Brigham Young 1867-1871.

         WEAKNESS OF THE HUMAN MIND.  EXTORTION.  IMPERFECTION OF
             THE HUMAN JUDGMENT.  INTRODUCTION OF MACHINERY.
          Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle,
                Great Salt Lake City, January 13th, 1867.
                       Reported by Edward L. Sloan.

	It was said by one of old that "faith comes by hearing;" and I might
say, with propriety, that faith comes by hearing and conceiving of the
words of life.  It was also said, "how shall they believe in Him of whom
they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how
shall they preach, except they be sent,"--by proper authority.  Hence, it
is necessary that we should have teachers.  When the elders of this Church
go into places where the Gospel has never been preached before, the Spirit
bears witness to the people of its truth.  A number will believe for a
time. The seed is sown; some of it falls on stony ground; it springs up
rapidly, but has not sufficient root, and it speedily withers.  Some falls
into the ground, and to all appearance will have a thorough growth; but
the cares of the world spring up and choke that seed, and the hearts where
it was sown forsake the truth and neglect to hearken to the voice which
whispered to them, "This is the truth."  But there are a few in the world
who will hearken to the words of life when they hear them, and will remain
faithful.  Yet but few, in comparison to the great numbers who have heard
the Gospel, have received it in good and honest hearts, and have brought
forth fruit meet for repentance; and of those who have embraced it, many
have run well for a season who have not continued to abide in the faith. 
Still, it is necessary that we should be taught and instructed in the
things of God.

	It has just been remarked here, by Brother Musser, that it is hard
for a man to study law without forsaking the spirit of the Gospel.  This
proves that there is a lack of sound knowledge in the individual who
permits himself to be thus led away.  There are many among the inhabitants
of the earth who are weak in comprehension, and of such limited capacity
that they can only look upon one thing at a time; and they forsake the
contemplation of everything else for the one idea which occupies the mind. 
There are some of our Elders who will argue themselves into false doctrine
by giving an undue preference to one scripture and passing over others
equally as important.  This same lack of comprehensiveness of mind is also
very noticeable at times with some men who happen to accumulate property
and it leads them to forsake the Spirit of the Gospel.  Does it not prove
that there is a contractedness of mind in those who do so, which should
not be?  The Lord owns the earth; he made it; the gold and the silver, the
wheat and the fine flour are his, and the cattle upon a thousand hills are
his;"  yet he is not going to forsake the holy Gospel or to apostatize
therefrom because of that.  When Jesus comes to reign King of nations as
he now reigns King of Saints, he will not apostatize although the whole
world will be at his command; and when the Ancient of Days shall come and
sit upon his throne to bring to judgment the vast family of man, he will
not apostatize.  How contracted in mind and short-sighted we must be to
permit the perishable things of this world to swerve us in the least
degree from our fidelity to the truth.  It shows that we lack knowledge
which we should possess.

	If men cannot study and practice law and keep the Spirit of the Lord,
they ought to quit it.  As I have frequently told the people at our places
of recreation, if they cannot go there with the Spirit of the Lord, they
had better stay at home.  We do not want lawyers, nor merchants, nor
business men to be engaged in those pursuits unless they have the Spirit
of God with them.  We do not wish them to continue in their business
unless they can see and understand that all things pertaining to this
earth are subject by right to the priesthood of God, and should be guided
and directed by it in every matter.  All that they are, have, or do, ought
to be subject to the priesthood of the Son of God; and unless they can
feel thus, they had better go into the fields and canons to work,--suffer
themselves to be poor and keep the Holy Spirit with them.  It seems to me,
at times, as though the people should be ashamed that we are under the
necessity of charging them not to become surfeited with the things of this
world, so as to neglect the duties that are obligatory upon them.

	We are like children who require constant teaching; and the teaching
that we principally need is in temporal things.  How often do we hear it
said that we are one in spiritual matters. If any turn away in the least,
it is because they yield to some delusive spirit or argument, which
convinces them that an error is truth.  The Saints want reaching with
regard to their every-day life and their temporal avocations.  People
believe the Gospel to be true in Germany, in France, in Scandinavia, in
England, and wherever on the face of the earth it is preached to them, and
they receive it.

	Brother Musser has been telling us of being in Calcutta, and of
baptizing some who believed the Gospel there.  They wished to be gathered;
but was it to learn of baptism for the remission of sins?  or to learn the
first principles of the Gospel?  No; they could have learned them in
Calcutta.  Do people come from Scandanavia [sic] to learn that the laying
on of hands is a correct principle?  or from England to find out that we
should break bread in commemoration of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? 
No; they could learn these things in the several parts of the earth where
they first heard the Gospel; they could obtain the spirit of prophecy
there, and speak in tongues, and have the discerning of spirits.  What do
you gather here for?  To be guided and dictated in the things of the
kingdom of God, so as to become of one heart and of one mind in all things
political, religious and social; to learn how to live to overcome the
evils that are in you, that you may be kind and gentle and truth-loving,
full of the Spirit of the Lord from Sunday morning to Sunday morning; not
coming together on the first day of the week for our meetings and
sacraments, and then going away and turning to the beggarly elements of
the world without thinking of religion again until the next Sabbath
morning.  The Latter-day Saints are gathered together to learn how to
overcome every sin, and every passion within them, to sanctify themselves
before the heavens, and sanctify the Lord God in their hearts.

	It has been remarked this afternoon that we are introducing a new
order of things by some of the teachings recently given to the Saints.  It
is no new doctrine to let our enemies alone.  This book (Doctrine and
Covenants) contains revelations given to the Church thirty-seven,
thirty-six, thirty-five, and thirty years ago.  This is what we call the
Doctrine and Covenants of the Church; yet it is but a part of them.  Here
are the Bible and the Book of Mormon, both of them containing the doctrine
and covenants of the Church.  But this book contains the revelations given
in this our day; and one of the first revelations that was given to Joseph
the Prophet, concerning the gathering of the house of Israel, points out
the manner in which the brethren should live to be justified before the
Lord.  I have taken the liberty of saying in the past, and I think I might
repeat it with safety, that these first revelations given to the Church
will probably be among the last to be strictly obeyed. The revelation I
refer to dictated the brethren what to do with regard to their temporal
business; and it will be comparatively easy to obey all the revelations
until we come to that which touches the purse.--one of the first that was
given to the Church.

	You can read it in the Doctrine and Covenants; and you will find that
it directs concerning the purchasing of lands, the giving of all property
over into the hands of the Bishop, the receiving of inheritances and being
satisfied therewith; and that all that the Bishop did not feel disposed to
return back to those from whom he received it, was to remain in his
charge, or in the charge of the Trustee-in-Trust, to build-up the kingdom,
preach the Gospel, administer to the wants of the poor, and sustain the
priesthood.  How would this be received by our merchants here, who are
members of the Church?  Commence at the head of East Temple-street, which
I call Whisky-street, and go down it on either side, and ask our brethren
who are merchants to hand over their property to Bishop Hunter, who might
say to them,  "I will let you have ten acres of land to commence farming,
and here are a thousand dollars to start you," and how would they act?  I
feel like saying, as I have said before, unless many of them take a
different course they will go to hell.  These were the first revelations
given to the Church; yet there are men to-day who are Bishops and
Presidents of settlements, who express their willingness to labor for the
welfare of the people and the building up of the kingdom, but feel that no
person holding the priesthood has a right to dictate them with regard to
their property.  They are very willing that Brother Brigham should dictate
in spiritual matters, and trust their eternal salvation to the principles
he teaches; but the property they may have acquired or the manner in which
their labor should be directed, or who they shall trade with, whether an
avowed enemy or a man who pays tithing, and taxes, and helps to build up
the community, are things with which;, they think, he has no business.

	I think it would be well to cleanse the inside of the platter.   I
had a little note put into my hands not long since, which stated that some
of our merchants were taking advantage of the instructions given to the
Saints on the matter of trading. There are some merchants who have never
made a calculation of what the value of their goods is in first cost,
freight, insurance, &c., that they might know at what price they could
afford to sell them, so as to have a reasonable living profit; but they
have asked themselves "How much can I get for these goods?  how much can
the Latter-day Saints bear to be gulled in purchasing them?  Do merchants
here take cent. per cent. of profit?  Yes, 500 per cent., when they can
get it.  An article which costs them a dollar, they will charge from five
to twenty dollars for, as they can obtain it; and they would take fifty
dollars for it, only they think the people will not bear to be gulled to
that extent.  One man came to me lately, who wanted to buy some goods.  He
asked me if he should buy of so and so.  I said I would go among those who
pay their tithing and their taxes, and among those who do not swear nor
blaspheme the name of God, and men who have consciences, who would not
steal your wagon, nor take your stock off the range,--these are good
traits, and I will here say that thousands and millions who are not in the
church are just as good, morally, as we are--I told this friend to go
among those men and see what he could purchase goods at.  He did so, and
returned and showed me his figures.  The first place I directed him to; he
found he would have to pay twenty per cent. more for his goods than in the
second place.  The second was a Latter-day Saint; the first was not in the
church; he concluded to purchase of one of the brethren because he could
do twenty per cent.  better with him.

	The other day a man wanted to to [sic] buy goods of an outsider,
because he could do so much better; the bills were examined and it was
found that this person was selling fifteen per cent.  higher at wholesale
than our brethren were selling the same goods at retail.  There is
something the matter with people who think they can buy cheaper from
outsiders merely because they are outsiders.  How many of those before me
are really judges of goods?  Not one in five hundred.  "Why, Brother
Brigham," it may be asked, "am I not a judge of a piece of ribbon?"  You
know whether the colors please you; but can you tell whether it has been
on the shelf of the store for one year or twenty years?  Brethren will buy
cloth without being judges of the quality; and because they can buy an
article, apparently the same, a little cheaper in one place than they can
in another, they will do so, although the quality is much inferior, and
think they have got a bargain.

	Brother Kimball sometimes brings up the figure of the potter putting
fresh clay into the mill and grinding it to use in his business, to
illustrate the influx of the brethren and sisters who are gathered from
the nations, and who have to be instructed in those principles which have
been taught here for years; but carrying out the figure, I may say that
some of the clay here has been ground over and over for thirty years, and
it comes out as rough as the first time it passed through the mill.  Some
men seem as if they could learn so much and no more.  They appear to be
bounded in their capacity for acquiring knowledge, as Brother Orson Pratt,
has in theory, bounded the capacity of God.  According to his theory, God
can progress no further in knowledge and power; but the God that I serve
is progressing eternally, and so are his children:  they will increase to
all eternity, if they are faithful.  But there are some of our brethren
who know just so much, and they seem to be able to learn no more.  You may
plead with them, scold them, flatter them, coax them, and try in various
ways to increase their knowledge; but it seems as if they would not learn. 
They know the Gospel is true, and that it has brought blessings to them,
but ask them if they know who they are?  where they are from?  why they
are here?  If they have commenced to learn to control the elements around
them?  and if they understand the nature of their own organizations?  and
they will answer, "Why I never thought of them."  They have thought of the
labor they have been engaged in, how to chop down a tree, or plough the
ground, or work at the bench, or do whatever kind of work they have been
accustomed to do?  but do they know anything about the character of Him
whom they profess to worship?  No, only that the Gospel has been revealed. 
The Holy Spirit has touched their hearts; they believe the Gospel, and
they do not know that they can lean any more.

	We do not intend to let you go until we have tried to do something
with you.  We wish to talk to the people until they learn to understand
principle.  When the Saints get understanding they will never ask a
question when they are told to build up a settlement, make farms, or do
anything else that may be requisite in righteousness to build up the
kingdom of God.  Some of our elders have learned a good deal by experience
on many points.  In one thing they are all willing to be obedient, and
that is to go and preach the Gospel to the nations.  What elder who is
called upon a mission would refuse to go.  Yet if he is asked to go and
make a farm he seems to feel that it is quite a different matter.

	There is one subject that I have incessantly kept before the
capitalists of the Latter-day Saints for the past sixteen years; and that
is to go east and purchase machinery with their means.  Go and buy carding
machines, you men who have capital; and you who have not capital, sow a
quarter of an acre of flax, and keep on sowing until you become flax
growers; and you machinists, make mills to spin it, that we may have linen
from flax of our own growing.  This has been done to some little extent;
but for years I have asked the brethren who have capital to go and buy
machinery, yet how much has been bought and imported here?  There are many
of our sisters who like to have silk ribbons for their bonnets, and who
wish silk for sewing, and fabrics made from silk for dresses and other
things.  Why should not this silk be produced and manufactured here?  If a
man was worth a million of dollars, or millions of dollars, in the kingdom
of God, and possessed the Spirit of the Lord, knowing and understanding
his duty, and was told to get worms and make silk, and manufacture it from
the raw material, he would not say a word, nor ask a question, but he
would do as he was desired.  So it would be if he were told to go and buy
machinery; he would go and buy it, and bring it here to be employed for
the good of the people, or his own benefit, and for the upbuilding of the
Kingdom of God.  Until a very few years ago there was not a carding
machine in the Territory only those which I brought, nor a spindle to spin
an ounce of cotton or wool until I started it.  The factory at Parowan,
iron county, I started; there is one little cotton factory in Utah county,
and I have a small cotton and woolen factory, and I have urged and urged
the brethren to bring on woolen machinery here, then the brethren would
save their sheep.  We need from one hundred to two hundred of the same
capacity in the Territory.

	If one of our capitalists is asked to buy machinery, his reply is, "I
can make money faster by bringing goods here to sell."  Is that your
object in coming here?  You who feel so and do so will either stop in your
course and change it, or you will never enter the celestial kingdom.  You
will go where our merchants will go, if they are not careful.  When a man
has one dollar, or a million of dollars, and his duty is pointed out by
the priesthood, and he asks "Can I do better with my means some other
way?" he will sooner or later sink in his means and in his faith and go to
ruin.  The earth is the Lord's, and he is going to give it to his Saints;
and if we are anxious to obtain the world before the Lord is willing to
let us have it, we will lose that which we seek to gain; but if we are
faithful, we shall inherit all things.

	It is for this that we are gathered together.  It is not that we may
be taught baptism for the remission of sins; neither is it that we may
have the gift of prophecy bestowed upon us; nor the gift of tongues, nor
the interpretation of tongues; but we are gathered together that we may
become one, as a people, in our politics and in our financial matters, as
well as in our faith; that we may know how to systematize everything that
we are engaged in, how to deal with one another; and how to organize the
elements to bring forth for our own wants, and do all we do in the name of
the Lord and to his glory.  Will it add any thing to his glory?  No, but
he desires to see his children doing right and living according to the
laws of life; and he has brought forth light into the world for this
purpose, that we might be saved and know how to obtain eternal life; know
how to govern and control ourselves and deal gently with one another; how
to increase the kingdom of God and spread abroad peace throughout the
land, that all may be quietness, peace, good order and happiness. Would
that not be almost Zion?  If we will do this we can produce heaven here
upon the earth.  If we want to enjoy the principles and spirit of heaven,
we must live so as to produce them in our own bosoms; and if we should
unfortunately find ourselves in hell, it will be because by our acts we
will have so chosen. When we are truly one we will be one in those things
that pertain to this life.

	We do not wish harm to those who have not the faith which we possess. 
We wish good to all mankind; and desire to do good to all who will permit
us.  But we should commence our labors of love and kindness with the
family to which we belong; and then extend them to others.  It is written,
"If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own
house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."  If we do
not seek the welfare of the household of faith, we will sooner or later
deny the faith.  Our mission is not to build up the wicked anywhere.  We
are called out of the world to build up the kingdom of God.  We are here
to promote the principles of heaven, and advance the purposes of the
Almighty, and no others; and when you spend a dollar to build up any other
power or kingdom than the one which God has established, you are doing
wrong, and you will find it out sooner or later.  Sometimes when I think
of these things I am very strenuous in my feelings; and some might think
that I was whipping them to it just as we have been whipped into being an
independent people.  We have been whipped, and beaten, and kicked out of
doors; we have been told to go and take care of ourselves; our houses, our
lands, and all we had got were wanted by our enemies; and we were driven
into the wilderness to starve.  Thus we have been whipped to be
independent.  Have we statesmen here amongst us?  Yes, the best in the
world, and that is not boasting.  We have been obliged to learn how to
govern ourselves and the people.  If we know how to manufacture what we
need, to draw a sustenance from the elements in this forbidding country,
it is because we have been obliged to do so.  when we came here, if we did
not know how to get shoes, we knew how to go barefooted.  I will venture
to say that not one of four out of my family had shoes to their feet when
we came to this valley.  Necessity is said to be the mother of invention;
and if we did not know how to make moccasins we learned.  And we learned
how to govern and control ourselves. 

	Occasionally it is said, and published in the world, "what a terrible
people these Mormons are!  No man's life is safe in Utah!"  Put this
people by themselves and there would not be a law suit among them in a
year, nor a murder in fifty years; nor ever, if they would live their
religion.  But if men try to crowd into our houses to seduce our wives,
sisters, and daughters, they should take care.  If they want families, let
them take an honourable course to obtain them; if they want wives, they
should marry them, and give them their names honestly.  What is the
condition of the world?  If you go to Europe, to Germany to France, and
other countries, what will you find?  You need not go beyond the United
States; not even beyond the City of Friends.  I saw a reservoir there in
which they found the bodies of twenty-nine children, when cleaning it, and
it had been cleaned but a short time previously.  Sometimes, I was
informed, they had found more in it.  It is a little better in England,
for there they will keep their illegitimate children if they can, or give
them away.  If a man wants a wife let him take one, and not act the
scoundrel. I will promise every man on the face of this earth, that ever
was or ever will be, that if they will betray the innocent and ruin the
virtuous they shall have damnation for their portion.  Set this people
down by themselves and permit them to remain so would there ever be any
trouble among them?  No; there never would be, so long as they would live
their religion.  Go to cities west, north and east of us, and it is not
uncommon to find half-a-dozen men killed a day here, as in some other
places, it would scarcely be notices; it would not be so rare.

	Do the Latter-day Saints know that they are gathered together to be
taught in temporal things, in all their business movements and dealings,
and to learn how to live in families and as a community in peace and
happiness?  We are charged with abusing our families.  There is not
another community on the earth where families are loved, honored,
respected and cherished as they are among the Latter-day Saints,--even if
we do have more than one wife.  You know we are accused of almost every
crime; and it is said that we hold our families in bondage.  They do not
look as if they were held in bondage.  They like to be held in the bondage
they are in; and there are a great many others in the nations of the earth
who feel the same way, and whom we will gather and hold in the same
bondage--even in the bonds of the Gospel.

	Men are gathered here, and get the spirit of the devil in them.  They
do feel the influence of the Spirit of the Lord at times, and then they
are humble.  But they will allow the spirit of evil to seize hold of them,
and they will get full of passion and abuse a neighbor, a child or a wife. 
The wife will run to the bishop and lay her complaint before him, and he
will chasten the husband.  It seems to me at times as though there are
some men and women who are never happy only when they are miserable, they
appear to delight so much in quarreling and contending.  But if they will
strive to live according to the principles of the Gospel, they will
overcome that, with everything else which hinders their progress in the
truth.  We are here to be sanctified, that every thought, and desire and
feeling may be brought into subjection to the will of God.

	You latter-day Saints are gathered expressly that husbands may be
taught how to live with their wives, and wives with their husbands;
parents with their children, and children with their parents; that all may
become of one heart and of one mind.  The Saints are so in many respects
already.  They are on the increase, and I expect to see the day that they
will be subject in all things to the priesthood of God, and never raise an
argument against anything they may be instructed to do by the priesthood. 
Many are like children who seek to handle the very things that would
destroy them; but when they come to understanding they will never have to
be told of any duty twice by their leaders.

	It was remarked here this afternoon that preaching by example is
better than preaching by precept.  That is so for example exercises a more
powerful influence than precept.  If any of you can set a better example
than is set by myself, do so.  Live a better life than I do, if you can. 
Many men will say they have a violent temper, and try to so excuse
themselves for actions of which they are ashamed.  I will say, there is
not a man in this house who has a more indomitable and unyielding temper
than myself.  But there is not a man in the world who cannot overcome his
passion, if he will struggle earnestly to do so.  If you find passion
coming on you, go off to some place where you cannot be heard; let none of
your family see you or hear you, while it is upon you, but struggle till
it leaves you; and pray for strength to overcome.  As I have said many
times to the Elders, pray in your families; and if, when the time for
prayer comes, you have not the spirit of prayer upon you, and your knees
are unwilling to bow, say to them, "Knees, get down there;" make them
bend, and remain there until you obtain the Spirit of the Lord.  If the
spirit yields to the body, it becomes corrupt; but if the body yields to
the spirit it becomes pure and holy, and is fitted to come forth with the
just in the morning of the first resurrection, and to dwell with the
sanctified; otherwise we cannot be prepared for this glory.  We are
gathered together to sanctify these bodies, to deal, act, transact and do
everything we do in the love of God, and in the fear of God, for the
building up of his kingdom and to his name's honor and glory.

	I could tell you many things that might seem hard to those who are
not members of the Church.  There are a great many different kinds of
capacities on the earth; and a great many who do not understand the
different spirits that are in the world.  Take a person who is quick of
comprehension, if he can receive the Spirit of the Lord, let him have the
Gospel preached to him; and if he is honest he will embrace it.  Excuse
me, outsiders, there are no men or women on the earth, but who, if they
will yield to the Spirit of Christ, will embrace that which is known as
"Mormonism," when they have opportunity.  There is a great variety of
temperaments, many of whom, it seems, cannot see and understand the
revelations of God; and if their eyes were opened to see the heaven of
heavens, as soon as they would be closed again, they would say "I guess I
have been dreaming;" when there is no other spirit of sensibility than the
Spirit of God.  It fills immensity.  David has expressed himself; "Whither
shall I go from thy Spirit? or 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 sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy
right hand shall hold me."  David believed that the Lord is in hell.  But
does he dwell there?  No; he is there by his Spirit, for all the evil that
is there has bounds set to it which it cannot pass by.

	Now, I expect by to-morrow night or next morning, that I shall hear
of some of our bishops trading with some of the worst enemies we have; and
we have men here in our midst who would cut your throats and mine.  But,
bishops, if you understood your duties, you would never have to be told
twice concerning anything that it was right you should do.  We will try to
bear with you until you do understand; yet we are not so merciful as our
Father in heaven.  But when we sanctify ourselves to enter into the
presence of the Father and of the Son, we will be filled with the same
patience that he is filled with.

	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

    Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 3, 1867.
                      (Reported by David W. Evans.)
    HOW SAINTS SHOULD ORDER THEIR VOCATION OF LIFE.--HOW EMPLOY THEIR
       WEALTH.  TO BUILD UP ZION, AND NOT BABYLON.  COUNSEL OF THE
       PROPHET JOSEPH.  PROPHET BRIGHAM YOUNG'S EXPERIENCE THEREIN,
          IMPORTANCE OF UNION IN THINGS TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL,
                         RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL.

	If the people can hear me as well as I can hear their noise walking,
there will not be much difficulty in my making myself understood.  This
walking carelessly with heavy boots makes a quite a confusion in the hall. 
In addressing the Saints, whether by the word of exhortation, admonition,
correction or in doctrine, it requires good attention for a person to
retain even a small portion of that which they hear.  This is why it is so
necessary for us to be talked to and preached to so much.  If we read the
Bible, it soon goes from us; we gather principles and have the pleasure of
perusing the experience of others who have lived in former days; but we
soon forget them.  Our own cares and reflections, and the multitude of
thoughts that pass through our minds take away from our recollections that
which we hear and read, and our minds are upon present objects--our woes,
our trials, our joys, or whatever seems to be present with us and directly
in the future, and we forget what we have heard. like to gather.  What
for?  What is the object of being a Saint?  For the express purpose of
enjoying the blessings of the pure in heart--of those who will be prepared
to dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son.  For this I have left
my all;--left, perhaps, father, mother, sisters, brothers, friends,
relatives, a good home; in many instances left a wife, left a husband,
left our children for the sake of the society of the Saints.  And when we
are gathered together we can look around and inquire of ourselves, if we
are really what we profess to be; do we walk in that path that is marked
out for the faithful and obedient as strictly and as tenaciously as we
should, devoting ourselves entirely to the service of God, for the
building up of his kingdom, and the sanctifying of ourselves--striving to
overcome every evil passion, every unhallowed appetite; seeking to the
Lord for strength to subdue every obnoxious weed that seems to grow in our
affections, and overcome the same to that degree that we may be
sanctified?  We can examine ourselves, and decide upon this question,
without asking the counsel of bishop, or presiding elder, or Apostle or
any man or woman in this church.  We are capable of deciding this for
ourselves.

	If any of the Latter-day Saints would like to have the path of duty
pointed out to them in plainness and simplicity, and the road that leads
to perfection marked before them so as to travel therein with ease, they
should seek unto the Lord and obtain his spirit--the Spirit of Christ--so
that they can read and understand for themselves.  Do they love God with
all their hearts?  Do they keep his commandments? Do we know whether we do
love the Lord?  Do we know whether we keep his commandments?  Do we know
whether we are walking in the path of obedience or not?

	There is a trait in the character of man which is frequently made
manifest in the Saints.  It is simply this--to see faults in others when
we do not examine our own.  When you see people, professing to be
Latter-day Saints, examining the faults of others, you may know that they
are not walking in the path of obedience as strictly as they should.  For
this simple reason--it is all that you and I can do as individuals, as
members in the Church and Kingdom of God, to purify ourselves, to sanctify
our own hearts, and to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts.  It may be
observed, or the question may be asked:  "Are we never to know the doings
of others?  Are we never to look to see how others are walking and
progressing in this Gospel?  Must we for ever and for ever confine our
minds to thinking of ourselves, and our eyes to looking at ourselves?"  I
can merely say that if persons only understand the path of duty and walk
therein, attending strictly to whatever is required of them, they will
have plenty to do to examine themselves and to purify their own hearts;
and if they look at their neighbors and examine their conduct, they will
look for good and not for evil.

	It is true that under some circumstances we may have to look at
others.  For instance, here is the High Council, they are called to act
upon cases that come before them.  Of course their duty, then, is to
examine into the conduct of their brethren and sisters; and this is
required of them.  And if they do it without prejudice, without
selfishness, by the power of the Holy Ghost, divested of every improper
feeling, judging righteous judgmentbetween man and man, the performance of
this duty will purify themselves just as much as any other labor. If a
person is not called to sit in the High Council, he may be called to be a
Bishop, and if he is through his ward, faithfully looking after the wants
of the poor, examining into the conduct of each and every family to know
whether they are orderly and respectable, and whether they conduct
themselves accordingly to the word and law of God, seeing there is no
evil, backbiting, mischief or any conduct unbecoming Christians, he is
laboring faithfully in the discharge of his duty, and is entitled to the
Spirit of the Lord to sanctify his own heart and to purify himself, just
as much as if he were on his knees praying.  If an elder is called to go
and preach the Gospel, and he travels over the plains, in a train or in
the coach, or by the railroad, or goes aboard a ship and crosses the
ocean, he is attending to his duty in this just as much as though he were
in the High Council or on his knees praying all the time.  If a man is
called to go and labor for the poor, if his Bishop calls upon him to go
into the kanyon after a load of wood for the poor, and he goes there, with
his heart uplifted to God, and with his eye single to the building up of
the kingdom, and gets the load of wood and lays it at the door of the
Bishop for the poor, for the widow or for those who cannot help
themselves, he is just as much in the line of his duty in so doing as
though he were on his knees praying.  And so we can proceed with the whole
duty of man.  No matter what the person is called to do, if it is to build
up the kingdom of God on the earth, if he cheerfully perform the duty, he
is entitled to the Spirit of the Lord--the Spirit of Truth--the Holy
Ghost; and will most assuredly possess the same.  There is a time for
preaching, for praying, for sacrament meetings, for labor, and when we are
attending to any or all of these, in the season thereof, we are entitled
to the purifying influence of the Spirit of God. If a man is called to go
and farm, and he goes faithfully about it, because he is directed to do so
by the authorities that are over him, and he raises his grain, his cattle,
and brings forth his crops to sustain man and beast, and does this with an
eye single to the glory of God and for the building up of his kingdom, he
is just as much entitled to the Spirit of the Lord, following his plough,
as I am in this pulpit preaching, according to the ministry and calling,
and the duties devolving upon him.  If a man is called to deal in
merchandize for the benefit of the people of God; in traveling to buy his
goods, and looking after them and their safety until they reach their
place of destination, and distributing those goods to the Saints and
taking his pay for them, let him act with an eye single to the glory of
God and the upbuilding of his kingdom on the earth, and he is as much
entitled to the Spirit of the Lord and the Holy Ghost as man is preaching. 
If a man is called to raise stock, and to procure machinery to manufacture
the clothing that is necessary for the Saints, and he goes at that
business with his eye single to the building up of the kingdom of God on
the earth he is entitled to the Spirit of the Holy Gospel, and he will
receive and enjoy it just as much as if he were preaching the Gospel. 
Will he have the spirit of teaching and expounding the Scriptures? No, he
has the spirit to know how to raise sheep, to procure the wool, to put
machinery in operation to make the clothing for the advancement, benefit
and building up of the people of God on the earth.  And the Spirit of the
Lord is here in these labors--farming, merchandizing and in all mechanical
business just as much as it is in preaching the Gospel, if men will live
for it.

	Suppose we bring a few illustrations in regard to the present
feelings and knowledge of the elders of Israel.  We need not go back to
Nauvoo or Kirtland, to find illustrations among our merchants, but take
them as we find them here.  If they enter upon their business without God
in their thoughts, it is "How much can I get for this?  and how much can I
make on that?  and how much will the people give for this and for that? 
and how fast can I get rich?  and how long will it take me to be a
millionaire?"  which thoughts should never come into the mind of a
merchant who professes to be a Latter-day Saint.  But it should be "What
can I do to benefit this people?  And when they live act, and do business
upon this principle, and think "What can I do to benefit the kingdom of
God on the earth, to establish the laws of this kingdom, to make this
kingdom and people honorable, and bring them into note, and give them
influence among the nations so that they can gather the pure in heart,
build up Zion, redeem the House of Israel, and perhaps assist, (though I
do not think there will be any need of it) to gather the Jews to Jerusalem
and prepare for the coming of the Son of Man?"  and labor with all their
might for their own sanctification and the sanctification of their
brethren and sisters, they will find that the idea of "How much can I make
this year?  can I make sixty thousand dollars? can I make in my little
trade a hundred thousand dollars?"  never would enter their minds; they
never would think of it.  But I am sorry to say they do not.  Our
merchants may turn round and ask us if we expect them to make anything. 
Yes, we are perfectly willing they should get rich; no matter how rich
they are, but what will you do with those riches?  The question will not
arise with the Lord, nor with the messengers of the Almighty, how much
wealth a man has got, but how has he come by this wealth and what will he
do with it?"

	I can reveal things to the people, if it would do any good; give them
the mind of the Lord if they could hear and then profit by it, with regard
to wealth.  The Lord has no objection to his people being wealthy; but he
has a great objection to people hoarding up their wealth and not devoting
it, expressly, for the advancement of his cause and kingdom on the earth. 
He has a great objection to this.

	And our mechanics, do they labor for the express purpose of building
up Zion and the kingdom of God?  I am sorry to say that I think there are
but very few into whose hearts it has entered, or whose thoughts are
occupied in the least with such a principle; but it is, "how much can I
make?"  If our mechanics would work upon the principle of establishing the
Kingdom of God upon the earth, and building up Zion, they would, as the
prophet Joseph said, in the year 1833, never do another day's work but
with that end in view.  In that year a number of Elders came up to
Kirtland; I think there were some twenty or thirty Elders.  Brother Joseph
Smith gave us the word of the Lord; it was simply this:  "Never do another
day's work to build up a Gentile city; never lay out another dollar while
you live, to advance the world in its present state; it is full of
wickedness and violence; no regard is paid to the prophets, no the
prophecyings of the prophets, nor to Jesus nor his sayings, nor the word
of the Lord that was given anciently, nor to that given in our day.  They
have gone astray, and they are building up themselves, and they are
promoting sin and iniquity upon the earth; and,"  said he, "it is the word
and commandment of the Lord to his servants that they shall never do
another day's work, nor spend another dollar to build up a Gentile city or
nation."

	Now, if any one is disposed to ask whether Brother Brigham has ever,
since them, worked a day, or half a day, or an hour, to build up a Gentile
city or the Gentile world, he will most emphatically tell the Latter-day
Saints that he never has.

	I could illustrate by circumstances, and could relate if I were
disposed to give them to you, the povidences of God, and how favorable
they are to those who walk humbly before him.  In the summer of 1833, in
July, Brother Joseph gave the word of the Lord to the Elders, as I have
been telling you.  I returned east; and in September Brother Kimball and I
went up together with our little families.  When we arrived in Kirtland,
if any man that ever did gather with the Saints was any poorer than I
was--it was because he had nothing.  I had something and I had nothing; if
he had less than I had, I do not know what it could be.  I had two
children to take care of--that was all.  I was a widower.  "Brother
Brigham, had you any shoes?"  No; not a shoe to my foot, except a pair of
borrowed boots I had no winter clothing, except a homemade coat that I had
had three or four years.  "Any pantaloons?"  No.  "What did you do?  Did
you go without?"  No; I borrowed a pair to wear till I could get another
pair.  I had travelled and preached and given away every dollar of my
property.  I was worth a little property when I started to preach; but I
was something like Bunyan--it was "life, life, eternal life," with me,
everything else was secondary.  I had traveled and preached until I had
nothing left to gather with; but Joseph said:  "come up;" and I went up
the best I could, hiring Brother Kimball to take my two little children
and myself and carry us up to Kirtland.  In those days provisions and
clothing were as dear as they are now in this place; and a mechanic in
that country who got a dollar a day and boarded himself was considered
rather an extra man.  A dollar a day!  And my brethren when they have
three or five dollars a day, and have worked a year, will be sure to come
out four or five or six hundred dollars in debt if they can get it.  We
did not live so in that country; we never used anything more than our
means.  When I reached Kirtland I went to work as soon as the word was
that I could work and not preach I knew that I could get plenty; for I
knew how; I always could gather around me and make property.

	There were some thirty or forty Elders gathered to Kirtland that
fall; but there was only one mechanic in the entire number whom I knew
that did not go to Cleveland and the neighboring towns to work during the
winter--for the simple reason, that they thought they could not get one
day's work and get their pay for it, in the place Joseph was trying to
build up--and that exception was your humble servant.  I made up my mind
that I would stay in Kirtland, and work if I never got a farthing for it;
and I went to work for Brother Cahoon, one of the Trustees of the Temple,
to build his new house.  I worked all winter, and when spring came, was
called upon to go to Missouri--a tramp of a thousand miles on foot--and a
thousand back.  Before going, the brethren gathered in who had been to the
surrounding places during the winter--joiners, painters, masons and
plasterers.  I asked some of the brethren how much they had made?  I had
worked there through the winter, and at its commencement had not the least
prospect of getting twenty-five cents for my winter's work.  I told
Brother Cahoon I would work whether I could get anything for it or not,
"for," said I, "the word of the Lord is for me to work, to build up Zion,
and poor as I am I shall do it."  But the Lord opened the way; and I
gained Brother Cahoon's heart to that degree that if he received anything
he always came to me, and said, "Bother Brigham, I have so and so, and I
will divide it with you."  Brother William F. Cahoon and I kept to work at
the house until his father got into it.  When we had finished the house,
he had paid me all that was coming to me.  The Lord had opened the way. 
This work finished, another job came, and then another, and when the
spring opened, I can safely say that there was not any four, nor perhaps
any six or ten of the brethren who had gone elsewhere to work who could
produce as much property, made by them through that winter, as I had made.

	You can see for this the providences of God, with one winter's work
in Kirtland, when it was one of the hardest places that ever mortal man
had to get a living in, and that too, when I had to work for nothing and
find myself, that is, seemingly so, to all outward appearance.

		I had my pants and coats, two cows, a hired house and a wife in
the meantime.  And I was better off than any other man who came to
Kirtland the fall be ore [sic], according to the property that we came
with, and I had enough to live with my family and leave them comfortable,
and my gun and sword and money enough to pay my expenses.  If I had no
work to do, and there was nobody to hire me, there was plenty of timber
and I made some bedsteads or stands, and if anybody wanted such things
they would come along and say, I will give you a little oats or a little
corn, or something or other for them, and so the Lord opened the way most
astonishingly.

	I tell this, because it is an experience I am acquainted with, for it
is my own.  I am not so well acquainted with the providences of God in the
experience of others, as I am with my own, except by faith and the visions
of the Spirit.

	I stayed in Kirtland from 1833 till 1837; I preached every summer. 
Here are brethren who know what I am saying.  I traveled and preached, and
still went back nothing; but was willing to exchange, deal, work and labor
for the benefit of my brethren and myself, with the kingdom and nothing
else before me all the time. When I left there for Missouri I left
property worth over five thousand dollars in gold, that I got
comparatively nothing for.  I could travel along, with regard to my
experience, to this valley.  I left my property in Nauvoo, and many know
that I left a number of good houses and lots and a farm, and came here
without one farthing for them, with the exception of a span of horses,
harness and carriage, that Almon W. Babbit let me have for my own
dwelling-house that my family lived in; and when I arrived here I owed for
my horses, cows, oxen and wagons.  Now, the brethren say:--"Why, Brother
Brigham you are rich."  I simply relate this to show you how I have lived
and what I have been doing, and the result, that God, and not I, has
brought forth.  Now, I have some four or five grist mills, besides saw
mills and farms; and let anyone ask my clerks if they ever hear me mention
them from one year's end to another, unless somebody comes into the office
and alludes to them; but my mind is upon increasing the wealth and
advancing the interests of this people, and upon the spread of the Gospel
on the continents and the islands of the sea.  Ask my clerks and my
closest associates if they ever hear me mention my individual property
unless somebody speaks about it.  I own property, and I employ the best
men I can find to look after it.  If God does not give it to me, I do not
want it; if he does I will do the very best I can with it; but as for
spending my own time in doing it, or letting my own mind dwell upon the
affairs of this world, I will not do it.  I have no heart to look after my
own individual advantage, I never have had; my heart is not upon the
things of this world.

	Excuse me for referring to myself.  But I know that there is no man
on this earth who can call around him property, be he a merchant,
tradesman, or farmer, with his mind continually occupied with:  "How shall
I get this or that; how rich can I get; or, how much can I get out of this
brother o from that brother?"  and dicker and work, and take advantage
here and there--no such man ever can magnify the priesthood nor enter the
celestial kingdom.  Now, remember, they will not enter that kingdom; and
if they happen to go there, it will be because somebody takes them by the
hand, saying, "I want you for a servant;" or, "Master, will you let this
man pass in my service?"  "Yes, he may go into your service; but he is not
fit for a lord, nor a master, nor fit to be crowned;" and if such men get
there, it will be because somebody takes them in as servants.

	I have now related a little of my own experience.  My experience has
taught me, and it has become a principle with me, that it is never any
benefit to give, out and out, to man or woman, money, food, clothing, or
anything else, if they are able-bodied, and can work and earn what they
need, when there is anything on the earth for them to do.  This is my
principle, and I try to act upon it.  To pursue a contrary course would
ruin any community in the world and make them idlers.  People trained in
this way have no interest in working; "but, "say they, "we can beg, or we
can get this, that, or the other."  No, my plan and counsel would be, let
every person, able to work, work and earn what he needs; and if the poor
come around me--able-bodied men and women--take them and put them into the
house.  "Do you need them?"  No; but I will teach this girl to do
housework, and teach that woman to sew and do other kinds of work, that
they may be profitable when they get married or go for themselves.  "Will
you give them anything to wear?"  O, yes, make them comfortable, give them
plenty to eat and teach them to labor and earn what they need; for the
bone and sinew of men and women are the capital of the world.

	If I could see my brethren and my sisters as willing to be taught,
led and directed in the little trifling affairs of life, with regard to
their food, raiment, houses, and labors, and how to make themselves useful
and not waste their time and strength on that which does them no good; if
I could see this people as willing to be taught in these things as they
are in the great things--the revelations of the prophets, and what Jesus
has said, and the beauties of eternity, and the excellency of the
millennium, and what great men and women we are going to be, that would be
delightful.  But what would you be good for if you were in that condition? 
Nothing.  What would you do?  Nothing at all.  Learn to be good for
something.  We have these things to learn here, or, if not here, somewhere
else; and if we are not willing to learn here, and practice what we know
for the benefit of ourselves, and improve on the grace God gives to us,
how can he bestow his blessings upon us in the next state of existence? 
He will not do it; we have to learn and be willing to be taught here.

	To return to the subjects of merchandizing and merchants.  I know,
and knew sixteen years ago as well as I do to-day, that from the very
first the merchants who came here were laying the foundation for the
uprooting of this people unless we had exceeding great faith; and that
every dollar that was given to them was given to ruin you and me, and to
destroy the kingdom of God on the earth.  Can you believe this?  "I do not
know anything about that,"  says one, "but I think I shall go where I can
buy my calico the cheapest, and I do not know that it is any of your
business where I buy my ribbons, hats or coats; I think that it is my
business."  It is just as much my business, Latter-day Saints, to dictate
in these things as it is in regard to the sacrament we are partaking of
here to-day.  Do the people know it?  It is strange to them.  Because your
priests in England, France, Germany, in the eastern or Southern states,
and the islands of the sea, did not preach such doctrine, you cannot
receive it.  Did they preach baptism for the remission of sins?  No.  Then
why receive it?  Our fathers and priests did not preach any such doctrine
as that a man has a right to dictate in temporal matters.  Now by the same
kind of reasoning, it might be proved that you could never receive the
doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins.  Why?  Because the priests
did not preach it; your fathers did not tell you that it was correct
doctrine, and why did you receive it?  Well, you did receive it, and the
Spirit of the Lord bore witness that it was true.  The Spirit also bore
witness that you should have hands laid upon you for the reception of the
Holy Ghost; and that the gifts of tongues, of prophecy, of faith, and the
healing of the sick were to be enjoyed by the Saints.  Now ask the Father
in the name of Jesus whether I am telling you the truth about temporal
things or not, and the same Spirit that bore witness to you that baptism
by immersion is the correct way according to the Scriptures, will bear
witness that the man whom God calls to dictate affairs in the building up
of his Zion has the right to dictate about everything connected with the
building up of Zion, yes even to the ribbons the women wear; and any
person who denies it is ignorant.  There is not a man or woman in the
world who rises up against this principle but what is ignorant; all such
are destitute of the spirit of revelation and enjoy not the Spirit of
Christ.

	Do I want to dictate?  No, I am just as far from that, naturally, as
a man can be; it is not in my heart.  How glad would I be to be excused
from this.  Would I not rejoice to be left to mind my own concerns, and to
attend to my own business, providing for the wants of my family and
enjoying myself just as much as you?  Yes.  But the Spirit prompts me to
perform the labors which devolve upon me, to plead with and urge the
people to act for their own benefit. If this people would hearken to the
counsel, given them, and be of one heart and one mind in their temporal
affairs, can you not see the result? These men who have been urging
trouble upon us, writing lies, and whose whole study is to destroy the
kingdom of God from the earth would not be in our midst.  Why?  There
would be nothing for them to do. "No;" says the sister, "if I give you ten
dollars profit on your goods you use that for the destruction of this
kingdom that I think so much of."  "No;" says a brother, "if I give you
one dollar or one thousand dollars profit on your goods, you use that for
the destruction of the kingdom of God that I am willing to sacrifice
everything for.  I can not give it to you, it is not reasonable to think
that I must give this to you."

	"But," says the merchant, "I demand it of you."  "Yes," but I have
just as good a right to go where I please to trade as you have to trade,
and I shall give my ten, hundred, or thousand dollars to the man who would
devote that means to the building up of the kingdom of God."  I do not say
that all our merchants, mechanics or tradesmen are precisely as they
should be before the Lord with regard to devoting their means.  Touch
their means, and in many instances you touch their souls.  Still what does
that prove?  It proves that they are wrong and not right.  And they should
be right and their whole souls should be centred on the building up of the
kingdom of God.  There are many persons here who when they get five
hundred or five thousand dollars, want to bring a few wagon loads of goods
here to speculate upon.  Why not bring machinery here?  Why not raise
silk?  Through my own exertions I have the mulberry tree growing here in
great abundance.  The foundation is at length laid for making as much silk
as we wish.  But we have to tease the women to get them to weave silk here
as they did in the old country.  Have we no ladies here who can weave silk
ribbons?  if not we can soon send for some.  But no, the manufacture of
silk is not thought of; it is, "how shall I get money to spend with my
enemies?" how rich can I get this year?" "how much can I make out of this
people?"   I am sorry to see it; it is not very creditable; for in so
doing, we foster our enemies in our midst--they who seek with all the
power they have to uproot us.  You who have been in the Church thirty or
thirty-five years know that there has always been a set of scavengers
following the people to pick up what they could; and they are with us here
to collect the filth. Are they willing to go and build up a city for
themselves?  No; they are not.  I am speaking of those who deserve this;
but there are many that are not of those speculators.  Are they willing to
go and take up a farm?  No, they would not give a farthing for a farm
unless they obtain a "Mormon's" claim and bring about a fight in getting
it.  The latter they can do very easily; they can find all the fight they
want.  Their designs are to interrupt this community; they want some
gambling houses, and they will have them.  The City Council is no more
willing now than ever to license gambling houses and grog shops; but it
must be done, and all hell is stirred up if I ask the people to suppress
them.  What do they want them for?  They want what they call
"civilization"--that is fighting, gambling, killing, whore houses,
drinking houses, and every species of debauchery that can be imagined on
the face of the earth.  That is their "civilization," and what they want
introduced here.  These scavengers are here and they want to introduce
their systems.  There are not a great many of them perhaps at the present
time; but they will follow up, and I can tell the Latter-day Saints that
we will be followed just as long as the devil reigns on the earth.  He is
untiring in his exertions, fervent in every act possible, for the
accomplishment of his work.  If the people would take the counsel given
them, health, wealth, influence, and power among the nations of the earth
would surely come to them in a tenfold degree to what it ever has; it
would come in such a manner that you would not know what to do with it,
and you would wonder and be astonished.  "But no," say many, "we will
mingle with, live among, and nourish and cherish the servants of the
devil, and give our money to, and associate with, and have his coadjutors
in our midst."  And so we have got to continue to labor, fight, toil,
counsel, exercise faith, ask God over and over, and have been praying to
the Lord for thirty odd years for that which we might have received and
accomplished in one year.

	"I do not know," says one, "how to do better than I do."  The Lord
has given you and me the privilege of gathering up from among the wicked. 
"Come out of her my people," are some of the last words revealed through
his servant John in the last of the revelations given in the New
Testament.  And one of the last writers we have here in this book--John
the Revelator--looking at the Church in the latter days, says: "Come out
of her, my people"--out of Babylon, out of this confusion and wickedness,
which they call "civilization."  Civilization!  it is corruption and
wickedness of the deepest dye.  It is no society for you, my people, come
out of her.  Gather out where you can pray, where you can have meetings
and sacraments; where you can meet, associate, and mingle together; where
you can beautify the earth and gather around you the necessaries of life,
and make everything as beautiful as Zion, and begin to establish Zion on
the earth; sanctify yourselves, sanctify your houses, the lands that you
live upon; your farms, the streams of water that flow through your cities,
country places and farms; sanctify your hills and mountains and valleys,
and the land around about, and begin to build up Zion.  Now, "come out of
her, my people,"  for this purpose, "and partake not of her sins, lest ye
receive of her plagues."  After all these revelations and commandments the
people who profess to be Saints will mingle with the wicked, and foster
those who would cut their throats, and feed and clothe, and give them
everything they can gather together.

	How is it if you come down to the acts of the people?  Will the women
knit their own stockings, and make their own clothing?  Some of them may
try to do so; but as a general thing, no.  It is:  "Husband, I want some
money to go to the store to buy a bonnet; I will not be troubled with
braiding the straw; I want some shoes, frocks and pants for my boys, and I
will not be at the trouble of spinning this dirty wool."  And the man will
not be at the trouble of raising it.

	That is not the way to get rich.  If you wish to get rich, save what
you get.  A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and
dispose of it to his own advantage.  Then go to work, and save everything,
and make your own bonnets and clothing.  And let our merchants do their
business for the building up of the kingdom of God.  If our merchants do
not take this course, the time is not far distant when they will be cut
off from the Church.  Let them go their own road.  If they think that a
little money or property will pay their way into the kingdom of God, they
may try it.  They will find themselves mistaken; they will miss the gate
and take another road.  The same will apply to our mechanics,--if they
will not labor for the building up of this kingdom, instead of working to
get rich, they will miss the gate of the celestial kingdom, and will not
get in there unless we take them in for servants.  I do not care whether a
man is a merchant or a beggar, whether he has much or little, he must live
so that neither the things of this world, nor the cares of this life will
becloud his mind, nor exclude him from the revelations of the Lord Jesus
Christ; but all, whether merchants or preachers, tradesmen or farmers, and
mechanics and laborers of every kind, whether they work in the ditch, or
building post and rail fence, must live so that the revelations of the
Lord Jesus are upon them; and if they live not according to this rule,
they will miss the kingdom they are anticipating.

	You may think this is pretty hard talk; but recollect the saying of
one of the Apostles, when speaking about getting into the kingdom of
heaven, that "if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly
and and [sic] the sinner appear?"  The best man that ever lived on this
earth only just made out to save himself through the grace of God.  The
best woman that ever lived on the earth has only just made her escape from
this world to a better one, with a full assurance of enjoying the first
resurrection.  It requires all the atonement of Christ, the mercy of the
Father, the pity of angels and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be
with us always, and then to do the very best we possibly can, to get rid
of this sin within us, so that we may escape from this world into the
celestial kingdom.  This is just as much as we can do, and there is no
room for that carelessness manifested by too many among us.

