"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye
poor: for yours is the kingdom of heaven." Again, "Hearken, my beloved
brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love
him?" Again, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven." A few words upon the subject in these texts will
answer any purpose and feelings. Jesus had no other meaning than
simply, blessed are they who have the light of revelation to
understand the providences of God, and to know Him and themselves.
The rich that he and other writers have referred to, and that we often
refer to, are those who trust in the riches of this world, and forget
their God. I do not know how rich the children of Israel were when
they forsook the Lord, but I suppose it was with them as it is with
mankind at the present day, there were rich and poor; and they did
forget their God who brought them from the land of Egypt and out of
the house of bondage with a strong and mighty and outstretched arm;
they forgot Him so far that they transgressed all the laws He had
delivered unto them; they considered those laws but of trifling
importance, and esteemed their own laws and their own ways to be far
better than the laws the Lord had instituted, and they broke the
covenant they had made with the Lord their God; they deemed his laws
nonessential to salvation, and instituted laws and ordinances of
their own, which the Lord did not recognize, and forsook his
instructions and His ordinances; they became wicked, and would not
seek after God; God was not in all their thoughts. Whether they were
rich or poor as to the things of this world made but little difference
with regard to their faithfulness, and their life and practice in the
ordinances of the house of God, and the knowledge of His providences.
I have not learned that the possession of goods and chattels,
tenements, houses, lands, gold, silver, wheat, or fine flour, wine or
oil, makes any difference with the faithful servant of God. The Lord
loves those who trust in Him, who feel their dependence upon Him, and
feel and understand their own weakness and inability, who are thankful
for their organization, and have full confidence in the providences of
the Lord, trusting in His mercy and goodness to bring them off
conquerors, whether they be rich or poor. The Lord loves all those who
love Him and keep His commandments.
We say to the brethren, at this time, seek not after gold, nor after
silver, nor after any of the precious metals that are hid up in the
earth, for as yet they would do you no good if you possessed them. But
suppose we had a few thousand millions of gold and silver, would it
follow that we should be destroyed, because we possessed this wealth?
Not in the least; if we are destroyed through the possession of
wealth, it will be because we destroy ourselves. If we possessed
hundreds of millions of coin, and devoted that means to building up
the kingdom of God and doing good to His creatures, with an eye single
to His glory, we would be as much blessed and as much entitled to
salvation as the poor beggar that begs from door to door; the faithful
rich man is as much entitled to the revelations of Jesus Christ as is
the faithful poor man.
Whether we are poor or rich, if we neglect our prayers and our
sacrament meetings, we neglect the spirit of the Lord, and a spirit of
darkness comes over us. If we lust for gold, for the riches of the
world, and spare no pains to obtain and retain them, and feel "these
are mine," then the spirit of anti-Christ comes upon us. This is the
danger the Latter-day Saints are in, consequently it is better for us
to live in the absence of what is called the riches of this world,
than to possess them and with them inherit the spirit of anti-Christ
and be lost.
We had better labor to produce and treasure up the golden wheat, the
fine flour, the pure wine, the oil of the olive, and every product for
food and clothing that is adapted to our climate.
I anticipate the day when we can have the privilege of using, at our
sacraments pure wine, produced within our borders. I do not know that
it would injure us to drink wine of our own make, although we would be
better without it than to drink it to excess. And it would be better
for us to do without gold and silver, than to ruin ourselves with
them. If we had plenty of gold and silver we could neither eat nor
wear them, as we do food and clothing. We could not with any comfort
wear shoes or slippers made of the precious metals, and hats, bonnets,
caps, &c., made of them would be equally uncomfortable and
unprofitable. The whole world seems to be intoxicated in the lust of
their hearts after gold, silver, and precious stones—they seem to be
frantic to obtain them. To me this is as vain and nonsensical as the
changing fashions in swelling and diminishing the proportions of their
clothing. When death overtakes the votaries of the god of this world
they will be willing to give all they possess of earthly wealth for
knowledge and power to rebuke death and be restored to life. "And
Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man
hath will he give for his life." Then, shall we obtain riches for the
sake of being rich? No.
