the tree; and if the roots have become rotten--have become defiled--then of course the tree will also be rotten, with every branch pertaining to it, and the whole tree will perish. You are every one of you compared to a tree, or to a body; and there is no body, neither will there be, but what has a root to it; if it were not so you could not produce a posterity. It is for you to take that evil--that corruption--away from the root. It is a corruption that the world is dabbling in, and this people are dabbling in it more or less. Such a thing as adultery never would be known in the house of Israel, if some were not dabbling in that evil, and if rottenness was not at the roots of some of the trees. It is this which leads to the principle of adultery, and the body has become tinctured with corruption.
It is like this: take a good sweet barrel and fill it with good sweet pork, and then deposit in the centre of it a tainted piece as big as my fist, and how long will it be before it will ruin the whole barrel of good meat, in case the tainted meat is not removed? Upon the same principle let wickedness be in our midst undisturbed--pay no attention to it at all--and it will ruin this whole people. It will canker the roots of the trees and spread, until all the branches pertaining to those trees are defiled and corrupted. We have got to lay those evils aside--to cease tampering with them, and pursue a course that will lead to regeneration.
Many may not know what regeneration is. If I can tell you what degeneration is, then I can tell you what regeneration is. For instance: take a quart of the strongest alcohol, and mix ten quarts of water with it, and you have reduced its strength ten degrees lower than it was; or if you mix twenty quarts of water with it, then you have reduced it twenty degrees below the point at which it was. I bring this up as a comparison, to show that the world have become degenerated. Upon the same principle some are a great many degrees below zero, that is, below the point of perfection at which God first made us.
Some are so far from the summit they first occupied that they cannot see it, nor can they see our Father who lives there. How is the quart of strong alcohol to be restored back to its original strength? It must go through the process by which it was first produced, or some process for separating it from that by which it has been degenerated. I do not know of any other way; and that is regeneration.
What I mean to convey is that we become degenerate by receiving principles that are less pure and perfect than the principles of God. Some have received the principles of the opposite, that is, of the devil, and have been degenerating and degenerating until they are, as it were, 260 degrees below zero. I merely use this figure to show you the principle of regeneration and degeneration.
I was speaking here a few Sundays ago for you to multiply and increase. Our generation is on the increase, and is returning back towards our Father and God. Brother Brigham has talked here to-day so plain that a little child cannot misunderstand it. He spoke about our Father and our God; I believe what he has said, in fact I know it. Often when I have been in the presence of brother Brigham, we would feel such a buoyant spirit that when we began to talk we could not express our feelings, and so, "Hallelujah," says Brigham, "Glory to God," says I. I feel it and say it.
Some of the brethren kind of turn their noses on one side at me when I make such expressions, but they would not do it if they knew God. Such ones do not even know brothers Brigham and Heber; if they did they would not turn a wry face at us. I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit. That is one reason why I know; and another is--the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, "I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance." That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person, and a beautiful man.
I cannot refer to any man of my acquaintance in my life as being so much like God as was brother Brigham's father. He was one of the liveliest and most cheerful men I ever saw, and one of the best of men. He used to come and see me and my wife Vilate almost every day, and would sit and talk with us, and sing, and pray, and jump, and do anything that was good to make us lively and happy, and we loved him. I loved him as well as I did my own father, and a great deal better, I believe. Thus you see that I am not partial in my feelings. If I see a tree bring forth better fruit than the tree I was brought forth from, I will like that tree the best.
"31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him calling him.
"32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
"33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
"34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren.
"35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and father and mother."--St. Mark iii.
Why should I be partial and selfish? Some men cannot go and live but a short time in Tooele, or San Pete, or Box Elder, or in any other of our settlements, before they begin to feel that there is no people like the people in the place where they are living. I do not mean Bishop Warren Snow, for it will not hit him; no, but it will hit lots. I don't mean Lot Smith, but I mean that it will hit many.
