Brigham Young 1851-1855.

              BLESSINGS OF THE SAINTS--A HOUSE FOR THE LORD.
An address by President Brigham Young, delivered at the Christmas Festival
              of the Public Hands, in the Carpenters' Hall,
                   Great Salt Lake City, Dec. 16, 1851.

 	Five years ago we were menaced on every side by the cruel
persecutions of our inveterate enemies; hundreds of families, who had been
forced from their houses, and compelled to leave behind them their all,
were wandering as exiles in a state of abject destitution: but, by the
favor of heaven, we have been enabled to surmount all these difficulties,
and can assemble here to-day in the chamber of these mountains, where
there are none to make us afraid, far from our persecutors, far from the
turmoil and confusion of the old world.

	Brethren and sisters, has not the Lord poured out His blessings upon
you to surpass all former times?  Your barns and presses are filled with
fine wheat, and other productions of these valleys; your tables groan
under the abundance of the blessings of the Almighty.  Is there room for
one complaint or murmur by this people?  No!  You are full with the
blessings of God; you can sit down and eat and drink until you are
satisfied.  There are hundreds of thousands in the old world who can say
they never did have enough to satisfy the cravings of nature.  There are
thousands at this time, who would crawl upon their hands and knees, or
travel on foot over the mighty ocean, were there an highway cast up,
carrying their little children upon their backs, to obtain the blessings
that we this day enjoy.  That day of peace and plenty which the Saints
have looked for from the commencement of this Church, has in a great
measure come to pass.

	This is a party for the public hands, those who are laboring for the
public good.  I am a public hand, and myself and all I possess belong to
the Lord; all I possess is tithing, from the cap upon my head to the soles
of the pumps upon my feet.  When my Bishop came to value my property, he
wanted to know what he should take my tithing in.  I told him to take
anything I had got, for I did not set my heart upon any one thing; my
horses, cows, hogs, or any other thing he might take; my mind was not set
upon any of them.  My heart is set upon the work of my God, upon the
public good of His great kingdom.  If there be any public hands who feel
contrary to this, they had better leave and seek to build up themselves;
let them try if they can accomplish any more in that way, than by
dedicating themselves to the Lord, in the building up of His works.  Those
who wish to try this, will meet with a signal disappointment.

	Brethren, we are the Lord's, and all we possess; and I have
determined, by the help of the Lord and this people, to build Him a house. 
You may ask, "Will He dwell in it?"  He may do just as He pleases; it is
not my prerogative to dictate to the Lord.  But we will build Him a house,
that if He pleases to pay us a visit, He may have a place to dwell in, or
if He should send any of His servants, we may have suitable accommodations
for them.  I have built myself a house, and the most of you have done the
same, and now shall we not build the Lord a house?  (The deep-toned voices
of the public hands answered, "Aye.")  I will not interrupt your
enjoyments by saying more, though, on such an interesting occasion as
this, much more might be said.


                  RECREATION, AND THE PROPER USE OF IT.
     A speech delivered by President Brigham Young at the Legislative
      Festival held in the Territorial House, Great Salt Lake City,
                              March 4, 1852.

	With joy and delight I look upon you, brethren and sisters.  I feel
to render all praise, thanks, and adoration to our Father and God, that my
heart is capable of rendering; and with all the afflictions, together with
all the talent bestowed upon me, I feel to serve, praise, adore, and
acknowledge the Lord our God.

	Let me ask a question.  Finding ourselves in our present position in
the world of sin and darkness, of ignorance, unbelief, superstition, and
tradition, which have been woven and interwoven with our lives; thrown
around us like a mantle, which is used to shield the body from the cold
and from the storm; considering ourselves as we are, then ask ourselves
the question, if on earth we have any idea of anything like a kingdom or
community of people being celestial; then ask ourselves again, if we have,
does not the presentation this evening border very nigh to it?  I can say
for one, as far as we do know and understand, as far as our capacities can
expand, and grasp life and happiness, just so far this community which is
present this evening, is advanced in the celestial path.

	If there is a heart here this evening, that does not chime in with
every sentiment of righteousness, that heart has no power in this
assembly.  This company are controllable, like the ship by the rudder, in
a gentle breeze, that can be turned hither and thither at the will and
pleasure of him who commands; so with all here present; at the sound of
the voice, all is hushed, and every heart throbs in unison in response to
the words of praise and thanksgiving to our Father and our God.  This
proves that the majority, at least, are right; and I have no reason to
believe that there is a heart in this house, but chimes in with my own. 
Every countenance is cheerful; every face is lit up with a lively glow of
joy, peace, and tranquillity.

	We are now enjoying our pastimes.  We often meet together and worship
the Lord by singing, praying, and preaching, fasting, and communing with
each other in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.  Now we are met in the
capacity of a social community--for what?  That our minds may rest, and
our bodies receive that recreation which is proper and necessary to keep
up an equilibrium, to promote healthy action to the whole system.

	Let our minds sing for joy, and let life diffuse itself into every
avenue of the body; for the object of our meeting is for its exercise, for
its good.

	This party was gotten up by the members of the Legislature, to rest
their minds, to convene in a social capacity, and enjoy the society of
each other, with their families, and to give renewed activity and energy,
which will invigorate and strengthen them in the discharge of the arduous
duties devolving upon them.

	With regard to these feelings prevailing in our midst this evening,
as well as the correctness of these principles, all men and women must be
their own judge.  I judge for myself, and not for another, although I have
that privilege, and can do it with safety and propriety.  Why is this? 
Because when I look upon the faces of my brethren, I know their hearts;
let the roots of bitterness be there, and their countenances meet mine,
and I know it in a moment.  Do you not know it also?  Can you not feel it? 
Can you not see it?  You can.  This is why I say that I have the privilege
of judging others.  You have the same privilege.  Having this privilege to
judge for others as well as myself, I feel to say, that every heart of the
company present this afternoon and evening, feels to sing praises to the
Lord, and shout hallelujah to His holy name.  I am in the best place I
ever was during my life, and with the best society.  I never saw a
community that enjoyed the tranquillity and peace that are enjoyed by this
people in these vallies of the mountains.  Is it not so?  Judge for
yourselves, ye are my witnesses.

	A few words, perhaps, will suffice the company.  I was requested to
make a few remarks at the opening of the meeting, but I chose to delay
speaking until a more suitable time; for when any of my brethren or myself
speak to the people, I wish all to hear that conveniently can, because
when we are in this capacity, and call our minds together, it is to
reflect for a few moments, and look at each other, and think of the Lord;
view over the past times of our lives, and contrast their history with the
present festive moments.  It is good to look upon each other, because the
faces of our friends, and the gladness of their countenances, cheer our
hearts, furnishing food for future reflection.  Under all circumstances,
in every situation of our past lives, in every transaction of business and
of social enjoyment, remember it is good to reflect and consider upon it
now in the days of peace and prosperity, while we have the privilege.

	Our present situation, and the enjoyments of this evening, will
become subjects of pleasant and agreeable reflection, when we shall be
separated from each other.  Some of these, my brethren, may be absent in
foreign lands; our sisters may be separated from this community, and go to
the right and to the left; then these moments of festive joy will be
remembered with pleasing emotions, and cherished in fond memory in after
years.

	Again, when we meet in this capacity, it is good for our minds to be
refreshed on this wise a little, for the reason, as you are all aware,
that we are naturally forgetful, and it is according to the frailties of
human nature to decline and falter in our feelings at the varied,
besetting, enticing, and almost overwhelming temptations that are abroad
in the world, and with which the people, especially those of the household
of faith, have to contend.  Our former life, its anxieties and enjoyments,
are apt to be forgotten.  This is our experience.  If we should suffer
ourselves to spend our time day after day, and week after week, as we are
to-day, how long would it be, before we would forget the Lord?  It would
not be long.  If we continued in the exercising of the body without
reflection, this company would soon think--it is no matter about praying,
or asking the Lord about anything; we have enjoyed ourselves heretofore,
and all has been peace, quietness, and good order.  But how long would it
remain so?  How long would it be before we would become careless, if we
remembered not the Lord?  For this reason, I say, on every such occasion,
it is right, reasonable, and necessary, that every heart be directed to
the Lord.  When we have had sufficient recreation for our good, let that
suffice.  It is all right; then let our minds labor instead of our bodies;
and in all our exercises of body and mind, it is good to remember the
Lord.  If it cannot be so, but otherwise, I do not wish to see another
party while I live.  If I could not enjoy the Spirit of the Lord in this
capacity with you this evening, and feel the power of God to rest upon me,
I should cease from all such indulgence.  From this time, never let us
permit ourselves to go one step beyond that which the Lord will own and
bless.

	But I pause here, and for this reason--I want it distinctly
understood, that fiddling and dancing are no part of our worship.  The
question may be asked, What are they for, then?  I answer, that my body
may keep pace with my mind.  My mind labors like a man logging, all the
time; and this is the reason why I am fond of these pastimes--they give me
a privilege to throw every thing off, and shake myself, that my body may
exercise, and my mind rest.  What for?  To get strength, and be renewed
and quickened, and enlivened, and animated, so that my mind may not wear
out.  Experience tells us that the most of the inhabitants of the earth
wear out their bodies without wearing their minds at all, through the
sufferings they endure from hard labor, with distress, poverty, and want. 
While on the other hand, a great portion of mankind wear out their bodies
with out laboring, only in anxiety.  But when men are brought to labor
entirely in the field of intelligence, there are few minds to be found
possessing strength enough to bear all things; the mind becomes
overcharged, and when this is the case, it begins to wear upon the body,
which will sink for want of the proper exercises.  This is the reason why
I believe in and practice what I do.  The question might be asked, Why not
go into the kanyons and get out wood, which would be good exercise enough? 
If you would know, come up to my house, you will soon find out.  Were I to
go to the kanyons, the whole camp of Israel would follow me there; and
they would not be there long before they would say, Come, brother Brigham,
I want to talk with you; come, I will chop this wood.  How many scores of
times I have undertaken to work, since I came into this ministry!  Scores
and hundreds of times when my calling in the kingdom of God was less than
it is now, have I endeavored to set myself to work, but seldom could have
a chance to do so more than five minutes; some one would come along, "Give
me the hoe, brother Brigham, I want to talk with you;" and so stop me, and
no sooner stop me than he stops also.  I have given it up, I do not intend
to work any more at manual labor.  I do not wrestle, or play the ball; all
the exercise I do get is to dance a little, while my council room is from
my office to this room, and from this room to my house again, into my
sitting room, dining room, &c.

	You will see the time, you will know what my labor is.  I wish this
community to consider that I have feelings of a very acute nature.  There
is not a man or a woman, Saint or sinner, it mattereth not, that feels
injured, and lays his or her complaints before me; but what it rests upon
my feelings; but my faith is unyielding, and I intend to keep it so, as
much as I can; my feelings sympathize so with the injured, that I am
grieved and distressed, and my head aches, and large drops of cold sweat
sit upon my brow and no man or woman knows anything about my feelings, and
I do not want them to know, for I calculate to kick off from my heels all
that I cannot carry.  I will carry all I should, but there is not a person
in this community that can bring to mind or mention the time whenever I
exhibited one particle of sorrow or trouble to them.  I calculate to carry
my own sorrows just as long as I live upon this earth; and when I go to
the grave, I expect them all to go there, and sleep with me in eternal
silence.

	But to return to our party.  I would just say, it was gotten up by
the Legislature to enjoy ourselves.  I have enjoyed myself first-rate: my
heart is cheerful and full of gladness.  I am in the midst of the Saints
of the Most High, and my desire is, and I will say with all my heart, may
God grant that the blessings, favors, and mercies, and kindness of our
Father in Heaven, may bring us to a sense of the obligations we owe to
Him; and cheer, and cause joy and tranquillity to reign in, this
community, that every heart may be bound up in the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, without having to feel the rod again.  What is the use of
it, when mercy and kindness are lavished upon the people of God, and to
see them falter in their faith, see them grow cold towards the Lord their
God, see them slacken their pace?  Is it not grievous?  Just look at it. 
Suppose you had all the good gifts to bestow upon your children that heart
could wish, and you lavish them out, but the more you give, the more
slothful they become--how would you feel?  Just apply this to yourselves:
I know how I should feel.  When I bring my mind to bear upon this subject,
and see what the Lord has done for me, and for this people, and think that
I should become remiss in my duty, so that the Lord should have need to
chasten me again, it seems, on the first reflection, that I ought to be
damned.  When I look at myself before the Lord, and see what He has called
me to, and what He has called my brethren and sisters to; how He has
bestowed blessings upon us, and heaped them up until there is not room to
receive them, and I should want to go to the gold mines, and return again
here to speculate upon the Saints, and should be guilty of complaining all
the time, it seems, if I were to do this, the Lord would damn me.

	I know you feel as I do upon this subject.  When you take this into
consideration, your serious reflections having place in your heart, you
feel as I do.  For heaven's sake, for your own sake, and for the sake of
Him who died for us, never let us falter in our duty.  While we live, it
is our duty to love the Lord with all our might, and with all our
strength, and with all our souls.  This is our duty first and foremost: we
ought to love Him better than our wives, children, and brethren and
sisters, and all things besides.  Is this our duty?  Verily yes.  Let the
heart love God, and serve Him, without any division of feeling: never
suffer it to wander to the right or to the left for one moment.

	If these were the feelings of this people, the Lord would lift up our
hands, exalt our hearts, and cause us to walk in His almighty strength, so
that the devil and his imps would never have power to bring another
affliction upon us, never, no, never.  Therefore, love the Lord, keep His
commandments, cleave to the Israel of God; this is my exhortation all the
time.  And what is the next duty?  Love your neighbor as yourself, do unto
others as you would that others should do unto you, cease your contention
and bad feelings, your evil speaking and evil doing.

	As I observed here not long since, I consider it is a disgrace to the
community, and in the eyes of the Lord, and of Angels, and in the eyes of
all the Prophets and Revelators that have ever lived upon the earth, when
a community will descend to the low, degraded state of contention with
each other; this little bickering, jarring, fault-finding, somebody's
abused me; why do you not say, if you have a mind to abuse, abuse away? 
Suppose every heart should say, if my neighbor does wrong to me, I will
not complain, the Lord will take care of him.  Let every heart be firm,
and every one say, I will never contend any more with a man for property,
I will not be cruel to my fellow-creature, but I will do all the good I
can, and as little evil as possible.  Now, where would be the wrong of
taking this course?  This is the way to approximate toward a celestial
state.  A community cannot be produced upon all the face of the earth that
presents a celestial aspect like this.  If we continue to be faithful and
prayerful, and strive continually to resist every evil, we shall
approximate more and more towards that celestial kingdom, where there is
an eternal inheritance, and an unsullied glory   And if we should look
back upon ourselves, when we were doing evil to each other, should we not
do so with regret and shame?  Should we not look upon our past mortal
lives with anguish and disgust? I wish men would look upon that eternity
which is before them.  In the great morning of the resurrection, with what
grief would they look upon their little trifling affairs of this
probation; they would say, O! do not mention it, for it is a source of
mortification to me to think that I ever should be guilty of doing wrong,
or of neglecting to do good to my fellow men, even if they have abused me. 
O! how would it appear if you understood the heart of the Lord, and
understood the heart and faithfulness of those in the celestial kingdom. 
As good as we are, we shall not want to look upon our past actions; we
shall say, O! do not mention it, but let it sleep; I never want that to be
resurrected, but let it die in the grave, and sleep an eternal sleep. 
Brethren and sisters, I hope and pray that our evils may never rise with
us.  I can say to you, with all my heart, and with all my soul, and not
only to this company, but to all the Saints throughout the world--may the
heavens bless you; the Lord Almighty blesses you, my soul blesses you, how
my soul loves you, may angels bless you, guard and preserve you; and may
all the heavenly hosts, arrayed in all their panoply of power, be engaged
for your exaltation.

	One thing more.  You will perceive all the time, this one thing in
me, viz., by my conduct, there is no lack of confidence--not a particle of
jealousy arises in my bosom towards this people.  I never felt for one
moment a shadow of doubt upon that subject.  I have never seen one moment
but this people loved me; although I may get up here and cuff them about,
chastising them for their forgetfulness, their weaknesses and follies, yet
I have not seen a moment when they did not love me.  The reason is,
because I love them so well.  Do you not know that spirits beget spirits,
and likeness begets likeness.  I love this people so well that I know they
love me; they have confidence in me, because I have confidence in them. 
You may scan the history of the whole Church, and look over the whole
surface of the matter, and did you ever see this people, when they had the
same confidence as they have in each other at this day?  No, never.  And
it is on the increase; and this is what will make a community powerful. 
But if we lack confidence in each other, and be jealous of each other, our
peace will be destroyed.  If we cultivate the principle of unshaken
confidence in each other, our joy will be full.  What does it prove?  It
proves that we are fast advancing and approximating towards that degree of
light, knowledge, and glory, and all the principles that pertain to the
everlasting Gospel, and that we are actually in the favor of the Lord.  We
need not bring any proofs of that, for that devils never kick and cuff
their own is certain.  As I used to say, fifteen years ago, when I was out
preaching, and the people would get alarmed, when the devil would get mad,
and would say to me, "Oh! dear, sir, what is the matter, I am afraid we
are all going to be killed, for all hell is boiling over"--my answer was,
"Thank God, the devil has not forsaken us yet."  Will he not sustain his
own kingdom?  When you see all the powers of the evil one combined against
a community, you may know that is Christ's kingdom.  Everything has proved
that this is God's kingdom, and I need not say anything more about these
two powers.

	The Lord Almighty is for us, and the devil is against us.  However, I
will tell you what I think of the whole of the devil's company on this
earth--if they will just keep out of my path, I shall be glad, for I never
want to see one of them.  My soul is satisfied with looking upon this
wicked world.  If I never see another wicked person while I live, I am
perfectly satisfied with the Saints; these are my feelings.  True, it is
my duty to preach to them; but I am willing, if the Lord is satisfied,
that I should never see another wicked person upon this earth.  I would be
satisfied to live with the Saints and Angels from this time henceforth. 
May heaven bless you, brethren and sisters.  Amen.

    WEAKNESS AND IMPOTENCE OF MEN--CONDITION OF THE SAINTS--DEDICATION
                       TO THE LORD--THE MILLENNIUM.
     A discourse delivered by President Brigham Young at the opening
       of the new Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1852.

		I rise to occupy a few moments of time this morning, as we have
opened our Conference by the dedication prayer, for we will spend the
remainder of the forenoon in speaking.  I desire to offer my own
reflections upon this interesting occasion, but whether they may be
strictly appropriate or not, will, of course, be left for you to judge.

	We have assembled together in this comfortable and commodious
building in peace, and are we not led to exclaim who could have fathomed,
who could have understood the ways of the Lord, which are higher than
man's ways, as heaven is higher than the earth?  We can now calmly reflect
upon the experience of our past lives, and those minds that are opened to
receive light and truth, that can behold the manifestations of the Lord,
can at once see that He has done that which we could not have accomplished
by our own power, and that directly behind (to all human appearance) a
frowning Providence oftentimes are concealed the greatest blessings that
mankind can desire.  It teaches us to trust in the Lord, to have
confidence in our God.  It teaches us absolutely that we need never
undertake to guide the ship of Zion, or dictate, by our own wisdom, to the
kingdom of God on the earth.  It teaches us definitely and emphatically
that the Lord Almighty can do His own work, and no power of man can stay
the potency of His wonder-working hand.  Men may presume to dictate to the
Lord; they come to naught, but His work moves steadily forward.  Many who
have left this Church have tried the experiment of building up the kingdom
of God by their learning, saying, "When we have established our Church it
will then be the kingdom of the Lord."  They have laid their subtle plans,
have marked out their ground, pointed out their own path, have firmly (as
they supposed) set their stakes, commanding their proselytes not to turn
to the right hand nor to the left, from the course marked out by them, but
in every case has the Lord overthrown their plans, and thwarted all their
designs.  When the Lord works, no man can hinder, while those who feel
willing to hearken to His words work with Him; and when He says, "Be
still," they are subject; when He dictates, they cease to direct; when He
directs, they are willing to do His commandments, He bestows blessings on
their labors, His work prospers in their hands, His kingdom moves onward
with a steady and unwavering progress, the honest in heart are blessed,
and the whole is in a state of continual and rapid increase.  Then let the
world and the enemies of Christ and His kingdom that are upon earth and in
hell, do their worst, it matters not, the work of the Lord is still onward
and prosperous in His hands.

	It is a great privilege which we enjoy this morning of assembling
ourselves together in this comfortable edifice which has been erected in
the short space of about four months, in the most inclement season of the
year.  We have now a commodious place in which we can worship the Lord,
without the fear of being driven from our seats by wet and cold, or of
standing exposed to the weather.  I now say to my brethren, that I feel to
dedicate myself and all I possess to the Lord, and constantly feel, with
all I have, on the altar of sacrifice to the cause of my God.

	A year ago this day, when the brethren were assembled to offer up
their prayers, and to present business before the Conference, for the
consideration of the people, and for the furtherance of the cause we have
espoused, I recollect I was not able to sit up, being sick, but not
discouraged.  I had not fainted by the way, but my heart was as brave as
it ever was in any moment of my life, yet I was not able to be in the
assembly.  I contemplated the situation of this people, and looked over
our past history, considered our then present prospects and privileges in
these peaceful valleys.  My eyes were upon those who were faltering by the
way or wandering after the things of this world, and I could not refrain
from tracing their steps, as they were passing to the right and to the
left after the perishing things of this life.  I saw the afflictions of
the people, and contemplated their past sufferings and present situation. 
As I mused, I said in my heart, "As soon as I am able to speak to the
people, I will unfold to them my thoughts and feelings, and tell them that
in the midst of all the afflictions and checquered scenes through which
the Saints have passed--their joys and their toils, their sufferings and
their comforts, their fears and their faith, I have never seen them as
comfortable as they are now.  I shall say to the brethren, Come, let us
build a house that we may enter within its walls, and there offer our
prayers and thanksgivings before the Lord, and worship Him as long as we
please, without the fear of being driven home with storms of wind, rain,
and snow."  I said, "If the Lord blesses me with life and health, I shall
put forth my hand to rear an edifice, in which the people can comfortably
assemble as large as we can build at present, and dedicate it to the Lord,
that the people may say in their heart, Let us go up to the house of the
Lord to worship."  I saw that when we should obtain this commodious
building, some would wish to be excused from engaging in the pleasing duty
of worshipping here, and say, "My cattle, my farm, or my business will be
forsaken.  I must take care of my family, for the Lord gave them to me to
take care of;" or, "I must attend to my affairs here and there, and I
cannot therefore stay to worship the Lord."  I say to such, Go! but as for
me, though all the world should sink into oblivion, I will go up to
worship the Lord.

	These were my feelings a year ago and they are the same to-day.  I
dedicate myself, my family, and my substance anew unto the Lord, they are
not mine, I am not my own creator, nor the producer of anything I possess;
I did not originate one atom of it.  Let the world and its cares go!  The
Lord, Almighty, who made it, is able to take care of it, and He may do
with it what He pleases; but He has commanded me to worship Him, which is
one of the greatest privileges that could be conferred upon man.

	How long shall we stay here?  I answer, as long as I please. 
Brethren and sisters, cast from you the love of the world, and let it have
no dominion over you.  There are a many who delight in the good things of
this earth--in gold and silver, in carriages and horses, in houses and
splendid furniture, in costly clothing, in orchards and gardens, in
vineyards and fields, and extended possessions.  These things, compared
with eternal riches, are nothing, though in their place they are good. 
You may say, "If we live, we must eat, drink, and wear clothing" and, "He
that provideth not for his own household, has denied the faith, and is
worse than an infidel;" numberless arguments of this kind will present
themselves to the minds of the people, to call them away from the line of
their duty, when they know it is their privilege to dedicate themselves,
their families, and all they possess to the Lord.  How quick is the enemy,
how ready to present something of an opposite nature to what is right
before them!  You know the mental and physical weakness of man, so common
to mortality, and which the enemy is so ready to turn against you, to his
own advantage.  You think that your business needs your continual and
undivided attention, that you must attend to this, or to that, before you
can dedicate yourselves and families to the Lord.  There may perhaps be
some few here this morning who feel they ought to be plowing, fencing,
building, or attending to some minor affair, and cannot possibly spend
time to remain at the Conference.  If you will hearken to the counsel of
your humble servant, you will say to the fields, the flocks, and the
herds, to the gold and the silver, to the goods and chattels, to the
tenements and the possessions, and to all the world--Stand aside, get away
from my thoughts, for I am going up to worship the Lord.  Let it all go by
the board, brethren, and who cares?  I do not.  Your oxen and horses will
not live for ever, they will die occasionally; and sometimes we are
deprived by death of our children, and other members of our families.  I
say, let the dead bury the dead, let the corn and the wheat, and all other
things, take care of themselves, but let us dedicate ourselves, our
families, our substance, our time, our talents, and everything we have
upon the face of this world, with all that will hereafter be entrusted to
us, to the Lord our God; let the whole be devoted to the building up of
His kingdom upon the earth, and whether you are called here or there, it
makes no matter: but this morning let every heart be humble, watchful, and
prayerful, dedicating themselves unto the Lord.

	This people have passed through scenes of deep sorrow and affliction,
but they are now in comfortable circumstances.  They have been miserably
poor, but they are now, I may say, in comparative wealth.  We have been
sick, now we are well.  We have been tormented, now we are comforted.  We
have been afflicted by our enemies, but we are now far from them.  You
pause, and ask, how long will it be so?  I answer, so long as you and I
serve the Lord with all our hearts, just so long shall we be free from our
enemies.

	We have now a comfortable habitation to meet in, and we enjoy the
privilege of assembling here in peace.  How has it been in by-gone years? 
Look back six, seven, eight, ten, or twelve years ago, or to the year
1830, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized
with six members--which is twenty-two years ago this day, and can you tell
me of a year, of six months, or of three months that Joseph was not hunted
like the deer upon the mountains, by sheriffs with writs in their hands to
drag him from us to prison; when he and his brethren were not menaced with
blood-thirsty mobs, until this people assembled in the peaceful valleys of
the mountains?  Who troubles them now?  No person who fears God, who
serves the King, the Lord of Hosts; and none who are willing to love our
Father in heaven supremely--above all things else upon the face of this
earth, or in eternity, will be found persecuting even an idolater, to say
nothing of the Saints of the Most High.

	Let us now seek with greater diligence to build up the kingdom of
heaven, and establish righteousness; seek to magnify the Lord God, and
sanctify our own hearts; establish peace on earth, destroy every root of
bitterness from among the people, and cease from this moment to find fault
with any brother or sister, even though they do wrong, for the Lord will
apply the chastening rod to them if they need it.  We serve our children
so; if we consider they need chastening, we chastise them, but we do not
thereby hate them.  If it is necessary, we will correct their faults.  But
should we contend with them?  By no means.

	Are those who have assembled here this morning prepared to make a
covenant with themselves that they will cease from all evil practices,
from all evil speaking, and from all evil thinking, and say from this very
morning, I will never do another evil as long as I live, the Lord being my
helper?  I will do all the good I can, and prepare for the coming of the
son of man?  To this end I wish we should dedicate our hearts, our
affections, and our whole life to the cause of God on the earth.

	I do not feel like preaching a discourse upon any particular subject;
but of urging the necessity of the brethren and sisters absolutely coming
to the determination this morning, and dedicating themselves and all they
have to the Lord from this time henceforth.  Can we come to this
conclusion, to firmly, faithfully, and unitedly enter into a covenant with
ourselves, saying, I am for the Lord and none else; from this time
henceforth, I will do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, who has
called me to minister the fulness of the Gospel, and to share the glory
that is prepared for the righteous; I will be like clay in the hands of
the potter, that He may mould and fashion me as seemeth Him good; and if
He will make known to me His will, mine shall bow to it, my affections
shall be placed upon eternal things, and shall not rest upon the fading,
transitory objects of time and sense?  Can we make this covenant with
ourselves this morning.  Not only to say we dedicate this house and
ourselves, our flocks, herds, families, and possessions, to the Lord, but
actually perform the work, dedicating our affections to His service.  If
our affections are won and wholly dedicated to His cause, we have then
obtained the victory.

	Perhaps we may find one here and there who will say, "I cannot do
this, I may say it with my lips, but to feel it in my heart, the case is
hard; I am poor and needy, and desire to go to the gold mines to obtain
something to help myself, by speculating upon the Gentiles, and thus get
me a good farm and team, with which to get out of this thraldom and
difficulty; my mind is so perplexed, I cannot say my affections are fully
dedicated to the Lord my God."  What is to be done in such a case?  I know
what I would do, for I have experience in these matters--I would call upon
the Bishop, and make known to him my distress.  There are many who in
these words complain, and say they are so poor they cannot pay their
tithing; say they, "I have only got three horses and two yoke of cattle
and about fifty sheep; I want one horse to ride, and the others to haul
wood, I therefore do not know how I can possibly pay my tithing."  While
on the other hand, others who have only got half a dozen chickens can
willingly pay their tithing.  You may say, "It is easier for them to pay
tithing than for those who possess so much, for they are so very poor, it
does not infringe upon other matters."  Now if I had but one cow, and felt
thus, I would give her away forthwith.  If you have only six horses and
ten yoke of cattle, or only one cow, and you are too poor to pay your
tithing, give the whole into the public works.  I speak thus to those who
are inclined to love the substance of this world better than the Lord.  If
you have gold and silver, let it not come between you and your duty.  I
will tell you what to do in order to gain your exaltation, the which you
cannot obtain except you take this coarse.  If your affections are placed
upon anything so as to hinder you in the least from dedicating them to the
Lord, make a dedication of that thing in the first place, that the
dedication of the whole may be complete.

	What hinders this people from being as holy as the Church of Enoch? 
I can tell you the reason in a few words.  It is because you will not
cultivate the disposition to be so--this comprehends the whole.  If my
heart is not fully given up to this work, I will give my time, my talents,
my hands, and my possessions to it, until my heart consents to be subject;
I will make my hands labour in the cause of God until my heart bows in
submission to it.

	I might here use a just and true comparison which will apply to the
Church.  The rulers of Great Britain have tried to make every capitalist
identify his interest with the Government--that has sustained the kingdom,
and is like a powerful net-work around the whole.  Apply this comparison
to the kingdom of God on earth.

	Brethren, do you wish this heavenly government to stand?  There is no
government more beautiful, no confederacy more powerful!  What shall we do
to accomplish this?  Imitate the policy of that earthly kingdom, identify
our interest with the kingdom of God, so that if our hearts should over
become weaned from loyalty to the sovereign, all our earthly interest is
bound up there, and cannot be taken away.  We must therefore sustain the
kingdom in order to sustain our lives and interests; by so doing, we shall
receive the Spirit of the Lord, and ultimately work with all our hearts.

	This is a policy which I have not reflected upon until this morning,
but before we get through with the Conference, I shall, perhaps, see it
entered into, not as the result of any premeditation in the least, but
when the condition of our temporal affairs is read from the stand, you
will find the Church in considerable indebtedness.  If any man is in
darkness through the deceitfulness of riches, it is good policy for him to
bind up his wealth in this Church, so that he cannot command it again, and
he will be apt to cleave to the kingdom.  If a man has the purse in his
pocket, and he apostatizes, he takes it with him; but if his worldly
interest is firmly united to the Kingdom of God, when he arises to go
away, he finds the calf is bound, and, like the cow, he is unwilling to
forsake it.  If his calf is bound up here, he will be inclined to stay;
all his interest is here, and very likely the Lord will open his eyes, so
that he will properly understand his true situation, and his heart will
chime in with the will of his God in a very short time.  Were we to
dedicate our moral and intellectual influence, and our earthly wealth to
the Lord, our hearts would be very likely to applaud our acts.  This
reasoning is for those who do not feel exactly to subscribe to all that
has been said this morning, with regard to dedicating ourselves to the
cause of truth.  This is what you must do to obtain an exaltation.  The
Lord must be first and foremost in our affections, the building up of His
kingdom demands our first consideration.

	The Lord God Almighty has set up a kingdom that will sway the sceptre
of power and authority over all the kingdoms of the world, and will never
be destroyed, it is the kingdom that Daniel saw and wrote of.  It may be
considered treason to say that the kingdom which that Prophet foretold is
actually set up; that we cannot help, but we know it is so, and call upon
the nations to believe our testimony.  The kingdom will continue to
increase, to grow, to spread and prosper more and more.  Every time its
enemies undertake to overthrow it, it will become more extensive and
powerful; instead of its decreasing, it will continue to increase, it will
spread the more, become more wonderful and conspicuous to the nations,
until it fills the whole earth.  If such is your wish, identify your own
individual interest in it, and tie yourselves thereto by every means in
your power.  Let every man and every woman do this, and then be willing to
make every sacrifice the Lord may require; and when they have bound up
their affections, time, and talents, with all they have, to the interest
of the kingdom, then have they gained the victory, and their work is
complete, so far as they understand.

	If this people would take that course, what hinders their being in
the Millennium?  If I were to ask what the Millennium--the Latter-day
glory so often spoken of, is, I should find numerous opinions among this
people, and many in and out of this congregation.  I have learned long ago
that the thoughts and expressions of men are very diversified; if, indeed,
their thoughts or ideas are similar, I know their words differ widely; so
should I find a great many different opinions among this people, with
regard to the real essence and effect of the Millennium.  The Millennium
consists in this--every heart in the Church and Kingdom of God being
united in one; the Kingdom increasing to the overcoming of everything
opposed to the economy of heaven, and Satan being bound, and having a seal
set upon him.  All things else will be as they are now, we shall eat,
drink, and wear clothing.  Let the people be holy, and the earth under
their feet will be holy.  Let the people be holy, and filled with the
Spirit of God, and every animal and creeping thing will be filled with
peace; the soil of the earth will bring forth in its strength, and the
fruits thereof will be meat for man.  The more purity that exists, the
less is the strife; the more kind we are to our animals the more will
peace increase, and the savage nature of the brute creation vanish away. 
If the people will not serve the devil another moment whilst they live, if
this congregation is possessed of that spirit and resolution, here in this
house is the Millennium.  Let the inhabitants of this city be possessed of
that spirit, let the people of the territory be possessed of that spirit,
and here is the Millennium.  Let the whole people of the United States be
possessed of that spirit, and here is the Millennium, and so will it
spread over all the world.

	Let us cease from all evil, and do all the good we can to the nations
abroad, and by and by the vail of the covering will be taken from the
earth, and the inhabitants see as they are seen.

	May the Almighty Father of heaven and earth bless you, and I bless
you in His name, and pray that we may be diligent in every good word and
work before the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

     THE LORD AT THE HEAD OF HIS KINGDOM--SELF-DISCIPLINE--NECESSITY
OF CULTIVATING A KNOWLEDGE OF SCIENCE, AND PARTICULARLY OF THEOLOGY, ETC.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered at the Spring
Conference,
       held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1852.

	It may be considered that we are a mixed congregation, consisting of
Bishops, Seventies, High Priests, Elders, the Twelve, and the First
Presidency; but I consider we are, strictly speaking, a meeting of the
Elders of Israel; for if we were to be instructed in the duties of any one
of these-Quorums, that instruction would be equally good for all.

	This vast concourse of persons are all Elders in Israel, with but a
very few exceptions; for there are some Priests, Teachers, and Deacons
present, but not a great many.  The greater portion of the male members of
this community are Elders in the Church; and, as Elders, we are to be
instructed so as to obtain an understanding of all things pertaining to
our duty.

	We have heard and felt sufficient to know that the wisdom which is to
be obtained in this kingdom is more satisfactory to us than the boasted
wisdom of the world.  This is appreciated by the majority of this
assembly, if not by all.  The knowledge possessed by this people is of
more value than all the knowledge of the world put together, and
infinitely greater.  In this kingdom you will find the root of all
science, and that, too, in men who have not been taught the sciences after
the manner of the world.  They understand the origin of science, and can
trace it through the life of man, much to their satisfaction.  Let any man
who possesses the Holy Ghost, though never taught the sciences but a very
little, hear a learned man exhibit the principles of any science, he
understands the origin and proper bearings of the subject treated upon by
the speaker, through the increased rays of that light which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world.  This is to us a matter of no little
satisfaction.

	I have many cogitations with regard to this work of the last days and
the prosperity of this kingdom; yet I have learned years ago that the Lord
stands at the helm that guides Zion's ship.  He is its Dictator; and that
is marked out by him, our works will be in vain.  This has been my
experience from the beginning.  In every branch and avenue of our lives we
must learn to work to the line of truth.  It is for us to know what ought
to be done, and then do it.  Though there should be no earthly prospect of
accomplishing it, we can certainly try; and if we try with all our might,
that act will prove at least a resolute and determined mind, adorned with
patience and perseverance.  And if, with all our resolute endeavours, we
are still unable to accomplish our purpose, the Lord will be very likely
to stretch forth his hand and give the victory.

	Perhaps, before we get through with this Conference, we shall ask
such a favour of the Bishops as we asked of them last Conference, which
was granted to the letter, and that most rigorously.  The brethren are
rigorous with themselves, for they have paid their Tithing willingly, and
I do not know that the Bishops have had to urge them any to the fulfilment
[sic] of this duty.  However, some on the first reflection thought it
seemed impossible for them to comply with it, and some thought that our
request was inconsistent; but with a little more mature reflection, with a
little faith and prayer, they brought themselves directly to obedience.  I
thing this has been almost universally the case.  If we should now call
upon the Bishops for a favour, it would be to grant us a little assistance
with regard to our purchasing and laying in lumber, nails, glass, and
other merchandize to supply our future wants.  I wish each Ward to bear
their share in this matter.  I mention it that the Bishops may be alert in
their feelings.

	Now, brethren, can we fight against and subdue ourselves?  That is
the greatest difficulty we ever encountered, and the most arduous warfare
we ever engaged in.  This will apply most perfectly to the brethren who
have gathered with the Saints.  When we are out in the world we preach
faith and repentance, so that the Saints bring the knowledge of first
principles with them to the gathering-place.  Your next step is to enter
into the study of this.  A man may learn letters and study all the various
branches of scholastic education to the day of his death; but if he does
not attain to strict self-discipline, his learning will not amount to
much.  The catalogue of man's discipline he must compile himself:  he
cannot be guided by any rule that others may lay down, but is placed under
the necessity of tracing it himself through every avenue of his life.  He
is obliged to catechise and train himself, for he knows his own
disposition the best--its fortified and unfortified parts.  He is
therefore the most fit to school himself, until every particle of the man
is brought into subjection to the law of Christ.

	When you had obeyed the first ordinances of the Gospel, then you
discovered that the Lord and set his hand to gather Israel, that Zion
might be built up and Israel gathered from the four winds.  These
doctrines have been taught and re-taught again and again.  I think there
is not a man here who did not fully understand them while in his native
country.  There may be a few exceptions among those who have by chance
fallen into the society of the Saints at the gahteringplace where their
first acquaintance was formed, and consequently have not had the same
opportunity of hearing the first principles as others have had in the
world.  Now, we enter this school to be planed, squared, and polished.

	Suppose we admit of malice, anger, and wrath in our hearts,--steep
ourselves in wickedness, by taking the name of God in vain, by entering
into every kind of outbreak and transgression, by defiance to every
wholesome law, by neglecting our families, physically, mentally, and
morally, and by neglecting our brethren and ourselves, our former
repentance and baptism for the remission of our sins will nor profit us,
through indulging in sin afterwards; but all our former sins will again be
upon us, and we must atone for the whole.  Then let us cleave unto
righteousness, learn to do well, and continue to do so all the days of our
lives, that our former sins may not stand against us.  This is our duty.

	If every person in the community would correct his own errors each
day he lives, the errors of the whole would continually be effectually
corrected.  For where is there a man who, by preaching on a text from the
Bible of the Book of Mormon, can correct the faults of the people?  That
may be done until they go into their graves, and little or no good result
from it.  I mean to correct my own faults, and it is for you to do the
same.  It is an individual business, over which each man must preside,
until every fault in our whole lives is corrected and we are sanctified
before the Lord.

	If your neighbour suffers his cattle or his children to trespass upon
your property, never retaliate or speak an angry reply, for this will
engender a spirit of anger in him.  Consider well before you suffer your
minds to be irritated in the least.  Suffer them not to be agitated until
your blood is boiling with rage before you are aware; but stop and
reflect, coolly consider, and quietly reason with the person or persons
who have trespassed upon you, and show them the nature of their
transgression against you.  If they continue in the same course of
conduct, reason the stronger with them, without quarrelling.  Thus bring
your passions down into subjection to your will, and cultivate an even
unruffled temper, until you can perfectly control yourselves at all times,
in all places, and under all circumstances.  Then our affections and
feelings would become congenial to those of the Angels of God, and we
should continue to increase in that Holy Spirit which would prepare us for
the society of holy beings.  This is our school, and a profitable one it
is to the Elders of Israel.

	Why I mention these things is that you may understand, as quick as
you have believed and have been baptized for the remission of your sins,
that you have then further duties to perform.  To be continually repenting
is not required of us.  If the Elders of Israel could do all that is
required of them, they wold not need to repent, but they would seek
continually to walk in the paths of truth, virtue, and holiness.  It is
not in keeping with their calling to be fighting and quarrelling with
their brethren, or treading upon the sacred rights of others; but it is
their duty to walk in the paths of righteousness all the day long.  And
they will be chastened again and again until they do it.

	This is my teaching to the people continually.  We do not care about
hearing an overgrown Gospel sermon preached here; for the people
understand it perfectly already.  But do they understand the principle of
self-control, and of properly ordering their lives and course before the
Lord?  Do the Elders of Israel understand all that the Lord requires of
them?  They do not.  This belongs to other branches of the same celestial
science.  This perfect science requires men and women to be in the school
all the days of their lives; and they will not see a single day in which
they will not learn some truth with which they were not acquainted.  They
can learn from themselves--from the world--from the government of
heaven--from the management, government, control, doctrines, and laws of
eternity, which will yet be exhibited before us.  The Lord has established
the world, with its varied productions, for the education of his children,
that they may improve upon little things first, and so continue to
increase, grow, and strengthen, until they become perfect men in Christ
Jesus.  These are the duties and this is the situation of the Elders at
home.

	We have not had much privilege hitherto of meeting together in the
Valley.  Four years ago, when the brethren came into this valley, brother
George A. Smith delivered his first lecture upon the cannon, for there
were no houses wherein the people could assemble.  Since then they have
been greatly blessed, yet they have had little opportunity of holding
meeting.  The first large place we had to meet in was the Bowery.  We felt
comfortable in it, and I felt as thankful for it as I ever did for
anything in my life; but as quick as the falling weather came, it drove
the Saints away, and rendered it necessary to discontinue the meetings in
that place and to hold them in the different Wards, so that it became
impossible to get all the people together.  Now we have a convenient
room--the best hall I ever saw in my life, wherein he people could be
convened on one floor.  I trust we shall renew our strength, meet here to
pray, and to praise the Lord, and partake of the sacrament, until our
feelings are perfectly pure; for we are where we can sit and enjoy the
society of each other as long as we please, and there is none to make us
afraid.  Let us be industrious in this great school, nor ever slacken our
pace.

	There are a great many branches of education:  some go to college to
learn languages, some to study law, some to study physic, and some to
study astronomy, and various other branches of science.  We want every
branch of science taught in this place that is taught in the world.  But
our favourite study is that branch which particularly belongs to the
Elders of Israel--namely, theology.  Every Elder should become a profound
theologian--should understand this branch better than all the world. 
There is no Elder who has the power of God upon him but understands more
of the principles of theology than all the world put together.

	This reminds me of a little circumstance that transpired here a year
ago last summer.  You, no doubt, well recollect Elder Day, (a Baptist
minister on his way to California,) who use to preach to us so nicely.  I
preached one day when he was present.  In the course of my remarks, I
brought up the subject of the Deity--at the point touching the character
of our Father in heaven, upon which he desired the most to be instructed. 
I dropped the subject and turned to something else.  He went to dinner
with me, and while we sat at the dinner table, he said, "Brother Young, I
was waiting with all my anxious heart, with mouth, eyes, and ears open to
receive something great and glorious."  "What about, brother Day?"  "Why,
as you were describing the Deity, and just came to the point I was the
most anxious to have expounded, behold you waived it and turned to
something else."  I smiled and said, "After I had taught them how, I
wanted the people to add the rest of the sermon themselves."  He said, "I
declare, brother Young, I would have given anything I possessed in the
world, if you had continued your remarks until I had obtained the
knowledge I desired."  I inquired the nature of it.  "To know the
character of God."  I smiled and said, "Are you a preacher of the Gospel?" 
"Yes."  "How long have you been a preacher?"  "Twenty-seven years I have
been a preacher of the Gospel of Christ."  "And you have been a minister
so long, and have never learned anything about the character of the Being
about whom you have been preaching!  I am astonished!  Now you want to
find out the character of God.  I can make you answer the question
yourself in a few minutes."  "Well, I do not know, brother Young:  it is a
very mysterious subject to mortal man."  "Now, let me ask you a single
question.  Will you tell me what God our Father in heaven appears like?" 
He sat a considerable time, while the colour on his cheeks ebbed and
flowed alternately, till at last he replied, "Brother Young, I will not
presume to describe the character of the Deity."  I smiled, and he thought
I was treating the subject lightly.  "I am not making light of the
subject, but I am smiling at your folly, that you--a teacher in Israel--a
man who should stand between the living and the dead--yet know nothing
about your Father and God.  Were I in your place, I would never preach
another sermon while I lived, until I learned more about God.  Do your
believe the Bible?"  "I do."  "What resemblance did our father Adam bear
to his God, when he placed him in the Garden of Eden?"  Before he had time
to reply, I asked him what resemblance Jesus bore to man in his
incarnation? and "Do your believe Moses, who said the Lord made Adam in
his own image and after his own likeness?  This may appear to you a
curiosity; but do you not see, bona fide, that the Lord made Adam like
himself; and the Saviour we read of was made to look so like him, that he
was the express image of his person?"  He laughed at his folly himself. 
"Why," said he, "Brother Young, I never once thought of it before in all
my life, and I have been a preacher twenty-seven years."  He never had
known anything about the character of the God he worshipped; but, like the
Athenians, had raised an altar with the inscription, "To the unknown God."

	There is not one of the faithful Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints but is more or less acquainted with the physical and
moral character of the God he serves; which is more than all the world
knows, or can know, independent of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.  The
greatest, the best, the most educated, and the most profound theologians
on the earth, who have obtained their learning by reading and study, had
no correct knowledge of what is in the Bible about God, angels, sin,
righteousness, and many other important subjects, until Joseph Smith made
it known.

	We are now in the school of theology and making rapid progress in the
study of this celestial science.  I admit there are some few dunces in the
school:  Some advance at the very slow pace, and some not at all.  It
would be difficult to tell whether they enjoy anything or not, or whether
they are in the faith or not.  But, as a general thing, our boys, who are
from the age of ten to fifteen years, know more of the principles of
theology than the most educated clergymen in Christendom.  In comparison
to what is plainly revealed, the world of mankind are almost entirely
ignorant of those principles which to them are of the greatest importance.

	You certainly are learning; and, brethren, I tell you again, what I
have told you repeatedly, if you ever wish to have my good feelings, it
will be owing to your conduct in the strict observance of righteousness
and ceasing from all contentions--from speaking lightly of our great
Father in heaven, of our elder brother Jesus Christ, of the angels of God,
and of any good being upon the earth, from this time henceforth and for
ever.  If you want my fellowship, cease from doing these things.  I may
love you and seek your welfare with all my might; but I do not love the
profane speeches and wicked conduct of some of the Elders in Israel.  I
have no fellowship for men who are guilty of breaking the Sabbath, of
drinking spirituous liquors to excess, of contending with each other, and
going to law before Gentile or Bishops' courts to settle their
difficulties.  There is a better way of settling difficulties than either
of these.

	I gave the Elders a little key lately, to know when they were in the
right path.  I will now give you another.  When a difference of judgement
exists between two parties, let them come together and lay their
difficulties at each other's feet, laying themselves down in the cradle of
humility, and say, "Brother, (or sister,) I want to do right; yea, I will
even wrong myself, to make you right."  Do you not think that a man or
woman, acting in that manner towards his or her neighbour, would be
justified by the law of righteousness?  Their judgments come together, and
they are agreed:  there would, consequently, be no need of calling in a
third person to settle the difference.  After taking this course, if you
cannot come together, then call in a third person and settle it.  But for
those who bear the name of Saints to go into a Gentile court to settle
their differences is a stink in the nostrils of the Almighty.  To me it is
disgusting, filthy, and loathsome, in every sense of the word.  I abhor
it.  Do, for the Heaven's sake and for your own sakes, take my counsel and
show mercy to your brethren, even as the Lord has been merciful to us.

	It has been observed that the people want revelation.  This is
revelation; and were it written it would then be written revelation, as
truly as the revelations which are contained in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants.  I could give you revelation about going to California, for I
know the mind of the Lord upon this matter.  I could give you revelation
upon the subject of paying your Tithing and building a temple to the name
of the Lord; for the light is in me.  I could put these revelations as
straight to the line of truth in writing as any revelation you ever read. 
I could write the mind of the Lord, and you could put it in your pockets. 
But before we desire more written revelation, let us fulfil the
revelations that are already written, and which we have scarcely begun to
fulfil.

