I feel grateful for the privilege of bearing my testimony to the
truths of our holy religion, in which I hope to live all the days of
my life. It has taught me things that are of importance to my soul's
welfare here and hereafter. It has placed me upon a basis of
improvement and knowledge that leads to understanding, wisdom and
power in the counsels of heaven.
What true conception had we of God until our minds were lit up with
the truths which the Almighty has revealed in these last days? We did
not know in what capacity he was our Father; we had no rightful
conception or knowledge of God or of his Son Jesus Christ, of
whom it is said, to know is life eternal. The learned divines of the
day could not inform us anything about him, or give us any information
in regard to our own origin. All this we have learned by embracing
"Mormonism," or the truths which the Almighty has revealed in these
latter times. Now we know he did reveal himself in former days. We can
now see and understand what these things mean that have been written
by former Prophets and servants of God who were inspired by the
revelations of Jesus Christ; but these things we could not understand
until he revealed himself again and we have received this knowledge
through his servants in our own day.
The orthodox churches have taught us that those who are of the
orthodox may possibly be saved, but for the heterodox there is no
chance of salvation at all—they must go down to, and be damned in an
endless hell, must be doomed to the bottomless pit. They, however, had
no just conception of the design of the Almighty with regard to our
being and could give us no knowledge with regard to our origin or
destiny. Another class of religionists would save all in the kingdom
of God—bring all into his presence indiscriminately, no matter whether
they are in their sins or not; the plan of salvation, they say, is
sufficient to save them all.
There is a plan whereby all who have not sinned the sin unto death may
attain to a certain glory and salvation. There is a principle revealed
in the great economy of Heaven by which we can act for another;
whereby the generations which have died in ignorance of the Gospel may
be administered for by the living, that they may be judged according
to men in the flesh. This principle has been revealed in these last
days, and it is a great and glorious prin ciple; one that gives great
joy and satisfaction to the believer. It throws a mantle of charity
over the whole human family; our heavenly Father does not consign to
an endless misery his children who have not been informed in the plan
of life and salvation and who have not lifted up their hands knowingly
against him; it provides a way in which they may participate in the
blessings of our common Father which he dispenses to his faithful
children. Our holy religion teaches us to extend charity, knowledge
and power to all mankind. Are they not our brethren and sisters? Have
we not a common origin? Have we not a common Father who is the Father
of our spirits? Then are we not of one family, brethren and sisters
indeed, and should we not so act towards each other?
How great should be our satisfaction, joy and thankfulness to our
Father in heaven that we have become the recipients of this knowledge,
that we can place our feet upon the rock of salvation and become
messengers of salvation to all people; to take them from their low and
degraded condition and elevate them to the knowledge of God. Is there
no reward in this? Is there no glory, no blessing in this? Time will
disclose whether there is a blessing or not in reaching forth the
helping hand to the honest poor and needy among the nations to deliver
them from the thralldom of sin and from the poverty that presses
heavily upon them; by these have they been chained down hand and foot
and could not help themselves. We break their chains asunder and bring
them into the liberty of the Gospel; we not only unbind their spirits
but their hands and their feet, and we place them in a condition to
take care of themselves. This is true charity. You may give a piece of
bread to a hungry person, and when the cravings of hunger
return some one else must administer to his wants again; to put that
person in a position to earn his own subsistence is true charity; in
this way you direct his feet in the path of true independence, he is
then only dependent on his own exertions and on the blessings of his God.
When people are taken from the pernicious influences that are too
prevalent in the world and directed in the paths of sobriety, truth
and heavenly intelligence, what is there to hinder them in the midst
of the Saints from walking in those paths? The effort to do right
continually under such circumstances is nothing in comparison to what
it is when they are continually surrounded with evil influences and
evil examples. In this they are benefited and blessed, and here again
is the mantle of charity and love thrown over the poor and destitute
who hunger and thirst after righteousness as well as for those means
necessary for their temporal subsistence.
These are a few of the opportunities and privileges which are
conferred upon this people of doing good. They have the greatest
opportunity of doing real substantial good to themselves and their
fellow creatures of any people on the face of the earth. Those who
come up here and assist in the great Work will also participate in the
great blessings which will be their reward. Let these precious
opportunities which are thrown in our way be eagerly improved, for it
is a great and glorious Work in which we are engaged, and one which is
full of benefit to the human race at large.
Why then should the world seek to subvert, overthrow, persecute,
destroy, and make waste those who are engaged in so great and
beneficial an undertaking. There is no reason why men should tread
upon the oil and the wine. There is no reason why men should not
sustain holy and righteous principles that will elevate and exalt
mankind if they will let them. There is no reason whatever why people
should oppose the Latter-day Saints or seek their destruction and
overthrow; when they do it they do it without reason—they do it
because they hate righteous principles, to satisfy their own wicked
intentions and desires; they love to lie rather than to speak the
truth, and they do it at the instigation of the Devil without any
rational feeling or reason whatever. They will be condemned because
they love darkness rather than light. They have the power to do evil,
and inasmuch as they list to obey the powers of evil they will be
damned. They have the same privilege that we have of obeying the truth
and of receiving light, knowledge, and intelligence from heaven, and
may participate in the same blessings we enjoy. When they choose the
path of evil they do it on their own responsibility. A great portion
of the world will reject the good and cleave to the evil; this has
been so from the beginning. As astonishing as it may appear, a vast
majority of mankind will not receive the truth, but they will reject
it and trample under their feet the oil and the wine, crucify the
Redeemer afresh, slay the Prophets, and overthrow truth and
righteousness as long as they have power to do so.
But the day has now come when those principles will be sustained on
the earth. They have already obtained a foothold in these valleys;
the Almighty has set his hand to work to establish his kingdom on the
earth never again to be thrown down or to be prevailed against.
