It is the business of the Latter-day Saints to build up the Kingdom of
God upon the earth, and by doing this they will be built up, as
individuals and as a community. It is good to love and serve our God
with an undivided heart and with a pure affection, making it the
business of our lives to work righteousness, and to introduce
everywhere in all the earth the Gospel of glad tidings and everlasting
peace, to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of man to receive
his bride. To hold communion with our Father and God, and to carry out
his great designs in this last dispensation, ought to be sought after
through every transaction of our lives, for no man, or community of
men, can possibly serve God acceptably a portion of their time only,
and themselves the remainder. If we are the servants and handmaidens
of the Almighty at all, we are so every moment of our lives. It
should be our constant desire and wish to know how to build up the
Kingdom of God, and of necessity this Work calls forth an almost
endless variety of talent, skill and labor.
In building the great and notable cities of the world, it required the
genius of the architect, and the skill and labor of the artisan, in
all their variety. In building up the cities of Zion, and an earthly
kingdom unto God, it will require all the wisdom and skill and cunning
workmanship that are displayed in the arts and sciences now known to
man, and revelation from heaven for still further advancement in the
knowledge of every handicraft and means of adornment, to beautify the
cities and temples that will be built by the people of God in these
last days. We expect to see the time when we shall not be at all
inferior to any of the nations of the earth, in the production of
works of art and in scientific skill and knowledge; even now there is
incorporated within the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, mechanical ingenuity that is equal to any to be
found among the civilized nations of the world; and as our community
grows in wealth and importance, and raw material sufficient is
accumulated, and our necessities and wants increase, all this artistic
skill and genius, which at present lies dormant, will be called into
active use, for the bone, sinew and knowledge are here. Our first
great object in life is to build up the Kingdom of God. If it is to
sow wheat to sustain the people, be it so; our families want bread, as
do also the families of the Elders who have gone abroad to preach the
Gospel, and our mechanics; we are also under the necessity of
producing many other articles of food, besides bread, to
supply that variety of diet, which, in a great measure through our
traditions, our nature craves. If it is to build cities and temples or
to do the other labors which belong to the building up of the Kingdom
of God, be it so; all this is right, everything in its time and
season.
Brother Taylor has given us a very correct history and statement, with
regard to the line of demarcation between the savage and the
civilized. Civilization is simply the spirit of improvement, in
learning and civil manners. The world may be said to have advanced in
this so far as the arts and sciences are concerned; but, with these,
they have mingled wicked ideas and practices, of which the heathen and
barbarian would be ashamed, and of which they are entirely ignorant.
We now live in the midst of the latter; they do not believe in making
any improvements that will better their condition in the least. Their
forefathers were once enlightened, and their knowledge was in advance
of the knowledge of the present age. These natives belong to the house
of Israel, and are embraced in the promises and covenants made to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but through their forefathers transgressing
the law of God, and breaking their covenants made with God, he hid his
face from them, and they were left alone to follow the devices of
their own evil hearts, until the whole race has sunk deep into
barbarism. It is written in the Book of Mormon: "And because of their
cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of
mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of
prey." The Lord has taken from this race any disposition for
improvement even to this day; the best of them consider it a disgrace
to work. Whatever drudgery is per formed is done by their squaws, or by
slaves captured from neighboring tribes or bands. Ask any of them to
work; the reply is, "me big Indian, me no work." This is their idea
touching greatness. But their ancient Prophets have spoken good
concerning them. It is prophesied by Nephi as follows: "For after the
book [Book of Mormon] of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be
written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there
shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and
they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed [the present
American Indians.] And then shall the remnant of our seed know
concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are
descendants of the Jews. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be
declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored to the knowledge
of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was
had among their fathers. And then shall they rejoice; for they shall
know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their
scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many
generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white
and delightsome people." The laboring man, the ingenious, industrious,
and prudent man, the man who lays himself out to advance the human
family in every saving principle for happiness, for beauty, and
excellency, for wisdom, power, greatness, and glory is the true
benefactor of his race; he is the gentleman, the honorable,
high-minded citizen of the world, and is worthy the society and
admiration of the great and wise among all nations, though he may be
destitute of wealth and title; he is a civilized man.
I wish to say a few words to our young men. My friends, it would give
me great pleasure if you would mark my words well. As quick as you are
old enough, learn to think for yourselves, and to look life's stern
realities fairly in the face, and learn to know yourselves, and your
power and opportunities for doing good. When I was sixteen years of
age, my father said to me, "You can now have your time; go and provide
for yourself;" and a year had not passed away before I stopped
running, jumping, wrestling and the laying out of my strength for
naught; but when I was seventeen years of age, I laid out my strength
in planing a board, or in cultivating the ground to raise something
from it to benefit myself. I applied myself to those studies and
pursuits of life that would commend me to every good person who should
become acquainted with me although, like other young men, I was full
of weakness, sin, darkness, and ignorance, and labored under
disadvantages which the young men of this community have not to meet.