	A person was mentioned to-day who did not believe that Brigham Young
was a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.  I wish to ask every member of this
whole community, if they ever heard him profess to be a Prophet, Seer, and
Revelator, as Joseph Smith was?  He professed to be an Apostle of Jesus
Christ, called and sent of God to save Israel.  If you know what the
calling of an Apostle is, and if there were ten thousand of them on the
earth at the same time, you must know that the words of an Apostle who
magnifies his calling are the words of the Almighty to the people all the
time.  He never need be called in question whether he revealed the mind of
the Lord or not.  Although brothers Willard Richards, Heber C. Kimball,
and myself are out of the Quorum of the Twelve, our Apostleship has not
been taken from us.  Who ordained me to be First President of this Church
on earth?  I answer, It is the choice of this people, and that is
sufficient.  If the Lord designates a plan how his cause and kingdom can
be best advanced, whose business is it, if it is the mind if the people to
follow it?  It is ours and the Lord's; but it is certainly not the
business of those who are enemies to his cause.  I preached considerable
upon this point in Nauvoo, to give the people the understanding of the
different callings of men.  Joseph Smith was a Prophet, Seer, and
Revelator before he had power to build up the kingdom of God, or take the
first step towards it.  When did he obtain that power?  Not until the
angel had ordained him to be an Apostle.  Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery,
and David Whitmer were the first Apostles of this dispensation, though in
the early days of the Church David Whitmer lost his standing, and another
took his place.  I have taught the brethren this principle years ago. 
When a men is an Apostle, and stands at the head of the kingdom of God on
the earth, and magnifies his calling, he has the keys of all the power
that ever was bestowed upon mortal man for the building up of the kingdom
of God on the earth.

	I will now leave these items and take up another.  I hinted to-day at
the wisdom of the Lord in opening the gold mines, and said he had one
object in view, among many others,--namely, to try the faith of the
Saints.  By this his wisdom has been exhibited, and much accomplished by
it among those also who are not Saints.  Take a view of this community.  A
portion will not be Saints.  This has always been the case when God has a
Church on the earth.  They are not all sheep that are in the fold, neither
are they all Saints who bear the name.  I wish you to understand that when
the sheep are separated from the goats, they will never again bear the
like afflictions they bore while they mingled with the goats, as long as
the world stands; no, neither in this world or any other.  Let the sheep
and goats be once separated, and the master of that flock of sheep will
never afflict them.  When there are no goats to annoy the sheep, the
latter will mingle with each other and go hand and hand in full
fellowship.  But when goats are among the sheep, they will besmear them
with their stink, and they frisk about, and behave so as to actually turn
the sheep almost into goats.  They will grow short in the hair, look like
goats, and stink like them.  The master of the flock must therefore do
something to preserve the blood of the sheep pure, lest they completely
degenerate and altogether become goats.  They must be chastened by
persecution, to drive out the stinking goats from their midst.  The Lord
opened the California gold mines to lead them off; and I say to the goats,
Go!  I am glad of it.  "But do you not think the sheep will go too?" 
Never mind, if they do:  they will get well besmeared with the flavour of
the goats, run off and wash themselves and come back again.  Though I
speak thus, I do not despise the goats; no, not in the least.

	You will perhaps recollect a dream I had in the spring of 1843, when
so many were going to California.  It seemed as though the whole community
would be carried away with he spirit of gold, which caused much anxiety in
my mind and enlightened my understanding.  I dreamed I was a little north
of the hot springs, with many of my brethren, among some scattered timber. 
I thought of sending to Captain Brown's, on the Weber river, to get some
goats, which I had previously bought from him; but while I was conversing
with the brethren, I thought the Prophet Joseph Smith came up to us, and I
spoke to him.  I thought I would send for my goats which I had purchased
from Captain Brown, and brother Joseph started off to the north, and I
thought very likely he would purchase the whole of brother Brown's stock;
but I felt quite reconciled, if he did.  I thought I stood there some time
talking with the brethren, when I looked up towards the road on my right,
and behold I saw brother Joseph returning, riding on a waggon without any
box to it; but is had a bottom of boards, and one these boards there was a
tent and other camping implements, &c., as though he had been on a journey
of some length.  He alighted from the waggon, and came to where we were
standing.  I looked, and saw, following the waggon, an almost innumerable
flock of sheep of all kinds, sizes, colours, and descriptions, from the
largest, finest sheep I ever saw, down to the ugly decrepit dwarf.  The
wool on the large ones, I thought, was as white as snow; then the next
smaller ones had also nice fine wool on them, and some where black and
white; others had coarse long wool upon them, approximating to hair; and
so on, until they became a mixture of goats and sheep.  I looked on the
strange flock and wondered.  While I was looking, I asked Joseph what in
the world he was going to do with such a flock of sheep, and said to him,
"Why, brother Joseph, you have the most singular flock of sheep I ever
saw:  what are you going to do with them?"  He looked up and smiled, as he
did when he was living, and as though he was in reality with me, and said,
"They are all good in their place."  This is the dream.

	So it is with this people.  If you can only find the place for the
goats, they answer the end for which they were made.  I have always
realized that a half-hearted "Mormon" is one of the meanest of human
beings, for such are always ready to say, "How do you do, brother Devil?"
and "How do you do, brother Jesus?" or, "Brother Jesus, I want to make you
acquainted with brother Devil."  It is no trouble for them to turn unto
Baal or unto Jesus; yet, at the same time, the Lord has a use for them.  I
have often heard men say they were convinced that "Mormonism" was true,
and that they would cleave to it; but as for their hearts being converted,
it is altogether another thing.  Mobs never have done one thing against
this people, but they could trace them, and have known all about it; for
you will always find that the goats will run and lick salt with the sheep;
and the Lord who made them has placed them in the world to serve his own
purpose.  When by these characters afflictions are brought upon the
Saints, and they are bereft of all they possess, it is to make them more
attached to the cause of truth, while their persecutors are hurled into
oblivion, which is the last of them.

	If gold is a sufficient inducement to lead men off to live in the
midst of that society in California, after they know and understand the
condition of it, it certainly proves that they love the things of this
world better than they love Christ.  You may say you are poor, and wish to
accumulate something to help yourself and your family.  "Are you starving
to death for want of food?"  "No."  All of you have plenty to subsist
upon.  If those who go to California for Gold were full of the Holy Ghost,
they would clothe their wives and children with buckskin, and wear it
themselves to the day of their death, rather than mingle with the wicked
and be induced to leave the society of the Saints.  The true cause of
their taking such a course is, they do not love the Lord.

	There is a class of person that persecution will not drive from the
Church of Christ, but prosperity will; and again, there is another class
that prosperity will not drive, but persecution will.  The Lord must and
will have a company of Saints who will follow him to the cross, if it be
necessary; and these he will crown.  They are the ones who will wear a
celestial crown and have dominion, rule,a nd government.  These are thy
who will receive honour of the Father, with glory, exaltation, and eternal
lives.  They shall reign over kingdoms, and have power to be Gods, even
the sons of God.

	Those other classes will take different stations and possess inferior
glories, according to their works in the flesh.  That class who will
altogether serve the world and disregard the cause of truth will become
servants to the sons of God and be in servitude throughout eternity.

	What shall we do?  I say, Cleave to "Mormonism," work with all our
might for the Lord, and love him; better than any other earthly or
heavenly object.  And if he requires us to sacrifice our houses, our
horses, our cattle, our wives, and our children, let them remain upon the
altar; but let us follow him to salvation and eternal life.  Amen.



                                EDUCATION.
   A discourse delivered by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1852.

	It does not exactly please me at this time to make the remarks I wish
upon the subject of education, as the greater part of the morning has been
devoted to laying before the congregation, the necessity of improving
ourselves in the knowledge of the sciences.  The subject which has been
aimed at by the speakers this morning, bearing particularly upon the
necessity of instructing the human family, has been laid before us in the
light in which it is generally held by the world.  When we speak upon
education, it is not to be understood that it alone consists in a man's
learning the letters of the alphabet, in being trained in every branch of
scholastic lore, in becoming a proficient in the knowledge of the
sciences, and a classical scholar, but also in learning to classify
himself and others.  It has been hinted that education commences with the
first dawn of knowledge upon the mental faculties of the child, and
continues with it till death.  But I will trace it a little further back
still, and say that education commences with the mother, and the child in
connection.  I will state the facts in the case, as you will find them to
be hereafter, in the education of your children.  It depends in a great
degree upon the mother, as to what children receive, in early age, of
principle of every description, pertaining to all that can be learned by
the human family.  When will mothers understand this?  Knowing that this
is the case, I am perplexed with grief when I see such a wanton diversion
from the real design of life, it causes me to mourn for my poor, ignorant,
fellow mortals, and sometimes almost goads me to anger.  I can see mothers
pay attention to everything under heaven, but the training up of their
children in the way they should go, and they will even make it appear
obligatory on the father to take care of the child at a year old.  How
often is it the case that mothers will say--"Why, Pa, this child is
growing up in ignorance, he is going to ruin.  Really, dear husband, what
shall we do with him?" I will tell you the truth as you will find it in
eternity.  If your children do not receive impressions of true piety,
virtue, tenderness, and every principle of the holy Gospel, you may be
assured that their sins will not be required at the hands of the father,
but of the mother.  Lay it to heart, ye mothers, for it will unavoidably
be so.  The duty of the mother is to watch over her children, and give
them their early education, for impressions received in infancy are
lasting.  You know, yourselves, by experience, that the impressions you
have received in the dawn of your mortal existence, bear, to this day,
with the greatest weight upon your mind.  It is the experience of people
generally, that what they imbibe from their mothers in infancy, is the
most lasting upon the mind through life.  This is natural, it is
reasonable, it is right.  I do not suppose you can find one person among
five hundred, who does not think his mother to be the best woman that ever
lived.  This is right, it is planted in the human heart.  The child
reposes implicit confidence in the mother, you behold in him a natural
attachment, no matter what her appearance may be, that makes him think his
mother is the best and handsomest mother in the world.  I speak for
myself.  Children have all confidence in their mothers; and if mothers
would take proper pains, they can instil into the hearts of their children
what they please.  You will, no doubt, recollect reading, in the Book of
Mormon, of two thousand young men, who were brought up to believe that, if
they put their whole trust in God, and served Him, no power would overcome
them.  You also recollect reading of them going out to fight, and so bold
were they, and so mighty their faith, that it was impossible for their
enemies to slay them.  This power and faith they obtained through the
teachings of their mothers.

	The character of a person is formed through life, to a greater or
less degree, by the teachings of the mother.  The traits of early
impressions that she gives the child, will be characteristic points in his
character through every avenue of his mortal existence.

	This is the education I wish you to establish in this Church, that
mothers may not suppose they are not required to watch over the early
education and impressions of their children, but over their husbands to
know where they are every moment of their lives, taking special care to
order them thus and so, so as to keep them advised and properly instructed
all the time, instead of doing that which they ought in their houses with
their children.  I am not quite so strenuous as some of the ancients were,
who taught that if the women wanted to learn anything, to learn it at home
from their husbands.  I am willing they should come to the meetings and
learn, but some of the ancients proscribed them in this privilege, and
would confine them at home to learn through their husbands.  I am a little
more liberal than they were, but this is not liberal enough for many of
the women, they must also be watching their husbands, while at the same
time their children are running abroad in the streets, naked and
barefooted, cursing and swearing.  What time have I got to watch my
children to-day?  Does not my duty demand my presence here?  Where are my
children?  Some are here.  Where are the rest of them?  Perhaps in the
streets, with other children, playing, or doing that which is wrong,
entirely unnoticed by their mothers.  This applies to the community.  And
the their mother will say "Husband, our children will certainly be
ruined."  Mothers, what do you want?  Do you wish your husband to sit all
the time in the parlor with you?  Yes, and I should suppose, by the
conduct of some, you want to be seated over the head of God Almighty, to
rule over Him, and all His kingdoms.  If I mention my own family, and use
them as an example, I do it that other people cannot complain.  Do you
suppose that I cannot see faults in my own family, as well as in my
neighbors'?  I am not so prejudiced in their favour, as not to discover
faults in them, neither can I close my eyes upon the faults of my
neighbors'.

	What faults do I discover in my neighbors' families?  I can see their
women go off visiting, riding on horseback, attending parties, while their
little ones are neglected, and left to run at large in the streets,
exposed to the pernicious examples of vile company.  Hear it again!  The
blood of these wicked children will be required at the hands of their
mothers!  Should your husbands be called out to fight the Indians, or go
to the islands of the sea to gather the poor, it is none of your business,
when it is their calling to be away from home.

	I want education to commence here.  I wish you strictly to follow out
this principle, and when children are old enough to labor in the field,
then the father will take them in charge.  If children are not taught by
their mothers, in the days of their youth, to revere and follow the
counsels of their fathers, it will be hard indeed for the father ever to
control them.  I know it is so, for it is too true.  Mothers will let
their children go to the Devil in their childhood, and when they are old
enough to come under the immediate guidance of their fathers, to be sent
out to preach the Gospel in the world, or to learn some kind of mechanism,
they are as uncontrollable as the winds that now revel in the mountains.

	It is not for the mother to rise up and encourage her children to
fight against their father.  You know my feelings on this point--they are
pointed, resolute, and strong.  And when I undertake to conquer a child
who wants to conquer me, it shall be death to him before I yield.  I would
rather see every child I have, go into the grave this day, than suffer
them to rise up and have control over me.

	Mothers, if you suffer your children to grow up wild, and
uncorrected, when they come into the hands of their fathers, and will not
follow their counsels, let them be disowned, and have no portion in the
inheritance; let them be disfranchised, be banished from Israel, and not
be numbered in the books of the offspring of Abraham.  This shall be the
fate of my disobedient children, if I have any; and if there are any of my
children here to-day, let them hear it! for if they will not keep my
commandments, they shall have no part or lot in the household of faith.

	Let education commence at this point, you mothers! and then with
brother Spencer and the board of Regents.  Let mothers commence to teach
their children while in their laps, there do you learn them to love the
Lord, and keep His commandments.  Teach them to keep your commandments,
and you will learn them to keep the commandments of your husbands.  It is
not the prerogative of a child to dictate to his mother, or his father;
and it is not the prerogative of the father to rise up and dictate to his
God whom he serves.  Is it right that my wife should dictate to me?  It is
just as reasonable, and as right, as it is for your children to rise up
and dictate to their mother.  It is not their business to dictate to you,
their duty is to obey, and not to dictate.

	The Lecture which you have heard from Chancellor Spencer, is so far
in advance of us, that it does not touch the case of this people, at
present, with regard to education, until they have learned the rudiments,
that is, according to my view of the subject.

	It is true the Lord has revealed great and precious revelations to us
through our language, and I believe it is as good a language as any now in
use; but when we scan it narrowly, we find it to be fraught with
imperfections and ridiculous vagaries.  I am as far from believing that it
is meet for us to adopt it in preference to any other tongue, as I am that
it is to adopt Presbyterianism, or the Baptist's religion, in preference
to any other of the same order of antichristian churches, for they are all
imperfect.  The Lord can reveal Himself to these Indians, He can talk to
any nation, it makes no difference to Him, as He can connect the ideas He
wishes to convey by means of their langauge, as imperfect as it is.

	I wish to impress my lecture more particularly upon the minds of
mothers.  Am I not continually exhorting the brethren to be kind to their
families, and never to ill use a human being on the earth?  I exhort you,
masters, fathers, and husbands, to be affectionate and kind to those you
preside over.  And let them be obedient, let the wife be subject to her
husband, and the children to their parents.  Mothers, let your minds be
sanctified before the Lord, for this is the commencement, the true
foundation of a proper education in your children, the beginning point to
form a disposition in your offspring, that will bring honor, glory,
comfort, and satisfaction to you all your life time.  To the mothers who
may be here to-day, who have not the experience they will have, and young
women who are perhaps just entering upon the stage of life, let me say,
(and I wish you always to keep it in remembrance, even you younger females
who have newly entered into the sacred state of matrimony,) fulfil the
commandments of Eloheim, fill up the measure of your creation, that the
joy of your hearts may be full in the day of the resurrection, in that you
have done all you could to fulfil His law, and bring to pass the purposes
of the Lord.  Always keep your minds pure before the Lord.  You may say it
is impossible, because of your temptations, but let me inquire, Do you
pray?  Did you pray this morning, before you left your houses?  Did you
pray last evening, before you laid your bodies down to rest?  Did you pray
that the Holy Spirit might rest upon you, so that your sleep might be
sweet and refreshing?  Some of you may reply, that you have children, and
have not time to pay attention to this duty in the morning.  Some of you
may have sick families, and others of you may be afflicted in other ways,
and you will offer these facts as reasons for similar neglect.  In these
circumstances the mind must be centred upon the Lord, and upon His work,
continually.  When you embark to fill up the end of your creation, never
cease to seek to have the Spirit of the Lord rest upon you, that your
minds may be peaceable, and as smooth as the summer breezes of heaven. 
Never cease a day of your life to have the Holy Ghost resting upon you. 
Fathers, never cease to pray that your wives may enjoy this blessing, that
their infants may be endowed with the Holy Ghost, from their mother's
womb.  If you want to see a nation rise up full of the Holy Ghost, and of
power, this is the way to bring it about.  Every other duty that is
obligatory upon man, woman, or child, will come in its place, and in its
time and season.  Remember it, brethren.  Let your hearts be pure before
the Lord, and never cease to do anything you can for the satisfaction and
comfort of your family, that all may enjoy the comforts of the Spirit of
the Lord continually.  If you do not come to this, your literary
attainments will not exceed those of the world.

	We have but few collegians among us, but I know that a thoroughly
educated man knows no more than you do, when his literature is displayed,
though he spreads himself like the green bay tree.  Brother Spencer has
given us a display of the learning of the day, he has erected a beautiful
building, but where is the foundation?  In his discourse, he referred to
Joseph.  Joseph built on the sure foundation, and, when I build up my
superstructure, it shall be upon the same foundation.  Brother Spencer has
used language quite beyond your reach.  Well, I have the foundation, and
he can make the building.  When he commences the building, I have asked
the Board of Regents to cast out from their system of education, the
present orthography and written form of our language, that when my
children are taught the graphic sign for A, it may always represent that
individual sound only.  But as it now is, the child is perplexed that the
sign A should have one sound in mate, a second sound in father, a third
sound in fall, a fourth sound in man, and a fifth sound in many, and, in
other combinations, soundings different from these, while, in others, A is
not sounded at all.  I say, let it have one sound all the time. And when P
is introduced into a word, let it not be silent as in Phthisic, or sound
like F in Physic, and let two not be placed instead of one in apple.

	I ask, have the great and learned men completed their education?  No,
they are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth.  Let the Board of Regents commence on the proper foundation, that
when we have learned a great while, we may find to our satisfaction, we
have at last come to the knowledge of the truth.

	The English language, in its written and printed form, is one of the
most prominent now in use for absurdity, yet as a vehicle in which to
convey our ideas verbally, it is one of the best, for extent and variety
it goes before, and far beyond, any other.  Its variety is what I dislike. 
The schools in the Southern, New England, and Eastern States, all teach
the English language, yet the same ideas are conveyed with entirely
different classes of words, by these separate communities.  If there were
one set of words to convey one set of ideas, it would put an end to the
ambiguity which often mystifies the ideas given in the languages now
spoken.  Then when a great man delivered a learned lecture upon any
subject, we could understand his words, for there would be only one word
with the same meaning, instead of a multiplicity of words all meaning the
same thing, as is the case now.  For instance, there are men in this house
so technical in their feelings with regard to their choice of words, that
when their ideas are formed, and they commence to convey them, they will
stop in the middle of a sentence, and introduce another set of words to
convey the same idea.  If I can speak so that you can get my meaning, I
care not so much what words I use to convey that meaning.

	I long for the time that a point of the finger, or motion of the
hand, will express every idea without utterance.  When a man is full of
the light of eternity, then the eye is not the only medium through which
he sees, his ear is not the only medium by which he hears, nor the brain
the only means by which he understands.  When the whole body is full of
the Holy Ghost, he can see behind him with as much ease, without turning
his head, as he can see before him.  If you have not that experience, you
ought to have.  It is not the optic nerve alone that gives the knowledge
of surrounding objects to the mind, but it is that which God has placed in
man--a system of intelligence that attracts knowledge, as light cleaves to
light, intelligence to intelligence, and truth to truth.  It is this which
lays in man a proper foundation for all education.  I shall yet see the
time that I can converse with this people, and not speak to them, but the
expression of my countenance will tell the congregation what I wish to
convey, without opening my mouth.  We are at present low, weak, and
grovelling in the dark, but we are planted here in weakness for the
purpose of exaltation.  It is at the time of the formation of the
tabernacle of flesh, that the education of human life commences.  Now,
mothers, train up your children in the way they should go.  Fathers and
husbands, instruct your wives and children in the ways of the Lord, and
love, joy, and prosperity will attend you from this time, henceforth and
for ever, which may God grant for Jesus' sake.  Amen.



          SELF-GOVERNMENT--MYSTERIES--RECREATION AND AMUSEMENT,
     NOT IN THEMSELVES SINFUL--TITHING--ADAM, OUR FATHER AND OUR GOD
    A sermon delivered by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 9, 1852.

	It is my intention to preach several discourses this evening, but how
many I do not know.

	I will in the first place bear testimony to the truth of many remarks
made by brother Hunter, and especially his exhortation to the Seventies
and Elders, and those men who wish to go on missions.  I wish also to urge
the necessity of your proceeding on your missions immediately, and of
going to the place of your destination full of the Holy Ghost, preaching
righteousness to the people; and while you do this, live up to the
principles you preach, that you may teach also by your example, as well as
by precept.  Go, ye Elders, and now consider yourselves from this time
forth missionaries.  If the Gospel is in you like a flaming fire, to be
poured upon the people, gather your neighbors together, and give your
brethren an invitation to your house, and set before them the duties of
man; and preach, if you can speak but for five minutes, occupying that
time to the best advantage.  Continue to preach, study, and learn, by
faith and prayer, until your minds and mouths are opened, and you
understand most perfectly the love of Christ.

	It is not uncommon for Elders to say, "If I could have a mission, and
be sent among strangers, I could speak to them, because they have not been
instructed in the way of life and salvation:  I could lay before them the
principles of the Gospel, which have been taught to me, without that
difference of feeling, and fear, which I experience while speaking to my
brethren."  It is very true that the first principles of the Gospel taught
by the Elders of this Church are easy to be understood, compared with what
it is to preach them to our families, or to our neighborhood, and to
govern and control ourselves by the principles of righteousness which the
Gospel inculcates.  Again, to gather the Saints, to preach the Gospel to
the world, and convince them of the truth, are much easier tasks than to
convince men that you can master yourself, and practise the moral
principles inculcated by your religion.  That is a small portion of the
duty required of you in order to obtain crowns of glory, immortality, and
eternal lives. I will here remark, that it is natural for the people to
desire to know a great deal of the MYSTERIES; this, however, is not
universally the case, though it is so with a great many of the Elders of
Israel.  I do not suppose it will apply to those who compose this
congregation; your object in being here this evening is not to hear some
great mystery of the Kingdom, which you never understood before.  The
greatest mystery a man ever learned, is to know how to control the human
mind, and bring every faculty and power of the same in subjection to Jesus
Christ; this is the greatest mystery we have to learn while in these
tabernacles of clay.  It is more necessary for the Elders to learn and
practise upon this lesson in the midst of the Saints at head quarters than
in the world; for their facilities for learning are much greater, and I
will tell you wherein.  Let a Bishop, a High Priest, a President of any
Stake or Quorum, any who are Elders in Israel, or any individual Saint
from the first to the last of them, fall into error, and it is at once
made manifest; he cannot pursue that course any further, for he is where
lie can learn his duties, and know how to walk straight in the paths of
righteousness.  Here is the place for you to teach great mysteries to your
brethren, because here are those who can correct you.  This fault the
Elders of Israel do not fall into in this Tabernacle, although they may in
private houses and neighborhoods.  When a man is capable of correcting
you, and of giving you light, and true doctrine, do not get up an
altercation, but submit to be taught like little children, and strive with
all your might to understand.  The privileges of those who dwell here are
greater than the privileges of those who are abroad.  When your duties
call you into foreign lands, and you there exhaust your stock of knowledge
and wisdom, and you are not in possession of the keys to obtain that
instruction which you desire, it is because you are far from the right
fountain--far from the body, where all the members are in lively
operation--where the eye can see, the ear hear, the nose smell, and the
mouth speak, and so forth.  When your face is turned from the body, let
mysteries alone, for this is the only place for you to be corrected if
wrong.  Preach the simple, unadorned truth; work out your salvation with
diligence, and do that which will guarantee you a warranted deed, an
undeniable title to eternal lives.

	If you feel prayer in you, pray; and if you feel the spirit of
preaching in you, preach; call in your brethren, and read the Bible, the
Book of Mormon, the Book of Covenants, and the other revelations of God to
them; and talk over the things contained in those books, and deal them out
to your brethren and neighbors; pray with them, and teach them how to
control themselves; and let your teachings be sustained by your own
example.  Teach your families how to control themselves; teach them good
and wholesome doctrine, and practise the same in your own lives.  This is
the place for you to become polished shafts in the quiver of the Almighty. 
This will answer for one sermon.

	I feel much inclined to talk to the brethren: I have not had the
privilege of preaching much for some time, because of the inconvenience of
our former meeting place.  Now, as we have a good, convenient place to
meet in, and my health will serve me, I expect to improve the time.  I
love to preach at home with the Saints.  I love to meet with them, and
look up on their happy countenances, lit up with the joys of eternity.  In
short. I love the society of all good men, and to preach salvation to
them.

	You may consider what I shall now lay before you a small matter; but
I think it of some importance.  When the Elders of Israel leave this
place, and go forth among the wicked, it is not their privilege to mingle
with them in any of their worldly exercises; for if they do, the devil
will obtain an advantage over them, and succeed in drawing them away from
the path of their duty.  For instance--suppose you and I, with many more
of the brethren, meet together in a convenient place in the Valley, and
dance to the sweet strains of the violin; we could do so with a perfect
good will: but if we should be called to England, and there have an
invitation to join with the wicked in their pastimes and recreations, and
we in our feelings bow down to this, and suffer our spirits to be subject
to their commandments, we suffer ourselves to be ruled over by them, and
at once become their servants.  While I am here, I am in the midst of the
Priesthood of heaven, and in the centre of the kingdom of God.  We are
before the Lord, where every hand I shake is the hand of a Saint, and
every face I see, when I look upon the assembled thousands, is the
countenance of a Saint.  I am the controller and master of affairs here,
under Heaven's direction; though there are those who do not believe this. 
I invite those who are not subject to me as their President, not to
contaminate my friends; for were I and my friends to become subject to
those who object to us, we are then on the ground of the devil, and
subject ourselves to him they serve.

	Never suffer yourselves to mingle in any of those recreations that
tend to sin and iniquity, while you are away from the body of the Church,
where you cannot so fully control yourselves.  Let the Elders who are
going out from this place carry this instruction with them into the other
portions of the earth.  Whatever a man does, let him do it in the name of
the Lord--let him work in the name of the Lord, let all his acts through
life be in the name of the Lord; and if he wants light and knowledge, let
him ask in that name.

	You are well aware that the wickedness of the world, or the apostacy
of the Church, is so great, that those who now profess religion cannot
enjoy their own natural privileges in the world.  In many places their
folly and superstition are so great that they would consider they had
committed the sin of blasphemy if they happened to hear a violin.  The
whole world could not hire a good, honest, sound Presbyterian, of the old
fashion and cut, to look into a room where a company of young men and
women were dancing, lest they should sin against the Holy Ghost.  This
over-righteous notion is imbibed by the generality of professors of
religion, but it is because they themselves have made it a sin.  Let us
look at the root of the matter.  In the first place, some wise being
organized my system, and gave me my capacity, put into my heart and brain
something that delights, charms, and fills me with rapture at the sound of
sweet music.  I did not put it there; it was some other being.  As one of
the modern writers has said, "Music hath charms to soothe the savage
breast."  It has been proved that sweet music will actually tame the most
malicious and venomous beasts, even when they have been stirred up to
violent wrath, and make them docile and harmless as lambs.  Who gave the
lower animals a love for those sweet sounds, which with magic power fill
the air with harmony, and cheer and comfort the hearts of men and so
wonderfully affect the brute creation?  It was the Lord, our heavenly
Father, who gave the capacity to enjoy these sounds, and which we ought to
do in His name, and to His glory.  But the greater portion of the
sectarian world consider it sacrilege to give way to any such pleasure as
even to listen to sweet music, much more to dance to its delightful
strains.  This is another short sermon.

	I wish now to say a few words to the brethren upon the subject of
tithing.  It is well known to the majority of this Conference what
transpired, last Conference, upon the stand in the old Bowery.  At that
Conference I had good cause to find fault with the Bishops, and I took the
liberty to brush them down a little.  From that day to this there has been
more accomplished by our Bishops in the short space of seven months, than
was accomplished by them for the space of years previously.  This gives me
great satisfaction.  The Bishops have done as well as men could do: their
conduct in fulfilling the duties of their calling has truly been
praiseworthy, and I feel to bless them, and pray the Lord to bless them
all the day long, for they have done first rate.  When we consider the
ignorance of the world, their unbelief in God, and realize that the vail
of the covering is over the face of all nations, and remember the
ignorance we were once in ourselves, having to commence like babes at the
rudiments of learning, knowing also how faltering men are in their faith,
and then look at what this people have accomplished, we are led to
exclaim, "It is marvellous in our eyes!"  Were I to say, "Elders of
Israel, you that feel to put your all upon the altar, rise upon your
feet," who would be left?  [All present rose up simultaneously.]  Where is
there another people upon the earth who would have done this?  I have no
tithing, but all--all I have is the Lord's.  You know the word sacrifice:
as brother Banks said to-day, it is a mere burlesque--a nonsensical term. 
No man ever heard me say I had made a sacrifice.  I possess nothing but
what my heavenly Father has been pleased to give me, or, in other words,
He has loaned it to me while I remain here in this mortal flesh.

	Is it not marvellous, considering the weakness of man, to see the
willingness of this whole people to die if necessary for the truth?  How
do you suppose it makes me feel?  Though I may sometimes chastise my
brethren, and speak to them in the language of reproof, there is not a
father who feels more tenderly towards his offspring, and loves them
better than I love this people; and my Father in Heaven loves them; my
heart yearns over them with all the emotions of tenderness, so that I
could weep like a child; but I am careful to keep my tears to myself.  If
you do wrong, it grieves my heart, and it also grieves the heart of my
heavenly Father.  I feel continually to urge my brethren to cease from all
evil, and learn to do well.

	The fulness of the heavens and the earth is the Lord's--the gold and
the silver, the wheat, the fine flour, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills; and when we fully understand His works, we shall know that He is in
all the earth, and fulfils His will among the children of men, exalting
and debasing them according to His pleasure; for the systems, creeds,
thrones, and kingdoms of the world are all under His control.  "Shall
there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it"--or that He doth
not control?  The Lord controls the whole; and in the end, you will find
He has regulated all things right, for all will be consummated to His
glory.

	The children of men are made as independent in their sphere as the
Lord is in His, to prove themselves, pursue which path they please, and
choose the evil or the good.  For those who love the Lord, and do His
will, all is right, and they shall be crowned, but those who hate His ways
shall be damned, for they choose to be damned.

	As I was meditating on the philosophy of the day, it occurred to my
mind how visible it must appear to all eyes that the Lord does indeed
work, that it is He who blesses this people; and yet it seems as though
they cannot see His hand.  The Lord fills the immensity of space.  What
saith the Psalmist?  "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?  or whither
shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascent up into heaven, thou art
there; if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there; if I take the
wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even
there shall thy hand lead me."  I was trying to think of the place where
God is not, but it is impossible, unless you can find empty space; and
there I believe He is not.  If you can find such a place, it will become
useful for a hiding place to those who wish to hide themselves from the
presence of the Lord, in the great day of accounts.  I will close this
sermon, as I intend to preach another before I present the subject I more
particularly wish to speak upon.

	My next sermon will be to both Saint and sinner.  One thing has
remained a mystery in this kingdom up to this day.  It is in regard to the
character of the well-beloved Son of God, upon which subject the Elders of
Israel have conflicting views.  Our God and Father in heaven, is a being
of tabernacle, or, in other words, He has a body, with parts the same as
you and I have; and is capable of showing forth His works to organized
beings, as, for instance, in the world in which we live, it is the result
of the knowledge and infinite wisdom that dwell in His organized body. 
His son Jesus Christ has become a personage of tabernacle, and has a body
like his father.  The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Lord, and issues
forth from Himself, and may properly be called God's minister to execute
His will in immensity; being called to govern by His influence and power;
but He is not a person of tabernacle as we are, and as our Father in
Heaven and Jesus Christ are.  The question has been, and is often, asked,
who it was that begat the Son of the Virgin Mary.  The infidel world have
concluded that if what the Apostles wrote about his father and mother be
true, and the present marriage discipline acknowledged by Christendom be
correct, then Christians must believe that God is the father of an
illegitimate son, in the person of Jesus Christ!  The infidel fraternity
teach that to their disciples.  I will tell you how it is.  Our Father in
Heaven begat all the spirits that ever were, or ever will be, upon this
earth; and they were born spirits in the eternal world.  Then the Lord by
His power and wisdom organized the mortal tabernacle of man.  We were made
first spiritual, and afterwards temporal.

	Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile,  Saint and
sinner!  When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into
it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him.  He
helped to make and organize this world.  He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the
ANCIENT OF DAYS! about whom holy men have written and spoken--HE is our
FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE have to do.  Every man
upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and
will know it sooner or later.  They came here, organized the raw material,
and arranged in their order the herbs of the field, the trees, the apple,
the peach, the plum, the pear, and every other fruit that is desirable and
good for man; the seed was brought from another sphere, and planted in
this earth.  The thistle, and thorn, the brier, and the obnoxious weed did
not appear until after the earth was cursed.  When Adam and Eve had eaten
of the forbidden fruit, their bodies became mortal from its effects, and
therefore their offspring were mortal.  When the Virgin Mary conceived the
child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness.  He was not
begotten by the Holy Ghost.  And who is the Father?  He is the first of
the human family; and when he took a tabernacle, it was begotten by his
Father in heaven, after the same manner as the tabernacles of Cain, Abel,
and the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve; from the fruits of
the earth, the first earthly tabernacles were originated by the Father,
and so on in succession.  I could tell you much more about this; but were
I to tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the
estimation of the superstitious and over-righteous of mankind.  However, I
have told you the truth as far as I have gone.  I have heard men preach
upon the divinity of Christ, and exhaust all the wisdom they possessed. 
All Scripturalists, and approved theologians who were considered exemplary
for piety and education, have undertaken to expound on this subject, in
every age of the Christian era; and after they have done all, they are
obliged to conclude by exclaiming "great is the mystery of godliness," and
tell nothing.

	It is true that the earth was organized by three distinct characters,
namely, Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael, these three forming a quorum, as in
all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly represented in
the Deity, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

	Again, they will try to tell how the divinity of Jesus is joined to
his humanity, and exhaust all their mental faculties, and wind up with
this profound language, as describing the soul of man, "it is an
immaterial substance!"  What a learned idea!  Jesus, our elder brother,
was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of
Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven.  Now, let all who may hear these
doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat them with
indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation.

	I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great
deal more remains to be told.  Now remember from this time forth, and
forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.  I will
repeat a little anecdote.  I was in conversation with a certain learned
professor upon this subject, when I replied, to this idea--"if the Son was
begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptize and
confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest he should beget
children, to be palmed upon the Elders by the people, bringing the Elders
into great difficulties."

	Treasure up these things in your hearts.  In the Bible, you have read
the things I have told you to-night; but you have not known what you did
read.  I have told you no more than you are conversant with; but what do
the people in Christendom, with the Bible in their hands, know about this
subject?  Comparatively nothing.

	I will now again take up the subject of tithing.  The brethren have
done well.  They have been willing and obedient, no people could have been
more so; for this I thank my Father in Heaven.  I could not wish a people
to work more kindly in the yoke of Jesus than this people do; the yoke
grows more and more easy to them.  It seems that every man will not only
pay his tithing, but give all he has, if the Lord requires it: still I see
wherein they may do better.  I asked the people to day to assist to pay
our Church liabilities.  The offer of three or four yoke of oxen only, we
do not want; but I will lay before you what we wish you to do.  By the
manifesto which has been read, you have learned the precise situation of
the property of the Church.  What has incurred this debt? Why does it
exist in the shape in which it now appears?  And wherein could we have
obviated the difficulty, and done better?  A fourth part of the money
already paid out, did not come in upon tithing.  This money we have had to
borrow in order to keep the public works in progress.  You may say,
wherein could we have done better, for we have paid our tithing
punctually?  But has that brother, who sent $100 back to the East for
merchandize, paid $10 of it into the tithing office?  Or did the brother
who has sent $500 back, let us have $50?  No; these have used it
themselves, and thereby involved those who bear the responsibilities of
the Trust.  Again, those who have not possessed sufficient money to send
back for merchandize, have been necessitated to pay out what they had. 
Thousands of dollars have been paid here for merchandize.  Has one-tenth
of all that money been paid into the tithing office?  It has not.  And
where is the tithing that should have come in from England and California.
Instead of tithing their money, they have used it for other purposes, and
paid it in property, with which we could not pay our debts.  This is
wherein we have failed to liquidate our debts.  The people go to these
Gentile stores, on the Saturday, in crowds, to purchase goods.  I think we
shall not over-rate the amount, if we say that $500,000 has been paid, in
these vallies, to the merchants.  But suppose they have received no more
than $50,000 from this community, $5,000 of that money ought to have been
first paid into the tithing office and we could have sent it to the
States, and purchased goods ourselves for one-third or one-half less than
we have to pay the merchants here.  And $25,000 more should have come into
the tithing office from the Church in the United States.  The brethren in
California have made no less than $100,000, the tenth of which is due this
tithing office.  For want of this money, we are brought into bondage; and
we must now apply our faith and works to raise means to liquidate our
indebtedness, which has accumulated by purchasing goods at high and
extortionate prices.  I find no fault with the merchants, for they came
here to gather gold by the hundred weight.

	Now, brethren, and Bishops, look over this matter, and try to think
what your feelings would be if you were laid under the same responsibility
that I and my brethren have upon our shoulders.  We are required to see
the Gospel preached to the nations afar off, to build council houses and
temples, to cope with the united wisdom and craft of legislative
assemblies, and with the powers of darkness in high places; and then place
yourselves in the circumstances we are now placed in!  Besides all this,
see the hundreds who come to us every day to be administered to in various
ways: some want fruit, some sugar, others tea, and all want clothing, &c. 
Then step into our private rooms, where we commune with the people, and
yon will see and hear all this, and a great deal more.  Instead of every
man bringing his picayune, or his six pence, or his $5, &c., as tithing on
the money in his possession, it is all used for something else, and the
storehouse of the Lord is left empty.  Suppose nothing had been put in
there but what the people have put in, the workmen would have been naked. 
Walk into the storehouse, and examine for yourselves.  To be sure there
has been a little clothing put in lately; for instance, there was an old
silk dress put in for $40, that had been lying for years rotting in the
chest: this is a specimen of the rest.  What are such things worth to our
workmen?  Why, nothing at all. We wish you to put in strong and
substantial clothing.  Good, strong, homemade stuffs make the most
suitable clothing for those who are building up the public works.

	Will you help us out of this thraldom, and have it credited to your
future tithing?  There is already a great deal more due than would
liquidate all our debts, but we cannot command it now.  Do you feel
willing to put your shoulder to the wheel, and continue to roll it
forward, and still continue, you that have faith to continue, to increase
in faith? for the business of this kingdom will increase, and the
responsibility also; the labor will and must grow, and continue to
increase, until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God
and His Christ.  So much on tithing; you see where the failure is; it is
in that point, and nowhere else.

	It is not for any man to think he is a cipher--that what he can do
will not tell in this matter, and say, "They will get along well enough
without me;" but it is every man's duty to lay it to heart, and help what
he can with his earthly substance; though I wish you to understand
distinctly that it is no commandment--you are left to act freely.

	Let all the sheep stay in the Valley; also the cows; for they will
give milk and butter, and replenish the stock.  But when we speak of the
horses, mules, and oxen, let every man look up his spare stock of this
description, and with them help to liquidate these debts.  Stock will now
pay debts.  I will use my stock for this purpose, and my brethren will do
the same, until we have enough.  I do not enjoin this upon you, as you
have already paid the tithing which is required of you; except in some
instances in the money tithing.  Had we received the money due to us, we
should have had no debts; but this failure has been, and is now, in
existence.  I will take every kind of spare stock I have, except my cows
and sheep, and wipe off these debts until they are cancelled; and now
every man who will do the same, let him rise upon his feet. [The whole
congregation of two thousand men rose up to a man.]  Do you suppose we
want to deprive you of your teams?  It is not so, but we wished to know
the state of your faith, so that when we are ready to call upon you, we
can be sure our call will be responded to.  I would not cripple any man, I
would rather give him five yoke of oxen, than destroy his team, and you
know it.  [Some of the brethren in the stand, not believing their own
eyes, that the whole congregation rose, it was tried over again, to
satisfy them, when the congregation all rose again to a man.]  Brother
Hunter now knows what to do.  Many of the brethren are killing their
calves; don't do this; if you cannot raise them, it will be better to give
them away to those who can.

	I bless you, and may the Lord bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.



    MARCH OF "MORMONISM"--THE POWER OF GOD AND THE WISDOM OF MAN--GOOD
                 AND EVIL INFLUENCES--THE LAW OF INCREASE
   A discourse delivered by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, June 13th, 1852.

	As there is more time which remains to be improved this morning, I
will offer a few remarks to the congregation, feeling thankful for this
privilege, and for all others that I enjoy from day to day.

	We have had the pleasure this morning of hearing the truth of the
work of the last days declared, with the testimony of one of the servants
of the Lord, (Ira Ames), who has had an experience of twenty years in this
Church.  There are many others who also have had a lengthy experience, and
some who have not had more than six months' trial, but who have, in that
short time, obtained an experience which has given them sufficient
information to satisfy them that there is a God in this work, that a
Supreme Power has attended the Gospel of salvation, or what is called
"Mormonism," from its rise to this day.  I say to all, both Saint and
sinner, that there is not an individual who has heard the sound of the
Gospel of Salvation, the report of this work of the last days, of the
coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and of the mission of Joseph Smith,
but the Spirit of the Lord in a greater or less degree accompanied that
report with power, and with the testimony of its truth, no matter as to
the character of the individual, nor yet whether he admits and embraces
the truth.  If he has heard it in its simplicity and purity, the weight of
testimony which it bears along with it, carries conviction to his mind
that it may be true, although, through the influence of the world, of evil
associations in life, or the instigations of the enemy of all
righteousness, those convictions and impressions may be swept away, which,
if exercised at the time, in sincerity, with full purpose of heart to know
the truth, would have substantiated the matter to his entire satisfaction. 
A weight of testimony always accompanies the promulgation of the Gospel of
Salvation.

	Brother Ames has said that "'Mormonism' will progress."  If it does
not, God will be dethroned, for when He undertakes to do anything, it will
be done, notwithstanding every opposing influence.  When the wicked have
power to blow out the sun, that it shines no more; when they have power to
bring to a conclusion the operations of the elements, suspend the whole
system of nature, and make a footstool of the throne of the Almighty, they
may then think to check "Mormonism" in its course, and thwart the
unalterable purposes of heaven.  Men may persecute the people who believe
its doctrines, report and publish lies to bring tribulation upon their
heads, earth and hell may unite in one grand league against it, and exert
their malicious powers to the utmost, but it will stand as firm and
immovable in the midst of it all as the pillars of eternity.  Men may
persecute the Prophet, and those who believe and uphold him, they may
drive the Saints and kill them, but this does not affect the truths of
"Mormonism" one iota, for they will stand when the elements melt with
fervent heat, the heavens are wrapt up like a scroll, and the solid earth
is dissolved.  "Mormonism" stands upon the eternal basis of omnipotence. 
Jehovah is the "Mormonism" of this people, their Priesthood and their
power; and all who adhere to it, will, in the appointed day, come up into
the presence of the King Eternal, and receive a crown of life.

	While speaking the other day to the people, I observed that "the race
was not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," neither riches to men
of wisdom.  I happened to cast my eyes upon Ira Ames, who was sitting in
the congregation, I knew he had been in the Church a considerable length
of time, I have been personally acquainted with him for twenty years.  My
eye also caught many more of the first Saints at the same time.  These men
know that "Mormonism" is true, they have moved steadily forward, and have
not sought to become noted characters, as many have; but, unseen as it
were, they have maintained their footing steadily in the right path.  I
could place my hand upon many in this congregation, who will win the race,
though they are not very swift, to outward appearance, and they make not
great pretensions; they are found continually attending to their own
business.  They do not appear to be great warriors, or as if they were
likely to win the battle.  But what is their true character?  They have
faith to-day, they are filled with faith, their words are few, but they
are full in integrity.  You will find them to-morrow as they were
yesterday, or are to-day.  Visit them when you will, or under whatever
circumstances, and you find them unalterably the same; and finally when
you have spent your life with them, you will find that their lives
throughout have been well spent, full of faith, hope, charity, and good
works, as far as they have had the ability.  These are the ones who will
win the race, conquer in the battle, and obtain the peace and
righteousness of eternity.

	I would inquire if the congregation recollect the text for the
season.  Let every man who preaches it act according to it himself.  If
those who speak, do so by the Spirit of the Lord, they will speak
according to the text, for it is impossible ever to depart from it if they
remain in the truth.  If they live to it, their whole lives will aim
directly to the one grand object, namely, to be encircled, wrapt up, and
surrounded with the knowledge of God; that will make them one, (according
to the text), prepare them to do unto others as they would that others
should do unto them, to keep the whole law of the Father and the Son, and
all the laws of the Celestial Kingdom which have been, or ever will be,
revealed, and to meet the Saviour at his coming.

	It yields solid satisfaction to hear men testify of the truth of the
Gospel.  It is always peculiarly interesting to me to hear the Saints tell
their experience.  It is to me one of the best of sermons to hear men and
women relate to each other how the Lord has wrought upon their
understanding, and brought them into the path of truth, life, and
salvation.  I would rather hear men tell their own experience, and testify
that Joseph was a Prophet of the Lord, and that the Book of Mormon, the
Bible, and other revelations of God, are true; that they know it by the
gift and power of God; that they have conversed with angels, have had the
power of the Holy Ghost upon them, giving them visions and revelations,
than hear any other kind of preaching that ever saluted my ears.  If I
could command the languageand eloquence of the angels of God, I would tell
you why, but the eloquence of angels never can convince any person that
God lives, and makes truth the habitation of his throne, independent of
that eloquence being clothed with the power of the Holy Ghost; in the
absence of this, it would be a combination of useless sounds.  What is it
that convinces man?  It is the influence of the Almighty, enlightening his
mind, giving instruction to the understanding.  When that which inhabits
this body, that which came from the regions of glory, is enlightened by
the influence, power, and Spirit of the Father of light, it swallows up
the organization which pertains to this world.  Those who are governed by
this influence lose sight of all things pertaining to mortality, they are
wholly influenced by the power of eternity, and lose sight of time.  All
the honor, wisdom, strength, and whatsoever is considered desirable among
men, yea, all that pertains to this organization, which is in any way
independent of that which came from the Father of our spirits, is
obliterated to them, and they hear and understand by the same power and
spirit that clothe the Deity, and the holy beings in His presence. 
Anything besides that influence, will fail to convince any person of the
truth of the Gospel of salvation.  This is the reason why I love to hear
men testify to the various operations of the Holy Spirit upon them--it is
at once interesting and instructive.  When a subject is treated upon with
all the calculation, method, tact, and cunning of men, with the effusions
of worldly eloquence, before a congregation endowed with the power of the
Holy Ghost, and filled with the light of eternity, they can understand the
subject, trace its bearings, place all its parts where they belong, and
dispose of it according to the unalterable laws of truth.  This makes all
subjects interesting and instructive to them.  But the case is quite
different with those whose minds are not opened and instructed by the
power of God.  Sermonizing, dividing, and subdividing subjects, and
building up a fine superstructure, a fanciful and aerial building,
calculated to fascinate the mind, coupled with the choicest eloquence of
the world, will produce no good to them.  The sentiments of my mind, and
the manner of my life, are to obtain knowledge by the power of the Holy
Ghost.

If all the talent, tact, wisdom, and refinement of the world had been sent
to me with the Book of Mormon, and had declared, in the most exalted of
earthly eloquence, the truth of it, undertaking to prove it by learning
and worldly wisdom, they would have been to me like the smoke which arises
only to vanish away.  But when I saw a man without eloquence, or talents
for public speaking, who could only say, "I know, by the power of the Holy
Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of
the Lord," the Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my
understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me.  I was
encircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself that the
testimony of the man was true.  But the wisdom of the world, I say again,
is like smoke, like the fog of the night, that disappears before the rays
of the luminary of day, or like the hoar-frost in the warmth of the sun's
rays.  My own judgment, natural endowments, and education bowed to this
simple, but mighty testimony.  There sits the man who baptized me,
(brother Eleazer Miller.)  It filled my system with light, and my soul
with joy.  The world, with all its wisdom and power, and with all the
glory and gilded show of its kings or potentates, sinks into perfect
insignificance, compared with the simple, unadorned testimony of the
servant of God.  Jesus said, "Consider the lilies of the field," behold
the splendid, yet simple beauty of their clothing; even Solomon, the
greatest, and wisest of earthly kings, who swayed his sceptre so as to be
admired and feared by all nations--he, in all his glory could not compare
with one of these lilies, which you can sever from its native stem, with
the least effort, admire for a moment, and then toss it from you.  All
that is considered valuable, precious, glorious, or magnificent among men,
cannot even compare with that lily, which you tread under your feet, for
beauty and excellence.

