Brethren and Sisters—It seems to have fallen to my lot this afternoon
to speak to you. Whether I may speak lengthily, or occupy but a short
time, will be as I am led and dictated by the Holy Spirit.
I rejoice in the opportunity, for many reasons. The first and greatest
is it is a blessing for a man who is called of God to teach the
people, to exercise himself in his office and calling, and try to
magnify it, for he is thereby made a blessing to the people, and is
himself edified, often, yea, I may say generally, quite as much as
they are.
I rejoice this afternoon in the privilege of meeting so many of my
brethren who have just arrived from the old country. I behold faces in
the congregation with whom I have within a few years past been wont to
assemble in England, in Scotland, in Wales, and in other places. There
we used to rejoice together. The Spirit and power of God rested upon
us while we contemplated the things of God, that are calculated to pre pare us for the life which is to come.
I feel to congratulate you, my brethren, who have newly come in, and
who constitute so goodly a number of my hearers this afternoon, upon
your safe arrival in these beautiful valleys; for you have now
accomplished one of the greatest undertakings of your lives. Once, had
you been told that you would forsake father, mother, brethren,
sisters, kindred, and friends, and that you would do it under the
stigmatized appellation of "Mormon" —to come so great a distance, to
traverse one-third of the circumference of the globe, it would have
been as incredible to you as to any of us. While you were near the
close of this great task, doubtless some felt that had it been one
hundred miles further, they scarcely could have endured to the end of
the journey; yet, to some of us, this wonderful, great undertaking is
but a small thing; we have done it several times, and expect to do it
many times more. I congratulate you, however, on your having
accomplished the task, and feel, as your brother in the Lord, to
welcome you here in the midst of God's people, and to pray with
sincerity that the spirit of Zion may rest upon you.
You have come to this place with feelings and views as varied as the
degree of faith in, and knowledge you have of, the Gospel, and the
measure of spirit in which you walk. There are some who, in their own
estimation, are well qualified and fully prepared to judge of the
propriety and impropriety of everything that exists here; and such,
while they may find some few things answer pretty well, will find many
things which, in their opinion, are not right, and really need
reformation.
Brethren, you who have just arrived in the Valley, I wish to direct my
words to you this afternoon, to sound a word in your ears that may not
be lost upon you, and it is worth your while to hearken to it. You may
dwell in this society, and never know what manner of spirit you are
of, nor the power of God that dwells in the Priesthood in your midst;
and, on the other hand, you may come here in a right frame of mind,
and hearken to the Spirit of God through the man whom He has appointed
to watch over us, and know that the words of all God's servants are
the words of life to you; and their faces will shine with wisdom in
your eyes. If you possess this frame of mind, you will be prepared to
drink in intelligence from day to day, from their counsel and
examples, that will lead you on in the bright and shining way that was
discoursed upon this morning.
In the first place, I will offer a word to all, whether they are
mechanics or common laborers. No matter what calling you may follow
in life, you have need, at this juncture of your existence, to observe
and treasure up one thing carefully and faithfully in your minds,
namely, if you live a proper life before the Lord, you know that you
have the fellowship of His Spirit, so that you know your prayers are
heard and answered, because you receive the things you ask for. If you
live so as to always have the witness of the good Spirit, you will be
saved today and every day, and thus it will constantly be well with
you. But if you are heedless of this day, and calculate on tomorrow,
you have no assurance that you will realize your hopes tomorrow. The
only certain stepping stone to the great good you may have tomorrow
in the midst of this people is, that you be faithful to your covenants
with God, and secure thereby the fellowship of the Spirit, and walk in
the counsels of it today; if you do this, you will have the good
that is for you tomorrow.
If you have come into this place nearly penniless, and, in
many respects, comparatively destitute, and with no one to take you by
the hand, or your friends are not here, or, if they are, and do not
hail you as you think they ought, be of good cheer, and let not your
hearts be sad, knowing you are doing right, and have gathered
according to the word of the Lord.