I am national in one respect: I am strongly in favour of the house of Israel, and of all good men and women of every nation, clime, and country, for they are of my kindred, and have sprung from the same Father and God that I have. But, as brother James W. Cummings said when speaking about them, do I love the wicked? Yes, I love them insomuch that I wish they were in hell, that is, a great many of them, for that is the best wish I can wish them. And those that killed Joseph and Hyrum, and David W. Patten, and other Patriarchs and Prophets, I wish they were in hell; though I need not wish that, for in one sense they are in hell all the time; and if they have not literally gone down into hell they will go there, as the Lord God lives, every one of them, and every man that consented to the acts those murderers performed. That is loving the wicked, to send them there to hell to be burnt out until they are purified. Yes, they shall go there and stay there and be burnt, like an old pipe that stinks with long usage and corruption, until they are burnt out, and then their spirits may be saved in the day of God Almighty. It is my feelings that they may be damned for their awful iniquity in shedding innocent blood, as also all who sanction their acts, both men and women, together with all who associate with them and partake of their spirit, for that spirit is opposite to God and His servants.
As brother Brigham has said, I can say that every word is true that brother James has spoken. God bless him and fill him with the Spirit of righteousness, that the power of God may be upon him; and God bless every good man and woman; the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shall be upon them, and you cannot help it. We will arise and live our religion and serve our God; instead of running down into degradation we will regenerate ourselves.
Brethren, do listen to what I said here a few weeks ago. It was spoken in plainness, but it has gone from my mind and I am glad of it, for through tradition and human weakness I presume I should feel bad, if I could think what I did say. It was the truth of God, and it laid the ax at the roots of trees, for I told you where you were corrupting yourselves. You are corrupting yourselves--where? In the root. Now let us take a course and pursue the other path, and go on unto perfection--unto the restitution, and go back to God from whom we sprung.
Does the Lord hear me when I pray to Him? Yes, I do not know that I ever asked Him in earnest for a thing that was right, but what I received an answer from Him. I know that He lives; I know that His Son Jesus Christ lives; I know that the Holy Ghost lives; and I know that the angels of God live. I know that Joseph, Hyrum, Willard, and Jedediah, and all other good men who have died in the faith, live and associate with those who held the Priesthood before they did. And they are with brother Brigham and with us, and will be with us forever, for we never will be separated, and I know it. I know that, brother Brigham, just as well as I know that I see this people to-day; and I shall be with you, and we will have a happy time when we meet Joseph and Hyrum and Willard and Jedediah and father Smith! Will not the old gentleman be jolly! Yes, for he always was; and he will be more so in proportion to the greater light and knowledge he has. Those are the men we are going to meet with; also with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, three of the old polygamists.
Do you suppose that Joseph and Hyrum and all those good men would associate with those ancient worthies, if they had not been engaged in the same practices? They had to do the works of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in order to be admitted where they are;--they had to be polygamists in order to be received into their society. God knows that I am not ashamed of those good men now, and how much more I shall prize my associate polygamists, when I am further advanced in knowledge, I do not know. I am talking in earnest, and from the experience I have had.
I know the character of the human family and the course that many men and women are taking; they are making a desolation and taking a course to bring destruction upon their root; they are following a course that would ultimately depopulate the earth. All will come to that, if they do not take a course of continual increase for ever and for ever.
How long do you suppose it will take a little man like me, though I feel perfectly able to thrash any six common wicked men, if I am faithful in keeping the commandments of God and true all the days of my life to my brethren, as I have been hitherto and mean to be more so, to get into the celestial kingdom of God with my whole posterity, in case there should be no obstruction? How long do you suppose it will be before my posterity increases to over a million? A hundred years will not pass away before I will become millions myself. You may go to work and reckon it up, and twenty-five years will not pass away before brother Brigham and I will number more than this whole Territory. Now, if that number proceeds from us, I tell you our roots are fruitful. Take away every cause of death to those roots and nourish them and cherish them, and they will increase and you cannot help yourselves. In twenty-five or thirty years we will have a larger number in our two families than there now is in this whole Territory, which numbers more than seventy-five thousand. If twenty-five years will produce this amount of people, how much will be the increase in one hundred years? We could not number them, or if we did sum up the amount to any given time, they are still on the increase.