	The glory of man is fleeting as the twilight, and like the "baseless
fabric" of a dream, it vanishes away.  It is fitly compared in the
Scriptures to the power of the grass when it is cut down, which whithers
and is gone forever, but when the Almighty sheds forth His Spirit upon an
individual, or upon a people, the vision of their mind is opened, so as to
discern between the things pertaining to this organization, and those
pertaining to organizations which are brought forth in other spheres, all
things are made new to them, for all things in the heavens and on the
earth are in the power of the Almighty, and can only be revealed unto
mortals, in their proper light, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

	While brother Ames was relating his experience previous to believing
and embracing the faith of the Gospel, and the few words of conversation
that passed between him and brother George Curtis, this question occurred
to my mind--"What causes men and women, whose minds have been unaccustomed
to reflect upon theological subjects, to speak so intelligently as soon as
the Spirit of the Lord touches their understanding?"  The experience of
most of the congregation can answer this question.  You are the oracle of
the Spirit, the repository of the intelligence that comes from another
state of existence invisible to the natural eye; of the influence that
produces an effect without revealing the cause, and is therefore called a
miracle.  You are already acquainted with my views upon the doctrine of
miracles.  In reality there can be no miracle, only to the ignorant. 
There are spiritual agents, invisible to the natural eye, not only in us,
but in the elements, in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, who
are continually producing effects, the cause of which we cannot
comprehend.

	Does the experience of this people teach them what that is, which
causes men and women to speak that which is wrong?  Many of them, but not
all, understand it tolerably well.  Paul could not explain it though he
was one of Gamaliel's household servants, and probably swept his house, or
cleaned his sandals.  However, he had an opportunity of learning much,
but, with all his learning and talent, he could not explain this matter
any better than his uneducated brethren.  When he would seek the Lord with
all his heart, he found something in the way, which endeavoured to
overcome him, and block up his path, when he pursued the course of
righteousness; and the only way he could explain it was by saying "when I
would do good, evil is present with me."  This evil is with us, it is that
influence which tempts to sin, and which has been permitted to come into
the world for the express purpose of giving us an opportunity of proving
ourselves before God, before Jesus Christ our elder brother, before the
holy angels, and before all good men, that we are determined to overcome
the evil, and cleave to the good, for the Lord has given us the ability to
do so.  Consequently, when the evil is present with me, I have a little
fighting to do, I must turn and combat it until it is eradicated from my
affections, as well as from my actions, that I may have power to do all
the good I wish to perform.  Every person is capable of this, all can
bridle their tongues, and cease from every evil act from this time
henceforth and forever, and do good instead.

	There is an old maxim, and in many cases an excellent one, it is,
"think twice before you speak, and three times before you act."  If we
train ourselves to think what we are about to do, before we do it, and
have understanding to know, and power to perform the good, we can thereby
avoid the evil that is present with us.  When the enemy makes war with me,
I am thrown on the defensive, and if I use my weapons skilfully, and with
firmness of purpose, my antagonist must yield to me the victory, the Lord
being my helper.  The Scriptures say--"Rebuke the devil, and he will flee
from you."  This is the duty of every Saint.  When evil is present with
us, we must overcome it, or be overcome by it.  When the devil is in our
hearts, tempting us to do that which is wrong, we must resist him, or be
led captive by him.  When brother Ames, without giving himself time to
pause or think, said to the person who presented the Gospel to him--"I do
not want to hear one word about 'Mormonism,'" it was the evil in him that
caused him so to speak.  Man is endowed with power and wisdom sufficient,
if he will exercise them, to hush to silence his tongue, and cause his
hands to cease their operations.  His feet may be swift to shed blood, but
he has power to pause, and combat and conquer the enemy; for good is
present with him also, and he is influenced in a greater or less degree,
by the Spirit of the Lord.  You experience these two opposites of good and
evil in yourselves every day you live, you are tried, tempted, and
overtaken in sin, by saying and doing that which is wrong.  Now from this
time, henceforth, pause, and, whatever you do, let it be done in a spirit
of reflection, never again act in haste, but let your actions always be
the result of mature consideration.  "Do not hurry me," is one of the
prominent characteristics of my history.  I frequently exhort the brethren
not to be in a hurry, for we shall not stop here, we are only hunting for
the grave, and there is no fear but we shall find it.

	We have embraced the Gospel, and are professedly Latter-day Saints,
but evil will introduce itself in the midst of my brethren, then I have
frequently to chastise them.  There are two thousand persons in this
assembly, and if only half a dozen of them have done wrong, I could not
chastise them without appearing to chastise the whole congregation, which
in reality is not so.  By chastising the guilty, however, it is impossible
to spot the conscience of good men and women, whose hearts are clean and
pure as a piece of white paper.

	The Lord will help those who help themselves to do right.  Should the
people be determined from this time henceforth, never to do anything but
good, and should go forth to build up the Kingdom of God, doing everything
in their power to promote the cause of truth, and never do another wrong,
it would be but a short time before this people would be a holy people,
sanctified unto the Lord.  We are already the best people on earth, but we
can still improve, we are made for that purpose, our capacities are
organized to expand until we can receive into our comprehension celestial
knowledge and wisdom, and to continue worlds without end.

	There is another thought which strikes my mind at this moment, upon
which it will perhaps be well enough to throw out a few ideas.  It has
been, and is now, believed by numerous individuals, that the brute
creation, by increase in knowledge and wisdom, change their physical or
bodily organization, through numerous states of existence, so that the
minutest insect, in the lapse of time, can take to itself the human form,
and vice versa.  This is one of the most inconsistent ideas that could be
possibly entertained in the mind of man; it is called the transmigration
of souls.  It is enough for me to know that mankind are made to improve
themselves.  All creation, visible and invisible, is the workmanship of
our God, the supreme Architect and Ruler of the whole, who organized the
world, and created every living thing upon it, to act in its sphere and
order.  To this end has He ordained all things to increase and multiply. 
The Lord God Almighty has decreed this principle to be the great,
governing law of existence, and for that purpose are we formed. 
Furthermore, if men can understand and receive it, mankind are organized
to receive intelligence until they become perfect in the sphere they are
appointed to fill, which is far ahead of us at present.  When we use the
term perfection, it applies to man in his present condition, as well as to
heavenly beings.  We are now, or may be, as perfect in our sphere as God
and Angels are in theirs, but the greatest intelligence in existence can
continually ascend to greater heights of perfection.

	We are created for the express purpose of increase.  There are none,
correctly organized, but can increase from birth to old age.  What is
there that is not ordained after an eternal law of existence?  It is the
Deity within us that causes increase.  Does this idea startle you?  Are
you ready to exclaim, "What! the Supreme in us!"  Yes.  He is in every
person upon the face of the earth.  The elements that every individual is
made of and lives in, possess the Godhead.  This you cannot now
understand, but you will hereafter.  The Deity within us is the great
principle that causes us to increase, and to grow in grace and truth.  The
operation once begun, strict obedience to the requirements of heaven is
necessary to obtain the end for which we were created, therefore let us
commence to do the will of God in earnest from this time henceforth.  Let
the child, when he comes to understanding, and the father communicates his
will to him, say, "Father, from this time, henceforth and for ever, I will
do thy will."  So it has been, beginning with Father Adam, and so it will
continue to be the duty of his posterity who will be sanctified, and enter
into the celestial kingdom.  This will cause every person to do unto
others as they would that others should do unto them, and will make them
as pure and holy in their sphere as God is in His.  Commence with it, go
through the vail into eternity with it, and still continue, and the end
thereof no man on earth knoweth, nor the angels in heaven.

	Nothing short of the Holy Ghost will do us any lasting good.  I told
you, in the beginning of my remarks, the truth as it is in heaven, and on
earth; as it is with angels, with Prophets, with all good people, and with
every sinner that dwells upon the earth.  There is not a man or woman that
loves the truth, who has heard the report of the Book of Mormon, but the
Spirit of the Almighty has testified to him or her of its truth; neither
has any man heard the name of Joseph Smith, but the Spirit has whispered
to him--"He is a true Prophet."

	God has raised up a Prophet, brought forth the Book of Mormon,
influenced the people to lay the foundation of his kingdom, taking two of
a nation, and one of a family.  When a person is worked upon by the Spirit
to believe the truth of the Gospel, the Devil tells him it is a falsehood. 
And again, "the loss of my good name" exercises a powerful influence
against a person's embracing the truth, for if he determines to adhere to
"Mormonism," his unbelieving friends take it for granted that he is
deluded.  Therefore but a few prove themselves worthy of the truth by
taking the right path.  Nearly all the world pursue their own path, they
will not believe the truth when it is declared to them, nor see the light
when it is before their eyes, but they close their eyes, harden their
hearts, and would rather believe a lie that they may be damned.

	I am experimentally conversant with the history of this Church
further back than brother Ames is, and he commenced in 1830.  At that time
it was said, "Mormonism must be put down," but IT IS NOW LARGER THAN EVER! 
They can only kill the body, and "Mormonism" is not altered by that in the
least.  The Prophet Joseph was the oracle through which God spoke; they
slew his body, but "Mormonism" is still the same.  Had "Mormonism" been a
falsehood, the Devil and the world, instead of fighting against it, would
have sustained and built it up.

	Perhaps I have said enough to the brethren at this time.  It would
give me much pleasure if we could prevail on all the inhabitants of these
valleys, on the inhabitants of the whole earth, and on ourselves, to cease
to do evil, and learn to do well; that is all I could wish or ask for. 
All I desire to live for is to see the inhabitants of the earth
acknowledge God, bow down to Him, and confess His supremacy, and His
righteous covenant.  To Him let every knee bow, and every tongue confess,
and let all creation say Amen to His wise providences.  Let every person
declare his allegiance to God, and then live to it, saying--"As for me and
my house we will serve the Lord.  As for me, and all I have, it is the
Lord's, and shall be dedicated to Him all my days."  If this can be done,
happiness is here, angels are here, God is here, and we are wrapped in the
visions of eternity.  But I am not the Lord, and can do nothing more than
others of His servants.  I can do good myself, and my brethren and sisters
can do the same; we can unitedly keep His commandments, and do His will. 
This is all I desire, to make me happy here, and feel as well as I can in
my mortal body.  When I see an Elder in Israel who is looked up to, who
stands high in the Kingdom of God, doing something to tarnish his own
character, and that of others, it grieves my spirit; but when I can see
all the people filled with the knowledge of God, then all is peace, all is
happiness with me.

	May the Lord help us to live our religion, from this time henceforth
and forever.  Amen.


    KNOWLEDGE OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST--THE RELIGIONS OF MEN, AND THE
            RELIGION OF GOD--JOSEPH SMITH--PERSECUTIONS, ETC.
   An address delivered by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, July 11, 1852.

	There are a few minutes more of time allotted to us for worship this
morning, which I will occupy for the consolation of my hearers, and for my
own.

	I can bear testimony that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true; and the
word of the Lord, whether written or spoken, is true.

	Permit me to ask a question.  Who are the individuals upon the face
of the earth, that can make this statement in truth?  Who are the
individuals that can say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that
he lives?  Can the Christian world?  They cannot.  They may say that they
believe, and have all confidence that Jesus lives; they may have all
confidence in declaring that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true; they may
firmly declare that the Bible (referring particularly to the New
Testament) is true; that therein contained is the plan of salvation, and
is true.  This they may declare in all good conscience, and with all
soberness.  But let me ask, where are the individuals that can say that
they know that Jesus lives?  And who are the individuals that can say that
his Gospel is true, and is the plan of salvation to man?  I will let
Christendom answer this question for themselves; but to me it is certain,
that no man lives on the face of the earth--no woman lives, that can say
this, except those to whom Christ has revealed himself.

	Though others may say in all good conscience they believe he
lives--who knows the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ to be true?  There
is one class of people, and one only, that live upon the face of the
earth, who so know it; and that class of men and women are those that keep
his commandments, and do his will; none others can say it.  None others
can declare with boldness, and emphatically, that Jesus lives, and that
his Gospel is true.  Upon the plain and simple principle of logical and
philosophical deduction, we learn this from his own words, as written by
one of his disciples--"They that do my will, shall know of my doctrine,
and they that love me will keep my commandments;" and I will add, "they
that know and love me," says Jesus, "will keep my sayings."

	This is my testimony.  We have had the first principles of the Gospel
laid before us this morning, and we have heard the testimony of one of the
Apostles of the last days to confirm it.  I am also a witness to the truth
of these sayings contained in the New Testament.

	Permit me, my hearers, brethren and strangers, to say to you, there
is not that man that hears the sound of my voice this day, that can say
that Jesus lives, whether he professes to be his disciple or not; and can
say at the same time, that Joseph Smith was not a Prophet of the Lord.

	There is not that being that ever had the privilege of hearing the
way of life and salvation set before him as it is written in the New
Testament, and in the Book of Mormon, and in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, by a Latter-day Saint, that can say that Jesus lives, that his
Gospel is true; and at the same time say that Joseph Smith was not a
Prophet of God.  That is strong testimony, but it is true.  No man can say
that this book (laying his hand on the Bible) is true, is the word of the
Lord, is the way, is the guide-board in the path, and a charter by which
we may learn the will of God; and at the same time say, that the Book of
Mormon is untrue; if he has had the privilege of reading it, or of hearing
it read, and learning its doctrines.  There is not that person on the face
of the earth who has had the privilege of learning the Gospel of Jesus
Christ from these two books, that can say that one is true, and the other
is false.  No Latter-day Saint, no man or woman, can say the Book of
Mormon is true, and at the same time say that the Bible is untrue.  If one
be true, both are; and if one be false, both are false.  If Jesus lives,
and is the Saviour of the world, Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, and
lives in the bosom of his father Abraham.  Though they have killed his
body, yet he lives and beholds the face of his Father in heaven; and his
garments are pure as the angels that surround the throne of God; and no
man on the earth can say that Jesus lives, and deny at the same time my
assertion about the Prophet Joseph.  This is my testimony, and it is
strong.

 	Permit me to say, that I am proud of my religion.  It is the only
thing I pride myself in, on the earth.  I may heap up gold and silver like
the mountains; I may gather around me property, goods, and chattels, but I
could have no glory in that, compared with my religion; it is the fountain
of light and intelligence; it swallows up the truth contained in all the
philosophy of the world, both heathen and Christian; it circumscribes the
wisdom of man; it circumscribes all the wisdom and power of the world; it
reaches to that within the veil.  Its bounds, its circumference, its end,
its height, and depth, are beyond the comprehension of mortals, for it has
none.

	Permit me to remark, my hearers, as for the intelligence of the day,
and the knowledge that they have had in Christendom--how long will it take
a man of reflection, of deep thought, and of a sound mind, to circumscribe
every particle of it?  It can be weighed and measured, as easy as the gold
dust.  For instance, go to the "Mother Church," from whence all the
religions of Christendom have sprung; go back to the time when she
flourished in her glory; and how long would it take us to circumscribe the
religion of the "Mother Church," the "Holy Catholic Church?"  Cannot we
learn the principles of that church in a very few years?  We can study her
theology until we get all the knowledge and wisdom to be had upon every
point of doctrine contained in her from first to last.  Go then to the
Church of England, and from that to the latest and last reformer that
lives upon the earth--and how long would it take to circumscribe every
particle of their religion from first to last?  Not long.

	Why do I make these remarks and assertions?  It is because I have an
experience.  All the religion of the world, I have learned already.  The
best and greatest divines that lived in my boyhood, I may say almost in my
childhood, children not as old as I was at the time, almost babes and
sucklings, would drown them in their own arguments, and confuse them. 
Question them, and they cannot answer the simplest question concerning the
character of the Deity, heaven, or hell, this or that, or the other; a
sucking child would comparatively confuse and confound them upon these
subjects; and they would wind up all by saying, "Great is the mystery of
Godliness, God manifest in the flesh."  I would say, great is their
foolery; they are profound in their ignorance.

	But I am proud to say of my religion, I have studied it faithfully
for twenty-two years, day and night, at home and abroad, upon the rivers,
and upon the lakes, when travelling by sea and by land; have studied it in
the pulpit; from morning till night; whatsoever might be my pursuit, I
have studied it with as close an application as any college student ever
did any subject he wished to commit to memory; and I can say I have only
just got into the A B C of it; it leads the vision of my mind into
eternity.

	Suppose the Almighty should unfold the future destiny of the nations
to you, and wrap you in a sea of vision, and show you the eternity of
knowledge, with the history of worlds on worlds, and their destiny--you
can then have a faint idea of what it is like; and any other man, or any
other woman, who ever has received the promise of the Gospel, knows that
the Lord Almighty is in the midst of all His creatures that are scattered
abroad among the nations of the earth, and does His pleasure among them. 
His scrutinizing eye will not suffer a hair of your head to fall to the
ground unnoticed; His attention is at once so minute and so extensive.

	He presides over the worlds on worlds that illuminate this little
planet, and millions on millions of worlds that we cannot see; and yet He
looks upon the minutest object of His creations; not one of these
creatures escapes His notice; and there is not one of them but His wisdom
and power has produced.  But that is no matter to me, I speak with regard
to you.  Is there a man who believes, or professes to believe in what
Jesus says, where he declares by one of his Apostles, or by more than one
pointedly, there is no half way work in this matter?  Now if you can
believe it, it is directly to the point; says he, "If you love me, you
will keep my commandments;" and if you do not love me, you will not keep
my commandments--this follows as a matter of course; and that will show to
my Father, and to my brethren that follow me, that you do love me; and so
say I, they that love the Lord Jesus, will keep his cammandments [sic].

	Why should I not be proud of my religion?  if a man be permitted to
have pride at all; or if this people be permitted to indulge in it in the
least degree, why not be proud of their religion?  for God loves it,
angels adore it, all the heavenly hosts delight in it; it is in the midst
of an eternity of intelligence, and forms a part of it; while, on the
other hand, all hell is opposed to it, all wickedness is opposed to it,
all men and women who desire to make sin their refuge, hate it; and all
hell, and all its votaries hate it, and the Lord Almighty, with all His
subjects, loves it; and He will yet rule triumphantly over this earth. 
What shall we say, will not Jesus reign and subdue the world?  Is he not
the Saviour of the world, and the only begotten Son of the Father, and
will he not accomplish the work he came to accomplish?  Is not the earth
the Lord's, the wheat, the fine flour, the gold, the silver, the earth and
all its fullness?  Can you imagine to yourselves anything that pertains to
this earth that does not belong to its Redeemer?  He is my master, my
elder brother.  He is the character I look to, and the one I try to serve
to the best of my ability.  Should I not be proud of my religion?  I think
if pride can at all be indulged in, the Latter-day Saints should be proud.

	I know there are a great many people who are not acquainted with the
history of this people; I am personally and most intimately acquainted
with the history of Joseph Smith and this people, for twenty-two years. 
There are a great many people that are not; and they have thought we have
been persecuted from state to state, and from place to place, because of
our wickedness and lawless acts among the people.  I need not say it to my
Father in heaven, to Jesus Christ His Son, or to the holy angels, or the
Prophets and Apostles, who have lived in former, or in latter days; for
they know it; but I can say to those who do not understand and know our
history, that we have been persecuted because we believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and do just as he has told us, and not because of the evil acts of
Joseph Smith.

	Joseph Smith was not killed because he was deserving of it, nor
because he was a wicked man; but because he was a virtuous man.  I know
that to be so, as well as I know that the sun now shines.  Every man and
woman who does the will of the Father, and will keep the commandments of
Jesus Christ, may also know, as well as myself--it is their privilege.  I
know for myself that Joseph Smith was the subject of forty-eight
law-suits, and the most of them I witnessed with my own eyes; but not one
action could ever be made to bear against him.  No law or constitutional
right did he ever violate.  He was innocent and virtuous; he kept the law
of his country, and lived above it; out of forty-eight law suits, (and I
was with him in the most of them), not one charge could be substantiated
against him.  He was pure, just, and holy, as to the keeping of the law. 
Now this I state for the satisfaction of those who do not know our
history; but the Lord and the angels know all about it.

	Let me ask another question; do the people know what we were driven
from Missouri for?  An old friend of mine, called upon me the day before
yesterday.  He said he had been watching my course, had looked and
inquired after me, and had endeavored to find out my history, for we were
friends.  I asked him if he knew anything about the Latter-day Saints, or
not?  I found he had been looking after me, and had learned I had become a
follower of Joseph Smith.  I said, Do you know anything about our history? 
By his reply, I found he knew nothing at all of it, in comparison.

	A great many are in the like situation.  Now let me relate one item
of it, not for those who are wise, and pretend to be filled with
knowledge, and at the same time know nothing, but I relate it for the
information of those who know nothing about it.  To my certain knowledge,
men and women left the counties of Davies and Caldwell, in the upper part
of the state of Missouri, set fire to their own buildings, drove off their
cattle killed and slayed, (I know, and could name the people), and then
swore the "Mormons" had done it.  Now this circumstance came under my
certain knowledge.  Says I, can it be possible that men can become so
corrupt, and so sunken in wickedness?  I say this for the information of
those who do not understand and know this people from the beginning.  From
the first day I knew brother Joseph to the day of his death, a better man
never lived upon the face of this earth.

	From the days of my youth, and I will say from the day that I came
upon the stage of action to act for myself, there never was a boy, a man,
either old or middle aged, that ever tried to live a life more pure and
refined than your humble servant.  As I told my friend, says I, Brother
Brown, I have tried to make myself a better man from the day of our first
acquaintance to this.  I have not infringed upon any law, or trod upon the
rights of my neighbors; but I have tried to walk in the paths of
righteousness, and live an humble life, that I might gain eternal
happiness.  I make bold to speak thus, though in the eastern world it is
quite unpopular to speak in one's own praise; but since I have become a
western man, I can make stump speeches.  Why am I driven from my
possessions?  Why am I persecuted, and forced to leave thousands and
thousands of dollars worth of property in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois? 
though I have never looked back upon it, it {s as ashes under my feet.  I
am in the hands of God, He gave it, and He took it away; and blessed be
the name of the Lord.

	I am in His hands; all men are in His hands; and He has turned the
enemy in his way. and held him by His power.  It is not I, it is not
Joseph, it is not this people, nor the wisdom they possess, that has
delivered them from their enemies; but it is the Lord.  He is our captain,
our pilot, and our master, and in Him do we glory, and will glory.  Let
the world say what they please, we will glory in our holy religion, and
God will we serve.  And furthermore let me remark, I am not afraid nor
ashamed to expose and oppose the iniquity of men, though they may stand in
high places; neither was Joseph Smith.  Let death come, no matter for
that; who cares for it?

	I am aware, as well as brother Kimball, if my body fall into the
dust, I am laying it down to abide the penalty of the law broken in the
fall of man; for dust I am, and unto dust I must return.  It is all right
to me; I have seen a great many times that I would like to have this body
lie down, but as long as the spirit and body hold together, my tongue
shall be swift against evil, the Lord Almighty being my helper.  Though it
may be in "Mormon" Elders, among the people in or out of the Church, if
they come in my path, where I can chastise them, the Lord Almighty being
my helper, my tongue shall be swift against evil; and if evil come, let it
come.  If for this my body shall fall, let it fall; when they have
destroyed the body, then they can do no more that they can do; that is the
end of their power, and of the power of the devil on this earth; but Jesus
Christ has power to destroy both soul and body in hell.  I thank you for
your attention.  May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

          THE PIONEERS--CAPABILITIES AND SETTLEMENT OF THE GREAT
                   BASIN--EXHORTATION TO FAITHFULNESS.
     A speech delivered by President Brigham Young in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, 1852, at the anniversary of the 24th of July, 1847.

	I wish to make a few remarks only to this congregation, as the time
allotted to us this morning, is far spent.  The remarks which have been
made previous to my rising are very good, as they are also true.  They are
things not fresh to the majority of this assembly, though there may be
some present who are perhaps ignorant of them.

	Suffice it to say, that five years ago this day, the Pioneers
approached this valley, with their implements of husbandry, &c., which
were represented by them in the procession to-day.  We came for the
purpose of finding a place to set our feet, where we could dwell in peace. 
That place we have found.  If the Saints cannot enjoy that peace which is
so dear to them here, I would say that I am ignorant of the spot on the
earth where they can.  Where could a place have been found where we might
enjoy freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of worship?  If
not in these mountains, I am ignorant of the place.

	We have enjoyed perfect peace here for five years; and I trust we
shall for many years to come.  If the Saints are persecuted, it is for
their good; if they are driven, it is for their good; consequently, when I
reflect, I have nothing to fear in all the persecutions or hardships I may
pass through in connection with this people, but the one thing, and that
is, to stray from the religion I have embraced, and be forsaken of my God. 
If you or I should see that day, we shall see at once that the world will
love its own; and affliction, persecutions, death, fire, and the sword,
will cease to follow us.

	If the Latter-day Saints magnify their calling, walk humbly before
their God, do the things that are pleasing to their Father in heaven, and
walk up to their duty in every respect, I am bold to say that not five
years only, but scores of years, will pass away without the Saints ever
being interrupted, or driven again from their possessions: thus far it is
for our good.

	I did not rise for the purpose of delivering an oration on this
occasion, but to remind you of the blessings we now are privileged to
enjoy.  When we first approached this valley, there was not a man upon the
face of the earth who ever had beheld these valleys of the mountains, or
knew anything of the Great Basin, who knew that corn, or any other kind of
grain could be raised here.  Can you find the man who had any knowledge of
the Great Basin, as it is called, that believed there could be an ear of
corn ripened in it?  There is not that man on the earth, when you have
excepted the people called the Latter-day Saints.  We came here and
planted our garden-seeds of various kinds, five years ago this day; they
grew, but they did not ripen, though the buck-wheat would have ripened,
perhaps, had it been properly taken care of; some other grains also would
have come to maturity, so as to have assisted a small colony to live here;
they, however, lived; how?  Shall I say by faith?  Yes, partially so; for
had they not had faith, they certainly never would have come to this
place: it is the faith of the Latter-day Saints that brought them here.

	There is a very mysterious principle that abides with this people; it
is a mystery, and one of the greatest mysteries to the inhabitants of the
earth that have been made acquainted by history, or by personal knowledge,
with this people.  And what makes it more singular, say they, by all our
calculations we cannot conceive of it; it is so mysterious that it
absolutely amounts to a miracle.  What is this great mystery?  It is that
these Latter-day Saints are of one heart, and of one mind.

	To Saint and sinner, believer and unbeliever, I wish here to offer
one word of advice and counsel, by revealing the mystery that abides with
this people called Latter-day Saints; it is the Spirit of the living God
that leads them; it is the Spirit of the Almighty that binds them
together; it is the influence of the Holy Ghost that makes them love each
other like little children; it is the spirit of Jesus Christ that makes
them willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Truth; and it was
that same Spirit that caused Joseph our martyred Prophet to lay down his
life for the testimony of what the Lord revealed to him.  This mystery,
the great mystery of "Mormonism," is, that the Spirit of the Lord binds
the hearts of the people together.  Let the world look at it.  This I say
by way of exhortation, if you please.  Let the inhabitants of the earth
gaze upon this people, this wondrous people, for a magic power attends
them; something mysterious hangs around them.  What is it?  It is not
magnetism; it is something more wonderful; those that are present this day
may truly say it is wonderful in the extreme.  Who gives me power, that
"at the pointing of my finger," the hosts of Israel move, and at my
request the inhabitants of this great Territory are displaced; at my
command they are here?  Who gives me that power?  Let the world inquire. 
It is the God of heaven; it is the Spirit of the Holy Gospel; it is not of
myself; it is the Lord Jesus Christ, trying to save the inhabitants of the
earth.

	The people are here; they endure. Did they bring their bread with
them? No.  Did they bring their meat with them?  No.  Did they bring that
that sustained them until they raised it from the earth?  They could not
do it, for they were obliged to bring tools, ploughs, drag-chains, &c.;
they were obliged to bring their wives and children in their wagons; five,
and six, and eight, and in some wagons ten, people would get huddled
together, to drive a thousand miles from all sustenance, and there plant
themselves in the wilderness, where nothing met the eye but snowy peaks,
and parched vales; and trust in the God of Israel to sustain them.  Let
the world ask the question--would the Methodists thus run the hazard of
losing their lives for their religion?  Would the Presbyterians, the
Baptists, the Quakers, or their old mother, the Roman Catholic church, run
the same risk?  Would she venture thus in the wilderness?  No.  It is not
very common to find a whole people on the earth, as in the case of the
Latter-day Saints, who would do it; though single individuals might be
found so enthusiastic as to sacrifice their lives, and run into a lion's
den, in proof of their faith in their religion.  But where are the tens of
thousands, and the scores of thousands, and the hundreds of thousands, who
would lay down every principle of life and happiness, and everything that
is desirable, pertaining to this world, for the principles of eternal
life; and would go forth into the wilderness, having no other stay but the
hand of God to lead them?  They are not to be found!

	We meet here and celebrate the day; five years we have been in this
valley; and I will say to the new comers, our brethren, or those who are
not our brethren, three years ago last October, the first house was reared
in this place.  There was not a rod of fence, nor a house, except the old
fort, and a little log cabin.  Here we are now, spread out from the east
to the west, measurably so, but more extensively to the north and south. 
Travel through the valleys, and scan the houses, and the farms, and see
the improvements that have been made; take the back track of the
"Mormons;" follow them from here to Nauvoo; from Nauvoo to Far West; then
to Kirtland; and back to Missouri again to Jackson county; and all people
will acknowledge that the "Mormons" have had enough to do to mind their
own business, and make the improvements that have been performed by them!
they have done nothing but mind their own business.  Look at the
improvements that have followed this people, in all their travels up to
this place, for a testimony of their endurance, and unflinching industry.

	I say to this community, be humble, be faithful to your God, true to
His Church, benevolent to the strangers that may pass through our
territory, and kind to all people; serving the Lord with all your might,
trusting in him; but never fear the frowns of an enemy, nor be moved by
the flatteries of friends or of enemies from the path of right.  Serve
your God; believe in Him, and never be ashamed of Him, and sustain your
character before Him, for very soon we will meet in a larger congregation
than this, and have a celebration far superior; we will celebrate our
perfect and absolute deliverance from the power of the devil; we only
celebrate now our deliverance from the good brick houses we have left,
from our farms and lands, and from the graves of our fathers; we celebrate
our perfect deliverance from these.

	Our lives have been spared, and we are yet upon this planet; and by
and by we will celebrate a perfect deliverance from all the powers of
earth; and we will keep our eyes set upon the mark, and go forward to
victory.

	I say to the aged, to the middle-aged, and to the young--all be true
to your God, true to your brethren, and kind to all, serving God with all
your heart.  And may He bless you for Jesus' sake.  Amen.

       WEAKNESSES OF MAN--LOYALTY OF THE SAINTS--CORRUPTION OF THE
           WORLD--TRUE LIBERTY--CONDUCT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
   A discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, August 1, 1852.

	As there is still a little time which may be occupied to our benefit
this morning, I arise to improve it.

	These are happy days to the Saints, and we should rejoice in them;
they are the best days we ever saw; and in the midst of the sorrows and
afflictions of this life, its trials and temptations, the buffetings of
Satan, the weakness of the flesh, and the power of death which is sown in
it, there is no necessity for any mortal man to live a single day without
rejoicing, and being filled with gladness.  I allude to the Saints, who
have the privilege of receiving the Spirit of truth, and have been
acquainted with the laws of the new covenant.  There is no necessity of
one of these passing a day without enjoying all the blessings his
capacities are capable of receiving.  Yet it is necessary that we should
be tried, tempted, and buffeted, to make us feel the weaknesses of this
mortal flesh.  We all feel them; our systems are full of them, from the
crown of the head to the soles of the feet; still, in the midst of all
these weaknesses and frailties of human nature, it is the privilege of
every person who has come to the knowledge of the truth, to rejoice in
God, the rock of his salvation, all the day long.  We rejoice because the
Lord is ours, because we are sown in weakness for the express purpose of
attaining to greater power and perfection.  In every thing the Saints may
rejoice--in persecution, because it is necessary to purge them, and
prepare the wicked for their doom; in sickness and in pain, though they
are hard to bear, because we are thereby made acquainted with pain, with
sorrow, and with every affliction that mortals can endure, for by contrast
all things are demonstrated to our senses.  We have reason to rejoice
exceedingly that faith is in the world, that the Lord reigns, and does His
pleasure among the inhabitants of the earth.  Do you ask if I rejoice
because the Devil has the advantage over the inhabitants of the earth, and
has afflicted mankind?  I most assuredly answer in the affirmative; I
rejoice in this as much as in anything else.  I rejoice because I am
afflicted.  I rejoice because I am poor.  I rejoice because I am cast
down.  Why?  Because I shall be lifted up again.  I rejoice that I am
poor, because I shall be made rich; that I am afflicted, because I shall
be comforted, and prepared to enjoy the felicity of perfect happiness, for
it is impossible to properly appreciate happiness, except by enduring the
opposite.

	I was glad to hear brother Babbit speak this morning.  He wondered
why he had been called to the stand to speak, and could not conceive of
any other reason, except it was that the people might know whether he was
in the faith or not.  He guessed pretty nigh right.  He has been gone some
time, and travels to and fro in the earth, playing into law up to the
eyes, mingling with the bustle of the wicked world.  Has he got any faith? 
We think he has.  I wanted to hear him speak, and to know what his
feelings were, and if the root of the matter was in him; so we had him
come before the public congregation, to exhibit it there.  My reasons for
pursuing such a course are known to myself; but one thing is certain, if
we magnify our calling as Elders in Israel, we are the saviors of the
children of men, instead of being their destroyers.  We were ordained to
save the people, and to save them in the manner the Lord has pointed out. 
The Savior came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; and
we preach to the people, and call upon them to be saved--not the
righteous, but we call upon sinners; for those that are well, need no
physician, but they that are sick.  With those who are saved already, we
have nothing to do.  But it is those who are in sin and transgression, who
are in darkness and in weakness, those who are wrapt up in the
superstitions and false traditions of the nations that have lived and
passed away, whom we must plead with and try to save; and if they begin to
see, continue to anoint their eyes with truth, that they may see clearly;
and put them in every possible condition we can place them in, to
encourage them to call upon the Lord, and trust in Him alone; for those
who will trust in the Lord will be made strong.

	As for the weaknesses of human nature, we have plenty of them;
weakness and sin are with us constantly; they are sown in the mortal body,
and extend from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet.  We need
not go to our neighbors for sin, to palliate all our crimes, for we
ourselves have plenty of it; we need not crave weakness from our fellow
man, we have our own share of it; it is for us to trust in the Lord, and
endeavor to deliver ourselves from the effects of sin, plead with every
person to take the same course, and propose and plan every possible means
to become friends of God, that we may thereby become friends of sinners,
and receive a great reward in a day to come.

	I am satisfied with the remarks of brother Babbit; and if we sum them
all up, and make a close calculation upon the whole, looking over the
lives of Prophets, Patriarchs, and Apostles; not overlooking the
circumstance of Peter denying his Lord, or any of the old ancients
faltering in their steps, transgressing, falling into weaknesses, turning
away from the commandments of the Lord, or being overtaken in any fault
whatever--sum up the whole, and add the weaknesses and sins of modern
Prophets, Apostles, and Saints; then sum up all the weaknesses and sins of
mankind, and bring them together, and you will find that it will never
justify you nor me one moment in doing a wrong thing, in forsaking the
Lord, and serving the devil, or any of his emissaries. Consequently, I
feel to urge upon every person who has named the name of Christ, the
necessity of his being faithful to the requirements of his religion, and
of shunning all evil, as quick as he becomes acquainted with the principle
by which he can discriminate between good and evil; and cleave unto the
good, follow after it, pray for it, and cling to it by day and by night,
if he wants to enjoy the blessings of a celestial kingdom.  I wish this
for myself and for my brethren.  Never think that the Lord will permit you
to commit a little sin here, and a little sin there; that He will permit
you to lie a little, serve yourselves or somebody else a little, besides
Him, because you have faith, and are a professed friend of God, and have a
desire to see His kingdom prevail, thinking you will be saved at last. 
This throws a person, at least, upon the ground where he is liable to be
overthrown by the enemy.  It is a risky position to stand in, to say the
least of it, for a Saint of God to say he can serve himself, or the enemy,
or anything else in this world, for gold; those who do it, stand upon
slippery ground, and if they are saved at all, it will be by the skin of
their teeth; so I will not justify any person in pursuing such a course. 
Brother Babbit has to law it here, and law it there; though he may not
feel justified in doing so, I rejoice to hear him declare that the root of
the matter is in him.  Would I not rather see him an almighty man before
God, thundering out the truths of eternity, and living in the frame of
revelation, than see him engaged in the paltry business of pettifogging? 
I thank the Lord for all the good and for all the faith there is in him. 
Brother Babbit is near to my heart, for notwithstanding all the faults of
the brethren, I love them--the old, middle aged, and young; if they have a
particle of love in them for the truth, they are near to my heart.  I wish
to bind them to the Lord, and to His cause upon the earth, that they may
secure to themselves salvation.

	I am happy, and am made glad this day.  If you wish to know what I
think of brother Babbit, I will tell you. If we could keep him here a few
months, and in our councils a few years, I think that he would despise
litigation as he would the gates of hell.  If we had him here, we would
wrap him up in the Spirit and power of God, and send him to preach glad
tidings to the nations of the earth, instead of his being engaged in the
low and beggarly business of pettifogging.  If he would dwell among us,
doubtless he would despise it, for it is from hell, and it will go there.

	We have heard good remarks, but let me forewarn you again, that the
Elders in Israel need never flatter themselves that they can serve the
devil, because they think the root of the matter is in them, for before
they are aware, they will be led captive by him, and he will lead them
down to hell.  That is my exhortation, not only to the Elders in Israel,
but to all Saints.

	There is one thing in the sayings of brother Babbit, which I will
refer to, in relation to the loyalty of this people.  I am at the defiance
of the rulers of the greatest nation on the earth, with the United States
all put together, to produce a more loyal people than the Latter-day
Saints.  Have they, as a people, broken any law?  No, they have not.  Have
the United States?  Yes! they have trampled the Constitution under their
feet with impunity, and ridden recklessly over all law, to persecute and
drive this people.  Admit, for argument's sake, that the "Mormon" Elders
have more wives than one, yet our enemies never have proved it.  If I had
forty wives in the United States, they did not know it, and could not
substantiate it, neither did I ask any lawyer, judge, or magistrate for
them.  I live above the law, and so do this people.  Do the laws of the
United States require us to crouch and bow down to the miserable wretches
who violate them?  No.  The broad law of the whole earth is that every
person has the right to enjoy every mortal blessing, so far as he does not
infringe upon the rights and privileges of others.  It is also according
to the acts of every legislative body throughout the Union, to enjoy all
that you are capable of enjoying; but you are forbidden to infringe upon
the rights, property. wife, or anything in the possession of your
neighbor.  I defy all the world to prove that we have infringed upon that
law.  You may circumscribe the whole earth, and pass through every
Christian nation, so called, and what do you find?  If you tell them a
"Mormon" has two wives, they are shocked, and call it dreadful blasphemy;
if you whisper such a thing into the ears of a Gentile who takes a fresh
woman every night, he is thunderstruck with the enormity of the crime. 
The vile practice of violating female virtue with impunity is customary
among the professed Christian nations of the world; this is therefore no
marvel to them, but they are struck with amazement when they are told a
man may have more lawful wives than one!  What do you think of a woman
having more husbands than one?  This is not known to the law, yet it is
done in the night, and considered by the majority of mankind to be all
right.  There are certain governments in the world, that give women
license to open their doors and windows to carry on this abominable
practice, under the cover of night.  Five years ago the census of New York
gave 15,000 prostitutes in that city.  Is that law?  Is that good order? 
Look at your Constitution, look at the Federal law, look at every
wholesome principle, and they tell you that death is at your doors,
corruption in your streets, and hell is all open, and gaping wide to
inclose you in its fiery vortex.  To talk about law and good order while
such things exist, makes me righteously angry.  Talk not to me about law.

 	Suppose that the things they are pleased to say about this people are
true, do you suppose I care about it?  I do not, for I ask no odds of
them.  This people have treated them kindly.  Did we not pay for our land
honorably when we settled in Missouri and other places?  We have paid them
millions of dollars for land, of which we have been basely robbed; and
shall I crouch down, and say I dare not speak of it?  I would rather have
my head severed from my body in this room, than be compelled to be silent
on this matter.  I am a green mountain boy, I was born in the State of
Vermont, and plead for my rights, and the rights of this people, upon the
broad Constitution of the United States, which we shall certainly
maintain, in spite of the poor, rotten, political curses that pretend to
enforce the Constitution.  I ask no odds of them.  I will feed them, if
they come hungry to my door, for they are flesh of my flesh.  The King
upon the throne, and the President in his chair, are the same to me as
these poor emigrants, who are lying around my doors--when they are hungry,
I feed them; when they are sick, I nurse them; the same as I would the
President of the United States, or any of the kings of Europe, unless they
were better men.

	As for the pride that is in the world, I walk over it, it is beneath
me.  To see men who are called gentlemen of character, sense, taste, and
ability, who pass through this city, and come bending with their
recommendation, saying, "Governor Young this," and "Governor Young
that"--it makes me feel to loathe such hypocritical show, in my heart.  I
shall not say all I think about it.  If they would come to me, and say,
"Brigham, how are you?" or, "I want to speak to you, &c.," with a good
honest heart in them, instead of, "Governor Young," "Governor Young," in a
canting tone, with hearts as black and deceitful as hell, they would
command that esteem from me which is due to an honest man.

	A blackleg is a polished rascal.  If you go to the polished circles
of society, you will find the greatest scape-graces and pickpockets
concealed under the most polished gentlemen ia appearance.  A man never
can be a polished scoundrel, until he can figure in polished society.  It
proves the truth of the saying, that it takes all the revelations of God,
and every good principle in the world, to make a man perfectly ripe for
hell.

	You will not see in the nature of a man who has a soul in him, and
who is filled with the Holy Ghost, a disposition to bow and scrape to
every blackguard that may come in the shape and address of a gentleman. 
But if you are thirsty, hungry, or destitute, I will assist you.  How many
have I helped away to California, and given them bread and meat,
notwithstanding they wanted to go to the devil; this made no difference to
me; I have helped them, and told them to go, if they wished to.  There is
no tyranny here, but perfect liberty, which is a boon held sacred to all
men.  They have a right to come and go as they please.  I do not ask you
to be a "Mormon."  Can you point out one person who has entreated any of
the emigrants to become "Mormons," since they came into our midst?  Since
their arrival here, we have been kind and hospitable to them, and have not
cared whether they have been "Mormons" or Methodists.  They can come and
hear preaching, if they think proper; but we shall never put them to any
trouble because they are not "Mormons."

	You may say you do not believe in God.  Well, it is your privilege to
believe as you like; you can believe in the Methodists' God, that has
neither body, parts, nor passions (which amounts to nothing at all), if
you please.

	But one may say, "I belong to the holy Catholic Church."  You have a
right to belong to what Church you please.  Another may say he believes in
and worships a white dog, for he has lived with the nations who have a
tradition teaching them to do so.  It is all right; you are as welcome to
worship a white dog as the God I do, if it is your wish.  I am perfectly
willing you should serve the kind of a god you choose, or no god at all;
and that you should enjoy all that is for you to enjoy.

	There are some things, however, I am not willing you should do.  For
instance, I am not willing you should steal the money out of my pocket,
and then cry, "Bad dog;" and get somebody to kill me.  I am not willing
you should enter my house to defile my bed, or endeavor to bring death
upon an innocent people.  I am not willing you should drive me and my
brethren from our houses and farms, as has been the case in former times. 
There are scores of thousands, I may say hundreds of thousands, of acres
of land in the United States, for which we have paid money, but which we
cannot possess.  I am not willing you should drive your cattle into my
corn field, which has been done before my eyes, by men who have thought,
"You are only poor damned Mormons anyhow, and we'll tread you down."  I am
willing every man should worship God as he pleases, and be happy.  But the
measure that has been meted to this people, will be measured to that
people; and it will be heaped up, pressed down, and running over; and then
as much again thrown in; all this good measure I am willing they should
have when the Lord will.  I shall not exult in the miseries that will come
upon them, but weep over them; whereas I have seen a mob with their rifles
pointed at me by hundreds, and could not be moved to tears, but I felt
like Daniel of old, "I will worship my God, and pray with my windows open,
if my life should be the penalty."  I would not be afraid if the whole
artillery of the United States, with the best engineers that could be
raised to manage it, were arrayed against me for righteousness' sake,
knowing that the God of heaven, in whom I trust, would not suffer a ball
to touch me, if it was His will that I should yet live.  This I have felt
time and time again.

	I do not desire to harass the feelings of the people by reiterating
the past, but if you want these things buried up, treat us like men and
human beings, and they will be forgotten, but if you still want to probe
us with the hot iron of persecution, probe on.

	We came here ourselves, unassisted by any power, but that of God, and
walked through the Indian tribes as independent as I am this day.  We dug
our way through the kanyons, and made the roads to this place; while at
the same time five hundred of our most energetic men were fighting the
battles of the United States in Mexico.

	When our women and children were left on the banks of the Missouri,
in a helpless condition, I said to one of the United States officers, who
had been threatening those who were left behind--"While I am gone to find
a home for my family, if you meddle with them, or insult them in the
least, by the Gods of Eternity I will be on your track."  And had their
threats been executed, I would have slain them, even though I should have
had to go into the heart of Washington city to do it.  Says he, "Mr.
Young, you talk strangely."  "Well," I said, "let my family alone;" for
they wanted to persuade them back to the other side of the river, to
afflict them still more.

	Five hundred of our best men were then in the United States' army,
traversing the sandy deserts and scorching plains of the South, without
shoes to their feet, or clothes to cover them. There are scores in the
congregation who can prove this declaration.  On one occasion they
travelled day and night for ninety miles, through the scorching sands,
without one drop of water.  And now, as payment for this arduous service,
they try to taunt us by saying--"We don't want to give you Mormons
anything."  I care not if you should never give us one dime.

	Now let me tell you the great killing story--"Governor Young has
sixteen wives, and fourteen babies."  Now they did not see that sight; but
the circumstance was as follows.  I took some of my neighbors into the
large carriage, and rode down to father Chase's, to eat water melons. 
When driving out of the gate in the evening, brother Babbit walks up, and
I invited him into the carriage, and he rode up into the city with me, and
I suppose he told the United States' officers.  That I believe is the way
the story of sixteen wives and fourteen children first came into
circulation.  But this does not begin to be the extent of my possessions,
for I am enlarging on the right hand and on the left, and shall soon be
able, Abraham like, to muster the strength of my house, and take my
rights, asking no favors of Judges or Secretaries.

	Do you think we shall all die in Utah?  If so, why have we not died
ere this, when we dwelt in the midst of a people that cherished hostile
feelings against the Latter-day Saints?  Who delivered Joseph Smith from
the hands of his enemies to the day of his death?  It was God; though he
was brought to the brink of death time and time again, and, to all human
appearance, could not be delivered, and there was no probability of his
being saved.  When he was in jail in Missouri, and no person expected that
he would ever escape from their hands, I had the faith of Abraham, and
told the brethren, "As the Lord God liveth, he shall come out of their
hands."  Though he had prophesied that he would not live to be forty years
of age, yet we all cherished hopes that that would be a false prophecy,
and we should keep him for ever with us; we thought our faith would
outreach it, but we were mistaken--he at last fell a martyr to his
religion.  I said, "It is all right; now the testimony is in full force;
he has sealed it with his blood, and that makes it valid."

	I would be happy, exceedingly happy, to let our past experience and
afflictions sleep for ever; but the Lord will not suffer me to let them
sleep. I would be willing to forget them, but I cannot.  The Lord will
never suffer this people to dwindle down, and be hid up in a corner; it
cannot be; neither does He want any person to help them but Himself. 
Satan and the Lord never can shake hands, and He will let the nation know
it; for He has got servants who will do His righteous will, and that
faithfully.  I would rather be chopped to pieces at night, and resurrected
in the morning, each day throughout a period of three-score years and ten,
than be deprived of speaking freely, or be afraid of doing so.  I will
speak for my rights.  I would just as soon tell a government officer of
his meanness and filthy conduct, as I would any other person; they are all
alike to God, and to those who know His will.

	I have studied the law, and say again, I defy the united authorities
of the earth to shew where this people have not been loyal, wherein they
have not proved loyal, in Germany, in France, in England, or in the United
States; for they are the best people upon the face of the earth to observe
the law and keep order.  I want to live perfectly above the law, and make
it my servant, instead of its being my master.  That is the way to live:
to be humble before God, and observe the laws; for there is no necessity
of breaking the laws in America, in keeping the commandments of God.  When
the law is our master, the yoke is hard to bear; but when it is our
servant, it works easy; whereas, if it be our master, we are continually
compelled and driven by it.

	There is not a single constitution of any single state, much less the
constitution of the Federal Government, that hinders a man from having two
wives; and I defy all the lawyers of the United States to prove the
contrary.

	Let the past experience be buried in the land of forgetfulness, if
the Lord will; but if this is done at all, it will be by showing kindness
towards us in the future.  If they wish us to forget the past, let them
cease to make and circulate falsehoods about us, and let all the good
people of the Government say--"Let us do this people good for the future,
and not try to crush them down all the day long by continuing to persecute
them."