	I do not wonder at this people having trouble; I do not wonder at
some of our sisters having sorrow in what is termed plural marriage; for
they do not live so as to have the Spirit and power of God upon them; if
they did, they would see its beauty and excellence, and not a word would
be said against it from this time henceforth and for ever.  But they see
this with a selfish eye, and say, "I want my glory and my comfort here;" 
their eye is not on the resurrection and on the kingdom we are looking for
when Jesus will come and reign King of nations as he does King of Saints.

	With regard to the wealth of this people, I can say they would soon
get immensely rich if they would take the counsel that is given them.  For
instance, here is one little circumstance:  we have quite an outlet for
our grain; our oats, barley and flour are very much wanted in the
neighhoring [sic] Territories.  Who raise this grain?  The Latter-day
Saints.  Suppose they were perfectly united, do you not think they could
get a suitable price for it?  They could.  We required Brother Hunter to
counsel the Bishops to take measures to bring about union in this
direction, and we saved for the Territory two or three hundred thousand
dollars a year for two or three years.  Then business slackened; but I was
satisfied; we had shown the people what could be done; they have become
comparatively well off, and if they have a mind to pursue a proper policy,
they have matters in their own hands.  Many will not, however, do this. 
One says "I want to sell my oats; how much are they selling at?"  "They
are selling at one dollar and a quarter to-day; but there is nobody
buying."  "How much will you give?"  "Well, I'll give you a dollar;" and
so they are sold; we are so anxious for the money.  There is a story,
which I have told before, but it will do to tell again.  Four years ago a
certain sister took down a hundred pounds of flour to the square, hearing
that flour was being sold there; but owing to the number of sellers
reduction in price had been continually going on.  Our sister, however,
determined to sell at any price, said "you can have my flour for one
dollar," and she actually sold her hundred pounds of flour and the sack
for one dollar. One of the brethren, who had recently arrived here, went
on to the square, and saw a load of wheat for sale.  He inquired of the
owner how much he asked for his wheat.  The owner of the wheat told him
and a bargain was made for it.  Before they reached the house of the
purchaser, the seller suspected he had sold to a "Mormon;" and, upon
inquiry, finding it was so, "ah" said he,  "had I known that you belonged
to the Church I should have made you pay for it."  Such little things as
these are like straws--they tell which way the wind blows.  If the people
would only take the counsel given them, instead of there being people in
our midst, in want, or that could be called poor, there would not have
been a family in the whole community, but would have been so far above
want that it might have been safely said, hard times would come again no
more.  Every man and woman wishes to work for his or her own interest, but
they do not know how, they do not know what is for their best interest and
greatest good. 

	Now, we are here to build up the kingdom of God, and for nothing
else; but here are our enemies determined that the kingdom of God shall
not be built up. I have often thought that I ought not to blame them so
much.  They have had possession of this earth some six thousand years; the
devil has reigned triumphant, and without a rival has held possession; the
wicked rule all over the earth, and they have had possession of this
little farm, called earth, so long that they think they are the rightful
heirs, and inherit it from the Father.  But the Lord has said that the
Saints should possess it.  And when Joseph translated the Book of Mormon,
and revealed the Gospel as it was among God's children on this continent
anciently, that was the starting point.  The Lord said "I am going to
establish my kingdom; my open foe has had possession of this earth long
enough, and I am going to show all the inhabitants of the earth, saint and
sinner, good and bad, that it is time for Jesus, according to his promise,
sufferings and death to commence to redeem the earth and those who will
hearken to his counsel, and bring them forth to enjoy his presence." The
enemy has had possession of the earth a great while, and they really feel
as though it is their right, and that they are the legal heirs.

	If the Gospel goes to the uttermost parts of the earth and fulfills
its destiny as predicted by the Prophets, by Jesus and by the Apostles, it
will eventually swallow up all the good there is on the earth; it will
take every honest, truthful and virtuous man and woman and every good
person and gather them into the fold of this kingdom, and this society
will enlarge, spread abroad and multiply, and will increase in knowledge
until the members composing it know enough to lengthen out their days and
man's longevity returns, and they begin to live as men did anciently.

	This people are spreading and increasing, and religiously--so far as
the ordinances of the house of God are concerned--they are of one heart
and one mind.

	How is it politically?  Do they vote the Democratic ticket or do they
take the Republican side of the question?  I rather think that so far as
voting is concerned they are of one heart and one mind; then they are one
religiously and politically.  "Oh," say our enemies, "what will be the
result if this people are let alone?  the idea of such a thing is rather
fearful."  Another man says:  "I wish they could be let alone for a
hundred years, just to see what they would amount to."  "But," says
another, "I should not; I tell you if those people prosper as they seem to
do, I am not going to hold my place in a national capacity."  The Priests
in their pulpits, from the holy Catholic down, say, "If this religion is
right, ours is wrong, and it is terrible to us to see the prosperity that
prevails in their midst, and to know that they are of one heart and of one
mind."

	How is it politically?  Do they vote the Democratic ticket or do they
take the Republican side of the question?  I rather think that so far as
voting is concerned they are of one heart and one mind; then they are one
religiously and politically.  "Oh," say our enemies, "what will be the
result if this people are let alone?  the idea of such a thing is rather
fearful."  Another man says:  "I wish they could be let alone for a
hundred years, just to see what they would amount to."  "But," says
another, " I should not; I tell you if those people prosper as they seem
to do, I am not going to hold my place in a national capacity."  The
Priests in their pulpits, from the holy Catholic down, say, "If this
religion is right, ours is wrong, and it is terrible to us to see the
prosperity that prevails in their midst, and to know that they are of one
heart and of one mind."

	Now, then, here comes this party, and say to us, "You do not own a
farm on this earth; we have had power on the earth so long, and shall
still reign, and every foot of it shall be divided among us and our
adherents."  "It is true," say they, "that in the days of Moses the Lord
did once send a messenger to preach the Gospel to the children of Israel,
but our master had such power in their midst that they would not receive
the kingdom."  In the days of Abraham, also, long before the days of Moses
the Lord revealed the principles of the kingdom, but they would not have
them.  And even before that the Lord delivered the principles of the
kingdom to Noah, but they were not received by his posterity.  Enoch and
his band received sufficient of those principles to lead them on step by
scep [sic] till they were so far perfected that the Lord took them from
this earth; and down from Enoch to Noah, Abraham and Moses and the
children of Israel in the wilderness; these latter, however, would not
have the Gospel.

	If you turn over this Bible you may read that when the children of
Israel would not receive the Gospel, the Lord gave to them what is called
the law of carnal commandments.  In that he tells them whom a man shall
not marry; you can read it for yourselves--he shall not marry his wife's
mother, nor her sister, nor his wife's aunt, &c.  Previous to this the
Lord had commanded the children of Israel, through Abraham, Isaac, and
through Jacob and the twelve patriarchs never to marry out of their own
families.   But they would run over yonder to a strange nation and worship
other gods, and bring back a wife, or two or three into a family; and then
go into another nation and worship idols, and bring their corruption into
the midst of Israel, till at length they became so alienated and estranged
from the principles of righteousness and the Holy Gospel, that when Moses
delivered to them the principles of life and salvation they utterly
rejected them, and this is the reason the Lord gave to them the law of
carnal commandments.

	We are raising up a little party by ourselves; we are actually
getting a people here not of the world.  We are gathering out of the
world, and assembling together, and we have the right to purchase a farm,
build a a [sic] city or inhabit a Territory or State.  But it is grievous
for the other party to bear.  Yet we "render unto Caesar the things that
are Caesar's" we pay our taxes and keep the laws of the land.  I do not
know that I blame them for exercising all their ability to prevent Jesus
from coming to reign King of nations as he does King of Saints.  They have
so long held the reins of government with undisputed sway.  They have
swept over the earth and have controlled all its inhabitants so long that
I do not know that I can blame them for feeling.  "We do not like these
Latter-day Saints to increase.  It is dangerous, very dangerous.  If they
are going to trade with themselves--have merchants of their own, and not
going to trade with us, it is a terrible thing.  If they are going to be
permitted to buy land and occupy it, the nation ought to take it in hand. 
If they are going to cease licensing gambling houses, the nation ought to
take it in hand."  I cannot blame them so much for feeling so--they see
the danger.

	They are for themselves and their master, and if they let the Saints
alone it will be, as it was said in the days of Jesus, "If we let him thus
alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall come and take
away both our place and nation."  So it will be with the Latter-day
Saints; if they are let alone, their doctrine will spread and prosper till
it gathers up all the truth in the world; it will gather every good person
in the world and will save and preserve them from the ravages of the
enemy. 

	As I said here, once, with regard to preaching the Gospel, a very
simple person can tell the truth, but it takes a very smart person to tell
a lie and make it appear like the truth.  Go into the sectarian world with
their systems called religion now before the people; it requires a very
learned and talented man to make it appear anyway commendable to the
hearts of the honest, so far as doctrine is concerned.  When we come to
the doctrines that Jesus taught, they are what can save the people, and
the only ones on the face of the earth that can.  In conversation not long
since with a visitor who was about returning to the Eastern States, said
he, "You," as a people, consider that you are perfect?"  "Oh, no;" said I,
"not by any means.  Let me define to you.  The doctrine that we have
embraced is perfect; but when we come to the people, we have just as many
imperfections as you can ask for.  We are not perfect; but the Gospel that
we preach is calculated to perfect the people so that they can obtain a
glorious resurrection and enter into the presence of the Father and the
Son."

	Our doctrine embraces all the good.  It descends to the capacities of
the weakest of the weak; it will teach the girl how to knit, and to be a
good housekeeper, and the man how to plant corn.  It will teach men and
women every vocation in life; how they should eat; how much to eat; how to
feed, clothe, and take care of themselves and their children; how to
preserve themselves in life and health.  But you will ask, how?  By close
application, and learning from others, and obtaining all the knowledge
possible from our surroundings, and by the assistance of the Spirit, as
all who have introduced art and science into the world by the aid of
revelation.  The Gospel will teach us all that variety that we see before
us in nature--the greatest variety imaginable.  One sister would get up a
certain fashioned bonnet, and another one another fashion; one would trim
it in a certain way, and another in another way.  When the brethren build
their houses, the styles would be different; and in walking through the
city one would see a vast variety in the gardens, in the orchards, in the
walks and in the houses.  The same variety would exist in the internal
arrangements of the houses.  We should see this variety with regard to
families--here is one's taste, and another's taste, and this constant
variety would give beauty to the whole.  Thus a variety of talent would be
brought forth and exhibited of which nothing would be known, if houses and
dresses and other things were all alike.  But let the people bring out
their talents, and have the variety within them brought forth and made
manifest so that we can behold it, like the variety in the works of
nature.  See the variety Good has created--no two trees alike, no two
leaves, no two spears of grass alike.  The same variety that we see in all
the works of God, that we see in the features, visages and forms, exists
in the spirits of men.  Now let us develop the variety within us, and show
to the world that we have talent and taste, and prove to the heavens that
our minds are set on beauty and true excellence, so that we can become
worthy to enjoy the society of angels, and raise ourselves above the level
of the wicked world and begin to increase in faith, and the power that God
has given us, and so show to the world an example worthy of imitation.

	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

    Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 10th, 1867.
                       [Reported by David W. Evans]
       THE IMPROVED CONDITION OF THE SAINTS--PREPARATION NECESSARY
       TO BUILD UP THE CENTRE STAKE OF ZION--THE LAW OF MOSES GIVEN
        IN CONSEQUENCE OF REBELLION--NO TRUE PLEASURE WITHOUT THE
                           SPIRIT OF THE LORD.

	When I look at the faces of people, look at the image of our Creator. 
When I behold one of the images or likenesses of our Creator, I behold
more or less of His character by the manifestations and the influences of
the spirit that is in man.  "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration
of the Almighty giveth it understanding."  There is none without a spirit;
this spirit is from heaven, and when we look at each other we behold, more
or less, the power that is in Him who created and brought us forth, and
who sustains all things.

	In hearing doctrines and exhortations do we recollect those portions
that will actually benefit and purify, and enable us to grow in grace and
in the knowledge of the truth?

	We as a people are commanded to leave our places of abode in the
countries where we received the gospel, and are required to gather
together.  This makes us conspicuous; it places us in a position where we
are looked at.  If we have any influence it is felt; if we do exist, if we
have a being here as a congregated people, as I think we have, of course
we are so conspicuous that we are noticed by the world.  Whether this
makes us as Saints, any better, is for our experience, and those who have
wisdom, to decide.  But we are here I do believe; I do not want anybody to
pinch me, to know whether I am in existence or not; I am pretty well
convinced that I live, move, and have a being.

	Many of the Latter-day Saints are fearful that trouble will come to
us.  I do not know that our condition is any more critical or dangerous
than that of other people.  It is true, it appears that we are in a very
peculiar and dangerous condition.  We have had our enemies after us, to my
certain knowledge, for the last thirty-five years, and to-day I am as free
from the influences of the wicked as I ever was any day in my life.  I
never enjoyed more liberty and freedom, nor had greater access to that
which is good than I have to-day.  This is what we all believe, and what
our experience proves.  My beloved brother Joseph, who has been speaking
to you, testifies that he realizes that the condition of this people,
though they may be a target for the whole world, is safer than that of any
other people, no matter who they are nor where they live.

	Suppose br. Joseph, the prophet, were with us to-day, do you not
think that he would feel safer than he ever did before on any day of his
public life?  He would.  I recollect a little of his history that I will
relate. I think it has been told to the congregation, or a portion of
them, by br. George A. Smith. When he had almost finished translating the
Book of Mormon, nearly forty years ago, and some time before the Church
was organized, he was hunted, harassed, tormented, afflicted, and
perplexed; taken before this magistrate and that magistrate, and sometimes
they would keep him a whole night trying to prove something or other
against him.  "O, he was guilty man!  his crimes were enormous!  No man
was ever so guilty as he."  The priests commenced this outcry against him: 
"Did you not hear this man say so and so?"  said they to their deacons and
the members of their church.  "Well, no, we do not know that we did hear
him."  "Has he not said or done something or other, transgressed some law
of the land, spoken against the government, or something by which he can
be proved guilty?"  And so he was hunted and hunted, and at one time I
recollect that Mr. Reed, the father of the present Secretary of our
Territory, then something of a lawyer, defended him from court to court,
night after night
--they kept Joseph I do not know how many days and nights, and finally
they could find nothing against him.  They knew in the first place that he
was guilty of nothing; but from that time to his last persecution when
they served a writ on him in Carthage and he delivered himself up to the
Governor, and was examined and committed to prison by the magistrate,
their cry was, "Has not Mr. Smith said something or other that we can make
treason out of it?"  "Well, Dr. Bennet says so, or Jackson and the Laws
say so."  "Will you not come forward and testify something or other so
that we can condemn this man?"  No.  They could not get parties to swear
this, that, or the other; but they wanted to prove him guilty of treason
by trying to prove that he had more than one wife.  Very singular treason,
that!  But so it was.

	Now, as bad as myself and my brethren are, and as far as we are from
the mark, and from the privileges we should enjoy, if Joseph Smith, jun.,
the prophet, could have seen the people in his day as willing to obey his
voice, as they are to-day to obey the voice of their President, he would
have been a happy man.  He lived, labored, toiled, and worked; his courage
was like the courage of an angel, and his will was like the will of the
Almighty, and he labored till they killed him. 

	We had to leave, and we have come here into these mountains, and do
you think we are going to be swallowed up by our enemies?  Why, they have
already done their uttermost.  "Could they not send a hundred thousand men
here to destroy the 'Mormons?'"  Yes; that is, they could try.  In the
winter of 1857-58, when the army was at Bridger, Col. Kane came here to
see what he could do for the benefit of the people, and to caution and
advise me.  He was all the time fearful that I would not take the right
step, and that I would do something or other that would bring upon us the
ire of the nation.  "Why," said he, "at one word there would be a hundred
thousand men ready to come here."  I replied that "I would like to see
them trying it."  Afterwards a calculation was made that, for men to come
here.--tary through the winter and get back the next summer, it would
require four and a half oxen to carry the food, clothing, and ammunition
necessary for each man.  This was more stock than they could take care of,
to say  nothing about fighting.  I was resolved that they would find
nothing here to eat, nor houses to live in, for we were determined that we
would not leave a green thing, and if I had time not one adobie should be
left standing on another.  I was satisfied that if Col. Kane could see
what I saw, he would know that the weight of such an army would be so
ponderous that it would crush itself, and it could never get here.  It is
just so now, too.

	James Buchanan did all he could do, and when he found he could do
nothing, he sent a pardon here.  What did he pardon us for?  He was the
man that had transgressed the laws, and had trampled the Constitution of
the United States under his feet.  We had neither transgressed against the
one nor violated the other.  But we did receive his pardon, you know, and
when they find out they can do nothing they will be sending on their
pardons again.  I do not know how it will be out west in Nevada, which is
a part of the State of Deseret.  In the first place they obtained from the
government the right of a Territorial government, and, finally, the right
to become a State was granted.  But they cannot maintain themselves; they
have nothing to eat; and a great many of them cannot get anything to wear
unless they steal it.  Now they have sent their petition to Washington to
have Utah annexed to them, so that they can get a little bread.  Now, you
see, we are gone in and no mistake; I say, if Nevada should really obtain
the rest of Utah we are gone in.  They have not thought of it, it has
never entered their minds at all, but they have opened the door and we
have gone in and taken possession of the house.  This does not frighten
me, not at all.  One gentleman from the west sent a telegram to br.
Kimball for money to enable him to stop this petition.  I told br. Kimball
to give no attention to it, and not to pay a dime.  Finally the memorial
went over the wires, and I received a short acount from our Delegate; I
telegraphed back to him saying, "Change the name from Nevada to Deseret. 
Go ahead, and we have our State government."  They do not have more than
one-quarter or one-third the people there that we have in Utah, and I
rather think the majority would rule in this case.

	There is not much danger, however, from that quarter.  But are they
not sending troops on here?  Yes; and they will have plenty for them to
do.  Eleven thousand were ordered here by James Buchanan; seven thousand
arrived, and about ten thousand hangers on--gamblers, thieves, and so
forth.  It made a pretty good army, but what did they accomplish?  They
used one another up.  I recollect in the days of Camp Floyd it was thought
nothing of to hear every morning to two or three men being killed; but
now, if one is killed about once in six months all hell is on the move. 
If the whisky drinkers and gamblers who were here to winter, were to go to
work, and kill off a few of themselves every night, it would stop all
excitement about killing.

	What would be said if the United States mail were robbed in this
neighborhood, as it is east, west, and north of this city every few weeks? 
It would be thought that we were becoming civilized; but in the absence of
frequent deeds of this character, whenever a scoundrel meets with his just
deserts here, there is a great outcry raised.

	Now, to tell the truth, there are but few, in comparison with the
numbers that now live, who are rabid against and seek to destroy the
kingdom of God.  A great portion ofthe human family are honorable men and
women, and they would just as soon that "Mormonism" should live as any
other ism.  The few who seek to destroy the kingdom of God are priests,
politicians, and office seekers, and they would care nothing about it,
only they are afraid we will take away their place and nation.  Let them
tell the truth, and they say that we have the best government to be found
anywhere, and that no other people are controlled so easily as the people
in this Territory.  I believe that Governor Cumming came to the conclusion
that he was Governor of the Territory as domain; but that Brigham young
was Governor of the people.  They have to acknowledge this, no matter whom
they may send here.  And where is there another people that is controlled
as easily as this people?  It is true that we have not come to
understanding as much as we expect to.  We have yet to be trained and
schooled and receive our lessons with regard to this life.  We can go to
any part of the world and preach this gospel, and the people will believe
and enter the Church, and they receive all the blessings and ordinances
necessary till they gather together.  But here they have to be instructed
with regard to their every-day life.  We may talk about the great things
of the kingdom, and how glorious the millenium will be, that there will be
no sin, nor pain, nor death, and we will pray without ceasing, and in
everything give thanks, and have it like a camp mecting; but what is the
use of all this to us?  You and I are gathered here expressly to prepare
for that day; we could not enjoy it now, but our duty is to prepare
ourselves to enjoy the glory that the Lord has in store for the faithful. 
We are going to try and save ourselves, and when we come to understanding
we will then be counted worthy to possess Zion, even the centre stake of
Zion.  It is true this is Zion--North and South America are Zion, and the
land where the Lord commenced His work; and where He commenced He will
finish.  This is the land of Zion; but we are not yet prepared to go and
establish the Centre Stake of Zion.  The Lord tried this in the first
place. He called the people together to the place where the New Jerusalem
and the great temple will be built, and where He will prepare for the City
of Enoch.  And He gave revelation after revelation; but the people could
not abide them, and the Church was scattered and peeled, and the people
hunted from place to place till, finally, they were driven into the
mountains, and here we are.  Now, it is for you and me to prepare to
return back again; not to our fatherland, in many cases, but to return
east, and by-and-by to build up the Centre Stake of Zion.  We are not
prepared to do this now, but we are here to learn until we are of one
heart and of one mind in the things of this life.  Do all the Latter-day
Saints arrive at this?  No; they have not, our former experience has
proved this.  Of the great many who have been baptized into this Chuch,
but few have been able to abide the word of the Lord; they have fallen out
on the right and on the left, and have foundered by the way, and a few
have gathered together.  Will these be prepared to enter the celestial
kingdom?  Some of them will be, and will become kings and priests; but not
all of these, only a portion of them.  They do not know what to do with
the revelations, commandments and blessings of God.  Talking, for instance
about every-day things, how many do we see here that know what to do with
money and property when they get it?  Are their eyes single to the
building up of the kingdom of God?  No; they are single to the building up
of themselves.  With all the knowledge that Elders have obtained who have
travelled in the Church five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or thirty
years, there are few who understand the principles of the kingdom and
whose eyes are single to tbe building of it up in all respects; but their
eyes are like the fool's eye-looking to the ends of the earth.  They want
this and that, and they do not know what to do; they lack wisdom. 
By-and-by, perhaps, their wealth will depart from them, and when left poor
and penniless, they will humble themselves before the Lord that they may
be saved.

	This is the situation of the Latter-day Saints, yet they are
increasing.  It is astonishing to look back and see the ignorance that was
manifested by the people in their first gatheing together; their
experience then was far less than their experience and doings now.  Still
we are far short of being what we should and must be.

	When the people assemble together they should be instructed with
regard to their temporal lives.  It is good to assemble together and pray,
and preach, and exhort, so that we may obtain the power of God to that
degree that we can heal the sick, cast out devils, speak with tongues,
prophecy and enjoy all the blessings and gifts of the holy gospel; but
that does not raise our bread, nor perfect the Saints in wisdom.  I
referred here, last Sunday, to men  out of the Church who possess great
gifts and who are not in the Church.  Men who know nothing of the
Priesthood receive revelation and prophecy, and yet these gifts belong to
the Church, and those who are faithful in the kingdom of God inherit them
and are entitled to them; and all ought to live so as to enjoy the spirit
of these gifts and callings continually.

	Do we know and understand that it is our business to build up Zion? 
To have seen the way this people have conducted themselves in years past,
one would not have had the least idea that such was our business; but it
made no difference whom we built cities for; many would build for Jew or
Gentile, Greek, Mahommedan, or Pagan, every class of men on the earth, as
readily, apparently, as they would build up Zion.  Yet the word of the
Lord to us is to build up Zion and her cities and stakes.  Lengthen her
cords and strengthen her stakes, O ye House of Israel; add to her beauty
and add to her strength!  Why, to have seen the conduct of the people you
might have supposed they knew no more about Zion than about a city of the
Chinese, or a city in France, Italy, Germany, or Asia; just as soon build
up a city in Asia or Africa as anywhere else, "no matter whom we build for
if we only get the dollar, only get our pay for our work."  Yet the
commandment of God to us is to build up Zion and her cities.  I told you
here last Sunday what Joseph said in this respect--what we should build
and what we should not build up.  This book [the book of Doctrine and
Covenants] is full of it.

	We say we believe Joseph was a prophet, that he had the priesthood
and was called of God to gather the people together and establish Zion. 
If we believe this, why not let our lives prove that we believe the
doctrine that we pofess?  Can you see any of the Chistians in the world
who do not believe the doctrine they profess?  It is a very dark picture
to look upon--a sad affair that we disbelieve our own doctrines.  Let us
remember them and live accordingly. I will take the liberty of reading a
portion of a revelation given in November, 1831 (Book Doctrine and
Covenants, sec. 21), in reference to duties into which W. W. Phelps,
Joseph Smith, Edward Partridge, Sidney Gilbert, and a few others were
called:  "Wherefore a commandment I give unto them that they shall not
give these things unto the Church, neither unto the world: nevertheless,
inasmuch as they receive more than is needful for their necessities and
their wants, it shall be given into my store-house, and the benefit shall
be consecrated uuto [sic] the inhabitants of Zion, and unto their
generations, inasmuch as they become heirs according to the laws of the
kingdom.

	"Behold this is what the Lord requires of every man in his
stewardship, even as I the Lord have appointed, or shall hereafter appoint
unto any man.  And behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the
Church of the living God; yea, neither the bishop, neither the agent who
keepeth the Lord's storehouse, neither he who is appointed in a
stewardship over temporal things; he who is appointed to administer
spiritual things, the same is worthy of his hire even as those who are
appointed to a stewardship, to administer in temporal things."

	In the next revelation it speaks of Sidney Gilbert, "And let my
servant Sidney Gilbert stand in the office which I have appointed him, to
receive monies, to be an agent unto the Church, to buy lands in all the
regions round about, inasmuch as can be in righteousness and as wisdom
shall direct.

	"And let my servant Edward Partridge stand in the office which I have
appointed him, to divide the Saints their inheritance, even as I have
commanded; and also those whom he has appointed to assist him.

	"And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant Sidney Gilbert
plant himself in this place," [that was Independence, Jackson County,
Missouri,] "and establish a store that he may sell goods without fraud,
that he may obtain money to buy land for the good of the Saints, and that
he may obtain whatever things the disciples may need to plant them in
their inheritances."

	Sell goods without fraud!  That is a point I wish ou merchants to
look at, if that does not hit them square in the face I am mistaken.  Does
the Lord talk about a merchant as though he was a mere trader who had
gathered for the purpose of clutching all he possibly could without caring
for anybody else?

	Will the time ever come that we can commence and organise this people
as a family?  It will.  Do we know how?  Yes; what was lacking in these
revelations from Joseph to enable us to do so was revealed to me.  Do you
think we will ever be one?  When we get home to our Father and God will we
not wish to be in the family?  Will it not be our highest ambition and
desire to be reckoned as the sons of the living God, as the daughters of
the Almighty, with a right to the household, and the faith that belongs to
the household, heirs of the Father, His goods, His wealth, His power, His
excellency, His knowledge and wisdom?  Ought it not to be our highest
ambition to attain to this?  How many families do you think there will be
then?  It is true that we read in the Bible with regard to the twelve
tribes of Israel, that they will be gathered together tribe by tribe, and
that when they are so gathered they will hear the sentence of the Ancient
of Days. They were commanded never to go out of their own family--the
family of Abraham--to seek a partner for life.  Did they keep that
command?  No; but they ran here and there, to the rebellious nations
around, and got their wives; and so they continued transgressing and
rebelling until the days of Moses, when the gospel was offered to, and
utterly rejected by them, and so the Lord gave them the law of Carnal
Commandments, in which they were forbidden to marry, as you can read in
the Bible.  That was a yoke of bondage.  And the whole religious world
swallow this down as the revelations of the Lord Almighty to His people;
they were to His people, but were given in consequence of their rebellion. 
A great many arguments might be adduced in favor of this, many more, I
think, than could be advanced against it.  Still we do not care anything
about that; we look at facts just as they are.  Abraham married his half
sister according to the Bible; but there is a discrepancy in the record,
for it is stated in his own writings that she was the daughter of his
older brother, and he was the chosen of the Lord; and all can read for
themselves and see whom Isaac and Jacob got for wives.  Did not Jacob,
when going to his uncle's house, see Rachel at the well drawing water? 
Said he, "She is a pretty nice looking girl, I guess I'll help her,"  and
going to do so, he found she was the daughter of the very man to whose
house the Lord had sent him; and he liked her well enough to work seven
years for her for a wife, and then Leah was palmed on to him, so he worked
seven years more for Rachel, and Jacob and his wives were own cousins.
Jacob's mother and his wives' father were sister and bother; consequently
his wives' grandfather and grandmother--Nehor and Milcah--were his
grandfather and grandmother.  Besides, Nehor was the brother of Abraham,
Jacob's grandfather on his father's side--and Milcah was the sister of
Sarah--his grandmother on his father's side.  So it was with Israel, in
the days of their obedience they were commanded to take partners in their
own families; but Israel was finaly divided up into twelve parts, and they
will be brought up so. This, however, is something that I understand, and
which the people may understand, perhaps, sometime.  They will come up
tribe by tribe, and the Ancient of Days, He who led Abraham, and talked to
Noah, Enoch, Isaac, and Jacob, that very Being will come and judge the
twelve tribes of Israel.  He will say, "You rebelled, and you have been
left to the mercies of the wicked."  See the tribe of Judah and the half
tribe of Benjamin, that tarried in Palestine when the rest went into the
north country, how they have been trampled down!--they have not outgrown
it to this day.  Take them in England, or across on the Continent, or even
in this country, no matter what you do to them, they will not resent it;
they submit to it.  But they will rise by-and-by and assert their rights
and have them.  They are the oldest nation in the world, and they have as
bright talents as any other people in the world, and the time will come
when they will obtain their rights and be restored to the land of their
fathers, only be patient about it.

	There is another class of individuals to whom I will briefly refer. 
Shall we call them Christians?  They were Christians originally.  We
cannot be admitted into their social societies, into their places of
ghatering at certain times and on certain occasions, beaause [sic] they
are afraid of polygamy.  I will give you their title that you may all know
whom I am talking about it--I refer to the Freemasons.  They have refused
our brethren membership in their lodge, because they were polygamists. 
Who was the founder of Freemasonry?  They can go back as far as Salomon,
and there they stop.  There is the king who established this high and holy
order.  Now was he a polygamist, or was he not?  If he did believe in
monogamy he did not practise it a great deal, for he had seven hundred
wives, and that is more than I have; and he had three hundred concubines,
of which I have none that I know of.  Yet the whole fraternity throughout
Christendom will cry out against this order.  "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" 
What is the matter?  "I am in pain,"  they all cry out, "I am suffering at
witnessing the wickedness there is in our land.  Here is one of the
'relics of barbarism!'"  Yes, one of the relics of Adam, of Enoch, of
Noah, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Moses, David, Solomon, the
Prophets, of Jesus, and his Apostles.  And the other relic they have--you
know whether they have used it up or not.  Now what does our Bible tell us
about this?  Under this law of Carnal Commandments, the Lord told Moses to
command the people to release their manservants and their maidservants,
and forgive their debts once in seven years, and to let their land rest
one year in seven; and when seven times seven years had passed over they
were commanded to rest seven years, and to release all their manservants
and maidservants.  How will it be in eternity?  We will wait till we get
there, for there is no use in telling you; you would not know anything
about it.  I reckon there will be servants there, and I do not think they
will be released once in seven years either; if they are, they will have
to be brought right in again, for they will not know how to get their
bread, and will have to be taken care of.

	A certain portion of the human family have to be looked after and
taken care of.  If you do not know it, just look through the world and see
the very few heads and brains that do all the legislating, and even the
obtaining of what the children eat; it is only just a few that do this,
out of the inhabitants of the whole earth.  We are trying to teach this
people to use their brains, that they may obtain knowledge and wisdom to
sustain themselves and to dictate for others; that they may be worthy to
be made kings and priests to God, which they never can be unless they
learn, here or somewhere else, to govern, manage, legislate, and sustain
themselves, their families, and friends, even to the making of nations,
and nation after nation.  If they cannot attain to this, they will have to
be servants somewhere.  

	I say unto you that it is wisdom for us to apply ourselves to the
revelations that the Lord has given us, and seek after Him that we may
know His will concerning us, that we may be able to abide the day of His
wrath, and be counted worthy, through our obedience and faithfulness, to
enjoy the blessings that are prepared for the faithful.

	We frequently talk about variety.  My brother Joseph was talking
about the variety in the feelings of this people.  Can you see two faces
alike in this congregation? If you cannot, you cannot find two spirits
alike, you cannot find two who are the same in disposition.  And if you
search the world over, and all the works of God, you will find that same
eternal variety.

	We are capable of talking, thinking, and communicating; then we are
capable of receiving, and we can receive a little here, and a little
there, as the prophet has said, "Line upon line, and precept upon
precept," until we come to understanding.  This is our privilege; we are
capable of doing this, and if we will go to work with our might, and apply
ourselves to learning the things of God, you will find there will not be
quite so much selfishness as there is now.

	I do not know but some people would ask br. Brigham if he is ready to
hand over what he has got?  just as ready as the man who has only three
dimes--just exactly, it is nothing to me.  If we could live as one family,
and could see that intelligence that is distributed among the minds of the
people acted upon, we ahould see no idleness, slothfulness, wastefulness,
covetousness, no contention one with another, but every man and woman
would be content with what was given them, and with all their souls would
seek to obtain salvation, and would not be so eager after a little worldly
honor or pleasure, and they would not feel "If I do not have my heaven
here, I do not know that I shall ever have it."  You cannot have it unless
you enjoy the spirit of the Lord, not one of you; you cannot find comfort,
solace, or bliss without the Spirit of the Lord.  All else contaminates
and mars, and is calculated to destroy.  As I said to the brethren the
other day in the Thirteenth Ward Schoolhouse, with regard to worldly
pleasure, comfort, and enjoyment; you may take as much as you please of
the Spirit of the Lord, and it will not make your stomach or head ache. 
You may drink nine cups of strong spiritual drink, and it will not hurt
you; but if you drink nine cups of strong tea, see what it will do for
you.  Let a person that is very thirsty and warm satiate his appetite with
cold water, and when he gets through he will perhaps have laid the
foundation for death, and may go to an untimely grave, which is frequently
done.  Excessive eating, drinking, or exercise all tend to the grave; but
you may take as much of the Spirit of the Lord as you have a mind to, I do
not care if you take a good hearty supper of it and then go right to bed,
it will not hurt you in the least; if you take it early in the morning it
will not spoil your breakfast.  It will never hurt you, but will give
life, joy, peace, satisfaction, and contentment; it is light,
intelligence, strength, power, glory, wisdom, and finally, it comprehends
the kingdoms that are, that were, or that will be, and all that we can
contemplate or desire, and will lead us to everlasting life.  Only let us
have the Spirit of the Lord and we can be happy; while the things of this
world, that are so eagerly sought after, all point directly to the grave. 
Men and women who are trying to make themselves happy in the possession of
wealth or power will miss it, for nothing short of the gospel of the Son
of God can make the inhabitants of the earth happy, and prepare them to
enjoy heaven here and hereafter.

	May the Lord bless you.

          Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
             THE ELDERS TO LABOR FOR THE UNITY OF THE SAINTS.

	I recollect a few years ago, while we were holding Conference in the
Bowery, that the brethren who addressed the congregation were in the habit
of turning to the right to preach, and then to the left, and then
preaching to those behind them, so that only one portion of the
congregation could hear them at once.  I set up a mark, and told them to
preach to it, right straight ahead, and not turn to the right or to the
left, as I wanted all the people to hear.  I am now going to set up a mark
for the Elders of Israel to preach to.  It will not be an old table or a
board; but the mark I shall set up for the Elders to preach to is this: 
Never to cease their labors until they get this people, called Latter-day
Saints, to be of one heart and one mind.  That is the mark.  We hear
Elders in Israel paying and praying that the Lord would preserve us from
the wicked, and probably within an hour after they will be found coaxing
perhaps one of the most ungodly men in the world to trade with them, to
rent their houses, or to let them build houses for him, and to be his
servant or servants.  Such individuals will keep praying to the Lord to
preserve us from the wicked when their constant effort is to mingle with,
and to call into the midst of this people the wicked and the ungodly; and
they are so blind to the mind and will of the Lord that their efforts in
this direction would never cease until there was enough of the wicked to
overthrow the Kingdom of God, or to break us up and drive us somewhere
else.  I have very frequently said to the Latter-day Saints that I am
willing to try to do my utmost to carry out the designs of Heaven
concerning myself, my friends, and the Kingdom of God.  Certain ideas
arise in our minds, and questions are proposed. What would you do in such
and such cases if the wicked, the ungodly, and those who have persecuted
and driven us from our homes, and have consented to the death of the
Prophets and the innocent, will still follow us, and will have a place
among us?  What would you do?  I would do, I think, about as the Lord
does; He lets them alone to take their own course.  They have life and
death set before them, and can choose between the two.  They can refrain,
and turn away from wickedness and become righteous, if they are so
disposed; but if they are not, why the Lord permits them to take their own
course.  Then why are we under the necessity of praying the Lord to shield
us in this place and in that place? 

	Perhaps this application is not agreeable to many, and they wish to
be sanctified in the midst of the ungodly and in the most wicked place
that can be found.  To people of this class we say, just come forward and
we will give you a mission to go into the world to live, preach, labor,
and toil until you pass into the spirit world, if this is your desire; but
do not stay here praying the Lord to deliver you from the wicked, and then
get up off your knees, and, precisely like the sectarians, let your acts
give the lie to the prayers you have offered to God.  You know, among the
New School Presbyterians, for instance, and the Reform Baptists and
Methodists, and the Wesleyan Methodists, the ministers get into the pulpit
and pay for the Lord to come into their midst, and that the Holy Ghost may
be shed upon the people; and they will pray most fervently that angels may
come and dwell with them, that the heavens may be opened that the people
will declare in their sermons that there is no Holy Ghost given, and that
they worship a god without body, parts, and passions.  How in the world
can such a god come into their midst?  If he could come, what would there
be?  Nothing.  What can they comprehend concerning such a god?  Nothing;
for there is nothing of him.  They will pray most fervently for the Lord
to give them revelation, and then will get up and say that no such thing
as revelation is needed.  Do not their sermons give the lie to their
prayers?  And do not the lives of the Elders of Israel, in many instances,
give the lie to their faith and prayers?  They do.  Can you go to work and
make a people of one heart and mind while they are possessed of the spirit
of the world?  You cannot.  Can they feel the same interest in the Kingdom
of God while possessing the spirit of the world that they would if they
were filled with the Spirit of Christ?  They cannot.  How can they devote
their lives to the building up of the Kingdom of God when they do not
delight in it, but delight in building themselves up in making gain, and
in gathering around them the riches of the world?  The Latter-day Saints,
in their conduct and acts with regard to financial matters, are like the
rest of the world.  The course pursued by men of business in the world has
a tendency to make a few rich, and to sink the masses of the people in
poverty and degradation.  Too many of the Elders of Israel take this
course. No matter what comes they are for gain--for gathering around them
riches; and when they get rich how are those riches used?  Spent on the
lusts of the flesh, wasted as a thing of nought, and they who were once
rich are left in poverty, as they are this day. To give an example: 
Suppose that one year ago to-day--the 6th of April, 1866--we had asked the
brethren and sisters at the head of families, and then asked those who
were not heads of families, to sit down and make an estimate of what it
cost them through the fiscal year 1865-66 for the tobacco they chewed, and
the tea, coffee, and liquor they drank; and after footing it up in round
numbers, and seeing what it amounted to, suppose the proclamation had been
made that we must all observe the Word of Wisdom, and that in consequence
of that proclamation we each of us had said that for the year to come--the
fiscal year of 1866-67--I will lay by in the drawer the money that it
costs me for tobacco, tea, coffee, and liquor.  If we had each adopted
this course we would have seen a people at this Conference--April,
1867--with means enough to have purchased and secured their pre-emption
right to the land in this Territory, provided that we were permitted to do
so.  But how is it to-day?  Suppose that today news were to come by
telegraph that within six weeks a Land Office for this Territory would be
established in Great Salt Lake City, whereby actual settlers would have
the privilege of paying the pre-emption payment and obtaining the
Government title to their land, and thus securing their inheritance, who
is there amongst us that could buy the first section or quarter-section? 
There are very few in the Territory who could do so.

	I merely mention this to illustrate my ideas, so that you can see for
yourselves where we are.  Instead of being united in our feelings to build
up all, each one takes his own course; whereas, if we were united, we
would get rich ten times faster than we do now.  How are you going to
bring a people to that point when they will all be united in the things of
this life?  By no other means than prevailing upon them to live their
religion that they all may possess the Holy Ghost, the spirit of
revelation, the light of Christ, which will enable them to see eye to eye. 
Then their acts and all their dealings would be so connected that they
would pull together, as Joseph used to say:  "A long pull, a strong pull,
and a pull all together."  This point gained, we could bear off the
Kingdom victoriously, and we could do what we pleased; but there is no
doctrine in existence, short of the gospel of the Son of God, by which a
people can be brought to a oneness in their temporal matters.  We are
approaching this happy period, this delightful state of society; but to
enjoy it in its fulness we must live so that the spirit of revelation will
be within us a living preacher by day and by night continually, that we
may be taught, led, governed, and controlled thereby.  We must not get
down and pray, and then get right up and let our actions say we do not
believe a word of our prayer; but all the acts of our lives must be
concentrated on the building up of the Kingdom of God, then we shall be
His disciples in very deed.

	We will have a good many things to lay before the Conference; but I
think I have given my brethren a mark to preach to.  You may shoot when
you please, and shoot from whatever point you please; but shoot at that
mark.  You may use what gun you please.  I do not care, comparatively,
whether it is a Henry's rifle, a shot gun, an old Kentucky rifle, or an
old musket, but shoot at that mark, and in all your preaching let this
thread--the oneness of the people of God--be preserved.

     Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
            HOW THE SISTERS CAN HELP TO BUILD UP THE KINGDOM.

	I think I will preach a short sermon to the sisters.  "I want to do
good; I want to do something to build up the Kingdom of God; I wish I was
in a position to do something for this work.  I would delight in doing
something for the building up of this kingdom if I had it in my power." 
These expressions are in the mouth of every sister who has embraced the
gospel in her heart.  I want to preach them a short sermon.  Brother Heber
has, in part, touched some of the items, to which I will now more
particularly call your attention.  I will ask if there is a sister in this
Church who is too poor, when we come to dollars and cents, to get tea to
drink if she wants to?  No, not one.  Is there a sister who does not have
her cup of coffee to drink?  No, not one.  Then we are not so poor as to
suffer materially after all.  Now, I will ask the question:  Sisters, if
each of you were to save the price of these cups of tea and coffee for one
month, what do you suppose the sum in each case would amount to?  We will
say a shilling, a dime, a quarter, dollar, a half dollar, a dollar, or two
dollars, as the case may be.  Now, say the sisters:  "We will cease
drinking this tea and coffee, and we will give the money to some of the
Elders who are called to preach the gospel, either in the Territory or
abroad in the nations of the earth, or who are called on an Indian
expedition; or we will give this means to help to bring the poor from the
old country."  Would you be doing anything for the Kingdom or would you
not?  Is there an individual sister in this Church out of the reach of
doing good?  Not one.  "Why,"  exclaims a sister, "I am sick, weary,
diseased; I cannot work--I cannot do anything."  Is doing good beyond her
reach?  No; that sister who is sick and unable to cook her own food, wash
her own clothing, or to knit or mend her stockings, can give good counsel
to her brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, to the members of the
family in which she lives, to her neighbors, and to all with whom she may
associate.  Says she"  "I am sick and feeble, but I do not drink any tea. 
My husband or my bishop would find it for me, if I would drink it; but I
tell them to take that sixpence, dime, or dollar, and put it by to help to
bring the poor."  She can teach her children to let such things alone. 
"You must not have any tea or coffee this morning, children; if you feel
as though you need it, take a little water porridge."  There is more
strength and nutriment in a bowl of water gruel than there is in tea; and
there is no unhealthy influence in the water gruel, but there is in tea
and coffee.

	There is not a person in the world that cannot do good; even the
mother who is too feeble to work; she can teach her daughters to work
instead of permitting them to patrol these streets; she can teach her
children to refrain from drinking tea and coffee, to take care of their
clothing.  Instead of our girls walking the streets or playing, instead of
sliding on the carpets or climbing the peach trees and fences and tearing
their clothes they should learn to make their frocks, their aprons, and
all their clothing, and to knit their stockings; and when they have cloth
to make up, instead of hiring help into the house and getting all the
sewing machines that are peddled off in the United States, why not they
sit down and make it up themselves?  This would be far more economical
than to hire women to work your sewing machines when you have them. 
"But," says one, "I must have a woman to knit my stockings, to make my
underclothing and my children's clothing, and I must have a woman to wash
and iron for me."

	If our mothers want to do good, why do they not sit down, take the
wool and card it and spin it--if they cannot get it carded by machine--and
knit stockings to put on these men and boys who are working on the
Tabernacle, the Temple, and the canal, and help to save your husbands'
shillings and dollars, and not ask for three or four hired women to do the
washing and cooking, that you may idle away your time?  Why not take hold
and attend to your household affairs, and thus help to build up the
Kingdom of God?  Every dime thus saved can go to gather the poor and to
help to support the families of the elders who are abroad preaching.  But
the cry now is, "You must go to Bro. Brigham or the bishop; I can do
nothing for you.  I want a ribbon, or my daughter wants a new hat."  How
many have you had in the course of the season?  "I do not know."  "How
many pairs of shoes have you had through the winter my daughter, or my
little boy?"  "I do not know; ask mother."  "Mother, how many pairs of
shoes has your boy had through the winter?"  "I do not know."  Does the
mother see to the children?  She will let them run about and wade here and
there until their shoes are wet through, then they are put under the stove
and spoiled; a new pair must be procured by the husband or father.  Is
good beyond your reach, sisters?  You say, "We want to do good."  No;
there are many who do not; they want to waste everything they put their
hands upon.  It is the great ignorance which is among the people that
prevents their doing better.

	What do the sisters want so many hired women for?  "O, I want a
seamstress, or I want somebody or other to clean the house and the carpets
and to wait upon me, to bring the water to wash me, and to wash my neck or
my feet; and I have so much cloth to make up, and I want help to make it
up."  If there are women who want to do good, let them do their own work,
and save their sixpences and dollars for the building of temples,
tabernacles, meeting-houses, school-houses, educating the youth, preaching
the gospel, and gathering the poor.  Put something in the Perpetual
Emigration Fund.  We have done a great deal to bring the poor here.  When
we get the poor here, they say they want to do good; but their actions
give the lie to their words.  Their wives want hired women or girls to do
their work for them; instead of knitting their own stockings, they want to
be waited upon; instead of spending their time to the best advantage, they
waste it, and let their daughters do the same, and their children imbibe
habits that grow upon them, and which tend to evil. Now mothers, if you
want to do good, do not let your sons and daughters drink either tea or
coffee while under your protection.  Save the money to gather the poor to
preach the gospel, to build temples, and to sustain the Priesthood.  Make
your own drawers, your own shirts, knit your stockings, make your frocks,
your bonnets, and hats.  I had a very beautiful hat presented to me last
evening by one of the wives of Judge Phelps.  I believe one of the sisters
Pratt sewed it.  Now, suppose we set the girls to cutting straw when it is
ripe enough, and teach them to cure it, and how to split and open it, and
then prepare it with a machine for braiding, and teach them to braid; and
then, instead of permitting them to gad around, keep them at home and
teach them to do a little good.

	I will ask--is doing good out of the reach of any person living who
is able to talk?  No; it is not.  Every woman in this Church can be useful
to the Church if she has a mind to be.  There are none but what can do
good, not one, as long as they can talk to their neighbors or to their
children, and teach them how to be saving, and set them an example worthy
of imitation. 

	In speaking in this wise I do not wish the people to be as some
are--filthy and dirty.  That will not do.  We must be neat and clean.  If
we have only a tow frock and a coarse straw hat to wear let them be kept
neat and clean; there is water enough, plenty of it.  If you have nothing
but a home-made ribbon, woven by yourselves out of the flax that your
husbands or neighbors have raised and dressed, you can get logwood,
mountain mahogany, or a little of this stuff that grows by the creeks and
on the mountains to color it up; and, when it is made, and you are
prepared to put on your garments, let them be clean, neat, and nice; and
let the beauty of your garments be the work of your own hands.  But as
matters are now, you must run and buy here and there, and it makes me
think of the old saying--"That which is dear bought and far fetched is fit
for the ladies."  We must stop this, and if we want to be useful we must
begin to teach our children how to save.  "My little boy, do not put your
shoes under the stove to burn up, and when you undress at night do not
fling your hat one way, your jacket another, your breeches under foot, and
your stockings under the stove, on the stove, or out of doors, but have a
place for everything, and everything in its place;"  and when your boys
come in show them a place for their hats where they will not be trampled
under foot; and when they take off their coats let them be put in the
wardrobe or on hooks prepared for that purpose, and take care of them and
not have them under foot.  The waste that there is in the midst of this
people is enough to support a small nation.

	Now, sisters, do you want to be useful?  If you do, take a course to
be so, for this will bring us to the point where we can build up Zion and
be of one heart and of one mind, and it will lead us to do all that we do
in the name, in the love, and in the fear of our God. By so doing, if the
fear of God is upon us, and we work with an eye single to tbe building up
of Zion, our labors will be blessed.