But some of you are taking a course to spend your lives for nought, while brother Brigham and I are becoming like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Prophets. Why do you not be profitable to yourselves, and put out your lives to usury? Do you understand me? That is the principle I love to talk about, and I would just as soon talk about it here to-day, before you, as in the chimney corner. Some say that I am vulgar, but I never spoke a word of vulgarity here. Those who are vulgar receive my language as such, but the pure never received it so. To those who are pure, all things are pure; and to those who are vulgar, all things are vulgar.
I have not spoken vulgarly, but have spoken of the acts wherein some have degraded themselves in the eyes of heaven. God cannot abide with such persons, nor His angels, and the Holy Ghost will not dwell with them, when they are so corrupt. Some still continue in the corruption they were in while they mingled among the wicked in the world. Is it not time for all to quit it--to reform and break off from those things? Brothers Brigham, Heber, and Daniel do not do as you do. We have taken another course--a course of exaltation, and put out our lives and strength to usury, while some of you are throwing away your lives--spending your existence for nought--the axe is laid at the root of the tree--and you will be cut down by and by, except you forsake such evils.
"19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.--[St. Matthew's Gospel, 7th chap."
My feelings are that I may be like clay in the hands of the potter, or like a fiddle in the hands of the performer. I am not going to dictate God, but I feel to say, Father play through me in a manner that shall be for the salvation of this people. These are my feelings all the time and my prayer, and that should be the prayer of every man, and not get up here, as almost every man does, and say, "I am no preacher, I am not an eloquent man, I have not got silver lips," and this and that. We know all this, and what do you want to tell of it here for? It is like a fiddle's getting up here to make an excuse for the fiddler. I would knock a fiddle into a cocked up hat, if it should undertake to dictate me, would not you, brother Smithies? Brother Smithies is our chorister and is a very modest man, but he would not permit the fiddle to dictate him. I do not like to hear the Twelve, the High Priests, the Seventies, the Bishops, nor any member in this Church and Kingdom who has got the Priesthood, get up here to make apologies.
While speaking of our sins, brother James said let us forsake them and turn over a new leaf, that is, throw the old one entirely overboard and commence a new life, as though we never had commenced. I will illustrate this idea by bringing up a figure. Suppose that you have an old scrap-book, in which you have written from your childhood all kinds of scribbling, pot hooks and hook pots, and marks of every kind and description, using it one year one end up, and then turning the other end up and writing down again, insomuch that the old scrap-book presents to view a miserable mess of confusion. Now, can you correct that book and put every character into line? You cannot correct it, except you entirely blot out the old marks, and commence afresh to write in it and keep it as it should be, so that you will not be ashamed for the angels to look upon it and be able to say, "It is well done." You cannot correct the old book, for it has become a blot. What shall you do with it? If you do as you have been told, you will take the old scrap-book and tumble it overboard, or lay it aside and not undertake to look at it any more, and take a new blank book and fill it up anew, and learn to be men and women approved of God.
Brother Brigham says that if you will all quit your sins and follies and begin now to pursue a righteous course, your sins shall all be remitted; the old book will be laid aside and never again presented before you. But if you persist in your sins after this mercy, the old book will be brought up against you again, and you will have to pay the debt or be judged by it. If you will not quit your sinning, God will have mercy upon you and His servants will, and you will be blessed. Do you not know that the Prophet says, that if the people turn away from their sins and repent, and forsake them, thus saith the Lord, I will no more remember their sins against them for ever; but if they turn from their righteousness to their unrighteousness, I will bring all their former sins back upon their heads, those which they have committed in all their days? And if you persist in your sins, you will have to be judged out of the old scrap-book. Is not this a great promise?