	If we are a company of poor, ignorant, deluded creatures, why do not
they show us a better example?  Why not send the money to pay the expenses
of our legislature, and the expenses of the expeditions against the
Indians, as they do to other territories?  Their present course towards
us, put in language, is, "We will squeeze them still, and dig out their
eyes if it be possible."  While they continue to pursue that course
towards us, we shall continue to tell them of it.  It makes me think of
what an old farmer said in Boston, who had been in the habit of paying his
merchant's bills very punctually, but, from some cause, he did not
continue to meet his payments as usual.  The merchant sent for him, and
said--"I have always found you to be a very honest man, why do you now lie
to me?"  The farmer replied,--"Because I am pinched."  The merchant
asked--"How hard should an honest man be pinched to make him lie?"  The
farmer replied--"Just pinch him till he lies."  They want to pinch us till
we are led to do something to bring the whole nation down upon us,
according to the plan of old Tom Benton, but, gentlemen, this cannot be
done, for there is a God in Heaven, and He rules, thank His Holy Name; and
we will be wise enough to keep His commandments, that we may be saved. 
Amen.

        THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION--A VISION--REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH
                       AND ALL THAT PERTAINS TO IT.
   A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, August 8, 1852.

	I will read a revelation given to Joseph Smith, junior, and Sidney
Rigdon.  But previous to my doing so, and commencing upon the subject that
I expect to lay before the people this morning, I will say to them, my
understanding with regard to preaching the Gospel of Salvation is this:
there is but one discourse to be preached to all the children of Adam; and
that discourse should be believed by them, and lived up to.  To commence,
continue, and finish this Gospel sermon, will require all the time that is
allotted to man, to the earth, and all things upon it, in their mortal
state; that is my idea with regard to preaching.  No man is able to set
before a congregation all the items of the Gospel, in this life, and
continue these items to their termination, for this mortal life is too
short.  It is inseparably connected, one part with the other, in all the
doctrines that have been revealed to man, which are now called the various
doctrines of Christianity, of which all the professors of religion believe
a portion; but severally reject, or desire to reject, other portions of
the truth; each sect or individual, taking to themselves portions of the
Bible, portions of the doctrine of salvation, that are the most pleasing
to them, rejecting all the rest, and mingling these doctrines with the
tenets of men.

	But let a Gospel sermon be preached, wherein all the principles of
salvation are embodied, and we will acknowledge, at the end of the
mortality of this earth, and all things created upon it--at the closing up
scene, at the final consummation of all things that have been from the
commencement of the creation of the world, and the peopling of it unto the
latest generation of Adam and Eve, and the final finishing up of the work
of Christ--I say, we shall acknowledge that there is the Gospel sermon,
and that it could not be preached to finite beings, in one short life.

	I make these remarks for the purpose of extricating myself from the
arduous task of undertaking to set before this congregation, every item of
the doctrine of salvation, in all of their various significations, as they
are presented in this life, and according to our understanding.  I make
these introductory remarks to free myself from the great task of finishing
the discourse I shall commence.  I did not expect to finish it; I do not
expect to see the end of it, until the winding up scene.  I do not even
commence at the beginning of it; I only catch at it, where it comes to me,
in the 19th century, for it has been before me; it is from eternity to
eternity.

	Christ is the author of this Gospel, of this earth, of men and women,
of all the posterity of Adam and Eve, and of every living creature that
lives upon the face of the earth, that flies in the heavens, that swims in
the waters, or dwells in the field.  Christ is the author of salvation to
all this creation; to all things pertaining to this terrestrial globe we
occupy.

	This, however, would be contrary to our prejudices, to admit for a
moment, that Christ, in his redeeming properties, has power to redeem any
of the works of his hands--any other living creature, but the children of
Adam and Eve--this would not be in accordance with our prepossessed
feelings, and long-imbibed prejudices, perhaps; but he has redeemed the
earth; he has redeemed mankind and every living thing that moves upon it;
and he will finish his Gospel discourse when he overcomes his enemies, and
puts his last enemy under his feet--when he destroys death, and him that
hath the power of it--when he has raised up this kingdom, and finished his
work which the Father gave him to do, and presents it to his Father,
saying, "I have done the work, I have finished it; I have not only created
the world, but I have redeemed it; I have watched over it, and I have
given to those intelligent beings, that you have created by me, their
agency, and it has been held with perfection to every creature of
intelligence, to every grade of mankind; I have preserved inviolate their
agency; I have watched over them, and overruled all their actions, and
held in my hand the destinies of men; and I have finished up my Gospel
sermon," as he presents the finished work to his Father.  

	It takes just such a character as the Savior, to preach one Gospel
discourse; and this was commenced with the commencement of all men upon
this earth or any other; and it will never close until the winding up
scene, and all is finished, and the kingdom is presented to the Father.

	I expect only to look into some portions of it, as it comes to me in
the 19th century of the Christian era.

	I will now read a revelation that was given to Joseph Smith, junior,
and Sidney Rigdon, called

                                A VISION.

	"1.  Hear O ye heavens, and give ear O earth, and rejoice, ye
inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no
Savior: great is his wisdom, marvellous are his ways, and the extent of
his doings none can find out; his purposes fail not, neither are there any
who can stay his hand; from eternity to eternity he is the same, and his
years never fail.

	"2.  For thus saith the Lord, I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious
unto those who fear me, and delight to honour those who serve me in
righteousness and in truth unto the end, great shall be their reward and
eternal shall be their glory; and to them will I reveal all mysteries;
yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages
to come will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will
concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom; yea, even the wonders of
eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the
things of many generations; and their wisdom shall be great, and their
understanding reach to heaven: and before them the wisdom of the wise
shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught;
for by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known
unto them the secrets of my will; yea, even those things which eye has not
seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.

	"3.  We, Joseph Smith, junior, and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit
of the sixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-two, by the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened
and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the
things of God--even those things which were from the beginning before the
world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his only begotten
Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom
we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in
the heavenly vision; for while we were doing the work of translation,
which the Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of
the fifth chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows: speaking of
the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of
the Son of man, and shall come forth; they who have done good in the
resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil in the resurrection
of the unjust.  Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of
the Spirit; and while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the
eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand
of the Father, and received of his fulness; and saw the holy angels, and
they who are sanctified before his throne, worshipping God, and the Lamb,
who worship him forever and ever.  And now, after the many testimonies
which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all, which we
give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even on the right hand of God,
and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the only begotten of the
Father--that by him, and through him, and of him the worlds are and were
created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto
God.  And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was
in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the only
begotten Son, whom the Father loved, and who was in the bosom of the
Father--was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was
called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him--he was Lucifer, a son of
the morning.  And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us
that we should write the vision, for we beheld Satan, that old
serpent--even the devil--who rebelled against God, and sought to take the
kingdom of our God, and his Christ, wherefore he maketh war with the
saints of God, and encompasses them round about.  And we saw a vision of
the sufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame, for thus came
the voice of the Lord unto us.

	"4.  Thus saith the Lord, concerning all those who know my power, and
have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves, through the
power of the devil, to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my
power--they are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it
had been better for them never to have been born, for they are vessels of
wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in
eternity; concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this
world nor in the world to come, having denied the Holy Spirit after having
received it, and having denied the only begotten Son of the Father--having
crucified him unto themselves, and put him to an open shame.  These are
they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil
and his angels, and the only ones on whom the second death shall have any
power; yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due
time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath; for all the rest
shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the
triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of
the Father before the worlds were made.  And this is the gospel, the glad
tidings which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us, that he
came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to
bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it
form all unrighteousness; that through him all might be saved whom the
Father had put into his power and made by him, who glorifies the Father,
and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition, who
deny the Son after the Father has revealed him; wherefore he saves all
except them; they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is
endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil
and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched, which is their torment; and the end thereof, neither the
place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows, neither was it revealed,
neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made
partakers thereof: nevertheless I the Lord show it by vision unto many,
but straightway shut it up again; wherefore the end, the width, the
height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither
any man except them who are ordained unto this condemnation.  And we heard
the voice, saying, write the vision, for lo! this is the end of the vision
of the sufferings of the ungodly!

	"5.  And again, we bear record, for we saw and heard, and this is the
testimony of the gospel of Christ, concerning them who come forth in the
resurrection of the just; they are they who received the testimony of
Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his
burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the
commandment which he has given, that by keeping the commandments they
might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy
Spirit by the laying on of the hands  of him who is ordained and sealed
unto this power, and who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy
Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are
just and true.  They are they who are the church of the first-born.  They
are they into whose hands the Father has given all things--they are they
who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his
glory, and are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchisedek,
which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the only
begotten Son; wherefore, as it is written, they are Gods, even the sons of
God--wherefore all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things
present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ's and
Christ is God's; and they shall overcome all things; wherefore let no man
glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all
enemies under his feet--these shall dwell in the presence of God and his
Christ forever and ever.  These are they whom he shall bring with him,
when he shall come in the clouds of heaven, to reign on the earth over his
people.  These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection. 
These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just. 
These are they who are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all.  These are they who
have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and
church of Enoch, and of the first-born.  These are they whose names are
written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all.  These are
they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new
covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of
his own blood.  These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is
that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory
the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.

	"6.  And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo,
these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that
of the church of the first-born, who have received the fulness of the
Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun of the firmament. 
Behold, these are they who died without law, and also they who are the
spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the
gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,
who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards
received it.  These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who are
blinded by the craftiness of men.  These are they who receive of his
glory, but not of his fulness.  These are they who receive of the presence
of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father; wherefore they are
bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the
moon differs from the sun.  These are they who are not valiant in the
testimony of Jesus; wherefore they obtained not the crown over the kingdom
of our God.  And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the
terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the
Spirit.

	"7.  And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is
that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of
the glory of the moon in the firmament.  These are they who received not
the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.  These are they who
deny not the Holy Spirit.  These are they who are thrust down to hell. 
These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil, until the last
resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb shall have finished his
work.  These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world,
but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial; and
the terrestrial through the ministration of the celestial; and also the
telestial receive it of the administering of angels who are appointed to
minister for them, or who are appointed to be ministering spirits for
them, for they shall be heirs of salvation.  And thus we saw in the
heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all
understanding, and no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it. 
And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial, which excels in all things
the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and
in dominion.  And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in
all things--where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and
ever; before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence and give him
glory forever and ever.  They who dwell in his presence are the church of
the first-born, and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known,
having received of his fulness and of his grace; and he makes them equal
in power, and in might, and in dominion.  And the glory of the celestial
is one, even as the glory of the sun is one.  And the glory of the
terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one.  And the glory
of the telestial is one, even as the gory of the stars is one, for as one
star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another
in glory in the telestial world; for these are they who are of Paul, and
of Apollos, and of Cephas.  These are they who say they are some of one
and some of another--some of Christ, and some of John, and some of Moses,
and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of
Enoch; but received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus,
neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant. Last of all, these
all are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught up
unto the church of the first born, and received into the cloud.  These are
they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and
whosoever loves and makes a lie.  These are they who suffer the wrath of
God on the earth.  These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal
fire.  These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of
Almighty God, until the fulness of times when Christ shall have subdued
all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work, when he
shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father spotless,
saying--I have overcome and have trodden the winepress alone, even the
winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.  Then shall he
be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power
to reign for ever and ever.  But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the
inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the
stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the sea shore, and
heard the voice of the Lord, saying--these all shall bow the knee, and
every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and
ever; for they shall be judged according to their works, and every man
shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the
mansions which are prepared, and they shall be servants of the Most High,
but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end.  This
is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write
while we were yet in the Spirit. 

	"8.  But great and marvellous are the works of the Lord, and the
mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpasses all
understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion, which he commanded
us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful
for man to utter; neither is man capable to make them known, for they are
only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God
bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him; to whom
he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves; that
through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in the flesh,
they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory.  And to God
and the Lamb be glory, and honor, and dominion forever and ever.  Amen."

	These are the words of the vision that were given to Joseph and
Sidney.  My mind rests upon this subject, upon this portion of the Gospel
of salvation; and has done so, more or less, for a great many years.  The
circumstances that surround me, almost daily; things that I see and hear,
cause my mind to reflect upon the situation of mankind; create in me an
anxiety to find out--to learn why things are as they are; why it is that
the Lord should build a globe like this earthly ball, and set it in
motion--then people it with intelligent beings, and afterwards cast a vail
over the whole, and hide Himself from His creation--conceal from them the
wisdom, the glory, the truth, the excellency, the true principles of His
character, and His design in forming the earth.

	Why cast this vail over them, and leave them in total darkness--leave
them to be carried away with erroneous doctrines, and exposed to every
species of wickedness that would render them obnoxious to the presence of
God, who placed them upon the face of this earth.  My daily experience and
observation cause me to enquire into these things.  Can I attribute all to
the wisdom of Him that has organized this earth, and peopled it with
intelligent beings, and see the people honestly desiring to do right all
the day long, and would not lift hand or heel against the Almighty, but
would rather have their heads taken from their bodies than dishonor him? 
And yet, we hear one crying on the right hand, this is the law of God,
this is the right way; another upon the left, saying the same; another in
the front; and another in the rear; and to every point of the compass,
hundreds and thousands of them, and all differing one from another.

	They do the best they can, I admit.  See the inhabitants of the
earth, how they differ in their prejudices, and in their religion.  What
is the religion of the day?  What are all the civil laws and governments
of the day?  They are merely traditions, without a single exception.  Do
the people realize this--that it is the force of their education that
makes right and wrong, with them?  It is not the line which the Lord has
drawn out; it is not the law which the Lord has given them; it is not the
righteousness which is according to the character of Him who has created
all things, and by His own law governs and controls all things; but by the
prejudice of education--the prepossessed feeling that is begotten in the
hearts of the children of men, by surrounding objects; they being
creatures of circumstances, who are governed and controlled by them more
or less.  When they, thus, are led to differ one from another, it begets
in them different feelings; it causes them to differ in principle, object,
and pursuit; in their customs, religion, laws, and domestic affairs, in
all human life; and yet every one, of every nation there is under heaven,
considers that they are the best people; that they are the most righteous;
have the most intelligent and best of men for their priests and rulers,
and are the nearest to the very thing the Lord Almighty requires of them. 
There is no nation upon this earth that does not entertain these
sentiments.

	Suppose a query arising in the minds of the different sects of the
human family--"Do not the Latter-day Saints think they are the best people
under the whole heavens, like ourselves?"  Yes, exactly; I take that to
myself.  The Latter-day Saints have the same feelings as the rest of the
people; they think also, that they have more wisdom and knowledge, and are
the nearest right of any people upon the face of the earth.

	Suppose you visit China, and mingle among the "celestial" beings
there; you will find a people who hold in scorn and ridicule every other
people, and especially those of Christendom.  They consider themselves
more holy, more righteous, more upright, more honest; filled with more
intelligence; they consider themselves better educated; better in every
respect, in all their civil and religious rites than any other nation
under heaven.

	Suppose you next visit Spain; there you will find the mother, and
grandmother, and great-grandmother of all the Christian denominations upon
the face of the earth--though these are but a scanty proportion of
mankind, compared with all the inhabitants upon the face of the globe.  I
suppose not one twelfth, or one sixteenth part of the inhabitants of the
earth, believe in Jesus Christ--and probably not one thirtieth part of
them.

	Take the mother of modern Christianity; go into Italy--to Rome, the
seat of her government, and we find that they also consider themselves to
be the best people in the world--the nearest the Lord and the path of
right--more so than any other people upon the face of the earth.

	Then visit the first Protestant church that was organized, and they
consider themselves nearer right than their mother, or any of their
sisters.  You may thus follow it down to the last reformer upon the earth;
and then step back to those we call heathen; to all that ever lived, from
the place where Noah landed his ark, to the building of the tower of
Babel; and in their dispersion, trace their footsteps to the islands and
continents, under the whole heavens, and you cannot find a people that do
not believe they are nearest right in their religion--more so than their
neighbors--and have the best form of civil government.

	Suppose you call upon the aborigines of our country, here, these wild
Indians; we call them savages; we call them heathens.  Let yourselves be
divested of prejudice; let it be entirely forgotten and out of the
question, together with all your education, and former notions of things,
your religious tenets, &c., and let your minds be in open vision before
the Almighty, seeing things as they are, you will find that that very
people know just as much about the Lord as anybody else; like the rest of
mankind, they step into a train of ideas and ordinances, peculiar to the
prejudices of their education.

	All this I admit; and I admit it upon the resources of my own
knowledge that I have pertaining to the inhabitants of the earth; this,
also, every person knows, who is acquainted with the different customs and
religions of different countries.

	Let me step over into England, and carry with me my Yankee notions
and manners, and I should be a burlesque to them.  Let an Englishman pass
over into Scotland, and speak and act according to English customs, it
would differ so far from them, that they would laugh at him.  Let a
Scotchman or an Englishman go to Ireland, and it would be just the same. 
This difference of feeling, sentiment, and custom, exists in those
countries that are so near each other.  If you go to France, you find that
they walk over the customs and manners of England, as unworthy of their
notice.  Should you thus go, from one people to another, throughout all
nations, you would find that they differ in their religions and national
customs, according to the teachings of their mother, and the priest.  In
this manner the consciences of mankind are formed--by the education they
receive.  You know this to be true, by your own experience.

	That which you once considered, perhaps, to be a non-essential in
religion, you now consider to be very essential.  That which you once
esteemed to be unbecoming in society, has become so interwoven in your
feelings, by being accustomed to it, that it ultimately appears quite
rational to you.

	When you survey the inhabitants of the world, you will find that the
religious tenets of all nations have sprung from their education;
consequently, if we should summon the whole earth before us, and strictly
examine them, we should find that the nations of the earth, as far as they
know and understand, are doing about the best they know how; they are just
about as near right as they know how to be. 

	These tribes of Indians differ from one another in their sentiments
and feelings; they war with each other, and try to destroy each other; and
why do they do it?  Why, "you are not as righteous as I am, and I want to
bring you over to my holy faith."  You see these bands of Indians doing
these things, and you spurn the idea.  Suppose you extend the principle,
and carry it among the greatest nations of the earth; and you would see
Queen Victoria, one of the most powerful sovereigns, sitting at the head
of one of the most powerful nations upon the earth, sending her forces
among these "celestial" ones, battering down the walls of China,
bombarding their cities, throwing confusion into their States, and
destroying thousands of their people--extending their sway of empire over
India, And why all this?  "To subdue you heathens, and bring you over to
our more enlightened customs and religion."

	Does one nation rise up to war with another without having motives,
and those which they will substantiate as being good and sufficient?  Will
one people rise up to war with another people, except the motive that
moves them is of a nature to justify them in their own minds and judgment
for doing so?  No.  There is not a people upon the face of this earth that
would do so; they all calculate to do that which seemeth good to them.

	There are the Jews--and recollect that they are a very religious
people to this day; a more religious people never lived  than they, that
is, the tribe of Judah, and the half tribe of Benjamin that were left in
Jerusalem--they are as tenacious as any people can be, to this day, for
the religion of their fathers; and where can you see them among the
nations of the earth, without seeing a hunted, driven, and persecuted
people?  The laws of nations have been framed for the express purpose of
killing and destroying them from the earth.  Yes, in the midst of nations
that profess to adhere to the doctrines of Christianity--that legislate,
and make laws, and put them in force--laws have been made to exterminate
them; then cry out against them, and raise mobs to persecute and destroy,
and clear the earth of the Jews.  Notwithstanding all this, will they
forsake their religion?  No.  They have suffered themselves to be stoned
in the streets of the cities, their houses to be burned over their heads;
but will they forsake their religion?  No; they will perish rather.

	The Christians say they are wrong; and the "Holy Roman Catholic
Church" would have killed every one of them, hundreds of years ago, had
not God promised by His holy Prophets, that they should remain and
multiply.  They have been distributed, dispersed, scattered abroad among
the nations of the earth, to fulfil that, and many more of the sayings of
their Prophets: and they are as tenacious, this day, with regard to their
religion, as in the days of Moses, and are as anxiously expecting, and
looking for the Messiah.

	Conscience is nothing else but the result of the education and
traditions of the inhabitants of the earth.  These are interwoven with
their feelings, and are like a cloak that perfectly envelops them, in the
capacity of societies, neighborhoods, people, or individuals; they frame
that kind of government and religion, and pursue that course collectively
or individually, that seemeth good to themselves.

	When we look at the whole creation, and that, too, from the days of
Adam, down to this time, what do we see?  According to the reading of the
Bible, the sayings of Jesus Christ, of all the ancient Prophets, and of
the Apostles, every soul, every son and daughter of Adam and Eve, that
have lived from the day of transgression to this time; and that will live
from this time henceforth, so long as any of the posterity of Adam and Eve
shall continue upon the earth, unless they know Jesus Christ, and his
Father, and receive the Holy Ghost, and be prepared to dwell with the
Father and the Son; become acquainted with them, and converse with them,
they will all be damned; every soul of them will be sent to hell.

	And what do we see on the back of this, I ask?  We see that all
Christendom are ready to pounce upon them that believe in Jesus Christ,
and are trying to attain to this knowledge, and grind them down, and send
them down, and continue to bear upon them, and crowd them down, down to
the bottom of the "bottomless pit," and throw upon them pig metal, and
lead, to keep them down. This is what we see; and all creation may see it
also, if they will open their eyes.

	I shall not undertake to prove from the Bible every thing I say, yet
it is all there.

	With regard to the peculiar and varied formations of the religions of
the day, I will say, we can see in them the first strong lines of the
religion of Christ drawn out, which have existed among them from the days
of the apostacy from the true order, to the present day.

	If you could just humble yourselves until your eyes should be
enlightened by the Spirit of God, by the spirit of intelligence, you may
understand things the world cannot see; and understand that it is the
privilege of every person to know the exact situation of the inhabitants
of the earth, for themselves.  The ancient Apostles saw it; Jesus Christ
knew all about it; and the Prophets before them prophesied, and wrote, and
preached about what was then upon the earth, what had been, and what would
be.

	The inquiry might be made, "Can any person in the world prophesy,
unless he possess the spirit of it?"  No, they cannot. They may prophesy
lies by the spirit of lies, by the inspiration of a lying spirit, but can
they see and understand things in the future, so as to prophesy truly of
things to come, unless they are endowed with the spirit of prophecy?  No. 
Is this the privilege of every person?  It is.  Permit me to remark
here--this very people called Latter-day Saints have got to be brought to
the spot where they will be trained (if they have not been there already,)
where they will humble themselves, work righteousness, glorify God, and
keep His commandments.  If they have not got undivided feelings, they will
be chastised until they have them; not only until every one of them shall
see for themselves, and prophesy for themselves, have visions to
themselves, but be made acquainted with all the principles and laws
necessary for them to know, so as to supersede the necessity of anybody
teaching them.

	Is not the time to come when I shall not say to my neighbor, know the
Lord, for he will know Him as well as I do?  This is the very people that
have to come to it, sooner or later.  Can we come to it?  We can.  If you
are industrious and faithful scholars in the school you have entered into,
you shall get lessons one after another, and continue on until you can see
and understand the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which can be
understood according to a systematic principle, and can be demonstrated to
a person's understanding as scientifically as Professor Pratt, who sits
directly behind me, can an astronomical problem.

	I do not purpose to go into that, or to say anything to the brethren
or to this people with regard to their daily walk and actions.  I proposed
to view the inhabitants of the earth and their situation, that you and I
might understand that the Lord Almighty has a hand in all these matters;
that the Lord is on the earth, and fills immensity; He is everywhere; He
dictates governors and kings, and manages the whole affairs of the nations
of the earth, and has from the days of Adam, and will until the winding up
scene, and the work shall be finished.

	There is only one Gospel sermon, recollect, brethren and sisters, and
the time that is required to preach it is from the day of the fall, or
from the day when Adam and his wife Eve came here upon this planet, and
from that time until Jesus Christ has subdued the last enemy, which is
death, and put all things under his feet, and wound up all things
pertaining to this earth.  Then the Gospel will have been preached, and
brought up and presented, and the effects thereof, to the Father.

	Now what shall we do with the inhabitants of the earth?  Their true
situation can be presented to your minds, if you will calmly reflect. 
Every person, whether they have travelled or not, if they are acquainted
with the history of nations, can discover at once the variety there is of
religions, customs, laws, and governments; and if you will apply your
hearts, you can understand the cause of this variety of effects.

	Again, there are the nations that have lived before us; what shall we
do with them?  And what is their situation in the other world?  What have
we now to say of them? I can tell it in short.  We are preaching to them
the Gospel of salvation--to the dead--through those who have lived in this
dispensation; and it is a part and parcel of the great Gospel discourse, a
little here and a little there, that is necessary for the nation unto whom
given.  With regard to doctrine, rules, customs, and many sacraments, they
are meted out to the inhabitants of the earth severally as they stand in
need, according to their situations and what is required of them.

	You may ask, "What is meted out to us?"  I answer, the ordinances,
the sacraments that the Lord Jesus christ instituted for the salvation of
the Jews, for all the house of Israel, and then for the Gentiles.  This is
the Gospel--the plan of salvation the Lord has given to us.  This is the
kingdom the Lord has presented to us; the same he presented to the
Apostles in the days of Jesus.  Now it is for the people to become
acquainted with these laws and ordinances of salvation, then apply them to
their lives, and that will save as many in the celestial kingdom, in the
presence of the Father and Son, as will strictly adhere to them.  This we
read in the sacred book; we have it before us all the time, that just as
many as will believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, live up to its
requirements in their lives, and die in the faith, shall receive a crown
of life with the Apostles, and all the faithful in Christ Jesus.

	What next?  I will tell you a practice of the Latter-day Saint Elders
generally.  For instance, I get up here, and preach the fulness of the
Gospel, perhaps to individuals who never heard it before in their lives,
and I close by saying, you that believe this which I have told you, shall
be saved; and if you do not, you shall be damned.  I leave the subject
there.  But, says one, "don't the Bible say so?"  You ought to explain
yourself. "I only said what the Savior taught--he says, go into all the
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is
baptized, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned. 
Don't I say the same?"  You leave it there, don't you?  "Yes; the Apostle
left it there, and so do I."

	I wish to explain it a little more, according to the plain, simple,
English language.  The sum of this practice is this; when I preach a
gospel sermon, and they don't believe what I say, I straightway seal their
damnation.  Brethren, do you believe in such a thing as that?  I do not;
yet there are many of the Elders just so absurd.

	I recollect, in England, sending an Elder to Bristol, to open a door
there, and see if anybody would believe.  He had a little more than thirty
miles to walk; he starts off one morning, and arrives at Bristol; he
preached the Gospel to them, and sealed them all up to damnation, and was
back next morning.  He was just as good a man, too, as we had.  It was
want of knowledge caused him to do so.  I go and preach to the people and
tell them at the end of every sermon, he that believeth and is baptized,
shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned.  I continue
preaching there day after day, week after week, and month after month, and
yet nobody believes my testimony, that I know of, and I don't see any
signs of it.  "What shall I do in this case, if I am sent to preach
there?"  you may inquire.  You must continue to preach there, until those
who sent you shall tell you to leave that field of labour; and if the
people don't manifest by their works, that they believe, as long as they
come to hear me, I will continue to plead with them, until they bend their
dispositions to the Gospel.  Why?  Because I must be patient with them, as
the Lord is patient with me; as the Lord is merciful to me, I will be
merciful to others; as He continues to be merciful to me, consequently I
must continue in long-suffering to be merciful to others--patiently
waiting, with all diligence, until the people will believe, and until they
are prepared to become heirs to a celestial kingdom, or angels to the
devil.

	When the book of Mormon was first printed, it came to my hands in two
or three weeks afterwards. Did I believe, on the first intimation of it? 
The man that brought it to me, told me the same things; says he, "This is
the Gospel of salvation; a revelation the Lord has brought forth for the
redemption of Israel; it is the Gospel; and according to Jesus Christ, and
his Apostles, you must be baptized for the remission of sins, or you will
be damned."  "Hold on," says I.  The mantle of my traditions was over me,
to that degree, and my prepossessed feelings so interwoven with my nature,
it was almost impossible for me to see at all; though I had beheld, all my
life, that the traditions of the people was all the religion they had, I
had got a mantle for myself.  Says I, "Wait a little while; what is the
doctrine of the book, and of the revelations the Lord has given?  Let me
apply my heart to them;"  and after I had done this, I considered it to be
my right to know for myself, as much as any man on earth.

	I examined the matter studiously for two years before I made up my
mind to receive that book.  I knew it was true, as well as I knew that I
could see with my eyes, or feel by the touch of my fingers, or be sensible
of the demonstration of any sense.  Had not this been the case, I never
would have embraced it to this day; it would have all been without form or
comeliness to me.  I wished time sufficient to prove all things for
myself.

	The Gospel of Jesus Christ, must be preached to all nations for a
witness and a testimony; for a sign that the day has come, the set time
for the Lord to redeem Zion, and gather Israel, preparatory to the coming
of the Son of Man.  When this Gospel is preached to the people, some will
believe, and some will not know whether to believe it, or not.  This is
the situation of the world; go forth among the people; go among your own
neighbors, and you may see it; because the Lord has touched your
understanding with the spirit of truth, it looks to you as though all the
world will believe it, if they can only hear your testimony; you go and
preach to them, but, to your astonishment, they seem perfectly
uninterested; some go to sleep, and others are dreaming of their farms and
possessions.

	The Methodist will tell you, he has had the Gospel from his youth,
and been brought up in the Methodist society; and so will the Quaker; and
so will the Presbyterian; and so will the Shakers; for they say they are
the only people, who are preparing for the Millennium.  What is law here,
is not there; and what is not there, is here.  I have been used to this
method of worship, or that; and have heard the good old tone, all the days
of my life.

	The Methodists come along and say, you may be baptized by pouring, or
by sprinkling, or not at all, for there is nothing essential in it. 
Another man says, you can partake of the Lord's Supper if you like, or let
it alone, for it is non-essential; if you have only the good old tone, you
are all right.

	Now I ask a question:  Who is there that can know the things of God;
who can discern the truth from the error?  Where is the man; where are the
people now in the world that can do it?  They do not exist.  Let the best
wisdom of the world be summoned to their aid, and they cannot know the
things of God.  Let a man be endowed with the revelations of Jesus Christ,
and he will say at once, they  cannot tell--it is impossible.  Let the
just Judge sound his trump, what would he say?  I can read it to you in
this book.  (Laying his hand on the Bible.)

	He is compassionate to all the works of His hands, the plan of His
redemption, and salvation, and mercy, is stretched out over all; and His
plans are to gather up, and bring together, and save all the inhabitants
of the earth, with the exception of those who have received the Holy
Ghost, and sinned against it.  With this exception, all the world besides
shall be saved.  Is not this Universalism?  It borders very close upon it.

	I have preached portions of the doctrine of salvation to the people,
when I travelled abroad.  When I would take up this subject, the
Universalists would run after me hundreds of miles, saying, "We are
Universalists, where I live; we are troubled with the Methodists, and the
various sects; won't you come and use them up for us; we want them whipped
out."

	It is only parts and portions of the Gospel that you hear; a little
here, and a little there, scattered all over the world.  Now let the
hearts of the children of men be enlightened; let them be awakened to
understand the designs of the Lord, in the salvation of man, and what will
their voices echo one to another?  I will tell you what would be the
feeling of every heart; salvation, glory, hallelujah to God and the Lamb,
forever and ever.  Why?  Because of His abundant mercy and compassion;
because His wisdom has devised for us, that which we could not have
devised for ourselves.  That is what all creation would do.

	I will take up another thread of my discourse, by observing, that a
few men upon the earth, have found an item of truth, here and there, and
incorporated it with their own wisdom, and taught the world that the Lord
designs to save all mankind, no matter what they do.  Another portion will
catch at the Calvinistic principles; they hold that the Lord has
fore-ordained this, that, and the other, and vigorously contend that the
Lord did decree, and did fore-ordain whatsoever comes to pass, and away
they run.  Another comes along with free salvation to all; he has caught
that principle, and away they all go, deprecating everything else, only
the little particle each one has incorporated to himself.

	It is this that makes the variance in the religious world.  We see a
party here, and a party there, crying, "Lo here, and lo there;" and the
people are contending bitterly with each other, nation against nation,
society against society and man against man, each seeking to destroy the
other, or bring them to this little particle of doctrine, that each one
thinks is just right.  It is right, as far as it goes.

	Man is made an agent to himself before his God; he is organized for
the express purpose, that he may become like his master.  You recollect
one of the Apostle's sayings, that when we see Him, we shall be like Him;
and again, we shall become Gods, even the sons of God.  Do you read
anywhere, that we shall possess all things?  Jesus is the elder brother,
and all the brethren shall come in for a share with him; for an equal
share, according to their works and calling, and they shall be crowned
with him.  Do you read of any such thing as the Savior praying, that the
Saints might be one with him, as he and the Father are one?  The Bible is
full of such doctrine, and there is no harm in it, as long as it agrees
with the New Testament.

	I will continue the point I am now at. The Lord created you and me
for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself; when we have been proved in
our present capacity, and been faithful with all things He puts into our
possession.  We are created, we are born for the express purpose of
growing up from the low estate of manhood, to become Gods like unto our
Father in heaven.  That is the truth about it, just as it is.  The Lord
has organized mankind for the express purpose of increasing in that
intelligence and truth, which is with God, until he is capable of creating
worlds on worlds, and becoming Gods, even the sons of God.

	How many will become thus privileged?  Those who honor the Father and
the Son; those who receive the Holy Ghost, and magnify their calling, and
are found pure and holy; they shall be crowned in the presence of the
Father and the Son.  Who else?  Not anybody.  What becomes of all the
rest.  Are you going to cast them down, and sink them to the bottom of the
bottomless pit, to be angels to the devil?  Who are his angels?  No man
nor woman, unless they receive the Gospel of salvation, and then deny it,
and altogether turn away from it, sacrificing to themselves the Son of God
afresh.  They are the only ones who will suffer the wrath of God to all
eternity. 

	How much does it take to prepare a man, or woman, or any being, to
become angels to the devil, to suffer with him to all eternity?  Just as
much as it does to prepare a man to go into the celestial kingdom, into
the presence of the Father and the Son, and to be made an heir to His
kingdom, and all His glory, and be crowned with crowns of glory,
immortality, and eternal lives.  Now who will be damned to all eternity? 
Will any of the rest of mankind?  No; not one of them.

	The very heathen we were talking about; if they have a law, no matter
who made it, and do the best they know how, they will have a glory which
is beyond your imagination, by any description I might give; you cannot
conceive of the least portion of the glory of God prepared for His beings,
the workmanship of His hands; for these people who are seated before me,
who are the sons and daughters, legitimately so, of our Father in heaven,
they all sprung from Him; it hath not entered into the heart of man to
conceive what He has prepared for them.

	The Lord sent forth His Gospel to the people; He said, I will give it
to my son Adam, from whom Methuselah received it; and Noah received it
from Methuselah; and Melchisedek administered to Abraham.  In the days of
Noah, the people generally rejected it.  All those who became acquainted
with its principles, and thereby were made acquainted with, and tasted the
power of salvation, and turned away therefrom, became angels to the devil.

	Let us apply it directly to ourselves, who have received the truth,
and tasted of the good word of God.  Let me turn around with you and
reject it, and teach our children that it is an untruth, teach the same to
our neighbors, and that it is a burlesque to our senses; let us deny the
Lord that brought us, what would be the result?  Our children would grow
up in unbelief, and the sin would rest upon our heads.  Suppose we are
faithful, and the people will not believe our testimony, we shall receive
our reward, the same as though they did believe it. 

	Suppose the inhabitants of the earth were before me, those who have
died, what shall we say of them?  Have they gone to heaven, or to hell? 
There is a saying of a wise man in the Bible, like this:  "Who knoweth the
spirit of a man that goeth upward or the spirit of the beast that goeth
downward?"  All have spirits, I should suppose, by this.  Again, there is
another saying, "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, and blessed be
the name of the Lord."  Man dies, and his spirit goes to God who gave it. 
All these things are within the scope of the Gospel sermon; all these
principles are embraced in this great Gospel dicourse [sic].

	What shall we say without going to the Scriptures at all?  Where do
the spirits of this people go to, when they lay down their tabernacles?
They go into the presence of God, and are at the pleasure of the Almighty. 
Do they go to the Father and the Son, and there be glorified?  No; they do
not.  If a spirit goes to God who gave it, it does not stay there.  We are
all the time in the presence of the Lord, but our being in the presence of
the Lord, does not make it follow that He is in our presence; the spirits
of men are understood to go into the presence of the Lord, when they go
into the spiritual world.

	The Prophet lays down his body, he lays down his life, and his spirit
goes to the world of spirits; the persecutor of the Prophet dies, and he
goes to Hades; they both go to one place, and they are not to be separated
yet.  Now. understand, that this is part of the great sermon the Lord is
preaching in his providence, the righteous and the wicked are together in
Hades.  If we go back to our mother country, we there find the righteous
and the wicked.

	If we go back to our mother country, the States, we there find the
righteous, and we there find the wicked; if we go to California, we there
find the righteous and the wicked, all dwelling together; and when we go
beyond this vail, and leave our bodies which were taken from mother earth,
and which must return; our spirits will pass beyond the vail; we go where
both Saints and sinners go; they all go to one place.  Does the devil have
power over the spirits of just men?  No.  When he gets through with this
earth, he is at the length of his chain.  He only has permission to have
power and dominion on this earth, pertaining to this mortal tabernacle;
and when we step through the vail, all are in the presence of God.  What
did one of the ancients say?  "Whither shall I go from thy spirit, and
whither shall I flee from thy presence; if I ascend up into heaven, thou
art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there; if I take the
wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth, even
there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."  Where is
the end of His power?  He is omnipotent, and fills immensity by His
agents, by His influence, by His Spirit, and by His ministers.  We are in
the presence of God there, as we are here.  Does the enemy have power over
the righteous?  No.  Where are the spirits of the ungodly?  They are in
prison.  Where are the spirits of the righteous, the Prophets, and the
Apostles?  They are in prison, brethren; that is where they are.

	Now let us notice a little experience, lest some of you should be
startled at this idea.  How do you feel, Saints, when you are filled with
the power and love of God?  You are just as happy as your bodies can bear. 
What would be your feelings, suppose you should be in prison, and filled
with the power and love of God; would you be unhappy? No.  I think prisons
would palaces prove, if Jesus dwelt there.  This is experience.  I know it
is a starling idea to say that the Prophet and the persecutor of the
Prophet, all go to prison together.  What is the condition of the
righteous?  They are in possession of the spirit of Jesus--the power of
God, which is their heaven; Jesus will administer to them; angels will
administer to them; and they have a privilege  of seeing and understanding
more than you or I have, in the flesh; but they have not got their bodies
yet, consequently they are in prison.  When will they be crowned, and
brought into the presence of the Father and the Son?  Not until they have
got their bodies; this is their glory.  What did the holy martyrs die for? 
Because of the promise of receiving bodies, glorified bodies, in the
morning of the resurrection.  For this they lived, and patiently suffered,
and for this they died.  In the presence of the Father, and the Son, they
cannot dwell, and be crowned, until the work of the redemption of both
body and spirit is completed.  What is the condition of the wicked?  They
are in prison.  Are they happy?  No; They have stepped through the vail,
to the place where the vail of the covering is taken from their
understanding.  They fully understand that they have persecuted the just
and Holy One, and they feel the wrath of the Almighty resting upon them,
having a terrible foreboding of the final consummation of their just
sentence, to become angels to the devil; just as it is in this world,
precisely.

	Has the devil power to afflict, and cast the spirit into torment? 
No!  We have gained the ascendency over him.  It is in this world only he
has power to cause affliction and sickness, pain and distress, sorrow,
anguish, and disappointment; but when we go there, behold! the enemy of
Jesus has come to the end of his chain; he has finished his work of
torment; he cannot come any further; we are beyond his reach, and the
righteous sleep in peace, while the spirit is anxiously looking forward to
the day when the Lord will say, "Awake my Saints, you have slept long
enough;" for the trump of God shall sound, and the sleeping dust shall
arise, and the absent spirits return, to be united with their bodies; and
they will become personages of tabernacle, like the Father, and His Son,
Jesus Christ; yea Gods in eternity.

	They look forward with great anxiety to that day, and their happiness
will not be complete--their glory will not attain to the final
consummation of its fulness, until they have entered into the immediate
presence of the Father and the Son, to be crowned, as Jesus will be, when
the work is finished.  When it is wound up, the text is preached, in all
its divisions, pertaining to the redemption of the world, and the final
consummation of all things; then the Savior will present the work to the
Father, saying, "Father, I have finished the work thou gavest me to do;"
and the Son will give it up to the Father, and then be subject to Him, and
then he will be crowned, and that is the time you and I will be crowned
also.

	We will notice, by this, that all the nations of the earth, with the
exception of those who have apostatized from the Gospel salvation; every
son and daughter of Adam, except those who have denied the Holy Ghost,
after having received it, are placed in prison with the rest of them, with
Prophets, Priests, and Saints.  Suppose we quote a little Scripture on
this point.  Jesus died to redeem the world.  Did his body lay in the
tomb?  Did his spirit leave his body?  Yes.  Where did his spirit go, you
may inquire?  I do not know that I can tell you any better than what the
ancient Apostle has told it; he says he went to preach to the spirits in
prison.  Who are they to whom he went to preach?  The people who lived in
the antediluvian world.  He preached the Gospel to them in the spirit,
that they might be judged according to men in the flesh.

	What shall we say of the people who live in the 19th century?  When
any of the Latter-day Elders or Apostles die, and leave this world,
suffice it to say, that their spirits go to that prison, and preach the
Gospel to those who have died without hearing it; and every spirit shall
be judged precisely as though he lived in the flesh, when the fulness of
the Gospel was upon the earth.  This leads to the subject of the saving
and redeeming powers possessed by the righteous; but we shall not have
time this morning to treat upon it, suffice it to say, that saviors are
coming up, in the last days, upon mount Zion.

	This I say of every son and daughter of Adam, Prophets, Priests, and
those that slew the Prophets, all go to prison; the Elders of this Church
go there, and there continue their labors; and by and bye you will see
Zion redeemed, and saviors will come up upon mount Zion.  The faithful
Elders will come, and go forward in the ordinances of God, that our
ancestors, and all who have died previous to the restoration of the Gospel
in these last days, may be redeemed.

	Now, ye Elders of Israel, when you say that John Wesley went to hell,
say that Joseph Smith went there too. When you tell about Judas Iscariot
going to hell, say that Jesus went there too.  The world cannot see the
whole of the Gospel sermon at one glance; they can only pick up a little
here, and a little there.  They that do understand it from the beginning
to the end, know that is as straight as a line can be drawn.  You cannot
find a compass on the earth, that points, so directly, as the Gospel plan
of salvation.  It has a place for every thing, and puts everything in its
place.  It divides, and sub-divides, and gives to every portion of the
human family, as circumstances require.

	It is for us to get rid of that tradition in which we are incased,
and bring up our children in the way they should go, that when they get
old, they will not depart from it.  It is your privilege and mine, to
enjoy the visions of the Spirit of the Lord, every one in his own order,
just as the Lord has ordained it, that every man and woman may know for
themselves, if they are doing right, according to the great plan of
salvation.  I have only touched a little of the great Gospel sermon, and
the time has come, that we must close our meeting; so may the Lord God of
Israel bless you, in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

           EXTENSIVE CHARACTER OF THE GOSPEL--COMPREHENSIVENESS
                        OF DIVINE REVELATION, ETC.
      A Discourse by President Brigham, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, August 15, 1852.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I am confident I have the prayers of the Saints and the faith of
those who have faith.  It is seldom that I request the Saints to pray for
me, for I judge them by myself with a righteous judgment.  I always pray
for the Saints, and suppose in return they pray for all the faithful; and
consequently, I have my share of their prayers.

	I recollect a statement that I made, last Sabbath, with regard to the
Gospel--what a Gospel sermon is, how long it takes to preach it, and what
it comprises; that it takes the same time to preach it that it does to
accomplish the plan of salvation pertaining to the children of men.

	I have never yet seen the time that I had wisdom, strength, and
ability enough to preach a Gospel discourse--to commence it, and finish
it, setting before the people the plan of salvation sufficiently full,
that thereby they might be saved.  But it is only given in portions--a
little here, and a little there, by feeble man.

	The subject that is before us to-day is in the great discourse.  To
understand the first principles of the Gospel--to rightly understand them,
a man must have the wisdom that comes from above; he must be enlightened
by the Holy Ghost; his mind must be in open vision:  he must enjoy the
blessings of salvation himself, in order to impart them to others.

	In our capacity, we are privileged, in a spiritual point of view,
precisely as we are in a temporal point of view.  We have the privilege of
learning and adding to the knowledge we have already obtained.  We have a
knowledge, for instance, of the rudiments of the English language.  If we
continue in our studies--in our exertions to acquire information, we
obtain more knowledge; and if we continue still to persevere, we add still
more to that, until we are perfect masters of the language.

	Again, with regard to mechanism, in a certain sense, the same
principle will hold good.  We have the privilege of learning the arts and
sciences that the learned among the Gentile nations understand; we have
the privilege of becoming classical scholars--of commencing at the
rudiments of all knowledge--of entering into the academies, we might say,
of perfection.  We might study, and add knowledge to knowledge, from the
time that we are capable of knowing anything until we go down to the
grave.  If we enjoyed healthy bodies, so as not to wear upon the functions
of the mind, there is not end to a man's learning.  This compares
precisely with our situation pertaining to heavenly things.

	The capacity of mankind in attaining to geometrical knowledge and the
fine arts is great:  all nations and people understand more or less of the
knowledge pertaining to the arts and sciences.  But when they leave those
principles that are comprehended in the studies pursued by the natural
man, and undertake to define their own persons, their own being, and to
understand the propriety and wisdom of the creation, and bring forth to
themselves or to others those principles that pertain to future knowledge,
they are in the dark; there is a veil over them.  The veil of the covering
that is over the nations of the earth has beclouded their understandings,
so that they are in thick darkness.  This our experience teaches us--that
when any uninspired person or persons (who pretend to) step beyond
organized nature, which is visible to the natural eyes, there is a
mystery--the hidden mystery--the deep and unsearchable mystery of
creation.

	We can see the natural man, we can behold our face in the glass; but
can we tell what manner of person we are?  Can we define the object of
this organization--of this body?  Can we circumscribe it?  Can we fathom
the depths, the propriety, the necessity, and the object of Divine wisdom
in our organization?  It is a mystery to the wisest there is upon the
earth.  We see life in action:  this we witness daily; ourselves, we act;
we see others act.  We have sight to see; our ears are organized to hear,
our hands to feel, and all the system throughout seems to be perfectly
framed to sense and understanding; and the mystery of it is such that the
wisest of all the philosophers are ready to acknowledge, and exclaim, It
is a mystery!--it is not to be fathomed or understood by man.  When we
advance into the future or recede into the past, either plunges a man into
still greater mystery.  It is a mystery that the world have sought after
by their wisdom:  they have studied diligently for the express purpose of
becoming acquainted with these mysteries.  Thousands and thousands have
spent their whole lives in study--have sought after and read the comments
and ideas of others with the utmost anxiety and fervency of intention,
seeking to find that which others have not found--to learn that which has
not been learned.

	This Book, which is the Old and New Testament, preaches but one
sermon from Genesis to Revelations.  We commence and go through with this
volume; then search all those books which have been rejected by the
Christian nations as not canonical, and any other writings of Prophets and
Apostles, and all good men,--all revelations that have been set aside, and
considered unnecessary,--summon all the revelations that have been given
from the days of Adam to the present time; and what is the sum of the
whole of the teachings of Him who has created (the Supreme of the
universe)--who has organized and planned and executed and brought into
existence--all his teachings to his people?  Simply this--Son, daughter,
live before me, so that I can come and visit you:  order your lives with
that propriety, that I will not be disgraced to come and abide with you
for a season; or, when I send my angels or my minister the Holy Ghost to
reveal my mind and will to you, or to bless you with abiding comfort, that
they may not be disgraced in your society.

	I say, all revelations of God teach simply this--Son, Daughter, you
are the workmanship of mine hands:  walk and live before me in
righteousness; let your conversation be chaste, let your daily deportment
be according to my law; let your dealings one with another be in justice
and equity; let my character be sacred in your mouth, and do not profane
my holy name and trample upon mine authority; do not despise any of my
sayings, for I will not be disgraced.  I wish to send one of my servants
to visit you.  What for?  That you may see and know as others have--that
you may see as you are seen--that you may understand those principles
pertaining more particularly to the kingdom you are in.  I have, in my
wisdom, reduced you; I have caused that you should drink of the dregs of
the bitter cup.  I have placed you in the depths of ignorance, and have
surrounded you with weakness, to prove you.  I have subjected you to all
misery that can be endured.  I have caused you to come upon this earth,
where misery, and darkness, and every species of unbelief and wickedness
reign, to prove you, that you may understand and know the good from the
evil, and be capable of judging between these with a righteous judgment.

	I have caused all this to be done; and now, son and daughter, the
inhabitants of the whole earth that have lived from the days of Adam until
now, the first and the last,--the grand aim of all that I, the Lord, have
revealed is to instruct you to live so that I can come and visit you, or
send my angels, that they can enter into your habitations, walk and
converse with you, and they not be disgraced.  By so doing, you shall be
made partakers of all knowledge and wisdom, power and glory that the
sanctified or glorified beings enjoy.  And this is, first of all, what the
Lord wishes of the people.