The human family are formed after the image of our Father and God.
After the earth was organized the Lord placed His children upon it,
gave them possession of it, and told them that it was their home—the
place of their habitation from henceforth; He told them to till the
ground and subdue it; He gave it to them for their inheritance, and to
do their will upon it. Then Satan steps in and overcomes them through
the weakness there was in the children of the Father when they were
sent to the earth, and sin was brought in, and thus we are subjected
to sin. The earth is pure in and of itself, having kept the law of its
creation; and mankind have actually brought on themselves all the sin,
all the distress, all the anguish, pain, sickness, and death that are upon the earth.
Since man has brought this upon himself, who but man can effect a
restoration from sin to purity? From death to life? If I injure my
neighbor in any way, I am the only person that can make restitution
and obtain the forgiveness of my injured friend, neighbor, or brother.
When a child revolts from under a good parent's control, it is the
place of that child to return to his father, like the prodigal of old,
and reinstate himself in the friendship and good feelings of his
injured parent.
Mankind have forfeited the right they once possessed to the friendship
of their Heavenly Father, and through sin have exposed themselves to
misery and wretchedness. Who is to bring back to the sin-stained
millions of earth that which they have lost through disobedience? Who
is to plant smiling peace and plenty where war and desolation reign?
Who is to remove the curse and its consequences from earth—the
homestead of mankind? Who shall say to the raging and contending
elements, "Peace, be still?" And extract the poison from the reptile's
tooth, and the savage and destructive nature from beast and creeping
thing?
Who placed the dark stain of sin upon this fair creation? Man. Who but
man shall remove the foul blot, and restore all things to their
primeval purity and innocence? But can he do this independent of
heavenly aid? He cannot. To aid him in this work heavenly grace is
here; heavenly wisdom, power, and help are here, and God's laws and
ordinances are here; the angels and spirits of just men made perfect
are here; Jesus Christ our Great High Priest, with Prophets, Apostles,
and Saints, ancient and modern, are here to help man in the great work
of sanctifying himself and the earth for final glorification in its
paradisiacal state. All this will be accomplished through the law of
the Holy Priesthood.
If we bring back all things through the help of our Heavenly Father,
then shall we possess all things—the earth and its fulness, and all
things pertaining to time and eternity, even all things that man was
made lord over. Then blessed are the poor, or, in other words, blessed
are they who know for themselves that every blessing which they
receive, whether spiritual or temporal, is the gift of God. Blessed
are they who are poor in spirit, or blessed are they who feel their
own weakness, and know their own inability and the power of God, and
enjoy the Holy Ghost. Blessed are they who trust in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and who know that he is their Savior, and that in him they can
find mercy, and grace to help in time of need. These are the blessed
ones, no matter if they possess all the riches of this world; what has
that to do with the humble and faithful heart? Such a person is not
affected in faith, as a follower of the Lord Jesus, by riches or by
poverty.
If we ever attain to faith enough to obtain the kingdom of God, as we
anticipate, we shall obtain all the wealth there is for this kingdom
in time and eternity. We shall not rob other kingdoms, but we shall
possess the eternity of matter that lies in the path of the onward
progress of this kingdom, and still eternity and its fulness will
continue to stretch out before us. The great powers of eternal wisdom
will be exercised to enhance the wealth, beauty, excellency and glory
of this kingdom, previous to its being introduced into the presence of
the Father and the Son. This work we have to help perform.
A great many think that the kingdom of God is going to bless them and
exalt them, without any efforts on their part. This is not so. Every
man and woman is expected to aid the work with all the ability
God has given them. Each person belonging to the human family has a
portion of labor to perform in removing the curse from the earth and
from every living thing upon it. When this work is performed, then
will they possess all things.