It is easy to do right, to lay aside old erroneous notions, hypocrisy, thieving, lying, and a thousand other things that are a rebellion against God and against His authority. I want to know if God will love and respect and send His angels to one of my wives, though she were fifty, sixty, or a hundred years of age, if she is disobedient to me when I am as merciful, generous, and kind a man to her as ever lived? If she disobeys me, persists in taking a course contrary to my will and the will of God all the time, saying, "I will do as I please, and the angels will come and visit me?" Neither God nor His Son Jesus Christ will send the holy angels to minister to such a woman, and she need not tell about their coming to visit her, nor about receiving revelations from heaven concerning brother Brigham, and about what brother Brigham and brother Heber should do. Damn such fixings, they are not of God; they never saw Him, nor never will, unless they repent of such foolishness. I discard such things, and so does our God, and so do angels. Get revelations for the Prophet of God to be subject to your requests!!! Get out, you stinking things, and your swamp angels too. I am as independent of you as God upon His throne, and of all such creatures and so is any man of God that is valiant in the latter days. I ask no odds of the world and its corruptions, nor of anything that pertains to it, for God my Father and my Elder brother Jesus Christ, and his faithful servants are my friends.
I have spoken these things with good feelings, and these principles are laying the axe at the root of the trees, and that tree will fall which is not connected with God and His children. The Scripture says that there is an axe laid at the root of every tree, that is, it is laid at the root of every man and woman, and that axe will be used to slay them, if they persist in iniquity. If there is an axe at the root of my tree, let me so live that I may be worthy to pick up that axe and slay the wicked, and not be slain. That man or woman who will not do that, will be slain.
God bless you. I feel good; I feel to bless you. I bless the Saints, the good men, the good women, and the good children the wide word [sic] over, and I bless the earth we inherit; but I feel to curse the wicked, and the ungodly, and those who are taking the road to destruction. I bless all Saints, and all good people. Amen.
INTELLIGENCE COMES FROM GOD--SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD--GREAT CHANGES TO TAKE PLACE ON THE EARTH--ISRAEL OF THE LAST DAYS--WHY THE JEWS CANNOT BE CONVERTED.
A Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 22, 1857.
I feel it a privilege to bear testimony before the Saints to the exhortations we have heard this morning from brothers Richards and Wells. We have had good teachings, good counsel, and good doctrine taught us. And I presume I feel in a measure like the rest of my brethren when I rise to speak to this people in the Tabernacle, where such large congregations of Saints assemble; I have a desire that what I say may do the people good, may edify them. My brethren also have the same desire.
We realize that the minds of this people need feeding continually, and we all have to depend upon the Holy Spirit and the Lord to feed our minds from that inexhaustible fountain of intelligence which comes from God, for we cannot obtain food from any other source to feed the immortal mind of man. Here are a large assembly of minds who are reaching forth to receive light and truth before the Lord.
I realize that we have a great many lessons to learn in the school we are in, and myself as a teacher in connexion with my brethren have also a great deal to learn. I feel that I am yet in my alphabet, and feel sometimes that I am incapable of teaching this people, when I realize they are in the road which leads to celestial glory--to eternal life and eternal exaltation. I know I am dependent as I know my brethren are upon God, upon the Holy Ghost for all the light, truth, and intelligence which we have to impart unto you.
The words which brother Wells quoted, and which brother Samuel Richards referred to, furnish as strong a proof as can be furnished as to the true principle of prosperity, touching things temporal and things spiritual. I refer to the words of Jesus Christ which he spoke to his followers: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you." I will tell you, brethren and sisters, we may try it all the days of our lives, we may try every path and every principle in this world, and we as Saints cannot prosper upon any other mode of proceeding than by first seeking the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness; when we do this there is no blessing, there is no good, no exaltation, gift, grace, desire, or anything that a good man can wish that is profitable, and good for time and for eternity, but will be given unto us.
A great many people have tried to seek for happiness independent of first seeking the kingdom of heaven, &c., but they have always found it an uphill business, and so shall we if we try it.
We as a people should have learned by this time, after having the experience we have gained, to make up our minds to take hold and build up the kindgdom [sic] of God, and it should be the first thing before us, for if we build up the kingdom of God we build up ourselves, and if we do not we never shall be built up. This is the truth. There seems to be something connected with the kingdom of God and that is righteousness; we are exhorted to seek the righteousness that belongs to it as well as the kingdom itself.