	Can we do good?  Yes; we can do good by teaching that little girl not
to drink tea and coffee, and to take care of her clothing, and as soon as
she is big enough teach her to knit her stockings, and her garters, and
her nubias.  She may learn to do all this just as well as going to the
store to buy them.  The foolishness of the people here has waxed so strong
that unless they get something that is bought in New York it is not good
for anything.  It makes me think of our brethren, the school teachers.  We
have brethren here who understand the languages of the nations of the
earth, and the various branches of education taught in the world, as well
as any man or men out of the Church.  But if the man possessing the best
talent we have among us were to go to some of our Bishops and say, "Can I
keep your school?"  The answer would be, "Yes, if you will work for
nothing, find yourself, and pay the children for going."  But bring a
poor, miserable, rotten-hearted, cursed gentile, and they will lick the
dust off his shoes to have him keep school, when he does not know half as
much as the Elders in Israel know.  This would not apply to every case,
but it does to a great many.  You go to our brethren, and ask them if they
can get their pay for keeping school, and they will tell you they cannot. 
Ask them if they can get a school, and they will reply, "No, we are looked
down upon as something inferior"  Why is this?  Because the folly and
wickedness of the people have waxed so strong that nothing is of any
account unless it is imported.  It is strange; it is astonishing!  Why not
seek to be one in building up and sustaining the Kingdom of God, instead
of sustaining wickedness upon the earth?  It is time to close.  Now, this
is a short sermon to the sisters.

       REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
                        EVERY SAINT ON A MISSION.

	I confess before the Latter-day Saints that like others who live in
the religious and political world, or the world of history, or any other
world you have a mind to name, I really want power and influence.  I
confess to the Latter-day Saints and to the world that I want power to
prevail on all the inhabitants of the earth to embrace the gospel of the
Son of God that they may be saved in the Kingdom of Heaven.  I want
influence in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, sufficient to get all men
and women to sanctify themselves before the Lord and to sanctify the Lord
God in their hearts, and that they may be of one heart and one mind in all
things, that they may be the disciples of the Lord Jesus.  This
comprehends a great deal.

	I will now take the liberty of telling you what I do not want.  I do
not want influence or power over any nation, people, family, or individual
on the face of the earth to do them an injury or lead them astray, to
promote strife or corruption in their hearts, or direct them in the way
that leads to death.  But I would like to have power with the people to
induce them to accept those principles which would put them in possession
of life, liberty, peace, joy, and all the blessings that can be enjoyed by
the children of men, and that are promised in the gospel of life and
salvation.  I wish you ever to remember this when you think of yourselves,
your brethren, or of any man that wants influence in the world.  Always
learn what an individual wants influence for.  If he wants it for good, to
promote peace and righteousness, never hinder his efforts, but promote
them if you can.  But when men try to gain influence for evil, to lead
their fellow creatures in the way to death, exercise all the power you
possess to a bridge such influence; destroy it if you can.  I calculate to
take this course myself.

	There are a few of the Latter-day Saints here to-day; only just a
few, scarcely any from the country.  You know we are estimated variously,
some say 80,000, some 100,000, some 150,000; but, to tell you the secret,
I do not want anybody to know our number.  I do not want to number Israel
yet.  I am very frequently asked the question by political men, "How many
do the Latter-day Saints number in the mountains?"  My invariable reply is
that we have enough to make a Territory.  I wish the Latter-day Saints to
increase and multiply.  It has been said to me--"Why do you not call men
to go on missions to preach the gospel in order to swell the ranks of the
Saints?"  I will tell you what my feelings are with regard to the
Latter-day Saints increasing.  One of these young men or girls around me
here to-day, born and brought up in the Church, is worth, as a general
thing, far more than those who come into the Church with all their
traditions when we go preaching.  I recollect the stand I took when I was
in England or whenever I was out preaching.  Whenever a man would
transgress we would talk with and persuade him to forsake evil, and he
would confess and say, "I will do so no more," but by and by we would
confess and say, "I will do so no more," but by and by we would have
occasion to call him up again, and I felt and said that "I would rather
convert two men or women who never heard the gospel than attempt to make
righteous men or women of those who know the way but will not walk in it."

	We wish the brethren to understand the facts just as they are; that
is, there is neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a mission. 
That mission will last as long as they live, and it is to do good, to
promote righteousness, to teach the principles of truth, and to prevail
upon themselves and everybody around them to live those principles that
they may obtain eternal life.  This is the mission of every Latter-day
Saint.  I talked to the sisters yesterday; I can talk to the brethren
to-day on the same principle--there is not a man in this Church but what
is capable of doing good if he has a mind to do so.  Here are Elders who
say, "I want a mission; I want to go and preach; I want to be ordained a
Seventy, or a High Priest," or something or other.  I will tell you what
you really need.  You need eyes to see things as they are, and to know
your standing before God and the people.  This is what the elders need. 
To go and preach, or to be ordained into the quorums of the Seventies,
does not make good men of them, if they are not so before.  The ordination
of a man to the High Priest's quorum does not make him a good man.  Let
every elder, priest, teacher, and deacon set that example before his
family, his brethren, and the world, that the nations of the earth will
hear of the good works of the Latter-day Saints, that the honest in heart
may be constrained to say--"We are going up to Zion to join this people,
of whom we hear nothing but that they are honest, upright, industrious,
frugal, and intelligent.  Let us go up and join this people against whom
so much has heretofore been said."

	Will you do this, priests, teachers, and deacons?  Will you do this,
Elders of Israel, Seventies, High Priests, and Apostles?  Will you live so
that the report may go out from this time from Utah Territory that the
Latter-day Saints are perfect examples for the nations of the earth? This
will be the loudest preaching we can do.  We have a good deal to say yet
to this Conference, if we have the time, and the people attend.  We will
bring our meeting to a close now.


     REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
                           THE WORD OF WISDOM.

	I will take the liberty of suggesting to my brethren who address the
congregation that our sermons should be short, and if they are not filled
with life and spirit let them be shorter, for we have not time at this
Conference to let all the Elders who speak preach a long sermon, but we
have time to say a few words in bearing testimony, to give a few words of
counsel to encourage the Saints, to strengthen the weak, to endeavor to
confirm those who are wavering, and so forward the Kingdom of God.  I have
a few words to say to the Bishops and others who are leading men in the
House of Israel, including your humble servant now addressing you.  There
are certain rights and privileges belonging to the Elders in Israel, and
there are certain things that it is not their privilege to indulge in. 
You go through the wards in the city, and then through the wards in the
city, and then through the wards in the country, and ask the Bishops--"Do
you keep the Word of Wisdom?"  The reply will be "Yes; no, not exactly." 
"Do you drink tea?"  "No."  "Coffee?"  "No."  "Do you drink whisky?" 
"No."  "Well, then, why do you not observe the Word of Wisdom?"  "Well,
this tobacco, I cannot give it up."  And in this he sets an example to
every man, and to every boy over ten years of age, in his ward, to nibble
at and chew tobacco.  You go to another ward, and perhaps the Bishop does
not chew tobacco, nor drink tea nor coffee, but once in a while he takes a
little spirits, and keeps whisky in his house, in which he will
occasionally indulge.  Go to another ward, and perhaps the Bishop does not
drink whisky nor chew tobacco, but he "cannot give up his tea and coffee." 
And so it goes through the whole church.  Not that every Bishop indulges
in one or more of these habits, but most of them do. I recollect being at
a trial not long since where quite a number of Bishops had been called in
as witnesses, but I could not learn that there was one who did not drink
whisky, and I think that most of them drank tea and coffee.  I think that
we have some Bishops in this city who do not chew tobacco, nor drink
liquor nor tea nor coffee to excess.

	The Word of Wisdom is one thing, and ignorance, superstition or
bigotry is another.  I wish people to come to an understanding with regard
to the Word of Wisdom.  For illustration, I will refer to a certain
brother who was in the church once, and President of the Elder's Quorum in
Nauvoo.  While living at that place there was a great deal of sickness
among the people, and he was sometimes called in to lay hands on the sick,
but if he had the least doubt about their drinking tea, if he even saw a
tea-pot, he would refuse. I recollect he went into a house where a woman
was sick, who wanted him to lay hands on her; he saw a teapot in the
corner containing catnip tea, but without stopping to enquire he left the
house, exclaiming against her and her practices.

	Now, there is no harm in a teapot, even if it contains tea, if it is
let alone; and I say of a truth that where a person is diseased, say, for
instance, with canker, there is no better medicine than green tea, and
where it is thus used it should be drank sparingly.  Instead of drinking
thirteen or fourteen cups every morning, noon, and night, there should not
be any used.  You may think I am speaking extravagantly, but I remember a
tea-drinking match once in which fourteen cups a-piece were drank, so you
see it can be done.  But top drink half a dozen or even three or four cups
of strong tea is hurtful.  It injures and impairs the system, benumbs the
faculties of the stomach, and affects the blood, and is deleterious in its
nature.  If a person is weary, worn out, cast down, fainting, or dying, a
brandy sling, a little wine, or a cup of tea is good to revive them.  Do
not throw these things away, and say they must never be used; they are
good to be used with judgment, prudence, and discretion.  Ask our Bishops
if they drink tea every day, and in most cases they will tell you they do
if they can get it.  They take it when they do not need it and when it
injures them.  I want to say to the Elders in Israel, this is not our
privilege.  We have a great many privileges, but to indulge in liquor or
other things to our own injury is not one of them.  We have the right to
live, labor, build our houses, make our farms, raise our cattle and
horses, buy our carriages, marry our wives, raise and school our children,
and then we have the right to set before them an example worthy of
imitation, but we have not the right to throw sin in their path or to lead
them to destruction.

	I recollect telling the people here, not long ago, something in
regard to the rights of the Elders.  Our rights are numerous.  if we are
so disposed, we have the right to dictate the House of Israel in their
daily avocations.  We have the right to counsel them to go to the gold
mines if it is wisdom and God requires it, and we have the right to
counsel them away from the gold mines when it is not wisdom to go there. 
We have the right to ask them to go and buy goods, and to sell those goods
without fraud or deception.  I am sorry to say we cannot say this of many
of our merchants.  We have merchants that say they are of us and with us,
and that they wish to be Saints, but they are not honest in their
dealings; they will trade fradulently [sic], and they will take all the
advantage they possibly can.  I said here a year or two ago that unless
such merchants repent they will go down to hell; I say so to-day.  They
never can enter the celestial kingdom of our God unless they refrain from
their dishonest course and become Saints indeed.

	To the Bishops and the Elders in Israel I wish to say that we have
the right to do right, but not to sin.  The right to obtain large
families, although to obtain large families, although obnoxious to the
refined Christians, all classes of whom preach against it--the priest in
the pulpit, they judge on the bench, the senators and representatives in
Congress, as well as the bar-keeper and the drunkard wallowing in his
filth--they are all against it except God and the Saints; yet this is a
right that the Saints have, and which no others legally possess.  Others
will presumptuously arrogate to themselves certain rights and privileges,
but the result will be their overthrow, their condemnation, and their
damnation.

	We urge the people continually to be one in their temporal affairs. 
We do not offer prayers to dead Saints--to Peter, Paul, Mary, and
others--but we frequently pray the living Saints, in Christ's stead, to be
reconciled to God.  If we urge the people to this until we get them to be
really of one heart and one mind, what will be the result?  We shall then
possess Zion, it will then be developed in our midst, and we will be as
independent as ever the children of Zion can be in our capacity.  Will
wrath, anger, strife, and selfishness then reign within us?  No, they will
not.  It is our right and privilege to live so that we may attain to this,
so that we may sanctify our hearts before the Lord, and sanctify the Lord
God in our hearts, but it is not my privilege to drink liquor, neither is
it my privilege to eat tobacco.  Well, bro. Brigham, have you not done it? 
Yes, for many years, but I ceased its habitual practice.  I used it for
toothache; now I am free from that pain, and my mouth is never stained
with tobacco.  It is not my privilege to drink liquor nor strong tea and
coffee, although I am naturally a great lover of tea.  Brethren and
sisters, it is not our privilege to indulge in these things, but it is our
right and privilege to set an example worthy of imitation.

	When we come to home-made cloth, I must say it would make clothes
good enough for me to wear.  "Then why do you not wear it, bro. Brigham?" 
Shall I tell you?  I have hardly worn a suit of clothes for years that has
not been presented to me.  If I knew that doing this would be a hindrance
to the work of God, I would say to the next friend who wished to present
me with a suit of clothes--"I thank you, but I will not wear them; you
will please take them back to the store, or take them home and put them in
the trunk."  I know the thoughts of many are--"I wish they would serve me
so."  I wish they would; and if they will I will never say wear home-made
again as long as friends will give you that which is imported, and you can
lay by the money you save to send the Elders abroad to preach the gospel,
to gather the poor, to help to build the temple of the Lord, or to finish
the canal that we may get the rock here for the temple.

	You men owning saw mills bring on the lumber to finish the
tabernacle, and you carpenters and joiners come and help to use it up.  We
are going to plaster the main body of this building here immediately; take
down the scaffold at the west end from the body of the building while the
east end is being put up.  And we are going to lay a platform for the
organ, and then make a plan for the seats.  And we calculate by next
October, when the brethren and sisters come together, to have room for
all; and if there is not room under the roof, the doors are placed in such
a way that the people can stand in the openings and hear just as well as
inside.  I expect, however, that by the time our building is finished we
shall find that we shall want a little more room.  "Mormonism" is growing,
spreading abroad, swelling and increasing, and I expect it is likely that
our building will not be quite large enough, but we have it so arranged,
standing on piers, that we can open all the doors and preach to people
outside.

	Now I want you should recollect--Bishops, Elders of Israel, High
Priests, Seventies, the Twelve Apostles, the First Presidency, and all the
House of Israel, hearken ye, O, my people!  keep the word of the Lord,
observe the Word of Wisdom, sustain one another, sustain the household of
faith, and let our enemies alone.  As for those in our midst who love and
work iniquity, the Lord will gather them from among us in His own due
time.  They will grow fewer and fewer until we will be free from them. 
The Lord chasteneth His people for their good, but see the sufferings of
the wicked!  God has always favored the righteous more than the wicked. 
Still, we have those among us who are afraid.  "Well, this time we are
going to see trouble," or "we are going to be afflicted," or "I think the
Mormons will have to leave," is their cry.  I want to tell you we are not
going to leave these mountains unless the Lord says so.  The devil may say
so until his throat splits, but we shall not do it; and woe to the men or
people who drive us into the mountains, and compel us to hide ourselves in
the dens and caves of the earth!  Woe to the people who do this; they will
find something they never learned yet; but they will never do it.  I am
looking for something entirely different.  The wicked will waste away and
destroy each other.

	We are blamed for praying that sin and wickedness may cease on the
earth, but the only way to effect that is for the perpetration of crime to
cease.  Will the people turn from evil, refrain from sin and iniquity, and
serve the Lord?  I would to God they would, but they will not do it.  Sin
must cease on the earth before iniquity and the workers thereof are
unknown, there is no other way.  We should not be blamed for praying that
righteousness may reign, and that peace may come to the people.  Is there
war in our religion?  No; neither war nor bloodshed.  Yet our enemies cry
out "bloodshed," and "oh, what dreadful men these Mormons are, and those
Danites!  how they slay and kill!"  Such is all nonsense and folly in the
extreme.  The wicked slay the wicked, and they will lay it on the Saints. 
But I say again that if the people called Latter-day Saints will live
their religion they will never be driven from their homes in the
mountains, but if they do sin to that extent that the Lord God of heaven
will let them be driven, woe to them that come after us, for they will
find greater desolation than we found when we came.  If we will do right
we are safe in the hands of God.  We wish evil to no man or woman on this
earth, but we wish to do good to all.  Our Elders have circumscribed this
little globe again and again without purse and scrip, offering the gospel
to the nations of the earth.  Will they have it?  No; they prefer death,
carnage, and destruction, and in the end they will receive the reward of
the unjust.  Let us take a course in which we shall be justified.  We wish
all people to do right, and if the Latter-day Saints will do so, and will
sustain themselves and live within their own means, and never let their
wants swell beyond them, all is right, we shall reign, and triumph over
sin and iniquity.  It is no more than reasonable, right, just, and
equitable for us to ask those who wish to supplant us here to go to other
places and build cities, plant orchards, raise grain, and make themselves
comfortable, as we have done.  They are perfectly welcome to eat, live,
rule, and reign over one another, but let us alone to serve our God, build
up His Kingdom on the earth, and live righteously and godly as we should.

	Now, Elders of Israel, if you have the right to chew tobacco, you
have a privilege I have not; if you have a right to drink whisky, you have
a right that I have not; if you have a right to transgress the Word of
Wisdom, you have a right that I have not.  If you have the right to buy
and sell and get gain, to go here and there, to do this and that, to build
up the wicked and the ungodly, or their cities, you have rights that I
have not got.  I have the right to build up Zion, but I have no right to
build up a city in wickedness.  It is time to close our morning's meeting.

       REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
                    EDUCATION--EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALES.

	A few words to the Latter-day Saints, and especially to our young
men.  We have a great deal of time to spare over and above going to the
kanyon, and working in the fields and in our shops.  It is true this is
not exactly the time of year to establish evening schools and lyceums, but
we wish our young men to make preparation this summer, and send east to
procure the necessary articles for the formation of societies in this and
other cities throughout the Territory for the purposed of studying the
arts and sciences.  Now, if a man in the North, say sixty-eight or a
hundred miles away, should have a limb broken, he has to send to this city
for a surgeon.  It is all folly; there is no more real necessity for it,
if men would devote their time to the study of such things, than there is
to send for a man to put a rafter or joint on his house, or a panel into
his door.

	As the subject of education is open, and has been from time to time
during this Conference, I will now urge it upon the people--the young men
and the middle-aged--to get up schools and study.  If they are disposed to
study physic or surgery, all right; they will know then what to do if a
person is sickly, or has his elbow, wrist, or shoulder put out of joint,
or his arm or any other bone broken.  It is just as easy to learn such
things as it is to learn to plant potatoes.  I would like to urge these
matters upon our young men, and I am convinced this meets the feelings of
all the brethren.  I do hope, and pray you, my brethren and sisters, to be
careful to observe what br. Wells has said in regard to introducing into
our schools the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the
Standard works of the Church, and all the works pertaining to our faith,
that our children may become acquainted with its principles, and that our
young men, when they go out to preach, may not be so ignorant as they have
been hitherto.  I would like very much to urge upon our young people, the
sisters as well as the brethren, to pay more attention to arithmetic and
other things that are useful, instead of acquiring a little French and
German and other fanciful studies that are not of so much practical
importance.  I do not know how long it will be before we call upon the
brethren and sisters to enter upon business in an entirely different way
from what they have done.  I have been an advocate for our printing to be
done by females, and as for men being in stores, you might as well set
them to knitting stockings as to sell tape.  Such business ought to be
done by the sisters.  It would enable them to sustain themselves, and
would be far better than for them to spend their time in the parlor or in
walking the streets.  Hardy men have no business behind the counter; they
who are not able to hoe potatoes, go to the kanyon, cut down the trees,
saw the lumber, &c., can attend to that business.  Our young men in the
stores ought to be turned out and the sisters take their place; and they
should study arithmetic and bookkeeping necessary to qualify them for such
positions.  I would also like our school teachers to introduce phonography
into every school; it is an excellent thing to learn.  By its means we can
commit our thoughts and reflections to paper with ease and rapidity, and
thus preserve that which will be of benefit to ourselves and others, and
which would otherwise be for ever lost.  This is a delightful study!  In
these and all other branches of science and education we should know as
much as any people in the world.  We have them within our reach, for we
have as good teachers as can be found on the face of the earth, if our
Bishops would only employ and pay them, but they will not.  Let a
miserable little, smooth-faced, beardless, good-for-nothing Gentile come
along, without regard for either truth or honesty, and they will pay him
when they will not pay a Latter-day Saint.  Think of these things. 
Introduce every kind of useful studies into our schools.  I have been
urging upon our young men for years to get up classes for the study of
law.  The laws of this Territory, of the United States, of the different
States, of England, and foreign lands.  Do this instead of riding over the
prairies hunting and wasting your time, which is property that belongs to
the Lord our God, and if we do not make good use of it we shall be held
accountable.

	Now, my brethren and sisters, I feel to bless you in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and I pray my Father in heaven to continue His mercies
to us, and I pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God in all
things.  We will now bring our conference to a close.



       Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
            BUILDING THE TEMPLE--MORMONISM EMBRACES ALL TRUTH.

	I want your attention.  I do not know how long it will be prudent to
continue our meeting, but we would like to say a great deal more to the
people.  I will talk to you a little with regard to building the Temple. 
When br. Heber asks you to come and join us in drawing rock, you turn
round and say, "I have paid my tithing; what more do you want?  Do you
want any donations or extra help?  What do you do with the tithing?"  This
is in the minds of the people, and it is something that I think about,
too, but I confess to you that, although I am Trustee-in-Trust and have
the management of all this, I know but little about what is done with the
tithing.  Br. Hunter is Bishop, and whether he could give you a knowledge
of what goes with the tithing I do not know.  The brethren turn in their
grain and their stock, and it is gathered up, but that does not bring the
rock here to build the Temple.  Br. Kimball and some others have assisted
in bringing some rock here, and a few have been drawn with my teams.  Now,
the rock does not come as we want it.  We have commenced a Temple that I
want to see stand a thousand years when the earth rests.  We do not
calculate that that building will fall down.  You know I was so
distrustful about the foundation, there were so many things about I did
not like, that we took it up and had to commence it again.  We have got
started now, and I think it is safe. When the Temple is built I want it to
stand through the millenium [sic], in connection with many others that
will yet be built, that the Elders may go in and labor for the dead who
have died without the gospel, back to the days of Adam.  But to see this
Temple built and then pass into the hands of the wicked, I would rather
that the walls should never rise another foot.  I shall not tell you,
to-day, all that I think about building temples and giving endowments.

	We have decided that this Temple shall be built of this beautiful
granite rock, which, I think, will please everyone.  We are preparing a
canal to bring the rock to this city, still we shall have five or six
miles to draw the rock to the canal, but the most of the distance where
our bad roads are we shall float this rock on little boats that we shall
have on this canal.  We want all the brethren to pay their tithing or tax
for the privilege of watering their lands from this ditch or canal
according to the charter and organization of the company who are
performing this labor.  If the brethren will do this we can have the ditch
finished up and in operation in a month or two.

	A great many want this Temple done that they may go in there and get
their endowments.  I want to say to the Latter-day Saints, one and all,
that we have all the privileges and blessings conferred upon us that we
live for.  The Latter-day Saints are not prepared to receive the celestial
kingdom at once, because they have not eyes to see and ears to hear; and
they do not understand the mind and will of the Lord on these subjects. 
If we did we would see at once that our blessings are greater than our
labors merit, and we would not find fault nor be in a hurry, but we would
move steadily along.  As I told you the other day when talking of the
sayings of Joseph, "the Latter-day Saints want to pull together--a long
pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether."  These were the words of
Joseph.  We want to labor unitedly that our labors may be successful.  I
want this Temple that we are now building to the name of our God, to stand
for all time to come as a monument of the industry, faithfulness, faith,
and integrity of the Latter-day Saints who were driven into the mountains. 
I want to see the Temple finished as soon as it is reasonable and
practicable.  Whether we go in there to work or not makes no difference; I
am perfectly willing to finish it to the last leaf of gold that shall be
laid upon it, and to the last lock that should be put on the doors, and
then lock every door, and there let it stand until the earth can rest
before the Saints commence their labors there.  They receive more in the
House of the Lord now than is their due.  Our brethren and sisters,
baptized three, four, or six months ago, go and get their endowments, the
sealing blessings for all eternity, the highest that can be conferred upon
them, yet how lightly they are treated!  Many do not consider, they do not
realize these things.  They have not the spirit of revelation, they do not
live for it, hence they do not see these things in their proper light, and
we are not in such a hurry as many think we ought to be.

	Well, will we go to work and build this Temple?  The brethren around
say we will pay our tithing, and we will pay it willingly, and you may do
what you please with it.  Sometimes I have thought that our tithing is so
great that it requires more looking after than it is worth.  See a dozen
men in the Tithing Office, and a dozen or fifteen in another place taking
care of tithing; but how it is used I do not know. One thing I do know,
that when our tithing is paid in the north and in the south it costs
almost as much to get it here as it is worth.  What is paid here is clear
profit, and is useful and beneficial for us to work upon.  If the brethren
pay their tithing, and pay it willingly, we are satisfied; that is all
that is required of them.  If my brethren who live near here, whom the
Lord is blessing, have a mind to put in some teams extra for drawing rock,
I give them the privilege.

	There are some things with regard to the general business of the
Church that is hardly worth while for me to mention.  I could name a few
things; but I do not know that it would be any benefit.  I do not know
that doing so would relieve my feelings in the least.  If it would be any
satisfaction to my brethren, and would enlighten them at all, they are
welcome to a few items.  I will ask the Elders of Israel who it is that
finds the money to defray all these expenses?  I will ask them how much
money they pay in on their tithing?  "Why," say they, "we let you have our
wheat and cattle, and they are just as good as money."  Ask yourselves if
you ever knew a bushel of wheat, a hundred pounds of flour, or a horse, an
ox, a cow, a mule, a sheep, a load of potatoes, a load of onions, or
anything else that comes in on tithing to be sold for money.  Go and see
if there ever was five dollars worth of this property sold for money. 
What did our emigration cost last season?  We will make a rough guess
(which will probably be below the mark by many thousand dollars), and say
forty thousand dollars.  Do the brethren living in the counties around or
anywhere else pay any money in towards this?  Where do you think it comes
from?  It is paid, there is no doubt of that, and the poor are brought
here; and there are over nine hundred thousand dollars owing to the
Perpetual Emigration Fund for helping the poor here.

	Does this enlighten your mind any?  "Why, no," say some, "unless we
know where the money comes from."  It would puzzle our astrologers to tell
you; still, you can ask them if you wish; they can be just as sensible
about that as anything else.  Who pays this money?  Who is it that buys
every dollar's worth of goods that is brought here to pay to these hands
who work on the public works?  Is there a man at work there but who gets a
portion of money and store-pay?  And with the exception of what the
merchants here pay in on tithing, is there a dollar's worth of store-pay
to be got without paying the money for it?  Is there a light of glass, a
pound of nails, a pound of rope, or anything else brought here from the
east that the money is not paid for?  No, not one pound.  Now, then, you
astrologers, sit down and make your figures and see if you can tell where
the money comes from; or you scholars and learned men enlighten the minds
of the people on these matters if you can.  I will tell you what you can
do--you can be economical, prudent, and saving, and help a great deal more
than you now do.  If we will go to work and finish this canal we can bring
the rock here for the Temple.  I have asked my brethren, and I will ask
again, will not you who have sawmills bring on some lumber so that we can
go on with this tabernacle?  Will you not help a little in this
telegraphic operation?  We want lumber for this, that, and the other--will
you not bring on some?  "Yes," say they, "if you will pay us money for
it."

	With regard to paying tithing, I will say that is becoming easier and
more congenial to the minds of the people every year, and they pay it with
a glad heart.  This is a blessing to them.  Let me say to you, just what
the Lord requires of you, if you would only do it.  He requires at our
hands, each and every one of us, to begin and sustain the Kingdom of God,
and to withdraw from the world and the business of the world.  If our
neighbours want our flour, let them come here to buy it, pay a good fair
price for it, and take it away, but never carry it to them--never, never,
no, never!  If we want goods, hats, boots, shoes, bonnets, coats, and so
forth, we should send Latter-day Saints, Elders of Israel, with our money
to markets where they have them for sale, and purchase them and bring them
here; and we should buy of our brethren, and sustain the Kingdom of God. 
I say this is the mind and the will of God concerning this people, if they
will hearken to it.  Purchase no more of your enemies.  I read a
revelation here on this subject a few weeks since, given in Jackson
County, Missouri, commanding br. Gilbert to go and purchase goods and sell
them to the Saints without fraud.  I will take the liberty of saying that
I consider some of our own merchants do not come up to the requirements of
this revelation, for they would sell to the Latter-day Saints a piece of
goods worth fifty cents for a thousand dollars if they could get it,
without any regard to truth, righteousness, or justice, or the building up
of anybody on God's earth but themselves.  This is the case with some of
our own merchants, while there are others who deal fairer.  There are some
amongst us who would not speculate, had they all the opportunity in the
world, as much as some who are called Latter-day Saints.  All this is
true, but we cannot begin to point out and individualize; that will not do
here.  But it is the will of the Lord that you and I live within
ourselves.

	Do you recollect that I made mention of our government yesterday?  We
have sued to them many times for our rights.  We have asked for bread, and
they have given us a stone; we have asked for a fish, and they have given
us a serpent; we have asked for an egg, and they have given us a scorpion;
so we have got to live within ourselves and trust in God.  We will pay our
taxes and we will pay our tithing.  But there are some among us who,
probably, would like to meddle with our tithing.  I wonder if they would
like to meddle with the tithing that is paid to build churches in the
east, and with the donations made for that purpose?  I wonder if they
would not like to legislate upon them, and see who has been paying
donations to build this church or that schoolhouse or academy.  I wonder
if they would not like to legislate as they do about schools for the
freedmen [sic].  I suppose it will not be long before before [sic] they
will want to dictate in some other places, and say how much shall be
raised for schools and so forth; and I suppose it will be but a little
while before some of those officious characters will determine the number
of beans that brother Kimball and I shall have in our porridge, and
whether they shall be white or black.  I think, if same [sic] of them had
their way, they would have them all black.

	I have told you some few things with regard to the Temple.  We want
the tabernacle finished, and when a man is asked to go and work on it, do
not begin to make a wry face, and say, "I have got so much work to do." 
When you carpenters are asked to go and help to finish it, so that we can
hold our October Conference in it, do not begin to say, "I have so many
jobs on hand, and so much work to do, and this engagement and that
engagement," where-ever they will pay you sixpence a day more; and "I will
work for the devil as quick as for the Lord Jesus Christ."  Do not say
that any more.  The mechanics, by their conduct, have said hitherto, "We
will build up hell just as quick as we will heaven, if we can get sixpence
a day more for doing it."  Do you want to know the true policy of building
up Zion, and what is required of us as a people?  I can give it to you. 
It is to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, to build temples and
tabernacles, to preach the gospel, to sustain the families of the Elders
abroad, and to sustain the Priesthood at home and abroad, whether we get a
dollar a day or nothing, it is all the same.  Work whether we get our pay
or not, or whether we have money offered to us or not.  You and I will
find in the end that there is not a man on the earth who can give the
increase to our labor; but it is the Lord who gives it.  No matter whether
you make fifty cents of fifty dollars a day, the Lord gives the increase;
and whatever He pleases to give He will give, and whatever He pleases to
withhold He will withhold.  I say to you again and again that the
blessings of this people are more than they merit by their lives; but if
we live every day of our lives so as to possess the Spirit of the Lord,
and are dictated in all our business transactions and in every move we
make by the spirit of revelation, we should merit, and justly and
righteously obtain greater blessings than we now possess.

	Now, my brethren, you who have sinned, repent of your sins.  I can
say to you in regard to Jesus and the atonement (it is so written, and I
firmly believe it), that Christ has died for all.  He has paid the full
debt, whether you receive the gift or not.  But if we continue to sin, to
lie, steal, bear false witness, we must repent of and forsake that sin to
have the full efficacy of the blood of Christ.  Without this it will be of
no effect; repentance must come, in order that the atonement may prove a
benefit to us.  Let all who are doing wrong cease doing wrong; live no
longer in transgression, no matter of what kind; but live every day of
your lives according to the revelations given, and so that your examples
may be worthy of imitation.  Let us remember that we never get beyond the
purview of our religion--never, never!  "Mormonism," so-called, embraces
every principle pertaining to life and salvation, for time and eternity. 
No matter who has it.  If the infidel has got truth it belongs to
"Mormonism."  The truth and sound doctrine possessed by the sectarian
world, and they have a great deal, all belong to this church.  As for
their morality many of them are morally just as good as we are.  All that
is good, lovely, and praiseworthy belongs to this church and kingdom. 
Death, hell, and the grave only are outside of "Mormonism."  "Mormonism"
includes all truth.  There is no truth but what belongs to the gospel.  It
is life, eternal life; it is bliss; it is the fullness of all things in
the gods and in the eternities of the gods.  What is the difference, then,
what we are called to do?  Let us do it with a cheerful heart and a
willing mind, that we may receive the blessing which the Lord has for the
faithful.

    DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, April 14th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
            GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO MISSIONARIES GOING ABROAD.

	Inasmuch as I am a missionary, and have been called of God to
proclaim the gospel, I rise here to bear my testimony in connection with
my brethren whom you have heard speak this day.  We hear the testimony of
brethren brought up in the Church, as well as the testimony of those who
receive the gospel in other lands and gather with the Church.  They all
agree that this is the truth--the gospel of life and salvation.  These
brethren are going to preach, because they have got the truth and the
world are destitute of it.  One of the brethren said he was going after
truth.  I would correct him, and say he has got truth, and is going to
carry to others who have it not.  You are not going to England, Scotland,
or to the Continent for truth, but to carry truth to people who sit in
darkness and in the regions of the shadow of death.  I am a missionary
called to preach the gospel, and I am going on a mission; not that I have
been lately converted, but I feel to go and strengthen my brethren, and I
am going on a preaching tour for that purpose.  There is no place on this
earth where greater good can be done than here, preaching the gospel to
this people and getting them to be Saints indeed.  I would say to my young
friends and to the middle-aged brethren, though I believe all who are
going may be called young men, that if you go on a mission to preach the
gospel with lightness and frivolity in your hearts, looking for this and
that, and to learn what is in the world, and not having your minds
riveted--yes, I may say riveted--on the cross of Christ, you will go and
return in vain.  Go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, full of the
power of God, and full of faith to heal the sick even by the touch of your
hand, rebuking and casting out foul spirits, and causing the poor among
men to rejoice, and you will return bringing your sheaves with you.  If
you do not go in this way your mission will not be very profitable to
yourselves nor to the people.  I wish you to bear this in mind.  We do not
send these elders forth for political purposes; we have nothing to do with
the political world.  Neither do we wish them to go for two or three years
to learn what is transpiring in the scientific world.  If they wish to
study the sciences, they can do that at home.  We have an abundance of
scientific men among us.  If you wish to know what is going on in
theatres, do not go to theatres to learn, but wait until you come back to
our own.  I am simply giving you a word of counsel.  This is as good a
time to do it as when you assemble together to receive your parting
blessing.  We do not send you for any of these purposes, but to preach the
gospel.  Let your minds be centered on your missions, and labor earnestly
to bring souls to Christ.

	I would like to impress upon the minds of the brethren, that he who
goes forth in the name of the Lord, trusting in Him with all his heart,
will never want for wisdom to answer any question that is asked him, or to
give any counsel that may be required to lead the people in the way of
life and salvation, and he will never be confounded worlds without end;
while he who trusts in the wisdom of man, or leans on the arm of flesh, is
weak and blind, and destitute of the principles that will lead the Elders
of Israel to victory and glory.  Go in the name of the Lord, trust in the
name of the Lord, lean upon the Lord, and call upon the Lord fervently and
without ceasing, and pay no attention to the world.  You will see plenty
of the world--it will be before you all the time--but if you live so as to
possess the Holy Ghost you will be able to understand more in relation to
it in one day than you could in a dozen days without it, and you will at
once see the difference between the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God,
and you can weigh things in the balance and estimate them at their true
worth.  I can say also to the brethren and sisters, no matter what you are
doing--working in the garden, plowing, sowing, going to the kanyon,
building houses, laying rock or adobies, attending your household affairs
in the kitchen, the washroom, in the parlor, or in the your bedchambers,
live continually so that you may have the Spirit of the Lord with you and
the counsel of God within you, that you may be able to give a word of
counsel, instruction, and comfort to the disconsolate, to strengthen the
weak, and to confirm the wavering, and spend every day of your lives in
doing good.  Unless we take this course it is useless to talk about being
Latter-day Saints, the redemption of Zion, or the establishment of the
Kingdom of God, for nothing short of the wisdom and power of God and the
Holy Ghost will ever enable any people on the face of the earth to redeem
Zion, and to establish the kingdom of God in these latter days.

	A great many things were said while we were assembled in a Conference
capacity.  We are composed of such material, and our organization and
education are of such a nature, that a great many things have to said to
us continually.  Like children, there is no day but we need instruction,
and if we do not live that we may have the Holy Ghost within us
continually we need to be taught by our friends around us how to build up
the Kingdom of God, to sanctify ourselves, to prepare for the coming of
the son of man, and for the accomplishment of the great work of the latter
days.  The work in which we are engaged should be interesting to every
soul that has named the name of Christ; it should be first and foremost,
morning, noon, and night, with us every day of our lives.  Our religion
should be first with us all the time.  Coming to this tabernacle to
worship and do the will of God for one day in the week, and following our
own inclinations and doing our own will at all other times, is a folly; it
is useless, and a perfect burlesque on the service of God.  We should do
the will of God, and spend all our time for the accomplishment of His
purposes, whether we are in this tabernacle or elsewhere.  We are often
told that, so far as the principles of our religion are concerned, we are
one.  Our brethren here are going on missions to Scandinavia, Germany, and
perhaps to places where the gospel has never been preached before, and
some, perhaps, to the antipodes of others, yet in the proclamation of the
principles of the gospel I do not expect there will be any variation. 
They will go north, south, east, and west, and they will all take up the
scriptures of truth contained in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of
Doctrine and Covenants, and each one will corroborate the testimony of the
other in establishing the truth of the gospel of the Son of God, and all
will exactly agree.  Yet, when we are gathered together, there are as many
minds as there are persons in regard to the affairs of every-day life and
the managing of financial affairs.  Now, the people of God are being
gathered together expressly to become one with regard to the things of
this world.

	I would like to be understood, if I could explain myself.  We never
shall become one to that extent that we shall look alike or possess
precisely the same mental power and ability; this is not the design of
Heaven.  But we expect to become one in all our operations to bring forth
the fullness of the Kingdom of God on the earth, that Jesus may come and
reign King of nations as He does King of Saints.  Shall we call this a
union for political purposes?  I say it is good policy for people to be of
one heart and mind in all their operations.  I have frequently looked at
the inhabitants of the earth and seen how their feelings, dispositions,
and pursuits differ; no two, scarcely, can agree.  If two men enter into
partnership, say in the banking business, or in mercantile business or
manufacturing, it is very seldom that they agree a great while.  Their
minds will run in different channels with regard to business matters, and
one will not be trammeled with the ideas of the other, so each resolves to
take his own course.  If you wish for a perfect example of this, I can
tell you where to find it:  just as quick as warm weather comes you see
these little red and black ants on the hills.  You will see them running
in every direction, but it is seldom that two of them take the same
course; they will run against each other, tumble over each other, and,
finally, rob each other.  This is a perfect example of the course pursued
by the inhabitants of the earth.

	I would say that it is good policy if we can be agreed in all
matters.  To illustrate, suppose we want to go and quarry rock out of the
granite mountain here; we are building a huge fabric and we want some
columns, say sixty feet high, five, six, seven, or eight feet through at
the base, and perhaps four or five feet through at the top.  Let one man
undertake such a work, and how long would it take him?  But let us be
united in the undertaking, and we can soon have our columns quarried,
hauled, and erected.  Suppose there was a union of effort in every
political and financial matter undertaken for the benefit of the whole
people, who cannot see the good that would result?  We have tried this to
some extent in relation to our markets here; but suppose we were fully
agreed on the point, we could demand a fair price for our products, and we
need not be imposed upon by traders and traffickers.  If we were agreed,
we could supply ourselves from distant markets, say with our clothing, at
a far less cost than now.  Suppose, as was said at Conference, that we
dispense with the luxuries of tobacco, tea, coffee, and whisky, how much
could we save?  If we had the money on hand that we have spent on these
needless articles during the the [sic] year that is past, we should have
abundance to donate to the missionaries to land them in their fields of
labor.

 	The people, perhaps, will turn round and say--"We pay our tithing,
and that is all we feel to do."  If you do, you do more than the people
did some years ago.  At that time we found that in the staple article of
wheat, of which there is more paid on tithing than anything else in the
Territory, that we did not receive one bushel in a hundred of that which
was raised, to say nothing one in ten.  The people are not compelled to
pay their tithing, they do as they please about it, it is urged upon them
only as a matter of duty between them and their God.  This little moiety
that is now paid on tithing is used to bring the poor here, to find them
houses to live in, bread to eat, and wood to burn, when we can get the
brethren to bring it in on tithing, but that is an article pretty hard to
get.  Now, suppose we had a little more of this surplus on hand, could we
not help the brethren on their way to preach the gospel to the nations? 
Yes, we could.  Some of them will leave their families that will, probably
be destitute, and if we had means on hand we could donate to help them,
and to prevent them from running continually to the Bishops.  The Bishops
have nothing in their hands, the tithing is used up, it has gone to
sustain the poor, the Priesthood, and the Public Works.  Yet when they go
to a Bishop he has to look round to procure them a house, some wood, or
some wheat or flour on tithing.  But suppose we had the money on hand that
we have spent on these useless articles which have been referred to the
case would be different.  When I begin to talk about these things I see so
much that I can tell but very little.  To see the slackness, slothfulness,
and neglect of duty in taking care of the things which God gives to us. 
We may say we have abundance--more than we need--but will we give it to
those who need it?  No, but it is wasted in buying articles for which
there is no real need.  The people here seem to be perfectly lost, and
cannot imagine what they do want.  They are not clogged with every luxury,
to be sure; they are not over surfeited with riches, for they are not
rich; but they  are comfortable, and they spend their substance for
naught, for that which neither enriches the soul nor builds up the Kingdom
of God.

	How is it with you, my brethren and sisters?  Can you call to mind
any circumstances that have transpired in the midst of this people that
could have been avoided, and that should put you on your guard?  Yes,
plenty of them, if you will only reflect.  I asked one man, for instance,
how he lived.  "Oh," said he, "I hardly know how; I can hardly sustain my
family."  "How many have you in family?"  "Eight of us."  "And what do you
have a day?"  "Three dollars."  Perhaps here is another man who gets five
dollar a day, and he is poor; and another one who has a hundred cattle
running on the prairie, and he is living on a dirt floor; he is not able
to buy a few boards to make a floor.  Go through the country and you will
see numbers living, year after year, on dirt floors, and unable to procure
a little sand and lime to plaster the walls of their dwellings, and at the
same time, perhaps, they have hundreds and hundreds of animals running on
the prairie.  What economy!

	You recollect that I asked a few questions at Conference as to the
amount paid out last year for those needless articles--tea, coffee, &c. 
Will one hundred thousand dollars pay for the tobacco that the Elders of
Israel chewed and spit out?  It will not, and the tea that was drunk will
perhaps cost a hundred thousand more, and the coffee will amount to pretty
near the same sum.  As for the sugar, I should say, continue to purchase
that, and let the children have it, not to live on it alone, but in
connection with other nutriment, for you should understand that our food
is composed of three staple articles--sugar, starch, and glue,
consequently sugar is good.  But to train your children to drink tea and
coffee at two, three, or four years old is very pernicious and injurious. 
You mothers and daughters in Israel who are taking this course, how do you
expect to live to accomplish the work the Lord has assigned you?  Why you
will not live half your days; you will come short of it as much as the
wicked.  Is this true?  It is verily true.  You get up in the morning and
have your cup of tea, your fried ham, and cold beef and mince pies, and
everything you can possibly cram into the stomach, until you surfeit the
system and lay the foundation for disease and early death.  Says the
mother--"Do eat, my little daughter, you are sick; take a piece of pie,
toast, or meat, or drink a little tea or coffee; you must take something
or other."  Mothers in Israel, such a course engenders disease, and you
are laying a foundation that will cut off one-half or two-thirds of the
lives of your children; and yet a more healthy country than ours cannot be
found upon the face of the earth, if the people would learn to live
prudently.

	In foreign lands you may find districts where many of the people do
not have, probably, more than two-thirds of what they need to eat--and
they live thus from year to year--yet you will find them much more healthy
than they who gorge themselves continually.  Take the Americans, say in
the old Granite State where I have travelled, and to look at their
surroundings out of doors you would not think they had more than one bean
to a pint of water, but go into their houses and you will find beef, pork,
apple pie, custard pie, pumpkin pie, mince pie, and every luxury, and they
live so as to shorten their days and the days of their children.  You may
think that these things are not of much importance; no more they are,
unless they are observed, but let the people observe them and they lay the
foundation for longevity, and they will begin to live out their days, not
only a hundred years, but, by and bye, hundreds of years on the earth.  Do
you think they will stuff themselves then with tea and coffee, and perhaps
with a little brandy sling before breakfast and a little before going to
bed, and then beef, pork, mutton, sweet-meats, and pastry, morning, noon,
and night?  No; you will find they will live as our first parents did, on
fruits and on a little simple food, and they will never overload the
stomach.

	Let the people be temperate in their food, then go to work and clothe
themselves.  Ladies, why can you not make your own bonnets as well as buy
them?  Will you go to work and do it?  I know not.  You can do as you
please.  Will you dispense with your frills, ruffles, bows, and nonsense? 
To correspond with the ladies the gentlemen ought to have one half of
their hats covered with feathers and the others half with a cockade, and
frills up and down the sleeves of their coats and the legs of their
pantaloons.  Still, we see some who wear home-made.  I noticed one young
man, who is going on a mission, and who spoke here to-day, with a suit of
home-made cloth on.  We can make our own cloth and then wear it.  We can
learn how to raise and improve our stock, how to raise our grain, fruit,
and vegetables, we can raise our our [sic] own wool and flax and make it
into cloth, and in fact we can learn to raise and make all that we need,
and this is one of the great objects to be attained to in the gathering of
the Saints together.  As for your surplus, means, you can lay it away, and
when a call is made you can donate to assist the elders who are sent on
missions to the nations of the earth, and help to sustain their families
while they are  away.

	To the elders who are going to preach I will give another word of
counsel--try and maintain yourselves as much as you can.  You are going
where thousands of the people die annually of starvation.  Do not go and
beg of them, but rather give to them.  I have told every one of my boys
not to depend on the people, but when they get a dinner from the poor,
instead of taking the last crumb or morsel they have, leave something for
them to enable them to supply their wants.  I have known many sisters, and
perhaps there are some of them here to-day, who, when times were far
better than they are now, would pinch themselves for a whole week in order
to provide a comfortable dinner or supper for an elder who would visit
them, at the same time they, probably, did not have more than one-half, or
at most two-thirds, or what was necessary to sustain themselves.  The
Elders of Israel should go forth calculating to help the people both
temporally and spiritually, but some of them have done nothing but beg
from the time they left here until their return.  For brethren to leave a
country like this, where labor is plentiful and means so easily acquired,
and go and ask alms of the poor in other countries is a shame and
disgrace.  I want the missionaries to remember this and lay it to heart,
if they will.  Go and preach the gospel, and help the honest-in-heart to
gather, that they may aid in building up Zion, for that was the design of
the Lord when He said, through the Revelator John, "Come out of her my
people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her
plagues."

	Take the people in the east, west, north, and south who have obeyed
the gospel, and, so far as the spiritual gifts are concerned, they are all
of one heart and one mind, but not one soul knows how to build up Zion. 
Not a man in all the realms and kingdoms that exist knows how to commence
the foundation of the Zion of God in the latter days without revelation. 
If the people in the world could sanctify themselves and prepare
themselves to build up Zion they might remain scattered, but they cannot,
they must be gathered together to be taught, that they may sanctify
themselves before the Lord and become of one heart and of one mind.  By
and by the Jews will be gathered to the land of their fathers, and the ten
tribes, who wandered into the north, will be gathered home, and the blood
of Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, which is to
be found in every kingdom and nation under heaven, will be gathered from
among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles who will receive and adhere to the
principles of the gospel will be adopted and initiated into the family of
Father Abraham, and Jesus will reign over His own and Satan will reign
over his own.  This will be the result.

	Now, Latter-day Saints, only think how far short we come of being
what we ought to be.  Some will indulge in a little falsehood here and
there, evil, folly, nonsense, wickedness, lies, deception, arrogating to
themselves that which does not belong to them.  We are gathered together
expressly to expose the wickedness that is in our hearts.  How often, in
looking over the congregations of the Saints, I can pick out a man here
and a woman there guilty of these things.  Here, probably, is a brother
who has been a deacon in the Baptist or Presbyterian church for thirty of
forty years, and was just as good a man as there was in the world, but
gather him home with the Saints, and though his whole judgment is
convinced that the gospel is true, and he believes it with all his heart,
yet he will deceive and lie a little and take that which is not his own. 
"Did you ever know those who have been deacons in the sectarian churches
guilty of such things?"  Yes, many of them, who have been considered
flaming lights there, yet, when they gathered with the Saints, according
to the words of the prophets, they have spued out the iniquity that was in
them, and revealed the secrets of their hearts to their neighbors.  If
John should drop his axe in the kanyon, and Benjamin should come along,
although he had been a preacher, he would pick up that axe and keep it.  I
have seen many such things.  Such practices, if not repented of and
forsaken, will canker the very souls of those who are guilty, and will
deprive them of the glory that will be enjoyed by honest and virtuous men
and women.