President Kimball remarked that he had been told that some did not
believe all that he said, or all that I say. I care not one groat
whether they believe all that I say or not, or whether they love me or
not; I have no concern about that. If I can see the people serving God
with all their hearts, building up His kingdom on the earth, and
bringing forth righteousness, I do not care whether they ever think of
brother Brigham, or of brother Heber C. Kimball, or whether they
believe what we say or not; if they believe what the Almighty says,
that will content me; then will they realize what the power of faith
will do for a people.
Will the Latter-day Saints observe the law of the Lord? If they will,
it is all I ask of them. You can read the law of the Lord for
yourselves in the Old and New Testaments, in the Book of Mormon, and
in the Book of Revelations given for this Church through Joseph the
Prophet. If this people will believe the testimony contained in these
four books concerning the kingdom of God upon the earth, and the hand
dealing of the providence of God to his children, and do His will, I
promise them eternal life, for such a belief and such a practice will
lead them to the fountain where they can know for themselves, as
Moses, the Prophets, Jesus, the Apostles and Ancient Saints, Joseph
Smith and others of modern times knew; where like them we can receive
the Spirit of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, by which we
may know the voice of the Good Shepherd, whenever and wherever we hear
it. And as we know the voice of the Good Shepherd, so shall we learn
to distinguish it from the voice of a stranger—the voice of the evil
one. We can then clearly understand the things that are of God, and
the things that are not of Him, and be able to see and judge all
things as they are, for, "He that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet
he himself is judged of no man." "But the anointing which ye have
received of him abideth in you, and you need not that any man teach
you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is
truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide
in him." This will lead us to the glory and the excellency of the
knowledge of God, which will be given unto us by the manifestations of
His Spirit, and by the living oracles of the Lord, which are always in
the midst of His people.
Brother Kimball said there are more than ten commandments. Yes, there
are commandments sufficient to direct every person upon the earth, and
in every place and at every time, wherever they may be, all through
life, and that would incorporate the whole life of man. Shall we
neglect the law of the Lord, which is perfect, converting the soul,
and turn away from the testimony of the Lord, which is sure, making
wise the simple? "The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the
heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the
Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they
than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the
honeycomb."
Mankind have departed from the commandments of the Lord, and the fear
of the Lord is not before their eyes. We have been trying, for
many years, to show them the difference between the laws of the Lord
and the laws of men; between the ordinances of the churches of men,
and the ordinances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Let me inform all the Latter-day Saints and all the inhabitants of the
earth, that the Lord will not be trifled with. We have often been told
that, when the Lord set up his kingdom on this earth, and sent forth
his servants to administer in it, He would defend that kingdom
himself, and exert the powers of heaven to bear it off.
You remember reading in the parable of the wicked husbandmen, to whom
the Lord let out his vineyard, that when He sent servants to receive
fruits of his vineyard, they stoned them and cast them out. But last
of all He sent unto them His Son, saying, "They will reverence my
son;" but they said among themselves, "This is the heir; come, let us
kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance." They slew Him. "When
the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto these
husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked
men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which will
render Him the fruits in their seasons." Were not the Jews
destroyed—scattered and broken up as a nation? They were, because they
made war against God, and against His servants whom He had called and
sent to them with a message of salvation. Had a pretender arisen and
professed to prophesy in the name of the Lord, when the Lord did not
speak through him, and they had slain him as they did Jesus and His
Apostles, would the Lord have noticed it? I think not.
The Puritans supposed they were sent of God, and hated the Quakers and
persecuted them even unto death. Did the Lord notice that conduct in
any signal manner? No. But suppose the Quakers had been the Saints of
the Lord, and that He had said to William Penn and others, "You are my
authorized agents to build up my kingdom on the earth," would the Lord
have held the Puritans guiltless for the persecution of his chosen
people? He would not, but would in a signal manner have called their
persecutors to an account. But the Puritans were not sent of the Lord,
neither were the Quakers.