The kingdom of God is a righteous kingdom, all its laws are righteous, its government is a righteous government, and the king who governs and controls it does so upon righteous and eternal principles, and we must act upon the same principles of righteousness. Who cannot see that if a man seeks first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness that he will become righteous and hence he will be blessed and justified in all of his acts.
With regard to the feelings of the people that brothers Wells and Richards have referred to, touching the consecration of their property and dedicating themselves to God, I will say, if we build up the kingdom of God we should be in that kingdom, and all we have should be in it, and we should have faith enough in the Lord to know it is in a safe place.
I am a good deal of the opinion of old Captain Russell, who was an extensive ship-builder, and paid thousands of dollars yearly to the Gentiles as insurance fees. After he embraced "Mormonism," he began to reflect, "here am I paying thousands of dollars yearly to the Gentiles to insure my ships, and I have to trust to the God of heaven after all to save my ships from sinking, and to prosper me in all my undertakings; this is not right." So he went to Liverpool, where the insurance office was, to settle his insurance bills and close up his business with the firm.
The gentlemen of the firm asked him when he had got through, saying, "Have we not treated you well, Mr. Russell?" "Yes, I have no fault to find with you." "What, then, is your object in pursuing this course? We have done business with you a good many years; we want to know if you are going to change your insurance office?" "I am." "Will you tell us where you are going to have your business done in the future/" "Yes, I am going to have it done in heaven, for the insurance offices do not control the winds, the elements are not obedient to them, and I have been paying ten thousand dollars a year for insuring a few ships, and I have to trust in the Lord anyhow, so in the future I shall pay my insurance fee into the Lord's treasury."
The gentlemen of the office thought he was cracked or beside himself, for I tell you trusting in the Lord in these days is an unpopular business with the world. But the Saints have to trust in the Lord, and we might as well begin and seek this kingdom and the interest of it, and the righteousness of it, and build it up first as last. I believe the people are reforming in this thing; I believe they are increasing in their faith, and have manifested it here in the city this winter, and I am glad to see it.
The exhortation we have had this morning is proper and seasonable, as we have been sowing the seed of the word this winter among the people, and we should watch and see that the seed is sown in good gound [sic], and try to cultivate the principles we hear that the fruits of righteousness may appear in abundance. In doing this we will be saved.
We have had one of the most interesting seasons this winter that we have ever enjoyed since the Church and kingdom of God has been organized in the last days. We have had new lessons opened unto us by the servants of the Lord, and among those things the mercy of the Lord has been manifested in a great degree towards this people. I have reflected on His mercy and I feel we should be faithful and humble, and prove true unto the Lord our God because of this mercy which has been manifested unto us, and we should be very careful hereafter, as President Young exhorted us the last time he spoke concerning this people continuing to commit sin. He plainly laid before us the consequences of this course; we should let the past suffice wherein we have done anything in which we cannot be justified. I am satisfied that the people in these valleys will never hear the same proclamation which we have heard this winter.
If this people with the light they have, the teachings they have, and the examples they have had set before them intermingled with chastisement--if they still will go on and be neglectful of their duties, with regard to their salvation they will have to pay the debt, for the sinner in Zion will be cut off from the Church of God, and will have to pay the penalty whether it be small or great. It is of the utmost importance that we should guard ourselves against sin as the tree of life is guarded. We have no time to throw away in the service of sin, in committing iniquity and grieving the Holy Spirit of God.
I tell you when you look around and see the state of the world on the one hand, and what we have to perform on the other, and what the kingdom of God has got to arrive at in order to fulfil its destiny and the revelations of Jesus Christ, our chief object should be to build up the kingdom of God and roll it on.
As I remarked last evening in the High Priests' Quorum, we have been toiling against a mighty current all the day long from its first organization, but the day will soon come, if this people will do their duty and take hold of the kingdom of God as they should do, it will soon get on the top of the mountain, and then it will begin to roll down from the mountains, and it will gather both strength and speed as it goes, and then instead of singing "Get out of the way, the hand-carts rolling," it will be "Get out of the way the kingdom's coming," and it will not stop until it has filled the whole earth. The Lord has proclaimed this in all the revelations He has given on the subject.