	When Jesus was preaching on these principles, and showing how strict
and pure in their lives they must be who are counted worthy to be brought
into the presence of the Father and the Son, be crowned with crowns of
glory, immortality, and eternal life, and become Gods, even the Sons of
God, I do not wonder that His disciples cried out, "Who, then, can be
saved?"  Said Jesus, "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads
to the lives to come and few there be that find it."  This is the
rendering in the new translation.  As Jesus said to the disciples so I say
to the Latter-day Saints--"Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that
leads to the lives to come and few there be that find it."  I know you
might turn round and say:  "Brother Brigham, do you expect to find it?"  I
expect to try; and when I get through I expect the Lord to do what He
pleases with me.  I have not asked where He is going to place me, nor what
He will do with me, nor anything about my crown or mansion.  I only ask
God, my Father, in the name of Jesus, to help me to live my religion, and
to give me ability to save my fellow-beings from the corruptions of the
world, to fill them with the peace of God, and to prepare them for a
better kingdom than this.  That is all I have inquired about.  What the
Lord will do with me, or where He will place me, I do not know, neither do
I care.  I serve, and have implicit confidence in Him, and I am perfectly
satisfied that we will all receive all we are worthy of.  May the Lord
help us to live so that we may be worthy of a place in His presence. 
Amen.

    DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, May 26th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
     OUR DELEGATE TO CONGRESS--THE WORD OF WISDOM--THE UNION PACIFIC
           RAILROAD--SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE OF POPULAR PREACHERS.

	If br. Hooper had accomplished his wish in saying just what he
desired to say, would he have not have been a superior man?  He would.  If
he were to do so, he would be about the only man whom I know who could do
so.  I am happy to hear what I have heard from him in his speaking to-day,
and in our communications one with the other.  Since his return home it
has pleased me more than anything else in the world concerning our
Delegate to find that the spirit of faith, humility, and resignation to
the will and providences of God, our Father, is increasing in him.  This
pleases me more than it would to learn that he had grown exceedingly rich;
and, as we profess to be Latter-day Saints, I rejoice for myself and for
his constituents that the spirit of the holy gospel is increasing in him
from year to year.  I do not say this to flatter br. Hooper; I am not the
least concerned about in injuring him, for when a persons see things as
they are, flattery and reproach are all the same to him, he sees no
difference.  If he finds that he is pleasing God and his brethren, he is
exceedingly rejoiced, and feels and increase of humility and resignation. 
When a man is proud and arrogant, flattery fills him with vanity and
injures him; but it is not so when he is increasing in the faith of God;
and I can say of a truth, according to my understanding of the spirit of
the gospel, that it grows as fast in Wm. H. Hooper as in any man I know. 
He came to this Territory, as he has said, seventeen years ago next month;
he came as clerk to Ben. Holladay.  We found him as he was, he found us as
we were.  We have lived together many years, and, notwithstanding his
speculations, I learned years and years ago, through his honesty,
uprightness, child-like feeling, and naturally humble, contrite spirit,
that there was in him the germ of truth and salvation.  Now he is our
Delegate, and I am really proud of him, not to detract in the least from
br. Bernhisel, for I am proud of him, too, as a true gentleman.  Br.
Hooper has been fervent in every labor placed upon him, and he has labored
indefatigably; his tasks have been arduous, yet he has succeeded to my
astonishment and his own.  This is in consequence of his faith and
integrity in the truth that he has embraced.  We sent one delegate to
Congress, who was baptized, confirmed, and ordained an elder, to my
certain knowledge, for he was ordained under my hands, and when he got to
Congress I understand he denied being a "Mormon."  But br. Hooper, every
time he is asked if he is a Latter-day Saint, replies:  "Yes, and I thank
God that I am."  By this course he has won the battle, and he has obtained
more than I could have anticipated.  I am glad that I have this to say in
his behalf.  Now I will venture to say a little more, that William H.
Hooper, from the period of his earliest recollection, never enjoyed that
peace, quietness, and solid joy that he now possesses in the situation
with which we have honored him, and that he has obtained by his submission
to the providences of God and his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  [Br.
HOOPER:  I never was so happy, nor enjoyed such good health in my life as
now.]

	Now, is not this encouraging?  Why, just for the sake of passing
through this life I would not fail of being a Saint for all the riches in
this world.  Talk about kings on their thrones!  Is there one of them who
feels safe and who can repose in quietness and security?  Do you know one
who can?

	Take all the Emperors and great men of the world, who receive so much
honor and homage, and what is their peace?  It is sorrow.  What is their
joy?  It is grief and sorrow.  Are they safe?  No, I think not; and I will
say to my brethren and sisters that there is not a king, emperor, or
potentate on the earth who begins to possess the joy, peace, and quietness
that our delegate now experiences in returning to his constituents.  I
think not any of them, unless they enjoy the spirit of the holy gospel of
the Son of God, though their subjects bow their knees to the ground and
take off their hats to them to do them homage and honor, it is mere show,
outward appearance; many of the people do not do these things from their
hearts.  This we very well know.

	Br. Hooper has returned here to visit, mingle, and talk with the
brethren and sisters, and to learn their feelings.  I will say for his
satisfaction, and for the satisfaction of my friends who live in this city
and throughout the Territory, that I am perfectly satisfied with his
labors.  Has he been as indefatigable as we could wish?  He has.  Has he
accomplished as much as we expected he could?  More; and above all this,
there is nothing so consoling and cheering to me as to find br. Hooper
increasing in the faith of the holy gospel.  I have heard expressions from
his mouth since he came home that have been heart-cheering to me. 
Speaking of his business and of the hard times here, said he, "What is all
this speculation, money, or property?  It is nothing at all when compared
with peace and the blessings of Heaven that we desire upon the people
called Latter-day Saints, and their success in spreading the gospel and
gathering the poor."  This is first and foremost in his heart, and this
makes me cry Hallelujah, and thank God.  I say this for br. Hooper.

	I am now going to say few words for myself with regard to my own
situation and circumstances in the midst of this people, the joy and
thankfulness that seem to surround the people and their leaders.  The
increase that is perceptible to those who live in the faith of the holy
gospel is heart-cheering, comforting, and consoling, and is praiseworthy
to the Latter-day Saints.  To illustrate, I will refer to one item of our
proceedings at Conference.  While assembled there I told the people what
my feelings were in regard to the Word of Wisdom.  I said to them--"The
Spirit signifies to me that we should cease drinking tea, coffee, and
liquor, and chewing tobacco."  On our journey south I saw one old lady
over eighty years of age drink a little coffee, and that was the only
coffee I saw while from home. I think there was one of our sisters in the
company who was sick one day, and she had a little tea; with this
exception, from the time we left home until we returned, I did not see a
drop of tea or coffee offered to the company.  Is not this marvellous? 
Was there any command given to the people, or any coercion used towards
them at Conference in relation to these things?  Not the least in the
world, and the strongest term I used was that "the Spirit signifies to me
that this people should observe the Word of Wisdom."

	It has been said to me--"This reformation in the midst of the people
is too hasty to be permanent."  I have replied--"I trust not; I have not
been hasty in my reflections and considerations to honor the purposes and
to do the will of God."  It is true that to illustrate the advantages that
would accrue from our observance of the Word of Wisdom, I compared the
abundance of means we should then possess with the scarcity now existing. 
Instead of being poor and needy, this would give us all we could ask, to
assist our poor brethren and sisters abroad to emigrate to this country,
to send our elders abroad to preach the gospel, and to furnish the means
necessary to enable them to do without seeking assistance of those who are
already so poor that they seldom have more than half enough to eat.  There
are many there who have grown to manhood and womanhood, who can say of a
truth--"Never in my life did I have the privilege of eating what my nature
desired or required."

	If we would observe the Word of Wisdom, and cultivate faith, economy,
and wisdom, the Lord would add blessings to us so that we would have
abundance to give our elders, that they need never be under the necessity
of saying to this sister or that brother, "give me a breakfast or
something to assist me on my way," but they would have enough to provide
for their own necessities, and something with which to assist the poor
whom they might meet.  When I was in the old country I never was under the
necessity of asking a penny from any person, and for which I have been
thankful a thousand times since in reflecting upon it.  I believe the only
alms I ever asked, or the only intimation I ever gave of being in need,
was on Long Island, when on my way to England.  The brethren there, or
rather those who were brethren afterwards, gave me some money.  When I got
to England I had a few shillings left.  While there the Lord put means
into my hands, and after I was established in my office, I do not know
that I ever went out without first putting into my pocket as many coppers
as my hand could grasp, to give to the needy I met by the way, and I have
fed and clothed many.  I have been very thankful for this.  But most of
our elders, when they go to the old country, are under the necessity of
obtaining assistance from the people.  We should not suffer this, and if
we, here, will observe the Word of Wisdom, there will be no need of their
doing so in the future.  Last week I received a note in which was enclosed
three dollars from a sister; I cannot tell her name, for she did not give
it.  She said she had not drank any tea since Conference, and she had
saved about three dollars, which she enclosed for me to do good with.  I
felt "God bless her," and she will be blessed as sure as she lives.

	Now, here are brethren on the right hand and on the left who, if they
had observed my counsel and the Word of Wisdom in their economy and in
their dealings, would have been worth hundreds of thousands to-day where
they have not got a shilling.  But you know when we exercise faith and
influence to induce the people to take a certain course, they will not
always be satisfied that the result will be as it is described, until, by
experience, they learn the opposite.  There have been times when we have
let the people do as they had a mind to without trying to restrain them by
counsel, and when we had done so, and not sought with all the power we had
to concentrate them in their dealings and in their faith, they have met
with difficulty and come to want; but when we hold them together, and they
take our counsel, they always have plenty.  Thank the Lord we do not
suffer for food, and I do not know anybody who suffers for raiment.  We
have plenty of food, and we expect we shall have.

	As I have not appeared before you since my return from the south
until to-day, I will say a few words in relation to that.  I designed
coming to this Tabernacle last Sabbath, but my health would not permit me. 
I am here to-day, however, to present to you my heartfelt thanks for your
faith and confidence in your leaders.  When I returned home I saw an
exceedingly delightful manifestation of the good feelings of the people. 
The greeting we received from thousands of children and grown people, who
lined the sides of the streets, and the hundreds who came in carriages to
meet us, was very gratifying.  When I got home I felt perfectly peaceable,
and not the least concerned about anybody coming to injure me.  I am not
like the monarchs of the world, although I have no doubt there are
individuals who would like to throw me a little lead--I have had
intimations to that effect--but I am not at all concerned.  I am always
prepared.  I am always on the watch.  If any man can creep on me, day or
night, he must be exceedingly quick.  Still, I am in the hands of God, and
I have to acknowledge that I am not preserved by my own wisdom and
watchfulness, but it is through the providences of God.  The Lord raises
up one here and pulls down another there.  He brings forth kingdoms and
empires, and He sets monarchs on their thrones through His providences and
at His pleasure.  The Lord has His eye upon all His creatures.  His
presence and His influence fill immensity.  Understand, Latter-day Saints,
I do not teach you the doctrine that the centre of God is everywhere and
His circumference nowhere.  That is false doctrine and nonsense.  But His
influence, His power, His spirit fill immensity, and are around about all
things, above all things, beneath all things, and through all things, and
they govern and control all things,and He watches His creatures with that
minuteness that not a hair of the head of even a wicked and ungodly man
falls to the ground unnoticed.  Now, permit me to say that through the
providences of God, you and I are, I mean in our present condition.

	Our delegate says he is not fearful of anything arising in this world
to militate against this work and people, except it arises among
ourselves.  Now, for your consolation I want to say that we are not going
to commit errors, wrongs, and sins that will disfellowship us from the
heavens, cut us off from the Holy Priesthood, and cast us out.  I have no
such faith, not a particle of it.  There will be a great many foolish
ones, no doubt.  If you and I live to see the time when the voice is
heard, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him,"  we shall
find many right in the midst of this people without oil in their lamps; no
question of this.  But as for believing that this people will apostatize
(without having any allusion to what br. Hooper has said), I do not fear
it, though, in reality, it is the only fear I ever had.  I do not fear
anything from God and holy angels, from the powers of this world, the only
things I ever feared were the discord, discontent, confusion, and apostacy
in the midst of this people.  Still, you and I are not going to
apostatize, we will not apostatize.  There are individuals among us who
will, but they will be very few.  Another thing that creates exceeding joy
in my heart is, that when a person apostatizes from the truth, and becomes
filled with darkness and unbelief, how anxious he is to get away from this
poor, miserable, sterile, sage plain, where, as br. Hooper has said, the
people have the privilege of getting up in the night to water their land. 
This is a matter of great joy to me, for it is one of the providences of
God.

	Speaking of the completion of this railroad, I am anxious to see it,
and I say to the Congress of the United States, through our Delegate, to
the Company, and to others, hurry up, hasten the work!  We want to hear
the iron horse puffing through this valley.  What for?  To bring our
brethren and sisters here.  "But," says one, "we shall not have any
money."  Yes, we shall, if you and I observe the Word of Wisdom, we shall
have plenty of it.  Now, let me extend that a little further than to tea,
coffee, tobacco, and whisky--that is, keep your flour here, and do not
send it to Montana nor anywhere else, but keep it here and store it up,
and your grain too.  You flour speculators here, do you know what flour is
worth a barrel in New York?  It is worth twenty-two dollars.  In my young
days, when it reached ten or twelve dollars per barrel we thought we were
all going to starve to death.  It is worth eighteen dollars on the
frontiers and twenty at St. Louis.  But, again, with regard to this
railroad; when it is through, even in ordinary times it opens to us the
market, and we are at the door of New York, right at the threshold of the
emporium of the United States.  We can send our butter, eggs, cheese, and
fruits, and receive in return oysters, clams, cod fish, mackarel, oranges,
and lemons.  Let me say more to you--do up your peaches in the best style,
for they will want them.  Their fruit trees are failing in the east. 
Right in the very land where the Book of Mormon came forth, and was
translated by Joseph, there has not been an apple grown for this dozen
years without a worm in the centre, as I have been told by men who live
there.  The worm is in the centre of all there is there, and it will
canker and eat them until they are consumed.  Wherever this work has been,
and the powers of darkness have succeeded in driving the Priesthood, I can
tell you that desolation will follow.  But where the Saints cultivate the
soil, the Lord will bless it and cause it to bring forth.  Let us be
fervent, then, in all our labors, in producing fruits, grains, vegetables,
and everything necessary to sustain life, for by and by it will be
said--"We must send to Zion, or starve to death."  Do you believe it?  I
do not care whether anybody believes it or not, it makes no difference to
me.  I am  a Yankee; I guess things, and very frequently guess right.

	To the Latter-day Saints I say, live your religion.  This is the cry
all the time.  Let us live our religion, be faithful, watchful, prayerful,
keep the commandments of God, and observe His word.  And now that we have
commenced to observe the Word of Wisdom, never treat resolution with a cup
of tea or coffee, for as sure as you treat resolution with a cup of tea or
coffee, for as sure as you treat resolution once, it will plead hard for a
treat again.  "But is not tea and coffee good medicine?"  Yes, first-rate;
but if you use it as medicine you will never use it for pleasure.  Keep
the Word of Wisdom, help the poor, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. 
Never let it be said of the Territory of Utah that a poor person had to go
to the second house for a morsel to eat.  It never has been said.  I never
heard of a person going to the second house for something to eat, from the
fact that he always got it at the first, no matter whether friends or
foes, saints or sinners.  It is for you and me to do good to all, and to
bless all.  As far as we have the ability and capacity, let us bless our
fellow beings, preach to them the gospel of life and salvation, and treat
them as our brethren, sisters, and friends, until they prove themselves
otherwise.

	Oh, what a blessing that I have been born!  When br. Hooper was
speaking about Mr. Beecher's having said that it was the greatest
misfortune that ever happened to man to be born, it proved to me
positively that he (Mr. Beecher) had not the first glimpse of the
importance of this life, the organization of the earth, or the destinies
of the human family.  It never entered his heart, and his mind never
conceived the first principle of the design of the Almighty in forming the
earth and peopling it.  He is an eloquent orator, and pleases the people,
but he cannot understand the ways of God.  In this respect he is like the
rest of the world.  In my youthful days I have asked some of the smartest
and most intelligent ministers America ever produced, if they could tell
me one thing about God, and I have been mortified, ashamed, and chagrined
when I found they could not.  They could read the Bible, and if they had
believed it they could have told me about Him just as well as about their
brother or their father, but no, they could not tell the first thing. 
Neither had they the slightest idea with regard to the location of Heaven,
hell, or the spirit world.  I believe I have already told here about
listening to one of the smartest of American preachers preach on the soul
of man.  When he had exhausted two hours on the subject, he finally wound
up, in his eloquent style, by saying--"My beloved brethren and sisters, I
must come to the conclusion that the soul of man is an immaterial
substance!"  Why, such a thing never did nor can exist.  What could I
learn from that man with regard to Heaven, earth, hell, man, the soul of
man, a prior existence, a present or a future existence, more than just to
eat and drink, like the brute beasts that are made to be taken and
destroyed.  I concluded that I would not give a farthing for all the
religions that existed,a nd I found the revelations that Joseph Smith
received from Heaven and delivered to the people.  I have spent time
enough.  May God bless you.  Amen.

    DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, June 16th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
        THE PRIESTHOOD TO DICTATE IN TEMPORAL AS WELL AS SPIRITUAL
       THINGS--INCONSISTENCY OF AN EQUAL DIVISION OF PROPERTY--LET
                             APOSTATES ALONE.

	These words--"If ye are not one ye are not mine"--are the words of
the Savior, through the prophet Joseph, and given to us.  This is a
principle about which you have heard bro. Robert Williams say a good deal
in his way of talking.  His mind is like the minds of a great many, both
in this Church and out of it, with regard to temporal things.  If they had
the privilege of dictating the affairs of this people, or of any other,
they would divide the substance of the rich among the poor, and make all
what they call equal.  But the question would arise with me at once, how
long would they remain equal?  Make the rich and the poor of this
community, or of any other, equal by the distribution of their earthly
substance, and how long would it be before a certain portion of them,
would be calling upon the other portion, for something with which to
sustain themselves?  The cry would soon be--"I have no bread, no house, no
team, no farm; I have nothing."  And in a very few years, at the most,
large properties would thus pass from the hands of such individuals, and
would be distributed among those who know how to accumulate wealth and to
preserve it when accumulated.  We should be one, there is no doubt of
that, but the very men and women who would take the property of the rich
and dispose of it to their own advantage, would spurn from their presence
and disregard every word of counsel given by those who know how to
accumulate and preserve, and they would say, "We know as much as you, and
we can dictate our own affairs."  So they can, until they make themselves
poor and have to be helped by others.

	The capacity of the inhabitants of the earth to dictate their
temporal affairs, is a matter that has occupied a certain portion of my
time and reflection.  Now, politically, we as a government enjoy the
extent of the franchise granted to us by our Constitution, and that is all
we can ask for; but who knows and understands how to dictate and guide in
wisdom for the benefit of the whole community?  Very few.  And take the
inhabitants of the earth from first to last, there is not one man in ten,
neither is there one in twenty,and probably not one in forty, who is
capable of guiding himself through life, so as to accumulate the
necessaries and comforts of life for himself and family, and go to the
grave independent, leaving a comfortable living for his wife and family,
with instructions to enable them to pass through life judiciously, wisely,
and prudently.  Politically and financially there is not one man in forty
capable of pursuing the course I have indicated.  Then in a moral point of
view, take our young men, who are easily operated upon, do they know how
to guide their steps so that a good life may crown their last days?  No,
they do not.  Do the young ladies know the course to take to preserve
themselves in honor?  They do not, any more than the young men.  They have
to be watched like an infant running around the house, that knows no
better than to take the carving knife or fork and fall upon it and put out
its eyes.  And it is so with the middle aged as well as with the
young--they have to be looked after and cared for.  And when this people
become one, it will be one in the Lord.  They will not look alike.  We
will not all have grey, blue, or black eyes.  Our features will differ one
from another, and in our acts, dispositions, and efforts to accumulate,
distribute, and dispose of our time, talents, wealth, and whatever the
Lord gives to us, in our journey through life, we will differ just as much
as in our features.  The point that the Lord wishes  to bring us to is to
obey His counsel and observe His word.  Then every one will be dictated so
that we can act as a family.  Then if br. Robert wanted a pair of boots,
pants, a coat, or a hat, or a dress for his wife or child, he could have
it, but only in the order of God, and not until he can be dictated by the
Priesthood.

	I am talking with regard to our temporal affairs--of being so
dictated, guided, and directed, that every man's time and talents will
amount to all he could wish and desire.  Are the Latter-day Saints in this
situation?  Partially so.  Can they be dictated?  Yes, in some things. 
You take these very men and women who want to make us all equal, and they
tell us that we are covetous, because we have horses, carriages, houses,
lands, and money.  Have the poor got greedy eyes?  Are they covetous and
penurious?  I shall go a little too far if I am not careful.  I must guard
myself, because the Lord has chosen the poor of this world.  But what kind
of poor?  Now the poor may be divided into three classes.  In the first
place there is the Lord's poor, of which you may pick up one here and
another there, one in a city, two in a family.  Is there any other kind? 
Yes, you come across a certain class that may be called the Devil's poor. 
Is there any other class?  Yes, there is another class, who, long before I
ever mentioned them, were denominated poor devils.  Hence we have the
Lord's poor, the devil's poor, and poor devils.

	We have plenty of men in this community whom we have gathered from
England, Scotland, France, Germany, and the islands of the sea.  They have
believed the truth and received it, and we have sent for them here that
they may live their religion.  But if Jesus tells the truth, there is a
certain class of people who receive the truth without the love of it. 
When such characters gather--and there are plenty of them here--they would
just as soon fellowship, deal, and associate with, and hold in close
communion the poor miserable sharks that follow us, as they would with the
best Saint here, and they do not know the difference.  Why is this? 
Because, although they have embraced the gospel and know it is true, they
have not received the spirit of Christ.

	When we come to the doctrines that we preach, as contained in the
Bible, and lay them before the people, the whole Christian world cannot
gainsay a word of them.  I have read many and many a time out of the
prophecies, and the sayings of the Savior and His apostles that the Bible
contains, until they who listened have got up and declared they would hear
no more from that wicked book, believing it to be the Book of Mormon. 
Priests and deacons have declared they would hear no more from that vile
record.  I have said, "Does not this agree with your faith and feelings?" 
"No, it does not, and if we had it in our houses, we would take the tongs
and put it in the fire."  "Well," I have replied, "the book I have been
reading from is the Holy Bible, the Old and New Testaments, translated by
order of King James."  But they did not know what those records contained. 
When we come to the doctrines contained in this book the Christians cannot
gainsay them; they are struck dumb and silent as night, or rage in anger. 
Truth overcomes error, and when it is set before the people, the honest
receive it.  I wonder if there are any elders here who ever had a
minister, deacon, or so-called Christian say to them, "If you will perform
such and such miracles I will believe."  I have had that said to me a
great many times; it always shocked me.  I would say to them:  "You have
not read the Bible, I think."  "Oh, yes, we have," they would say, "we are
Bible scholars."  "Well, then, I will ask you a question.  Did you ever
read in your Bible anything like this--'A wicked and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign
of the prophet Jonas?"  "We do not know that we ever did."  I would turn
to the passage and show it to them.  Still, men have believed because they
have seen a miracle wrought.  They cannot withstand that by argument,
because they see the truth mathematically demonstrated.  Do such
characters endure?  No; they come here and then turn away from their God,
from the angels, from the holy prophecies of the Lord Jesus, from their
brethren and benefactors who brought them here from the land of
oppression, where they could not own so much as a chicken, and where
almost all they could get was a morsel of bread.  Yet they come here and
turn away from their brethren and the covenants they have made, and are
traitors to God and heaven, and to the good in the heavens and on the
earth.  Are there men who came here in this way who have got rich?  Yes,
there are men now in this city who came here poor, naked, and barefoot,
and willing to take a spade and go a ditching for me, or for anybody else
who would furnish them a little bread, and now they are rich.  They have
made their wealth out of this people who constitute the kingdom of God,
and they are using it to build up the kingdom of the devil.  What are we
to say to them? I would say, let them alone severely.  The man who will
apostatize from the truth, forsake his God and his religion, is a traitor
to everything there is in heaven, earth, and hell.  There is no soundness,
goodness, truth, or virtue in him; nothing but darkness and corruption,
and down to hell he will go.  This may grate on the delicate ears of some,
and they may think it is a pretty hard sentence, still it is true.

	When apostates in this city of Territory crave your gold, silver,
fine flour, and your substance, refuse them.  Tell them they have the same
privilege to earn bread that you have, and if they will work for and earn
it, like honest men and women, they are free to do so, but not to pluck it
from the pockets of the honest and poor.  Let the Latter-day Saints give
their substance to men who will pay their tithing, help to support the
elders in their preaching to us, donate to the families here whose
husbands and fathers have gone to preach the gospel to the nations, and
let the apostates alone.  If I were to ask you honestly and sincerely, and
in the character of a Christian, and then a little stronger, in the name
of the Lord God of Israel, will you let apostates alone and trade with
them no more, what would the Saints say?

	How many of the Latter-day Saints would say--"I would as soon trade
with this man as that man, or spend my money in this store as in that
store, even though they pay their tithing, and do good with their means?" 
Those men and women in whom this feeling exists must get rid of it, of
they will not be numbered with those who are of one heart and of one mind. 
Now, remember that!  I will promise those who feel in their hearts that
they would sooner trade with an apostate or with a corrupt outsider, than
with a brother, if the former would sell them a shawl a dollar cheaper,
and persist in such a course of things, that they will never enter in at
the strait gate, nor be numbered with those who are sanctified and
prepared to enjoy the celestial presence of God our Father and of Jesus
the Redeemer.  I promise you this in the name of the Lord God of Israel.

	You may say it is hard that I should dictate you in your temporal
affairs.  Is it not my privilege to dictate you?  Is it not my privilege
to give this people counsel to direct them so that their labors will build
up the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of the devil?  I will quote
you a little Scripture if you wish, the words of an apostle of the Lord
Jesus Christ to me.  You may think that I saw him in vision, and it was a
vision given right in broad daylight.  Said he--"Never spend another day
to build up a Gentile city, but spend your days, dollars, and dimes for
the upbuilding of the Zion of God upon the earth, to promote peace and
righteousness, and to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man, and he who
does not abide this law will suffer loss."

	That is a saying of one of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He
said it to me.  Do you want to know his name?  It is not recorded in the
New Testament among the apostles, but it was an apostle whom the Lord
called and ordained in this my day, and in the day of a good portion of
the congregation, and his name was Joseph Smith, junior.  These words were
delivered to me in July, 1833, in the town of Kirtland, Geauga County,
State of Ohio.  The word to the elders who were there was:  "Never, from
this time henceforth, do you spend one day or one hour to sustain the
kingdoms of this world or the kingdoms of the devil, but sustain the
Kingdom of God to your uttermost."  Now, if I were to ask the elders of
Israel to abide this, what would be the reply of some amongst us?  The
language in the hearts of some would be--"It is none of your business
where I trade."  I will promise those who feel thus that they will never
enter the celestial Kingdom of our Father and God.  That is my business. 
It is my business to preach the truth to the people, and it will be my
business by and by to testify for the just and to bear witness against the
ungodly.  It is your privilege to do as you please.  Just please
yourselves; but when you do so, will you please bear the results and not
whine over them.

	It is the way with thousands and thousands, when they burn their
fingers they will turn round and complain of somebody else, when they
themselves are the only ones to blame.  How natural is it for some to
endeavor to blame others for the troubles their own follies have induced! 
It is a trick of the devil.  You never see Saints take this course.  When
they do wrong they do not try to lay the responsibility on their neighbor,
or on some brother or sister.  The Saint is ready to acknowledge his
fault, to bear the responsibility, and to kiss the rod and reverence the
hand that corrects him.  But you hear those who are not Saints continually
complaining.  It is so, to a great extent, with our new comers.  When they
come here they look for perfection. They say this is Zion.  And so it is;
but if we go to the Scriptures we shall find that the Zion of God is
composed of the pure in heart.  Brethren and sisters, have you Zion within
you?  If Jesus Christ is not in you, the apostle says, "then are ye
reprobates."  If the Zion of God is not within the bosom of you who
profess to be Latter-day Saints take care that you are not reprobates.  Be
careful that no man takes advantage of you, leads you astray, and causes
you to leave the Church and Kingdom of God, apostatize, and go down to
hell.  If you have Jesus and the Kingdom of God within you, then the Zion
of God is here.

	Our brethren and sisters, when they gather here, are apt to find
fault and to say this is not right and that is not right, and this brother
or that sister has done wrong, and they do not believe that he or she can
be a Latter-day Saint in reality and do such things.  The people come here
from the east and the west, from the north and the south, with all their
traditions, which impede their progress in the truth and are difficult to
lay aside.  Yet they will pass judgment on the acts of their brethren and
sisters.  I want to ask who made them the judges of the servants and
handmaidens of the Almighty, who, shoulder to shoulder, have borne off
this kingdom for more than a third of a century?  Thousands upon whom the
yoke of Christ has rested so long, and who have borne off the kingdom, are
judged and found fault with, by some who probably were baptized last
summer of but a short time ago.  You know that this is so, you are
witnesses to the truth of what I am saying, for you hear it yourselves. 
Now, who are they who will be one with Christ?  If I were to tell the
truth just as it is, it might not be congenial to the feelings of some of
my hearers, for truth is not always pleasant when it relates to our own
dear selves.  You take some of those characters to whom I have referred
to-day, who want us all to be of one heart and of one mind, and they think
we cannot be so unless we all have the same number of houses, farms,
carriages, and horses, and the same amount in greenbacks.  There are
plenty in this Church who entertain such a notion, and I do not say but
there are good men who, if they had the power, would dictate in this
manner, and in doing so they would exercise all the judgment they are
masters of, but let such characters guide and dictate, and they would soon
accomplish the overthrow of this Church and people.  This is not what the
Lord means when He said:  "Be ye of one heart and of one mind."  He meant
that we must be one in observing His word and in carrying out His counsel,
and not to divide our worldly substance so that a temporary equality might
be made among the rich and the poor.

	You take these very characters who are so anxious for the poor, and
what would they tell us?  Just what they told us back yonder--"Sell your
feather beds, your gold rings, ear rings, breast pins, necklaces, your
silver tea spoons or table spoons, or anything valuable that you have in
the world, to help the poor."  I recollect once the people wanted to sell
their jewellery to help the poor; I told them that would not help them. 
The people wanted to sell such things so that they might be able to bring
into camp three, ten, or a hundred bushels of corn meal.  Then they would
sit down and eat it up, and they would have nothing with which to buy
another hundred bushels of meal, and would be just where they started.  My
advice was for them to keep their jewellery and valuables, and to set the
poor to work--setting out orchards, splitting rails, digging ditches,
making fences, or anything useful, and so enable them to buy meal and
flour and the necessaries of life.

	A great many good men would say to me--"Br. Brigham, you have a gold
ring on your finger, why not give it to the poor?"  Because to do so would
make them worse off.  Go to work and get a gold ring, then you will have
yours and I will have mine.  That will adorn your body.  Not that I care
anything about a gold ring.  I do not have a gold ring on my finger
perhaps once in a year.

	You who are poor and want me to sell that ring, go to work and I will
dictate you how to make yourselves comfortable, and how to adorn your
bodies and become delightful.  But no, in many instances you would
say--"We will not have your counsel, we want your money and your
property."  This is not what the Lord wants of us.

	There was a certain class of men called Socialists, or Communists,
organized, I believe, in France.  I remember there was a very smart man,
by the name of M. Cabot, came over with a company of several hundreds. 
When they came to America they found the City of Nauvoo deserted and
forsaken by the "Mormons," who had been driven away.  They set themselves
down there where we had built our fine houses, and made our farms and
gardens, and made ourselves rich by the labor of our own hands, and they
had to send back year by year to France for money to assist them to
sustain themselves.  We went there naked and barefoot, and had wisdom
enough, under the dictation of the Prophet, to build up a beautiful city
and temple by our own economy and industry without owing a cent for it. 
We came to these mountains naked and barefoot.  Are you not speaking
figuratively?  Yes, I am, for it was only the figure that got got [sic]
here, for, comparatively, we left ourselves behind.  We lived on rawhide
as long we could get it, but when it came to the wolf beef it was pretty
tough.  We lived, however, and built a fort, and built our houses inside
the fort.  Then we commenced our gardens, we planted our corn, wheat, rye,
buckwheat, oats, potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, and we
planted our peach and apple seeds, and we got grapes and strawberries, and
currants from the mountains.  The seeds grew, and so did the Latter-day
Saints, and we are here to-day.

	I am not unfrequently asked the question--"What induced you to come
to this desert sterile country?"  Sometimes my answer is--"We came here to
get rid of the so-called Christians."  This is somewhat of a stumbling
block to them; they do not knew [sic] how to understand it.  They could
understand it if they had been with us and had seen the Methodists,
Baptists, and Presbyterians leading on the mob to rob, plunder, and
destroy, as I have seen them.  Do you think we came here of our own
choice?  No; we would have stayed in those rich valleys and prairies back
yonder if we could have had the privilege of inheriting the land for which
we had paid the government our gold and silver, but we could not, so we
came here because we were obliged to.  And now we are gathering,
gathering.  Did you ever read in the New Testament that the Kingdom of
Heaven in the last days would be like a net cast into the sea which should
gather all kinds--the good and the bad?  If this is not a proof to the
inhabitants of the earth that this is the Kingdom of God, why there is
abundance of other evidence to prove it.  But this is one true evidence to
all the inhabitants of the earth--we are gathering the good and the bad of
all kinds.  The good, I expect, will improve until they are gathered into
the garner, and the bad will be cast away, thrust overboard.

	Now, I want to come back to a subject upon which I have already
touched.  I want to hit somebody or other.  Will you remember it?  Never,
from this time henceforth and forever, sustain a man, men, a people, a
community, or anybody that operates against or forsakes the Kingdom of
God.  Do you know what I call them, or have your forgotten what I said
about the poor of this world?  The Lord has chosen them, it is true, but
He has not chosen the devil's poor nor the poor devils.  They who forsake
or operate against the Kingdom of God are what I call poor, miserable
devils.  That is a harsh expression, especially to come from the pulpit,
but I built this stand to say just what I pleased in it.  Who among the
people of the world can dictate for themselves?  They want to be talked
to, guided, directed, pampered, and caressed like little children.  This
people also do.  How many are there here who, if they had stayed in their
native land, would ever have owned a chicken or a six-pence, who have now
a good house, farm, garden, orchard, and a carriage to ride in?  There are
hundreds.

	Shall I make an application of this?  If you please I will.  The Lord
owns the heavens and the earth, all things are His, and He delights to
give them to His children, and He would much sooner that they should enjoy
the good things of the earth than that they should not do so, if they
would use them for the accomplishment of His purposes.  It would cheer and
comfort His heart to see all the Latter-day Saints combined in their
efforts to promote His kingdom instead of promoting the kingdoms of this
world.  But we are but children, and the Lord is merciful, gracious, and
long-suffering to His people and to all the inhabitants of the earth.  We
are all His children--saint or sinner, it makes not difference.  Every son
and daughter of Adam and Eve that ever came on this earth is the offspring
of that God who lives in the heavens whom we serve and acknowledge.  How
merciful He is to His children!  To see the wicked flourish like a green
bay tree, and see the nations of the earth that oppose Him, set at naught
all His counsel and will have none of His reproof, and spurn His servants,
yet see how merciful He is to them.  But let me say that the time is now
at hand when the chastening hand of the Almighty will be upon the nations
of the earth.  He has commenced His work. Through His kind providences He
has ordained that it should commence here where it commenced in the
morning of creation.  On this continent He will wind up His work; from
here He will send the gospel of Jesus Christ to the uttermost parts of the
earth, and woe to the nation that rejects it, and that persecutes and
slays His servants; they will have to pay the debt.

 	I can make a just comparison between the nations of the earth and the
children of Israel.  Of all the hundreds of thousands who left Egypt, and
who were over twenty years of age, who crossed the Red Sea, and travelled
in the wilderness, two only were permitted to go into the land of Canaan. 
This was in consequence of their transgressions, and the Lord cut them off
in the flesh that He might save them in the day of the Lord Jesus.  So it
will be with all the nations of the earth.  Some few will be saved, but,
to use scripture terms, very few will escape the punishment of the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone.  The Lord is merciful, but, when He
comes to His Kingdom on the earth, He will banish traitors from His
presence, and they will be sons of perdition. Every apostate who ever
received this gospel in faith, and had the spirit of it, will have to
repent in sackcloth and ashes, and sacrifice all he possesses, or be a son
of perdition, go down to hell, and there dwell with the damned; and those
who persecute and destroy the people of God, and shed the blood of
innocence, will be judged accordingly.

	Now, if you will please to hearken and hear, you Latter-day Saints,
do not spend another dollar with an apostate, neither in this city nor in
any other.  Will we purchase from outsiders?  Yes, and call them ladies
and gentlemen, because many of them are the friends of God if they did but
know it.  There are plenty in the world who want to be, but very few come
here except these apostates, who would sap the fountain of the Kingdom of
God, and destroy all that was virtuous and truthful on the earth, like
many others who never come into the Church.  Let them alone.  Will you
sell them your wheat?  No, sir; if you do--but remember you can do just as
you please.  I will not injure you, nor speak, nor even think evil of you,
but my prayer will ever be--"O, God, the eternal Father, I ask Thee, in
the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ, to save the righteous, and let the
wicked and the ungodly go to their place and share the reward of their
doings."  I will lift my heart to God in your behalf who feel to build up
the kingdoms of this world.  You say this is harsh.  No, it is not, it is
good policy, to say nothing abut religion.  Is it not good policy to trade
with and support our friends?  If you go to London, Paris, the German
States, or even in America, do you ever hear a Catholic found fault with
for trading at a store owned by a Catholic?  And the same is true with
regard to the Church of England, Methodists, or any other society.  It is
good policy and economy to sustain each other.  Then why is it not so with
the Latter-day Saints?  It is so, and we will do it, so help us God.  We
are here because there was no other place on the face of the earth where
we could go and be safe; but here we are all right, and here the Lord
designs that we should stay.  By and bye we shall hear the locomotive
whistle, screaming through our valleys, dragging in its train our brethren
and sisters, and taking away and the apostates.  "Will not our enemies
overslaugh us when we get the railroad?"  No, ladies and gentlemen.  Do
you want to know what will take every apostate and corrupt hearted man and
woman from our midst?  Live so that the fire of God may be in you and
around about you and burn them out.  But if we mingle, fellowship, shake
hands with, and think they are as good as anybody, the Lord says:  All
right; you may try it until you are tired.  But the Lord has said that He
will gather the pure in heart; they shall come by thousands, and "the
chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one another in the
broadways, they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the
lightnings."  I do not know what the prophet referred to here unless it
was one of those engines.  But the Lord will gather up His people, and
fill the land of Zion with those who love and serve Him, and will waste
away the wicked and the ungodly.

	I can say to you, Latter-day Saints, I will guide you in the way of
truth if you will be guided, and I will tell you how to save yourselves
spiritually and temporally.  

	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

      DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, June 23rd, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
    HOW DIVISIONS WERE INTRODUCED INTO THE CHRISTIAN WORLD--THE GOSPEL
 PERFECT, BUT ITS TEACHERS IMPERFECT--THE PRIESTHOOD AND ITS RESTORATION.

	The Latter-day Saints believe in the doctrine that was taught by the
prophets, by Jesus, and by his Apostles.  Much has been said and written
concerning the Church that was organized in the days of the incarnation of
the Savior, and there has been a great deal of speculation as to the faith
of that Church and the doings of its members.  To tell what this religion,
which we call the gospel of salvation, comprises, would require more than
a lifetime.  It would take more than our lifetime to learn it, and if it
were learned by us we should not have time to tell it.  In it is
incorporated all the wisdom and knowledge that have ever been imparted to
man, and when man has passed through the little space of time called life,
he will find that he has only just commenced to learn the principles of
this great salvation.  In the early days of the Christian Church we
understand that there was a good deal of speculation among its members
with regard to their belief and practice, and the propagation of these
speculative ideas created divisions and schisms.  Even in the days of the
Apostles there was evidently considerable division, for we read that some
were for Paul, some for Apollos, and others for Cephas.  The people in
those days had their favorites, who taught them peculiar doctrines not
generally received and promulgated.  The Apostles had the truth, and
thought that they were so established in it in their day that they really
had the power to unite the Church together in all temporal matters, as
Jesus prayed they might be, but they found themselves mistaken.  Have we
any proof of this?  Yes; you recollect reading that the Apostles assembled
themselves together to break bread and to administer; and they did
administer from house, and from congregation to congregation, the words
words [sic] of life and the ordinances of the gospel.  They thought they
had power to make the people of one heart and one mind with regard to
temporal things, and that they could amalgamate the feelings of the people
sufficiently to organize them as one family.  And the people sold their
possessions and laid the price at the Apostles' feet, and they had all
things in common.  There is no doubt that this is a correct doctrine, and
can be practiced to the benefit of a community at large, if believed and
understood.  But who has got the doctrine; who has eyes to see, ears to
hear, and a heart to believe?  Who has the authority and the capability to
organize such a society?  The Apostles thought they had, but when Ananias
and Sapphira fell dead because they had lied, not only to man but to the
Holy Ghost,in saying they had laid their all at the feet of the Apostles
when they had only laid part there, a great fear fell upon the people, and
they dispersed.  Have we any history that the people ever assembled in a
like capacity afterwards?  I think you cannot find it.  After the days of
the Apostles, when the Council of Nice was called, they then and there
determined what they considered to be correct and scriptural and what they
would lay aside, but that sure word of prophecy which Jesus had shed forth
into the hearts of those who believed on him seemed to be so mixed up and
interwoven with darkness and unbelief, that they could not come to
understanding and receive the full testimony of Jesus.  So the old
Christians lived, and so they spent their days down to the days of the
Reformation.

	If we have eyes to see, we can understand at once, the difficulties
that the Apostles had to encounter.  If the people have lived according to
the gospel that was delivered to them, the Apostles would have had power
to accomplish a great deal more than they did, although there can be no
doubt but they were mistaken with regard to the time of the winding up
scene, thinking it was much nearer than it really was, and they might have
made mistakes in other respects.  Many of the difficulties they had to
encounter, we are not troubled with.  We have not only the sure word of
prophecy delivered in the days of the Apostles, but we actually have that
surer word of prophecy delivered to us through the Prophet Joseph, that in
the last days the Lord would gather Israel, build up Zion, and establish
His kingdom upon the earth.  This is a more sure word of prophecy than was
delivered in the days of the Apostles, and is a greater work than they had
to perform.

	The few hints that I have dropped clearly show, I think, to all who
are acquainted with its history, how these schisms and divisions have been
introduced into the Christian world.  For more than seventeen hundred
years the Christian nations have been struggling, striving, praying, and
seeking to know and understand the mind and will of God. Why have they not
had it?  Can you tell me why it is there has not been a succession of the
Apostleship from one to another through all these seventeen centuries, by
which the people might have been led, guided, and directed, and have
received wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to enable them to build up
the Kingdom of God, and to give counsel concerning it until the whole
earth should be enveloped in the knowledge of God?  "O, yes, it was the
apostacy."  Very true, if it had not been for these schisms such might not
have been the case.  I have taken the liberty of telling the Latter-day
Saints in this and other places something with regard to the Apostles in
this our day.  It is true that we have a greater assurance of the Kingdom
and the power of God being upon the earth than was possessed by the
Apostles anciently, and yet right here in the Quorum of the Twelve, if you
ask one of its members what he believes with regard to the Deity, he will
tell you that he believes in those great and holy principles which seem to
be exhibited to man for his perfection and enjoyment in time and in
eternity.  But do you believe in the existence of a personage called God? 
"No, I do not," says this Apostle.  So you see there are schisms in our
day.  Do you think there was any in the days of the Apostles?  Yes, worse
than this.  They were a great deal more tenacious than we are.

	We have another one in the Quorum of the Twelve who believes that
infants actually have the spirits of some who have formerly lived on the
earth, and that this is their resurrection, which is a doctrine so absurd
and foolish that I cannot find language to express my sentiments in
relation to it.  It is as ridiculous as to say that God--the Being whom we
worship--is principle without personage.  I worship a person.  I believe
in the resurrection, and I believe the resurrection was exhibited to
perfection in the person of the Savior, who rose on the third day after
his burial.  This is not all.  we [sic] have another one of these
Apostles, right in this Quorum of the Twelve, who, I understand, for
fifteen years, has been preaching on the sly in the chimney corner to the
brethren and sisters with whom he has had influence, that the Savior was
nothing more than a good man, and that his death had nothing to do with
your salvation or mine. The question might arise, if the ancient Apostles
believed doctrines as absurd as these, why were they not handed down to
after generations that they might avoid the dilemma, the vortex, the
whirlpool of destruction and folly?  We will not say what they did or did
not believe and teach, but they did differ one from another, and they
would not visit each other.  This was not through the perfection of the
gospel, but through the weakness of man.

	The principles of the gospel are perfect, but are the Apostles who
teach it perfect?  No, they are not.  Now, bringing the two together, what
they taught is not for me to say, but it is enough to say this, that
through the weaknesses in the lives of the Apostles many were caused to
err.  Our historians and ministers tell us that the church went into the
wilderness, but they were in the wilderness all the time.  They had the
way marked out to get out of the wilderness and go straightforward into
the Kingdom of God, but they took various paths, and the two substantial
churches that remain--a remnant from the apostles, that divided, are now
called the Holy Catholic Church and the Greek Church.  You recollect
reading in the Revelations of John what the angel said to John, when he
was on the Isle of Patmos, about the Seven Churches.  What was the matter
with those Churches?  They were not living according to the light that had
been exhibited.  Do the Latter-day Saints live according to the light that
has been exhibited to them?  No, they do not.  Did the ancient saints live
according to the revelations  given through the Savior and written by the
Apostles, and the revelations given through the Apostles, and left on
record for the Saints to read?  No, they did not.  We may say there is
some difference between the days of Jesus and the Apostles and these days. 
Then, Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature;" proffer this gospel to all the inhabitants of the earth.  That
was a day of scattering and dispersion for those who believed in the
Savior.  When we come to discriminate between the former and the
Latter-day Saints we shall find there was a little difference in their
callings and duties, and in many points that we may say pertain to our
temporal lives.  Not in the doctrine of baptism, the laying one [sic] of
hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, nor in the gifts of the gospel. 
There is no difference in these things, but there is a difference in
regard to the temporal duties devolving upon us.  In those days the
command was "Go to the nations of the earth;" in these days it is "Come
from the nations of the earth."  Do you not see the difference?  Read the
revelations of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants given through Joseph,
and you will find that the burden of the gathering of the House of Israel,
the building up of Zion, and the sanctifying of the people, and the
preparing for the coming of the Son of Man is upon the elders of this
church.

	Soon after the death of Jesus the word He gave to His Apostles was to
go and preach the gospel to the nations, that all might be benefitted
thereby; but now, it is to gather up the House of Israel, and the fulness
of the Gentiles, and bring them home to Zion, and to the lands of their
fathers, that they may receive their inheritances on the lands given to
them of the Lord in ancient days.  So you see there is some difference
between the duties and callings of the Saints in former and in latter
days.  When the Lord called upon Joseph he was but a boy--a child, only
about fourteen years of age.  He was not filled with traditions; his mind
was not made up to this, that, or the other.  I very well recollect the
reformation which took place in the country among the various
denominations of Christians--the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and
others--when Joseph was a boy.  Joseph's mother, one of his brothers, and
one, if not two, or his sisters were members of the Presbyterian Church,
and on this account the Presbyterians hung to the family with great
tenacity.  And in the midst of these revivals among the religious bodies,
the invitation, "Come and join our church," was often extended to Joseph,
but more particularly from the Presbyterians.  Joseph was naturally
inclined to be religious, and being young, and surrounded with this
excitement, no wonder that he became seriously impressed with the
necessity of serving the Lord.  But as the cry on every hand was, "Lo,
here is Christ," and "Lo, there!"  Said he, "Lord, teach me, that I may
know for myself, who among these are right."  And what was the answer? 
"They are all out of the way; they have gone astray, and there is none
that doeth good, no not one."  When he found out that none were right, he
began to inquire of the Lord what was right, and he learned for himself. 
Was he aware of what was going to be done?  By no means.  He did not know
what the Lord was going to do with him, although He had informed him that
the Christian churches were all wrong, because they had not the Holy
Priesthood, and had strayed from the holy commandments of the Lord,
precisely as the children of Israel did.  They were the children of
promise, of whom the Lord had said--"They shall be called by my name, and
I will save them;" and for generations he had striven to do so.  When
pursued by the hosts of Pharaoh He had delivered them from Egyptian
bondage; He had destroyed the Hittites and other heathen nations, and had
given them possession of the land of Canaan, and in every way had tried to
bless them; yet they would not be blessed, and in the Prophet Isaiah's
writings we read that they had transgressed the laws, changed the
ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenants.  Do you think the
Gentile Christian nations have rebelled?  I know they have.  Take, for
instance, the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of the world, as
found in this book--the Bible.  He commanded His Apostles to go to all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature, and he that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved.  How many methods of baptism were practised in
those days?  Just as many as there were saviors--one.  How many methods of
laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost?  One.  How many methods of
obtaining the spirit of prophecy and the gifts of healing and the
discerning of spirits?  One.  One God, one faith, and one Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, and one only.  Well, the Apostles went and preached this
gospel, yet one would vary a little on one point, and another on another,
and those who took the gospel and ran here and there would introduce items
of doctrine that were altogether imaginary.  Do we find any curious ideas
advanced in our day?  Yes, I can relate a circumstance that I once heard
myself, from one of the first elders in this church.  He was preaching to
the people on the principle of adultery, and told them that, according to
the law of the Lord, whosever commits adultery shall have his blood shed. 
But the idea striking him that millions had committed this crime whose
blood had never been shed, he thought this could not be correct, and so to
improve it he said if their blood was not shed in this life it would be in
the resurrection.  What an absurdity!  There is no blood there.  Flesh and
blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.  Does not this show to you how
these little things will creep into the Church?  Have we the power and
authority and the method of detecting every such error?  We have.  Do you
know what they are?  Some of you do, and if you do not I shall not tell
you to-day.  But we are in possession of the means by which to detect
every error that comes into the church, and to decide satisfactorily on
every point, and to decide what is and what is not true.