	What does our experience teach us--our eyes witness day by day? 
True, I may say, with many of you, I am not under the necessity of hearing
the name of my God, whom I serve, my Father in heaven, blasphemed daily; I
am not associated with those who blaspheme the name of the Father and the
Son, and the character of the Holy Ghost; I do not associate with those
who are liars, or adulterers, or whoremongers, or those who love and make
a lie.  You can say the same:  yet, when we mingle among the wicked, what
do we see and hear?  What do these my brethren hear, that take the pains
to go into the kanyons to sell a little beer to the traveller?  They hear
the name of the Lord that brought them blasphemed.  It would take all the
teams you have in the country to draw gold enough to tempt me into such a
situation.

	Men are going crazed to attend the ferries, in order to amass a few
paltry dollars.  What do you hear there?  You hear the name of the Lord
Almighty, and his character, and his Son Jesus Christ, and his minister
the Holy Ghost, blasphemed; and every servant of God upon the earth is
cursed by them to the lowest regions.  It is not all the gold of Ophir and
California that could hire me to hear it for one month.  These are my
feelings.

	Gold and silver will perish, but the name of the Almighty will remain
for ever.  His character will not sink, nor the character of his Son, nor
of his ministers, nor of any of his faithful servants who keep his
commandments.  Riches will perish, but they will endure.  I say again,
there is not gold enough lying east of the Rocky Mountains to bring me to
one of these ferries and hear the blasphemies I should have to hear.  But
can we not hear it here?  Yes--to the shame and disgrace of a few of those
that call themselves Latter-day Saints.  Is it so, that there is a man
whose name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life that will take the name
of the Deity in vain?  I speak to you who are trifling with the Lord Jesus
and the Holy Spirit of promise, to the shame of a few of the Elders of
Israel.

	The time will come when they will be cut off, though I am sorry to
say that.  I would rather say that while I am in the society of the
Latter-day Saints, I might never hear the character of the Deity ridiculed
and disgraced, and his name used in a light and trifling manner.

	It is true, I do not hear it.  If I were to hear that which other
people say they hear--an Elder of Israel use the name of the Lord God in
vain, I should cut him off from the Church; and if I could not get any
help to cut him off, I would do it myself.  Let me tell you, he must be a
very ignorant man who can use the name of the Deity in vain, without
having to repent forthwith.

	While I was talking, last Sabbath, I wished that I could have
strength of lungs to speak about one thousand years, and live without
eating or resting.  I thought in that time we should get pretty well
through with a portion of the Gospel sermon.

	I will now read a little in this book, called the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants, pertaining to the subject we had before us last Sabbath.  I
will read a part of a short revelation, in order to exhibit some items of
doctrine that are not generally understood, although it is before the
people.  All people who are disposed, have the privilege of reading this
book for themselves; for it has been published to the world for some
years.  The Saints read it and have the privilege of understanding it, if
they choose.  Still, as I observed, we are in the school and keep
learning, and we do not expect to cease learning while we live on earth;
and when we pass through the veil, we expect still to continue to learn
and increase our fund of information.  That may appear a strange idea to
some; but it is for the plain and simple reason that we are not
capacitated to receive all knowledge at once.  We must therefore receive a
little here and a little there.

	I will read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 44:--

	"A commandment of God, and not of man, to Martin Harris, given
(Manchester, New York, March, 1830,) by Him who is eternal."

	I could give the people the cause of this revelation, but it is not
necessary.  I may say a word upon it when I come to it in the revelation,
which will explain all that is necessary.  Those who are acquainted with
Martin Harris know his natural turn and disposition:  he wanted to learn
all things at once, was continually in pursuit of knowledge, and neglected
to act upon that which he had already received.  That is his true
character, as far as I have known him.  The revelation reads as follows:--

	"I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the
Beginning and the End, the Redeemer of the world:  I have accomplished and
finished the will of Him, whose I am, even the Father, concerning me;
having done this that I might subdue all things unto myself, retaining all
power, even to the destroying of Satan and his works at the end of the
world and the last great day of judgment, which I shall pass upon the
inhabitants thereof, judging every man according to his works and the
deeds which he hath done."

	We read in the Bible, you recollect, that every man shall be judged
according to his works; but it is almost impossible; or, I will say, it is
a considerable task and quite a labour to get a community to understand
these words as they read; when, in reality, to those that understand them,
it is as plain to them as it is for this congregation to count how many
fingers I am now holding up before you.  If I hold up two fingers, you
exclaim, There are two.  But somebody will start up and say, No; there is
but one; while another declares, There are four, and not one or two. 
Every person has a privilege of looking for themselves, and may know
whether I hold up one, two, or four fingers.  To a person who understands
this saying it is just as easy for him to judge and know that mankind will
be judged according to their works which they do in the body; and yet how
hard it is to get the people to say it is so, and have them understand it.

	"And surely every man must repent or suffer; for I, God, am endless: 
wherefore I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass; but woes shall go
forth, weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth,--yea, to those who are
found on my left hand:  nevertheless, it is not written that there shall
be no end to this torment; but it is written, Endless torment."

	This revelation has been before the people, in this volume, since the
year 1834, and yet how few have paid attention to it.  Suppose I repeat a
part of this last quotation--"Neverless [sic], it is not written that
there shall be no end to this torment; but it is written, Endless
torment."

	"Again, it is written, Eternal damnation:  wherefore, it is more
express than other Scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the
children of men, altogether for my name's glory:  wherefore, I will
explain unto you this mystery; for it is meet unto you to know, even as
mine Apostles.  I speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as
one, that you may enter into my rest.  For behold the mystery of
godliness, how great is it?  For behold, I am endless, and the punishment
which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. 
Wherefore, eternal punishment is God's punishment.  Endless punishment is
God's punishment."

	If I recollect right, I think there is no place in the Bible so
explicit, with regard to this name of the Deity--"for Endless is my name."

	"Wherefore, I command you to repent and keep the commandments which
you have received by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith, junior, in my
name; and it is by my Almighty power that you have received them: 
therefore I command you to repent, repent, lest I smite you by the rod of
my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be
sore--how sore, you know not! how exquisite you know not! yea, how hard to
bear, you know not!  For behold, I, God have suffered these things for
all, that they might not suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself,
even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at
every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit, and would that I might not
drink the bitter cup and shrink:  nevertheless, glory be to the Father!
and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. 
Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my
almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these
punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in
the least degree, you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit."

	This language needs no particular explanation to those who ever knew
Martin Harris.

	"And I command you that you preach naught but repentance; and show
not these things unto the world until it is wisdom in me; for they cannot
bear meat now, but milk they must receive:  wherefore they must not know
these things, lest they perish.  Learn of me and listen to my words; walk
in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.  I am Jesus
Christ:  I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will."

	I want to connect this part of the revelation given to Martin Harris,
with a few words in the revelation called the Vision:--

	"Thus saith the Lord, concerning all those who know my power, and
have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves, through the
power of the Devil, to be overcome, and to deny the truth, and to defy my
power:  they are they who are the sons of perdition, and whom I say that
it had been better for them never to have been born; for they are vessels
of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the Devil and his
angels, in eternity:  concerning whom, I have said there is not
forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come; having denied the Holy
Spirit, after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son
of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves, and put him to an
open shame:  these are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and
brimstone, with the Devil and his angels, and the only ones on whom the
second death shall have any power; yea, verily, the only ones who shall
not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his
wrath; for all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the
dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb who was slain--who was
in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made."

	I wished to connect these two quotations, and refer directly to the
situation of the world, believing that this can be made profitable like
everything else.  All the revelations that are given, and every revelation
that was given, and every matter of fact or truth that is revealed to the
children of men is for their benefit; and, if improved upon, in honesty
and truth, in righteousness and humility, to the glory of God, and to
their own honour, it is a lasting benefit; but if they should turn about
and make an evil use of it, it always will be to their condemnation: 
consequently, it is for the inhabitants of the earth to know the blessings
and the privileges the Lord has for them to enjoy.  It was said by the
Saviour, when in the flesh, to the scribes and pharisees and learned
doctors of the law; and it will apply to every class and grade and every
individual in every community:  "This is the condemnation, that light has
come into the world, and men choose darkness rather than light."

	So it is; it always has been, and it always will be so:  when light
comes, if the people reject that light, it will condemn them, and will add
to their sorrow and affliction.  So it is with the inhabitants of the
earth, at the present day, as much as it was in the days of the Saviour,
or in any other period of the world.  Light comes into the world, but men
choose darkness:  when they do, it proves that their deeds are evil.  This
principle may prove beneficial to us and to every son and daughter of Adam
who hear and have the privilege of hearing and of understanding for
themselves.

	When we take a view of the inhabitants of the earth, and look at
ourselves, and contemplate our own situation and circumstances, we are
satisfied that we, as a people, are favored above any other class upon the
face of this globe.  Our blessings are multiplied unto us more than any
people.  We have the privilege of knowing how to escape this world of
sorrow and sin, to enter into the strait gate that was spoken of by the
Saviour, and obtain eternal life.

	Is there any other people that know these principles--that have
committed to them the keys of the holy Priesthood, by which they may save
themselves, save their families, save their neighbours, and save all that
will hear them?  Where is that community?  I do not know.  So may this
congregations exclaim, if the same inquiry was made of them:  they can
say, We do not know.

	We are blessed, greatly blessed; and when we contemplate even upon
our afflictions, the fact is, they appear to us not worth mentioning: 
they should never come into remembrance before us.  We have the privilege
of serving the Lord, of growing in grace, and obtaining that which the
Lord has for us.  This is the people that Lord designs should be prepared
to enter in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate and narrow is the
way, says Jesus, that leadeth to the endless lives.  It is translated in
King James' version of the Old Testament, "That leadeth unto eternal
life."  But in our late revelations it is rendered, "Strait is the gate
and narrow is the way that leadeth to the endless lives, and few there be
that find it."

	Were I do inquire of the Latter-day Saints if they are all expecting
to enter in the strait gate spoken of by the Saviour--if they are all
going to inherit eternal lives, every one would answer in the affirmative. 
I hope they will.  It really would rejoice me, were it to be so; but I
cannot believe for a moment that every person who receives this Gospel
will be prepared to enter in at the strait gate and inherit eternal lives. 
But there is one fact, and that is undeniable--we cannot alter it, and
that is, every man shall be judged according to his works, and every man
will receive according to the extent of his capacity.

	Every individual among the Latter-day Saints and among all professors
of religion, and then among all the heathen upon the face of the earth,
will be judged according to their works.  Is this all?  No.  Every
individual will also receive according to the extent of his capacity.  The
inquiry might arise, Are all individuals who receive the new and
everlasting covenant, and by their acts submit to it,--are they capable of
receiving the glory to be revealed--the crowns of glory, of immortality,
and eternal lives?  You may answer that question yourselves.  Pause a
moment.

	I will refer your minds to Abraham.  He lived many years without
children, and sought diligently of the Lord to know if his name should be
blotted from the book--if it should become extinct.  He was a righteous
man, a good man, and conversed with his Lord, received revelations from
above, and communed with heavenly beings; while his constant cry was O
Lord, shall my name stop here?  You can read in the Bible how he obtained
a promise, and his wife actually bore him a son in her old age.  He
obtained this promise--"Abraham my son, you shall have a posterity, and a
great nation shall spring forth from your loins; you shall receive the
desire of your heart.  What can you desire, Abraham?"  I want to know if
this will be the end of my posterity? and is my name to stop here?  No,
says the Lord; to your posterity there shall be no end.  You remember what
the Apostle says concerning this matter.  It is this:--"His seed shall be
like the sands upon the sea-shore, and like the stars in the firmament,
for multitude; they cannot be numbered from this time henceforth and for
ever; they are endless, and still continue to increase and increase.

	Here is the very posterity of Abraham in this house.  Nearly the
whole of this congregation in composed of them; and they are on the
increase, spreading forth on the right and on the left, according to the
promise made to Abraham, and the blessings he was earnestly seeking for. 
I mention this to remind you of one fact:  it is a great blessing, and one
of the greatest that can be bestowed upon a mortal being, to receive the
sanction of the Almighty, the voice of God to man, saying that he shall
inherit eternal lives.  The gifts that can be bestowed upon mankind.

	When we step forth into other communities, or contemplate the past,
and view our forefathers, what will be their situation?--what their doom? 
I can tell you, and you will allow me to judge the matter; not, however,
that I am going to judge them and pronounce sentence upon them; but their
situation is plain to those who understand.

	My father and grandfather--my ancestors were some of the most strict
religionists that lived upon the earth.  You no doubt can say the same
about yours.  Of my mother--she that bore me--I can say, no better woman
ever lived in the world than she was.  I have the feelings of a son
towards her:  I should have them--it is right; but I judge the matter
pertaining to her from the principles and the spirit of the teachings I
received from her.

	Would she countenance one of her children in the least act that was
wrong according to her traditions?  No, not in the least degree.  I was
brought up so strict, so firm in the faith of the Christian religion by my
parents, that if I had said "Devil," I believed I had sworn very wickedly,
no matter on what occasion or under what circumstances this might occur. 
If I used the name of Devil, I should have certainly been chastised, and
that severely.  Would my father or mother allow any of their children to
cay "Darn it?"  Were they every allowed to say "I vow?"  No.  If we had
said either of these words, we should have been whipped for it.  I don't
say that we did not say such things when out of the sight of father and
mother; but if by any means it came to their ears, we were sure to be
chastised.

	Did I ever hear a man swear in my father's house?  No, never in my
life.  I never heard my father or any person about his premises swear as
much as to say "Darn it," or "Curse it," or "the Devil."  So you see I was
brought up pretty strictly.  My mother, while she lived, taught her
children all the time to honour the name of the Father and the Son, and to
reverence the holy Book.  She said, Read it, observe its precepts, and
apply them to your lives as far as you can:  do every thing that is good;
do nothing that is evil; and if you see any persons in distress,
administer to their wants:  never suffer anger to arise in your bosoms;
for, if you do, you may be overcome by evil.  I do not know that I every
wronged my neighbour, even to the value of a pin.  I was taught, when a
child, not to take a pin from the door-yard of a neighbour, but to carry
it into the house and give it to some of the family.  Never did my mother
or father countenance any of their children in anything to wrong their
neighbour or fellow-being, even if they were injured by them.  If they
have injured me, says my father, let me return good for evil, and leave it
in the hand of the Lord; he will bless me for doing right and curse them
for doing wrong.

	I have merely mentioned my own parents and their teachings to their
children to bring before your minds the thousands and millions and
thousands of millions of the inhabitants of the earth who have lived and
passed off this stage of action, and the millions that are now living,
eating, drinking, and busily engaged in the almost endless pursuits of
mortal life an we are, every one moving according to his own capacity and
according to his own views and notions of things; but they all alike
breathe the free air and drink of the free water, and all are before the
Lord.  I bring up these little items to prepare the way for the question,
"What are you going to do with all these inhabitants of the earth?

	The Methodists answer, "You must come to the anxious seat, or else be
plunged into that lake of fire and brimstone, and there live for ever,
without any end to your torment, among devils employed in pitching you
around, adding brimstone to fire and fire to brimstone.  You are to stay
there for millions of billions of years, and all the rest of it a man can
think of in the shape of numbers.  When you have lived there so many
years, you are not any nearer the end of this awful torment than you were
when it first began."

	This has appeared to me, from my childhood to this day, a piece of
complete nonsense, to talk about the inhabitants of the earth beings thus
irretrievably lost--to talk of my father and mother, and yours, or our
ancestors, who have lived faithfully according to the best light they had;
but because they had not the everlasting covenant and the holy Priesthood
in their midst, that they should go to hell and roast there to all
eternity.  It is nonsense to me; it always was, and is yet.

	What are you going to do with them?  I will tell you.  Take the
Methodists and every reformer, from the latest back to King James, who
seceded from the authority of the Pope, and the hundreds and thousands
that are now living upon the earth, and have lived and passed away, who
profess no religion, but stand aloof from all parties,--among those who
are dead and those who are living, there are multitudes who have been and
are as good as they know how to be.

	Now, the point is to know what we are going to do with them.  Are we
going to send them to an endless hell?  This wants a little explanation;
for if I were to say that all go to hell, I should certainly tell the
truth; and I can say, as I said last Sabbath, All go there, both Saint and
sinner, in one sense of the word.

	There are reasons for this, and it is for man to understand what they
are, placing everything in its own place, classifying and putting all
things where they belong, to make the doctrine of salvation complete. 
Foreordination, for instance, and free grace are both true doctrine; but
they must be properly coupled together and correctly classified, so as to
produce harmony between these two apparently opposite doctrines.  We must
know, when the Lord speaks, what he is talking about, and who he is
talking about; all and considerably more of which is necessary to get a
proper knowledge of the whole scheme of salvation.

	I ask you again, what are we going to do with father and mother?  Are
we going to send them to perdition, and there let them welter in awful
misery and endless torment?  No; we are not going to do any such thing;
but we will put them where they belong.

	Now, understand, all spirits came from God, and they came pure from
his presence, and were put into earthly tabernacles, which were organized
for that express purpose; and so the spirit and the body became a living
soul.  If these souls should live, according to the law of heaven, God
ordained that they should become temples prepared to inherit all things. 
I wish you to understand that All spirits are pure when they are put into
these tabernacles; but we have not time to explain or set before you the
reasons for the variation in appearance in the mortal tabernacles.  There
are causes for it.  Our spirits fill the tabernacles organized for them;
the body is a habitation for the spirit to dwell in; and if the spirit and
the body both agree in keeping all the laws and all the commandments that
the Lord reveals unto that tabernacle it never shall be destroyed.

	How many shall be preserved?  All who do not deny and defy the power
and character of the Son of God--all who do not sin against the Holy
Ghost.  Now, to return again.  Here are the spirits which have come and
taken possession of the tabernacles prepared they have entered into their
house; and you observe that these habitations of the spirits of men are
scattered over the face of the earth, and they have come from the Lord
pure in their spirits.  These enter their tabernacles and are shut out
from his presence and the knowledge of the Lord:  they are ignorant,
filled with unbelief, exposed to the unholy traditions of the fathers,
which they have to grapple with, and all the wickedness that is in the
world with which they have to contend.

	With your mind's eye look at the millions of them in all nations who
are doing according to the best knowledge they possess.  What! the Roman
Catholics?  Yes, and then every one of her daughters down to the latest
Protestant Church that has been organized.  They are all doing just as
well as they can, and living according to the best light they have--a
great many of them, though not all.  What shall we do with them?  They
pass from the world, their spirits go into the spiritual world, and their
bodies go back to their mother earth, and there sleep, while their spirits
are before the Lord.

	Are they happy?  Every son and daughter of Adam who live according to
the best light and knowledge they have, when the go into the spiritual
world, are happy in proportion to their faithfulness.  For instance, take
a view of some of our late reformers; take the best specimen of reformers
that we have, who are all the time full of glory and happiness and full of
praise to the Lord--who meet together oft and sing and pray and preach and
shout and give thanks to the Lord Almighty; and in a great many instances
and in a great degree they enjoy much of a good spirit, which is the
Spirit of the Lord, or the Light of Christ, which lighteth the world.

	Now, this may be singular to some.  What! they enjoy the Spirit of
the Lord?  Yes, every man and woman, according to their faith and the
knowledge they have in their possession.  They enjoy the goodness of their
Father in heaven.  Do they receive the Spirit of the Lord?  They do, and
enjoy the light of it, and walk in it, and rejoice in it.

	What will be their state hereafter?  Every faithful Methodist that
has lived up to and faithfully fulfilled the requirements of his religion,
according to the best light he had, doing good to all and evil to none,
injuring no person upon the earth, honouring his God as far he knew, will
have as great a heaven as he ever anticipated in the flesh, and far
greater.  Every Presbyterian, and every Quaker, and every Baptist, and
every Roman Catholic member,--every reformer, of whatever class or grade,
that lives according to the best light they have, and never have had an
opportunity of receiving a greater light than the one in their possession,
will have and enjoy all they live for.

	I am telling you the truth as it is, and you may write it down if you
please, and call it revelation if you will.  But it has been revealed
before I revealed it here to-day.  This is the situation of Christendom
after death.

 	You may go among the Pagans, or among all the nations there are, and
they have their religion, their sacraments, and ceremonies, which are as
sacred to them as ours are to us:  they are just as precious and dear to
them, though we call them heathen.  They are idolatrous worshippers; yet
their religion is as sacred to them as ours is to us.  If they live
according to the best light they have in their religion, God is God over
all and the Father of us all; we are all the workmanship of his hands; and
if they are ignorant, filled with superstition, and have the traditions of
the fathers interwoven like a mantle around and over them, that they
cannot see any light, so will they be judged; and if they have lived
according to what they did possess, so they will receive hereafter.

	And will it be glory? you may inquire.  Yes.  Glory, glory, glory to
our merciful Father in heaven; for the least glory spoken of in this
Vision given to Joseph Smith, junior, and Sidney Rigdon, cannot be
described:  it is so great and so exquisite that it is altogether beyond
mortal perception.

	They could not write it, neither describe it in language.  The glory
of the telestial world no man knows, except he partakes of it; and yet, in
the world they differ in glory as the stars in the firmament differ one
from the other.  The terrestrial glory is greater still, and the celestial
is the greatest of all; that is the glory of God the Father, where our
Lord Jesus Christ reigns.  Well, this people are privileged above all
other people upon the earth:  this community--this congregation now before
me are the people whose blessings are far superior to the blessings of all
the human family besides.

	What manner of persons ought we to be?  Should not all our lives be
filled with praise, and glory, and hallelujahs to God and the Lamb, with
good works and good feelings, being filled with the Spirit of God?  If so,
would there be any room for anger or contention from this time forth? 
There would not be one man or woman that could find time to talk about
their neighbours or contend with a brother, but all hearts would be
sanctified before the Lord, and every tongue would be speaking praise, and
every hand would be put forth to do good and to seek to build up the
kingdom of God; and they would never sin again.  If we seek to build up
this kingdom, hereafter the Lord will build us  up.  I don't know that I
shall get half through with what I want to say today.  I wish to come back
and look at ourselves in the next place.

	How many glories and kingdoms will there be in eternity?  You will
see the same variety in eternity as you see in the world.  For instance,
you see here one class of men who have lived according to the best light
they had:  you may go among the heathen, or among the Christians, it is no
matter; I will call them all Christians, or all heathens, if it will
accommodate any body's feelings, for they don't come much short of all
being heathen.  We will take the best men we can find among them,--when
they pass through the veil they are in happiness, they are in glory, they
go among the disembodied spirits; but they do not go where there are
resurrected bodies, for they cannot live there:  a Prophet or an Apostle
cannot live there.  They also go into the spiritual world to live with
spirits.  Do they commune with the Father and Son?  The Father communes
with them as he pleases, through the means of angels, or otherwise the Son
and the Holy Ghost.  This is the situation of the Prophet, the Apostle,
and all Saints before they receive their resurrected bodies; but they are
looking forward to the time when they shall receive their bodies from the
dust; and those that have been faithful, probably, will now soon get their
resurrected bodies.  Abraham has had his body long ago, and dwells, with
the Father and the Son, among all the Prophets and faithful Saints who
received their resurrected bodies immediately after the resurrection of
the Saviour.  They were then prepared to enter into the Father's rest and
be crowned with glory and eternal lives; but they were not prepared
before.

	No spirit of Saint or sinner, of the Prophet or him that kills the
Prophet, is prepared for their final state:  all pass through he veil from
this state and go into the world of spirits; and there they dwell, waiting
for their final destiny.  It no doubt appears a singular idea to you that
both Saint and sinner go to the same place and dwell together in the same
world.  You can see the same variety in this world.  You see the
Latter-day Saints, who have come into these valleys,--they are by
themselves as a community, yet they are in the same world with other
communities.  But I do not feel as though I am dwelling where there are
six or eight kinds of religion or more, and, after all, no religion at
all; I am not dwelling where there is cursing, and swearing, and
horse-racing, and gambling, and everything else that is calculated to
disturb a peaceable community.  Though I am in the same world where all
this exists, I am not dwelling where it is, nor am I disturbed by it; but
I am peaceable and serving the Lord.

	You can see the variety here.  The Presbyterians can go away by
themselves and build cities and towns, and try to prohibit all other
persons who are not Presbyterians from dwelling with them:  the Methodists
can do the same; the Baptists can do the same.  We have the privilege of
organizing society in the world as we please in one sense.  This is what
Mr. Owen calls Socialism.  He says mankind are controlled by
circumstances, and others say that mankind govern and control
circumstances.  Both are true.  We govern and control circumstances; but
when we come into circumstances which the Lord controls, we are then
controlled by circumstances.  I and my brethren can go and settle down in
a certain part; and if you choose we can go into merchandising or
stock-raising; and if we choose, we can live without a family, like a
Shaker.  In this way we can control circumstances in a great degree, while
there are circumstances over which we have no control.  All this exhibits
precisely the situation of the people hereafter:  they control
circumstances to a great degree, and sometimes circumstances control them. 
When they are in the world of spirits, there is the Prophet and the
Patriarch; all righteous men are there, and all wicked men also are there.

	What is going to be done with them?  By-and-by Zion will be built up;
Temples are going to be reared, and the holy Priesthood is going to take
effect and rule, and every law of Christ will be obeyed, and he will
govern and reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints.  Pretty
soon you will see Temples reared up, and the sons of Jacob will enter into
the Temples of the Lord.  What will they do there?  They will do a great
many things.  When you see Zion redeemed and built up--when you see the
people performing the ordinances of salvation for themselves and for
others, (and they will hereafter,) you will see simply this (but I have
not time this morning to tell you only a little part of it):  About the
time that the Temples of the Lord will be built and Zion is
established--pretty nigh this time, you will see, (those who are faithful
enough,) the first you know, there will be strangers in your midst,
walking with you, talking with you:  they will enter into your houses and
eat and drink with you, go to meeting with you, and begin to open your
minds, as the Saviour did the two disciples who walked out in the country
in days of old.

	About the time the Temples are ready, the strangers will be along and
will converse with you, and will inquire of you, probably, if you
understand the resurrection of the dead.  You might say you have heard and
read a great deal about it, but you do not properly understand it; and
they will then open your minds and tell you the principles of the
resurrection of the dead and how to save your friends:  they will point
out Scriptures in the Old and New Testament, in the Book of Mormon, and
other revelations of God, saying, "don't you recollect reading so and so,
that saviors should come up on Mount Zion?" &c.; and they will expound the
Scriptures to you.  You have got your Temples ready:  now go forth and be
baptised for those good people.  There are your father and your
mother--your ancestors for many generations back--the people that have
lived upon the face of the earth since the Priesthood was taken away,
thousands and millions of them, who have lived according to the best light
and knowledge in their possession.  They will expound the Scriptures to
you, and open your minds, and teach you of the resurrection of the just
and the unjust, of the doctrine of salvation:  they will use the keys of
the holy Priesthood, and unlock the door of knowledge, to let you look
into the palace of truth.  You will exclaim, That is all plain:  why did I
not understand it before? and you will begin to feel your hearts burn
within you as they walk and talk with you.

	You will enter into the Temple of the Lord and begin to offer up
ordinances before the Lord for your dead.  Says this or that man, I want
to save such a person--I want to save my father; and he straightway goes
forth in the ordinance of baptism, and is confirmed, and washed, and
anointed, and ordained to the blessings of the holy Priesthood for his
ancestors.  Before this work is finished, a great many of the Elders of
Israel in Mount Zion will become pillars in the Temple of God, to go no
more out:  they will eat and drink and sleep there; and they will often
have occasion to say--"Somebody came into the Temple last night; we did
not know who he was, but he was no doubt a brother, and told us a great
many things we did not before understand.  He gave us the names of a great
many of our forefathers that are not on record, and he gave me my true
lineage and the names of my forefathers for hundreds of years back.  He
said to me, You and I are connected in one family: there are the names of
your ancestors; take them and write them down, and be baptised and
confirmed, and save such and such ones, and receive of the blessings of
the eternal Priesthood for such and such an individual, as you do for
yourselves."  This is what we are going to do for the inhabitants of the
earth.  When I look at it, I do not want to rest a great deal, but be
industrious all the day long; for when we come to think upon it, we have
no time to lose, for it is a pretty laborious work.

	I have a great feeling to just let the lash slide over on to some men
a little.  Do your think they would want to go to California to get gold,
or run to the ferries, where the name of the Almighty is blasphemed, if
they properly understood these things--The way of life and salvation?  You
will enter into the temple of the Lord, when by-and-by here come along
brothers Joseph and Hyrum Smith, for instance; for they will be perfectly
capable of coming and staying over night with you, and you not know who
they are.  Or suppose David Patten should come along, and shake hands with
some of the Twelve, and want to stay all night with them and expound the
Scriptures and reveal the hidden things of God.  It will not be long
before this will be so.

	Suppose we are ready for it, and a great Temple is build at the
central point, in Jackson County.  Gentlemen, don't be startled; for if we
don't go back there, our sons and daughters will; and a great Temple will
be built upon the consecrated spot, and a great many more besides that. 
The land of Joseph is the land of Zion; and it takes North and South
America to make the land of Joseph.  Suppose we are ready to go into the
Temples of God to officiate for our fathers and our grandfathers--for our
ancestors back for hundreds of years, who are all looking to see what
their children are doing upon the earth.  The Lord says, I have sent the
keys of Elijah the Prophet--I have imparted that doctrine to turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts children to the
fathers.  Now, all you children, are you looking to the salvation of your
fathers?  Are you seeking diligently to redeem them that have died without
the Gospel, inasmuch as they sought the Lord Almighty to obtain promises
for you?--for our fathers did obtain promises that their seed should not
be forgotten.  O ye children of the fathers, look at these things.  You
are to enter into the Temples of the Lord and officiate for your
forefathers.

	Suppose we are ready to enter into the Temple to be baptised and
attend to the ordinances for one hundred of our best forefathers, and
Thomas should say to John, "John, take this affair and see to it; I want
to go to this ferry to make a little money;" or "Joseph, you know the
names of our ancestors better than I do; won't you go and see to their
salvation?  I have not time myself; I want to build a bridge."  "James,
are you ready to perform your duties for the dead?"  "No; I want to go and
keep a grocery."  And you know the language that is common to such places: 
the name of the Lord is blasphemed, and his servants are cursed with
bitter oaths.

	What do your think of it, gentlemen, Elders in Israel?  What would
money have to do with you, if you were not upon the threshold of eternity,
and eternity open to you?  Would you have the apostacy, as you have now? 
A little money is more to such persons than the salvation of all the sons
and daughters of Adam.  I wish I had a voice like ten thousand
earthquakes, and all the world might hear and know the loving-kindness of
the Lord.

	I am telling you things that are before me constantly.  When men and
women are reaching after the perishable things of this world, and will
step out of the path of duty and endanger their salvation, it has been
said that it hurts brother Brigham's feelings.  It is true, and I could
even weep over such; and the angels weep over us to see our
foolishness--that we are so giddy-headed as to run after the fading things
of the world, and set out minds and feelings upon riches, and neglect our
duty in preparing ourselves for the coming of the Son of man, for the
coming of the ancient and modern Apostles and Prophets, for the redemption
of Zion, and the redeeming of our dear friends in every age of the world
when the Priesthood was not upon the earth.

	Now, the inquiry on our minds is, Are all the world going to share in
these blessings?  Yes, all the world.  Are there none going to be lost? 
Are there none going to suffer the wrath of the Almighty?  I can say, in
the first place, as I have said all my life, where I have been preaching,
I neve [sic] had the spirit to preach hell and damnation to the people.  I
have tried a great many times--I tried last Sabbath, and I have tried
to-day to come to that point--the sufferings of the wicked.  They will
suffer, it seems; but I cannot get my heart upon anything else only
salvation for the people.  All nations are going to share in these
blessings; all are incorporated in the redemption of the Saviour.  He has
tasted death for every man:  they are all in his power, and he saves them
all, as he says, except the sons of perdition; and the Father has put all
the creations upon this earth in his power.  The earth itself, and mankind
upon it, the brute beasts, the fish of the sea, and the fowls of heaven,
the insects, and every creeping thing, with all things pertaining to this
earthly ball,--all are in the hands of the Saviour, and he has redeemed
them all.  Who is there that is out of his power?  I will tell you, in the
first place, he has made man an agent to himself before the Lord, with all
the rest that he has ordained, that mankind shall act for themselves,
think for themselves, deal for themselves.  They can choose the good and
forsake the evil, or cleave to the evil and neglect the light and the
good, just as they choose.  Life and death are placed before them, and
they have the privilege of choosing life or death.  If they choose death,
evil, and darkness, the time will come when those who are acquainted with
the power of God will deny that power and speak against the Holy Ghost,
and commit the unpardonable sin.  They then throw themselves out of the
power of the Saviour, and take to themselves power, and say, "I will not
hearken to the Lord Jesus now; I will serve whom I please, and I defy the
power of the Son of God."  They yield themselves servants to the Devil and
become his angels.  They are then out of the hands of the Saviour, and can
never dwell in heaven, worlds without end.

	This will illustrate the Idea.  You have heard a great deal about
having your names written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  When we were
Christians, according to the common acceptation of the word, we used to
preach a great deal about getting our names written in the book.  I will
tell you how it is.  The name of every son and daughter of Adam are
already written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  Is there ever a time when
they will be taken out of it?  Yes, when they become sons of perdition,
and not till then.  Every person has the privilege of retaining it there
for ever and ever.  If they neglect that privilege, then their names will
be erased, and not till then.  All the names of the human family are
written there, and the Lord will hold them there until they come to the
knowledge of the truth, that they can rebel against him, and can sin
against the Holy Ghost; then they will be thrust down to hell, and their
names be blotted out from the Lamb's Book of Life.

	I want to have the brethren look at the work that is before us. 
Contemplate your blessings, and realize them.  There is not a people who
are blessed as we are.  We have the words of eternal life, the holy
Priesthood of the Son of God.  We possess the keys of that Priesthood, and
can prepare ourselves to become angels of God--yea, more, to become Saints
of God--yea, more, to become Gods in eternity, and to be crowned with
crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal life.  And woe to them that
neglect these things--that read them lightly!  Woe to them that live among
the world, and live riches, or anything better than they do the Author of
our salvation!

	These are some parts of the Gospel of redemption.  Is it not a
blessing?  Is it not a great privilege for the inhabitants of the earth to
know the truth as it is--to have it sounded in their ears, that they may
go to hell and suffer the wrath of the Almighty; yet, if they have not had
the privilege of receiving the holy Gospel, have not come to the knowledge
of the truth, so as to sin against the Holy Ghost the time will come, by
the power and triumph of the Lamb, that he will bring them forth, when
they have suffered his wrath according to the deeds done in the body.  Is
it not a great blessing?

	I will tell you, brethren and sisters, and friends, when I look at
these things, I earnestly wish they could be understood by the universal
world.  I wish they could see and realize them, and behold the goodness,
and severity, and kindness with that severity, and the love that the
Almighty has for them.  If they could know it, we should not wait for the
rising of the sun again before every knee would bow before the Lord, from
the east to the west, and from the north to the south, all over this
globe, and every tongue confess before God the Father that Jesus is the
Christ.

	When they do know it and understand it, that is the time when the
veil of the covering is taken form their eyes, and all flesh will see his
glory together.  Then every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, that
Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer, the Saviour, and the rightful heir of
this creation, and honour him as their kind benefactor, and praise him
continually, though they are in the terrestial world.

	I feel to say, May the Lord bless you!  It is with difficulty I talk
to you this morning.  My voice does not thunder, as it once did; and it
would be misery for me to talk to a congregation, and they not hear me. 
It is with difficulty I preach.  I should like if we could talk here one
thousand years and not get tired, if we had the ability and power to do
so.  We will come to that by-and-by.  May the Lord bless you and prepare
you for the kingdom of rest.  Amen.



   BUILDING UP THE KINGDOM OF GOD--HOW TO TREAT IMMIGRANT SAINTS, ETC.
        Remarks by President Brigham Young at a Special Conference
      held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	The morning is far spent; but before we close the morning service, I
would like to present before the Conference the names of a few Elders who
have been selected to take missions.

	I suppose the brethren understand the object of this special
Conference.  It is for the purpose of transacting business pertaining to
foreign Missions and of giving the brethren an opportunity to cross the
Plains before the cold weather.  We shall send them out from this
Conference.

	I wish to say to the brethren, I am thankful, and I rejoice in the
Lord my Saviour, for his choice blessings which we enjoy.  It was observed
by brother Benson that brother Brigham has but one fear concerning this
people.  It is true.

	I do not fear all the devils in hell, or all the mobs that could be
raised; but if I have any fear, it is upon this ground--that the people,
in their blessings, should forget the Lord their God.  I do not see that
this is the case with this people; but if there is danger to be
anticipated, it is in the slackness of the people to remember the Lord,
when the fostering hand of Providence is pouring out blessings upon them
and round about them all the day long.

	This has been in former times, when the blessings of the Lord have
been poured out upon the people.  It is written in the Bible, concerning
ancient Israel, that they got fat and kicked against the Lord their God. 
You may understand the expression as you please.  They forgot the Lord and
began to trust in the wisdom of man.  They forgot their prayers and the
duties they owed to one another, and they fell back into a careless,
carnal security, and became like the rest of the world.

	This is the only ground on which I would have fear, were I to
entertain any.  As I have often said, and the same I can say again--it is
too late in the day for this people ever to be cast off and disowned by
the Lord.  The work the Lord promised to do it too nigh accomplished, and
he has promised to make a short work on the earth.  This work has some
time since commenced; and if any of the people will not serve their God
and do the work he has given them to do, they will be removed out of the
way, and that speedily.  It is too late in the day for this people to
apostitize and the Priesthood to be taken again from the earth; so there
is not much ground for fears even in this respect.

	A few words to the Elders of Israel with regard to the building up of
the kingdom of God.  Suppose every man who has wanted to go out to preach,
(and almost every Elder has wanted to go,)--suppose they had all gone six
years ago last fall, and left Nauvoo entirely destitute of Elders, and
attended diligently to preaching up to this time.  Would there have been a
place prepared for the gathering of the Saints from all the world?  No. 
THere would have been no place for the elders to gather them to: there
would have been no standard reared or rallying point for the people.  Do
you preach the gathering of Israel and the redemption of Zion?  You do;
and when you would have got through this, and found all the rest had been
neglected, what would have been the situation of the Elders of Israel? 
Their mouths would be closed up and sealed; they would not have any more
influence among the people than those doctors and philosophers in France
spoken of by Elder Taylor:  they came, they tarried; and if they paid for
what they had, it was all right; they went, and no person cared for them. 
It would have been the same with the Elders of this Church.

	The whole machinery is in operation and complete, that, when the
Elders go forth to preach the Gospel, every man carries with him a
two-edged sword, and pierces the hearts of the people by the spirit of the
Gospel which he goes to proclaim.  But if the work is in progress only in
part, his sword is blunted at once; it has no edge, it is incomplete, and
does not pierce the hearts of the people; consequently, he had better have
stayed at home.

	Why I make these remarks is, that we may understand that unless this
work is in progress as a whole, it is not complete--we are found wanting,
and not prepared to do the work we are called and sent to do.  Now, it is
just as necessary to come to these valleys, build houses, make fences,
erect school-houses, rear up places of worship, and prepare for the
gathering of Israel, as it is to go and preach to Israel to influence them
to gather.  The one is just a honourable and as acceptable in the sight of
God as the other; and those that labour faithfully at home, will be
crowned with those that labour faithfully abroad.  Those who are selected
to remain at home receive as those who are selected to go abroad.

	It is unnecessary for me, for any of the Twelve, or for any of my
brethren to rise up here to preach to the Elders to infuse the spirit of
preaching in them; for we have had to hold them back with a cable rope, as
it were, to keep them from going to preach.  There is no lack of the
spirit of the Gospel in the Elders of Israel; for we have been teased all
the time to give them permission to go out and give vent to the spirit
within them; but had we listened to them, you and I would not have had
this commodious house to preach in this day.  All the Elders would have
been off preaching, and there would not have been enough left to have made
the women and children comfortable.

	What is to be done?  Obey counsel.  They do, and how far?  Enough to
scare the whole world.  Look at the spirit that is in the midst of this
people and that overshadows them.  What influence does this have upon the
nations of the earth?  It fills them with terror and awe; and when they
reflect and reason, it fills them with astonishment that there is a people
on the earth, in the present confused revolutionary state of the nations,
that will hearken to counsel, and be of one heart and one mind.  They are
filled with fear and astonishment, and they dread the union that is among
this people more than they dread the Lord Almighty upon his throne.  This
is a pretty positive proof that this people are willing to hearken to the
counsels of heaven.

	Brother Benson proclaims in our hearing that this spirit has
increased since he left here last fall.  It has, and I expect it has grown
in his own bosom:  it has in mine.  What do you think about yourselves,
brethren?  Would you not be ready also to acknowledge that the same spirit
is increasing in your bosoms--a spirit of love, and union, and of faith in
you calling?  I think there are a great many who can say, and say it
truly, that this Spirit of the Lord has greatly increased in their hearts
for six or eight months past, or for a year.  Were it not so, we should
not be found growing in the knowledge of the truth.  This is out labour,
our business, and our calling--to grow in grace and in knowledge from day
to day and from year to year.

	I wish to say to this congregation, and I wish them to say to the
families of the brethren who are not here to-day, and I would like all the
inhabitants of these valleys to hear it,--When our brethren who are on the
Plains come with their families into this city, or into any of the
settlements of the Latter-day Saints, sit down and calmly make a
calculation in your own hearts, how you would wish a neighbourhood of
Latter-day Saints, to receive you, if you had been journeying across the
Plains this season.  Ponder it over in you minds, and place yourselves in
the situation of a pilgrim travelling across the Plains; and, after a hard
and fatiguing summer's work, now you have got home.  Imagine yourselves at
the doors of your brethren who have plenty.  Here are their gardens
groaning with abundance of the produce of the earth--with potatoes, beets,
and cabbage.  Here are milk and butter and fine flour in great quantities. 
Here are the tomatoes and garden vegetables of every description.  Now,
you say, I have got home, to my brethren's door, and they have got plenty. 
What would you wish these brethren to do to you?  Ask the same question to
your neighbours, and get them to answer it.  I can tell you what you would
they should do to you.  You would wish them to say, come, brother or
sister, into my garden,

	and help yourselves to come garden sauce; walk in here, and take and
eat, and make yourselves glad.  And if they turn round and say, Brother
how shall I pay you for what I get? then you cannot hear that, for it is
something that is altogether out of the question.  The Lord gave it to us: 
now, come and help us to eat it.  That do to the emigrant Saints, every
one of you.  I know it is the will of the Lord you should do it; and I
know, if he should speak to you himself, he would tell you the same thing. 
I tell you just as it is; and that is just as good, precisely, as though
another came and told you.  Then the brethren will feel joyful; their
hearts will be made glad, and they will know that you are actually growing
un the knowledge of the truth.

	There are a great many coming.  Brother Benson says all are coming,
and even the great grand-daddies and great grand-mammies, uncles and
aunts,--all are coming, and I am glad of it.  I rejoice; for it puts us in
a position that we can sent our Elders from this place into all the world;
whereas, before, our circumstances needed all the men we had here to
prepare for the gathering of the Saints.  Now the time has come that we
can send out our little parties to gather up Israel and preach the Gospel
to the nations before the end comes.

	The reports we have heard from our brethren are favourable, cheering,
and rejoicing to every heart.  Those who are coming from the islands of
the sea and from the old countries where the Elders have been sent--those
from Pottawatomie and the States are coming home.  For the present, this
is the place of gathering; here the standard is reared for the Latter-day
Saints from all nations, and they may spread out from this place and fill
up other places, until the whole continent of America, which is the land
of Zion, shall be peopled with the Saints of the Most High.

	Question:  When are we going back to Jackson County?  Not until the
Lord commands his people; and it is just as much as you and I can do to
get ready to go when he does command us.

	Brothers Benson and Grant have been successful in their missions. 
Brother Benson says some of the brethren were glad when he was mobbed.  I
was glad of it; for every mobbing difficulty will add glory upon the heads
of the humble, faithful, and contrite in heart.  It serves to prove and
give them experience; it shows them the contrast between the one and the
other.  All this is preparatory for the Saints to enter into their rest,
and for the wicked to receive their punishment.  Brother Benson has been
successful; and I thank the Lord Almighty that he turned the key here last
fall, and caused a tremendous commotion among the political
elements--earthquake, thundering, and lightning above and below the earth,
with great excitement.  This gathered a great many more Saints than if it
had been fair weather all the time.  This clashing and noise of the
elements stirred up the people in Pottawatomie, and then they want to go
to the mountains, like brother George A. Smith, in the latter days of
Nauvoo:  he wanted to go to the mountains, or to California, or to Oregon;
he was not very particular.  What for?  Simply because he was obliged to
go somewhere.  The Saints who are coming now from Pottawatomie were
obliged to leave for the valleys of the mountains.  Whey?  Because they
had to run somewhere.  Do you suppose I am sorry because of persecution? 
No:  I never was in my life; but I have thanked God a thousand times that
the Devil is not yet bound; for if he had been, the Saints would have gone
to sleep; and if there could be such a thing, they would have been blotted
out of existence, with all their intelligence, and the earth have received
them into its bowels.  Light, knowledge, truth, wickedness of every kind,
the works of the Almighty, and the works of the Devil, all conspire to
roll on the great work that the Lord Jesus Christ is doing upon the
earth,--every person and power in their own order.

	I do not wish to detain the congregation longer this morning. 
Brother Kimball set before you the object of the meeting, and I have
hinted at it.  We will not read over a few names that we have selected. 
May the Lord God of Israel bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

       NECESSITY OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD BEING PURE IN HEART AND IN
     DEED--DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT--CELESTIAL EXALTATIONS, ETC.
        Remarks by President Brigham Young at a Special Conference
      held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I want to say a few words to the congregation before we dismiss, for
we shall be under the necessity of separating soon, and probably we shall
hold another meeting this evening.

	I have heard the exhortations of the brethren who have spoken to-day
with joy?  They seem to be in good spirit; and certainly--yea, most
assuredly, there is the most novelty in "Mormonism" that there is in
anything upon the face of the earth.  It is musical; it pleases both the
eye and the ear, and I may say every sense of the man.

	When I heard the brethren exhorting those who are going out on
missions, I wished them to impress one thing upon the minds of these
Elders, for it is necessary that it should be uppermost there, which may
be the means of preserving them from receiving stains on their characters,
from which very probably they may never recover.  If we get a blight upon
our characters before the Lord, or in other words, lose ground and
backslide by transgression, or in any other way, so that we are not up
even with the brethren as we are now, we never can come up with them
again.  But this principle must be carried out by the Elders wherever they
go, whatever they do, or wherever they are.  One thing must be observed
and be before them all the time in their meditations in their practice,
and that is, clean hands and pure hearts before God, angels, and men.

	If the Elders cannot go with clean hands and pure hearts, they had
better stay here and wash a little longer.  Do not go thinking, when you
arrive at the Missouri river, at the Mississippi, at the Ohio, or at the
Atlantic, that then you will purify yourselves; but start from here with
clean hands and pure hearts, and be pure from the crown of the head to the
soles of your feet; then live so every hour.  Go in that manner, and in
that manner labour, and return again as clean as a piece of pure white
paper.  This is the way to go; and if you do not do that, your hearts will
ache.  How can you do it?  Is there a way?  Yes.  Do the Elders understand
that way?  They do.  You cannot keep your own hands clean and your hearts
pure without the help of the Lord; neither will he keep you pure without
your own help.

	Will you be liable to fall into temptation and be overtaken by sin? 
Yes, unless you live so as to have the revelation of Jesus Christ
continually, not only to live in it to day or while you are preaching, in
a prayer meeting, or in a Conference; and when you are out of these
meetings, when you are guarded more particularly by the Spirit, say that
you can get along without the Holy Ghost.  You must have it all the
time--on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and every day through the week, and from
year to year, from the time you leave home until you return; so that when
you come back, you may not be afraid if the Lord Almighty should come into
the midst of the Saints and reveal all the acts and doings and designs of
your hearts in your missions; but be found clean like a piece of white
paper.  That is the way for the Elders to live in their ministry at home
and abroad.

	There are a great many things that could be said here, which would
add to the comfort and consolation of us all,--a great many principles
that could be taught to the Elders, which they must learn when they go
abroad.  I will notice one things with regard to learning.  You will hear
a great many Elders say, If I could go to preaching, I could become a man
like many and others:  I should receive knowledge understanding; I should
be noted--become a great man and a wise man.  Many have such feelings,
that they are greater who are in the world preaching the Gospel than those
who remain here.  It is a grand mistake; for if those who have lived with
us all the time have not a knowledge of true principles--do not understand
the root and foundation of the superstructure--are not filled with
knowledge and understanding here, they need not appeal to the Gentile
world for it.  If they have not the foundation within themselves of talent
and tact, they need not go abroad for the Spirit of the Lord to instruct
them in things they cannot be instructed in here at home, and to obtain
improvement where improvement cannot be made.

	We may live here year after year, and store up knowledge all the
time, and yet not have an opportunity of exhibiting it to others; but if I
have knowledge by the Spirit of the Lord, I gain it in the fountain; and
if not quite at the fountain head, the higher I am to that place the more
I get.  Though I have not the privilege of exhibiting it to the people, it
is on hand whenever the time comes it should be used.  It is a vain idea
to suppose that we can send Elders into the world who have not got good
common sense, to make men of them.  If they have good sense here, they
will have it yonder; if they have good sense yonder, they will have good
common sense here.  Whether they are there or here does not alter the
foundation that is in them.  If the Elders have natural ability and have
obtained great wisdom or learning, to go abroad gives them an opportunity
to improve upon what they have.