This kingdom has got to stand, spread itself abroad, and gather unto itself strength. The Lord is going to work with this kingdom, and with this people. The Lord says in the parable of the vineyard, "My servants laboured with their mights, and the Lord laboured with them, and they prevailed, and brought forth the fruits of the kingdom, and the bitter branches were broken off, and the tame olive brought forth good fruit, and the vineyard was no more corrupt." This should be uppermost in our minds, we should look for the building up of the kingdom, and secure not only blessings for ourselves, but seek to become saviours of men on Mount Zion, and try to do all the good we can, labouring to promote the cause and interest of Zion in every department thereof where we are all called to act.
By pursuing this course we shall be prospered, and have continual peace in our minds, and as the Lord has said, nothing will be withheld from any man that seeks for the righteousness and blessings of the kingdom of God. Salvation should be the uppermost thing with us, and you will find if ever we seek to do something else besides carrying out the dictates of the Holy Spirit, we will get into the fog and into darkness and trouble, and we shall be ignorant of the way we are pursuing. Every day that we live we need the power of the Lord--the power of His Holy Spirit and the strength of the Priesthood to be with us that we may know what to do. And if we will so live before the Lord, the Spirit will reveal to us every day what our duties are; I do not care what it is we are engaged in, we should first find out the will of the Lord and then do it, and then our work will be well done and acceptable before the Lord, but if we take a course against light and against the Spirit of God, we will find it an unprofitable road to travel.
I feel as though the Lord is going to do a great work in the midst of this people. There are a great many things at our door, a great many changes to take place in the earth, and the kingdom is growing; and I would here exhort all the Latter day [sic] Saints who hear me this day to study well the position you are in, and search your hearts and see if we are in the favour of the Lord our God, and then let us increase continually in faith, in hope, in righteousness, and in every virtuous principle which is necessary for us to have to sustain us in every trial through which we may be called to pass, in order to prove us as the friends of God, whether we will abide in the covenant or not; we will be tried from this time, until the coming of the Messiah or while we live on the earth.
If we could open the vision of our minds, and let it extend into the future and see this kingdom, and what it is bound to accomplish, and what we have to do, the warfare we have to pass through, we would certainly see that we have a great work on hand. We have not only to fight the powers of darkness, the invisible forces that surround us, but we have to war with a great many outward circumstances and to contend with a great many difficulties that we must of necessity meet, and the more of this we have to meet the more we should be stimulated to action, and to labour with all our power before the Lord for the establishment of righteousness and truth and the building up of the work of God, and to see that His name is honoured upon the earth.
Brother Wells has said, why the world is troubled about us is because we are united. This is true; the world and the devil are afraid of it, and he has laboured all his life to divide everything where righteousness dwelt, or at least ever since he was cast out from the presence of God, what he did before that I cannot say any further than what is revealed. We have got to be one and labour together to build up this kingdom because we cannot establish it upon any other principle.
We should be careful to know that we are right and then go ahead, and we will find it to our advantage, and we shall be satisfied with our reward if we pursue that course which is according to the commandments of God. When we come into the presence of our Father in heaven we shall meet with His approbation, this alone will reward us for our labours.
If we go to work and build up the kingdom of God instead of ourselves, it is no matter in what shape we do it, whether it is in building a canal, or in building a temple, preaching the Gospel, cultivating the earth, or anything else, let us take that and make it a business, and we will find the Lord will help, sustain, and nerve us with His power, and will assist us in everything we have to do, and if we are called to lay down our lives in the defence of God and eternal truth, then all right, and if we live, all right, and when we come into the presence of the Lord we shall be satisfied with our reward and blessings.