	The gospel is a fountain of truth, and truth is what we are after. 
We have embraced the truth--namely, the gospel of the son of God.  Its
first principles are to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to repent of our
sins, then go down into the waters of baptism for the remission of our
sins, and have hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost,
which will lead us into all truth.  If there are any of my friends or
enemies here who do not know what "Mormonism" is, I am telling them.  We
believe in God our Father.  This leads me right to another point that I
have not much time to talk about.  I recollect preaching once in the old
bowery with regard to our Father and God, the Being we worship and whom we
think so much of.  There was a Baptist minister present; he was staying at
my house.  He was a kind, friendly man, and was on his way to the gold
mines.  He was sitting beside me.  I wanted to leave him in a puzzle.  I
would not tell him, but brought him right to the point, and there left
him.  When we got home, said he, "Oh!  brother Young, you came right to
the point exactly, and I did pray that you might tell us what kind of a
being God is."  I replied, "I left you in a puzzle on purpose for you to
guess it.  You have read it frequently, and you can hardly read the Bible
at all without reading precisely what kind of a being our Father is." 
Said he, "I am not aware that I know anything about it."  I asked him if
he could tell me what kind of a being Adam was.  "Oh, Adam was a man like
I am."  I asked him if he believed in the history of creation, as given in
Genesis by Moses, for if he did he would find that God said to His
associates, "Let us go down and make man in our own image and likeness." 
He believed the history given by Moses, and had read the passage to which
I referred.  "Then," said I, "you must believe that Adam was created in
the exact image of the Father."  He had never thought of that in his life. 
I told him I had read that  many times to Christians and to Christian
ministers, but they would not believe what was in the Bible.  Says Jesus,
"Whosoever has seen me has seen the Father."  He is the Being the
Latter-day Saints worship; He is a man-God.  Can you get a better term
than that--a God-man?  It is said that Jesus is the only begotten of the
Father.  It is strange that people cannot understand it, but they cannot
unless they are told.  How can we know unless we are told, and how can we
tell the people unless the Lord tells us to do so?  Faith comes by hearing
the word of God declared, and this must be declared by those having
authority.  This character whom we serve is God, the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of our spirits, if the Apostle tells the
truth; if he has not, who can correct him unless they have a revelation
from the heavens?  I have had a great many ministers tell me that I must
understand that spiritually.  I have told them that I read and understood
it just as it as, and if it was not right, and they could give the correct
meaning (which it was impossible for them to do without revelation), they
were under condemnation before the Lord if they did not do so.  That would
stop them.

	Our Lord Jesus Christ--the Savior, who has redeemed the world and all
things pertaining to it, is the only begotten of the Father pertaining to
the flesh.  He is our elder brother, and the heir of the family, and as
such we worship him.  He has tasted death for every man, and has paid the
debt contracted by our first parents.  What about this?  I am not going to
tell this, for I have a few more ideas with regard to the Christian world
that I wish to lay before you.  Why have they wandered so far from the
path of truth and rectitude?  Because they left the Priesthood and have
had no guide, no leader, no means of finding out what is true and what is
not true.  It is said the Priesthood was taken from the Church, but it is
not so, the Church went from the Priesthood, and continued to travel in
the wilderness, turned from the commandments of the Lord, and instituted
other ordinances.  There are a great many churches that do not believe in
ordinances at all, and there are some called Christians who do not believe
in the blood of the Savior, and that he, himself, was nothing more nor
less than a good man.  If they believe in the baby resurrection, or that a
person who had committed adultery would have his blood shed in the
resurrection, it would be just as consistent as to believe what they do
believe.  These ideas are all wrong.

	The Christian world struggled on until the days of the Reformation. 
But what of the Reformation?  Nothing, only it shows that there were some
few among them who had courage to come out against the orthodox principles
ordained, published, and proclaimed by the Priests.  They had an idea in
their minds that the Lord was going to do something for the people, but
they could not tell what.  There was a spirit upon them that prompted them
to declare against the wickedness of those professing to be Christians. 
Did they profess to know enough to take the truth and leave the error? 
No; down to the days of my youth the Christians did not know any better
than to renounce any doctrine that the Church believed from which they
came.  This is more or less the case with every denomination on the face
of the earth.  Some who call themselves Christians are very tenacious with
regard to the Universalians, yet the latter possess many excellent ideas
and good truths. Have the Catholics?  Yes, a great many very excellent
truths.  Have the Protestants?  Yes, from first to last.  Has the infidel? 
Yes, he has a good deal of truth; and truth is all over the earth.  The
earth could not stand but for the light and truth it contains.  The people
could not abide were it not that truth holds them.  It is the Fountain of
truth that feeds, clothes, and gives light and intelligence to the
inhabitants of the earth, no matter whether they are saints or sinners. 
Do you think there is any truth in hell?  Yes, a great deal, and where
truth is there we calculate the Lord has a right to be. You will not find
the Lord where there is no truth.  The devil had truth in his mouth as
well as lies when he came to mother Eve.  Said he, "If you will eat of the
fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will see as the gods
see."  That was just as true as anything that ever was spoken on the face
of the earth.  She did eat, her eyes were opened,  and she saw good and
evil.  She gave of the fruit to her husband, and he ate too.  What would
have been the consequence if he had not done so?  They would have been
separated, and where would we have been?  I am glad he did eat.  I am glad
the fruit was given to mother Eve, that she ate of it, and that her eyes
were opened, that I have tasted the sweet as well as the bitter, and that
I understand the difference between good and evil.

	When the Lord called upon His servant Joseph, after leading him along
for years until he got the plates, from a portion of which the Book of
Mormon was translated, "By and bye," said he, "you are going to organize
my church and establish my kingdom.  I am going to have a church on the
earth.  All these churches you have inquired about are wrong; they have
the truth amongst them, but not the Priesthood.  They lack a guide to
direct the affairs of the Kingdom of God on the earth--that is the keys of
the priesthood of the Son of God."  This tells the story.  We possess the
Priesthood.  The Lord sent John to ordain Joseph to the Aaronic
Priesthood, and when he commenced to baptize people he sent a greater
power--Peter, James, and John, who ordained him to the apostleship, which
is the highest office pertaining to the Kingdom of God that any man can
possess on the face of the earth, for it holds the keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven, and has power to dispense the blessings of the kingdom.  This
priesthood is that which the Christian world do not possess, for they have
taken leave of the kingdom and the priesthood.  Joseph bestowed this
priesthood upon others, and this Church possesses it and its power, which
enables us to detect all error, and to know what it true.

	There are other things I wanted to talk about, not pertaining to the
Kingdom of God on the earth, but to the faith of this people before God,
but I shall leave this for the present, as I feel that I have talked as
long as is prudent for me.  May the Lord God of Israel bless you, is my prayer, in
the name of Jesus.  Amen.

       REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, June 30th, 1867.
                      [Reported by David W. Evans.]
        CONDITION OF APOSTATES--THE YOUNG MEN OF THE SAINTS--BIBLE
    CHRISTIANS--MORMON BATTALION--HIS TESTIMONY TO STRANGERS--COUNCIL
                  TO MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS ON POLYGAMY.

	We have heard good instruction and good news from our brethren in the
south and in the east, and we hear good news concerning Zion.  But this is
not good to the world, for Zion and the spirit of Zion are not loved by
the wicked.  There is good news, and it may be summed up by saying that
God is carrying on His work most admirably.  He has commenced His work in
the last days, for the last time; and into this work He will gather all
things.  We are here in these mountains.  Accidentally?  Perhaps so.  If
we had Brother George A. Smith to tell the story, he would say we came
here because we were obliged to come, and we stay here because there is no
other place to which we can go.  We have built cities in this mountainous
region, because there was no other place where we could do so.  We have
not got through with our work here yet.  The people have hardly commenced
to realize the beauty, excellence, and glory that will yet crown this
city.  I do not know that I will live in the flesh to see what I saw in
vision when I came here.  I see some things, but a great deal more has yet
to be accomplished.  We go abroad and preach to the people and gather them
home to Zion, and it appears to be the feelings of a great many that when
they get here they have done all that the Lord requires of them--their
mission is out, and they are then ready to go and work for themselves.  I
heard of one man who came here twenty years ago, who stayed a few years
and got more property than he ever had before, then sold it, and went to
California, feeling and believing that he had worked long enough for the
Lord, and that henceforth he would work for himself.  The last I heard of
him he was in poverty, distress, and disgrace.  Loved of the Lord?  No; if
the Lord did not hate him, he did not love him.  Angels did not love him,
Saints did not love him, and the devil despised him, as he does all
apostates.

	On this particular point I said a little a Sunday or two ago.  I will
now take the liberty of saying a little more.  If there is a despicable
character on the face of the earth, it is an apostate from this Church. 
He is a traitor who has deceived his best friends, betrayed his trust, and
forfeited every principle of honor that God placed within him.  They may
think they are respected, but they are not.  They are disgraced in their
own eyes.  There is not much honesty withiu [sic] them; they have
forfeited their heaven, sold their birthright, and betrayed their friends. 
What will the devil do with such characters?  Will he have them in his
kingdom?  Yes, he will be obliged to, because he is an apostate himself. 
He apostatized from the Celestial Kingdom, and was thrust down to hell. 
Yet, when apostates get to his kingdom, he will say--"I do not like you,
for you are just as mean as I am.  I was a traitor and a liar, and I am
yet.  I despise myself and every character that betrays his trust."  That
is all I wish to say on that point.  Let apostates go.

	A word now to the Elders of Israel, especially to the young elders. 
There are a great many young men born and brought up in this Church, and
if they do not go to the nations of the earth to preach they are not,
therefore, obliged to make shipwreck of their good education and the faith
they have received.  Brother Pitkin was talking about young men being
ruined through acquiring bad habits and forming bad associations here.  If
we had sent such young men to preach they would, in all probability, have
disgraced themselves and the cause; for I am sstisfied [sic] that if any
man or woman, old or young, wished to be honest, upright, truthful, and
virtuous, there is no community on the face of the earthy that honors and
seeks to promote every holy principle to such an extent as this does.  Do
you know it?  If you do not, just go into the world and mingle with the
people, and you will soon find it out.

	If there are any ladies and gentlemen present who have not joined the
Church, I wish to say a few words to them.  Are men or women honest with
themselves and their God when they refuse or neglect to search diligently
to know the truth of the latter-day work?  I could not be, with the
sensibility God has blessed me with.  A man or woman desirous of knowing
the truth, upon hearing the gospel of the Son of God proclaimed in truth
and simplicity, should ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, if this is
true.  If they do not take this course, they may try and argue themselves
into the belief that they are as honest as any man or woman can be on the
face of the earth; but they are not, they are careless as to their own
best interests.  Before I heard the gospel I searched diligently to know
and understand whatever could be learned among the sectarians respecting
God and the plan of salvation.  It was so with the majority of the
Latter-day Saints.  But very little can be learned among Christian
professors; they are ignorant about God and His kingdom, and the design He
had in view in the formation of the earth and peopling it with His
creatures.  The Christian world are deficient in these matters; and many
among them who believed the Bible was true have felt this, and Martin
Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and other great Reformers and
revivalists have felt this, and have had the spirit of conviction upon
them that God was going to reveal something or other to His creatures.  My
brother Joseph once said to me (and we were both Methodists at the time),
"Brother Brigham, there is not a Bible Christian in the world; what will
become of the people?"  For many years no person saw a smile on his
countenance, in consequence of the burden of the Lord being upon him, and
realizing that the inhabitants of the earth had all gone out of the way
and had turned every man to his own views.  I am not speaking now of the
world morally, but of thei [sic] ignorance of the gospel of the Son of God
and of the way to be saved in the celestial kingdom of our Father.  There
was not a Bible Christian on the face of the earth who was known to us.  I
cannot say what is to be found in the frozen regions of the north, or a
little beyond; if any nook or corner among the icebergs contains an
Apostle, I do not know it, but I suppose none have been able to find one. 
No people on this earth had the Priesthood of the Son of God at their
command or within their grasp, and there was no delegation from God to the
children of men.

	Now, we come proclaiming that the Lord has spoken from Heaven, and
has sent His angels to administer to the children of men.  If you ask
"where is my proof?" my reply is, I am a witness?  Yes, here is this whole
people.  What else has brought them together?  Do you think they have been
gathered for the sake of making money, or for raising a political kingdom? 
Try it, you statesmen and philosophers, and see if you can gather a people
together as we came here.  How did we come here?  We came comparatively
naked and barefoot, driven from our homes into these mountains, robbed of
our horses and cattle, and our houses rifled by mobs.  Were we sustained
by any government?  Did England put forth her hand to sustain us, or did
France donate anything for the assistance of this poor people?  No not
anything.  Did the Government of the United States?  No, but I will you
what they did do--they imposed a trifling tax upon us.  When they were at
war with Mexico they said, "Now, you Mormons are going into the
wilderness, but we will prove whether you are loyal or not--we want five
hundred of your men."  Did we give them?  Yes, we took the men from their
wagons, from their aged fathers and mothers, theirwives and children, and
they went to fight the battles of the United States.  Who helped us here? 
The Lord Almighty, and He has fed and clothed and sustained us, and given
us the ability to gather around us the comforts of life.  And now we
declare that the principles of the gospel of the Son of God, and no man
nor nation beneath the Heavens can contradict or confute what I say.  And
here are my witnesses--some few thousands in this congregation, who would
rise and testify by the power of the Holy Ghost that this is the gospel of
life and salvation.  Can men and women be honest who let this pass by as a
thing of nought, and say--"These poor despised `Mormons' and their
religion are not worthy of our notice, they are beneath our dignity and
refinement."  Stop!  Pause and think!  Do you know what refinement is?  Do
you know what belongs to honor and greatness?  If you do, you will never
make use of such expressions.  Those who are honorable will honor their
being, and prepare according to the best of their ability and knowledge,
and the revelations God has given, to preserve their existence and
identity, and to dwell for ever in the presence of the Father and the Son. 
Every person who is honorable and loves truth will do this.  I do not want
men to come to me or my brethren for testimony as to the truth of this
work; but let them take the Scriptures of divine truth, and there the path
is pointed out to them as plainly as ever a guideboard indicated the right
path to the weary traveller.  There they are directed to go, not to
Brothers Brigham, Heber, or Daniel, to any apostle or elder in Israel, but
to the Father in the name of Jesus, and ask for the information they need. 
Can they who take this course in honesty and sincerity receive
information?  Will the Lord turn away from the honest heart seeking for
the truth?  No, He will not; He will prove to them, by the revelations of
His Spirit, the facts in the case.  And when the mind is open to the
revelations of the Lord it comprehends them quicker and keener than
anything that is seen by the natural eye.  It is not what we see with our
eyes--they may be deceived--but what is revealed by the Lord from Heaven
is sure and steadfast, and abides for ever.  We do not want the people to
rely on human testimony, although that cannot be confuted and destroyed;
still, there is a more sure word of prophecy that all may gain if they
will seek it earnestly before the Lord.  This is to my friends or my
enemies who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the gospel
which He has revealed in these days.  Now, mark my words, if you are
honest to yourselves you will inquire as to its truth.  You are invited to
inquire, and it is your duty to do so, of the Father in the name of Jesus,
if these things are so.  "Well," say a great many, "when Jesus was on the
earth he wrought miracles."  Very true, and have we not done so?  You read
all the history of the world, laying aside the Book of Mormon containing
the history of the people who once inhabited this continent, and you
cannot produce anything that will compare with the labors of this people
in these mountains.  Everything is thrown into the shade when compared
with it.  Have we any witnesses with regard to the healing of the sick by
the power of God?  Plenty of them.  "O," say you, "we do not know anything
about that."  We do not want you to know anything about it until you learn
for yourselves. Miracles, or these extraordinary manifestations of the
power of God, are not for the unbeliever; they are to console the Saints,
and to strengthen and confirm the faith of those who love, fear, and serve
God, and not for outsiders.  When Jesus was spoken to with regard to
miracles, he said, "an evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a
sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet
Jonas," and this principle is as true with regard to individuals as to
generations.  Here is the truth--God has spoken from the heavens, calling
upon the inhabitants of the earth to repent, and we call upon them to
repent.  Is there anything immoral or in the least unchristianlike in
this?  Not in the least.  We also call upon all men to be baptized for the
remission of their sins.  Is this a heresy, is it immoral or
unchristianlike?  No, everybody will agree that it is not in the least. 
Then we say to all, if you have been in the habit of lying, stealing, or
committing any sin whatever, do it no more, but live righteously and godly
as long as you stay on the earth.  Who can complain of this.

	Now, the sermon which I design preaching to the ladies comes right
before me.  It is said--"If it were not for your obnoxious doctrine of
plurality of wives we could believe in the rest very well."  It is not
that.  That is not the touchstone at all, but it is because our wives and
daughters cannot be seduced; it is because this people are strictly moral,
virtuous, and truthful.  Now, taking the history of creation as given by
Moses, let me ask the question--"Mother Eve, did you not partake of the
forbidden fruit, as also did Adam, and thus bring sin and iniquity into
the world?"  "O, yes," says mother Eve.  Then, why cannot you bear the
affliction of it?  Why not say--"If I was the cause of bringing evil into
the world, I will firmly bear all that God puts upon me, and maintain His
word and His law, and so work out my salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God working within me."  I ask this question of you, mother
Eves, every one of you.  If you are not sanctified and prepared, you ought
to be sanctifying and preparing yourselves for the blessings in store for
you when it will be said of you, this is Eve.  Why?  Because you are the
mother of all living.  You might as well prepare first as last.  If you
wish to be Eves and mothers of human families you ought to bear the
burden.  But you say this is cruel.  No, it is not cruel at all.  Is there
a passion in man that he cannot subdue for the sake of the gospel of
salvation, that he may be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal
lives?  Shame on the elder who, if duty calls, cannot go and preach the
gospel until he winds up his earthly career and never permit a female to
kiss him.  I do not wish to say much upon this subject, but I say, woe to
you Eves if you proclaim or entertain feelings against this doctrine!  Woe
to every female in this Church who says, "I will not submit to the
doctrine that God has revealed."  You will wake up by and by and say, "I
have lost the crown and exaltation I might have gained had I only been
faithful to my covenants and the rvelations [sic] which God gave.  I might
have been crowned as well as you, but now I must go to another kingdom." 
Be careful, O, ye mothers in Israel, and do not teach your daughters in
future, as many of them have been taught, to marry out of Israel.  Woe to
you who do it; you will lose your crowns as sure as God lives.  Be
careful!  "Well," but say you, "these men, these elders of Israel, have it
all their own way."  That is not so, and we are not going to have it all
our own way, unless our way is to do just right.  And the man and woman
who set up their will against the providence of God, will be found wanting
when accounts are squared.  They will have to say, "the summer is past,
the harvest is ended, and we have not received our crowns."  Will you
think of this, sisters, you who are not married as well as you who are?  I
have a good many daughters, but it would be better for every one of my
daughters, and for every female in this Church, to marry men who have
proved themselves to be men of God, no matter how many wives they have,
than to take these miserable characters who are running around here.  For
myself, I desire to please God, whether it is ever to see another wife or
child while I live or not.  Have I proved it?  Yes, God, the heavens, and
the Saints know it.  When Joseph called upon me and my brethren here, we
were always ready.  We made it a point ever to be ready to leave fathers,
mothers, sisters and brothers, wives and children to go and preach the
gospel to a perishing world, and save as many as would hearken to our
counsel.  We have proved this years ago.  We have been willing to leave
all for the sake of the gospel, and therein the Lord has made us rich. 
But who is going to complain about it?

	I want the daughters of Israel, both old and young, to remember that
part of my sermon intended especially for them; and I want our friends who
come here, who are not of us, to hear what the Latter-day Saints have to
say.  If we have the words of eternal life for you, and you will not
receive them at our hands, we want you to be left without excuse.  The
Lord has spoken from the heavens; He has sent His delegation to the earth,
and He has commissioned men on the earth to preach this gospel and to
bring people into the Church.  If they disobey they must take the
consequence; it is they and the Lord for it.  As we have always told them,
the gospel of Jesus which we believe and preach, which they call
"Mormonism," is the doctrine of life and salvation, and if they do not
believe it, they can pray to the Lord and ask Him for knowledge.  All this
they can do if they please.  We do our duty in telling them what they
should do, and the result is with them and their God.  May God bless you. 
Amen.

      REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in Tooele City,
                            August 17th, 1867.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
         THE WORD OF WISDOM--DEGENERACY--WICKEDNESS IN THE UNITED
                       STATES--HOW TO PROLONG LIFE.

	I desire to say much to the people, but I fear I shall have to deny
myself the satisfaction, unless I am strengthened of the Lord.  I will
present before you a few things with which I am more particularly
impressed.  I desire you to hearken to that which has been said during the
session of this Conference, and to that which may yet be said during the
continuation of our meeting.

	We can enjoy the blessings of heaven, or we can deprive ourselves of
that enjoyment.  Intelligent beings have the power to exercise their free
will and choice in doing evil.  All have the privilege of doing evil if
they are disposed so to do, but they will always find that the wages of
sin is death.  The Latter-day Saints, by their righteousness, can enjoy
all the blessings which the Lord has promised to bestow upon His people,
and they can, by their unrighteousness, deprive themselves of the
enjoyment of those blessings.  We, for instance, exhort the Saints to
observe the Word of Wisdom, that they may, through its observance, enjoy
the promised blessing.  Many try to excuse themselves because tea and
coffee are not mentioned, arguing that it refers to hot drinks only.  What
did we drink hot when that Word of Wisdom was given?  Tea and coffee.  It
definitely refers to that which we drink with our food.  I said to the
Saints at our last annual Conference, the Spirit whispers to me to call
upon the Latter-day Saints to observe the Word of Wisdom, to let tea,
coffee, and tobacco alone, and to abstain from drinking spirituous drinks. 
This is what the Spirit signifies through me.  If the Spirit of God
whispers this to His people through their leader, and they will not listen
nor obey, what will be the consequence of their disobedience?  Darkness
and blindness of mind with regard to the things of God will be their lot;
they will cease to have the spirit of prayer, and the spirit of the world
will increase in them in proportion to their disobedience until they
apostatize entirely from God and His ways.

	This is no new or strange thing that you are required to do. 
Thirty-five years ago we were called upon to reform our lives, by giving
heed to the same Words of Wisdom; and if any man comes to you and tells
you that you must have a little tea and a little coffee, by the same rule
he may urge you to take a little tobacco and a little intoxicating liquor,
or a little of any other substance which is hurtful to man.  This destroys
their claim and right to the spirit of revelation, and they go into
darkness.  There is not a single Saint deprived of the privilege of asking
the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ, our
Savior, if it is true that the Spirit of the Almighty whispers through His
servant Brigham to urge upon the Latter-day Saints to observe the Word of
Wisdom.  All have this privilege from the apostle to the lay member.  Ask
for yourselves.

	We are called to be Saints, to be the chosen people of the Lord
Almighty, to be the saviors of the children of men, to gather the house of
Israel, and save the house of Esau.  Are we trifling with our high and
holy calling before the Lord?  Are we trifling away our precious time?  If
we are, we are trifling with our salvation.  Then hearken, O ye Latter-day
Saints, and hear the Words of Wisdom which the Lord has given unto you. 
It is written:  "For the children of this world are in their generation
wiser than the children of light."  There is a just reason for this
saying.  But the Latter-day Saints who hearken to the words of the Lord,
given to them touching their political, social, and financial concerns, I
say, and say it boldly, that they will have wisdom which is altogether
superior to the wisdom of the children of darkness, or the children of
this world.  I know this by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
by the results of my own actions.  They who have hearkened to the counsels
given to them in temporal matters, have invariably bettered their
condition temporally and spiritually.  The day has gone by in which the
people of God are to be trodden under foot by their enemies, in which they
are to be poor outcasts to wander in sheep skins and goat skins, etc., but
they had better continue to do that, and dwell in the caves of these
mountains, and dress as the Indians do, than to forsake their God and
their religion.  Who is there among this people who cannot handle the
things of this world without loving them in preference to the things of
God?  If there is such a person, I pray God to make him or her poor.  Some
among us are so foolish as to lift up their heels against the Almighty as
soon as He blesses them sufficiently to make them a little comfortable and
independent.  This is lamentable.  It is a disgrace to humanity to suffer
the paltry things of this mortality to decoy away our affections from God
and turn them to the beggarly elements of this world.

	If you observe faithfully the Word of Wisdom, you will have your
dollar, your five dollars, your hundred dollars, yea, you will have your
hundreds of dollars to spend for that which will be useful and profitable
to you.  Why should we continue to practise in our lives those pernicious
habits that have already sapped the foundation of the human constitution,
and shortened the life of man to that degree that a generation passes away
in the brief period of from twenty-seven to twenty-nine years?  The
strength, power, beauty, and glory that once adorned the form and
constitution of man have vanished away before the blighting influences of
inordinate appetite and love of this world.  Doubtless we are about the
best looking people to-day upon this footstool, and about the healthiest;
but where is the iron constitution, the marrow in the bone, the power in
the loins and the strength in the sinew and muscle of which the ancient
fathers could boast?  These have, in a great measure, passed away; they
have decayed from generation to generation, until constitutional weakness
and effeminacy are bequeathed to us through the irregularities and sins of
our fathers.  The health and power and beauty that once adorned the noble
form of man must again be restored to our race; and God designs that we
shall engage in this great work of restoration.  Then let us not trifle
with our mission, by indulging in the use of injurious substances.  These
lay the foundation of disease and death in the systems of men, and the
same are committed to their children, and another generation of feeble
human beings is introduced into the world.  Such children have
insufficient bone, sinew, muscle, and constitution, and are of little use
to themselves, or to their fellow creatures; they are not prepared for
life, but for the grave; not to live five, six, eight, and nine hundred
years, but to appear for a moment, as it were, and pass away.  Now, when a
person is fifty years of age he or she is considered an old man or an old
woman; they begin to feel decrepit, and think they must feel old, appear
old, and begin to die.  Premature death is in the marrow of their bones,
the seeds of early dissolution are sown in their bodies, they feel old at
fifty, sixty, and seventy years, when they should feel like boys of
fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen.  Instead of feeling decrepit at those
years they should feel full of strength, vigor, and life, having attained
to early maturity, prepared now to enter upon the duties of a long future
life, and when two hundred years have been attained, they should then feel
more vigorous than the healthiest of men do in this age at forty and fifty
years.

	Let me assure you, my friends, that there does not exist another
people in all the world who will take good counsel as readily as the
Latter-day Saints do.  All men are free to do right or to do wrong, to
take good advice or reject it, to pursue the path that leads to eternal
life, or to go down to death their own way.  I am as independent in
praying, and living a righteous life, as I would be if I were to violate
the laws of God and man.  This is my philosophy with regard to the human
mind.  We have cried to the nation of the United States, and to other
nations for over a third of a century, saying, the wages of sin is death. 
Every man and woman who wishes to forfeit their right to the tree of life
have the privilege of doing so.  The nation that kills the prophets of God
in any age must expect to reap cursings instead of blessings, unless it
speedily repent.  Judgment must begin at the house of God first, and we
are perfectly willing it should.  In 1857 they sent an army to Utah to
annihilate "Mormonism," but the scourge with which they intended to
overwhelm this people has come upon their own heads, and the end is not
yet.  I told General Thomas L. Kane, that friend to humanity, when he
visited us in 1857, that the coming of that army was the entering wedge to
split the Government of the United States in pieces, and that soon.  He,
of course, could not see how this could ever be.  They then were in great
prosperity, and were going to annex the whole continent and neighboring
islands, and so continue to annex until the whole world should take
shelter under our national banner.  He only saw this from a political
stand point, basing his expectations of such grand results upon the
goodness of the Constitution and laws.  I acknowledged to him that we have
the best system of government in existence, but queried if the people of
this nation were righteous enough to sustain its institutions.  I say they
are not, but will trample them under their feet.  I told General Kane that
the Government of the United States would be shivered to pieces.  Will
this Government ever be restored to its former peace and tranquility, and
the institutions thereof ever be maintained and honored?  If they are, it
will be by this people.  Everything they are doing at present in Congress
is only calculated to widen the breach, and alienate and destroy every
vestige of love and affection that may yet be existing; and this they will
continue to do until they have severed the last tie and worked out the
entire destruction of the Government.  They think they are doing the best
that can be done.  Many of them are honorable men, and would do good to
the nation if they knew how.  The results of their acts will be
dissolution, strife, war, and bloodshed, until they are wasted away.  The
Lord will waste away the wicked as He said He would.  A curse will come
upon them to the third and fourth generation, saith the Lord Almighty, if
they repent not, and refrain not from their sins.  There is no likelihood
of their doing this.

	The destruction of property and life during the war has been
enormous; but I am satisfied that the destruction of the love of
virtue--the love of every exalted principle of honor, and of political and
social government--has been greater, comparatively, than the destruction
of property and life.  Religious societies abound in the nation.  Although
it never was more wicked than at the present time, it is strange to say
that it never was more religious in profession.  Religion is the ruling
power.  The conscience of the masses in regard to religion, to politics,
and social life is moulded from the pulpit.  In my early life I was
acquainted with ministers of the sects of the day, and am satisfied that
many of them lived honorably in their families, praying, and desiring, and
seeking for guidance from on high.  While on the other hand, to my certain
knowledge, many of them encouraged a practice which to-day exists to an
alarming extent, and which is openly and shamelessly acknowledged as a
necessity of the age.  To check the increase of our race has its advocates
among the influential and powerful circles of society in our nation and in
other nations.  The same practice existed forty-five years ago, and
various devices were used by married persons to prevent the expenses and
responsibilities of a family of children, which they must have incurred
had they suffered nature's laws to rule pre-eminent.  That which was
practised then in fear and against a reproving conscience, is now boldly
trumpeted abroad as one of the best means of ameliorating the miseries and
sorrows of humanity.  Infanticide is very prevalent in our nation.  It is
a crime that comes within the purview of the law, and is therefore not so
boldly practised as is the other equally great crime, which no doubt, to a
great extent, prevents the necessity of infanticide.  The unnatural style
of living, the extensive use of narcotics, the attempts to destroy and dry
up the fountains of life, are fast destroying the American element of the
nation; it is passing away before the increase of the more healthy,
robust, honest, and less sinful class of the people which are pouring into
the country daily from the Old World.  The wife of the servant man is the
mother of eight or ten healthy children, while the wife of his master if
the mother of one or two poor, sickly children, devoid of vitality and
constitution, and if daughters, unfit, in their turn, to be mothers, and
the health and vitality which nature has denied them through the
irregularities of their parents are not repaired in the least by their
education.  A great proportion of the leading men of our nation have
sprung from wealthy and influential families, have been reared and
educated in the midst of circles where the vices of the age flourish the
most vigorously, destroying moral force and the love of truth and virtue,
making education and refinement mere cloaks to cover sins of the blackest
dye.  The great majority of that class of persons appear in society as
polished gentlemen, whose suavity of manners would deceive, if it were
possible, the very elect.  They have been educated in our seminaries of
learning, and this class of men are now seeking to denude the Constitution
of the United States of all its protective and saving powers.  

	Why all this?  They killed the Prophet.  The mob that collected at
Carthage, Illinois, to commit that deed of blood contained a delegation
representing every State in the Union.  Each has received its blood stain. 
In the perpetration of this great national sin, they acted upon their own
free volition which God implanted within them, as much so as if they had
been willing to hearken to the advice of the Prophet and his friends when
they showed them how to preserve the nation from destruction, how to do
good to all, and how so introduce every holy principle that is calculated
to bless and exalt a people.  But, said they, "we will not hearken to the
counsels of this man;" for, like the Jews of old, they were afraid if they
let him live he would take away their place and nation.  They not only
feared the principles which he taught, but they feared the increasing
numbers which followed him; they feared that if they let him alone he
would incorporate in his religion all the religion there is that is good
for anything, or that is according to the Bible, and all the honest,
truthful, and virtuous of the nation, they feared, would follow him; and
they feared that thereby they would be deprived of their rich emoluments
and livings, so they concluded to get rid of him by slaying him.  In
killing the Prophet Joseph Smith, they did not kill "Mormonism," and they
cannot kill it unless they kill all the "Mormons," for if they leave a
single Latter-day Saint living he will cry to the people to repent of
their sins and return to the Lord, and the Lord will work with him to
gather the righteous, build up His kingdom, build up Zion, and establish
Jerusalem no more to be thrown down.  Well, they will go on their way, and
we will go on ours.  If they had hearkened to the counsel of Joseph Smith,
this nation would have had no wars; there would have been no division in
the Government, but it would have gone on in harmony and prosperity.  So
this people if they will take the counsels which the Lord  gives to them
through His servants with regard to their grain, and prepare for all
contingencies to which they are subject in this mountainous country, we
shall never see a famine; but if we neglect his counsel, refusing to
hearken to good advice, we shall, by taking this course, bring distress
upon ourselves and upon all who depend upon us for a subsistence.  Let us
pursue a course to preserve ourselves and avert every calamity.  This we
can do.  It is not necessary for calamity to come upon us, if we will only
take a course to prevent it.  According to present appearances, next year
we may expect grasshoppers to eat up nearly all our crops.  But if we have
provisions enough to last us another year, we can say to the
grasshoppers--these creatures of God--you are welcome.  I have never yet
had a feeling to drive them from one plant in my garden; but I look upon
them as the armies of the Lord, and with them it is easy for Him to
consume a great nation.  We had better lay up bread instead of selling it
to strangers, and thus avoid a great calamity that otherwise might
overtake us.  If the people refuse to hearken to this timely counsel they
will commit a great error.  Good actions always result in blessings.  The
history of the people of God in all ages testifies that whenever they have
listened to the counsel of heaven they have always been blessed.  All this
people are satisfied that they will be more blessed to hearken to good
counsel than not to do so.

	Instead of doing two days' work in one day, wisdom would dictate to
our sisters, and to every other person, that if they desire long life and
good health, they must, after sufficient exertion, allow the body to rest
before it is entirely exhausted.  When exhausted, some argue that they
need stimulants in the shape of tea, coffee, spirituous liquors, tobacco,
or some of those narcotic substances which are often taken to goad on the
lagging powers to great exertions, but instead of these kind of stimulants
they should recruit by rest.  Our artificial wants, and not our real
wants, and the following of senseless customs subject our sisters to an
excess of labor.  To supply these wants--to get a ribbon, an artificial
flower, this, that, and the other gewgaw, rather than substantial
necessaries--our farmers sell their wheat.  Work less, wear less, eat
less, and we shall be a great deal wiser, healthier, and wealthier people
than by taking the course we do now.  This whole Yankee nation eat so
much, and so many good things, that they are always poor in their bodily
habit; now and then only you will see a fleshy person among them; it is
also the case with the people of the southern portion of the nation.  It
is difficult to find anything more healthy to drink than good cold water,
such as flows down to us from springs and snows of our mountains.  This is
the beverage we should drink. It should be our drink at all times.  If we
constantly drink even malt liquor made from our barley and wheat, our
health would be injured more or less thereby.  It may be remarked that
some men who use spirituous liquors and tobacco are healthy, but I argue
that they would be much more healthy if they did not use it, and then they
are entitled to the blessings promised to those who observe the advice
given in the "Work of Wisdom."  Some few persons who have been addicted to
the use of hot drinks, &c., have reached the age of eighty, eighty-three,
and eighty-four years, but had they not been addicted to such habits of
living they might have reached the age of a hundred or a hundred and five
years.

	We profess to be Saints of the Most High.  We are the children of
that Being who lives in the heavens, who is filled with all intelligence,
and possesses all power.  We cannot be prepared to dwell with Him unless
we instruct our minds and sanctify ourselves in all things.  I am happy to
see our children engaged in the study and practice of music.  Let them be
educated in every useful branch of learning, for we, as a people, have in
the future to excel the nations of the earth in religion, science, and
philosophy.  Great advancement has been made in knowledge by the learned
of this world, still there is yet much to learn.  The hidden powers of
nature which give life, growth, and existence to all things, have not yet
been approached by the wisdom of this world.  There exists around us, in
the works of God, an everlasting variety--no two leaves, no two blades of
grass are alike. Natural philosophy, so far as known, marks these
phenomena of nature, and reveals her wonders, but is incapable of
revealing the modus operandi of the production.  All this is veiled in
impenetrable mystery to mortals.  It is information which cannot be
approached by science and philosophy known to man; it can only be reached
through the revelations of the Almighty, the Great Author of Nature's
work.  Great perfection has been attained in the application of important
discoveries to the wants and necessities of mankind.  I can, in a moment,
transmit my wishes to the east, and in a few minutes to the city of
London.  Great perfection has been attained in the art of telegraphy, yet
there is much more to be learned, and the same may be said of the power of
steam, and its application to the wants of mankind.  While the wonders of
art and science in the present age astonish us, yet there was much useful
knowledge possessed by the ancients which is lost to us.  One little
simple art that they understood was that of tempering copper and making it
equal to our finest tempered steel.

	Let the children in our schools be taught everything that is
necessary with regard to doctrine and principle, and then how to live; and
let mothers teach their daughters regarding themselves, and how they
should live in their sphere of existence, that they may be good wives and
good mothers.  Let the sisters study economy in the labor and management
of their homes.  I am satisfied that more than one-half of the labor that
is done in our houses can be saved by a judicious exercise of thought and
good judgment.  Then be wise in these things, and we shall not need tea
and coffee, or any other stimulant stronger than our natural food.  I say,
God bless you, and I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Amen.



   REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle,
                Great Salt Lake City, November 3rd, 1867.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
               THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT--BISHOPS SHOULD BE
                    EXAMPLES--THE SAINTS NOT IGNORANT.

	I will, in the commencement of my remarks, take up a subject upon
which much as been said in the pulpit and in the chimney corner.  It is
regarding the Spirit of the Lord manifesting His will to His children. 
There is no doubt, if a person lives according to the revelations given to
God's people, he may have the Spirit of the Lord to signify to him His
will, and to guide and to direct him in the discharge of his duties, in
his temporal as well as his spiritual exercises.  I am satisfied, however,
that in this respect, we live far beneath our privileges.  If this is
true, it is necessary that we become more fervent in the service of
God--in living our religion--and more truthful and honest with one
another, that we be not slack in the performance of any duty, but labor
with a right good will for God and truth.  If this people, called
Latter-day Saints, live beneath their privileges in the holy gospel of the
Son of God, are they justified in every respect before Him?  They are not. 
If we do not live in the lively exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus,
possessing His Spirit always, how can we know when He speaks to us through
His servants whom He has placed to lead us?  It was observed here this
morning, by one of the brethren, that he never attempted to perform a duty
required of him unless the Spirit manifested to him beforehand that he
would be justified in doing it.  Now, let me ask, how many of you know, by
the manifestation of the Spirit of revelation, that the Lord has whispered
to His servants the necessity of this people observing the Word of Wisdom? 
Some submit to it, and say that it is right, because their President says
so; but, how many of the Saints have received the manifestations of the
Spirit to themselves that this is the will of God?  Again, how many know
by the Spirit of revelation that they should contribute of the substance
the Lord has given to them to gather home the poor Latter-day Saints from
Europe?  Many may have received a testimony from the Holy Spirit that this
is their duty, but there may be one-half of the community who have not
received such a manifestation.  Now, is it the duty of those who have not
lived so as to enjoy the Spirit of revelation, as others do, to perform
this labour of love and charity, the same as those who have received the
Spirit of revelation, to witness to them that it is right?  We think that
it is.  I can call to mind revelations which the Lord delivered to His
servant Joseph, that when they were written and given to the people there
would not be one if fifty of the members of the Church who could say that
they knew, by the revelations of the Lord Jesus, that they were of the
Lord; but they would have to pray and exercise faith to be able to receive
them, and in some instances some apostatized in consequence of revelations
that had been given. This was the case when the "Vision" was given through
Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon.

	At that time there was not as many in the whole Church as there is in
this congregation.  Yes, many forsook the faith when the Lord revealed the
fact to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, as He did to His ancient Apostles,
that all would receive a salvation except those who had sinned a sin unto
death, of which the Apostle John said--"I do not say that ye shall pray
for it."  I prayed and reflected about it, and so did others.  I became
satisfied that, when a revelation came to Joseph for the people to perform
any labor or duty, it was their privilege to go to with their might and do
it collectively and individually, not waiting for the manifestations of
the Spirit to me, but believing that the Prophet knew more than I knew,
that the Lord spoke through him, and that He could do as He pleased about
speaking to me. This is a close point; but I will tell you what is right,
what is the duty of the Latter-day Saints, unless they can, by undeniable
proof, show that the word of the Lord has not come through the President,
they have no right to hesitate one moment in performing the duties
required of them. This is the way I understand revelation.  It is the
privilege of the Latter-day Saints to know and understand the mind and
will of God concerning them; yea, it is even the privilege of the wicked
world to know this.  The Spirit of the Lord bears witness to all people
according to the faith, honesty, and humility which dwell in the
individual who hears and in those who administer the word.  In a great
measure it depends upon this with regard to the witness of God to them. 
It is hard, however, for people to understand these things.  The
intelligence we possess is from our Father and our God.  Every attribute
that is in His character is in His children in embryo.  It is their duty
to improve and develop those attributes; and it is, consequently,
necessary to pay strict attention to every requirement of Heaven, that we
may better understand the mind and will of God concerning us and our duty. 
If we will live so as to enjoy the Spirit of revelation, we may know
concerning ourselves and those we preside over.

	If the people are ready and prepared to receive the word of the Lord
continually, it can be given to them.  An elder may declare the truth
philosophically, and the light of Christ may kindle up the candle of the
Lord within those who hear him, and they see, understand, and are
convicted of its truth, although the elder who preaches it to them may
himself be void of the Spirit of revelation.  Again, a man may preach to a
people whose ears are closed, and their hearts hardened against
conviction, they will not believe the gospel, yet the man who testifies to
them may be full of the power of God.  For example, we will say, here is a
man on the right or the left, who declares that he cannot perform this or
that duty unless he receives a witness to himself, direct from the Lord,
that He requires the duty at his hands.  Upon what principle has he the
right to question any requirement made by the constituted authority of God
on the earth?  Is he entitled to any such right?  He is not.  He is not
entitled to the right of bringing up any argument in his own mind, as to
the right or wrong of it, or to in any way remonstrate against any
requirement the Lord has made of him through His servants.  He is under
obligation to obey, whether the Spirit of the Lord gives him a
manifestation or not.  When the authorities call for so many loads of rock
to be hauled for the Temple, should every man wait to know by direct
revelation to himself whether he should draw rock or not?  Or should all
acknowledge the call as the word of the Lord to us, and promptly and
willingly obey?  When we asked the brethren to build this New Tabernacle,
did they wait to get a revelation to themselves before the commenced the
work?  No; but while they were engaged in that work, when they knelt down
to pray before the Lord, His Spirit was with them, and it justified the
act.  And so will it be with every duty that is required of this people,
if they perform the same in faith before God.  Our beloved brother did not
speak as he meant.  He will be understood to mean simply this:  If a
requirement is made of this people, it is their privilege to have a
testimony that it is of God.  This is what I mean, and it is what my
brother meant who spoke this morning.  I wish now to say a few words to
the Bishops.  It is a common saying, "as with the priest so with the
people."  I will change that a little, and say as are our bishops so are
the people.  We have said much to the people with regard to laying up
provisions to last them a few years.  How many of our bishops have
provisions laid up for one year, two years, or seven years?  There may be
a few bishops who have got their grain laid away to last their families a
year, but the great majority of them have not.  The people do, or should
look to their bishops for example.  Each bishop should be an example to
his ward.  If the bishop of a ward lays up wheat to last his family a
year, two years, or seven years, as the case may be, his neighbors on the
right and on the left will be very apt to do the same; they will very
likely build good bins and try to fill them.  But I need not talk much
about this.  Do you ask me if I have wheat laid up?  Yes, I have it all
the time.  I have been furnishing this tithing office in part with my own
flour for the building of the New Tabernacle, and I calculate to furnish
it still.  I have so many hundreds of people to feed, it cannot be
expected that I can save much; yet I have enough laid by to last my family
for years.

	I wish now to refer to what was said this afternoon regarding this
people's knowledge.  It is said by our enemies that the Latter-day Saints
are an ignorant people.  I ask all the nations of Christendom if they can
produce a people, considering all the circumstances, who are better
educated in all the great branches of learning than this people, as a
people.  Many of them have been brought from poverty, and have been placed
in comfortable circumstances in these mountains, where they have been
taught how to get their living from the elements, and to become partially
self-sustaining.  How much do you know among the nations?  Can you make an
axe helve?  "Yes," and so can we, and make an axe to fit it, and then we
know how to use it.  We can make a hoe-handle and a hoe to fit it, and
then we know how to hoe the ground with it.  Can we make a plough?  Yes,
and know how to use it as well as any people on the earth.  We can make
every agricltural [sic] implement, and can use it.  We can make a cambric
needle; and we can make the steam engine and vessel to carry it.  We can
direct the lightning, and make it our servant, after Franklin showed us
how; and the philosophers of the day are as dependent on his discoveries
as we are.  We have all the improvements that have been made in the arts
and sciences, and know how to use them to our advantage.  We can make
boots and shoes for the sturdy, plodding agriculturist in the field, and
for the delicate lady in the parlor, and we know how to make the leather
as well as others do.  We can read the Bible and understand it, and our
lexicographers can make dictionaries.  Wherein, then, are we more ignorant
than others?  We have good mechanics, good philosophers, good astronomers,
good mathematicians, good architects, good theologians, good historians,
good orators, good statesmen, good school teachers, and we can make a good
prayer and preach a good sermon.  I heard a very sensible prayer the other
day at camp Wasatch.  In the prayer were these words--that "the militia
might be enabled to keep their guns bright and their powder dry."  We know
how to make cloth, how to make it into garments, and wear it; we know how
to provide for ourselves, how to protect ourselves, and we ask nobody to
help us but God our heavenly Father.  Then, wherein are we so woefully
ignorant as some people make us out to be?  We know how to build houses,
and can make the furniture to furnish them; we know how to plant gardens,
set out orchards, and plant vineyards.  We know how to raise all kinds of
vegetables, fruit, and grain, and everything else that will flourish in
this latitude.  Wherein are we ignorant?

	We may not be able to get out a great burst of words, which mean
nothing, as many of the preachers and reverend divines abroad can.  They
speculate a great deal about walking the golden streets of the New
Jerusalem, and about going into the presence of God to sing psalms
forevermore, but when they are asked seriously where they are going when
they leave this earth, they are unable to tell you.  If you ask them what
they are going to do in the next existence, when the labors of this word
are ended, they are still in the dark.  You may ask them where God lives,
and they do not know--they say in heaven; but where is heaven?  They do
not know.  If you ask them what He looks like, still they do not know. 
Some have gone so far as to say that He dwells beyond the bounds of time
and space, and is seated on a topless throne, being Himself without body,
parts, and passions.  Numerous are the wild speculations of religionists
regarding God and His habitation.  We can instruct the world on these
matters; wherein are we ignorant?  We know and read history; we understand
the geography of the world, the manners, customs, and laws of nations. 
Our astronomers describe to us the geography of the heavens, measure the
distances between the earth and the sun, moon, and planets.  We have
learning to speculate on all these works of God and revelation unfolding
reliable knowledge on many of the wonders of the heavens.  Now, wherein
are we more ignorant than other people?  Is it because we believe the
Bible, which declares that man is made in the likeness and image of God,
that He has ears to hear our prayers, eyes to see His handiwork, a
stretched-out arm to defend His people, and to make bare to punish the
wicked nations of the earth?  Wherein are we ignorant? We understand the
laws of domestic and civil government; we know how to conduct ourselves
like men of sense, like gentlemen and christians; we understand natural
philosophy and medicine; and are satisfied of the emptiness of the vain
philosophy of the world.  If believing and knowing what we do constitute
ignorance, then let us be ignorant still, and continue in the way which
will lead us to the perfection of knowledge which the world call
ignorance.

	Now, let me say to you, it is our imperative duty to use a portion of
our substance to send for our poor brethren and sisters who are still back
in the old countries.  May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

   REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle,
                Great Salt Lake City, November 17th, 1867.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
          THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT--HOW TO CONTINUE TO BE SONS
                       OF GOD--NECESSITY OF PRAYER.

	We have great reason to be thankful for the blessings we enjoy as
individuals and as a people.  There is no other people on the earth, that
we have any knowledge of, who are blessed to the same extent as this
people called the Latter-day Saints.  If we are blessed more than others,
we should be more thankful than others.  The blessings and bounties of the
Lord upon us are bestowed according to our faithfulness and obedience to
the requirements made of us.  We have seen times in our history as a
people, that if the hand of God had not been immediately over us, we must
have perished.  But to secure His blessings the Lord requires the strict
obedience of His people.  This is our duty.  We obey the Lord, Him who is
called Jehovah, the Great I AM, I am a man of war, Eloheim, etc.  We are
under many obligations to obey Him.  How shall we know that we obey Him? 
There is but one method by which we can know it, and that is by the
inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord witnessing unto our spirit that we
are His, that we love Him, and that He loves us.  It is by the spirit of
revelation we know this.  We have no witness to ourselves internally,
without the spirit of revelation.  We have no witness outwardly only by
obedience to the ordinances.