	I want to refer to the last speech made here.  Brother Phelps feels
very joyful, as the rest of us do.  When we hear the glad tidings of
salvation among the nations, it gives a spring to our feelings and fills
us with unspeakable joy.

	Perhaps in the case before us, as in others, we might say that men
become children.  We are children in the first place, then become men; and
in the second place men become children in their understanding.  As to the
correctness of the exalted views that brother Phelps has of myself, I
leave it to the congregation to decide for themselves; but to place me on
a par with the personages he has named, who have overcome and entered into
the presence of God, or even to compare me with Joseph Smith, our martyred
Prophet, is too much; though I expect, if I am faithful, I shall be as
great as they are now, and so can every other faithful man.  But am I now
to be compared with these exalted characters?  Not at all,--not even with
Joseph; and he is at present inferior to others brother Phelps has named. 
But I expect, if I am faithful with yourselves, that I shall see the time
with yourselves that we shall know how to prepare to organize an earth
like this--know how to people that earth, how to redeem it, how to
sanctify it, and how to glorify it, with those who live upon it who
hearken to our counsels.

	The Father and the Son have attained to this point already; I am on
the way, and so are you, and every faithful servant of God.

	One of the greatest queries on the minds of the Saints is to
understand the nature, the principle of the foundations of our existence. 
To say nothing about what has been if you will follow out that which is
before you, you can learn all about it.  I have a notion to tell you,
though I have not time to say much about it now.  I will, however, just
tell you the simple story relating to the exaltation of man in the
celestial kingdom of God.  We will take Joseph for instance:  he is
faithful to his calling--has filled his mission to this earth, and sealed
his testimony with his blood; he has done the work his Father gave him to
do, and will soon come to the resurrection.  His spirit is waiting for the
resurrection of the body, which will soon be.  But has he the power to
resurrect that body?  He has not.  Who has this power?  Those that have
already passed through the resurrection--who have been resurrected in
their time and season by some person else, and have been appointed to that
authority just as you Elders have with regard to your authority to
baptise.

	You have not the power to baptise yourselves, neither have you power
to resurrect yourselves; and you could not legally baptise a second person
for the remission of sins until some person first baptised you and
ordained you to this authority.  So with those that hold the keys of the
resurrection to resurrect the Saints.  Joseph will come up in his turn,
receive his body again, and continue his mission in the eternal worlds
until he carries it out to perfection, with all the rest of the faithful,
to be made perfect with those who have lived before, and those who shall
live after; and when the work is finished, and it is offered to the
Father, then they will be crowned and receive keys and powers by which
they will be capable of organizing worlds.  What will they organize first? 
Were I to tell you, I should certainly spoil all the baby resurrection
that Elder Hyde and the others ever preached, as sure as the world.

	After men have got their exaltations and their crowns--have become
Gods, even the sons of God--are made Kings of kings and Lords of lords,
they have the power then of propagating their species in spirit; and that
is the first of their operations with regard to organizing a world.  Power
is then given to them to organize the elements, and then commence the
organization of tabernacles.  How can they do it?  Have they to go to that
earth?  Yes, an Adam will have to go there, and he cannot do without Eve;
he must have Eve to commence the work of generation, and they will go into
the garden, and continue to eat and drink of the fruits of the corporeal
world, until this grosser matter is diffused sufficiently through their
celestial bodies to enable them, according to the established laws, to
produce mortal tabernacles for their spiritual children.

	This is a key for you.  The faithful will become Gods, even the sons
of God; but this does not overthrow the idea that we have a father.  Adam
is my father; (this I will explain to you at some future time;) but it
does not prove that he is not my father, if I became a God:  it does not
prove that I have not a father.

	I am on the way to become one of those characters, and am nobody in
the world but Brigham Young.  I never have professed to be brother Joseph,
but brother Brigham, trying to do good to this people.  I am no better,
not any more important than another man who is trying to do good.  If I
am, I don't know it.  If I improve upon what the Lord has given me, and
continue to improve, I shall become like those who have gone before me; I
shall be exalted in the celestial kingdom, and be filled to overflowing
with all the power I can wield; and all the keys of knowledge I can manage
will be committed unto me.  What do we want more?  I shall be just like
every other man--have all that I can, in my capacity, comprehend and
manage.

	I am on my way to this great exaltation.  I expect to attain unto it. 
I am in the hands of the Lord, and never trouble myself about my
salvation, or what the Lord will do with me hereafter.  It is for me to do
the will of God to-day, and, when to-morrow comes, to inquire what is his
will concerning me; then do the will of my Father in the work he has
appointed me to do, and that is enough for me.  I am serving a God who
will give me all I merit, when I come to receive my reward.  This is what
I have always thought; and if I still think so, it is enough for me.

	I say to the brethren who are leaving home--when you go from home,
leave everything you have go here:  don't take anything with you but the
Lord and yourselves.

	You will want horses to bear you over the Plains, but don`t carry
your wives or your children in your hearts or in your affections with your
one rod.  Dedicate them to the Lord God of Israel, and leave them at home;
and when you are in England, or among other nations, no matter where, when
you pray for your families, pray for them as being in the Great Salt Lake
Valley, and do not bring them close to you, as though they were in your
carpet-bag.  Pray for them where they are.  You must feel--If they live,
all right; if they die, all right:  if I die, all right; if I live, all
right; for we are the Lord's, and we shall soon meet again.

	I wish to say to you that are left here, whose husbands and fathers
are going away for a season--Don't cling to them one particle, but let
them go as cheerfully as you would give a weary traveller a cup of cold
water.  If you live, it is all right; and if you fall asleep before they
return, it is all right.  Don't send your hearts after them one step, nor
suffer you spirits to cling to them one moment.  Then you wives in very
deed will be blessed, and be helpmeets to your husbands.

	But if a wife should yet cling round a husband's neck and say, Oh,
how I love you, dear husband! and keep him in her embraces, that woman is
a dead weight to that man, and not a help to him.  Women should be loyal
to the cause of God, and help to build up his kingdom by their husbands,
in assisting them to fulfil their missions; and if they do not do it, they
are not helpmeets to their husbands.  I know there are a great many hear
who have had an experience in these things.  It is not matter if they are
on the other side of the globe, apart, let them long for each other, and
there will be a thread of communications between them; the man cannot be
useful in his labours while she is all the time weeping and mourning every
day of her life.  Let a man suffer his mind to be drawn out all the time
after his family, and he will become inactive in the work of the Lord.

	When you leave, understand it, you have neither wife nor children: 
you have handed them all over to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let the brethren
go and say, I will keep my eyes straight before me on the object of my
mission, and not look behind me to my family; but I will accomplish my
mission; and when I have done, it is all right.  I am willing to go home,
if the Lord wishes me to do so.

	The time is far spent, and it is necessary for our meeting to be
brought to a close.  May the Lord bless you; and I say he does bless us. 
We are greatly blessed above all people upon the face of this earth.  Let
us be faithful to God and the covenant we have made.  Amen.

         THE SACRAMENT--THE SABBATH--SECTARIAN OPPOSITION TO THE
               DOCTRINES AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL, ETC.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, at a Special Conference
      held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 29, 1852.
                          Report by G. D. Watt.

	While the sacrament is passing, I will take the liberty of making a
few remarks.

	Some truth has been referred to here, from the stand, with regard to
the congregation.  These, my brethren and sisters, are in the habit of
being here one part of the Sabbath, to hear and understand for themselves. 
I should be happy to see this house as full every Sabbath in the after
part of the day as it is this afternoon.  It is a requirement of the Lord,
which is both reasonable and pleasing to all those who are diligently
doing his will.  We have a comfortable house to meet in, where we can
preach, sing, pray, exhort, and exercise ourselves in our several
capacities, according to our calling, in the worship of God.

	This is a great blessing.  If we can realize it, it is one of the
greatest blessings we can enjoy, to manifest to our Father in heaven--to
witness to him that we do always remember the death and sufferings of his
Son Jesus Christ, whom he sent into the world to redeem the world--to shed
his own blood for our sins.  If we could realize it, it is one of the
greatest blessings we could enjoy, to come before the Lord, and before the
angels, and before each other, to witness that we remember that the Lord
Jesus Christ has died for us.  This proves to the Father that we remember
our covenants, that we love his Gospel, and that we love to keep his
commandments, and to honour the name of the Lord Jesus upon the earth. 
Let us try to do this.  It is a blessing, a privilege, and a duty we
should constantly attend to.

	Instead of suffering our labours to occupy the Sabbath--instead of
planning our business to infringe upon the first day of the week, we
should do a little as possible; if it is necessary to cook food, do so;
but even if that could be dispensed with, it would be better,  As to
keeping the Sabbath according to the Mosaic law, indeed, I do not; for it
would be almost beyond my power.  Still, under the new covenant, we should
remember to preserve holy one day in the week as a day of rest--as a
memorial of the rest of the Lord and the rest of the Saints; also for our
temporal advantage, for it is instituted for the express purpose of
benefiting man.  It is written in this book, (the Bible,) that the Sabbath
was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  It is a blessing to him.
As little labour as possible should be done upon that day:  it should be
set apart as a day of rest, to assemble together in the place appointed,
according to the revelation, confessing our sins, bringing our tithes and
offerings, and presenting ourselves before the Lord, there to commemorate
the death and sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

	These are institutions expressly for the benefit of man,--not imposed
upon him as by a task-master, in the form of a rigid discipline; but they
are bestowed upon him as a blessing, a favour, and a mercy, for his
express benefit.  I trust I shall yet see the day when we shall be so
situated and attain to that knowledge and understanding, that every man
and woman will observe and do their duty strictly--do not evil,--when all
will be peace and joy, and the earth be lighted up with the spirit of
intelligence.  You trust and hope for the same things; and if we are
faithful, that time is near at hand.

	It is true, most of the doctrine we believe comes in contact with all
the prejudices and prepossessed feelings of the Christian world.  In the
practical part of our religion we do not differ from them in many
respects.  They pray and so do we; they keep the Sabbath pretty tolerably
well, and so do we; they say they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; so do
we, and keep his commandments; and they call upon the Lord, probably, as
faithfully.  In some of the plain, practical duties of the Gospel, the
religious world are very diligent; but to the doctrinal parts of the
Gospel of salvation they are entire strangers.

	In the commencement of the career of brother Joseph Smith, he had all
the influence and talent of the sectarian world that were acquainted with
his doings to cope with; he had them to contend with day and night.  He
laboured faithfully, though in his youth, and almost entirely destitute of
literary knowledge, with not many advantages of an earthly nature; yet the
truth he revealed triumphed; the principles he put forth actually
circumscribed the religious knowledge of all the Christian world.  Almost
every principle and every idea taught in the Gospel, that the world had
preached and written so much about, he proved they were ignorant of.  He
taught the people how to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  He also
taught them how to repent.  This was new to the world--to be informed that
they did not know even how to repent.  He taught them how to embrace the
Gospel of salvation, what it was, and that these doctrines are essentially
necessary for the salvation of the children of men.

	There was not person, previous to this, to step forth and say it was
absolutely necessary to observe these doctrines in order to be saved, and
actually substantiate that doctrine from the Bible.  No person could
substantiate the doctrine, so as to place the truth of it beyond doubt and
controversy, that it was necessary for a person to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ.

	It is well known to this congregation that the whole Christian world
were baffled, and not only baffled, but actually put to shame, upon true
philosophy, and their mouths were closed in silence, by the infidel so
called.  It is well known to this congregations that those who did not
believe the Bible--who did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, by good
reasoning would overcome and triumph over the whole christian world, set
them at naught, and hold them in derision.

	The case is different now.  Do they overcome the Elders of this
Church?  They do not; but they are like the frosted grass upon the prairie
before the burning flame.  An Elder of Israel overcomes them on the ground
of their own philosophy, and drowns them in the sea of their own
arguments.  Could the Christian world do it?  No.  Brother Joseph told the
people it was necessary to be baptised for the remission of sins, and
proved it by the Bible:  he proved it by his works; he proved it by
thousands of witnesses in his day.

	He also introduced the doctrine of the laying on of hands for the
reception of the Holy Ghost, and proved it from the Bible, by reason, by
his own and the experience of thousands besides.  You Elders of Israel, do
you know whether these doctrines were borne off by you and others
triumphantly?  They have been successful among every people, nation, and
kindred, and tongue, wherever they have been proclaimed.  These doctrines
are beyond the power of controversy and doubt; no caviller could confute
or present the least argument which would prove successful in overthrowing
the principles taught by the Elders of Israel.

	Brother Joseph introduced a great many new doctrines.  It was
perfectly new to this generation, but in truth an old doctrine, to be
baptised for the remission of sins--that it was absolutely necessary; and
then receive the laying on the hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost,
and many other doctrines, though in reality they are old, yet true, and
new to this benighted generation.

	When the Elders first commenced preaching "Mormonism," twenty years
ago, they would take the Bible and prove every item of doctrine to the
people beyond doubt and controversy.  What did the priests say to you? 
Can you recollect what they said in the different States where this Gospel
was first preached?--what arguments were used against you position and the
doctrines you believe?  Yes:  the priests would halloo from the pulpit Joe
Smith!--old Joe Smith!!  That was their argument, to begin with. 
Imposter!--imposter!!--He is deluding the people!!!--he is deluding the
people!!!!--Old Joe Smith, the money digger!--He is a necromancer!!--he is
a fortune-teller!!!--a money digger!!!!  Old Joe Smith!!!!!  What a
profound argument!  There is no answering it.  You know these are the
arguments used against the doctrines preached by the Elders of this
Church.

	When you introduced the Book of Mormon, the argument used against it
was, It is a deception!  Joe Smith!!--Imposter!!!  And these are the
arguments that have been urged from beginning to end; but they could not
bring one passage of Scripture or one substantial reason against the
doctrine taught and believed by this Church.

	What has been said to you?  What has been said to me?  If we will
preach this doctrine, the people almost universally will follow us and
say, "Don't mention Joseph Smith--never mention the Book of Mormon or
Zion, and all the people will follow you."  I said, It would not do them
any good, if we were to listen to their requirements.  What I have
received from the Lord, I have received by Joseph Smith:  he was the
instrument made use of.  If I drop him, I must drop these principles: 
they have not been revealed, declared, or explained by any other man since
the days of the Apostles.  If I lay down the Book of Mormon, I shall have
to deny that Joseph is a Prophet; and if I lay down the doctrine and cease
to preach the gathering of Israel and the building up of Zion, I must lay
down the Bible; and consequently, I might as well go home as undertake to
preach without these three items.

	Did not your hearts use to tremble dreadfully, you old Elders in
Israel, when you had to preach in new places?  You would take up the Bible
and quote Scripture from Genesis to Revelations, so as to surprise the
people, and did not mention Joseph Smith.  Did it not make you tremble,
when you had to say that Joseph Smith was a Prophet--when yon [sic] came
to that point, and were obliged either to deny or to own him before the
people.

	Some are endowed with more moral courage than others.  I know the
spirits in men generally are inclined to weakness and diffidence; and all
men more or less feel their own weakness and inability.  The Elders of
Israel especially feel the prejudices of the people bearing down upon
their spirits; but when they once open their mouths and say that Joseph is
a Prophet, such a flood of light at once comes upon them, that they are
ready to ask no odds of all the world.  But in preparing to make this
declaration, their hearts tremble and their knees smite each other, almost
like Belshazzar's.  After they have once started, they are independent
enough.

	I suppose some of you have an experience on this subject.  One of our
Elders with whom I was acquainted, after he was baptised, got cornered up,
and was obliged to preach a sermon.  He never had been able to say that he
knew Joseph was a Prophet; but he was there in the meeting:  the house was
crowded with the congregation; the windows and doors full of people, and
all around on the green waiting to hear a "Mormon" preacher.  There were
none there but this one man, and he was called upon to preach.  He thought
he would pray and dismiss the meeting.  He never had known that Joseph
Smith was a Prophet:  that was the lion that lay in his path; and he could
not get by him, nor round about him, nor dig under him, nor leap over him;
and the lion he must meet:  he must say Joseph, for better or worse.  As
soon as he got "Joseph" out, "is a Prophet" was the next; and from that,
his tongue was loosened, and he continued talking until near sundown.  The
Lord pours out his Spirit upon a man when he testifies that which the Lord
gives him to testify of.  From that day to this, he has never been at a
loss to know that Joseph was a Prophet.  I assure you, his heart quaked;
and that has been the case with many others.

	When brother Joseph revealed the great mystery of being baptised for
the dead, did not a great many of the Elders of Israel think
then--"'Mormonism' cannot endure; it will be overcome."  Every item of
doctrine brother Joseph has brought forth had to meet with opposition from
the world.  We all know that it comes in contact with sectarian influence
and every other influence that is not direct from God.

	When the Elders went forth, the priests supposed they could easily
put them down; but when they undertook to substantiate the doctrine of
baptism for the dead, were the priests successful in confuting their
arguments?  No.  The doctrine has ridden triumphantly over all
sectarianism; (what I mean by sectarianism is false religion;) and it is
so far from being put to silence by all the rest of the world, that it is
as popular, wherever you go, as any doctrine taught; it is as readily and
as quickly believed.

	You can understand, from the few remarks I make with regard to the
Gospel, that many things which were revealed through Joseph came in
contact with our own prejudices:  we did not know how to understand them. 
I refer to myself for an instance:  I never could be persuaded that God
would send every person to a lake of fire and brimstone, to be tormented
by the Devil, to all eternity, for any little sin he might commit,--which
was the doctrine handed down.  After all, my traditions were such, that
when the Vision came first to me, it was directly contrary and opposed to
my former education.  I said, Wait a little.  I did not reject it; but I
could not understand it.  I then could feel what incorrect tradition had
done for me.  Suppose all that I have ever heard from my priest and
parents--the way they taught me to read the Bible--had been true, my
understanding would be diametrically opposed to the doctrine revealed in
the Vision.  I used to think and pray, to read and think, until I knew and
fully understood it for myself, by the visions of the Holy Spirit.  At
first it actually came in contact with my own feelings, though I never
could believe like the mass of the Christian world around me; but I did
not know how nigh I believed, as they did.  I found, however, that I was
so nigh, I could shake hands with them any time I wished.

	You heard brother Pratt state, this morning, that a revelation would
be read this afternoon, which was given previous to Joseph's death.  It
contains a doctrine a small portion of the world is opposed to; but I can
deliver a prophecy upon it.  Though that doctrine has not been practised
by the Elders, this people have believed in it for years.

	The original copy of this revelation was burnt up.  William Clayton
was the man who wrote it from the mouth of the Prophet.  In the meantime,
it was in Bishop Whitney's possession.  He wished the privilege to copy
it, which brother Joseph granted.  Sister Emma burnt the original.  The
reason I mention this is because that the people who did know of the
revelation suppose it is not now in existence.

	The revelations will be read to you.  The principle spoken upon by
brother Pratt, this morning, we believe in. and I tell you--for I know
it--it will sail over and ride triumphantly above all the prejudice and
priestcraft of the day:  it will be fostered and believed in by the more
intelligent portion of the world as one of the best doctrines ever
proclaimed to any people.  Your hearts need not bear; you need not think
that a mob is coming here to tread upon the sacred liberty which the
Constitution of our country guarantees unto us, for it will not be.  The
world have known, long ago, even in brother Joseph's days, that he had
more waves than one.  One of the Senators in Congress knew it very well. 
Did he oppose it?  No:  but he has been our friend all the day long,
especially upon that subject.  He said pointedly to his friends, "If the
United States do not adopt that very method--let them continue as they now
are--pursue the precise course they are now pursuing, and it will come to
this--that their generations will not live until they are 30 years old. 
They are going to destruction; disease is spreading so fast among the
inhabitants of the United States, that they are born rotten with it, and
in a few years they are gone."  Said he, "Joseph has introduced the best
plan for restoring and establishing strength and long life among men, of
any man on earth; and the Mormons are a very good and virtuous people."

	Many others are of the same mind:  they are not ignorant of what we
are doing in our social capacity.  They have cried, "Proclaim it."  But it
would not do, a few years ago:  everything must come in its time, as there
is a time to all things.  I am now ready to proclaim it.

	This revelation has been in my possession many years; and who has
known it?  None but those who should know it.  I keep a patent lock on my
desk, and there does not anything leak out that should not.

	It pleases me a little to think how anxious this people are for new
revelation.  I wish to ask you a question:  Do this people know whether
they have received any revelation since the death of Joseph, as a people? 
I can tell you that you receive them continually.  I would be willing the
Elders of Israel should understand one principle; and this I have taught
often.  This is also taught in the old and new Scriptures, or, in other
words, in the former and latter Scriptures,  The principle is set forth
simply, which is this--When a man is called, as Joseph was, to be a
Prophet, he writes his revelations.  Joseph wrote a great many.  He would,
for instance, give a revelation to a man to go to Sanpete to labour; he
would give revelations touching both temporal and spiritual things, in the
building up of houses and cities, or in the proclamation of the Gospel in
the world--all of which are necessary for the salvation and exaltation of
the people of the Lord.

	Now, brethren, the calling of an Apostle is to build up the kingdom
of God in all the world:  it is the Apostle that holds the keys of his
power, and nobody else.  If an Apostle magnifies his calling, he is the
word of the Lord to this people all the time, or else he does not magnify
his calling;--either one or the other.

	If he magnifies his calling, his words are the words of eternal life
and salvation to those who hearken to them, just as much so as any written
revelations contained in these three books (Bible, Book of Mormon, and
Doctrine and Covenants).  There is nothing contained in these three books
that is any more revelation than the words of an Apostle that is
magnifying his calling.

	I want you to understand it.  If it was necessary to write them, we
would write all the time.  We would rather the people, however, would live
so as to have revelations for themselves, and then do the work we are
called to do:  that is enough for us.  Can any of you think of any
revelations you have received that are not written?  You can.

	I preached a short sermon here, yesterday, with regard to exaltation. 
I spoke but a few minutes, and brother Pratt brought up the same subject. 
It is all connected with the great Gospel sermon; for we can but notice
parts of it, when we undertake to speak to the people.

	It is all connected with the exaltation of man, showing how he
becomes exalted to be a king and a Priest--yea, even a God, like his
Father in heaven.  Without the doctrine that this revelation reveals, no
man on earth ever could be exalted to be a God.  Do you find out now, when
you are exalted, what you work will be yonder?  We read in the Scriptures
that Jesus declared he is the First and the Last.  It is written again in
this book, by the Prophet Joseph, that he is the First and the Last--the
Last and the First.  This principle you see in all the works of the Lord. 
When a man commences the work of his exaltation, he begins at the last
thing that will be completed.  Our spirits, thousands of years ago, were
first begotten; and at the consummation of all things, when the Saviour
has finished his work and presented it to the Father, he will be crowned.

	None of you will receive your crowns of glory, immortality, and
eternal lives before he receives his.  he will be crowned first, and then
we shall be crowned, every one in his order; for the work is finished, and
the spirit is complete in its organization with the tabernacle.  The world
is the first to be redeemed, and the people last to be crowned upon it.  I
leave these remarks with you, and we will now have the revelation read.

	[Elder Thomas Bullock then read the revelation.  See Supplement to
Vol. XV. of Millennial Star.]




             MANAGEMENT OF THE KANYONS--PAYING DEBTS--KEEPING
                     STORES--MATERIAL FOR THE TEMPLE.
      An address delivered by President Brigham Young at the General
    Conference in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1852.

	There is a matter of temporal business that I wish to lay before this
Conference, and I embrace the present opportunity to do so.  I have not
very acute feelings upon the matter, but I have frequently known cases of
difficulty and dissatisfaction come before me, which were calculated to
annoy my feelings, and the feelings of this people.  I feel very acutely,
very exquisitely, upon certain subjects pertaining to their history, but
on the present occasion I am quite careless and indifferent as to the
subject I now propose to lay before the Conference.  If we could obtain a
hearing of all the male members of this community, or in other words, get
all the inhabitants of these valleys together that portion of them that
can hear and understand, it would the better; but seeing that this cannot
be done, we shall have to content ourselves by laying before this
Conference the matter pertaining practically to the action of men, that we
now wish to present.  It is concerning the kanyons, the wood, the timber,
or whatever the kanyon situated near these valleys produce.

	Wood seems to be the first and most prominent product of the kanyons. 
The situation of them is too well known to make it necessary for me to
offer a description.  I believe that there are some acts performed in
these kanyons, of which the actors are ashamed, and they would rather I
would pass over these points, and the hard words they have made use of;
they would much rather have them forgotten by all who have a knowledge of
what they have done and said in the kanyons.

	There are a great many whose experience exceeds the experience of
brother Hyde in this matter.  His short experience, he says, teaches him,
that if he had the power in his hands, he would decree that all men who go
into the kanyons for wood and timber should be saved.  This may be the
mind of others, and to them it may serve as an excuse for outraging the
principles of righteousness, but to another class of men it would be no
effort at all.  I believe it would be just as necessary for the boys, when
they have mounted their sleds on the top of the hill, to curse, and swear,
and fight, and quarrel, while they are riding down with all ease, and
without any trouble, as it would be to curse, swear, and fight while
drawing their sleds up the hill to enjoy another ride. You know, boys
enjoy themselves very well while their sleds are travelling down the hill
at a great speed; it is hurrah with them, and all is right; but in drawing
their sleds up the hill, they fall down sometimes, and bump their heads,
and bruise their knees against the hard snow, and they have no sooner
recovered their foot-hold than down they go again, and so they get into
confusion.  Now it appears to me to be just as necessary for them to
quarrel in riding down the hill, as it is for them to quarrel in drawing
their sleds up the hill, as for any good it accomplishes in either case.

	It is an up hill business to go into these kanyons and get wood, to
say the least of it.  If I am able to present what I would like to
present, and what I have previously had in my mind, and exhibit it in a
few words, and in its true colors, I believe an expression upon it from
this Conference will have a salutary influence upon the community; that is
my opinion, and the reason why I now present the subject before you.  I
will call upon my brethren who sit here, to let their past experience
answer a question, or perhaps more than one. Are you not dissatisfied, and
is there not bitterness in your feelings, the moment you find a kanyon put
in the possession of an individual, and power given unto him to control
the timber, wood, rock, grass. and, in short, all its facilities?  Does
there not something start up in your breast, that causes you to feel very
uncomfortable?  You may be ready on the right and on the left to say, "No,
I am not aware that it affects me any."  This may be the case with a few,
but while we find one here and another there of that class, do we not find
multitudes of the other class that would lie very irritable upon that
subject--a facsimile of a roily fountain much disturbed, or like the
troubled sea that casts up mire and dirt?  Why I judge the matter in this
light is because of what I have learned previously to this day, concerning
the real feelings of the majority of the people touching this matter. 
There were a few instances, some two or three years ago, of the
legislative council assigning kanyons to individuals.  Now it is in the
hands of county officers to dispose of such matters.  Are the people
satisfied with these assignments?  They are not.  Could they be satisfied
were they placed under different circumstances in relation to this matter? 
They could.  Have we power as a people to introduce an order of things
that will give general satisfaction?  I will say, that it depends
altogether upon circumstances.  It can or it cannot not be done, just as
the people please.

	I will relate a few circumstances or incidents that have taken place
here, but I will not name particular places, nor individuals.  Mr. B. goes
into the kanyons, without any leave or licence, and without even asking
for a grant; he makes his way up a kanyon, and finds, on each side of him,
both fire-wood and fence poles.  He climbs the mountain, for two or three
miles, works a road, and gets to the timber, poles, and wood, at an
expense of from one to five hundred dollars.  He commences to get out
poles, and keeps his men and teams laboring there from day to day.  Now
how long will he remain there before news will come into the city, that
Mr. B. is getting timber and poles at such a point, and that it is a most
excellent chance there?  Well, some of the citizens will say, "Has brother
B. worked a road up there?"  "Yes."  "Can we get up with a team?" "Yes." 
"Then let us go and get some wood and poles."  How long would it be before
the eyes of a portion of the community would be turned directly to that
spot?  How long would it be before they would go to the very place where
brother B.'s road branches off from the main road, and go up the mountain,
(of course they could see no other track than where Mr. B. was getting out
his wood,) and get poles, wood, and timber?  They would not stop to look
on the mountains around them, and make new roads for themselves.  No, they
can only get wood, poles, and timber where brother B. is getting them,
after he has been at the trouble and expense of making a road.  When they
find brother B. there, he says, "You cannot come into this kanyon, for I
have worked the road myself, to facilitate the getting of my wood and
poles here."  Another person comes along with twenty or thirty wagons. 
Mr. B. says to him, "Look yonder, there is plenty of timber, and as easy
to get at as this that I call my own."  Friend H. replies, "But I will be
damned if I don't get wood where you get it."  Mr. B. says, "And I'll be
damned if you do go there."  This is the language of men who sit here
before me today, and so near me that I could put my hand upon them.  They
go up in the kanyon, and there quarrel with each other.  Let friend S.
once pass by the road that Mr. B has made, and he may go on up the kanyon
ten miles, surrounded with wood, and not get a stick of timber, for he and
friend H., with his train, and others, never can see and understand how
they can get poles in any other place than where friend B. has made a good
road leading to where he gets his.  Is this so?  You Elders of Israel will
go into the kanyons, and curse and swear--damn, and curse your oxen, and
swear by Him who created you!  I am telling the truth.  Yes, you will rip,
and curse, and swear, as bad as any pirates ever did.

	Suppose these characters do as the old quaker did when he whipped the
man: he took off his coat, and said, "Religion, do thou lie there, until I
whip this man."  The boys or many of them, who go into the kanyons with
wagons and teams, do the same: they lay down their religion at the mouth
of the kanyon, saying, "Thou lie there, until I go for my load of wood." 
I expect, in all probability, it was the case with Elder Hyde, for he
never would have thought that he ought to be saved for going into the
kanyon once, if he had had his religion along with him.

	I do not wish to say much upon this subject, I am not spirited in it,
nor do I care much about it.  I want to show to this community a plan by
which these matters of business transactions can be brought to some kind
of a system, to the better accommodation of the public.  We will suppose,
when strangers come to these valleys, that they find land offices, kanyon
offices, timber offices, &c.  They enter, and walk up before the clerk in
the office, and inquire what facilities there are to get a living here. 
Out steps the landlord and says, "This valley and all the kanyons belong
to old General Harris, and to his heirs after him.  That valley over
yonder--Utah Valley, belongs to old General Wolf's heirs; and there's
another valley, that belongs to another man; and I am here as the guardian
of these heirs to all this property, I am here to dispose of it."  "We
want to settle here," say the people, "can we get any land?"  "O yes," the
landlord replies, "lift up your eyes to the right, and to the left--do you
see the grass?"  "Yes."  "Do you see the lovely streams that gush from the
mountains?"  "Yes."  "Do you see this vast prairie before you?" "Yes." 
"Look at the soil, it is rich and productive.  We do not have winters here
as you do in the eastern countries, but your cattle can feed in these
mountain valleys both winter and summer.  "The landlord says again, "Lift
up your eyes and look:  this wood, land, and the grass that you see
growing, and all these valleys, with all they contain, you are freely
welcome to; go now, lay out your city plots and your farms, dig your
ditches, and turn the streams whithersoever you will, for to all this you
are welcome."  Would they not think he was one of the finest men that ever
was?  Would they not love such a landlord? The people inquire again, "What
chance is there here for getting wood?"  "O," says he, "that is another
thing, I will talk to you about that."  "We wish to know if we can get
wood here to burn, to cook our food with, and to keep our houses warm; and
upon what terms?"  Says the landlord, "My hired servants are up in the
Redbute Kanyon, or they may be in Kanyon Creek Kanyon, or over in the west
mountains; I have got servants, and plenty of wood, this you can have on
certain conditions."  "What are your conditions, good landlord?"  "These
are my conditions--you must take your teams into Redbute, where you will
find a gate, and a man living there, to him you will have to pay 25 cents
for getting a load of wood."  "But how is the road after you get through
the gate?"  "O, it is a good road, and the wood, timber, rock, and every
thing else are first rate; and now you go and get a cord of good wood for
25 cents.  Or you may go to the west mountains, there the kanyons are all
prepared for you, the roads are made, and I keep men there to see that
they are kept in good repair, and all you have got to do is to pay 25
cents for the use of the road."  What would be the feelings of this people
under such circumstances?  Do you suppose they would feel as those do that
have kept up a continual quarrelling, murmuring, and bickering, and have
given way to wickedness?  The kanyons are precisely in the position I
present them to you in this similitude; and you murmur at the council, at
the legislative assembly, at the county court, and at every body that
wants to make these kanyons convenient and passable to the community.

	Again, I ask the question, what would be the feelings of this people,
supposing they had come to these valleys under such circumstances?  "The
valleys, the grass, the soil, the water, and all the advantages you are
welcome to, but I shall charge you 25 cents per load for your wood."  If
you won't answer the question, I will for you: every time you would meet
with that landlord, it would be, "God bless you, you are the best man on
earth;--and you would be ready to lick the dust off his feet; you would
not say "God damn you, I will get wood where I please."  I am ashamed to
repeat the language that is too often made use of, but I do it that the
community may see how disgraceful it is, and frown upon every man that
will allow himself to be degraded by the use of such filthy language; it
is a disgrace to the wicked, to say nothing of Saints.  Again upon this
point, would you not take off your hats, and say, "Thank you," every time
you met that landlord?  Yes, you would, and I know it.  Well, supposing
the legislative body in these valleys should say to some man, Take that
kanyon, and put a gate at the mouth of it, and make a good road to the
wood and timber, and to defray the expence of this, lay a tax of 25 cents
on every man that passes through with a team to get wood, timber, or
anything else the kanyon produces--could you bless that legislature, could
you greet it with smiles and thanks, for doing that for this people?  Or
would you curse it?

	If I had time to do so, and if it would be wisdom, I could
demonstrate, by a mathematical calculation, definitely and truly, and you
might take into the calculation Redbute kanyon, and every other kanyon
that the people have been into--I could demonstrate that they have
destroyed more horses, mules, harness, oxen, wagons, chains, and ox yokes,
and other property, in getting out of these kanyons what they have got,
than what would lay a first rate turnpike road in every direction, as far
as they have penetrated these kanyons.  Suppose we have a kanyon here
within one mile of us, open to all the people, I ask where is there a man
that would work the road to the wood?  He is not to be found in this
community.  If it were open and free to all, I might spend a thousand
dollars there, and never get one load of wood.  I have done just such
things myself.  I have gone to work and made roads to get wood, and have
not been able to get it.  I have cut it down, and piled it up, and still
have not got it.  I wonder if anybody else can say so.  Have any of you
piled up your wood, and when you have gone back could not find it?  Some
stories could be told of this kind, that would make professional thieves
ashamed.  It is not all of this community that possesses such spirits.  A
flock of sheep consisting of thousands must be clean indeed if some of
them are not smutty.  This is a large flock of sheep that have come up to
these mountain valleys, and some of them have got taglocks hanging about
them, or in other words, there are those that will do what you have heard
exhibited to you to-day.

	What shall be done with sheep that stink the flock so?  We will take
them, I was going to say, and cut off their tails two inches behind their
ears; however, I will use a milder term, and say, cut off their ears.  But
instead of doing this, we will try to cleanse them; we will wash them with
soap, that will come well nigh taking off the sin; we will then apply a
little Scotch snuff, and a little tobacco, and wash them again until we
make them clean.  That is what I am doing now.  Peradventure we shall find
a few such sheep here in the flock, and a few that have got the itch;
these are apt to spread the disease among those that are clean, for they
will run along and rub themselves on others, until all are smitten with
the disorder, and it would be hard to tell in which it originated.

	I do not want to destroy the people.  I want to wash them, and, if
necessary, apply the Scotch snuff.  If this community would let any man of
sense, of calculation, of a good mind and judgment, sit down and make his
calculations, with regard to their getting wood out of these kanyons, they
would see the advantage of taking the course the legislature has marked
out, so clearly, that this whole people would speak out boldly and say,
"You men having authority, look up every kanyon in these valleys, and put
them in the possession of individuals who will make good roads to the
timber, that we may get there without breaking our wagons, or without
breaking our limbs, destroying our property, and endangering our lives." 
I say, every man of good sense would exclaim, "Put these kanyons into the
hands of individuals, with this proviso--make good roads, and keep them in
good repair."

	To exhibit it to the people in another point of view.  I will suppose
a Gentile owns all these kanyons, Uncle Sam, for instance.  He determines
he will work these kanyons himself, work the roads, &c., and draw his
revenue from them by the people's getting their timber--should we not
esteem it a blessing?  We should.  If it would be a blessing to him, or to
any rich company of speculators, then why would it not be a blessing to
us, to act upon the same principles ourselves?  Could you tell any reason
why not?

	A great many here do not understand certain things that exist; I can
tell you some of them.  If any individual will come here and live, and
find out how we do business, learn and understand our business
transactions, he will see that exhibited that will prove to him a great
many things he is not acquainted with.  I will take one of the best
individuals we have, and put him into the tithing office, put another into
the stone-cutter's shop, and another in the joiner's shop, and let them
work there one or two years, when the books are examined they have taken
up every farthing of their wages, and many have contracted considerable
debts in that office, some are owing 800, 1000, and some as high as 1500
dollars.  Now comes the decision.  Suppose you owe that store across the
road there 1500 dollars, would you try to pay it?  Yes, you would lie
awake at nights to think how to pay those merchants that do not belong to
the kingdom of God, you would offer them horses, and wagons, and oxen, to
liquidate that debt.  But that man who owes on the tithing books will say,
"Just straighten that up for me, cancel that debt, for I want my name to
look as good on the tithing books as the rest."  Would he say this to a
Gentile?  No, he would not.  We never see such goodness, such kindness,
such benevolence, such philanthropy in the persons who owe the tithing
office anything.

	Did you ever ask me to liquidate your debts?  You may answer the
question for yourselves.  I shall not name anybody.  But let one of these
merchants ask for the payment of a debt, saying, "I am going away in
September," and you conclude that that debt must be paid--do you pay it? 
Yes, you will sell every thing you have on earth, to pay it.  But do you
owe the tithing office anything?  "O yes, and I am going to work it off; I
know I owe about 1500 dollars.  But you know it won't do to owe the
Gentiles anything.  Brother Brigham, can't you lend me some money to pay a
small debt on that store?  Can you let me have a yoke of cattle, my family
is suffering for want of wood?"  You trace those cattle, and where are
they gone to?  Why, to pay the enemies of this people.  You would take out
of this Church the last dime of money, and every ox, and cow, and horse,
and hand them all over to our enemies, and let the Church sink to the
nethermost hell, for aught you care.  That is the difficulty that exists
here.  If I have got your spectacles, or your shoes, or any other thing of
yours, the common saying made use of is, "O, never mind, it is all in the
family, you are a brother, it is all right."  I am telling you as it is in
that tithing office.  What did you hear read, last April Conference?  That
there were 48000 dollars owing to the tithing office; yet do you try to
pay that debt?  No, but the word is "Brother Brigham, trust me another
thousand;" and you never will pay it on the face of the earth, and you
think me rather hard because I scold you.  These are the difficulties that
are here among us.

	There exists a double spirit, there is a false, hypocritical spirit
in many of the people; it is bred in the flesh, and in the bones, it is
received from their fathers and mothers, a hypocritical pretension to
friendship, when the real thing itself does not exist in them, and never
did; but they are destitute of the true knowledge of the principles of
righteousness.  I have frequently thought it was not good for a man to
have around him too many friends.  I have said to my brethren, heretofore,
"Don't love me quite so well as to take away all I have got.  I want you
to love me pretty well, I have plenty of flour now, and scores and scores
of tons I can distribute, but do not take my soul out of me, do not love
me quite to death.  I am willing to be loved sincerely, but covet not that
which I possess, under a false pretension of love to me."  There is that
spirit among this people, but it is for want of knowledge, and a proper
understanding.  Did they possess these, there would be no difficulty in
the case.

	Now, for instance, a great many inquire, saying, "Why does not our
Church keep a store here?"  Many can answer that question, who have lived
here for some years past; and you who make such an inquiry, would have
known the reason, had you also lived here.  You that have lived in Nauvoo,
in Missouri, in Kirtland, Ohio, can you assign a reason why Joseph could
not keep a store, and be a merchant?  Let me just give you a few reasons,
and there are men here who know how matters went in those days.  Joseph
goes to New York and buys 20,000 dollars' worth of goods, comes into
Kirtland and commences to trade.  In comes one of the brethren, "Brother
Joseph, let me have a frock pattern for my wife."  What if Joseph says,
"No, I cannot without the money."  The consequence would be, "He is no
Prophet," says James.  Pretty soon Thomas walks in.  "Brother Joseph, will
you trust me for a pair of boots?"  "No, I cannot let them go without the
money."  " Well," says Thomas, "Brother Joseph is no Prophet; I have found
that out, and I am glad of it."  After a while, in comes Bill and sister
Susan.  Says Bill, "Brother Joseph, I want a shawl, I have not got the
money, but I wish you to trust me a week or a fortnight."  Well, brother
Joseph thinks the others have gone and apostatized, and he don't know but
these goods will make the whole Church do the same, so he lets Bill have a
shawl.  Bill walks off with it and meets a brother.  "Well," says he,
"what do you think of brother Joseph?"  "O he is a first-rate man, and I
fully believe he is a Prophet.  See here, he has trusted me this shawl." 
Richard says, "I think I will go down and see if he won't trust me some." 
In walks Richard. "Brother Joseph, I want to trade about 20 dollars." 
"Well," says Joseph, "these goods will make the people apostatize; so over
they go; they are of less value than the people. Richard gets his goods. 
Another comes in the same way to make a trade of 25 dollars, and so it
goes.  Joseph was a first-rate fellow with them all the time, provided he
never would ask them to pay him.  In this way it is easy for us to trade
away a first-rate store of goods, and be in debt for them.

	And so you may trace it down through the history of this people.  If
any brethren came into the midst of them as merchants, I never knew one of
them go into their stores and go out again satisfied, neither did you.  If
I had 100,000 dollars worth of goods in that store, owned by myself, or
held by a "Mormon" company, in six months the goods would be gone, and we
should not have 100 dollars to pay the debt.  But let an infernal mobocrat
come into our midst, though he brands Joseph Smith with the epithet of
"false Prophet," and calls the "Mormons" a damned set of thieves, and
would see all Israel scorching in Tophet, you would give him the last
picayune you could raise.

	There is not a man who has been in this community a few years but
knows I am telling the living truth.  Do any of you hate me for it?  Do
any of you love me for it?  It is all the same to me.  Do you love the
cause?  "Yes," every heart at once responds," "I love the cause, I love
the Lord and my religion."  If I would only permit myself to swear, I
would say, What the devil is the reason, then, you don't live according to
it?  What keeps you from that?  What is the reason you cannot pay me what
you owe me, as well as your enemy.  You continue to trade with the
Almighty that way, and it will sink this whole people down to hell.  You
trade with the Almighty worse than you do with the devil.  These things
exist, and you know it.  A man comes into this Church with a little
property, and he must suffer them to pick him until he is as blind as
brother Leonard is, that sits over there, or else the people will turn
round and curse him, and sink him to the nethermost hell if possible. 
They have treated Edwin D. Woolley so, and others.  Can they keep a store
among this people?  No, they must let them have the goods, and wait until
they can pay them, if they ever do it at all.

	They got up a quarrel, about a year ago, and every High Priest and
Elder were going to cut Thomas Williams off from the Church, because he
asked them to pay their just debts.  I said to Thomas, "If they do not pay
you as they agreed, arraign them before the High Council; I will be your
lawyer, and they shall be cut off from the Church."  They had got it all
cut and dried, that if he asked them to pay him, he should be cut off from
the Church, but I told them that if they did not live up to their
agreement, they should be cut off from the Church, and then be tried by
the law of the land.

	How has Thomas Williams behaved here?  He has paid his tithing, and
done good to this people; he has handed over nails, cotton cloth, and
other necessary articles.  When he brings in his goods, he pays his
tithing on them honorably, yet he can be abused; and it is so with every
man who comes into the midst of this people with goods, unless he pays
them out at random to Tom, Dick, and the devil.  Latter-day Saints cannot
keep a store of goods, because they will not act as Latter-day Saints, but
they will sustain their enemies.  How much do you suppose you have paid
into these Gentile stores within four months?  Can you give a rough guess? 
I can tell you, if you do not know, for I know something about it.  You
have paid to them 300,000 dollars within the last six months.  The
brethren think that we are very hard with them if we ask for a little
tithing.  I wonder if we have received 30,000 dollars, which we should
certainly have received in silver and gold, if the people had been
faithful in paying their tithing on the money they have spent at these
stores; the money has gone, from time to time, in gold and silver, by
box-fulls, to the east.  There is not a span of mules that could be found
in this valley, able to draw the money, if it were all in silver, to the
States, that this people have spent with these merchants within a few
months past; they must therefore do business upon the principle of checks;
in any other way it is a burden to them to get it over the plains.  These
are the difficulties that work against our living and doing as we should
do.

	I will now go back, and say to all the inhabitants of these valleys,
if I had the power, and the people were willing to subscribe to that which
would do them good, I would look up all the kanyons containing wood and
other facilities, put gates at the mouths of them, have good roads worked
in them, so as to make the wood and the timber easy of access, and make
the people pay for the roads and the keeping of them in good repair.  If I
was a Gentile, and I owned these kanyons, and should make such a
proposition, it would be so that I could hardly get down to this meeting
house without some one crying out, "I move that we give that gentleman a
vote of thanks;" another would second it, "For that is certainly a Gentile
of the first class."  [The speaker made motions, such as bowing and
scraping, as the poor serfs of foreign nations do, who subsist on the
patrimony of a titled fellow mortal.]  I make these motions to show this
people how disgraceful it is; it is a disgrace to any community to act as
they have done towards the measures of those who wish to do them good all
the day long.  If a Latter-day Saint wants to do good, why not bless him
for it.  But no, it is overlooked as a thing of naught.  Now, if I do ape
out a little of these feelings here, it is to show you how they look
inside.  I can see them in the people, I know what there is in the midst
of them, I know what they have to contend against, and the difficulties
and weaknesses they are subject to; it is the want of true knowledge and a
sound understanding which causes them to act as they do; if it were not
for that, if this people had the knowledge of angels, and then did as they
do, they would be sent to hell before the rising of another sun; but as
they are ignorant, and inasmuch as they desire to do good, God winks at
their foibles, and hopes by it to bless them.

	Now, I am going to have an expression from this Conference, with
regard to the plan that we, as a community, shall adopt; not as a county,
not as the Legislature of Utah, not as civil and military officers, but as
officers and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;
and before I take the expression, if there is one man in this house who
feels himself capable of showing a better method, or of producing a better
plan to keep the people from running over each other, from breaking each
other's necks, and the necks of their horses, I will give him an
opportunity of presenting that plan.  In the first place, the feelings of
individuals are--what advantage can I get by introducing this plan?  I
wish you to remember that all I can get by it is, to protect you against
running over and trying to kill each other.  We do not own the kanyons,
but the plan is--let them go into the hands of individuals who will make
them easy of access, by paying them for their labor.  Before I take an
expression, I want to see if there is a man that can rise up and propose a
better plan than I propose, which of course would be to our advantage to
adopt in preference to mine.  I have talked long enough upon this matter. 
The motion is, that we, as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, in the capacity of a General Conference assembled, and embracing
the whole community in the midst of the mountains, recommend, and give it
as our opinion, that the best method of disposing of the kanyons is to put
them in the hands of individuals to make good roads in them, and obtain
their pay by taking toll from those who use the roads, at a gate erected
for that purpose at the mouth of each kanyon.  Now, sisters, I want you to
vote also, because women are the characters that rule the ballot box.  If
you are in favor of this motion, as Latter-day Saints, signify it by the
uplifted hand.  [Unanimous.]

	Let the judges in the county of Great Salt Lake take due notice, and
govern themselves accordingly.  The same thing I say to the judges of any
of the other counties of the territory, Take notice, and govern yourselves
accordingly.  Put these kanyons into the hands of individuals who will
make good roads into them, and let them take toll from the inhabitants
that go there for wood, timber, and poles.  Now this is my order for the
judges to take due notice of; it does not come from the Governor, but from
the President of the Church; you will not see any proclamation in the
paper to this effect, but it is a mere declaration of the President of the
Conference.  Let these things go out to make the people satisfied, and
feel contented to have the privilege of getting wood without breaking
their necks and destroying their teams.

	I want to occupy a few moments more, and talk about our contemplated
temple.  It has been moved, seconded, and carried by this Conference, that
we build a temple here of the best material that America affords.  If this
is done, it will have to be built of platina; and I do not know that there
is any of it to be got in this territory.  It is purer, stronger, and is
every way a better metal than pure gold.  If we cannot get the platina, we
must build a temple of pure gold; that is here, I know.  But if the
Conference want us to build a temple of pure gold, they will have to put
into the tithing stores something besides old half-dead stinking cows, and
old broken-kneed horses; or if they even put in all the good cattle they
possess, will it build a temple of gold, of silver, or of brass?  No, it
will not.