The Lord has said He would prove us whether we would abide in His covenant even unto death; indeed we have been tried from the commencement of this great work, but there has been an invisible hand at work for our defence all the time; the wicked have not seen the power that has sustained us, they cannot see the inside machinery that is at work in this kingdom, the nations of the earth cannot understand it, and they never can comprehend it, but the Latter-day Saints understand it, and they know that it is the power of God and the word of God, for the Lord has made proclamations and decrees, and covenants concerning Israel in the last days, and all the Prophets, from righteous Abel to Brigham Young, have proclaimed it to the nations of the earth, as with the voice of thunder, and we know they will be fulfilled; we know the Gospel has to be offered to the Gentiles first, we have offered it to them for the space of twenty-five years, that we may be prepared to go to the house of Israel.
The Gentiles in a great measure, have rejected it; we have borne a faithful testimony to the nations of the earth, and they prefer to take their own course, and act on their own agency; they would rather build themselves up than the kingdom of God. The consequence is, it will soon be taken from the Gentile nations, and it will not be long before the judgments of God are abroad among them, and those bitter branches will be taken off the tree.
Now there is no personage, or subject, or work upon the face of the whole earth, but what is more popular than the Lord, and His Gospel, and kingdom; His name is dishonoured and blasphemed, with impunity by nearly all the inhabitants of the earth and in the midst of every nation under heaven, but the day is nigh at hand when He will make bare His arm of power, and show the world that there is a God in Israel, who will no longer bear the blasphemies of the wicked without bringing them to judgment, but He will send forth those angels, those messengers who dwell in the presence of God, who are waiting with their sharp sickles in their hands to reap down the earth; but this will not be until the Gospel has been fully offered to the Gentiles; then the bitter branches will be broken off.
This kingdom will go forward, for the Lord God has decreed it, and Zion will arise and be adorned with beauty and power, and true refinement, in light and knowledge, and in every good gift that will prepare the minds of men for the Society of their Heavenly Father and of celestial beings. These lessons have got to be given, and we have got to learn them, and we have got to bring ourselves to the celestial law of God; we have to be quickened by the Spirit and power of the kingdom of God and its righteousness, that we may be prepared to carry out the purposes of the Lord; then this kingdom will be borne to the house of Israel, and they will receive it.
The door has already been unlocked to the Lamanites in these mountains, and they will begin to embrace the Gospel and the records of their fathers, and their chiefs will be filled with the Spirit and power of God, and they will rise up in their strength, and a nation will be born in a day, because they are of the seed of Abraham, and God has promised to bless the descendants of Abraham, and they will be saved with the house of Israel, for the Lord has spoken it, and made those promises unto them through their fathers.
Again, here are the ten tribes of Israel, we know nothing about them only what the Lord has said by His Prophets. There are Prophets among them, and by and by they will come along, and they will smite the rocks, and the mountains of ice will flow down at their presence, and a highway will be cast up before them, and they will come to Zion, receive their endowments, and be crowned under the hands of the children of Ephraim, and there are persons before me in this assembly to-day, who will assist to give them their endowments. They will receive their blessings and endowments, from under the children of Ephraim, who are the first fruits of the kingdom of God in this dispensation, and the men will have to be ordained and receive their Priesthood and endowments in the land of Zion, according to the revelations of God.
Again, here is Judah, which is the tribe of Israel, from whom Jesus sprang; how many times have I seen them among the nations of the earth, standing in their synagogues, even grey-haired rabbies [sic], with their faces to the east, calling on the great Eloheim to open the door for them to go back to Jerusalem, the land of their fathers, and to send their shiloh, their king of deliverance. When I have seen this my soul has been filled with a desire to proclaim unto them the word of God unto eternal life, but I knew I could not do this, the time had not come, I could not preach to them. I might have stood in their midst for a month and preached unto them Jesus Christ or their shiloh and king, but I should have failed to establish one particle of faith in their minds that he was the true Messiah.
They do not believe in Jesus Christ; there is an unbelief resting upon them, and will until they go home and rebuild Jerusalem and their temple more glorious than at the beginning, and then by and by, after this Church and kingdom has arisen up in its glory, the Saviour will come to them and show the wounds in his hands and side, and they will say to him, "Where did you get those wounds?" and he will answer, "In the house of my friends," and then their eyes will begin to open, and they will repent and mourn, they and their wives apart, and there will be a fountain opened for uncleanness to the house of Judah, and they will for the first time receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they will begin to comprehend where they have been wandering for the space of two thousand years.