If you look about you and see the Saints who have been here some
years, and the choice locations taken up by them, and you are still at
the foot of the hill apparently, do not fret your souls; remember that
those brethren made the roads to this place, killed the snakes, or
gently turned them out of their path, made the bridges, opened the
canyons, made the fences, ploughed the ground, and worked in the wet
and cold, in the midst of hunger and privation, to the best of their
ability, more than any portion of this people have. Have they not
worked to obtain what they have now got? If you look at it with a
single eye, it is marvelous to see the kingdom of God at this day.
After being here only six years; after being driven from Nauvoo, and
suffering the toils of a wilderness life among savages and wolves, to
see it at the present time is indeed comforting and cheering; the
aspect is promising beyond all we could have anticipated, or almost
what could have been wished. Does it not make your souls rejoice in
the Lord, that He has established His people, and to realize that you
are blessed above measure in having a name and a place in this city or
territory? You are better off this afternoon in this place, in rags,
and begging your bread, than in England, Scotland, or Wales, earning
one hundred pounds per annum. You would there be dwelling among the
cloudy mists of Babylon, where you dare not say your souls were your
own. You could make but little advancement in your holy religion
there; but here you can receive words of life from those whom God has
appointed to lead His people into the way of salvation. Be careful
now, that the good Spirit which has accompanied you in the old world,
and dwelt with you in the ship across the sea, and has sustained you
and your teams while crossing the plains—be careful that you retain
it, and make it your counselor here.
I know how natural it is for the Saints who come from abroad to be
very diligent in inspecting God's people, to see if they are as
righteous as they ought to be; but they forget they have a duty to
perform to themselves. As one of old said, "the eye is not satisfied
with seeing, nor the ear with hearing," but they forget to look at
themselves; the spirit of murmuring and complaining takes possession
of them, and you may see them wandering about in sorrow, affliction,
and grief; and what is worse than all, they have brought it upon
themselves, because they have not retained the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit through faithfulness of conduct, and away they go to
California. I felt to speak these things to you, that you might be
admonished at the present time to faithfulness, and that you might
rejoice in the assembly of God's people, that you had been brought
over the mountains to this place in safety. I feel to magnify the name
of the Lord to see so many of you, and pray that those who are still
journeying on the plains may be safely brought in.
In coming here, you cannot, as individuals, know all things that are
before you. You are now dwelling in a society that differs from any
you ever dwelt in. The circumstances of life are all different, and
the business arrangements different, to those you have been used to in
the old country. It is necessary that you look about you for a season,
find out whom you are among, and know the condition and nature of the
elements and state of the society, that you may drop into
business through the fellowship of your brethren and sisters, and take
hold with them in the different branches of business that are carried
on here for the comforts of life. You Elders, who have been in that
country, preaching and building up Branches of the Church there; you
that have taken up your cross, and gone from your homes, and warned
the inhabitants of the earth where you have labored, the Lord went
with you, when you went in the name of Jesus; His Spirit was upon you,
and you were the means of building up Churches, and of doing much good
in various ways; that same Spirit will be with you when you go to
labor in the canyons, or do anything else, if you will nourish it,
and not cast it from you. Peradventure in the canyons you may need its
premonitions most when your life or limb may be in jeopardy. This, my
brethren, is the rock upon which many Saints split—they leave the way
of truth, they step aside from the rugged path of duty which they have
been wont to walk in, and, feeling a degree of ease and safety, as
they suppose, on arriving here, they forget their prayers, and that
they have need to continue to increase their fellowship with the Holy
Spirit; they leave off their duties, and, ere they are aware of it,
they are left to themselves.
It is said that the females are the ones by whom the nations are
ruled. It is certain that the females have necessarily great influence
upon the whole community, and especially upon the rising generation.