	I am inclined to offer a chemical argument with regard to the
material for building a temple in our present circumstances.  The best
materials, I have mentioned, probably.  Iron might be better than stone;
the time will come when the Lord will bring for brass gold, for iron
silver, and for stones iron, and for wood brass, to beautify His
sanctuary, and make the place of His feet glorious.  That will be, but it
is not now.  I thought, when I was at Iron County, and saw the iron
mountains, that the iron was actually come instead of stone.

	But for the chemical argument touching the material for the building
of a temple in this city.  It has been proposed, that we send to San Pete
to get the rock.  Some say it will cost too much, others say we cannot do
it, and others say that we can.  I, not being a practical chemist, but
only a chemist in theory, shall have to use my own language, to express my
ideas.  You may bring the stone from San Pete, which is a beautiful
specimen or rock, and erect a temple here with it; then you may take this
sand stone that is found in abundance in the Redbute Kanyon, and build a
temple of that; then you step over to the Emigration Kanyon, and get this
bastard marble, and build another of the same dimensions as that you have
built of the red sand stone.  Now you have got the San Pete rock temple,
the red sand stone temple, and another built of lime stone, or bastard
marble I call it; then, right beside of that, another one of adobies,
mixed with pebbles--take that clay, and these pebble stones that are so
abundant here, and mix in with them straw, and build another temple of
that composition, besides the three which are built of different kinds of
rock, and let them stand together--which do you think will stand the
longest? Being a chemist in theory, I should say, according to my mind,
when the San Pete rock is washed into the Jordan, the other buildings will
still be standing, and be in moderate condition.  The red sand stone will
go the next, and the other two still remain, the bastard marble or lime
stone will be in pretty good preservation; and when that is all decomposed
and washed away into the Jordan, you will find that temple which is built
of mud or adobies, as some call them, still remains, and in better
condition than at the first day it was built.

	You may ask any practical chemist, any man who knows, understands,
and studies the elements, and he will corroborate these statements.  This
is a matter I want you to look at, to think and meditate upon.  I do not
talk about the expense of the building, and the time it would take to
erect it, but its durability, and which is the best material within our
reach to build it with.  If you take this clay, which is to be found in
abundance on these bottom lands, and mix with it these pebble rocks, and
make adobies of the compound, it will petrify in the wall and become a
solid rock in five hundred years, so as to be fit to cut into millstones
to grind flour, while the other materials I have mentioned will have
decomposed, and gone back to their native elements.  I am chemist enough
to know that much.  My simple philosophy is this.  The elements of which
this terra firma is composed, are every moment either composing or
decomposing.  They commence to organize or to compose, and continue to
grow until they arrive at their zenith of perfection, and then they begin
to decompose.  When you find a rock that has arrived at its greatest
perfection, you may know that the work of decaying has begun.  Let the
practical chemist make his observations upon a portion of the matter of
which this earth is composed; and he will find, that just as quick as it
is at its perfection, that very instant it begins to decompose.  We have
proof of this.  Go into Egypt, for instance, and you will find the
monuments, towers, and pyramids, that were erected in the days of Joseph,
and before he was sold into Egypt; they were built of what we call
adobies, clay mixed up with straw; these fabrics, which have excited
interest for so many ages and are the wonder of modern nations, were built
of this raw material.  They have bid defiance to the wear of ages, and
they still remain.  But you cannot find a stone column that was reared in
those times, for they are all decayed.  Here we have actual proof that the
matter which is the furthest advanced to a state of perfection, is the
first to decompose, and go back into its native element, at which point it
begins to be organized again, it begins to congeal, petrify, and harden
into rock, which grows like a tree, but not so perceptibly.

	Gold and silver grow, and so does every other kind of metal, the same
as the hair upon my head, or the wheat in the field; they do not grow as
fast, but they are all the time composing or decomposing.  So much, then,
for my views touching the material to be used in building a Temple upon
this block.  You may go to San Pete and get stone for it, and when five
hundred years have elapsed you will not find a building.  You may build of
that red sand stone, and it will live out the San Pete rock, and the lime
stone will out live that.  But when you come to the adobies, they will
out-live either of them, and be five hundred years better than the day
they were first laid.  This is a pretty strong argument in favor of a mud
building.

	How long has the city of Washington been built?  What was there
before my father entered into the revolutionary war?  Where was the
Capitol then?  It was in Philadelphia sixty years ago, there was no such
thing as a Capitol in Washington.  Let me ask a question--is it built of
rock?  I never was there.  [Voice, "Yes."]  It is built of rock.  The
House of Representatives was rebuilt in 1812, not more than forty years
ago.  Would any of you that have not been there, suppose that it would
need patching up already to make it comfortable for the representatives of
the nation?  This, however, is the case, for within ten years past eighty
thousand tons of putty have been used to putty up the places where the
stone has decayed by the operation of the elements, and it has not yet
been built forty years.  I mention this, because I wish the Conference to
know what they are doing when they commence to build a temple of stone. 
As for myself, I know enough about rock.  If a man should undertake to put
me up a stone house, I should wish him to build it of adobies instead, and
then I should have a good house.  We are talking about building one for
the community, and I mention this about the Capitol to show you that the
rock does not endure; the moment it becomes as hard as it is ever going to
be, that moment it begins to decay.  It may be a slow process in growing,
or decomposing, yet it is doing the one or the other continually.

	I have my own individual thoughts, of course, and these I express
with regard to the temple.  According to my present views, there is not
marble in these mountains, or stone of any kind or quality, that I would
rather have a building made of than adobies.  As for the durability of
such a building, the longer it stands the better it becomes; if it stands
five thousand years, it increased in its strength until it comes to its
highest perfection, before it begins to decay.  What do our "Mormon" boys
say about trying to dig into one of those old Catholic cathedrals that are
now standing in California?  They say they might as well have undertaken
to dig through the most solid rock you ever saw, as to dig through those
adobie walls.  Do you think they are decaying and falling down?  No, they
are growing better all the time, and so it is with the houses we live in. 
If they have good foundations, these houses that we live in will be better
when they have stood fifty years than they are at this day.  I will not
say that it is so with a stone house, or with a brick house; for when you
burn the clay to make brick, you destroy the life of it, it may last many
years, but if the life is permitted to remain in it, it will last until it
has become rock, and then begin to decay.

	As for the temple, I will give you the nature of your vote with
regard to it--the sum of it was, that those that dictate the building of
it be left to do with it as they please.  They will, anyhow.  But I give
it as my opinion that adobies are the best article to build it of.  I do
not fear the expense, neither do I care what you build it of; only when it
is built, I want it to stand, and not fall down and decay in twenty or
thirty years, like brother Taylor's one would, that he was giving an
exposition of; "that when we go within the vail into the heavenly world,
we need not be ashamed of it, but when we look down upon it, it will be of
solid rock:" but if it is built of San Pete rock, when he looks down to
see it he will find it aint there, but it is gone, washed into the Jordan. 
It cannot remain, it must decay.	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.


                                SALVATION

   A discourse delivered by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, January 16, 1853.

	The plan of salvation, or, in other words, the redemption of fallen
beings, is a subject that should occupy the attention of all intelligence
that pertains to fallen beings.  I do not like the term fallen beings, but
I will say, subjected intelligence, which term suits me better--subjected
to law, order, rule, and government.  All intelligences are deeply engaged
in this grand object; not, however, having a correct understanding of the
true principle thereof, they wander to and fro, some to the right, and
some to the left.  There is not a person in this world, who is endowed
with a common share of intellect, but is laboring with all his power for
salvation.  Men vary in their efforts to obtain that object, still their
individual conclusions are, that they will ultimately secure it.  The
merchant, for instance, seeks with unwearied diligence, by night and by
day, facing misfortunes with a determined and persevering resistance,
enduring losses by sea and by land, with an unshaken patience, to amass a
sufficient amount of wealth to enable him to settle calmly down in the
midst of plenty in some opulent city, walk in the higher classes of
society, and perchance receive a worldly title, or worldly honor, and
enjoy a freedom from all anxiety of business, and constraint by poverty,
throughout the remainder of his life.  He then supposes he has obtained
salvation.

	Descend from the busy, wealth-seeking middle classes, to the humbler
grade of society, and follow them in their various occupations and
pursuits, and each one of them is seeking earnestly that which he imagines
to be salvation.  The poor, ragged, trembling mendicant, who is forced by
hunger and cold to drag his feeble body from under some temporary shelter,
to seek a bit of bread, or a coin from his more fortunate fellow-mortal,
if he can only obtain a few crusts of bread to satisfy the hunger-worm
that gnaws his vitals, and a few coppers to pay his lodgings, he has
attained to the summit of his expectations, to what he sought for
salvation, and he is comparatively happy, but his happiness vanishes with
the shades of night, and his misery comes with the morning light.  From
the match-maker up to the tradesman, all have an end in view, which they
suppose will bring to them salvation.  King, courtier, commanders,
officers, and common soldiers, the commodore, and sailor before the mast,
the fair-skinned Christian, and the dark-skinned savage, all, in their
respective grades and spheres of action, have a certain point in view,
which, if they can obtain, they suppose will put them in possession of
salvation.

	The Latter-day Saint, who is far from the bosom of the Church, whose
home is in distant climes, sighs, and earnestly prays each day of his life
for the Lord to open his way, that he may mingle with his brethren in
Zion, for he supposes that his happiness would then be complete, but in
this his expectations will be in a measure vain, for happiness that is
real and lasting in its nature cannot be enjoyed by mortals, for it is
altogether out of keeping with this transitory state.

	If a man's capacity be limited to the things of this world, if he
reach no further than he can see with his eyes, feel with his hands, and
understand with the ability of the natural man, still he is as earnestly
engaged in securing his salvation, as others are, who possess a superior
intellect, and are also pursuing the path of salvation, in their
estimation, though it result in nothing more than a good name, or the
honors of this world.  Each, according to his capacity--to the natural
organization of the human system, which is liable to be operated upon by
the circumstances and influences by which it is surrounded, is as eager to
obtain that which he supposes is salvation, as I am to obtain salvation in
the Eternal world.

	The object of a true salvation, correctly and minutely understood,
changes the course of mankind.  Persons who are taught by their teachers,
friends, and acquaintances, are traditionated, from their youth up, into
the belief that there is no God, or intelligent beings, other than those
that they see with the natural eye, or naturally comprehend; that there is
no hereafter; that at death, all life and intelligence are annihilated. 
Such persons are as firm in their belief, and as strenuous in argument, in
support of those doctrines, as others are in the belief of the existence
of an Eternal God.  The early customs and teachings of parents and
friends, to a greater or less degree, influence the minds of children, but
when they are disposed to inquire at the hands of Him who has eternal
intelligence to impart to them, when their understandings are enlarged,
when their minds are enlightened by the Spirit of truth, so that they can
see things that are unseen by the natural eye, they may then be corrected
in their doctrine and belief, and in their manner of life, but not until
then.

	How difficult it is to teach the natural man, who comprehends nothing
more than that which he sees with the natural eye!  How hard it is for him
to believe!  How difficult would be the task to make the philosopher, who,
for many years, has argued himself into the belief that his spirit is no
more after his body sleeps in the grave, believe that his intelligence
came from eternity, and is as eternal, in its nature, as the elements, or
as the Gods.  Such doctrine by him would be considered vanity and
foolishness, it would be entirely beyond his comprehension.  It is
difficult, indeed, to remove an opinion or belief into which he has argued
himself from the mind of the natural man.  Talk to him about angels,
heavens, God, immortality, and eternal lives, and it is like sounding
brass, or a tinkling cymbal to his ears; it has no music to him; there is
nothing in it that charms his senses, soothes his feelings, attracts his
attention, or engages his affections, in the least; to him it is all
vanity.  To say that the human family are not seeking salvation, is
contrary to my experience, and to the experience of every other person
with whom I have any acquaintance.  They are all for salvation, some in
one way, and some in another; but all is darkness and confusion.  If the
Lord does not speak from heaven, and touch the eyes of their understanding
by His Spirit, who can instruct, guide them to good?  who can give them
words of eternal life?  It is not in the power of man to do it; but when
the Lord gives His Spirit to a person, or to a people, they can then hear,
believe, and be instructed.  An Elder of Israel may preach the principles
of the Gospel, from first to last, as they were taught to him, to a
congregation ignorant of them; but if he does not do it under the
influence of the Spirit of the Lord, he cannot enlighten that congregation
on those principles, it is impossible.  Job said that "There is a spirit
in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." 
Unless we enjoy that understanding in this probation, we cannot grow or
increase, we cannot be made acquainted with the principles of truth and
righteousness so as to become exalted.  Admit that the Spirit of the Lord
should give us understanding, what would it prove to us?  It would prove
to me, at least, and what I may safely say to this congregation, that Zion
is here.  Whenever we are disposed to give ourselves perfectly to
righteousness, to yield all the powers and faculties of the soul (which is
the spirit and the body, and it is there where righteousness dwells); when
we are swallowed up in the will of Him who has called us; when we enjoy
the peace and the smiles of our Father in Heaven, the things of His
Spirit, and all the blessings we are capacitated to receive and improve
upon, then are we in Zion, that is Zion.  What will produce the opposite? 
Hearkening and giving way to evil, nothing else will.

	If a community of people are perfectly devoted to the cause of
righteousness, truth, light, virtue, and every principle and attribute of
the holy Gospel, we may say of that people's the ancient Apostle said to
his brethren, "Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in
you, except ye be reprobates;" there is a throne for the Lord Almighty to
sit and reign upon, there is a resting place for the Holy Ghost, there is
a habitation of the Father and the Son.  We are the temples of God, but
when we are overcome of evil by yielding to temptation, we deprive
ourselves of the privilege of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
taking up their abode and dwelling with us.  We are the people, by our
calling and profession, and ought to be by our daily works, of whom it
should be truly said, "Ye are the temples of our God."  Let me ask, what
is there to prevent any person in this congregation from being so blessed,
and becoming a holy temple fit for the in-dwelling of the Holy Ghost?  Has
any being in heaven or on earth done aught to prevent you from becoming so
blessed?  No, but why the people are not so privileged I will leave you to
judge.  I would to God that every soul who professes to be a Latter-day
Saint was of that character, a holy temple for the in-dwelling of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but it is not so.  Is there any
individual within the sound of my voice to day, that has received the Holy
Ghost through the principles of the Gospel, and at the same time has not
received a love for them?  I will answer that question.  Wait and see who
it is that falls out by the way; who it is in whom the seed of truth has
been sown, but has not taken root; and then you will know the individuals
who have received the truth, but have never received a love of it--they do
not love it for itself.  What a delightful aspect would this community
present if all men and women, old and young, were disposed to leave off
their own sins and follies, and overlook those of their neighbors; if they
would cease watching their neighbors for iniquity, and watch that they
themselves might be free from it! if they were trying with all their
powers to sanctify the Lord in their hearts, and would prove, by their
actions, that they had received the truth and the love of it! if all
individuals would watch themselves, that they do not speak against the
Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, nor in short against any being in heaven
or on earth.  Strange as this may appear, there have been men in this
Church that have done it, and probably will be again!  If this people
would be careful not to do anything to displease the spirits of those who
have lived on the earth, and have been justified, and have gone to rest,
and would so conduct themselves, that no reasonable being upon the face of
the earth could find fault with them, what kind of society should we have? 
Why every man's mouth would be filled with blessings, every man's hand
would be put forth to do good, and every woman and child in all their
intercourse would be praising God, and blessing each other.  Would not
Zion be here?  It would.  What hinders you from doing this?  What is the
Lord or the people doing to cause this one and that one to commit sin with
a high hand, in secret and in the open streets?

	If Elders of Israel use language which is not proper for the lips of
a Saint, such Elders are under condemnation, and the wrath of God abides
upon them, those who do it have not the love of truth in their hearts,
they do not love and honor the truth because it is the truth, but because
it is powerful, and they wish to join with the strongest party.  Do they
love light because it is light? virtue because it is virtue? righteousness
because it is righteousness?  No.  But these principles are almighty in
their influence, and like the tornado in the forest, they sweep all before
them, no argument can weigh against them, all the philosophy, knowledge,
and wisdom of men may be set in array against them, but they are like
chaff before a mighty wind, or like the morning dew before the sun in its
strength--such Elders embrace truth because it is all-powerful.  When a
man of God preaches the principles of the Gospel, all things give way
before it, and some embrace it because it is so mighty.  But by and bye
those characters will fall out by the way, because the soil has not depth
to nourish the seeds of truth.  They receive it, but not the love of it;
it dies, and they turn away.  If every person who has embraced the Gospel
would love it as he loves his life, would not society wear a different
aspect from that of the present?

	I do not intend to enter into a detailed account of the acts of the
people, they are themselves acquainted with them; people know how they
themselves talk; and how their neighbors talk; how husband and wife agree
in their own houses, and with their neighbors; and how parents and
children dwell together.  I need not tell these things, but if every heart
were set upon doing right, we then should have Zion here.  I will give you
my reason for thinking so.  It is because I have had it with me ever since
I was baptized into this kingdom.  I have not been without it from that
day to this.  I have therefore a good reason for the assertion I have
made.  I live and walk in Zion every day, and so do thousands of others in
this Church and kingdom, they carry Zion with them, they have one of their
own, and it is increasing, growing, and spreading continually.  Suppose it
spreads from heart to heart, from neighborhood to neighborhood, from city
to city, and from nation to nation, how long would it be before the earth
would become revolutionized, and the wheat gathered from among the tares. 
The wheat and tares, however, must grow together until harvest.  I am not,
therefore, disposed to separate them yet, for if we pluck up the tares
before the harvest, we may destroy some of the good seed, therefore let
them grow together, and by and bye the harvest will come.

	There is another thing, brethren, which I wish you to keep constantly
before your minds, that is with regard to your travels in life.  You have
read, in the Scriptures, that the children of men will be judged according
to their works, whether they be good or bad, If a man's days be filled up
with good works, he will be rewarded accordingly.  On the other hand, if
his days lie filled up with evil actions, he will receive according to
those acts.  This proves that we are in a state of exaltation, it proves
that we can add to our knowledge, wisdom, and strength, and that we can
add power to every attribute that God has given us.  When will the people
realize that this is the period of time in which they should commence to
lay the foundation of their exaltation for time and eternity, that this is
the time to conceive, and bring forth from the heart fruit to the honor
and glory of God, as Jesus did--grow as he did from the child, become
perfect, and be prepared to be raised to salvation?  You will find that
this probation is the place to increase upon every little we receive, for
the Lord gives line upon line to the children of men.  When He reveals the
plan of salvation, then is the time to fill up our days with good works.

	Let us fill up our days with usefulness, do good to each other, and
cease from all evil.  Let every evil person forsake his wickedness.  If he
be wicked in his words, or in his dealings, let him forsake those
practices, and pursue a course of righteousness.  Let every man and woman
do this, and peace and joy will be the result.

	A few words more upon the subject of the eternal existence of the
soul.  It is hard for mankind to comprehend that principle.  The
philosophers of the world will concede that the elements of which you and
I are composed are eternal, yet they believe that there was a time when
there was no God.  They cannot comprehend how it is that God can be
eternal.  Let me ask this congregation, Can you realise the eternity of
your own existence?  Can you realise that the intelligence which you
receive is eternal?  I can comprehend this, just as well as I can that I
am now in possession of it.  It is as easy for me to comprehend that it
will exist eternally, as that anything else will.  I wish to impress upon
your minds the reality that when the body which is organized for
intelligence to dwell in, dies, and returns to its mother earth, all the
feelings, sensibilities, faculties, and powers of the spirit are still
alive, they never die, but in the absence of the body are more acute. 
They are organized for an eternal existence.  If this congregation could
comprehend that the intelligence that is in them is eternal in its nature
and existence; if they could realize that when Saints pass through the
vail, they are not dead, but have been laying the foundation in these
tabernacles for exaltation, laying the foundation to become Gods, even the
sons of God, and for crowns which they will yet receive--they would
receive the truth in the love of it, live by it, and continue in it, until
they receive all knowledge and wisdom, until they grow into eternity, and
have the vail taken from before their eyes, to behold the handiworks of
God among all people, His goings forth among the nations of the earth, and
to discover the rule and law by which He governs.  Then could they say of
a truth, We acknowledge the hand of God in all things, all is right, Zion
is here, in our own possession.

	I have thus summed up, in a broken manner, that which I desired to
speak.  We are not able to comprehend all things, but we can continue to
learn and grow, until all will be perfectly clear to our minds, which is a
great privilege to enjoy--the blessing of an eternal increase.  And the
man or woman who lives worthily is now in a state of salvation.

	Now, brethren, love the truth, and put a stop to every species of
folly.  How many there are who come to me to find fault with, and enter
complaints against, their brethren, for some trifling thing, when I can
see, in a moment, that they have received no intentional injury!  They
have no compassion on their brethren, but, having passed their judgment,
insist that the criminal shall be punished.  And why?  Because he does not
exactly come up to their standard of right and wrong!  They feel to
measure him by the "Iron Bedstead principle"--"if you are too long, you
must be cut off; if too short, you must be stretched."  Now this is the
height of folly. I find that I have enough to do to watch myself.  It is
as much as I can do to get right, deal right, and act right.  If we all
should do this, there would be no difficulty, but in every man's mouth
would lie "May the Lord bless you."  I feel happy, as I always told you. 
Brother Kimball has known me thirty years, twenty one of which I have been
in this Church; others have known me twenty years; and there are some here
who knew me in England; I had Zion with me then, and I brought it with me
to America again, and I now appeal to every man and woman if I have not
had Zion with me from first entering into the Church, to the present time! 
Light cleaves to light, and truth to truth.  May God bless you.  Amen.

                   ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MAN.
   A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 6, 1853.

	The organization of man, I suppose, is one of the deepest and most
profound studies for philosophers and theologians there is in nature.  The
organization of man, embracing all the attributes and powers of his
physical and mental constitution, is considered a mystery by the wisest
and most expert philosophers that have lived, and is a subject that daily
occupies the thoughts and researches of the more intelligent portion of
the children of men.

	When we carefully notice the manner of our own reflections, it is a
marvel and a wonder to us; and we are apt to say, What am I?  Who am I? 
And for what was I made?  Who is the author of my existence?  Who laid the
foundation of and planned this singular structure?  It is a mystery how
this wonderful machinery works, and how it is sustained to fulfil the
purpose of its creation!  In reality, however, there is no such thing as a
mystery but to the ignorant.  We may also say, there is no such thing, in
reality, as a miracle, except to those who do not understand the "Alpha
and Omega" of every phenomenon that is made manifest.  To a person who
thoroughly understands the reason of all things, and can trace from their
effects to their true causes, mystery does not exist.  Yet the physical
and mental existence of man is a great mystery to him.

	In the experience of our lives we are taught many principles that are
worthy the attention of the most intelligent on earth.  The first great
principle that ought to occupy the attention of mankind, that should be
understood by the child and the adult, and which is the main spring of all
action, (whether people understand it or not,) is the principle of
improvement.  The principle of increase, of exaltation, of adding to that
we already possess, is the grand moving principle and cause of the actions
of the children of men.  No matter what their pursuits are, in what nation
they were born, with what people they have been associated, what religion
they profess, or what politics they hold, this is the main spring of the
actions of the people, embracing all the powers necessary in performing
the duties of life.

	This is the lesson we should study.  The powers of our minds and
bodies should be governed and controlled in that way that will secure to
us an eternal increase.  While the inhabitants of the earth are bestowing
all their ability, both mental and physical, upon perishable objects,
those who profess to be Latter-day Saints, who have the privilege of
receiving and understanding the principles of the holy Gospel, are in duty
bound to study and find out, and put in practice in their lives, those
principles that are calculated to endure, and that tend to a continual
increase in this, and in the world to come.  All their earthly avocations
should be framed upon this principle.  This alone can insure to them an
exaltation; this is the starting point, in this existence, to an endless
progression.  All the ideas, cogitations, and labors of man are
circumscribed by and incorporated in this great principle of life.

	When we duly reflect upon the cogitations of our own minds, when we
look upon the people called Latter-day Saints, upon the earth on which we
stand, and upon the mighty universe around us, by the light of the Spirit
of truth in our minds, we marvel with astonishment.  When the light that
lighteth every man that cometh into the world, illuminates the
understanding, and exposes to view the true order of the works of the
Framer of the Universe, so that they can contemplate the geat first cause
of all things, and then look upon the grovelling pursuits of mortals, and
their anxiety to obtain that which will perish, at the expense of the more
enduring substance, every person must be struck with astonishment beyond
measure.

	The human family are like so many children that have just learned how
to walk, in the eyes of a person whose mind has been opened by the light
of the Holy Ghost.  The sage, grey headed grandfathers, and those of fewer
years, but not of less experience and wisdom, have viewed the eagerness of
children to possess mere trifles, and often something that would be their
sure destruction if they obtained it.  So it is with the inhabitants of
the world.  A company of little children at play is a perfect miniature
picture of the life of man: "Give me this, and give me that; and I want to
have the other thing;" still you are not willing I should possess it; and
the parent knows that often its possession would be an injury.  Or when
one child sits down in a little chair, another one will cry because of it,
without receiving the least injury.  If you place a plate of apples or
plums before a child of three or four years old, he will not be content
with one, or two, or with as many as he can hold; but he will try to grasp
the whole plate full with his little fingers, dropping one, and taking up
another, until he has scattered and wasted them, and at last be contented
to sit down and eat one, that is, if the rest of the children have not any
but himself; or else cry, when he has as many as he can hold, because he
can not hold them all.  The little girl will cry for the needle she sees
her mother working with, and when she has got it, handle it to her injury;
and the little boy will cry for the razor he sees his father using.

	It is so with many of the brethren and sisters; they cry for the
razor.  These inconsistent desires of early childhood for trifling things,
are exhibited in the human family, after they have arrived to maturer
years.  They may be reaching after things of weightier importance than the
child, but when they are compared with eternal matters, they are just as
trifling; and to the mind that is instructed, that has been touched with
the light of eternal truth, they appear even more foolish than children,
because we expect better things of them.  As a general thing, the men of
eighty years of age are as contracted in their minds, as to a knowedge of
the true principles of life, and the end and purpose of their being, as
little children only two and three years old are of the business that
occupies the attention of the City Council or the Legislature of the
State.

	The thousand-and-one inconsistencies of childhood have their parallel
in the actions and doings of many of this people.  Theatrical companies
try to exhibit traits of human life; but a better stage cannot be than the
world, nor better actors than men, to a man of understanding.  It is
pleasing and instructing to see certain characters personified upon the
boards of a theatre which is managed upon righteous principles.  A
prominent feature of the human world was most admirably portrayed by our
performers the other evening, in the melo-drama called "The Serious
Family."  When the mother told the daughter to say to the friend of her
husband, they had no spare rooms in the house, the daughter replied,
"Shall I tell a lie?"  "Yes," answered the old dame, "if it is to promote
our holy cause."  Do anything, no matter what, whether it is right or
wrong, to gain the end we wish, is the language of unenlightened,
unregenerate man.  If the Lord Almighty should give the human family their
desire in full, they would not keep the broad road to destruction, but
they would go across lots, quick to hell.

	It is not my intention to detain the meeting long this afternoon; but
before I bring my remarks to a close, I wish to impress upon your minds
some few prominent items of our religion.  I can say truly that I am
happy, and rejoice exceedingly, and am thankful beyond measure, that the
items I wish to notice are in a great degree adhered to by this people as
a whole.  That I may bring the matter before our minds at once, I will
repeat part of the "Mormon Creed," viz., "Let every man mind his own
business."  If this is observed, every man will have business sufficient
on hand, so as not to afford time to trouble himself with the business of
other people.  You can now comprehend the whole discourse by the nature of
the text.

 	While brother Erastus Snow was speaking, he made use of weedy gardens
as a comparison, to apply to those who complained of other people's
gardens, while their own were neglected.  I will refer to the same idea. 
There are plenty of evils about our neighbors; this no person will pretend
to deny; but there is no man or woman on the earth, Saint or sinner, but
what has plenty to do to watch the little evils that cling to human
nature, and weed their own gardens.  We are made subject to vanity, and it
is right.  We are made subject to the powers of evil, which is necessary
to prove all things.  We are apt to neglect our own feelings, passions,
and undertakings, or in other words, to neglect to weed our own gardens,
and while we are weeding our neighbor's, before we are aware, weeds will
start up and kill the good seeds in our own.  This is the reason why we
should most strictly attend to our own business.

	I am happy to say that this people do increase in understanding,
wisdom, patience, and faith.  It appears to me much more easy for mankind
to live without sin, than with it.  We have been taught that it is
contrary to nature to live without sin.  If a man should spit in my face,
it would be natural for me to knock him down, or in return spit in his
face.  But suppose one should injure me in person, or estate, and I should
overlook it, and show mercy to the individual, it would cause him to
reflect upon his conduct, and show him the true bearings of his unjust
act, and make him ashamed of it much better than if I retaliated.  If I
were to pay him back in his own coin, I should render myself worthy of
what I have received.  If I bear an insult with meek patience, and do not
return the injury, I have a decided advantage over my adversary.  And if
the person is susceptible of feeling such a rebuke, he will say, "I have
done wrong; my conscience condemns me, and my neighbor, or my brother, did
not retaliate."  It at once causes the evil doer to reflect, and he will
say, "Why did I do it? The devil tempted me; I will go and confess my sin
to my neighbor, for he is not disposed to return the wrong, and he is a
better person than I am; and from henceforth I will mind my own business,
and keep a guard upon my passions."  Is it not better in all such cases to
be guided by that principle, than by the principle of retaliation?

	To illustrate still further.  Suppose A insults B, and B demands
satisfaction, and they agree to fight: they meet and inflict upon each
other blows and injuries, and whip each other right well.  A, however, is
the conqueror, and B retires vanquished, in shame and disgrace.  He cannot
any longer remain in the same neighborhood with his victorious enemy, and
therefore concludes to sell out, and leave the place.  Now suppose B had
borne the first insult, or injury, and returned it only with good, instead
of trying to do A an injury; A would have been completely conquered, and B
would have escaped a sound whipping.  Were we, one and all, to pursue the
latter course, quarrels would soon cease in our community.  As I said, if
we keep our own gardens clear of weeds, our neighbors will take a pattern
by us, and produce from their gardens greater quantities of fruit another
year.

	Now, brethren and sisters, receive the exhortation and counsel of
brother Snow, and profit by it; and employ the rest of your lives in good
thoughts, kind words, and good works.  Shall I sit down and read the
Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Covenants all the time?" says
one.  Yes, if you please, and when you have done, you may be nothing but a
sectarian after all.  It is your duty to study to know everything upon the
face of the earth, in addition to reading those books.  We should not only
study good, and its effects upon our race, but also evil, and its
consequences.

	I make these remarks to lay the foundation for principle in the minds
of the people; and if you do not yet understand what I would be at, I will
try to illustrate it still further.  For example, we will take a strict,
religious, holy, down country, eastern Yankee, who would whip a beer
barrel for working on Sunday, and never suffer a child to go into company
of his age--never suffer him to have any associates, or permit him to do
any thing or know anything, only what the deacon, priests, or missionaries
bring to the house; when that child attains to mature age, say eighteen or
twenty years, he is very apt to steal away from his father and mother; and
when he has broken his bands, you would think all hell was let loose, and
that he would compass the world at once.

	Now understand it--when parents whip their children for reading
novels, and never let them go to the theatre, or to any place of
recreation and amusement, but bind them to the moral law, until duty
becomes loathsome to them; when they are freed by age from the rigorous
training of their parents, they are more fit for companions to devils,
than to be the children of such religious parents.

	If I do not learn what is in the world, from first to last, somebody
will be wiser than I am.  I intend to know the whole of it, both good and
bad.  Shall I practise evil?  No; neither have I told you to practise it,
but to learn by the light of truth every principle there is in existence
in the world.

	Still further.  When I was young, I was kept within very strict
bounds, and was not allowed to walk more than half-an-hour on Sunday for
exercise.  The proper and necessary gambols of youth having been denied
me, makes me want active exercise and amusement now.  I had not a chance
to dance when I was young, and never heard the enchanting tones of the
violin, until I was eleven years of age; and then I thought I was on the
high way to hell, if I suffered myself to linger and listen to it.  I
shall not subject my little children to such a course of unnatural
training, but they shall go to the dance, study music, read novels, and do
anything else that will tend to expand their frames, add fire to their
spirits, improve their minds, and make them feel free and untrammeled in
body and mind.  Let everything come in its season, place everything in the
place designed for it, and do everything in its right time.  And inasmuch
as the Lord Almighty has designed us to know all that is in the earth,
both the good and the evil, and to learn not only what is in heaven, but
what is in hell, you need not expect ever to get through learning.  Though
I mean to learn all that is in heaven, earth, and hell.  Do I need to
commit iniquity to do it?  No.  If I were to go into the bowels of hell to
find out what is there, that does not make it necessary that I should
commit one evil, or blaspheme in any way the name of my Maker.

	Do you not suppose the Lord is there, and knows all about it?  I am
satisfied of it.  If He is not there, when the wicked inhabitants of the
earth begin to inquire where they shall flee to escape from His presence,
they will find a hiding place in hell.  If the wicked wish to escape from
His presence, they must go where He is not, where He does not live, where
His influence does not preside.  To find such a place is impossible,
except they go beyond the bounds of time and space.

	I have learned enough to be happy, when I am in the enjoyment of the
blessings of the Lord.  That is a great lesson for a man to learn.  There
are two things that make this people unhappy, if ever they are unhappy,
viz., themselves, and the spirits that are around them.  This, however,
will more particularly apply to individuals.  As a people, as a community,
there is not its parallel to be found on the earth, for contentment and
happiness.  Will you make yourselves happy?  You are greatly blessed of
the Lord, all the day long, and should be happy; but we are apt to close
our eyes against this fact, and fancy ourselves miserable, when we are
actually blessed.

	To make ourselves happy is incorporated in the great design of man's
existence.  I have learned not to fret myself about that which I cannot
help.  If I can do good, I will do it; and if I cannot reach a thing, I
will content myself to be without it.  This makes me happy all the day
long.  I wish you to learn the same profitable lesson.  Who hinders you
from being happy? from praying, and serving the Lord as much as you
please?  Who hinders you from doing all the good in your power to do?  Who
is there here, to mar in any way the peace of any Saint that lives in
these peaceful valleys?  No one.  It is for us to keep our own gardens
clean, and see we do not harbor evil in our own hearts.  Were we to look
into our own hearts, and seek diligently to do all the good in our power,
and never commit another evil while we live, what is there to prevent us
from being happy?  I know there never lived a happier people, upon the
earth, I might venture to say, because of the dispensation in which we
live; it brings joy, comfort, and satisfaction to those who will receive
it, that could not be realized by any people who have lived before us.

	Do we expect to see our children grow up in darkness, and rebellion
against the principles of the Gospel of Christ?  Have you this thought to
worry your minds?  No.  The ancients had, and their souls were sometimes
weighed down with sorrow on this account.  They saw their children would
leave the true Church, transgress the laws, change the ordinances, and
break the everlasting covenant.  This we have not to fear.  God has seen
fit in our day to bring forth the Priesthood again, even at the eleventh
hour--at the end of summer--at the harvest time--at the gathering up of
his sheep. At this time, or never, He has put forth His hand to send the
Gospel to all nations, and gather the people together, and give to the
chosen of the Lord the inheritance of the earth.  Now what hinders our
being a happy people?  I do not see anything to hinder it.

	I have a few words to say concerning our spiritual labors.  I cannot,
however, define any difference between temporal and spiritual labors.  I
call it spiritual to accommodate my language to the ideas of the people.
Anything that pertains to the building up of the Lord's kingdom on earth,
whether it be in preaching the Gospel, or building Temples to His name, we
have been taught to consider a spiritual work, though it evidently
requires the strength of the natural body to perform it.

	If the weather had been fine the past week, we should have been ready
to have commenced excavating the earth for the foundation of the Temple. 
When we call upon the brethren, we wish them to be ready to obey the call. 
Probably a week from to-morrow we shall call upon them to commence this
work.  To satisfy those who may wish to know the size of the excavation, I
will state that it will be about 250 feet from east to west, and from
north to south a little less, and from 16 to 20 feet deep.  We expect the
mason work of the basement will be 24 feet high, 16 feet below the ground,
and 8 feet above.  That will require considerable labor.

 	We wish the excavation made, and everything prepared to lay the
corner stones on the 6th day of April next, if the Lord will; and if the
Lord will not, I care not whether a stone is laid here, or in any other
place; I care as little about it as the snow birds in our fields.  All
that concerns me, is to do the work the Lord has for me to-day; and if the
world is designed for to-morrow, I will prepare for it to-day, so as to be
ready to perform it to-morrow with alacrity.

	I need not say anything more about the Temple; we shall accomplish
that work as expeditiously as we can.  I might advance many profitable
ideas pertaining to business, if the brethren who are men of business, and
understand what is needed in our case, would listen, and profit by them.

	I will say a word to the Seventies.  Some of them have incorrect
notions touching the Seventies' Hall; and I wish them to understand, that
the Temple must be the first thing in our thoughts; and if I want all the
funds that have been collected for the Seventies' Hall, for the erection
of a Temple, I calculate to use them.  The people need not expect us to
give them the easy circumstances the noblemen of the Gentile nations
enjoy, while there is so much for us to do for the public good.  There is
more before us to be done this year, than will take five to accomplish. 
We are not, however, going to do all things this year; we are not going to
finish the Temple this year, but we will begin it.  The Lord requires all
we have to be devoted to His kingdom; and though it be but the widow's
mite, He can do as much with two mites as we can with millions of them.

	May the Lord God of Israel bless you, in the name of Jesus.  Amen.



                            BUILDING TEMPLES.
  An address delivered by President Brigham Young, on the Temple Block,
                   Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 14, 1853.

	If the congregation will give me their attention, I will detain them
but a short time.  Our history is too well known to render it necessary
for me to enter into particulars on the subject this morning.  Suffice it
to say, to this congregation, that we shall attempt to build a temple to
the name of our God.  This has been attempted several times, but we have
never yet had the privilege of completing and enjoying one.  Perhaps we
may in this place, but if, in the providence of God, we should not, it is
all the same.  It is for us to do those things which the Lord requires at
our hands, and leave the result with Him.  It is for us to labor with a
cheerful good will; and if we build a temple that is worth a million of
money, and it requires all our time and means, we should leave it with
cheerful hearts, if the Lord in His providence tells us so to do.  If the
Lord permits our enemies to drive us from it, why we should abandon it
with as much cheerfulness of heart as we ever enjoy a blessing.  It is no
matter to us what the Lord does, or how He disposes of the labor of His
servants.  But when He commands, it is for His people to obey.  We should
be as cheerful in building this temple, if we knew beforehand that we
should never enter into it when it was finished, as we would though we
knew we were to live here a thousand years to enjoy it.

	If the inquiry is in the hearts of the people--"Does the Lord require
the building of a temple at our hands?" I can say that He requires it just
as much as ever He required one to be built elsewhere.  If you should ask,
"Brother Brigham, have you any knowledge concerning this? have you ever
had a revelation from heaven upon it?" I can answer truly, it is before me
all the time, not only to-day, but it was almost five years ago, when we
were on this ground, looking for locations, sending our scouting parties
through the country, to the right and to the left, to the north and the
south; to the east and the west; before we had any returns from any of
them, I knew, just as well as I now know, that this was the ground on
which to erect a temple--it was before me.

	The Lord wished us to gather to this place, He wished us to cultivate
the earth, and make these valleys like the Garden of Eden, and make all
the improvements in our power, and build a temple as soon as circumstances
would permit.  And further, if the people and the Lord required it, I
would give a written revelation, but let the people do the things they
know to be right. Permit me to ask the question--do you not know that it
is your duty to accumulate your daily bread, to cease your wickedness? 
Are not these duties required at your hands?  Do you not know this of
yourselves?  There is not an individual in this assembly that does not
understand this, that is not as well convinced of it as I am.

	Concerning revelations pertaining to building temples, I will give
you the words of our beloved Prophet while he was yet living upon the
earth.  Many of us that are here to-day, were with him from the
commencement of the church. He was frequently speaking upon the building
of temples in Kirtland, Missouri, and Illinois.  When the people refused
in Kirtland to build a temple, unless by a special revelation, it grieved
his heart that they should be so penurious in their feelings as to require
the Lord to command them to build a house to His name.  It was not only
grievous to him, but to the Holy Spirit also.  He frequently said, that if
it were not for the covetousness of the people, the Lord would not give
revelations concerning the building of temples, for we already knew all
about them; the revelations giving us the order of the Priesthood make
known to us what is wanting in that respect at our hands.  If you should
go to work to build a dwelling house, you know you would want a kitchen, a
buttery, sitting rooms, bedrooms, halls, passages, and alleys.  He said,
you might as well ask the Lord to give revelation upon the dimensions and
construction of the various apartments of your dwelling houses, as upon
the erection of temples, for we know before hand what is necessary.

	Concerning this house, I wish to say, if we are prospered we will
soon show you the likeness of it, at least upon paper, and then if any man
can make any improvement in it, or if he has faith enough to bring one of
the old Nephites along, or an angel from heaven, and he can introduce
improvements, he is at liberty so to do.  But wait until I dictate, and
construct it to the best of my ability, and according to the knowledge I
possess, with the wisdom God shall give me, and with the assistance of my
brethren; when these are exhausted, if any improvement can be made, all
good men upon the earth are at liberty to introduce their improvements. 
But I trust this people do not require commanding, every day of their
lives, to pray, to do unto others as they would that others should do unto
them: I trust they do not want a special command for this; if not, upon
the same principle, they will not want any commandment upon the subject of
building a temple, more than what is before them.

	A few words to this people, upon the principles which were laid
before them yesterday, in the tabernacle.  One thing is required at the
hands of this people, and to understand which there is no necessity for
receiving a commandment every year, viz.--to pay their tithing.  I do not
suppose for a moment, that there is a person in this Church, who is
unacquainted with the duty of paying tithing, neither is it necessary to
have a revelation every year upon the subject.  There is the law--pay one
tenth.  I wish to say to you, and I wish you to tell your neighbors, if
there is any man or woman who do not want to pay their tithing, we do not
want they should.  It is for your particular benefit, and that of every
individual upon the face of the earth.  To me, as an individual, it is no
matter whether you build a temple or not; I and my brethren have received
our endowments, keys, blessings--all the tokens, signs, and every
preparatory ordinance, that can be given to man, for his entrance into the
celestial gate.

	The Prophet's feelings were often wounded because he was under the
necessity of giving commandments concerning duties that were already
before the people, until the temple was completed; but had he not done so,
the temple would not have been built; had he waited until the minds of the
people were opened, and they were led to see and do their duty, without
commandment, he would have been slain before the keys of the Priesthood
could have been committed to others, but the Lord put it into his heart to
give this power to his brethren before his martyrdom.

	If the people will pay their tithing, we have all the means we can
ask or wish for.  If the tithing is paid, we do not want the brethren and
sisters to give up their surplus property, for there will be a great
surplus in the storehouse of the Lord.  This is what is required of this
people, not to give all they have, though it should be constantly upon the
altar, but to be ready, if required; but if the people will pay their
tithing punctually, there will be an abundance, yes, and a surplus.  For
me to ask the people if they will give their surplus property, would be
useless.  I shall not ask any such question, but I shall now ask the
people to pay their labor tithing, that we may excavate this foundation,
and prepare for the stone work by the 1st of April.  I expect to see a
great turn out, no doubt we shall have all the help we can require.

	While the brethren are before me, let me say, that we cannot commence
to lay rock here without time, and we cannot get the stone for the
foundation without the railroad from this place to the quarry is
completed; these two items must be attended to.  This is sufficient to say
upon that matter.

	Let us revert for a moment to the past, to the years we have spent in
toil and labor, though very agreeably.  Seven years ago to-morrow, about
eleven o'clock, I crossed the Mississippi river, with my brethren, for
this place, not knowing, at that time, whither we were going, but firmly
believing that the Lord had in reserve for us a good place in the
mountains, and that He would lead us directly to it.  It is but seven
years since we left Nauvoo, and we are now ready to build another temple. 
I look back upon our labors with pleasure.  Here are hundreds and
thousands of people that have not had the privileges that some of us have
had.  Do you ask, what privileges?  Why, of running the gauntlet, of
passing through the narrows.  They have not had the privilege of being
robbed and plundered of their property, of being in the midst of mobs and
death, as many of us have.

	Only be faithful, brethren and sisters, and I promise that you shall
have all such privileges as shall be for your good.  You need not be
discouraged, or mourn, because you were not in Jackson County
persecutions, or were not driven from Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, and
stripped, robbed, and plundered of all your property.  Do not mourn and
feel bad, because you were not in Nauvoo; have no fears, for if the word
of the Lord is true, you shall yet be tried in all things, so rejoice, and
pray without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks, even if it is in the
spoiling of your goods, for it is the hand of God that leads us, and will
continue so to do.  Let every man and woman sanctify themselves before the
Lord, and every providence of the Almighty shall be sanctified for good to
them.  I will now close my remarks.


               THE PRIVILEGES AND BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL.
   A discourse delivered by President Brigham Young at the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 20, 1853.

	Truly happy is that man, or woman, or that people, who enjoys the
privileges of the Gospel of the Son of God, and who know how to appreciate
his blessings.  Who is that person, or that people?  We are ready to
reply, "The Latter-day Saints are the only people on earth, that we have
any knowledge of, to whom the everlasting Gospel has been given in these
days; they are the only people who are the heirs to it, with all its
blessings and privileges.  Not to our knowledge is there any other people
on the face of this globe that enjoy this inestimable blessing."  True,
all mankind enjoy to a certain degree its influence, the manifestations of
the Author, Proprietor, and Giver of the Gospel of life and salvation to
fallen man.  All the offspring of Adam, from his day to this, have
enjoyed, to a greater or less degree, the light, the glory, and the
manifestations of the countenance of their Lord.  But they have not
enjoyed in all ages the Gospel, with its ordinances, blessings, and
privileges.  This is the only people that now enjoys such signal favours. 
The Priesthood has been upon the earth from time to time, and the kingdom
of God has been organized to certain degrees, but we can truly say, this
is the time of times, we live in the day of days, we enjoy the blessings
of the blessed, and have bestowed upon us, in the fulness of times,
privileges that surpass all privileges hitherto bestowed upon mankind.  In
this dispensation all things will be gathered together in one, and strange
and marvellous as it may appear to the world, these are the people who are
the instruments in the hand of God to bring it to pass.  This is a truth
that no arguments can successfully bear down.  No matter how it is
despised, persecuted, or neglected, as a frivolous, trifling, and childish
work, it is true, and it will remain; it is the kingdom of heaven upon the
earth.  Here is the plan of salvation, here are the words of life, here is
the light of eternity, here is the intelligence that will instruct kings,
and impart judgment to rulers.  It is embodie

	
 here in the midst of this people, and from there the rays of heavenly
light, wisdom, and intelligence have spread upon the wide earth; and the
Spirit of the Lord, that fills immensity, has been poured out upon its
face, giving light to every man and woman that cometh into this world.

	Brethren and sisters, can we realize its greatness?  Arouse the
reflecting and reasoning faculties with which you are endowed, reason upon
your past experience in this Church, and then inquire if you are as happy
as you anticipated you would be, if you have received that which you
desired, if you enjoy that which was once in the future to you--and what
will be your reasonable conclusions?  What would an enlightened judgment
tell you?  What would the spirit of truth decide?  That here are the pure
rays of light, here is heaven on earth; and no argument, no intelligence,
no influence of earth and hell combined could disprove it, or produce one
good reason to the contrary.  You may then ascend to the powers supreme,
and consult the intelligence that fills the bosom of eternity; you may
inquire of the Creator, Organizer, and Preserver of the Universe, our
Father who is in heaven; you may associate with the glorious retinue of
Saints, angels, martyrs, and the spirits of just men made perfect; and
they will all, with one voice as it were, testify to the truth of this
work in which we are engaged.  On the other hand, nothing short of the
power of the Almighty, nothing short of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ,
can prove to you that this is the work of God.  Men uninspired of God
cannot by their worldly wisdom disprove it, or prevail against it; neither
can they by wisdom alone prove it to be true, either to themselves or to
others.  Their not being able to prevail against it does not prove it to
be the kingdom of God, for there are many theories and systems on the
earth, incontrovertable [sic] by the wisdom of the world, which are
nevertheless false.  Nothing less than the power of the Almighty,
enlightening the understandings of men, can demonstrate this glorious
truth to the human mind.

	When you were in your native homes in the old countries and in the
United States, before you gathered with the people of God, what were your
thoughts and expectations, when you looked forward to the period of your
being embodied with the Saints?  What were the vision [sic] of your mind,
and the operations of the Spirit upon your understanding?  When you were
gathered with the Saints of the Most High, and became associated as a
brother, a sister, and a neighbour with that blessed society, you expected
to enjoy the manifestations of the Lord Jesus Christ, to walk in the light
of his countenance, and by the power of the Holy Ghost have the oracles of
truth revealed to you continually, and that you would be in heaven, and in
the Zion of the Lord.  These were your expectations.  You did not expect
to hear the name of the God we serve blasphemed from morning until
evening; you expected to be delivered from hearing the blasphemies of your
wicked shopmates, from the tyranny of your ungodly employers, and from the
persecutions of the bigoted religionists, who were all united to pick you
to pieces, and destroy you both temporally and spiritually, if it were
possible; on one side you were sheared, and on the other shaved.  You were
annoyed with the ungodly conversation and filthy deeds of your neighbours,
your peace was destroyed, and you could not enjoy that happiness held out
to you in the Gospel; yet you felt the influence of the spirit of truth
burning in your heart, which kindled in you a longing desire to mingle
with the Saints; you would exclaim, "Oh! that I could enjoy the society of
the Saints, and make my escape from this ungodly place.  Oh! that I had
means to gather up my little family, and journey to the place of the
gathering of the Saints of the Most High."  This was your feeling, and
this your prayer.  You anticipated deliverance from hell, to find a heaven
with the Saints; you expected to exchange confusion for a Zion of order
and beauty, misery for peace and happiness, blasphemy and tumult for
quietness and reverence to the name of God, starvation for plenty; in
short, you expected to find a place where all evil had ceased, and
iniquity and sorrow were brought to an end, and where you would bask
undisturbed in the smiles of the countenance of your Lord from day to day. 
I think I have drawn a faithful picture of what were the thoughts of the
majority of this people, before they were gathered to the body of the
Church.