You cannot convert a Jew, you may as well try to convert this house of solid walls as to convert them into the faith of Christ. They are set in their feelings, and they will be until the time of their redemption. They are looking forward to the time when they will go home and rebuild Jerusalem; they have looked for it many hundreds of years, they are looking for the coming of their king, and they do not suppose for a moment that he has already come, but they are looking for him to come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, not as a lamb led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that is dumb before his hearers; they are looking for him to come with power and great glory.
I thank God that the day is at hand when the Jews will be restored. I have felt to pray for them; I feel interested in their behalf, for they are of the seed of Abraham and a branch of the house of Israel, and the promises of God still remain with them. It is true they fell through unbelief, and the kingdom was taken from them and given to the Gentiles, and when it came from them, it came clothed with all its gifts, powers, and glory, Priesthood and ordinances which were necessary for the salvation of men, and to prepare them to dwell in the presence of the Gods; and when the kingdom was given to the Gentiles, they for a while brought forth the natural fruits of the kingdom. But they, like the Jews, have fallen through the same example of unbelief, and now, in the last days, the kingdom of God has to be taken from the Gentiles, and restored back to every branch and tribe of the house of Israel; and when it is restored to them, it must go back with all its gifts, and blessings, and Priesthood which it possessed when it was taken from them. But the Lord has said that in restoring these blessings to the children of Abraham, that He would be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them. But from what branch or part of the house of Israel will the Lord look for this petition or request to issue, if not from the Latter-day Saints, for we are out of the tribe of Joseph through the loins of Ephraim, who have been as a mixed cake among the Gentiles, and are the first fruits of the kingdom, and the Lord has given unto us the kingdom and Priesthood and keys thereof. Hence the Lord will require us to ask for those blessings which are promised unto Israel, and to labour for their salvation.
These things will be required at our hands; a great work is before us, a work worthy of intelligent beings--worthy of the most noble of spirits that ever existed around the throne of God in time or in eternity, in heaven or on the earth. Then, if we would feel right about this important subject, and look upon it as it is, we will go to work and labour with all our mights to build up the kingdom of our God, to carry out the purposes of the Lord, in the building up of Zion, the establishment of his kingdom, and restoration, and salvation of the house of Israel; we should listen strictly to those men who are the words of the Lord to us.
The Prophet Jeremiah saw this kingdom established, and saw that Ephraim was the first born, and in gathering the children of Jacob and establishing Zion in the last days, their nobles should be of themselves, and their governor should proceed from the midst of them. I have looked forward for years by faith to that time when the children of Zion would have the privilege of having their rulers, and a governor of their own choice of the house of Israel, to rule over them and counsel and lead them.
We have had a governor since we have been a Territory, who is actually of the loins of Joseph, the son of Jacob. Jeremiah saw this, spake of it, and it has been fulfilled. There has been a great exertion to make this prophecy fail. It hurt the feelings of the Gentiles to think this prophecy should have its fulfilment in these days. It has been fulfilled so far, and I feel thankful to-day that all the prophecies which have not been fulfilled will be; hence I have hope and confidence in looking forward to the fulfilment of the blessings that are promised to us.
Let us be faithful and seek diligently to build up the kingdom of God in righteousness and do our duty, and try to save ourselves, our wives, and children, our kindred and our friends, and the house of Israel, and also the Gentiles as far as they will be saved, and then we will be satisfied with our reward which we shall obtain in this life and in the world to come. I pray the Lord to bless us all, and save us in His kingdom, for Christ's sake. Amen.
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER--THE PRIESTHOOD REACHES BEHIND THE VAIL--HOW INTOLERABLE IT WILL BE FOR THOSE WHO APOSTATIZE--POPULARITY OF GOVERNOR YOUNG COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE RULERS OF THE NATIONS--THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD, ETC.
Remarks, by President Daniel H. Wells, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 22, 1857.