Allow me a word with the sisters. In your associations and visiting
with those about you, when you find a sister or brother that can speak
evil of dignities with impunity, and can find fault with what is being
done by the Church, and cannot do any good themselves (for such folks
cannot do anything themselves but bark and snarl like the dog in the
manger), when you get into the society of such people, you will take
notes, if you do as I do, and seek the company of those who will speak
well of the brethren and sisters, and then you may expect they will
speak well of you. When you associate with those who speak well of the
truth, their counsels will edify you, and their words will be seasoned
with grace to your edification and instruction, and the clouds of
adversity that rest down upon you will vanish away.
You will find Saints living about you, that have the good Spirit, and
can give you the word of comfort, and take you by the hand and pour
the oil of consolation into your heart, and do you good in the name of
the Lord. If you seek that kind of society, you will tend upwards
towards the realms of light, in duty and intelligence. By taking this
course, you will be cultivating the same good Spirit in your own
hearts, that you see in the hearts, examples, and general conduct of
your brethren and sisters around you, and which is most conspicuous in
those who are called to lead and direct in the Priesthood. On the
other hand, if you come in here, with the intention to be right down
sharp, careful to watch and to criticize your brethren very closely,
you will find all the evil you look for, and see imperfections which
the cloak of charity and good will would have covered, had you
possessed it yourself. You never were among a people where men talked
as they meant, and meant what they said, so near as in this place. If
you feel to take advantage of your brother or your sister, you may,
but it will not be good for your soul; it will be money badly earned.
But if you come here with a frank and honest heart, and prepared to
speak and act without hypocrisy, and just as you feel, you will find
yourselves among a community of brethren and sisters that are ready to aid, comfort, and bless you. If you look with your eyes, as I
did with mine when I came home from England, you will find your
brethren and sisters to be such kind of beings, whose good works you
will wish to emulate.
Take the wisest course to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the
truth; and the only way is by attending diligently to your prayers,
and walking in the light of God's Spirit. You will find that
condescension in the hearts of your brethren, that love and charity
abounding in their bosoms that if you are in adversity and need they
will extend a helping hand, and comfort you, and do you good, and will
not charge you one hundred percent interest either. I have to say
that if you have come to these valleys determined, as for you and
yours, to serve the Lord, you will find it the easiest thing in the
world to fellowship with those whose hearts run together like two
drops of water, and you will be blessed, as also will those with whom
you associate. You have arrived at a juncture of your life where two
ways branch out; if you wish to travel downward, the great depot of
that route is California; if upward, the great depot on that road is
this city, these men that surround me in this stand. You do not know
what you may be called upon to do. I do not know what I may be called
upon to do before this Conference comes to a close, in addition to
what is already laid upon me here at home. It is necessary to be
always ready; and if you live as you ought, you will always be ready,
and nothing will come wrong to you; and if you always live that way,
you may always be as happy as you wish to be.
The work we are called unto in these last days, calls upon us not to
narrow our minds down to the building of a piece of fence, to the
enclosing of a piece of land, or to the putting up of a house, alone;
but it is our duty while seeking to make an inheritance here, to reach
out our prayers in faith and supplication for the general good, and
with becoming liberality feel after those who are to enjoy the same
blessings we enjoy. We have our duties to ourselves and families to
perform, and our daily and hourly duties to our God; but there is a
duty we owe, in common with all God's people, to those who are not yet
gathered from the house of bondage. How many of the Israel of God are
there sitting in darkness, in distant nations, that have not the light
proclaimed to them? Have we come home here to sit down in ease, and
let them go down to the grave in ignorance? If we have, we mistake the
matter, and in the end will find we shall come short of that glory and
reward we anticipate. You have come here to obtain inheritances for
yourselves and families, and for your generations forever, in
righteousness, as God shall give you power to do. You have, in
connection with this, to build up the kingdom of God, to pay tithing,
and be ready to fill every office and duty that is put upon you,
making the kingdom of God the first and foremost in your affections
and attention, and yourselves and families a secondary consideration;
and this Gospel has to be borne off among the nations of the earth.