The Lord had not spoken to the inhabitants of this earth for a long
time, until He spoke to Joseph Smith, committed to him the plates on
which the Book of Mormon was engraved, and gave him a Urim and Thummim
to translate a portion of them, and told him to print the Book of
Mormon, which he did, and sent it to the world, according to the word
of the Lord. The Lord said to him, "revive my statutes and bring forth
my law which has been set aside by those who professed to be my
Saints, and establish the ordinances that were once in my house, and
tell the people they must observe them. Now go and see if anybody will
believe your testimony." He went and preached to his father's house,
and to his neighbors, and it was four or five years before he got the
six members that composed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints when it was first organized on the 6th of April, 1830. This was
a slow business, but at last he organized the Church, for the Lord had
revealed to him the Aaronic priesthood upon which the Church was first
organized; after that he received the Melchizedek priesthood, when the
Church was more fully organized, and a few more believed, and then a
few more and a few more. Now and then a person would believe and feel
inclined to go and tell his friends what the Lord had revealed
to him. The Lord sent them out and promised to take care of them, and
thus the knowledge of this work has extended throughout the world,
from so small a beginning.
I have often thought of the foolishness of the devil, notwithstanding
all his cunning; yet he is much of a gentleman, when compared with
many that serve him. He did not manifest much wisdom in seeking to
accomplish the death of the Savior. In that he undertook to destroy
the kingdom Jesus had come to establish; but through the mode he took
to destroy it, he only succeeded in establishing it. So in the case of
Joseph Smith. The devil and his emissaries thought, if they could only
destroy Joseph Smith, that the system he had laid the foundation to
build upon would crumble and fall to rise no more; but it is evident
to all, that since the death of Joseph, the system has flourished with
greater vigor than before, for where there is a testament in full
force, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator, for
a testament is of force after men are dead.
At last a man did come who was actually sent of God. Will He defend
the doctrine which He has sent into the world by that prophet? Is he
not defending it now? He is. The sayings of Joseph Smith are being
literally fulfilled, and also the sayings of the Prophets and Apostles
who lived previous to this generation. Joseph Smith told the nations
of the earth what would be their doom, unless they stopped rebelling
against the kingdom of God, and forsook their own systems, or, in,
other words, the cisterns they had hewn out for themselves, which hold
no water, and began to trust in the Lord. We see that the kingdom of
God is established, will the Lord defend it?
Suppose the nation of the United States should send delegates into
Mexico, to negotiate and transact business with that government, and
the authorities there should look upon them as impostors, and scourge
them and cast them out, what course would the government of the United
States take? They would declare war against Mexico, to vindicate the
honor of the nation. Do you not think the Lord will chasten the nation
which has killed his prophets, set at naught his message, and scourged
and cast out his servants? Is He now chastening them? He is, and will
continue to chasten them until He is satisfied, and they cease to
rebel against him and against his government on the earth.
Shall we treat His laws as a thing of naught? We had better observe
all the laws, precepts, commandments and ordinances of the house of
the Lord. We had better so live that no fault can be found with us.
This is my advice to the Latter-day Saints.
Much can be said upon what our duty is, but we can comprise the whole
in saying, live so that the spirit of revelation will be in every man
and woman, and it will lead them to truth and holiness. Then there
would be no bickering, no contention, no lawsuits against each other,
and there would be less business in the High Councils than there is
now. Those who live for truth and holiness have a right to enjoy the
revelations of Jesus Christ. We know the oracles of God which He has
placed in the midst of this people, and we know that we should observe
the counsel which is given to us.
It has been observed that we have made covenants to do thus and so,
and that we ought not to speak against the Lord and his anointed. Do
we observe this? We do, in a great measure, I say, with all their foibles and weaknesses, there is no people on the earth like
this people. Is there a king or any ruler on the earth that could, by
his mental power, gather a people from almost every nation under
heaven, and bind them together by one spirit and one religion—to be of
one heart and of one mind—in as great a degree as are this people?
This is proof sufficient that we are the people of God—the chosen
ones. And who are the Saints? All those who believe in Jesus Christ
and keep His commandments. And who may be Saints? All the inhabitants
of the earth, for Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye ends of the earth,
and be ye saved."