	About the time I was preparing myself to embrace the gospel, there
were great reformation meetings, and many professed to be converted. 
Those were very stirring times.  The cause of religion was the great topic
and theme of conversation, and preachers were full of zeal to bring souls
to Christ through repentance and faith in His name.  I recollect very
distinctly that if I permitted myself to speak in any of their meetings,
the spirit forbade me mentioning or referring to the testimony of Jesus,
only in a superficial way.  A few who believed in the everlasting gospel
which had been revealed through Joseph, the prophet, testified in their
meetings that they knew by the spirit of revelation that God had done thus
and so, and they were hooted at immediately by those reformers.  If I
spoke at all in their meetings, I had to guard every word I uttered, lest
I should offend those who professed to understand the gospel of life and
salvation, but who did not.  Gradually we broke through this fear, and
ventured to utter the sentiments of our hearts, in faith before God,
delivering that to the people which the Lord had revealed to us.  Such is
the condition of the professed religious portions of Christendom to-day. 
They refuse to receive the testimony of Jesus through revelation from His
spirit; but they believe in the mutterings, whisperings, and rappings of
low, foul, degraded spirits, who delight to lead astray rather than to
guide to the truth.  They "Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and
unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto
their God for the living to the dead?"  Unless we are willing to be guided
by the revelations of the spirit of the Almighty, by obeying and living up
to the principles of His gospel, we are as apt to believe one thing as
another, and to be influenced by, and follow the dictations of a bad
spirit as a good one.  We have the same testimony as the faithful
followers of the Lord Jesus had anciently.

	The scriptures made use of by Elder George A. Smith this morning,
show the way in which the former Saints became the sons of God.  "But as
many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name."  Who did receive Him and believe
on His name?  Did the Jews as a nation?  No.  Did the Gentiles as nations? 
No.  A few Jews and a few Gentiles only received Him and believed on His
name.  When the gospel was preached to the Jews and to the Gentiles, a few
had ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts that understood by the spirit of
revelation; they believed the sayings of the Savior, and received the Lord
Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah.  It is written, "The Son can do
nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for what things
soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.  For the Father loveth
the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth."  Again, it is
written, "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me."  The
disciples believed the words of the Savior, and proved to Him and to His
apostles that they were sincere and honest in their belief.  Thus they
were entitled to the spirit of revelation through their obedience.  They
asked and they did receive, "not the spirit of bondage again to fear, but
the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father.  The spirit itself
bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."  While
the same Holy Spirit, or comforter, becomes the testimony of Jesus to all
true believers, "He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment;" for in the days of the Savior many who did not receive
the gospel were pricked in their hearts, and they did perish, although
convinced of its truth.  And so it is to-day; wherever the gospel is
preached by the Elders of this Church many are pricked in their hearts,
and they testify in their own conscience that it is from heaven, and yet
they will not receive the gospel, and perish in their sins.  They smother
the spirit of conviction within them, and go into greater darkness than
before.  "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." 
When a man or woman anciently renounced the Jewish religion, or any of the
sects of it that then existed among the Jews, forsaking every mode of
worship excepting that which Jesus introduced, it was regarded as a
sufficient testimony that they were honest--that they were born of
God--and all the sincere and honest believers received the testimony of
Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy, and received power to become His
sons.

	I think, however, that the rendering of this Scripture is not so true
as the following, namely:  "But as many as received Him, to them gave He
power to continue to be the sons of God."  Instead of receiving the gospel
to become the sons of God, my language would be--to receive the gospel
that we may continue to be the sons of God.  Are we not all sons of God
when we are born into this world?  Old Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was just as
much a son of God as Moses and Aaron were His sons, with this
difference--he rejected the word of the Lord, the true light, and they
received it.  For "this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are
evil."  Then we receive not the gospel that we may become the sons of God,
but that we may remain the sons of God without rebuke.  Inasmuch as all
had apostatized, they had to become the sons of God by adoption, still,
originally, all were the sons of God.  We receive the gospel, not that we
may have our names written in the Lamb's book of life, but that our names
may not be blotted out of that book.  "For," saith the Lord, "He that
overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not
blot out his name out of the book of life."  Why?  Because he had overcome
through his faithfulness.  My doctrine is--that there never was a son and
daughter of Adam and Eve born on this earth whose names were not already
written in the Lamb's book of life, and there they will remain until their
conduct is such that the angel who keeps the record is authorized to blot
them out and record them elsewhere.  These are my views on that intricate
point, but we are satisfied to use this Scripture as it is rendered by our
translators.

	I now wish to make an application of this to our own day.  By what
means shall the people of this generation become the sons and daughters of
the Almighty?  By believing on the Lord Jesus Christ?  Yes.  How shall
they know that they believe in Him?  By yielding obedience to the gospel
as it is revealed to us in this generation, at the same time believing in
all that has been revealed to others until now, concerning the children of
men, the character of God, the creation of the earth, the ordinances of
the Lord's house, the oracles of truth--believing in all things that have
been revealed to mankind from the time that the Lord first began to reveal
His will to them.  Now, we say to the people of the nineteenth century,
and we speak the truth and lie not, whosoever believes that Joseph Smith,
jun., was a prophet sent of God, and was ordained by Him to receive and
hold the keys of the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son
of God, and power to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, to gather
the house of Israel, to guide all who believe and obey to redemption, to
restore that which has been lost through transgression--whosoever believes
this, believing in the Lord, and obeying His commandments to the end of
their lives, their names shall not be blotted out of the Lamb's book of
life, and they shall receive crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal
life.  This is for the nineteenth century, for the generation of people
now living, and who lived thirty or thirty-seven years ago.  I am not now
preaching to a congregation of unbelievers, that all who reject the
gospel, who despise the principles of life and salvation that have been
delivered to us, they must taste of the second death if they do not
repent.  There may be some, however, who are so ignorant that repentance
is yet left for them.  This is the gospel that we preach, the testimony
which we send forth to the world, inculcating strict obedience to the
requirements of heaven, which is expected from all who embrace this
gospel.  For example, Joseph, the prophet, said to the Colesville branch,
"sell your farms."  So he said to other branches, "gather up and let us go
to the Ohio," and they went, and from the Ohio to Missouri.  Before we
went to the Ohio, Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer jun., Parley P. Pratt, and
Ziba Peterson started in the fall of 1830 to visit the land where the
centre take [sic] of Zion was afterwards located.  When Joseph went up he
located the city.  Those who had farms and stores were instructed to sell
out, to forsake all, to give to the poor, and to impart of their substance
to sustain this elder, clothe another elder, and to send another on his
mission, which they did, and up they got, and to the Ohio and to the
Missouri they moved.  What other people would have done this?  They are
not to be found in Christendom.  While in Missouri they moved from county
to county, and then back east into Illinois; for, thus said the Lord,
through the prophet Joseph, return to Illinois, and there the prophet was
killed.  Then the word of the Lord to us was:  gather up my people, and
flee to the mountains, and hide yourselves, and there wait until you shall
see the hand of the Lord made bare, and the wrath of the Almighty poured
out upon the wicked nation that has consented to the death of my prophets. 
Impart of your substance, was the word of the Lord to them, and who were
there in all those trains of Saints that did not impart of their
substance?  When we left Missouri we covenanted before the Lord that we
never would cease our endeavours until the last man, woman, and child
should be brought out of Missouri to Illinois who wanted to be moved.  A
few tarried in Missouri and apostatized.  When the persecuted and driven
Saints reached Illinois, the word of the Lord through the prophet Joseph
was--gather up to Commerce, which was afterwards named Nauvoo.  We did not
lose sight of one Saint in Missouri, and gave our means to gather out the
last and least Saint that would leave.  When the word came--"gather to the
mountains from Nauvoo"--we agreed before we left that city that we would
use our means and our influence to gather the last Saint to the mountains. 
I have sent, time and time again, to inquire if there was a Saint in
Nauvoo who wished to be gathered to these mountains.  If there are any,
let them come, for we have means and teams to bring them.  This proves
that we have kept our covenants.  Now the word of the Lord is go
forward--press on. The kingdom of God is onward and upward.  The proof of
this declaration is before me to-day. 

	Who believes Joseph Smith to be a prophet?  These my brethren and
sisters who are now sitting before me.  They entertain no doubts on this
subject.  They may sometimes be tempted and tried, and neglect their
prayers, until they hardly know whether "Mormonism" is true or untrue. 
The cares of the world, we know very well, flood in upon them; but let me
tell you one thing--and I want you to seriously remember it--if you are in
darkness, and have not the spirit of prayer, still do not neglect your
prayers in your families in the morning.  you, fathers and husbands, get
down on your knees, and when the cares of this world intrude themselves
upon your devotions, let them wait while you remain on your knees and
finish your prayers.  Brother Daniel D. Hunt's blessing over a dinner in
Missouri, when he and Benjamin Clapp first met, is a very good prayer for
us all.  It was:  "O, Lord, save us from error."  If you can say no more
than this very short but comprehensive prayer, go down upon your knees and
say it.  When you have labored faithfully for years, you will learn this
simple fact--that if your hearts are aright, and you still continue to be
obedient, continue to serve God, continue to pray, the spirit of
revelation will be in you like a well of water springing up to everlasting
life.  Let no person give up prayer because he has not the spirit of
prayer, neither let any earthly circumstance hurry you while in the
performance of this important duty.  By bowing down before the Lord to ask
Him to bless you, you will simply find this result--God will multiply
blessings on you temporally and spiritually.  Let a merchant, a farmer, a
mechanic, any person in business, live his religion faithfully, and he
need never lose one minute's sleep by thinking about his business; he need
not worry in the least, but trust in God, go to sleep and rest.  I say to
this people--pray, and if you cannot do anything else, read a prayer aloud
that your family may hear it, until you get a worshipping spirit, and are
full of the riches of eternity, then you will be prepared at any time to
lay hands on the sick, or to officiate in any of the ordinances of this
religion.  I do not recollect that I have seen five minutes since I was
baptized that I have not been ready to preach a funeral sermon, lay hands
on the sick, or to pray in private or in public.  I will tell you the
secret of this.  In all your business transactions, words, and
communications, if you commit an overt act, repent of that immediately,
and call upon God to deliver you from evil and give you the light of His
spirit.  Never do a thing that your conscience, and the light within you,
tell you is wrong.  Never do a wrong, but do all the good you possibly
can.  Never do a thing to mar the peaceable influence of the Holy Spirit
in you; then whatever you are engaged in--whether in business, in the
dance, or in the pulpit--you are ready to officiate at any time in any of
the ordinances of the House of God.  If I commit an overt act, the Lord
knows the integrity of my heart, and through sincere repentance, He
forgives me.  Before Joseph's death he had a revelation concerning myself
and others, which signified that we had passed the ordeal, and that we
should never apostatize from the faith of the holy gospel; "and," said
Joseph, "if there is any danger of your doing this, the the [sic] Lord
will take you to Himself forthwith, for you cannot stray from the truth." 
When men and women have travelled to a certain point in their labors in
this life, God sets a seal upon them that they never can forsake their God
or His kingdom; for, rather than they should do this, He will at once take
them to Himself.  Probably this is so with many of the elders who are
taken from us, and over whom many ignorantly mourn.  I say, to God give
thanks, for who knows but that had they lived there might have been trials
to pass through which they could not overcome.  It is all right, blessed
be the name of the Lord.

	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

   REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle,
                Great Salt Lake City, December 8th, 1867.
                      [Reported by Edward L. Sloan.]
        SALVATION--ALL KNOWLEDGE THE RESULT OF REVELATION--FREEDOM
             OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD--HOW TO CARE FOR THE POOR.

	The subject of salvation is one which should occupy the attention of
the reflecting among mankind.  Salvation is the full existence of man, of
the angels, and the Gods; it is eternal life--the life which was, which
is, and which is to come.  And we, as human beings, are heirs to all this
life, if we apply ourselves strictly to obey the requirements of the law
of God, and continue in faithfulness.  The first object of our existence
is to know and understand the principles of life, to know good from evil,
to understand light from darkness, to have the ability to choose between
that which gives and perpetuates life and that which would take it away. 
The volition of the creature to choose is free; we have this power given
to us.

	We have reason to be thankful more than any other people.  We have no
knowledge of any other people on the face of the earth who possess the
oracles of God, the priesthood, and the keys of eternal life.  We are in
possession of those keys, and, consequently, we are under greater
obligations, as individuals and as a community, to work righteousness.  I
hope and trust we will continually manifest before the Lord that we
appreciate these blessings.  There is no question but every person here
who seriously reflects upon his own existence, his being here, and the
hereafter which awaits him, must many times feel that he comes short of
doing all the good for which our Father in heaven has brought us forth. 
This I conclude from my own experience.  Every mind that thinks deeply
upon the things of time and eternity, sees that time, which we measure by
our lives, is like the stream from the mountains which gushes forth, yet
we cannot tell from whence it comes, nor do we know naturally where it
goeth, only it passes again into the clouds; so our lives are here, and
this we are certain of.  We do know that we live and that we have the
power of sight.  We do know and can realize that we possess the faculty of
hearing.  We can discern between that which we like and that which we
dislike.  Give a child candy and it is fond of it, it wishes more; but
give it calomel and jalap, and it turns from it with loathing.  It has the
power of discerning between that in which it delights and that in which it
does not delight.  It can taste, smell, see, and hear.  We know we are in
possession of these faculties.  This life that you and I possess is for
eternity.  Contemplate the idea of beings endowed with all the powers and
faculties which we possess, becoming annihilated, passing out of
existence, ceasing to be, and then try to reconcile it with our feelings
and with our present lives.  No intelligent person can do it.  Yet it is
only by the spirit of revelation that we can understand these things.  By
the revelations of the Lord Jesus we understand things as they were, that
have been made known unto us; things that are in the life which we now
enjoy, and things as they will be, not to the fullest extent, but all that
the Lord designs that we should understand, to make it profitable to us,
in order to give us the experience necessary in this life to prepare us to
enjoy eternal life hereafter.

	These principles are before us.  We are now acting upon them.  We
feel to exhort ourselves and our fellow-beings, not only those who have
embraced the gospel, but all mankind, to hearken to the still, small voice
that whispers to the conscience and understanding of all living beings
according to the knowledge and wisdom which they possess, instructing them
in right and wrong, entreating them, wooing them, beseeching them to
refrain from evil.  There is not a person so sunk in ignorance but has
that principle in him teaching him that this is right and that is wrong,
guiding him in the way that he will not sin a sin unto death.  Can we
realize this?  Yes.  There are many who possess the spirit of revelation
to that degree that they can understand its operations upon the creature,
no matter whether they have heard the gospel preached or not, nor whether
they are Christians, Jews, or Mahommedans.  They are taught of the Lord,
and the candle of the Lord is within them, giving them light.

	This principle we are in possession of, and it should be nourished
and cherished by us; it is the principle of revelation, or, if you like
the term better, of foreseeing.  There are those who possess
fore-knowledge, who do not believe as we believe with regard to the
establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth.  Take the statesman, for
instance; he has a certain degree of knowledge with regard to the results
of the measures which he may recommend, but does he know whence he derives
that knowledge?  No.  He may say:  "I foresee if we take this course we
shall perpetuate our government and strengthen it, but if we take the
opposite course we will destroy it."  But can he tell whence he has
received that wisdom and foreknowledge?  He cannot.  Yet that is the
condition of the statesmen in the nations of the earth.  If the
philosopher can gaze into the immensity of space, and understand how to
fashion and make glasses that will magnify a million times, that knowledge
comes from the fountain of knowledge.  A man of the world may say:  "I can
foresee, I can understand, I can frame an engine, make a track, and run
that engine upon it, bearing along a train of loaded cars at the rate of
forty, fifty, or sixty miles an hour."  Another may say:  "I can take the
lightning, convey it on wires, and speak to foreign nations."  But where
do they get this wisdom?  From the same source where you and I get our
wisdom and our knowledge of God and godliness.  Realizing these things, I
look upon my brethren and sisters, and ask what manner of persons ought we
to be?  We are apt to think wrong and to speak wrong.  Our passions will
rise within us, and without reflection the organs of speech are put in
motion and we utter that which we should not speak.  We have feelings
which we should not have, and we neglect the great and glorious principles
of eternal life.  We are grovelling, of the earth earthy.  We look after
the the [sic] things of this life, are attached to them, and it is hard
for us to see and understand the final result of things, even though we
have the spirit of revelation.

	What will be the final result of the restoration of the gospel, and
the destiny of the Latter-day Saints?  If they are faithful to the
priesthood which God has bestowed upon us, the gospel will revolutionize
the whole world of mankind; the earth will be sanctified, and God will
glorify it, and the Saints will dwell upon it in the presence of the
Father and the Son. We need to exert our powers, and call forth all the
ability within us, and put into requisition every talent that God has
given us, to bring about his glorious result, to bear off this Kingdom,
and see that the gospel is preached to all the inhabitants of the earth. 
This is our duty and calling.  It is obligatory upon us to see that the
House of Israel have the gospel preached to them; to do all that is in our
power to gather them to the land of their fathers, and to gather up the
fulness of the Gentiles before the gospel can go with success to the Jews. 
We are under obligations to establish the Zion of our God upon the earth,
and establish and maintain its laws, so that the law of the priesthood of
the Son of God may govern and control the people.

	Go into the world, among the inhabitants of the nations of
Christendom, whether Infidels, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists,
Presbyterians, or people of any other religious sect, and tell them
plainly that the law of God is going to be the law of the land, and they
would be terrified, they would fear and tremble.  But tell them that the
law of liberty, and equal right to every person, would prevail and they
could understand that, for it is according to the Constitution of our
country.  To do the greatest good to the greatest number of the people is
the principle inculcated in it.  But tell them that the law of Zion will
be the law of the land, and it grates upon their ears, they do not like to
hear it.  Many have read with regard to the effects of Catholicism, when
it exercised great power among the nations, and the thought of any church
getting such a power strikes a terror to them.  That church professed to
be the church of God upon the earth, and some dread similar results to
those which attended that.  Supposing the early Christians had not
departed from the truth, but had retained the keys of the kingdom, there
never would have been a man put to the test with regard to this religious
faith.  If an Infidel had abused a Christian, it would have been stopped,
and the wrong-doer would have been compelled to cease his violence, but no
religious test would have been applied.  The law of right would have
prevailed.  Some suppose that when the Kingdom of God governs on the
earth, everybody who does not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ will be
persecuted and killed.  This is as false an idea as can exist.  The Church
and Kingdom of God upon the earth will take the lead in everything that is
praiseworthy, in everything that is good, in everything that is
delightful, in everything that will promote knowledge and extend an
understanding of truth.  The Holy Priesthood and the laws thereof will be
known to the inhabitants of the earth, and the friends of truth, and those
who delight in it, will delight in those laws and cheerfully submit to
them, for they will secure the rights of all men.  Many conclude, from
reading the history of various nations, that Catholicism never granted any
rights to any person, unless he would believe it as he was required to
believe.  But it is not so in the Kingdom of God; it is not so with the
law nor with the Priesthood of the Son of God.  You can believe in one
God, or in three gods, or in a thousand gods; you can worship the sun or
the moon, or a stick or a stone, or anything you please.  Are not all
mankind the workmanship of the hands of God?  And does he not control the
workmanship of His hands?  They have the privilege of worshipping as they
please.  They can do as they please, so long as they do not infringe upon
the rights of their fellow-beings.  If they do well they will receive
their reward, and if they do ill they will receive the results of their
works.  You and I have the privilege of serving God, of building up Zion,
sending the gospel to the nations of the earth and preaching it at home,
subduing every passion within us, and bringing all subject to the law of
God.  We have also the privilege of worshipping Him according to the
dictates of our own consciences, with none to molest or make us afraid.

	I am now going to preach you a short sermon concerning our temporal
duties.  My sermon is to the poor, and to those who are not poor.  As a
people, we are not poor; and we wish to say to the Bishops, not only this
city, but through the country, "Bishops, take care of your poor."  The
poor in this city do not number a great many.  I think there are a few
over seventy who draw sustenance from the General Tithing Office.  They
come to the Tithing Office, or somebody comes for them, to draw
sustenance.  If some of our clever arithmeticians will sit down and make a
calculation of the hours lost in coming from the various parts of the city
to the Tithing Office, and in waiting around there, and then value those
hours, if occupied in some useful employment, at twelve and a half cents
each, every eight of them making a dollar, it will be found that the
number of dollars thus lost by those seventy odd persons in a week would
go far towards sustaining them.  We have among us some brethren and
sisters who are not strong, nor healthy, and they must be supported.  We
wish to adopt the most economical plan of taking care of them, and we say
to you Bishops, take care of them.  You may ask the question, "shall we
take the tithing that should go to the Tithing Office to support them, or
shall we ask the brethren to donate for that purpose?"  If you will take
the time consumed in obtaining the rations drawn by them out of the
General Tithing Office--for every person who is not able to come must send
some one for them--and have that time profitably employed, there will be
but little more to seek for their sustenance.  Get a house in your Ward,
and if you have two sisters, or two brethren, put them in it, make them
comfortable, find them food and clothing, and fuel, and direct the time
now spent coming to this Tithing Office wisely in profitable labor. 
Furnish the sisters with needles and thread to work at sewing, and find
something for them to do.  Take those little girls who have been coming to
the Tithing Office, and have them taught to knit edging, and tidies, and
other kinds of knitting, and make lace, and sell the products of their
labor.  Those little girls have nimble fingers, and it will only take a
little capital to start them at such kinds of work.  Where you have
brethren who are not strong enough to saw and split wood, or do some kind
of out-door labor, agree with some chairmakers to have his chairs
bottomed, and get rushes, and set the brethren to bottoming the chairs. 
If you cannot get that for them to do, procure some flags or rushes, and
let them make foot-mats, and sell them, but do not ask too high a price
for them; do not ask a dollar or two dollars each for them, for one can be
made in an hour or two.  And if the market should get stocked with them,
get some willows and have willow baskets made, and you can scarcely stock
the market with them, for they wear out almost as fast as they can be
made.  In the spring have these brethren sow some broom-corn,--they will
enjoy working a little out of doors in the nice spring weather,--and then
in fall they can make brooms with the corn.  By pursuing this course a
Bishop will soon be able to say, "I have accomplished a good work; the
brethren and sisters whom I had to help themselves."  And in a short time,
if their labor and time are wisely employed, you can build for them the
finest house in the ward.  You may call it a poor-house if you choose,
though it should be the best house in the ward, and there its inmates can
enjoy themselves, the younger ones can be taught music, and thus a source
of enjoyment be created, as well as being taught in various kinds of
profitable employment, and the lives of all be made a blessing to
themselves, they being in the enjoyment of happiness and comfort.  You may
think that I am painting a fancy sketch, but it is practicable, and those
are places I intend to visit by and by.

	Now, Bishops, you have smart women for wives, many of you; let them
organize Female Relief Societies in the various wards.  We have many
talented women among us, and we wish their help in this matter.  Some may
think this is a trifling thing, but it is not; and you will find that the
sisters will be the mainspring of the movement.  Give them the benefit of
your wisdom and experience, give them your influence, guide and direct
them wisely and well, and they will find rooms for the poor, and obtain
the means for supporting them ten times quicker than even the Bishop
could.  If he should go or send to a man for a donation, and if the person
thus visited should happen to be cross or out of temper for some cause,
the likelihood is that while in that state of feeling he would refuse to
give anything, and so a variety of causes would operate to render the
mission an unsuccessful one.  But let a sister appeal for the relief of
suffering and poverty, and she is almost sure to be successful, especially
if she appeals to those of her own sex.  If you take this course you will
relieve the wants of the poor a great deal better than they are now dealt
by.  We recommend these Female Relief Societies to be organized
immediately.

	Another thing I wish to say.  You know that the first Thursday in
each month we hold as a fast day.  How many here know the origin of this
day?  Before tithing was paid, the poor were supported by donations.  They
came to Joseph and wanted help, in Kirtland, and he said there should be a
fast day, which was decided upon.  It was to be held once a month, as it
is now, and all that would have been eaten that day, of flour, or meat, or
butter, or fruit, or anything else, was to be carried to the fast meeting
and put into the hands of a person selected for the purpose of taking care
of it and distributing it among the poor.  If we were to do this now
faithfully, do you think the poor would lack for flour, or butter, or
cheese, or meat, or sugar, or anything they needed to eat?  No, there
would be more than could be used by all the poor among us.  It is economy
in us to take this course, and do better by our poor brethren and sisters
than they have hitherto been done by.  Let this be published in our
newspapers.  Let it be sent forth to the people, that on the first
Thursday of each month, the fast day, all that would be eaten by husbands
and wives and children and servants should be put in the hands of the
Bishop for the sustenance of the poor.  I am willing to do my share as
well as the rest, and if there are no poor in my ward, I am willing to
divide with those wards where there are poor.  If the sisters who need to
be taken care of, and see them provided for, you will find that we will
possess more comfort and more peace in our hearts, and our spirits will be
buoyant and light, full of joy and peace.  The Bishops should, through
their teachers, see that every family in their wards, who is able, should
donate what they would naturally consume on the fast day to the poor.

	You have read, probably, that we are starting the school of the
prophets.  We have been in this school all the time.  The revelations of
the Lord Jesus Christ to the human family is all the learning we can ever
possess.  Much of this knowledge is obtained from books, which have been
written by men who have contemplated deeply on various subjects, and the
revelations of Jesus have opened their minds, whether they knew it or
acknowledged it or not.  We will start this school of the prophets to
increase in knowledge.  Brother Calder commences to-morrow to teach our
youth and those of middle age the art of book-keeping and impart to them a
good mercantile education.  We expect soon to have our sisters join in the
class and mingle with the brethren in their studies, for why should not a
lady be capable of taking charge of her husband's business affairs when he
goes into the grave?  We have sisters now engaged in several of our
telegraph offices, and we wish them to learn not only to act as as [sic]
operators but to keep the books of our offices, and let sturdy men go to
work at some employment for which by their strength they are adapted, and
we hope eventually to see every store in Zion attended by ladies.  We wish
to have our young boys and girls taught in the different branches of an
English education, and in other languages, and in the various sciences,
all of which we intend eventually to have taught in this school. 
To-morrow evening we shall commence our course of lectures on theology. 
To that class I have invited a few, but not many.  I believe I have
invited the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, Bishop Hunter and his
Counsellors, the first seven presidents of Seventies, the Presidency of
the High Priests' quorum, the Presidency of this Stake of Zion, the High
Council, the Bishops and their Counsellors, and the City Council.  A few
more will be invited, enough to fill the room.  I wish us to profit by
what we hear, to learn how to live, to make ourselves comfortable, to
purify ourselves, and prepare ourselves to inherit this earth when it is
glorified, and go back in the presence of the Father and the Son.

	God bless you.  Amen.

   REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle,
                Great Salt Lake City, December 29th, 1867.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
      SAINTS IMPROVING SLOWLY--GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT AND DICTATION
           OF THE PRIESTHOOD--FASTING, AND GATHERING THE POOR.

	It is said that short visits make long friends, and short sermons
perhaps make interesting meetings.  I am sure this is the case sometimes. 
I am thankful for the privilege of being instructed, and of meeting with a
people who manifest by their lives a desire for improvement.  I am
thankful that we have the privilege of meeting in this tabernacle from
Sabbath to Sabbath.  Last Sabbath I referred to the meagre congregations
that generally attend in the morning, and to-day I really expected to see
every seat in this house occupied.  I cannot think that the people are
sleigh riding, for there is no snow; neither can I conclude that they are
in the kanyon, for the roads cannot be travelled.  I do not think that
they are fishing at this season of the year; neither can they all be in
attendance at Sabbath schools.  Then what are they doing?  Are they
praying, resting, sleeping, or wasting their time in frivolous and
unprofitable employment?  We are happy to see large congregations of the
Saints in the afternoons.  This is the only public meeting house in which
meetings are held in the morning and afternoon on the Sabbath day in this
city.  The people of Great Salt Lake City make to one point to attend
meeting in the morning and afternoon, unlike the people of the large
cities of the world.  I have seen them go to meeting in some of those
cities, and I cannot compare them to anything that will describe them as
they appeared to me better than the inhabitants of an ant hill.  They run
in all directions, the Methodists jostle against the Baptists, and the
Baptists against the Presbyterians, and the Presbyterians against the
Quakers, &c.

	Let the people come to meeting, and hear what is said, and if any of
you are not instructed to your satisfaction, be so kind as to send up a
card to the stand, intimating your desire to speak, and we will give you
an opportunity of doing so, to display your wisdom; for we wish to learn
wisdom and get understanding.

	We are in a great school, and we should be diligent to learn, and
continue to store up the knowledge of heaven and of earth, and read good
books, although I cannot say that I would recommend the reading of all
books, for it is not all books which are good.  Read good books, and
extract from them wisdom and understanding as much as you possibly can,
aided by the Spirit of God, for without His Spirit we are left in the
dark.  I have very frequently urged upon the people to live so that they
can enjoy the spirit of revelation, even that intelligence which proceeds
directly from heaven--from the fountain of all intelligence.  Do this
people live so?  Yes, measurably.  We improve slowly, and as brother
George A. Smith has said, we do not improve fast enough.  I acknowledge
that this people are improving, and I am proud of it.  When I address the
throne of grace in prayer, I am happy to be able to thank God that the
Latter-day Saints are striving to order their lives correctly before Him. 
I am pleased, I am happy, I am full of comfort, of joy, of peace, because
of the progress this people are making; and yet I see how easy it is for a
person to slide backward, and get into darkness and a blindness of mind. 
We are prone to wander, and do that which our inclinations bid us do; like
the boys with their sleds, we go up hill very slowly, but rush quickly
down again.  We are too apt to be slow to learn righteousness, and quick
to run in the ways of sin.  The adversary of our souls is the path of
truth and duty to God, until we become reckless in our disobedience to His
commandments and to the counsels of His servants.  There is one path--one
line to follow to obtain and continue in the love and light of the Lord,
which is, as it were, a compass to direct the Saints to the haven of
safety, and it will not vary, for its directions are sure.

	We have many duties to perform, and a great work is before us.  We
have Zion to build up, and upon this we are all agreed, but we differ more
or less respecting the modus operandi for we wish, in the majority of
instances to follow the dictates of our own inclinations.  We do this too
much for our good.  If the people will live so as to be directed
continually by the light of the Spirit of the Lord, they never will go
much astray.  In many instances our anxieties, our desires, and our wills
are so great that we actually plead with the Lord to allow us to bend duty
a little particle for the purpose of accomplishing what we wish.  We are
pleased to do this, and to do evil also, hence "man is born to trouble as
the sparks fly upward."  We are very prone to wander.  Let the people
watch themselves lest they take a course that will lead them into
darkness, and they know not the things of God, and be left to believe a
lie instead of the truth.  What is that which turns people away from this
Church?  Very trifling affairs are generally the commencement of their
divergence from the right path.  If we follow a compass, the needle of
which does not point correctly, a very slight deviation in the beginning
will lead us, when we have travelled some distance, far to one side of the
true point for which we are aiming.  When men take upon themselves
strength, depending upon their own wisdom, light, and knowledge,
saying--"I am right, and I care not what anybody else says;" and, "I will
do thus and so on my own responsibility," asking no odds of God and His
servants.  "If I wish to go to the north, south, east, or west, or follow
this or that employment, or pursue this or that course to obtain the
necessaries of life, it is my affair, and I cannot see that any other man
has anything whatever to do with it."  I say, if we thus arrogate to
ourselves strength, wisdom, and power, and think that we can judge for
ourselves in all things independent of God and His servants, then are we
liable to be led astray.  Every man and woman who walks in the light of
the Lord can see and understand these things for themselves; but through
our anxiety, and over desire to have our own way, we often swerve and turn
to the right or to the left of the true line of our duty.  How often have
we sealed blessings of health and life upon our children and companions in
the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the Holy Priesthood of
the Son of God, and yet our faith and prayers did not succeed in
accomplishing the desires of our hearts.  Why is this?  In many instances
our anxiety is so great that we do not pause to know the spirit of
revelation and its operations upon the human mind.  We have anxiety
instead of faith.  When a man prophesies by the power of the Holy Ghost,
his words will be fulfilled as sure as the Lord lives; but if he has
anxiety in his heart, it swerves him from the thread of the Holy Gospel,
from the true thread of revelation, so that he is liable to err, and he
prophesies, but it does not come to pass, he lays his hands upon the sick,
but they are not healed.  It is in consequence of not being completely
moulded to the will of God.  Do we not realize that this is so?  And do we
not realize that we should constantly strive to live in the counsel and
light of God day by day, and hour by hour?  If we do this we shall
certainly make sure to ourselves a celestial inheritance.

	We have gathered the best people from among the nations of the earth,
and yet we are not so good as we should be.  Why are we not as good as we
should be?  Because we have eternal light and knowledge here, and no
person is deprived of the privilege of asking and receiving of God for
himself, but we do not all avail ourselves of this great privilege.  We
are not like others who are called by men to go on missions to the world,
we are called of God, and carry with us true credentials, not the
credentials of Paul, Peter, or any of the old Apostles and servants of
God, who used them a thousand years ago, but we have the living oracles
and the Holy Priesthood restored in our day, giving authority to men in
the nineteenth century as in days of old.  Having this authority, and
these great advantages, we should be better than anybody else.  We have
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received in our faith the
fullness of the gospel, we have yielded obedience to God's commandments,
obeyed the ordinances of His house, receiving them in our faith and
practice, and these we have received through apostles and prophets, called
of God, in our own age, as was Aaron.  These blessings and callings the
Almighty has revealed in this as in all ages of the benefit of finite
beings, that through obedience to the gospel, eternal life in the presence
of God might be brought upon all who endure to the end in righteousness. 
By obeying the ordinances of God, mankind glorify God, but if they do not
obey Him, they do not detract one particle from His glory and power. 
Although all His children should wander from the holy commandments, God
will be glorified, for they are left to choose for themselves, to choose
death instead of life, darkness instead of light, pain instead of ease,
delight, and comfort.  This liberty all beings enjoy who are created after
the likeness and image of God, and thus they become accountable for their
own actions.  The commandments of God are given to us expressly for our
benefit, and if we live in obedience to them we shall live in obedience to
them we shall live so as to understand the mind and will of God for
ourselves, and concerning ourselves as individuals.  This is a subject
upon which a great deal can be said, but I shall not follow it at this
time.

	I exhort my brethren continually to live so that they may have the
light of the Holy Spirit in them, to know their duty, and when they know
their duty fully it will be to follow truly those whom God has placed over
them to lead them as a community, as a people, as a kingdom of God; it
will be to obey the counsel that is given them from time to time.  What
does the man who understands the spirit of his religion believe with
regard to his own affairs, with regard to his life, with regard to his
business transactions, &c.?  He believes that it is his privilege to be
dictated by the constituted authorities of the church of God and the
spirit of revelation in all things in his mortal life.  There is no part
of his life that he will consider exempt from the guidance and dictation
of the Priesthood of the Son of God.

	We wish the Latter-day Saints to meet at their respective houses,
erected for that purpose, on the day appointed for a fast, and take with
them of their substance to feed the poor and the hungry among us, and, if
it is necessary, to cloth the naked.  We expect to see the sisters there;
for they are generally first and foremost in deeds of charity and
kindness.  Let the hearts of the poor be made glad, and let their prayers
and thanksgiving ascend unto God, and receive an answer of rich blessings
upon our heads.  I think I told you last Sabbath that I would mention this
subject again to-day.

	If you would be healthy, wealthy, full of wisdom, light and knowledge
do all you can for the kingdom of God.  I expect that there are brethren
who are well to do, who can command their thousands, who consider that
their business crowds them this year, and they do not see how they can
give anything for the gathering of the poor Saints.  I have a word of
consolation for such.  You, merchants, mechanics and farmers; yea, every
one; let me console you, and say to you, keep your money, and pay your
debts, and buy your teams, and your farms, and your goods.  You think I am
speaking to you ironically.  Well, I acknowledge to you that I am.  You
keep all, and do not apply one dollar for any purpose outside of your
business, and I will promise you, in the name of the Lord, that you will
be poorer than you would have been if you had given of your substance to
the poor.  Do you consider these hard words?  They are true words. The
earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the gold and the silver are
all his; and he throws up the precious metals to view whenever he pleases,
and when he pleases he sends his messengers to hide them in the bowels of
the earth, beyond the reach of man.  He also closes the eyes of the wicked
gold hungers that they cannot see them; but they walk over them, and leave
them for the righteous to gather in the due time of the Lord.  Now, you
who think that you must keep your means and that you cannot spare a
portion to gather the poor another year, remember that you will not get
rich by so doing.  You may ask what I am going to do?  I am going to get
rich, for I calculate to give considerably more to gather the poor than
any other man; because I want to be richer than any other man.  I want
more, because I believe I know what to do with it better than most of men.

	These are a few words of consolation to the brethren who wish to keep
their riches, and with them I promise you leanness of soul, darkness of
mind, narrow and contracted hearts, and the bowels of your compassion will
be shut up, and by and by you will be overcome with the spirit of apostacy
and forsake your God and your brethren.

	I see around me a great people.  Joseph Smith was called of God, and
sent to lay the foundation of this latter-day kingdom.  He presided over
this people fourteen years.  Then he was martyred.  Since that time your
humble servant has presided over and counselled this people; he has
directed the Twelve Apostles, the Seventies, the High Priests, and every
quorum and department of the Melchesidec and Aaronic Priesthoods, guiding
them through the wilderness where there was no way into a dry, barren
land.  For the space of twenty-four years he has watched over their
interests, holding at bay their enemies, teaching them how to live, and
redeem this country from the barrenness and desolation that have, for many
generations, made it unfit for the habitation of man.  What man or woman
on the earth, what spirit in the spirit-world can say truthfully that I
ever gave a wrong word of counsel, or a word of advice that could not be
sanctioned by the heavens?  The success which has attended me in my
presidency is owing to the blessings and mercy of the Almighty.  Why I
have referred to this is to show you that I realize the importance of
obeying the words of the Lord, which he gives through his acknowledged
servants.  When a revelation is given to any people, they must walk
according to it, or suffer the penalty which is the punishment of
disobedience; but when the word is, "will you do thus and so?"  "It is the
mind and will of God that you perform such and such a duty;" the
consequences of disobedience are not so dreadful, as they would be if the
word of the Lord were to be written under the declaration, "Thus saith the
Lord."

	Now, I say to the people, will you gather the poor?  To the Elders I
say, will you carry the Gospel to all the world?  Blessed are they who
obey when the Lord gives a direct commandment, but more blessed are they
who obey without a direct commandment.  For it is written:  "It is not
meet that I should command in all things, for he that is compelled in all
things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he
receiveth no reward.  Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a
good cause, and do many things of their own free will,a nd bring to pass
much righteousness, for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto
themselves.  And inasmuch as men do good they shall in no wise lose their
reward.  But he that doeth not any thing until he is commanded, and
receiveth a commandment with a doubtful heart, and keepeth it with
slothfulness, the same is damned."  I say this that you may understand
that I feel just as patient, and just as kind towards the Latter-day
Saints as a man's heart can feel, and am careful to take every precaution
in directing their steps to the possession of eternal life in the presence
of God that none may be lost.  My course is not to scold, but to persuade
and entreat the people to do their duty, holding before them the reward of
faithfulness.  It requires all the care and faithfulness which we can
exercise in order to keep the faith of the Lord Jesus; for there are
invisible agencies around us in sufficient numbers to encourage the
slightest disposition they may discover in us to forsake the true way, and
fan into a flame the slightest spark of discontent and unbelief.  The
spirits of the ancient Gadiantons are around us.  You may see battle-field
after battle-field, scattered over this American continent, where the
wicked have slain the wicked.  Their spirits are watching us continually
for an opportunity to influence us to do evil, or to make us decline in
the performance of our duties.  And I will defy any man on earth to be
more gentlemanly and bland in his manners than the master spirit of all
evil.  We call him the devil; a gentleman so smooth and so oily, that he
can almost deceive the very elect.  We have been baptized by men having
the authority of the holy Priesthood of the Son of God, and consequently
we have power over him which the rest of the world do not possess, and all
who possess the power of the Priesthood have the power and right to rebuke
those evil powers, and they obey not, it is because we do not live so as
to have the power with God, which it is our privilege to have.  If we do
not live for this privilege and right we are under condemnation.

	I know that the Bishops in this Church are improving, and are better
men,  and they should lead and dictate their Wards still better than they
do.

	It may be asked, should not brother Brigham lead the people better? 
No doubt he should.  Will you hearken to one little saying?  I can say,
follow me as I follow Christ, and every one of us is sure to go into the
celestial kingdom of our God, God being our helper.  Can all the Bishops
say this?  I think not in every case.  But are they improving?  They are
and that is not all, they will continue to improve, and they will become
wise leaders of the people.  They should be fathers to their Wards.  They
are looked upon as such by the people; and their example has its effect
for better or for worse, and they should be foremost in every good word
and work, to be successful in leading the people into the celestial
kingdom of God.

	Here is a great people, and we have called upon them to contribute of
their substance to gather the poor saints from abroad another year.  It is
now nearly three months since we commenced to call upon them for means to
apply in this way.  Men as for this purpose does not come in so readily as
we think it should.  Now, I will mention a single circumstance in this
city to show you that there is money in the country.  One mercantile house
in this city traded in one month forty-one thousand dollars.  If one house
can sell this amount of goods in a month, surely we can gather
considerable for so laudable a purpose as the gathering of our poor
brethren and sisters to a place where they can be fed and clothed, and
taught further in the things of God.  Yet, for all this, we are improving
as a people; but do we serve God with a perfect heart and a ready and
willing mind?  We do not.  If the Latter-day Saints will put into my hands
one-twentieth part of the means that go into the hands of their enemies, I
think we can gather up every poor saint there is in the old country.  Will
they do this?  I do not expect they will.  My brethren are willing to go
and preach the gospel in all the world.  I would like to see them just as
willing to assist in gather in them home.  The kingdom of God is the
safest institution on earth in which to invest means.  We are citizens of
His kingdom and members of His church, and we realize that we have to
suffer all things for the gospel, but it will make us richer than we can
possibly be in any other work.  May God bless you.  Amen.

   REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle,
                   Salt Lake City, January 12th, 1868.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
           LIBERTY OF THE SAINTS--WHY THEY ARE GATHERED--OBJECT
                         OF THE "WORD OF WISDOM."

	I feel happy for the privilege of again speaking to the Latter-day
Saints in this city; and I am also happy for the privilege of being a
member of this Church.  In this I am exceedingly blessed, and I can say of
a truth, that my soul drinketh of that "river, the streams whereof shall
make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most
High."  I am full of peace by day and by night--in the morning, at noon,
and in the evening, and from the evening until the morning.  I am
extremely happy for the privilege of living with those who are seeking to
do the will of God.  We are gathered together in the tops of these
mountains for the express purpose of building up Zion, the Zion of the
last days, the glory of which was seen by the prophets of the Almighty
from the days of old.  "And they shall call thee," says Isaiah, "the city
of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel."  "The Lord shall be unto
thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory."  We are removed far
away from those who bore rule over us and oppressed us, and who deprived
the Saints of their constitutional rights.  The Lord has led His people to
a land where they can enjoy as much liberty as they are disposed to live
for.  There is no oppression here; there is no people on earth who have as
few encumbrances upon their spiritual and temporal rights as the
Latter-day Saints in these mountains.  We have all liberty, yet we are not
at liberty to do wrong in this community, and have it sanctioned, although
many do wrong, which wrongs are in many cases overlooked and forgiven.

	The law of liberty is the law of right in every particular--that is,
if we understand it to mean the privilege of doing anything and everything
to promote the peace, happiness, and well-being of mankind, whether in a
national, State, Territorial, county, city, neighborhood, or family
capacity, with a view to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man,
and to have a place in the presence of their Father and God.  Shall we say
that we enjoy this law of liberty to the fullest extent?  We do, in fact,
and no power can deprive us of it.  We have a good and wholesome
government, when it is administered in righteousness and equity, and its
laws scrupulously obeyed; and it guarentees [sic] to all their political,
religious, and social rights.  We have the privilege of worshipping God
according to the dictates of our own consciences, and according to the
revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is true our consciences are
formed more or less by circumstances and by the effects of early
teachings, until we enter upon the stage of action for ourselves. 
Parental influences upon the growing organization of the unborn infant
have much to to [sic] in giving character to conscience.  But we always
have the privilege of answering a good conscience.  We have the privilege
of praying as many times a day as we please; we have the privilege of
praying from morning until evening and from evening until morning without
anyone to molest us.  We have the privilege to meet in a congregational
capacity in our great public meeting-houses, or in our ward
meeting-houses, to attend to our sacraments and fasts, and there to tarry,
when we are thus assembled, as long as we please without any restrictions
whatever.

	There are circumstances in which it would be right to restrict a
person even in prayer and worship.  For instance, if a man should hire
another to work for him so many hours a day, for which he agrees to pay
him so much, the employed is thereby bound by the conditions of the
agreement to work the number of hours stipulated, that he may justly
collect his pay, for he is not paid for praying, nor for holding religious
meetings and religious conversations with his fellow-workmen.  If this may
be called a restriction upon the free exercise of religion, it is a just
one, for the restriction itself becomes religious duty in order that
mistaken notions of religious freedom may be corrected.  In such a case we
would not say that a person is in the least degree abridged in the free
exercise of his religious privileges, but rather, by keeping him to a
faithful observance of his agreement, he is made to exemplify one of the
foremost principles of true religion--namely, honesty.  If a man has
sufficient to supply his wants, and the wants of those who depend upon
him, and can, without infringing upon the rights of others, afford to pray
all the day long and then all the night long, he is free to do so.

	A great many instances might here be introduced to illustrate wherein
men should not be permitted to do as they please in all things; for there
are rules regulating all good societies, and the business intercourse of
men with each other, which are just and righteous in themselves, the
violation of which cannot be countenanced either by civil or religious
usages.  It is not the privilege of any man to waste the time of his
employer under any pretence whatever, and the cause of religion, good
government, and humanity is not in the least degree advanced by the
practice, but the contrary is really the case.  Men should be abridged in
doing wrong; they should not be free to sin against God or against man
without suffering such penalties as their sins deserve.

	I have looked upon the community of the Latter-day Saints in vision
and beheld them organized as one great family of heaven, each person
performing his several duties in his line of industry, working for the
good of the whole more than for individual aggrandizement; and in this I
have beheld the most beautiful order that the mind of man can contemplate,
and the grandest results for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God and the
spread of righteousness upon the earth.  Will this people ever come to
this order of things?  Are they now prepared to live according to that
patriarchal order that will be organized among the true and faithful
before God receives His own?  We all concede the point that when this
mortality falls off, and with it its cares, anxieties, love of self, love
of wealth, and love of power, and all the conflicting interests which
pertain to this flesh, that then, when our spirits have returned to God
who gave them, we will be subject to every requirement that He may make of
us, that we shall then live together as one great family; our interest
will be a general, a common interest.  Why can we not so live in this
world?  This people have been gathered together for a further purpose than
to prepare them to be one in the faith of the doctrine of Christ, to be
one in the proclamation of the Gospel in all the world, to be one in our
obedience to the ordinances of the house of God.  All this we could have
done in the different countries from whence we have been gathered out.  We
could have lived and died there, as many have, in faithfulness to the
spiritual requirements of our religion, if the Lord had not had in view a
great spiritual and temporal purpose in gathering His people from the four
winds.  The order of God among men is not complete without a gathering. 
Hence Jesus says--"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered
thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not."  And because they would not be gathered and
avail themselves of the great blessings consequent upon it, their house
was left unto them desolate, etc.

	We are gathered together expressly to build up the kingdom of God. 
We are not gathered together to build up the kingdom of this world.  The
voice of God has not called us together from the uttermost parts of the
earth to build up and enrich those who are diametrically opposed to His
kingdom and its interests.  No, but we are gathered together expressly to
become of one heart and of one mind in all our operations and endeavors to
establish Christ's spiritual and temporal kingdom upon the earth, to
prepare for the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory.

	When the everlasting gospel is preached by the power of the Holy
Ghost, the minds of those who are honest and worthy of the truth are
opened, and they see the beauty of Zion and the excellence of the
knowledge of God which is poured out upon the faithful.  Such men and
women have seen in the revelations of the Spirit that God would gather His
people even before the gathering was taught to them by the servants of
God; and they understood the great object of the gathering, they say that
the people of the Lord could not be sanctified while they remained
scattered abroad among the nations of the Gentiles.  When the people first
receive the Spirit you may ask what you will of them, and they will yield
it in a moment; their submission to God and the counsels of His servants
is almost complete.  They are ready to give their substance, their houses
and lands, they are ready to leave all and follow Christ; they are ready
to leave their good, comfortable, happy homes, their fathers and their
mothers, and their friends; and some have left their companions and their
children for the gospels' sake, and all this because of the vision of
eternity--which has been opened to their minds so that they beheld the
beauty of Zion, and they sacrifice all to gather to the home of the
Saints.