We are here in the mountains, thank God for that; and we hold the
principles of life and salvation for all the world; we send
forth the heralds of life to proclaim them, and they are taking deep
root in the earth. The power to bind and to loose is here, even the
power of Heaven, and it cannot be eradicated again and overcome. That
day is past. We live in a day fruitful of big events. The Lord
Almighty is walking about and we have heard his footsteps. He is at
work in the midst of the nations; this is very manifest to us who
dwell here four thousand feet above the level of the sea; from this
elevation we can see clearly and have a better understanding of the
movements of God among the nations beneath us. The Lord has anointed
our eyes and we see through a purer atmosphere.
I believe we appreciate as well as we can these great mercies and
blessings. There is one of them which we certainly can appreciate very
sensibly, and that is the blessing of peace and quiet in these
sequestered vales. The Lord has greatly blessed this land and caused
it to bring forth in its strength nourishment for our sustenance; he
has planted our feet by the still waters and given to us health,
wealth, peace, and quietude. We can appreciate these blessings now if
we never could before, when we see the desolation and misery which
have been foretold coming upon the wicked and ungodly nations. A river
of light and intelligence flows to this people from the heavens
through the holy Priesthood. The fountains of life eternal are opened
for all to go to and drink. Can we think of this without being melted
in thankfulness to our Father and our God? Should we not put forth our
best endeavors in the channel of our duty? Should we not be honest,
faithful and true with that which is committed to our trust, and
diligent in the performance of every duty?
Can we pursue unerringly the course marked out for us by him who is
the choice of Israel to lead and guide Israel in the great interests
of life. He instructs us to draw from the elements that which we
consume and become independent and self-sustaining. We have enlisted
to walk in this channel—a great many have done so. Can we continue to
improve still more and produce still greater results by a still
greater perseverance?
I was pleased and gratified beyond utterance at the report brought
back from the south by the President, when he said there was a decided
improvement in this people; thank God for that; but it is a great
thing to improve. Let us continue to improve, inasmuch as we have
fallen short heretofore, and let us seek to remove every obstacle out
of our path and bring about the temporal improvements we are told to
perform with greater celerity. I allude to these things because they
give us comfort, pointing, as they do, to greater freedom and greater
independence; at the same time, we will not forget to improve our
minds and progress in the knowledge of God and in the things which
pertain to eternal life and glory hereafter. We will not forget to
instill into the young minds of our children principles of honor, of
truth and of righteousness towards God, and obedience to him, to his
servants and to his laws, for it is this that will make them honorable
and great in his eyes and will exalt them in his presence.
If any of us have been guilty of dishonest practices, let us eschew
evil and seek to do good instead, let us eradicate the poison of sin
from our own bosoms, and let the Spirit and power of the Almighty
reign there and have free course to run and be glorified in us, and
let this in fluence spread abroad through every ramification of
society. These are my desires and most sincere wishes. Let us be
united in our love for God and truth, for in unity there is strength,
and in unity of this kind is made manifest the almighty power of God.
If we do this everything is for us; nothing shall be withheld from
those who love God and keep his commandments; all things that are
worth having will he give to them. These are blessings and mercies
which are enjoyed by no people besides this people.
The self-styled orthodoxy of the day will do no person any good, so
far as giving them a title to an inheritance in the presence of God is
concerned; there is no balm of Gilead in all they can do, say, or
bestow on mankind, for the fountain of life and intelligence is not
with them. So far as they inculcate morality, it has a salutary
influence in restraining mankind from sinking back into the worst
phases of barbarism, but it receives no impetus, no progression from
their teachings, for those who make no profession of religion at all
are generally more strictly moral, more strenuously honest and more
faithful in the duties of life than those who profess the religions of
Christendom.
The religion we profess is the fountain of intelligence; it inculcates
morality, truth, virtue and every principle of true knowledge, and
this leads to true power and true excellence; it has with it the vigor
of life and leads to exaltation and to the presence of our Father and
God. Let us appreciate our blessings and be careful not to hurt the
oil and the wine; let us be careful that we do not trample upon the
principles which our Father has revealed for our guidance, but let us
be constantly actuated by the influence of the Spirit of the Almighty
which is within us and let us never grieve it away; if we do this, we
shall not wander into forbidden paths, into darkness nor into error,
nor be left to believe a lie that we may be damned. If we will follow
out the principles of our holy religion, we will become the greatest
and the mightiest people upon the earth, and we shall have power given
to us to go forth in the mighty power of Israel's God and redeem the
earth from the thralldom of sin and its consequences and raise high the
banner of freedom, the banner of salvation to the human race. There is
a nucleus formed where all the honest-in-heart may rally—where they
will find safety for themselves and their means; here their rights
will be respected and their means protected. All people can rally to
this standard because it is firm and steadfast, and the individual
rights of all will be respected; and it is the only place on the face
of the earth where this assurance can be given, all else will crumble
and go to pieces and be wasted away. This kingdom embraces all that is
permanent and lasting; it will endure throughout time and throughout
all eternity, and we with it. We do know that the Lord has commenced
his great and marvelous Work and he will continue it and break in
pieces the wicked and ungodly nations until they shall become the
kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and his kingdom which is now
being set up will continue forever and ever. This is our testimony to
all men; our cry is, Come out of her, my people, lest you partake of
her abominations and of her plagues which have been decreed upon her.
May the Lord help us to take a course that shall lead us onward and
upward, that we may receive and hold the dominion for God, and that it may continue to increase and spread until the earth is
redeemed and Christ shall possess the kingdoms under the whole
heavens, which is my prayer, in the name of Jesus: Amen.
- Daniel H. Wells