	Now, brethren and sisters, what hinders you from enjoying all you
anticipated?  The calm reflections of your own minds, and the conclusions
of a well balanced judgment, enlightened by the Spirit of the Lord, will
give you a correct answer to this question.  I can answer it for myself,
and perhaps for many of you.  If I do not enjoy all I anticipated, if my
happiness is not as complete as I anticipated, if the light of the Holy
Spirit is not in my heart to that degree which I expected it would be, if
I have not obtained all I anticipated when I was down in yonder world,
mingled with the wicked, the cause is in myself, in my own heart, in my
own disposition, in the weakness of human nature; it is my own will that
prevents me from enjoying all I anticipated, and more.  It is a mistaken
idea to suppose that others can prevent me from enjoying the light of God
in my soul; all hell cannot hinder me from enjoying Zion in my own heart,
if my individual will yields obedience to the requirements and mandates of
my heavenly Master.  He has set me a pattern to copy, which, if I imitate
faithfully, will yield to me all and more of heaven in my own heart than I
can anticipate.  This is my answer.

	Brother Erastus Snow asked a question--"If my neighbour shall do
wrong to me, am I thereby compelled to do wrong to my next neighbour?"  I
say, no.  If a brother shall tread down my grain, that is ripening in the
field, am I thereby compelled to run through and tread down yours?  No. 
When a person steals my poles from the fence, am I compelled to steal
yours?  If my neighbour, or my brother in the Church, shall swear, and
take the name of God in vain, does it necessarily follow that I must use
the same language?  If my brother shall do wrong in any way, it does not
follow that I shall be justified in committing one single evil in all the
acts of my life.  Let each Latter-day Saint examine himself, and inquire,
"Am I one of those persons who will do right in all things, though others
may do wrong?  Am I that person that will serve the Lord with my house,
that will cease from every evil act, and from every evil word, though my
neighbours, or my brethren and sisters, may do the opposite?"  Let the
spirit within you reply to these questions, and in every breast the
response is, "Let me be that person, let me do right from this time
henceforth and forever, without committing another evil."  Then what have
you got?  You have got heaven in your own bosoms, you have got Zion in
your hearts, you have obtained all the glory, all the peace, all the joy,
all the comfort, and all the light you anticipated when you were mingling
with the wicked world.  If you are deceived, who will deceive you?  If you
are wronged, who wrongs you? If you are cheated out of your crown at last,
who has cheated you?  These questions may apply in different ways.  They
may apply to the business operations of the world, as well as to the grace
of God in the heart, and the salvation of the soul.  It is to the latter I
wish them more particularly to apply.  Who has influence over any one of
you, to cause you to miss salvation in the celestial kingdom of God?  I
will answer these questions for myself.  If brother Brigham and I shall
take a wrong track, and be shut out of the kingdom of heaven, no person
will be to blame but brother Brigham and I.  I am the only being in
heaven, earth, or hell, that can be blamed.

	This will equally apply to every Latter-day Saint.  Salvation is an
individual operation.  I am the only person that can possibly save myself. 
When salvation is sent to me, I can reject or receive it.  In receiving
it, I yield implicit obedience and submission to its great Author
throughout my life, and to those whom He shall appoint to instruct me; in
rejecting it, I follow the dictates of my own will in preference to the
will of my Creator.  There are those among this people who are influenced,
controlled, and biased in their thoughts, actions, and feelings by some
other individual or family, on whom they place their dependence for
spiritual and temporal instruction, and for salvation in the end.  These
persons do not depend upon themselves for salvation, but upon another of
their poor, weak, fellow mortals.  "I do not depend upon any inherent
goodness of my own," say they, "to introduce me into the kingdom of
glory,but I depend upon you, brother Joseph, upon you, brother Brigham,
upon you, brother Heber, or upon you, brother James; I believe your
judgment is superior to mine, and consequently I let you judge for me;
your spirit is better than mine, therefore you can do good for me; I will
submit myself wholly to you, and place in you all my confidence for life
and salvation; where you go I will go, and where you tarry there I will
stay; expecting that you will introduce me through the gates into the
heavenly Jerusalem."

	I wish to notice this.  We read in the Bible, that there is one glory
of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars.  In
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, these glories are called telestial,
terrestrial, and celestial, which is the highest.  These are worlds,
different departments, or mansions, in our Father's house.  Now those men,
or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the
influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person,
suspending their own understanding, and pinning their faith upon another's
sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be
crowned as they anticipate; they will never be capable of becoming Gods. 
They cannot rule themselves, to say nothing of ruling others, but they
must be dictated to in every trifle, like a child.  They cannot control
themselves in the least, but James, Peter, or somebody else must control
them, They never can become Gods, nor be crowned as rulers with glory,
immortality, and eternal lives.  They never can hold sceptres of glory,
majesty, and power in the celestial kingdom.  Who will?  Those who are
valiant and inspired with the true independence of heaven, who will go
forth boldly in the service of their God, leaving others to do as they
please, determined to do right, though all mankind besides should take the
opposite course.  Will this apply to any of you?  Your own hearts can
answer.  Do you know what is right and just, as well as I do?  In some
things you do, and in some thing you may not know as well; but I will
explain what I mean, in the following words--I will do all the good I can,
and all I know how to do, and I will shun every evil that I know to be an
evil.  You can all do that much.  I will apply my heart to wisdom, and ask
the Lord to impart it to me; and if I know but little, I will improve upon
it, that to-morrow I may have more, and thus grow from day to day, in the
knowledge of the truth, as Jesus Christ grew in stature and knowledge from
a babe to manhood; and if I am not now capable of judging for myself,
perhaps I shall be in another year.  We are organized to progress in the
scale of intelligence, and the least Saint by adhering strictly to the
order of God, may attain to a full and complete salvation through the
grace of God, by his own faithfulness.

	I know how it was in Jackson County.  There are families in this city
that went to that county twenty-one or twenty-two years ago last fall, if
I mistake not.  I know what their feelings were.  All their desire was to
get into the town of Independence, Jackson County, where they expected to
find all sin and iniquity dried up, heaven begun on earth, and an end to
all their mortal griefs.  That was the motive that prompted them to go
there.  Poor souls, how little they knew about salvation and its mode.  I
might have gone there too, but I wanted to thunder and roar out the Gospel
to the nations.  It burned in my bones like fire pent up, so I turned my
back upon Jackson County to preach the Gospel of life to the people.  Such
were the feelings of those who went up to Jackson County, but I did not
want to go there, nothing would satisfy me but to cry abroad in the world,
what the Lord was doing in the latter days.  After a while this under
current began to work two ways, and they had more trouble in Independence
than we had in York State; it came foaming, and bellowing, and pressing
upon them until they had to fly.

	I wish to ask those persons why were driven from Jackson County, if
they suffered as much in the actual driving as they would have done in the
anticipation of it a year before it took place?  You will all reply that,
if you had known it a year beforehand, you would not have endured the
thought.  I wish to apply this both ways.  You that have not passed
through the trials, and persecutions, and drivings, with this people, from
the beginning, but have only read or them, or heard some of them related,
may think how awful they were to endure, and wonder that the Saints
survived them at all.  The thought of it makes your hearts sink within
you, your brains reel, and your bodies tremble, and you are ready to
exclaim, "I could not have endured it."  I have been in the heat of it,
and I never felt better in all my life; I never felt the peace and power
of the Almighty more copiously poured upon me than in the keenest part of
our trials.  They appeared nothing to me.  I hear people talk about their
troubles, their sore privations, and the great sacrifices they have made
for the Gospel's sake.  It never was a sacrifice to me.  Anything I can do
or suffer in the cause of the Gospel, is only like dropping a pin into the
sea; the blessings, gifts, powers, honour, joy, truth, salvation, glory,
immortality, and eternal lives, as far outswell anything I can do in
return for such precious gifts, as the great ocean exceeds in expansion,
bulk, and weight, the pin that I drop into it.  Had I had millions of
wealth, and had I devoted it all to the building up of this people and
said, "Take it, and build temples, cities, and fortifications with it,"
and left myself pennyless, would it have been a sacrifice?  No, not to my
feelings.  Suppose I should be called to preach the Gospel until my head
is white, and my limbs become weak with age, until I go down into my
grave, and never see my family and friends again in the flesh, would it be
a sacrifice?  No, but one of the greatest blessings that could be
conferred upon mortal man, to have the privilege of calling thousands, and
perhaps millions, from darkness to light, from the power of Satan and
unrighteousness to the principles of truth and righteousness in the living
God.

	I was as ready to pass through the scenes of mobbing and driving in
Jackson County, as I was to pass through the troubles in Kirtland, Ohio;
in Davis and Caldwell Counties, Missouri; in Illinois; and up to this
place.  And what of it?  I have not known or seen a single sacrifice that
this people have made.  There has not been one such providence of the
Almighty to this people, that was not calculated to sanctify the pure in
heart, and enrich them with blessings instead of curses--enrich them not
only with earthly blessings, but with crowns of glory, immortality, and
eternal lives in the presence of God.  Where, then, is the sacrifice this
people have ever made?  There is no such thing--they have only exchanged a
worse condition for a better one, every time they have been moved--they
have exchanged ignorance for knowledge, and inexperience for its opposite.

	I want you to look at the Saints before they first gathered to be
mobbed; they expected all sin to be at an end at the place of gathering. 
These were my own feelings, though I did not gather with them at that
time.  I had to go out and preach, lest my bones should consume within me. 
But I will tell you what I did do, I commenced to contract my business
operations and dealings, and laid away my ledger, and note books, saying,
"I shall never want you any more."  I believe that those who wanted to be
Saints indeed, should do every thing to promote righteous principles and
peace among men, and be perfectly of one heart and of one mind.  I laid
aside my old account books, because I expected we should be one family,
each seeking to do his neighbour good, and all be engaged to do all the
good possible.  To carry out this principle faithfully, would crown the
people of God with good to overflowing.  It is easy for us to think how
things should be, but the difficulty is, things are not always as we would
like to have them.  Though if the Saints at that time could have rightly
judged of appearances, could have understood the aspect around them, it
was clear that sorrow and trouble were impending.  It was right they did
not see the dark cloud that was ready to burst with violence upon their
heads.

	In the short speech of not more than five minutes, which I delivered
in the old Bowery, when that judge publicly insulted this people, there
were men and women in the congregation who suffered more in the
anticipation of what might be the result of it in future, than the
generality of this people have suffered in being actually mobbed.  They
could see, in imagination, all hell let loose upon us, themselves strung
up, their ears cut off, their bowels torn out, and this whole people cut
to pieces.  After they had had time to think, they found themselves still
alive and unhurt, to their great astonishment.  They suffered as much as
though they had been sent to the bottom of the bottomless pit.  They
suffered all this, because I told that corrupt man, that he ought to be
kicked out of the territory for his insolence and barefaced presumption. 
I know this people have suffered more by the contemplation of trouble,
than they have when actually passing through it.

	As they have magnified future trouble almost infinitely beyond its
real dimensions, so they have imagined to themselves a greater heaven than
they can find in Zion, at its present stage of progression.  You do not
enjoy the Zion you anticipated.  That mankind make mistakes in these two
ways must be apparent to those who have felt the workings of hope and fear
in their nature.  People suffer more in the anticipation of death, than in
death itself.  There is more suffering in what I call borrowed trouble,
than in the trouble itself.  On the other hand, you have anticipated more
Zion, more happiness, and more glory in the flesh than you will ever
realise in this mortality.  Those who are apt to go to one extreme, are
almost sure to go to the other, which always causes disappointment, either
agreeably, or disagreeably.  These two extremes have caused the Saints
much trouble; and some, for want of patience, and a little reasonable
thought, have laid the blame of their disappointments in the wrong
quarter, and have apostatised from the Church, never thinking the blame
was in themselves.  Upon these weaknesses of human nature the devil works
sometimes very successfully.  But brethren, we cannot escape from
ourselves; and while we remain in this tabernacle, our onward course will
be obstructed, more or less, by the weakness to which the mortal flesh is
subject.  By and bye our bodies will go to their mother earth, and receive
a resurrection, and become glorious; then we shall enjoy all, and more
than the heart of man can conceive, unless it is inspired by the Holy
Ghost.  This will be the inheritance of the faithful.

	There is much room for improvement in all.  If we commence from this
day, and do all the good we can, and never do another evil, we shall come
to that which I want the brethren to preach about, and endeavour to
establish.  I wish it preached by the Bishops, by the Deacons, and by
every officer in the Church; I wish fathers to teach it to their children;
and I desire the subject to be taken up by all bodies of the Saints
throughout the world, viz., establish CONFIDENCE IN EACH OTHER.  Take this
for a text if you like, and preach upon it, both verbally and practically,
until confidence in each other reigns universally among the Saints, and
then will be accomplished what I wish to see.  If we wish to establish a
confidence such as the Gods enjoy, let us cease from every evil act, and
from the contemplation of every evil design; never infringe upon another's
right, but let each one sustain his brother in the enjoyment of his
privileges and right, holding them as sacred as our own salvation.  If
confidence has been lost, this is the surest and only successful way to
restore it.  Hear it, ye preachers, ye Apostles, and Prophets; ye Elders,
High Priests, and Seventies; ye Priests, Teachers, Deacons, and Bishops;
every man and woman in the Church of God throughout the world; commence to
preach this discourse at home, beginning with your own heart; then teach
your wives and your children; then let it spread its warming and cheering
influence, like the genial sun beam, from family to family, until the
whole Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is united as the heart
of one man.

	I will illustrate the method of establishing confidence in each other
by taking, for example, the child of four or five years of age.  The
mother allows that child to own a small chest in which to keep his little
trinkets, such as little bosom pins, ribbons, doll clothes, &c.  This is
considered by all the family the child's chest.  Now let none go into that
chest and take anything from it, without the consent of the child.  This
is a very small matter, some may think; but begin at as small a point as
this to create confidence, and let it grow up from little to much.  Wives,
let your husband's stores alone, if they have not committed them to your
charge.  Husbands, commit that to your wives that belongs to them, and
never search their boxes without their consent.  I can boast of this.  I
have lived in the marriage relation nearly thirty years, and I never was
the man to open my wife's chest, without her consent, except once, and
that was to get out a likeness that I wanted on the instant, and she was
not at home to get it for me.  That was the first time I ever opened a
trunk in my life, that belonged to my wife, or to my child.  The child's
little chest, with its contents, is as sacred to him, as mine is to me. 
If this principle were strictly carried out by every man, woman, and child
among the Saints, it would make them a blessed people indeed.  We should
seek to preserve our neighbour's horse or ox from starving in the cold of
winter, and if we see any of his property in jeopardy, we should be as
careful of it as if it were our own; our object should be to save every
thing we can, both of our neighbour's and our own.

	Let every man pay his just debts.  The editor of the News has
published a piece in the paper about owing no man anything; read it,
reflect upon and practise it.  I can owe every body everything; that is
one side of the matter, and to pay everybody is the other.  I mean to owe
every man a debt of gratitude.

	I have perhaps spoken too long.  I have given you all a text to
preach upon, and to act upon in your lives; do it faithfully, and it will
do you good.

	May the Lord God of Israel bless you, and save you in His kingdom, is
my prayer.  Amen.



   DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES--SACRIFICE--CONFIDENCE--LANGUAGE--ORGANIZATION
                    AND DISORGANIZATION--TAKING WIVES
   A discourse delivered by President Brigham Young in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 27, 1853.

	I arise to make a few remarks, upon the subject on which brother Hyde
was speaking, concerning the privileges of the Saints.  I think that he
has plainly shown us, that privileges are, in a measure, disconnected with
duties; and although we may not exercise ourselves in all of them that we
might, still, we shall not fall under condemnation for this neglect.

	The privileges of the Saints of God, and that are granted unto the
inhabitants of the earth, are founded upon the principles of truth and
righteousness; but many people use them to their own condemnation; yet, if
they knew how to receive and act upon them, there would be no
condemnation, but to the contrary, a blessing.  This remark applies not
only to the privilege of dancing, (for such it is,) but to all other acts
and privileges that exist, and still are not specifically pointed out by
revelation as duties or requirements.  All blessings of this nature are to
be used as such, understandingly, by the Saints, and upon righteous
principles.

	What are the privileges of the Saints in these valleys?  Are they
abridged in the least?  Can they not accumulate wealth by trading with
each other, with emigrants, by cultivating the soil, raising stock, going
to the mines and digging for gold--in short, pursuing any and every
avocation to increase in wealth, and accumulate unto themselves the things
of this world?  Still further, if they wish to act upon unrighteous
principles, they can take advantage of their neighbor's necessity, ask
extortionate prices for rendering any little assistance or service, and
after thus dishonestly filling their purses, go to the gambling table, or
grog shop, and spend it by getting drunk, and rolling in the streets. 
Almost numberless indeed are the privileges and blessings of the human
family, and their abuses co-extensive therewith.

	But when blessings and privileges are to be used by the Saints, it
should be so as not to bring condemnation.  Upon what principle, when, and
where may we use them?  I have the privilege of associating myself with my
brethren and sisters in the dance.  When can I do this without abusing
this privilege, and thereby bringing condemnation upon myself?  I answer,
it is when I have performed every act, every duty that is incumbent upon
me, when every necessary labor and requirement is accomplished, when I
have served my God and my brethren, when I have performed every act
required of me, until nothing remains to be done, but to lie down and
rest, to seek recreation, then it becomes my lawful privilege, and not
before.  I fear this is quite different from the practice of many.  I
also, as well as others, could act upon unrighteous principles, if I
would, and neglect my duties pertaining to life and salvation.

	Suppose you go into some of the wards and say, "we have obtained some
music, let us go into the school house and have a dance."  "O yes!" is the
ready response, and they will immediately prepare, get ready their sons
and their daughters, and, leaving all important duties pertaining to their
welfare here and hereafter, unattended to, fill the house to overflowing. 
Brethren, you will use these privileges to your own destruction, if you
are not careful.  Yes, you could have a full house, dancing attendance to
the sounds of revelry and music; but, on the other hand, suppose your
invitation is to your neighbor, "Come, brethren, sisters, we are going to
have a prayer meeting over at the school house.  Will you go?  Will you
come?  Not to dance, but to pray!"  "Well, really, I do not see how I can;
my work is not done; I have a few chores [trifling domestic affairs] to do
yet; I have agreed to go to a neighbor's on business; a neighbor promised
to call on me to night, and I cannot well leave.  I should like very much
to go, but I really do not see that I can to-night."  In short, excuses
are not wanting.  I say to you, my brethren, and to myself, if we take
this course, condemnation is our doom, we will ruin, condemn ourselves,
and the Lord Almighty will judge us out of our own mouths.  This is the
tale told as it is.  It is not for any of us to enjoy the privilege of the
dance, or any other recreation, until every duty that is enjoined upon us
is performed.

	I cannot, legally, have the privilege of exercising myself perfectly
independent of my brethren, until I have performed every requirement that
they have placed upon me; the same applies to you and all Saints.

	I ask the brethren, do you pray before you go to these dances?  When
you return, are you not tired, fatigued, and is not your mind filled with
nonsense, so that you do not want to pray; and finally, do you not
conclude to wait, to put it off until morning?  This abuse of this
privilege, of this blessing, will bring condemnation to thousands; and not
this alone, but all the privileges of this life, if they are not wisely
used.

	When you go to amuse, or recreate yourselves in any manner whatever,
if you cannot enjoy the Spirit of the Lord then and there, as you would at
a prayer meeting, leave that place; and return not to such amusements or
recreation, until you have obtained the mastery over yourself, until you
can command the influences around you, that you may have the Spirit of the
Lord in any situation in which you may be placed.  Then, and not until
then, does it become the privilege of you, of me, or of any of the Saints,
to join in the festivities designed by our Creator for our recreation.  I
wish that you would remember it; and that you may, I repeat that it is not
your lawful privilege to yield to anything in the shape of amusement,
until you have performed every duty, and obtained the power of God to
enable you to withstand and resist all foul spirits that might attack you,
and lead you astray; until you have command over them, and by your faith,
obtained, through prayer and supplication, the blessings of the Holy
Spirit, and it rests upon you, and abides continually with you.

	You can never obtain my consent to engage in amusements and
recreations, until you are in this situation, until you are exercised and
influenced by the Spirit of the Lord our God.  Hear it, all ye Latter-day
Saints!  Will you spend the time of your probation for naught, and fool
away your existence and being?  You were organized, and brought into
being, for the purpose of enduring forever, if you fulfil the measure of
your creation, pursue the right path, observe the requirements of the
Celestial law, and obey the commandments of our God.  It is then, and then
only, you may expect that the blessing of eternal lives will be conferred
upon you.  It can be obtained upon no other principle.  Do you understand
that you will cease to be, that you come to a full end, by pursuing the
opposite course?

	The privileges and blessings of the Saints of the Most High God, are
many.  Yes!  All there is in heaven, and on the earth--kingdoms, thrones,
principalities,

	powers, heights, depths, things present, and things to come; with all
you can see, hear, or think of, realize or contemplate; everything in
heaven, earth, or hell, is for your glory, exaltation, and excellence, if
by your lives you honor the Priesthood which has been conferred upon you;
and, in the proper time, all will become subservient unto you, but not
until then.  But if you submit to serve your own feelings, and if you
desire not to build up the kingdom of God, and sanctify your hearts, they
will lead you down to be eternally subject thereunto--subject to the power
that will afflict and torment you, and eventually bring you to
destruction; whereas, if you pursue the opposite course, those feelings
and passions will become subject unto you; you will be enabled to govern
and control them, and cause them to serve you, and subserve the object and
design for which they were planted in your bosoms.

	Often have I looked at individuals passing to and fro through our
Territory, and heard them say, "These are the jolly Mormons; these are the
merry Mormons, I never saw such a society!"  Why is this?  Simply because
they enjoy themselves, because they take so much comfort.

	Is a man a Saint, who comes into the Church of God under such
influences, merely because the Saints appear to be happy?  No, he is not. 
No person can be a Saint, unless he receives the Holy Gospel, for the
purity, justice, holiness, and eternal duration of it.  Everything else
tends to decay, separation, annihilation; no, not annihilation, as we use
the English term, there is no such principle as this, but dissolution or
decomposition.

	Now, you Elders who understand the principles of the kingdom of God,
what would you not give, do, or sacrifice, to assist in building up His
kingdom upon the earth?  Says one, "I would do anything in my power,
anything that the Lord would help me to do, to build up His kingdom." 
Says another, "I would sacrifice all my property."  Wonderful indeed!  Do
you not know that the possession of your property is like a shadow, or the
dew of the morning before the noon-day sun, that you cannot have any
assurance of its control for a single moment!  It is the unseen hand of
Providence that controls it.  In short, what would you sacrifice?  The
Saints sacrifice everything; but, strictly speaking, there is no sacrifice
about it.  If you give a penny for a million of gold! a handful of earth
for a planet! a temporary worn out tenement for one glorified, that will
exist, abide, and continue to increase throughout a never ending eternity,
what a sacrifice to be sure!

	Many, no doubt, would consider it a great sacrifice to be called to
go on a mission a few years; to leave wife, children, friends, comfortable
homes, travel perhaps on foot, encounter storms on the sea, be in perils
on land among mobs, and be hated of all men.  It is true we might consider
this a great sacrifice, and yet men do all this, and more--they risk their
own lives upon their venture to get gold, to follow the allurements of
pleasure.  And should not the Saints of the Most High God be more willing,
more anxious to promote the cause of their holy religion, devoting
themselves, their influence, property, and, if necessary, their existence,
than the votaries of fashion, the devotees of wealth and pleasure, and to
merely sensual, temporary objects of worldly gain or aggrandisement? 
Verily I say unto you, if you are not, and if you have a spirit to seek
after the giddy, vain, foolish vanities of the world, the things
pertaining only to the gratification of present feelings, passions, and
selfish desires, and have no spirit of prayer and supplication, cannot and
do not feel to exercise an interest above all others, for the cause of
truth, my advice and counsel is for all such, to go straightway to the
gold mines of California, and seek for gold, for rest assured, as many as
have this spirit, will run as their unrighteous feelings prompt or
dictate.  Yes!  Go to the gold region, and do not come and seek my counsel
about it, whether I am willing that you should go or not, for I am not
only willing that you should leave, but anxious that you may as soon as
possible.

	If you do not love God, and His cause, better than everything else
besides, and cannot with a good heart and willing hand, build it up upon
the earth; if you will not repent of your follies, and get the Spirit of
truth in you, so as to love it, and feel willing to sacrifice all for it,
you cannot build up the kingdom of God.

	Confidence, brethren, CONFIDENCE in our God, and in each other, is
the text I gave the Twelve and all others who preached last sabbath, to
preach from.  The Twelve received missions to preach to the people in
these valleys, in their various locations, last Conference; and I believe
they have been tolerably faithful, under the direction of the President of
their Quorum, brother Hyde.  Let them now preach from this text,
CONFIDENCE; and let the entire people act upon its principles, and notice
when and where it will begin and end, and see if we do not establish such
confidence in this community, among this people, as never did, nor ever
will exist upon the earth, in any community of people but Saints.  I may
say, that we have it already; but I think that an increase of faith in our
God, and confidence in each other, is desirable.  If we could obtain that
faith and confidence in each other, and in our God, that when we ask a
favor, we could do so with a full assurance and knowledge that we should
receive, do you not perceive that it would lead us directly to do as we
would be done by, in every transaction and circumstance of life.  It would
prompt us to do, not only as much as requested, but more.  If your brother
should request you to go with him a mile, you would go two; if he should
sue you for your coat, you would give him your cloak also.  This principle
prompts us to do all we can to promote the interest of each other, the
cause of God on the earth, and whatever the Lord desires us to do; makes
us ready and willing to perform it at once.  It needs the language of
angels to express our ideas, to converse with each other in a manner to be
perfectly understood.  When we see and comprehend things in the Spirit, we
ofttimes realize an utter inability to simplify and tell them in our
language, to others; though we may receive principles, and convey the same
to others, to some extent.  It would be a great consolation to me,
inasmuch as faith comes by hearing the word of God, if I had language to
express my feelings.  No man can tell all that he can see in the Spirit,
when the vision of the Spirit is upon him.  He can see and understand in
the Spirit only.  He cannot tell it, yet many things may be given, in
part, to others.

	I thought, while brother Rich was speaking upon certain principles,
how beautiful, how satisfactory it would be to the Saints, could they
converse in a pure language; if they could have the language of angels
with which to communicate with each other.  I have contemplated the
principles that pertain to salvation--the principles which I have been
trying to lay before you; the acts of men, and how they should be ordered
before their God.  I would simply say, we must attend to the duties which
are laid upon us, before we enjoy our privileges.

	What principle does this convey to your minds?  None, unless your
minds are open, and enlightened by the visions of the Holy Spirit.  The
principles of truth are eternal.  The mind would ask at once, what is
truth?  It is any thing, principle, or fact that actually has an
existence.  If a falsehood, yet it is true that falsehood exists.  It is
as true that devils exist, as that Gods exist.

	Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  The devil also
says, "I am, I exist;" and consequently, by the same rule, "I am Truth." 
How far short is this of what the Lord reveals by His Holy Spirit!  Jesus
Christ, his father before him, all the faithful, the Gods of eternity, and
all organized elements, have been organized for the express purpose of
being exalted to an eternal increase; or suppose I say to eternal truth. 
Would this convey to your minds that the devil, because it is a truth that
he exists, could attain to the same power and exaltation?  Suppose that we
admit the idea that we shall see the time when we can combine and organize
elements, bring worlds into existence, redeem, and bring them up to
eternal glory, by merely saying--"I am Truth."  As before quoted, "Jesus
is the way, the truth, and the life."  We can turn round and say--Satan is
the way, the truth, and the death; or the way, and the falsehood.  Can you
perceive the difference?  But to say that Jesus Christ is the way, the
truth, and the life, is equivalent to saying that he is the only continued
or eternal existence.  The Lord Jesus Christ works upon a plan of eternal
increase, of wisdom, intelligence, honor, excellence, power, glory, might,
and dominion, and the attributes that fill eternity.  What principle does
the devil work upon?  It is to destroy, dissolve, decompose, and tear in
pieces.  The principle of separation, or disorganization, is as much an
eternal principle, as much a truth, as that of organization.  Both always
did and will exist.  Can I point out to you the difference in these
principles, and show clearly and satisfactorily the benefit, the
propriety, and the necessity of acting upon one, any more than the other? 
I will try in my own way, as briefly as I can.  It is plain to me, but can
you understand it?

	In the first place, matter is eternal.  The principle of
annihilation, of striking out of existence anything that has existed, or
had a being, so as to leave an empty space which that thing occupied, is
false, there is no such principle in all the eternities.  What does exist? 
Matter is eternal.  We grow our wheat, our fruit, and our animals.  There
they are organized, they increase and grow; but, after a while, they
decay, dissolve, become disorganized, and return to their mother earth. 
No matter by what process, these are the revolutions which they undergo;
but the elements of the particles of which they were composed, still do,
always have, and always will exist, and through this principle of change,
we have an eternal increase.

	But Satan works upon the opposite principle; he seeks to destroy,
would annihilate if he could, but only decomposes, disorganizes.  Permit
me to inquire what was his curse?  It was, that he should not increase any
more, but come to an end.

	When I came to the door of the tabernacle, this morning, I heard
brother Rich telling about one third part of the heavenly host revolting
from the government of Jehovah.  This was their curse--to never have
tabernacles to dwell in.  They now exist in Spirit, but shall never have a
body, nor be exalted; they shall have no further addition to their
existence; whilst those who did not rebel, could have tabernacles, and,
through the resurrection, become personages of tabernacle in the eternal
world.  There it is, on the one hand, and on the other.  You can now see
the benefit, the propriety of obeying the principles which lead to eternal
lives, exaltations, and increase; and why it is that Jesus Christ has so
much more power than Satan.  The power of the evil one is beyond the
conception of man; his cunning craft, and winning ways to insinuate and
introduce himself into a community, an individual.  This is to obtain, if
possible, a tabernacle, which, although a borrowed one, yet increases his
power, so long as he can wield it to suit his purposes; and if he fails in
this, and in enticing unto evil, then, his object is to decompose, to
destroy, that the good power, the good influence, may, like himself,
become bereft of the power pertaining to an embodied spirit.

	The Lord operates upon the principles of continuing to organize, of
adding to, gathering up, bringing forth, increasing and spreading abroad;
while the opposite power does not.  It shows the nature of his opposition
to that peculiar trait of Christianity, based upon the principles of
eternal duration, increase, power, glory, and exaltation; and points out
the difference between the two adverse powers.

	Again, what do you love truth for?  Is it because you can discover a
beauty in it, because it is congenial to you; or because you think it will
make you a ruler, or a Lord?  If you conceive that you will attain to
power upon such a motive, you are much mistaken.  It is a trick of the
unseen power, that is abroad amongst the inhabitants of the earth, that
leads them astray, binds their minds, and subverts their understanding.

	Suppose that our Father in heaven, our elder brother, the risen
Redeemer, the Saviour of the world, or any of the Gods of eternity should
act upon this principle, to love truth, knowledge, and wisdom, because
they are all powerful, and by the aid of this power they could send devils
to hell, torment the people of the earth, exercise sovereignty over them,
and make them miserable at their pleasure; they would cease to be Gods;
and as fast as they adopted and acted upon such principles, they would
become devils, and be thrust down in the twinkling of an eye; the
extension of their kingdom would cease, and their God-head come to an end.

	Language, to convey all the truth, does not exist.  Even in the
Bible, and all books that have been revealed from heaven unto man, the
language fails to convey all the truth as it is.  Truth, wisdom, power,
glory, light, and intelligence exist upon their own qualities; they do
not, neither can they, exist upon any other principle.  Truth is congenial
with itself, and light cleaves unto light, it seeks after itself, and
clings thereto.  It is the same with knowledge, and virtue, and all the
eternal attributes; they follow after and attract each other.  Mercy
cleaves to mercy, because it is mercy; light to light, because it is
light, and there is no darkness, no deception, no falsehood in it.  Truth
cleaves unto truth, because it is truth; and it is to be adored, because
it is an attribute of God, for its excellence, for itself.  It is upon
this principle, that these principles should be held, esteemed, practised. 
Any persons, men or women, who do not receive these principles for the
love which they bear towards them, because of their beauty, excellence,
and glory; and because they are congenial to their feelings upon this
principle, are not Saints!  They exist upon their own basis, and rest upon
their own foundation.  Eternal justice, mercy, love, and truth, never can
be moved; they are attributes that correspond, and are congenial with each
other; they promote each other, fortify the heavens, the Gods, and that
which the Gods possess.

	Now look upon the opposite side of these principles.  Suppose you
say, "We will give up the pursuits of our holy religion.  We are not
Latter-day Saints.  Let us go and seek after the things of the world,
speculate, get unto ourselves riches, turn away from our duties, neglect
the things pertaining to our salvation, go with the giddy, the frivolous,
the seeker after gold, to California, Australia, or elsewhere, for the
purpose of acquiring wealth."  I tell you the result of that course.  You
would cease to increase in all the attributes of excellence, glory, and
eternal duration, from that very moment.  So soon as you conceive such
ideas, they find a soil within you prepared to nurture them, and it brings
forth their direful effects; from that very moment you cease to increase. 
The opposite principle seizes you, fastens itself upon you, and you
decrease, lessen, diminish, decay, and waste away in quality, excellence,
and strength, until your organization becomes extinct, oblivion covers
you, your name is blotted out from the Book of Life, from the heavens,
from the earth, and from under the earth, and you will return, and sink
into pour natural element, which cannot be destroyed, though many read the
Bible as conveying such an idea, but it does not.

	The principle opposite to that of eternal increase from the
beginning, leads down to hell; the person decreases, loses his knowledge,
tact, talent, and ultimately, in a short period of time, is lost; he
returns to his mother earth, his name is forgotten.  But where, Oh! where
is his spirit?  I will not now take the time to follow his destiny; but
here, strong language could be used, for when the Lord Jesus Christ shall
be revealed, after the termination of the thousand years' rest, he will
summon the armies of heaven for the conflict, he will come forth in
flaming fire, he will descend to execute the mandates of an incensed God,
and, amid the thunderings of the wrath of Omnipotence, roll up the heavens
as a scroll, and destroy death, and him that has the power of it.  The
rebellious will be thrown back into their native element, there to remain
myriads of years before their dust will again be revived, before they will
be re-organized.  Some might argue that this principle would lead to the
re-organization of Satan, and all the devils.  I say nothing about this,
only what the Lord says--that when he comes, "he will destroy death, and
him that has the power of it."  It cannot be annihilated; you cannot
annihilate matter.  If you could, it would prove there was empty space. 
If philosophers could annihilate the least conceivable amount of matter,
they could then prove there was the minutest vacuum, or empty space; but
there is not even that much, and it is beyond the power of man to prove
that there is any.

	Brethren, what is it that you love the truth for?  Is it because it
gives you the power, the authority of the Priesthood?  Is it because it
makes you rulers, kings, and priests unto our God, and gives you great
power?  There are men professing to be Saints, even in this congregation,
within the sound of my voice, who feel how almighty they have become. 
They will curse you, if you do not see proper to comply with their wishes. 
Many men have feelings in their hearts towards their wives, that if they
will not do precisely as they wish to perform this or that, they will
curse them.  What wonderful things they are going to do!  "If you do not
obey my voice, my counsel, I will send you to hell, and turn the keys upon
you, that you may never! no NEVER! be released."  Sisters, you might as
well heed the crackling of thorns under the pot, the passing idle bird, or
the croaking of a crane, so far as their Priesthood is concerned.  You are
safe, if they will only keep their hands off from you; let them curse.  It
reminds me of a proverb which the Arabs have, that "cursings are like
young chickens, they will still come home to roost."

	Is it for this--is it because it gives you such great power and
authority, that you love the Truth?  That it gives you power to curse your
neighbors, your neighbor's children, their cattle, and everything around
you?  Let all such go away to their own place, to California, by the
northern route; not to San Bernardino, at brothers Lyman and Rich's
location, for they have devils enough there already; but go in to the
world entirely away from the Saints, and the sooner the better.

	Men should act upon the principle of righteousness, because it is
right, and is a principle which they love to cherish and see practised by
all men. They should love mercy, because of its benevolence, charity,
love, clemency, and of all of its lovely attributes, and be inspired
thereby to deal justly, fairly, honorably, meting out to others their just
deservings.

	If selfishness prompts you to embrace the truth, if it is merely to
exalt yourself and your friends that you covenant to serve your God, and
that is your only motive, you had better pass on the northern route, for
we can do you no good if you wait, or remain with us; not but that God has
regard for all His children; but He loves those who love all the
principles of righteousness, because they are righteous, and have a
delight in the exercise of pure principles, of virtue, of excellence and
truth, of meekness, long-suffering, and self denial, mercy, and charity.

	I am aware that my language fails to convey my ideas to you as I
could wish.  But I will proceed a little further.  A great promise was
made to Abraham, which was--you shall have seed, and unto your increase
there shall be no end.  The same promise was made unto the Saviour, and
unto every true and faithful man who serves God with all his heart, and
whose delight is in keeping the law of the Lord, obeying the behests of
Jehovah, and building up His kingdom upon the earth.

	The Elders of Israel frequently call upon me--"Brother Brigham, a
word in private, if you please."  Bless me, this is no secret to me, I
know what you want, it is to get a wife!  "Yes, brother Brigham, if you
are willing."

	I tell you here, now, in the presence of the Almighty God, it is not
the privilege of any Elder to have even ONE wife, before he has honored
his Priesthood, before he has magnified his calling.  If you obtain one,
it is by mere permission, to see what you will do, how you will act,
whether you will conduct yourself in righteousness in that holy estate. 
TAKE CARE!  Elders of Israel, be cautious! or you will lose your wives and
your children.  If you abuse your wives, turn them out of doors, and treat
them in a harsh and cruel manner, you will be left wifeless and childless
; you will have no increase in eternity.  You will have bartered this
blessing, this privilege, away; you will have sold your birthright, as
Esau did his blessing, and it can never come to you again, never, NO
NEVER!

	Look to it, ye Elders!  You will awake from your dream, alas! but too
soon, and then you will realize the truth of the remarks I am making
to-day.  Whose privilege is it to have women sealed to him?  It is his who
has stood the test, whose integrity is unswerving, who loves righteousness
because it is right, and the truth because there is no error therein, and
virtue because it is a principle that dwells in the bosom of Him who sits
enthroned in the highest heavens; for it is a principle which existed with
God in all eternities, and is a co-operator, a co-worker betwixt man and
his Maker, to exalt man, and bring him into His presence, and make him
like unto Himself!  It is such a man's privilege to have wives and
children, and neighbors, and friends, who wish to be sealed to him.  Who
else?  No one.  I tell you nobody else.  Do YOU HEAR IT?

	Many applications will unquestionably be made to me for wives, and,
perhaps, by men too who will steal, or trespass upon me, their neighbors,
kill their stock, do wickedly in various ways.  Nothing would damn such
men sooner than to give them this privilege.  I answer the brethren, they
have to go upon their own responsibility.  I tell you the truth.  If you
are a first-rate good man, and honor your Priesthood, it is your
privilege.  The man who has proved himself before God, has been faithful,
has gone through and performed everything the Lord has laid upon him to
do, for the purpose of building up and sustaining His kingdom, has proved
himself before men, angels, and his Father in heaven, he is the only
character that will increase, and obtain a celestial glory.  Others may
seem to prosper, to increase for a season, but by and bye they are left in
the shade, their glory is clipped, and their house is left unto them
desolate.

	Pray the Lord to inspire your hearts.  Ask for wisdom and knowledge. 
It is our duty to seek after it.  Let us seek, and we shall find; knock,
and it will be opened unto us.  But as for His coming down here to pour
His Spirit upon you, while you are aiming after the vain and frivolous
things of the world; indulging in all the vanity, nonsense, and foolery
which surrounds you; drinking in all the filthy abomination which should
be spurned from every community on the earth--so long as you continue this
course, rest assured He will not come near you.

	I will not enter into particulars.  You already know enough about
them.  I ask that you would leave it off; refrain, purify, and sanctify
yourselves before your God, and get so much of the spirit of truth that
you may become filled with it, so that you can shout aloud with all your
might to the praise of God, and feel your hearts clear as the noon-day
sun.  Then you can dance, and glorify God; and as you shall abide in the
truth, God will raise you up, and add to your numbers, so that your train
will fill the Holy Temple, as it was said of the Lord by one of old. 
  May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

              JOSEPH, A TRUE PROPHET--APOSTATES--DREAM, ETC.
    An address delivered by President Brigham Young in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, March 27th, 1853.

	I do not know that I can speak so that you can hear me, as you
perceive something affects my throat; I wish, however, to say a few words
to you this morning; I would like to say considerable--a good many words,
but perhaps a few will answer.

	There are a goodly number in the congregation, who have been
acquainted with this Church and kingdom from its rise, and that knew
Joseph in his first career in the Gospel.  There are many here that have
been in the Church for fifteen, sixteen, and some more than twenty, years. 
I have been in the Church, wanting a few days of twenty-one years, and
there are a considerable number that I know have been in it longer than I
have.  They knew Joseph--they knew him from week to week, and from year to
year, they knew what he did, they knew how he spake, they knew the spirit
he possessed, they were acquainted with it, it is the same spirit they
possess to the present day--the spirit of "Mormonism," the spirit of the
Gospel.  I will ask those brethren, and those sisters, if they believe
Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God? if they believe that he magnified his
calling?  I will ask them if Joseph lived and died a Prophet of God, and
what would they answer?  All men and women know, by the power of the Holy
Ghost, by the spirit they know it, by the light that is in them, for light
cleaveth to light, and truth embraces truth.  These pure attributes, as I
told you here a few Sabbaths ago, stand upon their own basis--the fabric
sustains itself, but falsehood, and that which is built upon it, will,
sooner or later, fall.

	How many witnesses could we bring, men that are upon the islands of
the sea, in foreign lands, and people scattered through the United States,
hundreds and thousands in their poverty, who are not able to gather with
the Saints; I ask, what would they witness if they were here to-day?  They
would tell you, and they would sound it so that all the world might hear,
if they could, that Joseph Smith was a man called of God to build up His
kingdom in the last days, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man.

	There are many witnesses here, not only witnesses of Joseph and his
career, but witnesses of Joseph of the disaffected spirits that have come
into this Church, and gone out again.  Are there witnesses of men trying
to rise up and usurp Joseph's place in his day?  Yes, there are many
witnesses, that many men tried it.  Are there witnesses here, of the rise
and fall of men in this kingdom?  Yes, plenty of them.  I have witnessed
more than has been pleasing to me.  It delights me to see men come into
the Church, and magnify the Holy Priesthood, but it is a grievous matter
to see men turn away from the holy commandments delivered unto them,
gather to themselves false spirits, follow after a phantom, and be duped
by the devil--be ensnared by the power of the enemy, and give way to it
until they fall.  It is a source of regret, but we witness it, we could
name many of this class.

	Let me ask this congregation, that portion of it that was in Jackson
county; and again that portion that was in Kirtland in the days of Joseph,
and in leaving Kirtland; then those that were in Caldwell and Davis
counties, Missouri; then ask those who were in Nauvoo in his day, and
after he was slain; these portions of my congregation which I have
mentioned, I will ask, what has produced your persecutions and sorrow? 
What has been the starting point of all your afflictions?  They began with
apostates in your midst; these disaffected spirits caused others to come
in, worse than they, who would run out and bring in all the devils they
possibly could.  That has been the starting point and grand cause of all
our difficulties, every time we were driven.  Are there not witnesses of
this, here?  Yes, a good portion of this congregation are witnesses of
these things, although many of them never saw Joseph, and were not
personally acquainted with him.

	We have been persecuted--we have built houses, made farms, cultivated
the land, broken up the wild prairie, and made it like the Garden of Eden;
we have fenced, built, and gathered substance around us many times, and as
many times have been driven from our possessions, until we came to this
inheritance which we now enjoy in these valleys of the mountains.

	Now think a moment, reflect, and ask yourselves what do we see here? 
I am coming nearer home, I am coming to this place; what do we see here? 
Do we see disaffected spirits here?  We do.  Do we see apostates?  We do. 
Do we see men that are following after false and delusive spirits?  Yes. 
When a man comes right out, as an independent devil, and says, "Damn
Mormonism, and all the Mormons," and is off with himself, not to Texas,
but to California, (you know it used to be to Texas), I say he is a
gentleman, by the side of a nasty sneaking apostate who is opposed to
nothing but Christianity.  I say to the former, Go in peace, sir, go and
prosper if you can.  But we have got a set of spirits here worse than such
a character.  When I went from meeting, last Sabbath, my ears were saluted
with an apostate crying in the streets here.

	I want to know if any one of you who has got the spirit of
"Mormonism" in you, the spirit that Joseph and Hyrum had, or that we have
here, would say, Let us hear both sides of the question, let us listen,
and prove all things?  What do you want to prove?  Do you want to prove
that an old apostate, who has been cut off from the Church thirteen times
for lying, is anything worthy of notice?

	I heard that a certain gentleman, a picture maker in this city, when
the boys would have moved away the wagon in which this apostate was
standing, became violent with them, saying, Let this man alone, these are
Saints that are persecuting (sneeringly.)  We want such men to go to
California, or anywhere they choose.  I say to those persons, you must not
court persecution here, lest you get so much of it you will not know what
to do with it.  Do NOT court persecution.  We have known Gladden Bishop
for more than twenty years, and know him to be a poor, dirty curse.  Here
is sister Vilate Kimball, brother Heber's wife, has borne more from that
man than any other woman on earth could bear; but she won't bear it again. 
I say again, you Gladdenites, do not court persecution, or you will get
more than you want, and it will come quicker than you want it.  I say to
you Bishops, do not allow them to preach in your wards.  Who broke the
roads to these valleys?  Did this little nasty Smith, and his wife?  No,
they staid in St. Louis while we did it, peddling ribbons, and kissing the
Gentiles.  I know what they have done here--they have asked exorbitant
prices for their nasty stinking ribbons.  [Voices, "that's true."]  We
broke the roads to this country.  Now, you Gladdenites, keep your tongues
still, lest sudden destruction come upon you.

	I will tell you a dream that I had last night.  I dreamed that I was
in the midst of a people who were dressed in rags and tatters, they had
turbans upon their heads, and these were also hanging in tatters.  The
rags were of many colors, and, when the people moved, they were all in
motion.  Their object in the appeared to be, to attract attention.  Said
they to me, "We are Mormons, brother Brigham."  "No, you are not," I
replied.  "But we have been," said they, and they began to jump, and caper
about, and dance, and their rags of many colors were all in motion, to
attract the attention of the people.  I said, "You are no Saints, you are
a disgrace to them."  Said they, "We have been Mormons."  By and bye,
along came some mobocrats, and they greeted them with, "How do you do,
sir, I am happy to see you."  They kept on that way for an hour.  I felt
ashamed of them, for they were in my eyes a disgrace to "Mormonism."  Then
I saw two ruffians, whom I knew to be mobbers and murderers, and they
crept into a bed, where one of my wives and children were.  I said, "You
that call yourselves brethren, tell me, is this the fashion among you?" 
They said, "O, they are good men, they are gentlemen."  With that, I took
my large bowie knife, that I used to wear as a bosom pin in Nauvoo, and
cut one of their throats from ear to ear, saying, "Go to hell across
lots."  The other one said, "You dare not serve me so."  I instantly
sprang at him, seized him by the hair of the head, and, bringing him down,
cut his throat, and sent him after his comrade; then told them both, if
they would behave themselves they should yet live, but if they did not, I
would unjoint their necks.  At this I awoke.

	I say, rather than that apostates should flourish here, I will
unsheath my bowie knife, and conquer or die.  [Great commotion in the
congregation, and a simultaneous burst of feeling, assenting to the
declaration.]  Now, you nasty apostates, clear out, or judgment will be
put on the line, and righteousness to the plummet.  [Voices, generally,
"go it, go it."]  If you say it is right, raise your hands.  [All hands
up.]  Let us call upon the Lord to assist us in this, and every good work.

 	After Alfred Smith was called upon to go on a mission, he would not
go, and I knew he would apostatize.  Do you suppose that after a man has
refused to fulfil his calling, he can retain the spirit of truth, and
stand?  He can not. They say they believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet
raised up to establish the work of the last days, and bring forth the Book
of Mormon; and thus they deceive.  But if you will examine them you will
not find anything but contradiction to every principle of truth.

	I felt to say this that I have said, though my throat is very sore,
but I think this exercise has done it good.  I feel to say to Jew and to
Gentile, Let this people alone in these valleys of the mountains, or you
will find that which you are not looking for.  We are on the Lord's side,
and we have the tools to work with.  But