	We have been assembled together from among all nations to be
corrected in our lives and manners, and for purification before the Lord. 
We have come up to these mountains through trials and tribulations and
perplexities, and what do we see when we come here?  The fatigues of the
journey have proved and tried the souls of many, so that they have
faltered in their faith; the light of the Spirit within them has become
darkened and the understanding benighted.  They look for perfection in
their brethren and sisters, forgetting that in the vision of the Spirit
they saw Zion in her perfection and beauty, and that this state must be
obtained by passing through a strict school of experience.  When they
arrive here they find the people like themselves, subject to many
weaknesses of the flesh, and some giving way to them every day.  The great
majority of the people are apt to lose the Spirit they at first possessed
through the cares of the world and the many afflictions they pass through
in gathering together from the distant nations of the Gentiles, and
through looking for perfections in others which they do not find and which
they themselves do not possess.  Notwithstanding this there exists no
other community so dissimilar in their education and training, and yet so
agreed in theological and civil polity as we are.

	What does the Lord want of us up here in the tops of these mountains? 
He wishes us to build up Zion.  What are the people doing?  They are
merchandizing, trafficing and trading.  I wish to view them as they are
and where they are.  Here is a merchant--"How much have you made this
year, 1867?"  "I have made sixty thousand dollars."  "Where did you get
it?  Did the merchants in the east or the west give it to you?"  "No." 
"Who did give it to you?"  I answer that this poor people, the Latter-day
Saints, who have gathered together in their penury, have put this means
into the hands of the merchant.  He has got it from a people, a great
number of whom have been helped here by the means of others; and when they
get a dime, a dollar, ten dollars, they carry it at once to the merchant
for ribbons, artificials, etc., making him immensely rich.  We all have
our pursuits, our different ways of supplying ourselves with the common
necessaries of life and also its luxuries. This is right and the
possession of earthly wealth is right, if we follow our varied pursuits,
and amass the wealth of this life for the purpose of advancing
righteousness and building up the kingdom of God on earth.  But how easy
it is to wander from the path of righteousness.  We toil days and months
to attain a certain degree of perfection, a certain victory over a failing
or weakness, and in an unguarded moment slide back again to our former
state.  How quickly we become darkened in our minds when we neglect our
duties to God and each other, and forget the great objects of our lives.

	The purpose of the Lord is to get the Saints together, and then
preach to them the doctrines of the kingdom of God by the voices of His
servants, and it is the duty and the privilege of all His people to
conform to them in their lives, in all their daily pursuits, until they
become one in all things, in every day's operations in life, for the
obtaining of our bread and meat and clothing of every description, being
one in the exercise of our ability in gathering together the various
comforts of life around us, sustaining ourselves and the household of
faith, and still being kind to the stranger.  The Lord has not called us
here to make our enemies rich by giving to them our substance for
considerable less than it has cost us to produce it from the elements. 
They would use that means for our destruction.  This course is against the
mind of the Holy Spirit, against the mind of the angels who watch over us,
against the commandments of the Almighty, against the mind of every
faithful and true Latter-day Saint, and against the cause of God and
truth.  As Elder Orson Hyde has said, I would that all the inhabitants of
the earth would repent of their evil ways and become righteous, and then
work the works of righteousness all their days.

	As Latter-day Saints it is our business, morning, noon, and night,
all the day long, all the week long, all the month long, all the year
long, and all our life long, to sustain those who sustain the kingdom of
God.  Does not the religion which we have embraced incorporate everything
which is in heaven and earth and under the earth?  Yes, if there is a
truth among the ungodly and wicked it belongs to us, and if there is a
truth in hell it is ours.  Everything that will produce good to the people
is within our religion.  With our religion we have embraced all good, but
we have not engaged to sustain the powers of Satan and the kingdoms of
this world.  We have left them and engaged to sustain the good--the wine
and the oil--until we become one, and act as with one voice in maintaining
every temporal and spiritual interest of the political kingdom of our God
on earth, whose officers shall be peace and whose exactors shall be
righteousness.  Our judges will be of our own selection, who will deal out
justice and righteousness to the people.  We are looking forward to this
state of things.  We expect to see the day when there will be none in our
midst but those who are for God and truth and who are valiant for His
kingdom on earth.  As the Prophet has said--"Thy people also shall be all
righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my
planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified."  We are longing
for this state of things, then why not begin to work for it to-day?  Why
not commence the work to day by ceasing to do evil, by ceasing to give
strength to the hand which would pierce us through with many sorrows?  Why
not begin to-day by sustaining those who will sustain the kingdom of God? 
This is my text for the Latter-day Saints, and I wish it to be constantly
held before them until they exemplify it in their lives, by becoming of
one heart and of one mind in all things in righteousness and holiness
before the Lord.
	To observe the Word of Wisdom is nothing more than we ought to have
done over thirty years ago.  Touching this matter, I tell the people the
will of God concerning them, and then they are left to do as they please
in obeying it or not.  It is a piece of good counsel which the Lord
desires His people to observe, that they may live on the earth until the
measure of their creation is full.  This is the object the Lord had in
view in giving that Word of Wisdom.  To those who observe it He will give
great wisdom and understanding, increasing their health, giving strength
and endurance to the faculties of their bodies and minds until they shall
be full of years upon the earth.  This will be their blessing if they will
observe His word with a good and willing heart and in faithfulness before
the Lord.

	I am talking to the bishops continually almost, giving them
instruction and advice, but it is hard for them to get the people to be
guided by them.  Now, for example, we will take the least ward in the
city, and suppose the people all consent to be guided and controlled by
the word of the Lord in all things, to be faithful in their labor and in
the discharge of every duty, being economical, prudent, and industrious in
all their labors, taking care of everything, abstaining from the use of
spirituous liquor, tea, coffee, and tobacco, etc., also to let doctors
alone, and faithfully abide the word of the Lord relating to the sick,
manufacturing what they need to wear, and raising what they need for food;
saving their dollars as they happen to get them by the sale of some of
their products, sustaining themselves in all things, wanting only what
they can produce in the country from the elements and the labor of their
hands--suppose, I say, they were to take this course, three years would
not pass away before the people of that ward would be able to produce
everything they need in life.  Thus, by a union of purpose and a
concentration of action, that little ward would soon be able to buy out
their neighboring wards, who would persist in pursuing the opposite
course; and perhaps fifteen years would not pass away before this prudent
ward would be able to buy out and own this whole city, if they continued
to do as they were desired to do, and the rest of the wards pursued their
own way.  I pray my brethren the Bishops, the Elders, the Seventies, the
Apostles, yea, every man and woman and child who has named the name of
Christ, to be of one heart and of one mind, for if we do not become of one
heart and mind we shall surely perish by the way.

	Before I close my remarks I will again remind my brethren and sisters
that we have a duty to perform in sending for our brethren and sisters who
are in foreign lands.  We wish to gather them together.  As to whether
they will stick to the faith after they are gathered I know not, neither
do I care.  It is better to feed nine unworthy persons than to omit
feeding one who is unworthy among the ten.  So it is with clothing the
needy and sending for the poor.  They must have the same opportunities for
salvation that we have, for the neglect of which they will be held
accountable in the day of judgment as we will also be.  Let us send for
the poor.  We are doing considerable, though we are not doing as much as
we should do.  If I could only have power sufficient with God I think I
should accomplish the desire of my heart in this matter and that of my
brethren and sisters.  We do desire to have our friends relieved from
their bondage, and brought to these valleys of the mountains to share with
us the blessings we enjoy.  It would be a blessing to the poor if we could
only exercise the faith that Elijah had in the case of the widow's meal
and cruse of oil, that the little we do get for the emigration of the poor
may accomplish, under the blessing of God, much more than is natural for
us to expect from it.  If we can only obtain faith to multiply the means
we do get, we may make a little reach out so far as to accomplish the
desires of our hearts.

	May God bless you.  Amen.

         REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered at Provo,
                      Saturday, February 8th, 1868.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
               SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS--IMPROVEMENT OF PROVO
                  CITY--LITIGATION--INJUDICIOUS TRADING.

	I am happy in the privilege of meeting with you.  We have come here
to lay before you matters pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of
God upon the earth.  The remarks which you have just heard from Brother
George A. Smith are to the point.  As far as I am acquainted with the
inhabitants of Provo I think they are as good a people as those who dwell
in Salt Lake City or in any other settlement in Utah Territory.  I think
much of Provo; it is a very favored locality.  We have established a
school of the prophets in Salt Lake City.  It is written in a revelation
given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, August, 1833--"Behold, I say unto you,
concerning the school in Zion, I, the Lord, am well pleased that there
should be a school in Zion."  And when speaking of the President of that
school, it is written--"And I will bless him with a multitude of
blessings, in expounding all scriptures and mysteries to the edification
of the school and of the Church in Zion."

	When the school of the prophets was inaugurated one of the first
revelations given by the Lord to His servant Joseph was the Word of
Wisdom.  The members of that school were but a few at first, and the
prophet commenced to teach them in doctrine to prepare them to go out into
the world to preach the gospel unto all people, and gather the elect from
the four quarters of the earth, as the prophets anciently have spoken. 
While this instruction prepared the Elders to administer in word and
doctrine, it did not supply the teachings necessary to govern their
private or temporal lives; it did not say whether they should be
merchants, farmers, mechanics, or money changers.  The prophet began to
instruct them how to live that they might be the better prepared to
perform the great work they were called to accomplish.  I think I am as
well acquainted with the circumstances which led to the giving of the Word
of Wisdom as any man in the Church, although I was not present at the time
to witness them.  The first school of the prophets was held in a small
room situated over the Prophet Joseph's kitchen, in a house which belonged
to Bishop Whitney, and which was attached to his store, which store
probably might be about fifteen feet square.  In the rear of this building
was a kitchen, probably ten by fourteen feet, containing rooms and
pantries.  Over this kitchen was situated the room in which the Prophet
received revelations and in which he instructed his brethren.  The
brethren came to that place for hundreds of miles to attend school in a
little room probably no larger than eleven by fourteen.  When they
assembled together in this room after breakfast, the first they did was to
light their pipes, and, while smoking, talk about the great things of the
kingdom and spit all over the room, and as soon as the pipe was out of
their mouths a large chew of tobacco would then be taken.  Often when the
Prophet entered the room to give the school instructions he would find
himself in a cloud of tobacco smoke.  This, and the complaints of his wife
at having to clean so filthy a floor, made the Prophet think upon the
matter, and he inquired of the Lord relating to the conduct of the Elders
in using tobacco, and the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was the
result of his inquiry.  You know what it is, and can read it at your
leisure.

	So we see that almost the very first teachings the first Elders of
this Church received were as to what to eat, what to drink, and how to
order their natural lives, that they might be united temporally as well as
spiritually.  This is the great purpose which God has in view in sending
to the world, by His servants, the gospel of life and salvation.  It will
teach us how to deal, how to act in all things, and how to live with each
other to become one in the Lord.  There is no question but that the waste
places of Zion will be built up, that temples of God will be reared, and
the Elders of Israel will enter into them and perform ordinances for the
redemption of their dead friends back to Adam; but do you know the method
of operation by which this will be brought about?  Do you understand the
workings of this great machinery of salvation to accomplish the great end
for which we are looking?  With all of our experience we have but a very
scanty or partial knowledge of this great work.  We say that we will enter
into this business or that business to suit our own tastes and notions,
without thinking whether our proceedings will advance the kingdom of God
or not, and when strangers come into our midst we are too apt to
strengthen their hands, to destroy the very Zion which we are trying to
build up.  It may be that those who do this are not aware of the evil
which they commit in taking this course; for while we encourage and
strengthen those who are not of us, at the same time we firmly believe
that scripture of the revelator respecting the separation of the Saints
from the wicked--"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying:  Come out
of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues."

	We have met in these valleys of the mountains with an eye to the
perfection of the Latter-day Saints as individuals or as a community, that
instead of every man turning to his own way, all should be willing to be
controlled by the God of heaven.  We have established a school in Salt
Lake City for the instruction of the Elders of Israel in the doctrines
which are contained in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, etc., and that is also the place where questions may be asked,
and instructions given touching all doctrines and principles that may be
entertained by them.  That is also the place where correction may be given
and explanations be made upon all matters which pertain to the temporal
and spiritual lives of the Saints.  It is about two months since that
school was established.

	There have been petitions presented to the Legislature and much said
concerning the division of this county.  While cogitating upon this matter
in our class, it came to me very forcibly to make a proposition for a few
men to go to Provo and comfort the hearts of the brethren here, to show
them the necessity of becoming one, of laying aside all individual
bickerings, of overlooking and forgiving the weakness of one another, and
of uniting our faith together to make this one of the most beautiful and
lovely cities of Zion.  Why not do this, brethren?  I believe I made the
motion myself before the class for President B. Young and President H. C.
Kimball to go to Provo and make homes there, and live there a portion of
the time; others were also named to do the same.  If the brethren of the
city of Provo are willing for us to dictate and guide them, and make our
homes with them, we will try to do them good, and teach them the ways of
life and salvation, and show them how to overcome the darkness so natural
to the human mind, and give them extended ideas on the building up of the
kingdom of God on earth.

	I have been informed by your presiding Bishop that this day was set
apart for the people to make nominations for their municipal election.  At
the meeting for this purpose the people will have an opportunity of
expressing their views and of making their nominations.  If we would live
according to the laws of God, be contented to live according to the rules
and regulations of the Holy Priesthood, we should have but little use for
probate courts, district courts, or supreme courts in our Territory; their
existence here would only be in a name and form, for the people would live
above the laws of man.  We should have very little use for anything else
in the shape of Government but the Priesthood, which is after the order of
the Son of God.  The Jews and Gentiles have of late brought some of their
difficulties before the High Council in Salt Lake City for adjudication,
in preference to going before the District Court; and the High Council, I
believe, has invariably given satisfaction when such cases have been
brought before it.  This is a step in the right direction--to settle all
matters without having recourse to law, which would do away with the
necessity of employing and paying lawyers, court fees, etc.  If we could
ever see the time when we will live according to the laws of the Lord as
given to us, and never suffer ourselves to transgress the wholesome, just,
and righteous principles and rules which they inculcate for our guidance,
we could live within ourselves, sustain ourselves, and make ourselves
rich--rich in the knowledge of God and in the possession of this life.  If
we could learn to sustain one another and the interests of the kingdom of
God, we would advance in the wealth of this world much faster than to
sustain those who have no interest whatever with us.  I would delight much
to see a people who would actually live the principles of the Holy Gospel
in every respect.  But we are careless and thoughtless; we are not
ignorant of the fact that we are continually making ourselves poorer by
our unwise proceedings.  This is grievous to behold.  If every man in this
Church would consent to be guided by the dictations of the Holy Priesthood
in all their business transactions, dealing honestly with one another,
giving to every man his due, instead of making a few rich and a great many
poor, we would all become rich together, and have every convenience and
appliance which is calculated to give comfort and happiness to man.  We
have got now about ten thousand dollars for the gathering of the poor, and
a number of cattle of various kinds and ages, which we shall sell as soon
as possible for money.  If we had the money which the people have
squandered by their injudicious trading, and by wrongly applied labor, we
should have means sufficient to gather every poor Saint in the old world.

	I can see the foolishness of the Elders of Israel in wandering here
and there with their produce to make gain, and trying to undersell each
other; they have always lost by this proceeding, whereas if they had
stayed at home they would have made money.  Every man who has property and
means should live so as to obtain wisdom to know how to use them in the
best possible way to produce the greatest amount of good for himself, for
his family, and for the kingdom of God; but instead of taking this course
it does appear that the great majority of the Elders of Israel are crazy
to run here and there to get rid of what they possess at any price.  What
for?  Do they do this to build up the Kingdom of God?  "Have you built a
good house?"  "No."  "What have you got?"  "Folly, folly, weakness, and
poverty."  When we can get the people to stay at home, and observe the law
of God, we have the things of God for them, and the things of the world
too as soon as they are prepared to receive them and make a good use of
them.  It grieves me to see the people take such special pains to make
themselves foolish and miserable.  I am speaking of the community, and it
is the one man, the one woman, and the one child multiplied that makes the
great nation or people.  Let us learn wisdom and govern ourselves
accordingly.

	We shall hold meeting among you to-day and to-morrow, and I hope the
people of Provo will be benefited by our visit, and I pray that they will
apply their hearts to understand, receive, and treasure up, and bring
forth truth to the glory of God.  Amen.

   REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old Tabernacle,
                    Salt Lake City, February 16, 1868.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
      OBJECT OF THE GATHERING--NECESSITY OF A TEMPLE--TRIALS OF THE
                     SAINTS--SEALING--VISIT TO PROVO.

	I am thankful that I have the privilege of meeting with you; I am
thankful for the blessings of this day, and that I live in this age of the
world.  The beginning of this dispensation of the fullness of times may
well be compared to the commencement of a temple, the material of which it
is to be built being still scattered, unshaped and unpolished, in a state
of nature.  I am thankful that the way is being prepared, and that we have
the privilege of erecting a spiritual and moral superstructure--a temple
of God.  I am happy to be a member of this community; it is my joy, my
delight to perform the little services which God has given me ability to
do for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the children of men, for the
establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and for the bringing
forth of His laws.

	We have been gathered to the valleys of these mountains for the
express purpose of purifying ourselves, that we may become polished stones
in the temple of God, for it is written, "Him that overcometh will I make
a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out."  Christ is
represented as a living stone, chosen of God and precious, and the Apostle
represents the Saints "as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,
an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ."  We "are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the Saints and of the household of God, and are built upon
the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner-stone, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
into an holy temple in the Lord."  Then my brethren, "what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as
God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their
God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I
will receive you, and be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."  We are here for the purpose of
establishing the kingdom of God on the earth.  To be prepared for this
work it has been necessary to gather us out from the nations and countries
of the world, for if we had remained in those lands we could not have
received the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God, which
are necessary for the perfection of the Saints preparatory to His coming.

	The great work of the gathering in the last days was plainly seen by
the ancient Prophets and Apostles, and the glory of Zion was portrayed to
them by the Spirit; but the sufferings and labors and toils and travels of
the Saints to bring about the grand results which they saw they have not
particularly described, for very likely the minutiae were not revealed to
them; still they plainly saw by the spirit of revelation that the Saints
would be gathered in the last days to be perfected and sanctified to
become the bride, the Lamb's wife.  I suppose that the visions of the Lord
and the revelation of His Spirit given to His faithful people in former
times, relating to the Zion of the the [sic] last days, were much the same
as they are when given to His people in our days.  When we first receive
the Spirit of the Gospel we receive great joy therein, great peace, and
great satisfaction to our minds; and we are carried away in the Spirit to
behold the beauties of Zion, and to contemplate the mysteries of the
kingdom of God.  Our brethren and sisters far away among the nations, when
they received the gospel, and the spirit of revelation came upon them,
delighted to contemplate the gathering of the Saints, it was a matter of
joy to them to dream about it and think about it when they would awake
from their slumbers.  They would reflect upon it through the day, and talk
about it in their prayer meetings, and in their prayer circles at home,
the subject of gathering to Zion was constantly before them if they lived
so as to enjoy the spirit of their religion.  This spirit caused their
hearts constantly to rejoice; it was not the journey across the sea and
across the plains that gave them joy, but it was the contemplation of Zion
in its beauty and glory, for they could not see the troubles and
disappointments, perplexities and vexations they would have to pass
through in gathering to Zion, nor did they think of the hardships they
would have to endure after they were gathered.  So the ancients viewed the
glory of Zion in the last days.

	We cannot now administer the further ordinances of God in the fullest
sense of the word legally unto the people, neither shall we be able to do
so until we have a temple built for that purpose.  Some may consider that
I am notifying our common foe in saying this, but it is true,
notwithstanding, and our common foe knows it.  We must be situated in
local circumstances wherein we can efficiently administer in those
ordinances of the house of God that cannot be administered to a people
while they are scattered abroad among the nations of the wicked.  The
Apostle John no doubt saw in vision, by the spirit of revelation, Zion in
her beauty and perfection, and that Zion would have to be built up by the
gathering of God's people out of Babylon.  Under the influence of the same
spirit the Psalmist exclaims--"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God
hath shined."  "He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth,
that He may judge His people.  Gather my Saints together unto me; those
that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."  The High Priest
Caiaphas, under the influence of the same spirit of prophecy, foretold
that Jesus should die for the nation; "and," as John says, "not for that
nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children
of God that were scattered abroad."  The gathering previously foretold is
now being accomplished, and wherever the children of men are, if there are
individuals among them who would delight to be disciples of the Lord
Jesus, forsake sin and sinful company and practices, they are called upon
to gather out from the wicked and assemble themselves together at some
place designated by the finger of the Almighty.  This work the Lord
commenced over thirty years ago, and it is still progressing; the call is
still to His people among the nations of the earth--Gather out of her my
people, be not partakers of her sins lest ye receive of her plagues.  When
the righteous are thus gathered they will then be prepared for the coming
of the Messiah.

	It was remarked by Elder Woodruff that he did not think it would be a
hundred years before the Savior will come.  It is no matter about when he
will come; I do not think the Father has yet been pleased to reveal it to
any man upon the earth, and I do not known [sic] that He has revealed it
to the angels.  He had not done so in the days of the Savior, and I do not
think that He has yet revealed it.  Whether He comes to-day, to-morrow,
this week, next week, this year, or next year, it matters not; we should
be prepared for His coming, and this should satisfy us.  It is our duty to
make a close application of the requirements of heaven to our lives, and
qualify ourselves to accomplish the work which the Lord has committed into
our hands.  How can we perform this work?  Can we do it by every man
turning to his own way, and by following the vain imaginations of his own
heart?  No, we will all decide at once that we never can perform this
labor without being guided and directed by the Lord himself, through the
means which it pleases Him to use to bring about the perfecting of His
people, to prepare them for the glory which is to follow.  I would not
question the truth of the statement that the people ordered their lives
before the Lord and their neighbors while they were scattered among the
nations more perfectly than they do here in many instances, for there they
had nothing to try them only the common enemy, and the finger of scorn
pointed at them by unbelievers, which made them cling closer to their God;
they had not the trials to undergo which the Saints have here.  If it is
necessary for us to be tried in all things, then weep not, mourn not
because we are tried, neither let us object to the Lord directing our
course in that path wherein the trials necessary for our perfection lie. 
If it is in sailing across the sea in ships, in being sick and cast down,
in witnessing the sorrow of our dear friends, in receiving temptations and
trials to which we have before been strangers; if it is in crossing the
country from the United States to this place, by railroad or by ox team,
no matter how, the Lord leads His people in this way expressly to give
them trials which they have not passed through before, and which it is
necessary they should have.  While it is necessary that we should be
tempted and tried, it is not necessary that we should give way to
temptation.

	The Latter-day Saints are often drawn into circumstances that are
most peculiar, and sometimes very trying, yet there exists no other people
on the earth who enjoy the privileges and the freedom that we do.  Our
laws are often trampled upon with impunity, and the offender goes free. 
The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often
commit sins that if they were to commit in the world would cut them off
from the church anti-christ, yet we retain them as members of the Church
of Christ in mercy, and in consideration of the weaknesses of poor human
nature, and they pass along unscathed, receiving the fellowship of their
faithful brethren and sisters with the hope that they will reform and
learn to live their religion more faithfully.

	It is absolutely necessary that the Saints should receive the further
ordinances of the house of God before this short existence shall come to a
close, that they may be prepared and fully able to pass all the sentinels
leading into the celestial kingdom and into the presence of God.  Our
brethren and sisters who are scattered abroad must be gathered to be
tried, and then to be blessed with a preparation for a glorious reward. 
This people will be tried more or less while they remain in the flesh;
they may even be called as Abraham of old was to offer up that which is
the most dear to them of all earthly objects for the Gospel's sake.  Some
have already forsaken all and followed Christ; they have left their
children, their husbands, their wives, their brothers and sisters and dear
friends, some hoping again to see them, and many never expecting to see
them again in this life.  We shall be tried in all things, and the Lord is
now disposed to try us by calling upon us to be of one heart and of one
mind, to submit to be guided and dictated, governed and controlled by Him
through the constituted authorities of His kingdom.  We should not
consider this a trial above what we can bear.

	Is the wife tried because her husband wishes to dictate her and give
her good and wholesome advice?  Is somebody tried because his bishop
wishes to control him for his good?  Your bishop is very likely doing the
best he can to advise the members of his ward for their best good.  Does
he advise you to do wrong?  All the members of that ward who are full of
faith and the power of God will be of one heart and mind with their
bishop, and will go with him in all things, and while union continues in
the Lord He will cause every move they make to culminate for the greatest
good to that people and the cause of truth.  If a bishop counsels the
people of his ward to swear shall they swear?  No.  If he counsels them to
steal shall they steal?  No.  If he counsels them to lie and bear false
witness shall they do these wrongs?  No.  If he teaches them to break the
Sabbath shall they break the Sabbath?  No.  If a bishop or any other
officer in this Church shall counsel the people to violate any of the laws
of God, and to sustain and build up the kingdoms of this world, I will
justify them, and the Lord will justify them in refusing to obey that
counsel.  But if they counsel you to do right, which they do, take their
counsel.  Instead of supporting anti-christ we have agreed to give our
time, our talent, our substance, our all, for the building up of the
kingdom of God.

	Do right, and you will be tried all you wish to bear, and if you
overcome, being made perfect through suffering, your rewards will be
eternal life in the kingdom of God.  Do wrong, and continue in doing
wrong, and you will have trials more than you can bear, and be damned at
last.  When we receive chastisement let us not be discouraged, but be more
faithful, enduring temptation, hardship, and perplexity, trusting in God,
and walking in the light of His countenance day by day and hour by hour. 
By pursuing this course our life will be a cheerful and happy one even in
the midst of severe trials.  We have now some little trial to endure, but
not much.  We are part of a great nation; it has been one of the happiest
and best nations that has ever existed with regard to liberty, the
greatness of its institutions, and the land which it occupies.  The Lord
says--Let my servants and handmaidens be sealed, and let their children be
sealed.  This great and happy government under which we have lived so long
says we shall not perform the ordinance of sealing.  This may be a small
trial to us for the moment.  We shall see who will conquer--whether God
will have His way in making manifest His purposes and having them
fulfilled, or whether the wicked will have their way.  They have had it,
and have succeeded many times in overcoming the Saints and destroying them
to that degree, causing them to apostatize, and putting them to death,
that the Priesthood was taken from the children of men; but this is the
last dispensation, and we shall see whether they succeed in this kind of
proceeding now as they have formerly done.

	The Lord has revealed His will for His servants to take more wives
than one.  Our government says that a man shall not have but one wife,
though he may have as many mistresses as he pleases; he may ruin and
destroy as many of the daughters of Eve as he pleases; but his is
forbidden to acknowledge but one as his wife.  The government says you
shall only have one wife; the Lord says take unto yourselves wives; and
Saints obey the Lord, and we shall see who will come off victorious.  The
ordinance of sealing must be performed here man to man, and woman to man,
and children to parents, etc., until the chain of generation is made
perfect in the sealing ordinances back to father Adam; hence, we have been
commanded to gather ourselves together, to come out from Babylon, and
sanctify ourselves, and build up the Zion of our God, by building cities
and temples, redeeming countries from the solitude of nature, until the
earth is sanctified and prepared for the residence of God and angels.

	Our enemies say we shall not do this, and here will be a trial, as it
has been for a long time past.  One of the first objections that was urged
against Joseph Smith was that he was a money digger; and now the digging
of gold is considered an honorable and praiseworthy employment.  They are
hunting for gold all over the country, doing the very thing which they
condemned in him.  The next fault they found with Joseph and the Saints
was that they were stirring up the slaves to rebellion against their
masters; and this was published abroad.  Have they not done, and are they
not now doing, the very thing for which they falsely blamed the Saints? 
The next accusation was that the Saints took more wives than one.  Whether
they will make one grand sweep of it in the future, and all conclude to
take more wives, I cannot say.  I wish they might; I do not, however, wish
this for any private benefit it will be to me or to God's people, but that
they may make women honorable wives whom they now destroy, and conduct
themselves more like human beings who bear the image of God than they now
do before Him.  It is for their own sakes that I wish this, and for the
sake of the unfortunate females whom they outrage.  I would like you to
behold your little darling sisters and daughters here throwing themselves
in the way of the Gentiles.  Any Mormon brother or father who can suffer
this to go on without reproof or advice must be ignorant of the
consequences.  The Lord says to the sons Israel, take the daughters of
Israel to wife, and make them honorable, and let them multiply and
replenish the earth, and fillup the measure of their creation, that their
names may be had in honorable remembrance to the latest generation on
earth and in eternity.  Supposing that the Latter-day Saints had possessed
the city of New York for the last twenty years, as they have these valleys
of Utah, and the young women of that city from sixteen years of age to
twenty-one had been in the hands of Mormon Elders as wives, how many would
have now been living and honorable mothers of a bright, intelligent, and
vigorous race of men and women, that have met an untimely grave,
husbandless, childless, friendless, disgraced, and forgotten?  Under such
circumstances there would have been now living in honor, according to
moderate calculation, from two to four hundred thousand females, whose
filthy and corrupted remains are now mingling with the dust of that sinful
city.

	This is a waste of life.  Who will be answerable to God in the day of
judgment for such acts?  The voice of the Lord is gather out from her, my
people, thet [sic] ye partake not of her sins nor of her plagues, and
build temples to My name, and seal up My sons and daughters to eternal
life, to prepare them for My coming, for "the hour is not yet, but is nigh
at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall
have power over his own dominion; and also the Lord shall have power over
His Saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in
judgement upon Idumea, or the world."  For, behold, the days are coming in
which they shall say--"Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never
bore, and the paps that never gave suck.  Then shall they begin to say to
the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us.  For if they do
these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?"  Devouring
flames have already taken hold of the dry tree, and the hand of God in
judgment is beginning to be felt by this nation, and soon will be upon all
nations under heaven.  Who will acknowledge the hand of God in the
sufferings, travails, and deliverance of this people from the hands of
their persecutors, and His handiwork in sustaining them in the wilderness,
through sorrow, affliction, poverty, and wretchedness?  All the faithful
Saints will do it; but how few outsiders, as we call them, will stop to
pray to God in the name of Jesus to know if this work is true; they pass
it by as a thing of nought, as unworthy of their attention; they are so
absorbed in the affairs of this world that the preparation for the next
scarcely enters into their thoughts, and many of this class are honorable
men.

	I rejoice when I contemplate the work of the last days, and survey
the Saints in their possessions in Utah.  I have but one text which I
desire to keep before them--it is to forsake their sins and become united
as one man in the purpose of all their temporal acts, that their labors
may all centre in the building up and sustaining of God's kingdom instead
of building up the kingdoms of this world.

	For their consolation I will say to my brethren and sisters that we
have had a very happy time on our short visit in the south, and I think I
never experienced greater peace, sweeter peace, than I have done on our
short visit to Provo a week ago.  We left the city a week ago last Friday,
and returned again to this city on the Tuesday following.  We had a most
excellent meeting at American Fork, and everybody and everything seemed to
cry peace on earth and good will to men.  When we returned home we found
rumors that there had been difficulty in Provo, and some of the brethren
had been killed.  Br. Heber C. Kimball, in conversing upon this subject in
the School of the Prophets, remarked that the brethren voted that we
should go to Provo and that the angels of the Lord should accompany us,
but he did not expect that they would all go with us and leave you without
any.  There are good Saints in Provo, and they want to be better Saints;
they may have committed errors, but when you arrive at the truth of the
matter, they wish to be Saints.  We are all called to be Saints, to be
filled with the purity of God, and with the power of the Holy Spirit of
the Lord Jesus--the spirit of revelation--we are called from darkness into
light, from error to truth, from the power of Satan to the living God, we
are called from the kingdoms of darkness to the kingdom of God and light,
and, by and bye, we shall be chosen because we are worthy, and it will be
said to us:  "You have lived the life of a Saint, now you are chosen to be
an heir of the celestial kingdom of our Father and god."  Let us not
forget, my brethren and sisters, the gathering of the Saints for
sanctification and preparation to inherit all things.  Let us live closer
to our duty, that we may be sanctified and be prepared to dwell together
in the celestial kingdom, which may God grant.  Amen.

     REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                    Salt Lake City, March 29th, 1868.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
    HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN--SAINTS DELIGHT TO
    DO THE WILL OF GOD--PROPER DIRECTION OF LABOR AND TALENT--CHILDREN
                  OF THE SAINTS HEIRS TO THE PRIESTHOOD.

	I am thankful for the privilege of again meeting with the Saints in
this city, for the privilege of speaking to them, and of hearing others
speak; and, in fact, I am happy in this life, which is a very excellent
one, answering the purpose for which it has been ordained--a state of
existence wherein to prepare for a better kingdom and a better life.  We
are now in a day of trial to prove ourselves worthy or unworthy of the
life which is to come.  We have reason to be thankful that the Lord has
given unto us this opportunity and privilege to receiving truth and acting
upon it for our own good, the privilege of increasing in knowledge and in
wisdom, in understanding and in all things pertaining to this life and to
that which is to come.  I often think that we are all dull scholars, slow
to comprehend things as they are, slow to believe, and slow to act in the
right.  We often act without wisdom, and often speak without
consideration, causing grief and sorrow to our hearts.  But we are here in
this life to learn; we are in a great school, and if we are diligent and
faithful, and fervent in our studies, then we have hope of being prepared
to enter into an existence wherein we shall receive more than we can
receive in this state,--where we can adopt in our lives principles of
exaltation and progression faster than we can here.  Let us apply our
minds to wisdom in this life.

	The Latter-day Saints who dwell in these valleys have left their all
to gather with the Saints, and for the express purpose of preparing for
the coming of the Son of Man.  When we consider this, and then consider
how we spend our time--the precious time allotted to us in this life--to
me it is a matter of astonishment.  Men and women for slight causes make
spipwreck [sic] of faith, lose the spirit of the Gospel, losing the object
for which they left their homes and their friends.  We are all searching
for happiness; we hope for it, we think we live for it, it is our aim in
this life.  But do we live so as to enjoy the happiness we so much desire? 
There is only one way for Latter-day Saints to be happy, which is simply
to live their religion, or in other words believe the Gospel of Jesus
Christ in every part, obeying the gospel of liberty with full purpose of
heart, which sets us free indeed.  If we will, as a community, obey the
law of God, and comply with the ordinances of salvation, then we may
expect to find the happiness we so much desire, but if we do not pursue
this course we cannot enjoy the unalloyed happiness which is to be found
in the Gospel.  To profess to be a Saint, and not enjoy the spirit of it,
tries every fibre of the heart, and is one of the most painful experiences
that man can suffer.  Let not the Latter-day Saints deceive themselves,
let them not pursue a course that will bring sorrow to their hearts
instead of joy and peace.  Let them not flatter themselves that they will
receive salvation in the kingdom of God while living in the neglect of
their duties.  Unless we live our religion and sanctify ourselves by the
law of God, we flatter ourselves in vain that we shall be made
instrumental in the hands of God in preparing the way for the coming of
the Son of Man for the redemption of Zion according to the words of the
prophets, for the redemption of the earth, for the gathering of the
children of Israel to the lands of their forefathers, for the ushering in
of the fullness of the Gentiles and the reign of universal peace.  These
are serious matters with me, and should be looked upon as such by all the
people.

	It is true that we are weak, feeble, frail, and prone to wander from
the paths of righteousness.  We are made subject to vanity, still it is
our duty to bring into subjection to the law of Christ all the powers of
our natures.  If we thus subdue the wicked man that is within us,
sanctifying the Lord God in our hearts, we may then begin to enjoy the
glorious hope of joining the throng that will be gathered with the
sanctified, and of being prepared for the coming of the Son of Man, when
it will be said--"Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him." 
Now, will we deceive ourselves and be found among the foolish virgins,
with no oil in our vessels; and when the wheat and the tares are
separated, shall I be found a tare or a wheat?  Let us ask ourselves the
question, am I a wheat or a tare?  The proof as to whether we are tares or
wheat may be seen in our lives, as it is written--"For whosoever shall do
the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and
sister, and mother."  Again, "not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven."  This is the proof--keep the
commandments, observe the ordinances, and preserve the institutions of
Christ's Church inviolate, doing all things that are required of us, as
unto the Lord, sanctifying ourselves before Him, and, "By this shall all
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."  By
pursuing this course no person who is a true follower of Christ will be
left without a witness, for "if any man will do His will, he shall know of
the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself."  I am
satisfied that no man can live faithfully according to the requirements of
heaven without having the testimony of the Spirit that they are born of
God; but if they do not live so they have no such assurance, for the Lord
is under no obligations to give them the witness of the Spirit, but if
they live as He requires them He will fulfill unto them His promise.  He
is held to this according to His own word to His children that He would
send unto them the spirit of promise, even the Holy Ghost, which will show
them things to come.

	When I speak to the Saints I include myself.  I profess to be a Saint
with the rest of my brethren and sisters, and my public and private life
is the proof whether I am truly a Saint or not.  This is not all, but the
spirit which I possess and communicate to the people is another proof, and
the spirit which you possess and communicate to your neighbours is the
proof by which you are known, as it is with myself.  If we walk in
obedience to the covenants which we have made with God and one another, we
have the assurance that we shall walk no more in darkness, but in the
light of life--in the light of the countenance of our heavenly Father. 
Then we can bear witness that we are born of God, and testify of Jesus as
being the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth; and we then can strengthen our brethren, and are prepared to speak
the truth to a wicked world and call upon them to repent, and forsake
their sins, return unto the Lord, seek salvation, and make their peace
with God before it is too late.

	A great many good people, who possess much of the spirit of the Lord,
are naturally given to doubting, having so little self-reliance that they
sometimes doubt whether they are Saints in truth or not.  These often
doubt when they should not.  So long as they are walking humbly before
God, keeping His commandments, and observing His ordinances, feeling
willing to give all for Christ, and do everything that will promote His
kingdom, they need never doubt, for the Spirit will testify to them
whether they are of God or not.  There are some who are always fearful,
trembling, doubting, wavering, and at the same time doing everything they
can for the promotion of righteousness.  Yet they are in doubts whether
they are doing the best possible good, and they fear and fail here and
there, and will doubt their own experience and the witness of the Spirit
to them.

	As we are now partaking of the emblems of the body and blood of the
Savior, I will refer to this ordinance of the house of God, and ask the
Latter-day Saints to call to mind their own feelings on this subject, as a
testimony regarding their faith and assurance.  Do you delight to partake
of the sacrament of the Lord's supper?  Would you assemble yourselves
together here, Sabbath after Sabbath, for the express purpose of partaking
of the broken bread, and of this water that has been prepared, as a
witness to God, our Father, that we have received the Gospel of His Son,
that we do delight in His words, and in keeping His commandments and
requirements, thus testifying to our Heavenly Father, and to His Son Jesus
Christ, that we are the disciples of Jesus?  Would you leave your homes in
the distant parts of the city to bear this witness and attend a meeting to
observe this ordinance?  The great majority of this people would do this
Sabbath after Sabbath, month after month, and year year [sic], if they
were left entirely to their own choice, without the interference of
bishops and teachers, while a few would consider it not convenient to
attend meeting, because the witness of the Spirit is not in them.  Again,
do we delight to call upon the Father in the name of Jesus--it is our joy
and happiness to do so?  Do we believe that He will hear our prayers, and
that we shall receive benefit from our petitions to Him in the name of
Jesus?  Do we rely upon Him, and are we acquainted with His character in
the least degree?  Have we any knowledge of Him?  Let us answer these
questions in our own minds, that we may ascertain whether we do delight to
bow down before Him to ask for the things which we need, and seek unto Him
for His Spirit to guide us, and preserve us from all danger, that we may
not wander into by and [sic] forbidden paths and fall out by the way, but
be kept constantly in the narrow path which leads to life everlasting.  Is
it our pleasure to do good to our fellow-creatures, by travelling far away
from our homes and friends to preach the gospel to a perishing world? 
This applies to the Elders of Israel, and also to the mothers and
daughters and sons of those Elders.  Do they delight to part with their
husbands that they may go and call upon the nations to repent of their
sins?  Is it a joy to them to bear the burdens of a family in the absence
of their husbands, preserving everything they have left?  Is it a pleasure
for the Elders to travel among the nations without purse or scrip,
travelling from people to people, and from neighborhood to neighborhood,
submitting to the finger of scorn, and the abuse of the wicked and
ungodly?

	I will here say, however, that I have been treated kindly when
travelling among strangers to preach this gospel.  I do not know that I
ever asked for a meal of victuals without obtaining it.  Still, I have
seen enough from the experience of others to know the real feelings, and
to understand the desires of the ungodly concerning the Elders of Israel. 
They do not desire them any good.

	If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, it is a
testimony to you that you delight in the building up His kingdom, that you
delight in the Zion of the Lord as established in latter days.  The answer
of every faithful heart to these questions is--Yes, I delight in these
things, and these are so many evidences that they are of God.  Do we
delight to feed the poor and clothe the naked?  We do.  I am happy in my
reflections, it is a source of gratification to contemplate facts as they
are, and I can say of a truth that I have done more, probably a hundred
times over, for my enemies in feeding, clothing, and lodging them, and
doing them good than they all ever did for me.  Has a minister of religion
ever passed through this country and been refused the privilege of
speaking in any of our places of worship?  No.  Can the vilest of the vile
enter into a house belonging to a Latter-day Saint and complain of
suffering for food, and be turned away unsupplied?  It is no matter
whether they are Christian, Pagan, or Jew, they can tarry over night and
be made as comfortable as the family can make them, and they can depart in
peace and safety.  Can the Elders of Israel say this of the world?  They
cannot.

 	Whether it is a credit to me or not, that is with the Lord, but He
has given me the ability that whenever I have wished to receive favors
from those who knew me not I have obtained them.  I know it is the custom
of many Elders to say, "I am a 'Mormon' Elder; will you keep me over
night?" and he is at once spurned from the doors of the stranger.  Whether
it is a credit to me or not, I never told them I was a "Mormon" Elder
until I got what I wanted.  I have have [sic] thus stopped at many a
house, and had the privilege of introducing the principles of our
religion, and they have exclaimed, "Well, if this is Mormonism, my house
shall be your home as long as you stay in this neighbourhood," when,
perhaps, if I had said, "I am a 'Mormon' Elder" at the first they would
have refused me their hospitality.  I can say to the world they used me
pretty well, and I have no fault to find with them in this respect.  I
have been abused sometimes by priests, but on such occasions I have ever
been ready to defend the cause of righteousness and preach the gospel to
all.  The Elders of Israel have received more kindness from the infidel
portions of mankind where they have travelled, than from those who profess
Christianity.

	Thousands of the Elders of Israel who are now occupying these valleys
are now willing, if called upon, to leave their families and homes to go
and preach the Gospel in all the world, and be abused, and cast out and
suffer poverty and want for the Gospel's sake.  Is not this a witness that
you are right before God?  It is.  You are willing to feed and clothe the
needy, and send means out of your scanty supplies to foreign lands to
gather the poor Saints from those old countries; and it is marvellous in
my eyes what the people have done within a few months back.  About the 5th
of February last we found that we could only raise about from eight to
nine thousand dollars to send to Europe for the poor.  Elders Hiram B.
Clawson and Wm. C. Staines started for New York on the 17th of the month. 
Last Conference I had faith that the Lord would favor us and multiply
means.  When we came to send away the means we had, we were able to send
25,000 dols. with the brethren.  This means was contributed in small
amounts; but it is marvellous how it came in.  We have exercised faith in
this matter, and now we are able to send 25,000 dols. more, and we have
not touched a bushel of wheat or a hundred of flour nor an animal that has
been turned in, and the means keep coming in, and it comes more and more,
and they will continue to give until the emigration is over.  This is a
witness to the people that they are right before high Heaven in these
things, that the Elders are right in going to preach, that their wives and
mothers and daughters are right in preserving their means and property
from wasting in the absence of their natural guardians.  They are right if
they delight in coming to meeting to partake of the sacrament, and to bow
down before the Lord and worship Him.  They are right in feeding the poor
and in paying their tithing.

	I will here say to the Latter-day Saints, if you will feed the poor
with a willing heart and ready hand neither you nor your children will
ever be found begging bread.  In these things the people are right; they
are right in establishing Female Relief Societies, that the hearts of the
widow and the orphan may be made glad by the blessings which are so
abundantly and so freely poured out upon them.  And, inasmuch as we have
embraced the fullness of the Gospel with honest hearts, the Lord has sworn
by Himself that He will save us if we will continue to be obedient to His
will.  It is our privilege to seek unto Him, and obtain His Spirit to
witness unto us continually regarding our labors and works, that we may
always know whether we are in the line of our duty or not.

	This is the gospel; this is the plan of salvation; this is the
Kingdom of of [sic] God; this is the Zion that has been spoken and written
of by all the Prophets since the world began.  This is the world of Zion
which the Lord has promised to bring forth.  We are right when we pray for
our neighbors, for our brethren and friends, and for our enemies.  We are
right when we are striving to become of one heart and of one mind.  We are
right when we are humble before the Lord, when we are as willing to
forgive as we are to be forgiven.  We are right in educating our children,
and while we strive to be educated in every useful branch of an English
education, let us also be learned in every moral and physical attainment;
let us learn how to take care of and preserve our [sic] ourselves and
friends, how to plant, how to gather, how to build up, and how to
beautify.

	The Saints in these mountains are a stalwart, athletic people.  They
have a great capital of bone, muscle, and sinew on hand.  When this is not
employed in the establishment and maintenance of various industries, in
prudent, economical labor, the employed doing justice to the employer,
working to do good for their own benefit and the benefit of the Kingdom of
God, gathering around them in abundance the comforts of life, the great
capital which God has given to us as individuals and as a people is
wasted.  This reminds me of what I said to the people of Provo.  They
naturally might have expected that they were going to be made more
prosperous as a city by the money which we should take there.  I told them
that we brought nothing but knowledge to direct them in their labors and
to teach them how to employ their time.  This is the greatest wealth we
possess--to know how to rightly direct our labors, spending every hour
advantageously for the benefit of our wives and children and neighbors. 
This is right and commendable; it is required by Him whom we say we serve,
and it is the only true way to fill honestly the mission we have here upon
earth.  We should not only learn the principles of education known to
mankind, but we should reach out further than this, learning to live so
that our minds will gather in information from the heavens and the earth
until we can incorporate in our faith and understanding all knowledge
which is useful and practicable in our present condition and that will
lead to life eternal.

	Ye wise men of the world, ye men who profess to know how to guide the
destinies of great nations, ye kings and potentates, ye emperors and
rulers, who of you could take a people as poor and as ignorant in the
affairs of this world as the Latter-day Saints were when they were
scattered abroad among the nations, and gather them together, organize
them politically and religiously, and show them how to become healthy,
wealthy, and wise like this people?  Statesmen and rulers can lay waste
and destroy, but who of them can build up, enrich, and save the nation? 
They are not to be found.  They give no evidence of possessing the
capacity, for the proof of the ability of men to rule and manage is their
works.  I told them at Provo I would teach them how to get rich, in
wasting no time, and wisely disposing of all ability which God has given
them to do good.

	I have not spoken of the wrong, and I wish never to have an occasion
to do so, that I may never have occasion to find fault with Israel again. 
It is the good I delight to dwell upon and promote and encourage.  I
delight to see the inhabitants of Zion increase in good works, in faith
and faithfulness, and let sin pass behind, while they go on valiant and
strong in the service of God.  If we will hearken to counsel we shall be
the best people in the world; we shall be as a bright light set upon a
hill that cannot be hid, or like a candle upon a candlestick.  We declare
it to all the inhabitants of the earth from the valleys in the tops of
these mountains that we are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints--not a church but the church--and we have the doctrine of life and
salvation for all the honest-in-heart in all the world.  Who else has got
it?  Is it to be found in the creeds of Christendom?  It is not.  We have
the living oracles of the Lord Almighty to lead us day by day.  In
consideration of these things we should be exemplary in all our actions. 
We may do great works for the good of the poor, we may give all our goods
to feed them, and our bodies to be burned for the work of God, yet if we
trifle with the sacred name of the Lord, and with our own salvation, it
will profit us nothing, and we shall be found wanting, with no oil in our
vessels in the great day of the Lord.

	High Councillors, do you have any trials before you?  "Yes."  Have
the brethren complained of each other?  "Yes."  Are their feelings
alienated one from the other?  Is there a party spirit manifested in the
Council?  "Sometimes."  Do the brethren go off satisfied with the
decisions of the Council?  Bishops, do you have any trials?  Are the
feelings of the brethren in your Wards alienated?  "Yes."  What should
they do in such cases?  They should follow the rules laid down, and be
reconciled to their brethren forthwith.  I think that it can be shown that
the great majority of difficulties between brethren, arises from
misunderstandings rather than from malice and a wicked heart, and instead
of talking the matter over with each other in a saint-like spirit, they
will contend with each other until a real fault is created, and they have
brought a sin upon themselves.  "Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee,
leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.  Agree with thine
adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him, lest at any time
the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the
officer, and thou be cast into prison.  Verily, I say unto thee, thou
shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost
farthing."  When we have done good ninety-nine times and then do an evil,
how common it is, my brethren and sisters, to look at that one evil all
the day long and never think of the good.  Before we judge each other we
should look at the design of the heart, and if it is evil, then chasten
that individual, and take a course to bring him back again to
righteousness.

	I want you to learn all you possibly can, and teach your neighbors,
giving them all the information you can.  When I see a brother or a sister
refuse to impart knowledge, I know there is something wrong in the heart
of that person.  I am here to do good, and to teach my brethren and
sisters to sanctify themselves, to get their food, to build cities and
make farms, to teach them to accumulate knowledge, and then dispense it to
all.