How good it is for us to hear, by the monthly mails, how many there
are continually witnessing afar off to the forgiveness of sins through
the Gospel. We ought to remember them, and be prepared for whatever
may be expected at our hands in those far off regions. Let us not
settle down, and become sordid in our affections to anything earthly.
It is our duty to seek first the kingdom of God, and the promise is
that other things shall be added unto us.
The Lord has manifested His readiness, and determination of purpose, to pour out knowledge and intelligence upon His people, as fast
as they are prepared to receive it. Since I left you the last time in
the old country, the revelations of the Lord have been sent forth,
which had never before been made public, and we have all been led
along by degrees in the knowledge of life and salvation. Yet a great
amount of advancement has yet to be made while we are in the flesh,
greater duties are rolling upon us as fast as we can perform those we
are already engaged in. We look around us here upon the house of
Israel, the Lamanites, and while our hearts are opened towards them
for good, they are not backward to administer death to our brethren.
Is this always going to be so? No. The Lord God will work upon them in
His own way, until they become one with us in building up the kingdom
of God.
The Priesthood in the last days has to be manifested in sufficient
power to bear off the kingdom of God triumphant, that all Israel may
be gathered and saved. If all Israel will not be sanctified by the law
which their Moses first offers them, they will peradventure receive a
law of ordinances administered to them, not according to the power of
an endless life. Men will be saved in the last days as in former days,
according to their faith and willingness to receive the word of God,
and walk in it.
We may speak in terms of wonder and admiration of what has been done,
and yet where shall these things grow to? They must grow until they
spread over all the face of the earth, and control the powers that
exist upon it. There must be other revelations fulfilled in our return
to Jackson County, and building up the New Jerusalem there; the Lord
prepare us for that day, that we may be able to stand the exhibition
of glory that will there be made manifest. Before that comes to pass,
something must be done here, there is a temple to be built in this
city. You, brethren, who received your blessings and endowments in the
temple that was built in Nauvoo, have been made witnesses of the
wisdom and power that have gone forth to the nations of the earth from
that place, and of the power that was realized in the quorums of the
Priesthood; no tide of oppression could be raised powerful enough to
bear down the authorities of God's kingdom; we see the wicked who came
to rule us turned back to their own place, and the Priesthood appears
greater than the powers of earth. The powers of the Priesthood must be
made manifest before the eyes of all the world, and become
transcendently above every other influence. You have sure grounds for
confidence, for every step and every turn this Church makes, is
calculated to increase confidence; and if we live so as to have our
eyes washed with the eye water of the Gospel, we can ourselves realize
the rapid growth of Christ's kingdom, and the growth of grace in
ourselves and in others necessary to lead us on to perfection. You
have come here to cultivate perfection in yourselves in the name of
the Lord; and if you do that, and try to be useful, and willing to do
anything here or anywhere else you are instructed to do, you will be
made fit for the performance of any essential good in the kingdom of
God.
Well then, brethren and sisters, while all is auspicious around us,
and everything calculated to encourage us to do good, let us be up and
doing, and try to keep the commandments of God with all our hearts,
and we shall find it easier and easier to do it. Let us be prepared
always for every duty that is laid upon us, and the grace of God will
be sufficient for us under every circumstance.
When I was called to preside in England, I felt as though I never could magnify that calling, it appeared too great for me. But
if we feel right, we shall feel like the Prophet of old, the Spirit of
the Lord will be sufficient for us in the performance of every duty. I
pray that the spirit of Zion may be given to you who have newly come
in, that you may go on your way rejoicing, and be able to do the will
of God here and abroad. May the blessings of God be and abide upon you
by day and by night, and increase you on the earth, in blessings and
riches forever, is the prayer of your brother Franklin.
- Franklin D. Richards