Those who have embraced the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ as it is
portrayed in the New Testament and Book of Mormon, who believe in the
mission of Joseph the Prophet, and have received the spirit of this
latter-day work, feel like saying "good bye to former associations,
and I do not wish to keep any back accounts or notes against my
brethren in the same Church, for we are all Saints." But they soon
learn that there are still weaknesses and foibles among those who are
called Saints. Men and women are tried, and get out of patience and
speak evil one against another; but as a general thing they are sorry
for their sins.
What earthly power can gather a people as this people have been
gathered, and hold them together as this people have been held
together? It was not Joseph, it is not Brigham, nor Heber, nor any of
the rest of the Twelve, nor any of the Seventies and High Priests that
does this, but it is the Lord God Almighty that holds this people
together, and no other power.
Once in a while a man will go to hunt for gold and silver, and run off
here and there. Of all such I can say that, if you will canvas their
private characters and lives, you will invariably find that they
neglected their prayers, neglected to go to meeting, to pay their
Tithing, etc., until they forsook the commandments of the Lord, until
God was not in all their thoughts night or day, and they went away
from us. When they forsake the spirit of this people they then want to
leave the community. This proves that they are not of us, and that
they have lost the spirit which holds this people together, which is
the spirit of the Gospel. The Lord so manages that there are always
influences in our vicinity to draw away such persons, and I am glad of
it. I have a man employed to carry to my hogs the scraps that fall
from my table; he is as necessary in his place as anybody else, and so
are those who carry off the scum and filth from our society, and I do
not wish to restrict them in the performance of their duties, not in
the least. While these swill carriers are removing the slops from the
kitchen, shall we allow them to come into the parlor and gather the
food from the table to put into the swill tub? When the Lord has done
with the trash, then he will suffer it to be carded off by the Devil
or his servants, but they cannot enter the dining room; we will turn
out the offal of the table, when it is ready, and then the Devil and
his servants are welcome to it. This is all in the providence of God.
So long as a man observes the law of God, he never need fear that he
will be culpable.
Those who follow modern Christianity say that we have revived the
customs of ancient heathenism—the practices of dark ages. Our
Christian friends are mistaken, for those were enlightened ages.
Abraham lived in one of the most enlightened ages of the
world, and so did Noah, and Enoch the seventh from Adam. We are
following the customs of Enoch and the holy fathers, and for this we
are looked upon as not being fit for society. We are not adapted to
the society of the wicked, and do not wish to mingle with them.
A gentleman said to me "I would like to establish a billiard table and
a drinking saloon in your city; you must have such places here by and
by, anyhow." May be we will, and may be we will not; we shall see
whether God Almighty will reign among this people, or whether the
Devil will. I shall keep such Christian institutions out of this city
as long as I can.
Some want to destroy "the twin relics—slavery and polygamy" —and
establish monogamy, with a brothel on every corner of each block in
this city. This reminds me of what I was told the President of the
United States said to a gentleman who is a preacher and a member of
Congress. He took our President to task for not destroying both "the
twins" together, that is, polygamy as well as slavery. After he had
laid the whole matter before the President in an elaborate manner,
showing him the necessity of destroying this people who believed in
polygamy, the President said, "It makes me think of a little
circumstance that happened with me in my younger days. I was ploughing
a piece of newly cleared land, by and by I came to a big log; I could
not plow over it, for it was too high, and it was so heavy I could not
move it out of the way, and so wet I could not burn it; I stood and
looked at it and studied it, and finally concluded to plow around it."
It looks as if they were trying to plow around Mormonism. They and
the Lord for it.
I wish the Latter-day Saints understood, as fully as I do, the things
of God; then we should soon see the kingdom in its glory and power;
and every influence and power that is opposed to it would stand aside
and give way before its onward march; and the Lord would send His
angels here to bless you, and would soon come to reign among his
people. Amen.