	I hope to see the time when we shall have a reformation in the
orthography of the English language, among this people, for it is greatly
needed.  Such a reformation would be a great benefit, and would make the
acquirement of an education much easier than at present.  I say to fathers
and mothers, never say a word that you would not be willing your son and
daughter should say, or commit an act you would not sanction in your son
or daughter, and so walk before your children that they may be prepared by
your example to walk in the ways of life everlasting, and they will not
depart from them; and if they, notwithstanding your example, should become
froward in their feelings, and unruly, they will soon see the folly of
their ways and turn to their parents and acknowledge their faults and
again wish to be feasted at their father's table.  Parents should never
drive their children, but lead them along, giving them knowledge as their
minds are prepared to receive it.  Solomon has written, "He that spareth
his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."  I
do not think that these words of Solomon will justify the ruling of
children with an iron hand.  Chastening may be necessary betimes, but
parents should govern their children by faith rather than by the rod,
leading them kindly by good example into all truth and holiness.

	Our children who are born in the Priesthood are legal heirs, and
entitled to the revelations of the Lord, and as the Lord lives, his angels
have charge over them, though they may be left to themselves occasionally. 
We should learn our own nature, and live worthy of our being.  When Jesus
Christ was left to himself, in His darkest hour, he faltered not, but
overcame.  He was ordained to this work.  If we should ever be left to
ourselves, and the Spirit withdrawn from us, it will be to try the
strength of our integrity and faithfulness, to see whether we will walk in
His ways even in a dark and cloudy hour.  At times our children may not be
in possession of a good spirit, but if the parent continues to possess the
good spirit, the children will have the bad spirit but a short time. 
Parents who are Latter-day Saints are the ruling power; they are the kings
and queens.  Rule in righteousness, and in the fear and love of God, and
yonr [sic] children will follow you.  May God bless you.  Amen.

        REMARKS by President Brigham Young, in the New Tabernacle,
                              April 6, 1868.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
         NECESSITY OF OBEYING COUNSEL--REFORMATION IN EATING AND
        DRINKING--IMPROVEMENTS--FEMALE RELIEF SOCIETIES--CHASTITY.

	The items of instruction which have been laid before us by Elders
George A. Smith and George Q. Cannon are very important to us, they are
subjects which we have dwelt upon for years.  It is generally known among
us that we commenced some years ago to raise cotton in the southern
portion of our Territory, and it is also known that machinery to
manufacture it has been introduced into this country.  All this has been
done to encourage the people to become self-sustaining.  I am ready to
acknowledge that the Latter-day Saints are the best people, and the most
willing people to do right that I know anything about.  But when we take
into particular and close consideration their acts, and compare them with
the teaching they are constantly receiving, we think and say they are very
far from taking all the counsel given them of the Lord through His
servants.  But were they to be counseled, for instance, to go to the gold
mines, many of them would obey with alacrity.  If they were to be
counseled to chew or smoke tobacco, many would lift up both hands for
this, and shout for joy?  If the sisters many of them, were counseled to
continue the use of tea and coffee they would sit up all night to bless
you.  When we are counseled to do that which pleases us then are we
willing to obey counsel.  Yet when I consider the pit from whence we have
been taken, and the rock from whence we have been hewn, I can say, praise
to the Latter-day Saints.  Again, when we consider the immensity of
knowledge and wisdom and understanding pertaining to the things of this
life, pertaining to the learning of this world, pertaining to that which
is within our reach, and ready for the use and profit of the people, and
particularly with regard to taking care of ourselves, and then consider
our shortcomings, and slothfulness, we may look upon ourselves with
shamefacedness because of the smallness of our attainments in the midst of
so many great advantages.

	A thorough reformation is needed in regard to our eating and
drinking, and on this point I will freely express myself, and shall be
glad if the people will hear, believe and obey.  If the people were
willing to receive the true knowledge from heaven in regard to their diet
they would cease eating swine's flesh.  I know this as well as Moses knew
it, and without putting it in a code of commandments.  When I tell you
that it is the will of the Lord to cease eating swine's flesh, very likely
some one will tell you that it is the will of the Lord to stop eating beef
and mutton, and another that it is the will of the Lord to stop eating
fowl and fish until the minds of the people become bewildered, so that
they know not how to decide between right and wrong, truth and error.  The
beef fed upon our mountain grasses is as healthy food as we need at
present.  Beef, so fattened, is as good as wild meat, and is quite
different in its nature from stall-fed meat.  But we can eat fish; and I
ask the people of this community, Who hinders you from raising fowls for
their eggs?  Who hinders you from cultivating fruit of every variety that
will flourish in the different parts of this Territory?  There has not
been a day through the whole winter that I have not had fresh peaches, and
plenty of apples and strawberries.  Who hinders any person in this
community from having these different kinds of food in their families? 
Fish is as healthy a food as we can eat, if we except vegetables and
fruit, and with them will become a very wholesome diet.  What hinders us
from surrounding ourselves with an abundance of those various articles of
food which will promote health and produce longevity?  If it is anything,
it is our own neglect; or, in other words, which will answer my purpose
better, the want of knowing how.

	We cannot say there are loafers on our streets; still, there are
persons in our community who seem to have no other aim in existence, than
to pass away their time to no purpose or use to themselves or the
community.  They have nothing to do, and think that they cannot apply
themselves to anything that will benefit themselves and their families,
when they might with great propriety be engaged in laying out a garden,
fencing and planting it, and laying a foundation to make themselves and
their families comfortable.  It is true we have taken a great share of
this people from manufacturing districts, where the great masses of the
people know nothing about cultivating the earth; but they can learn it
soon, if they will, after they get here.  Let your minds be at home, and
let your attention be directed to that which the Lord has given you for
honor and glory to yourself, instead of being, like the fool which Solomon
wrote about, whose eyes are in the ends of the earth.  Consider that you
are at home, and strive to make your homes happy, comfortable and
delightful; let the spirit which you enjoy yourself abound therein.

	What is the reason that our brethren do not progress faster in their
improvements?  In a great measure it is for the want of leaders.  But this
is not altogether so.  Generally it is for lack of judgement and wisdom,
tact and talent, taste, industry and prudence in our Bishops.  As it has
been said, as with the priest so with the people.  This is the case in a
great measure; and we can say, as is the Bishop so are the members of his
ward.  It is the duty of the Bishops to take a course to make their lives,
characters, doings and sayings fit examples in all things to the people of
their wards.  Some of our Bishops have made no improvements for eighteen
years.  I have asked the Bishops to sow a little rye, to make straw for
hats and bonnets.  A few have done so.  I have asked them to do the same
thing this spring, that the sisters of their wards may have straw to
manufacture.  If the Bishops have not time to do this, or have not the
ground, get some of the brethren to do it who have time and ground, and
let there be an acre of rye sown to each ward, and then ask the sisters to
gather it in the proper season.  Some say that wheat straw is as good as
rye, if properly prepared.  Gather the straw, and make your bonnets and
hats, and wear them when you come to this tabernacle; and make hats for
your husbands and sons to wear, and for your brothers and your sisters,
your daughters and your mothers, and let us see all the sisters and all
our brethren and all our children wearing hats and bonnets of material
produced and manufactured by ourselves.  I have been pleading for this for
years and years.

	This is leap year; let the ladies take the lead in this and every
other species of home industry at which they can be employed.  We have
asked the sisters to organize themselves into Relief Societies; I again
ask the sisters in every ward of the Territory to do so, and get women of
good understanding to be your leaders, and then get counsel from men of
understanding; and let your fashions proceed from yourselves, and become
acquainted with those noble traits of character which belong to your sex. 
Ever since I knew that my mother was a woman I have loved the sex, and
delight in their chastity.  The man who abuses, or tries to bring dishonor
upon the female sex is a fool, and does not know that his mother and his
sisters were women.  Women are more ready to do and love the right that
[sic] men are; and if they could have a little guidance, and were
encouraged to carry out the instincts of their nature, they would effect a
revolution for good in any community a great deal quicker than men can
accomplish it.  Men have been placed on the earth to bear rule and to lead
in every good work, and if they would do their duty to-day in their own
government, and then throughout the world, they would stop whining about
the "Mormons" marrying so many wives, and the ladies would have somebody
to protect them and they would not need to flee to the "Mormon" Elders for
protection.  But outside of this community they are destroying the sex,
ruining all they can, and then they boast of their villainy.  Shall I say
that the women are short-sighted?  I will say they are weak: I will say
that it is in their nature to confide in and look to the sterner sex for
guidance, and thus they are the more liable to be led astray and ruined. 
It is the decree of the Almighty upon them to lean upon man as their
superior, and he has abused his privilege as their natural protector and
covered them with abuse and dishonor.

	I wish the whole people of the United States could hear me now, I
would say to them, let every man in the land over eighteen years of age
take a wife, and then go to work with your hands and cultivate the earth,
or labor at some mechanical business, or some honest trade to provide an
honest living for yourselves and those who depend upon you for their
subsistence; observing temperance, and loving truth and virtue; then would
the women be cared for, be nourished, honored and blest, becoming
honorable mothers of a race of men and women farther advanced in physical
and mental perfection than their fathers.  This would create a revolution
in our country, and would produce results that would be of incalculable
good.  If they would do this, the Elders of this Church would not be under
the necessity of taking so many wives.  Will they do this?  No, they will
not; and there are many who will continue to ruin every virtuous woman
they can, buying the virtue of woman with money and deception, and thus,
the lords of creation proceed from one conquest to another, boasting of
their victories, leaving ruin, tears and death in their pathway; and what
have they conquered?  A poor, weak, confiding, loving woman. And what have
they broken and crushed and destroyed?  One of the fairest gems of all
God's creation.  O man! for shame.  If the men of the city of New York
alone had done for the last twenty years as the men of this commnnity
[sic] have done, from two to four hundred thousand females from sixteen
years of age and upwards, whose dishonor and ruin are mercifully covered
in the grave, would now be in life and health, moving in the circles af
[sic] happy homes, prayed for, respected, loved and honored.

	Now, ladies, go to and organize yourselves into industrial societies,
and get your husbands to produce you some straw, and commence bonnet and
hat making.  If every ward would commence and continue this and other
industrial pursuits, it would not be long before the females of the wards
of our Territory would have stores in their wards, and means sufficient to
send and get the articles which they need, that cannot yet be manufactured
here and which they may want to distribute.

	It is an old saying that a woman can throw out of the window with a
spoon as fast as a man can throw into the door with a shovel; but a good
house-keeper will be saving and economical, and teach her children to be
good housekeepers, and how to take care of everything that is put in their
charge.  I do not wish to go into detail here; I see too much; I know too
much of the waste and neglect of our females to feel satisfied with them. 
Is this any more so with the female portion of our community than among
the males?  No, not at all; but the neglect, the idleness, the waste, and
the extravagance of men in our community are ridiculous.  They are
constantly taught better; they know better; yet, in many instances, the
same reckless waste is indulged in by the whole family.  If we will learn
to be wise and careful, we shall devote all our time in that way that will
be of the greatest advantage to us and to our common cause, continually
bettering our condition, and become more and more competent to do good.

	I have tried continually to get this people to pursue a course that
will make them self-sustaining, taking care of their poor--the lame, the
halt and the blind, lifting the ignorant from where they have no
opportunity of observing the ways of the world, and of understanding the
common knowledge possessed among the children of men, bringing them
together from the four quarters of the world, and making of them an
intelligent, thrifty and self-sustaining people.  This is a work that is
worthy the attention of the Saints.  We have gathered thousands from many
nations.  By the aid of the Almighty we have raised them out of penury and
miserable dependence, and have taught them how to become wealthy in
possessions, useful to themselves and their neighbors, good citizens, and,
I trust, faithful Saints.  We are still continuing our labors in gathering
the poor from foreign lands, and the people are doing marvels in
contributing their means for this purpose; and it is still coming, and we
hope to be able to still enlarge our operations for the deliverance of the
poor and downtrodden Saints of all nations.  We can continue to receive
and send means until July.

	Now, sisters, will you commence to pay attention to the raising of
silk?  There are numbers of sisters in our community who could pay
attention to this industry, and teach the children to gather the mulberry
leaves and to feed the worms.  I wish all those sisters whose hands are
not tied with large families to enter into this business with heart and
hand in their different wards.  Plant the mulberry tree, and raise silk
every year, also silk worm eggs.  By pursuing this business faithfully,
year by year, it will bring a yearly revenue to each ward of thousands of
dollars, making the people more and more able to perform works of
benevolence and mercy, and to make themselves more and more comfortable in
their living.

	The Kingdom of God is upward and onward, and will so continue until
its power and influence extend to the relief of the honest of all nations. 
It is for us to look to the welfare of the Kingdom of God; for it alone
will sustain us, build us up and save us now and hereafter, and prepare us
to enjoy a blessed eternity.  May God bless you.  Amen.


        REMARKS by President Brigham Young, in the New Tabernacle,
                        afternoon, April 8, 1868.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
           DOMESTIC ECONOMY--TRAINING CHILDREN--CULTIVATION OF
                  SILK--APPLICATION OF LABOR--LONGEVITY.

	President Heber C. Kimball has exhorted the bishops to gather around
them the young men and teach them the privileges which they enjoy, and try
to lead them in the right way.  Bishops, I wish you to hearken to this
piece of good advice.  I will give each of the young men in Israel, who
have arrived at an age to marry, a mission to go straightway and get
married to a good sister, fence a city lot, lay out a garden and orchard
and make a home, and especially do not forget to plant a proper proportion
of mulberry trees.  This is the mission that I give to all the young men
in Israel.  And I say to you, sisters, if you do not know how to milk a
cow, you can soon learn.  If you do not know how to feed the fows [sic],
you can learn.  If you do not know how to feed the chickens, get them and
learn how, and if your husband takes you to live in ever so small and
humble a cottage, make it neat and nice and clean, and set out flowers
around the doors, and let the husband plant fruit trees and shade trees,
and let wives help their husbands that they may be encouraged to take hold
of more important business that will create an income sufficient to
sustain their wives, and by economy and care become wealthy in a short
time, and have your carriage to ride in.  What a satisfaction it will be
to you to know that what you possess is the result of your industry and
economy.  "It was not given to us by grandfather, or by father, or by
mother, or any relation; but we have got these comforts by our industry,
saving, and the blessings of the Lord."  By this means our young men and
maidens will gain for themselves credit, respect, and a name in Israel
worthy of the admiration of all good persons.  How much better is this
course than the opposite, to spend precious time to no profit, always
being in a state of dependence.  Were the Lord to speak of such conduct,
he would use terms to show that He is not well pleased with it.

	I have a short sermon for my sisters.  I wish you, under the
direction of your bishops and wise men, to establish your relief
societies, and organize yourselves under the direction of the brethren,
and establish yourselves for doing business, gathering up your little
amounts of means that would otherwise go to waste, and put them to usury,
and make more of them, and thus keep gathering in.  Let this be commenced
forthwith.  Ask your husbands to furnish you some straw for hats and
bonnets, and when you get it put more than three straws over your head,
and make a hat that will shade you from the scorching sun.  I have a great
desire to live and see the prosperity of this people, and one thing among
the rest, I would like to see the time when our sisters will take more
pains to beautify their children.  When your children arise in the morning
instead of sending them out of doors to wash in cold, hard water, with a
little soft soap, and wiping them as though you would tear the skin off
them, creating roughness and darkness of skin, take a piece of soft
flannel, and wipe the faces of your children smooth and nice, dry them
with a soft cloth; and instead of giving them pork for their breakfast,
give them good wholesome bread and sweet milk, baked potatoes, and also
buttermilk if they like it, and a little fruit, and I would have no
objections to their eating a little rice.  Rice is an excellent food for
children, and I wish some of the brethren would cultivate it in these
valleys.  Upland rice will flourish in this country.  Train up your
children to be beautiful and fair, instead of neglecting them until they
are sunburned and become like the natives of our mountains.  Let the
sisters take care of themselves, and make themselves beautiful, and if any
of you are so superstitious and ignorant as to say that this is pride, I
can say that you are not informed as to the pride which is sinful before
the Lord, you are also ignorant as to the excellency of the heavens, and
of the beauty which dwells in the society of the Gods.  Were you to see an
angel, you would see a beautiful and lovely creature.  Make yourselves
like angels in goodness and beauty.  Let the mothers in Israel make their
sons and daughters healthy and beautiful, by cleanliness and a proper
diet.  Whether you have much or little clothing for your children, it can
be kept clean and healthy, and be made to fit their persons neatly.  Make
your children lovely and fair that you may delight in them.  Cease to send
out your children to herd sheep with their skins exposed to the hot sun,
until their hands and faces appear as though they lived in an ash heap.  I
call upon my sisters to lead out in these things; and create your own
fashions, and make your clothing to please yourselves, independent of
outside influences; and make your hats and bonnets to shade you.  I wish
you, sisters, to listen to these counsels, and place yourselves in a
condition to administer to the poor.  Get your husbands to provide you
with a little of this and a little of that of which you can make something
by adding your own labor.  I do not mean that you shall apply to them for
five dollars and ten dollars to spend for that which is of no profit, but
manufacture something that will be useful as well as beautiful and comely.

	You ought to enter into the cultivation of silk.  Our bench lands are
well adapted to the growth of the mulberry tree, the leaves of which
produce the natural food for the silk worm.  There is no better land nor
climate in the world than we have for this branch of business.  We can
make ourselves independently rich at this business alone, if it is
properly pursued.  There ought to be a plot of land in each ward devoted
to the cultivation of silk, and a cocoonery built in the centre of it, and
in the season thereof let the children of the wards who have nothing to
do, and aged people, gather the leaves and feed the worms.  The work is
light and interesting, while the sales of wound silk, for which there is
always a market to be found, will do much towards feeding and clothing
poor persons that would otherwise be entirely dependent.  If the worms are
well taken care of, the season of feeding only lasts from thirty-five to
forty days.  If I cannot succeed in getting the sisters with their
children to attend to this business, I shall be under the necessity of
sending to China for Chinamen to come here and raise silk for us, which I
do not wish to do.  To pay people the wages they want here would prevent
us from raising silk profitably.  We look forward to the period when the
price of labor here will be brought to a reasonable and judicious
standard.

	Now, sisters, go to forthwith and get you an acre of land, and get
the Bishops and the brethren to fence it, and prepare it for the reception
of the trees, and go and help them; but be sure to wear a wide brimmed hat
while doing it, so as not to get tanned with the sun and the wind.  Go to
and raise silk.  You can do it, and those who cannot set themselves to
work we will set them to work gathering straw, and making straw hats and
straw bonnets; we will set others to gathering willows, and others to
making baskets; we will set others to gathering flags and rushes, and to
making mats, and bottoming chairs, and making carpets.  I pray you in
Christ's stead to let gold hunting alone, and pray the Lord to cover it up
in our region of country that it cannot be found.  Those among us who are
anxious to find rich gold deposits, are equally anxious to destroy
themselves, and we are no wiser than our little children are in handling
sharp-edged tools.  They would not only destroy themselves, but allaround
them if they had the power to do it.  Instead of hunting gold, let every
man go to work at raising wheat, oats, barley, corn and vegetables, and
fruit in abundance, that there may be plenty in the land.  Raise sheep,
and produce the finest quality of wool in large quantities.  By the
migratory system of feeding sheep in this country they will be healthy,
and produce large clips of wool.  I hope, by the blessings of the Lord, to
demonstrate this the present season.  In these pursuits are the true
sources of wealth, and we have as much capital in these mountains to begin
with as any people in the world, according to the number of our community. 
Real capital consists in knowledge and physical strength.  If we know how
to apply our labor, it will produce for us everything we can ask for; it
will bring to us the food and the clothing we want, and every facility we
need for comfort, for refinement, for excellence, for beauty, and for
adornment.  It will bring to us the wealth of the world, the gold and the
silver, although gold and silver are not real wealth.  They are useful as
a medium of exchange, as foundation upon which to base a currency, and to
use as ornaments and household vessels; and so gold should be regarded
until there is enough of it to pave our streets.  O, ye Elders of Israel
who are greedy for gold, instead of wasting your time in search of it,
gather around you the comforts of life, with which the elements are
loaded, and make yourselves rich in all the elegancies and conveniences by
means of economy and industry.  I wish the sisters to lead out in the
fashions.  It is very little difference what fashion you produce.  I would
just as soon see you wear hats with wide brims as not, if you have that
fashion that will give comfort and convenience and produce health and
longevity.  We wish to promote the longevity of the people.  Tell your
husbands to get you a heifer calf or two and some chickens, and you will
feed them, and take care of them, instead of feeding pigs, and if your
husbands have springs on their land, get them to clean them out and dam
them up a little, and introduce the spawn of the best fish we have in
these mountains, and collect all the information that has been printed,
and which comes within your reach on the subject of raising fish.  And
raise your potatoes and parsnips and carrots for feeding them with, adding
a little corn meal, or a little oat meal.  We can raise fish here, and the
cost will be one fourth less per pound than other meats.  You may think
that fowls are injurious to the garden; but they are not.  They will pick
up grubs and cut worms and other destructive insects, and the good they do
in this respect will far overbalance any trifling injury they may do to
young plants.  They will keep your gardens clean of these pests, and
fatten, giving you plenty of eggs to eat.  Take care of them, and get a
little patch of lucerne planted to give to your young heifer, and rear her
until she gives you her increase.  This is for you young women who want to
get husbands.  Tell the young men that you will sustain yourselves, and
teach them how to sustain themselves if they do not know how, if they will
only come and marry you.  Now, girls, court up the boys, it is leap year. 
Give them to understand in some way that it is all right.  You are ready,
and you want to help them to make a good home, to form a nucleus around
which to gather the blessings and comforts of life, a place to rally to. 
While you are on the move and unsettled you can get nothing that is
permanent.  Tell the boys what to do, and you sisters of experience, ye
mothers in Israel, go to and get up your societies, and teach these girls
what to do, and how to get the boys to come and marry them.  The neglect
and lazy habits which our boys are falling into are a disgrace to us, to
say nothing about the sin of such conduct.  They produce nothing, and
consider themselves unable to take care of a family, and they will not
marry.  This conduct of theirs leaves our young women without partners;
they want somebody to look to, and something that they can do to advantage
and bless themselves, and have a home to go to.  Young men, fit you up a
little log cabin, if it is not more than ten feet square, and then get you
a bird to put in your little cage.  You can then work all day with
satisfaction to yourself, considering that you have a home to go to, and a
loving heart to welcome you.  You will then have something to encourage
you to labor and gather around you the comforts of life, and a place to
gather them to.  Strive to make your little home attractive.  Use lime
freely, and let your houses nestle beneath the cool shades of trees, and
be made fragrant with perfumes of flowers.

	These are practical teachings; they are things which this people must
be taught, for if we do not learn to take care of ourselves and save
ourselves, who will do it for us?  Will the Gentiles help us, and care for
us?  Will they do us good?  No.  And I tell you further, Elders of Israel,
that you do not know the day of your visitation, neither do you understand
the signs of the times, for if you did you would be awake to these things. 
Every organization of our government, the best government in the world, is
crumbling to pieces.  Those who have it in their hands are the ones who
are destroying it.  How long will it be before the words of the prophet
Joseph will be fulfilled?  He said if the Constitution of the United
States were saved at all it must be done by this people.  It will not be
many years before these words come to pass.  How long will it be before
they will be coming here for bread, for the bread of life, and for the
bread which sustains the body?  Do you know this?  You do not.  This
community live as it were from hand to mouth.  They must learn to lay up
food.  Notwithstanding all that has been said to the people on this
subject, not one man to thirty has bread sufficient to last him one year. 
As our mechanics are paid, they might have laid up their hundreds if not
their thousands a year.  Brethren, learn.  You have learned a good deal it
is true; but learn more; learn to sustain yourselves; lay up grain and
flour, and save it against a day of scarcity.  Sisters, do not ask your
husbands to sell the last bushel of grain you have to buy something for
you out of the stores, but aid your husbands in storing it up against a
day of want, and always have a year or two's provision on hand.  A great
abundance of fruit can be dried.  There are but few families in this city
who do not have the privilege of drying and laying up fruit.  Yet the
majority of families in this community, instead of using fruit that was
dried last fall but one, are using fruit dried last year when the
grasshoppers were here.  A year's supply should be kept ahead, so that
families would not be compelled to eat fruit that had been injured by
grasshoppers and other insects.  We should accumulate all kinds of
nutritive substances, and preserve them from worms, which can easily be
done.  If we do not take care of ourselves, we shall have a very poor
chance to be taken care of. If we will hearken to the counsel that is
given to us we shall know how to sustain ourselves in every particular. 
Mothers in Israel, sisters, ask your husbands to take care of the sheep
they have got, and not wilfully waste them; but multiply them and bring
our wool to the factories to be manufactured, or trade it for yarn and
cloth.  The woolen mills which we now have in the country will work up a
great deal of wool if they can get it.  Who is there in our community that
raises flax?  Is there any attention paid to this culture?  I think not,
but it is, "Husband, sell your wheat, sell your oats to buy me the linen I
want."  We shall in the future have flax machines here to make the finest
of linen; and we can make the cotton and silk in abundance.  I would urge
the brethren of the southern country to plant cotton sufficient to supply
the wants of the factories that are now in the country, and let us
continue our labors until we can manufacture everything we want.  All this
is embraced in our religion, every good word and work, all things
temporal, and all things spiritual, things in heaven, things on earth, and
things that are under the earth and circumscribed by our religion.  We are
in the fastnesses of the mountains, and if we do these things, and delight
in doing right, our feet will be made fast and immovable like the bases of
these everlasting hills.  We ought not to desire anything only on
righteous principles, and if we want right, let us then deal it out to
others, being kind and full of love and charity to all.  My brethren and
sisters, I have occupied considerable time; but I have not spoken one
tenth of what I wish to say to you.  By the authority that the Lord has
granted to me, I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

   REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle,
                     Salt Lake City, May 10th, 1868.
                        [Reported by G. D. Watt.]
     THE TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST--THE LIVING TESTIMONY--WORD OF WISDOM.

	The gospel which we preach is the gospel of life and salvation.  The
Church which we represent is the Church and Kingdom of God, and possesses
the only faith by which the children of men can be brought back into the
presence of our Father and God.  The Lord has set his hands to restore all
things as in the beginning, and by the administration of His Holy
Priesthood, save all who can be saved, cleanse from the world the
consequenses [sic] of the fall and give it to the hands of His Saints.  I
am a witness of these things.  How far short we may come of being what we
should be, or of improving as fast as we should, matters not; this is the
Kingdom of God, this is the way of life and salvation, and all who hearken
to and receive it in their faith, and live it in their lives, will have
the privilege of returning to their Father and their God; and none else
will come into His presence.  It is true that the spirits of all people
will return to God who gave the, both Saint and sinner, but as to their
staying there and becoming permanent settlers in His immediate presence is
another question.

	The practical part of the lives of the Saints in our day, and in
former days on this earth or on other earths, is another part of the great
subject of salvation.  The faith of the people as a general thing is
correct; but the lives of many of the Latter-day Saints are far from being
what they should be.  To be Latter-day Saints men and women must be
strictly honest; they must observe that code of moral religion which is
taught in the world and which is as good as can be taught.  There are
numbers of the human family who profess the religions of men who live the
moral code acknowledged among them as strictly as men and women can do.

	When we talk of the true Church of Christ we speak of a system of
theology, the principles of which will bear upon every motive and act of
mankind.  If there is a fault in the people, it will make it manifest; if
there is a weakness, it will be made apparent, for the Lord takes this
course that His children may exhibit what is in them.  In the latter days
He will reveal the secrets of the hearts of the children of men.  He is
now doing this by breaking up the people here and there.  He is leading
them through circumstances to try them to the uttermost.  If we are not
tried in all things already, there is plenty of time yet for us to be so
tried, even as Abraham was.  Be patient, my brethren and sisters, for we
shall all have the privilege of being tried to the uttermost if we are
worthy.  How many trials Abraham had, and how severe they were we have not
been fully informed.  A portion of his life has been committed to paper,
and handed down to us, which we can read at our leisure.  Whether he was
tried as we are tried, and in as many ways as the Latter-day Saints are
tried, I do no [sic] know.  There is no question but that he was tried
sufficiently to prove before his Father and God that he was worthy of the
blessings he obtained--that he was worthy of the priesthood and the keys
thereof--that he was worthy to receive the articles of truth, to dispense
salvation to his father's house and to his friends and neighbors, and to
all who would hearken to his counsels.

	The Latter-day Saints are a very peculiar people, and they are led in
a peculiar way.  We are brought into circumstances so as to be a stumbling
block to the nations, through the failings and weaknesses of the
Latter-day Saints.  Jesus was a stumbling block to the nation of the Jews,
and to the generation in which he lived, and to all that knew him, and how
singular it is that Jesus Christ, at this late day, and at such a distance
from the theatre of his operations, should have attained such celebrity
and fame; even his disciples are not only canonized, but almost deified,
and looked upon as though they were gods come down to dwell with men. 
Every circumstance connected with the Savior's life is looked upon as
being divine.  Christendom now acknowledge that Jesus was the Son of God;
they look upon him as God manifested in the flesh according to the New
Testament; yet the generation in which He lived did not see these tokens
of divinity which this generation recognize.  To them he was "a root out
of dry ground"--"a stumbling block," "a rock of offence."  So with the
Latter-day Saints.  They are a stumbling block to this generation.  The
world see all their weaknesses and faults, and see no divinity in the work
in which they are engaged.  Yet this is not to be wondered at, inasmuch as
the world could not see it in Jesus when he dwelt in mortality.  We are
looked upon as a low, degraded, ignorant set of fanatics.  This is the
opinion of the great majority of the learned and refined world.  Others
say that our people are the dupes of a few.  We do not claim to be very
wise, but we do know that that portion of mankind called Christians in our
day, who profess to be followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, are grossly
ignorant of His character, and of the means and way of Salvation which He
offers to the world.  The Latter-day Saints, as a people, may not be so
far advanced in the knowledge of many of the sciences, as their neighbors;
but they are learning how to take care of themselves, which is one of the
greatest arts known to man.  When the most learned and scientific among
men scrutinize their own lives and experience, they are under the
necessity of acknowledging that they are faulty, weak, ignorant; they are
"strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God
in the world."

	Instead of considering that there is nothing known and understood,
only as we know and understand things naturally, I take the other side of
the question, and believe positively that there is nothing known except by
the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether in theology, science, or
art.  The world receive information and light on great principles of
science and knowledge in the arts, to subserve the hidden purposes of the
Almighty, but they are ignorant of the source from whence it comes to
them.  They seek not to know God, whom to know is life everlasting.  They
seek not to know the source of their own existence, and of all light and
truth.  They are not willing to acknowledge His hand in anything; and for
this the God of Heaven is displeased with them, and His anger is kindled
against them.  They have every evidence that can be asked that Joseph
Smith was a prophet sent from God, yet they cannot acknowledge it; while
at the same time, with the scriptures in their hands, they can but
acknowledge the supremacy of the doctrine we preach over the dogmas of the
age, and in the growth of this community in the face of a constant stream
of abuse and persecution, gathering the poor from all nations, they must
acknowledge the superior wisdom and power displayed, that cannot be
attributed to man.  The wisdom which God has given them teaches them
better.  It teaches them that a secret something, an invisible agency is
evidently at work behind the curtain.  What mortal has the power to call
people from the ends of the earth?  While Jesus Christ was in the flesh He
did not manifest his power.  How much power did He manifest over the
people of the world in His day?  Did He send His disciples to the nations
and call His followers together from the ends of the earth by thousands? 
He did not.  There is no doubt but that He had the power to call the
people together; but he did not manifest it.  The people saw no exhibition
of this power when he was among them.  But He is doing it now, and if it
had been the time to do it in His day it could have been done by the power
of the heavens through Him, as it is now done by the same power through
Joseph Smith and his brethren.  God is now displaying His power in a
marvelous degree, whispering to the inmost souls of the children of men in
foreign lands with a still, small voice, "flee to the mountains, for the
day of the Lord is upon the wicked nations of Babylon;" and the cry: "come
out of her, my people" has gone throughout the world.  Do we improve as
fast as we should?  We do not improve as fast as we might; but I am happy
to know that we improve, and we can improve more if we please.  Compare
the progress of the Saints in the days of the Savior and His disciples,
with the progress of the Saints in these days.

	When a "Mormon" Elder offers evidence of this great work to
unbelievers, they tell him that he is a party concerned, and his evidence
cannot be taken with regard to Joseph Smith's mission.  I ask the
Christian world where are your witnesses that Jesus is the Christ?  Who
are those who testified of His mission, and how many are there?  Eight
persons testified of Him, and their testimony is recorded, and they were
his disciples and parties concerned; yet at this day all the Christian
world is ready to receive their testimony.  I testify that this work of
God in which we are engaged has been commenced to gather the house of
Israel and establish Zion in the last days, and has more outward and
weighty evidence to prove that it is of God than there was in the days of
Jesus to prove that he was the Christ.  When the Book of Mormon came forth
it was testified to by twelve witnesses, and who can dispute their
testimony?  No living person on the earth can do it; and besides the
testimony of these twelve witnesses, hundreds and thousands have received
a witness to themselves from the Heavens, and who can dispute their
testimony?  No living person on the earth can do it.  This infidel world
inquires, "where do you get your testimony?"  We answer, we get it from
the Heavens.  Were we to ask them where they get the knowledge they
possess, they reply, "We do not know it; it came to us; we know not its
source."  We have testimony that the Bible is true, that the prophecies
contained in it are true, that Jesus is the son of God, and came to redeem
the world.  Have the so-called Christian world this kind of testimony? 
They have not.  All the testimony they can boast of is the testimony of
eight men who lived nearly two thousand years ago.  The infidel world
cannot receive their testimony, because they were parties concerned.

	We are asked if signs follow the believer in our day as in days of
old.  We answer, they do.  The blind see, the lame leap, the deaf hear,
the gift of prophecy is manifest, also the gift of healing, the gift of
revelation, the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues.  Jesus
said that these signs should follow them that believe.  His Church and
Kingdom always have these signs which follow the believer in all ages when
the true Church is in existence.  Do they follow any but believers?  They
do not.  The gift and power of the Holy Ghost, as enjoyed by the ancient
saints, and its various manifestations, are not received in the faith of
modern Christian sects.  They say that the gift and power of the Holy
Ghost have ceased; that the canon of Scripture is full; that there is no
more new revelation, no more prophecy, no more inspired visions, no more
administrations of angels as in days of old, no more voice of God from the
heavens, no more inspired prophets and apostles, who seal on earth and it
is sealed in heaven; from whence then have they testimony that Jesus is
the Christ, and that God lives?  The very book which they believe to be
inspired, and which they offer to the heathen and the infidel as the
strongest evidence they possess for the divinity of their religion
declares positively that signs shall follow the believer, and this very
important declaration and promise they discard altogether.  We say that
signs do in our day follow the believer, and here is the witness and
testimony that Jesus is the Christ.

	If we speak of ourselves our testimony is nothing, but if we speak by
the power of God that is within us, the same Spirit bears witness that we
are the true followers of the Lord Jesus, and convinceth the world of sin
and of a judgment to come.  The Spirit of the Almighty is abroad among the
people, and all, who will listen to the truth will be convinced by the
spirit of truth, and they will flow together from distant lands, and as
the salt of the earth is gathered out the nations will break to pieces;
and are they not at this time breaking to pieces?  The honest in heart are
gathering out, by thousands and tens of thousands from the nations of
Babylon.  They are leaving their fathers, and mothers, and husbands, and
wives, and children, and friends, and associations, at the call of the
gospel preached by the Elders of this Church.  What power, but the power
of God, could stir up the world and enlighten the soul and better the
condition of multitudes, teaching them to make the wilderness blossom as
the rose and the desert places to be inhabited?

	After the Latter-day Saints are gathered together, I repeat, that we
do not improve as fast as we should.  This World of wisdom which has been
supposed to have become stale, and not in force, is like all the counsels
of God, in force as much to-day as it ever was.  There is life,
everlasting life in it--the life which now is and the life which is to
come.  We have had this Word of Wisdom thirty-five years last February,
and the whole people have not yet learned to observe it after the true
spirit and meaning of it.  There is within a few years past a great
improvement in this, so much so that I very much doubt whether a tobacco
spittle could be found upon the floor of this tabernacle after this
congregation is dismissed.  Tobacco is not good to receive into the human
system; hot drinks are not good.  We will use cold drinks to allay thirst
and warm drinks for medicine.  Flesh should be used sparingly, in famine
and in cold.  The people are beginning to listen to these things.  The
Spirit of the Lord is urging the people to cease from everything that is
evil, and to reform in their lives; for unless the spirit urged the people
to do right, we might as well talk to the sides of this house.  We are
urged by the spirit to refrain from articles which tend to death, to
preserve this life, which is the most precious life given to mortal beings
preparatory to an immortal life.  It is our business to prepare to live
here to do good.  Instead of crying to the people prepare to die, our cry
is prepare to live forevermore.  These mortal houses will drop off
sometime, and when they are cleansed and purified, sanctified and
glorified, we shall inherit them again forever and ever.  Let all the
Saints pursue a course to live.  Let those who fight against God's Kingdom
fall asleep; and let those who build it up live and prosper until their
work in the flesh is done.  We say to worldly-wise men, acknowledge the
hand of God in your greatness and wisdom and in all the blessings which
you receive, for you receive them all from him.

	Are we improving as a people? We are.  I have said, and say to-day,
that according to the age of the people we have improved as fast as the
church of Enoch.  I trust we improve faster, for we have not as much time
as they had.  In some of the first revelations which were given to this
Church the order of Enoch was given for a pattern to this people; and
Enoch patterned after the heavens.  The object of the School of the
Prophets is to train ourselves until we can receive the order of Enoch in
all its fullness.  In the commencement of this Church the Latter-day
Saints could not receive it, and they were driven from city to city, as
the Lord said they should be through the mouth of His servant Joseph,
until they should be willing to receive this order.

	There is no evil in doing good, no wrong in doing right.  It is the
evil that people do which renders them obnoxious to the heavens, hateful
to each other, and unworthy of their being upon the earth.  Let the people
be righteous, full of love, faith and good works, loving and serving God
with all their hearts, and they are happy, and they strive to make
everybody around them happy.  From henceforth the wicked will become more
wicked, and their wickedness will be made more manifest, and the
corruptions which now lurk in darkness will stalk abroad, and confidence
and safety will vanish from among men, until the good-meaning people among
all nations will be willing to flee to any place to fine [sic] peace and
safety.  Let us be obedient to the man we serve.  We believe in a one Man
power, and that Man is God our Father, who lives in the Heavens.  In being
united with Him we can see the beauty of the order of heaven.

	The written word which we have, namely, the Old and New Testament,
the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants all agree in
testifying that Jesus is the Christ, but no man can know this without the
testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy.  Flesh and blood did
not reveal that fact to Peter, but the Father who is in heaven.  By this
power do we known [sic] that Christ lives and is the Savior of the world,
and has commenced His work in the last days, to gather His people, redeem
and build up Zion, gather the remnants of Israel, bring the Gentiles into
His covenant who will receive the gospel, restore the Jews to their land,
and establish the New and Everlasting covenant, which He established with
the fathers and ratified to the children.  We are in this work; and we are
called to be faithful and to sanctify ourselves as a people and prepare
for the coming of the Son of Man.  May God help us to do so.  Amen.

            REMARKS by President Brigham Young, at Bountiful,
                             May 17th, 1868.
                      [Reported by Edward L. Sloan.]
           EVIDENCES THAT THE SAINTS LOVE AND SERVE GOD--HOW TO
                   BUILD UP ZION--TAKING CARE OF GRAIN.

	I have been looking back over my own experience a little, with regard
to the religion that we have embraced.  I have been asking myself what
proof have the Latter-day Saints that they are actually in the path that
leads to everlasting life?  Have the Saints any evidence that they love
and serve God?  I will tell you my experience in a few words.  Before the
gospel came to me, the world was dark and thorny; and I studied for myself
to do business as a man of the world.  I soon became disgusted with the
world as it was, for I found that I could scarcely trust any one.  When
the gospel came I found what I wanted.  It filled every wish, desire and
hope pertaining to this life or that which is to come.  I received it and
the spirit and life of it, and I have asked myself, while sitting here,
what proof have I that I love God, that I delight to serve Him and build
up His kingdom?  It is natural to love somebody, or something or other. 
If you find a person who does not wish to love some object, you would call
that man or woman an unnatural person.  If I am asked what I love, I would
answer, "I love this gospel which I have received."  "Do you love the
wicked?"  No.  "Do you not like to converse with them?"  No.  I have no
delight in the wicked, in their conversation or society, only to do them
good.  This proves to me that if I do not love God I do not love any
being.  If I do not love His gospel which He has revealed in the day in
which we live, I do not love any principles upon the earth.  If I do not
love the people who are gathered out from the nations, who compose the
Church and Kingdom of God on the earth, I do not love any body.  If I do
not love to talk about our religion and to teach it to others, have it in
my house and with me all the time, I do not love anything.  If I spend a
minute that is not in some way devoted to building up the Kingdom of God
and promoting righteousness, I regret that minute, and wish it had been
otherwise spent.  This proves to me that the Spirit of the Lord is with
me.

	Our teaching to the brethren and sisters is for them to purify
themselves.  I shall not ask them to love the Lord our God with all their
hearts, it is a requirement of Heaven, and you know it as well as I do. 
But will ask some things.  Will our brethren cease using language which
they should not use?  This is one of the rules in the School of the
Prophets.  Will the Elders of Israel pray in their families?  Will they
pay their tithing?  We can ask this, for it is an outward labor.  If they
do not love the Lord with all their hearts, they can pay their tithing,
and pay it as an old gentleman in the east said he could do when he was
paying a poor man some grain.  He said the devil stepped up to him and
whispered "scoop out a little,"  He stood and listened, and something said
to him again, "scoop out a little," tempting him.  Said he, "Mr Devil,
leave my barn; if you don't I'll heap every half bushel for this poor
man."

	They can heap up the half bushel, and send in the butter and eggs for
the Public Works, and to feed the poor a great many of whom are supported
from tithing; they can perform required labor, if they do not love the
Lord with all their hearts; and they can cease to take the name of the
Lord in vain.  If you say you get tempted to use language you should not
use, I will tell you what to do.  If you are in the kanyon and your cattle
are likely to fill you with wrath, fill your mouth with India-rubber and
keep it close that the words cannot get out.  Do not say a word to grieve
the Spirit of God.

	Cease contending with each other.  Keep the Word of Wisdom.  There
are but few of the Elders now who use tobacco, and our sisters can do
without their tea and coffee.  They can keep the Word of Wisdom, for many
of them do keep it.  I only saw one cup of coffee last summer during my
trip south, and it was for an old lady eighty years of age.  She asked me
if she might not take her cups of coffee; and I told her to take it, and
blessed her and her coffee.  We can stop the use of liquor.  We can be
wise in our work and not labor beyond our strength.  We can cease running
in debt and purchasing things that we could do without.

	If the Latter-day Saints could look at things as they are, they would
see that there is a grevious [sic] sin upon this people for neglecting
their stock and letting them perish; turning their sheep on to the range
for a few hours, and bringing them up and penning them twenty hours out of
the twenty-four, until they become diseased and sickly.  If the people
could see as an angel sees, they would behold a great sin in neglecting
the stock which the Lord has given them, for it is the Lord who gives us
the increase of cattle and sheep, yet many of the people treat them as a
thing of naught.  I heard a man say, in 1853, that it was a curse to the
people to have so much wheat.  He said he could not get anything but wheat
for his work.  I told him if he did not see cause in this life, to repent
his saying, he would yet repent it.  These are all the gifts of God; and
when we treat lightly His gifts, it is a sign we desire that which we
should not possess.

	These are things concerning which the people need to be instructed. 
We should take a course to preserve our lives and the lives of the animals
committed to our care.  We should refrain from using swine's flesh.  We
should breathe the pure mountain air in our bed-rooms.  We should have
lofty rooms, high above the ground, for though this earth is pure,
compared with miasmatic places, the air that is above the ground is
preferable to that close to it.  We should have plenty of pure, fresh air. 
If children are kept in close bed-rooms, they become puny and weakly.  Let
them sleep where they can have abundance of pure air, in well ventilated
rooms, or out of doors, in the summer time, in a safe place; it will be
most beneficial for their health.

	In building up the Zion of God on this land we must become very
different from what we are now, in many respects and particularly in
financial matters.  I look at myself and ask myself what have I done to
become wealthy?  Nothing; only to preach the gospel.  Yet I have nothing
but what is the Lord's.  He has only made me steward over it, to see what
I will do with it.  I have never walked across the streets to make a
trade.  I do not care anything about such things; I desire to preach the
gospel and build up the Kingdom of God.  True, I have considerable wealth,
but it has not been my wisdom that has put it in my posession [sic]. 
There are many men who are so anxious for wealth, that if they cannot make
a fortune in a few months, they feel they are not succeeding according to
their desires, and they turn to something else.  I do not do this; nor am
I anxious to spend a dollar as fast as I make it.  Some people feel as if
a dollar would burn a hole in their pockets; and you will see a great many
almost crazy to spend whatever they have.  When they see wheat selling for
a price far below its value, instead of putting it in a bin and keeping
it, they dispose of it--throw it away, comparatively speaking.  I keep it,
and by this means I am now able to feed the public hands.

	Years ago, Brother Kimball counseled the people to lay up two year's
provisions, and then enough for four, for six and for seven years.  I have
it now, and I am dealing it out.  Some people have so much faith that
although the grasshoppers are around in such vast numbers, they are
confident of an abundant harvest, because of the movements made to gather
the poor this season.  They say the Lord would not inspire His servants to
bring the poor from the nations that they might starve.  And so believing,
they will go and sell the last bushel of wheat for comparatively nothing,
trusting in God to provide for their wants.  My faith is not of this kind;
it is reasonable.  If the Lord gives good crops this season, and tells us
to lay up from that abundance, I do not think He will increase His
blessings upon us if we foolishly squander those He has already given us. 
I belive [sic] He will bless the earth for His people's sake; and I will
till it and try to get a crop from it; but if I neglect to take advantage
of the goodness of the Lord, or misuse or treat lightly His mercies, I
need not expect that they will be continued upon me to the same extent. 
Have not my sisters here, gleaned in the fields around for years past? 
And when they have had their gleanings thrashed out, have they not taken
the grain to the stores and sold it to our enemies, instead of laying it
by?  And yet they will expect to be blessed continually with plenty!  I
have not so much faith as this.  I have a reasonable faith, a sustaining
faith, one that I can build my hopes upon; and I think I will not be
disappointed.  I labor and toil, but I do not waste my labor.

	Now, you who wish to hire out with wicked and mingle with the
ungodly, does it suit you to hear the name and character of the Deity
profaned, and every principle of propriety violated?  If you go to the
gold mines, or wherever the wicked are, you will hear the name of that
Being whom you recognize and acknowledge as your Savior, blasphemed and
taken in vain, and the name and character of the Almighty vilified and
abused.  Can you bear this?  Does it suit you to have your ears saluted
with such language and your spirits contaminated with such society?  I
would not associate with those who blaspheme the name of God, nor would I
let my family associate with them.  By this you may know whether you are
in the path that leads to life and salvation.  If you can hear the name of
the Diety [sic] lightly spoken of and blasphemed, and not be shocked at it
you may know that you are not in that path.  Some of the young men who had
been with the surveying party last year, wanted to come into my house as
friends and visit my daugthers [sic], when they came home.  They asked me
if I had any objections.  I told them I had.  They asked me the reason. 
My reply was, I believe you have been wicked, while you have been gone. 
Have you not been in the habit of taking the name of the Deity in vain? 
They admitted they had occasionally; and I told them that was my
objections to their being in my house.  I do not wish my daughters to be
entangled with any who do not serve God.  I would rather see every one of
them sealed to Father Perkins here, who is 85 years of age, than that any
of them should be sealed to a wicked man.

	Can you mingle with the wicked and feel contended [sic] in their
company?  If you can you are on the road to destruction; you are not on
the road to perfection.  If you can deal, and trade, and visit, and ride,
and be with the ungodly, and cannot see the difference between them and
the righteous, if you are ever saved in any decent kingdom, it will be
because you are totally ignorant.  But if you can truthfully say, I love
prayer, not swearing; I love truth, not lying; I love honesty, not
dishonesty; I love God and His laws, you may be assured you are on the
road to exaltation and eternal life.  Let us sustain the kingdom of God;
and if we do, we will sustain ourselves in truth and righteousness.

	From my remarks, some may gather the idea that if a poor, miserable,
corrupt, wicked person was to be found among us, who was suffering for
lack of food, he should be turned out of doors.  No, no; feed him, and let
him go his own way; but do not let him have any influence in your
families.  Be kind to all as our Father in heaven is kind.  He sends His
rain upon the just and the unjust; and gives the sun to shine upon the
evil and the good.  So let our goodness extend to al the works of His
hands, where we can; but do not yield to the spirit and influence of evil. 
Do not encourage wickedness in our midst.  Do not encourage the wicked to
come and live with us, to lead our brethren astray.  Do not follow after
vain and foolish fashions.  If our ladies see a new fashion brought in by
some poor, miserable, corrupt person, they adopt it; and every one wants
to pattern after the fashions that are brought here no matter how
ridiculous they may be nor how wicked the person who introduces them. 
Many of the fashions are unbecoming and inconvenient.  They do not become
Saints.  And the daughters of Israel should understand what fashions they