I sought to use language on all occasions, that would be commendable,
and to carry myself in society, in a way to gain for myself the
respect of the moral and good among my neighbors. When I was invited
to drink liquor, I said, as I would now say, "I am much obliged to
you, but I do not use ardent spirits." When young men pursue this
course, they beget for themselves unbounded confidence in their
friends and acquaintances; they can be trusted when money or property
is committed to their care, because they are honest, economical, and
prudent, and will do right; wherever or whenever you meet them, you
will find them bearing the deportment of gentlemen, towards every
person with whom they come in contact, whether old or young. We, of
all people upon the earth, should know, as a community, the best how
to regulate our morals, feelings, and passions. We should know how to
train up our children in the ways of the Lord, that they may be a
credit to us, as parents, and as citizens of the Kingdom of God.
It is a shame to a man, who is made after the image of God, not to
have control over his tongue, in the moments of passion or rage; let
him first overcome and govern his passion, and then trust himself to
speak, whether he be in the presence of his family or alone. "Let your
speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how
ye ought to answer every man." When we speak, let us speak good words;
when we think, think good thoughts; and when we act, perform good
acts; until it shall become the delight of every man and woman to do
good instead of evil, and to teach righteousness by example, and
precept rather than unrighteousness. The men and women who pursue this
course are entitled to all the blessings of heaven, both temporal and
spiritual, and such blessings will be bestowed upon them as fast as
they are prepared to properly apply, use, and enjoy them.
I will here say to parents, that kind words and loving actions towards
children, will subdue their uneducated natures a great deal better
than the rod, or, in other words, than physical punishment. Although
it is written that, "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left
to himself bringeth his mother to shame," and, "He that spareth his
rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes;"
these quotations refer to wise and prudent corrections. Children who have lived in the sunbeams of parental kindness and affection,
when made aware of a parent's displeasure, and receive a kind reproof
from parental lips, are more thoroughly chastened, than by any
physical punishment that could be applied to their persons. It is
written, that the Lord "shall smite the earth with the rod of his
mouth." And again it is written, "A whip for the horse, a bridle for
the ass, and a rod for the fool's back." The rod of a parent's mouth,
when used in correction of a beloved child, is more potent in its
effects, than the rod which is used on the fool's back. When children
are reared under the rod, which is for the fool's back, it not
infrequently occurs that they become so stupefied and lost to every
high-toned feeling and sentiment, that though you bray them in a
mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not their foolishness
depart from them. Kind looks, kind actions, kind words, and a lovely,
holy deportment towards them will bind our children to us with bands
that cannot easily be broken; while abuse and unkindness will drive
them from us, and break assunder every holy tie, that should bind them
to us, and to the everlasting covenant in which we are all embraced.
If my family, and my brethren and sisters, will not be obedient to me
on the basis of kindness, and a commendable life before all men, and
before the heavens, then farewell to all influence. Earthly kings and
potentates obtain influence and power by terrorism, and maintain it by
the same means. Had I to obtain power and influence in that way, I
should never possess it in this world nor in the next.
Fathers who send their little boys and girls on the plains and ranges,
to herd their cattle and sheep, and drag them out of bed very early in
the morning, to go out in the cold and wet, perhaps without shoes and
but scantily clad otherwise, are cruel to their offspring, and when
their children arrive at years of maturity, they will leave the roof
under which they have received such oppression, and free themselves
from the control of parents, who have acted towards them, more like
taskmasters than natural protectors. It is in this unnatural school
that our thieves have their origin, and where they receive their first
lessons in dishonesty and wild recklessness. Mark the path in which a
number of our boys have traveled, from the time they were eight or
ten years of age, to sixteen, eighteen and twenty. Have they been
caressed and kindly treated by their parents, sent to school, and when
at home taught to read good books, taught to pray themselves, and to
hear their parents pray? Have they been accustomed to live and breathe
in a peaceful, quiet, heavenly influence when at home? No. Then can
you wonder that your children are wild, reckless and ungovernable?
They care not for a name, or standing in society. Every noble
aspiration is blunted; for they are made to go here or there, like
mere machines, at the beck and call of tyrant parents, and are
uncultivated and uncivilized. This picture will apply to a few of our
young men. Let parents treat their children as they themselves would
wish to be treated, and set an example before them that is worthy of
you as Saints of God. Parents are responsible before the Lord, for the
way in which they educate and train their children, for "Lo, children
are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be
ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
We are here chiefly for the purpose of encouraging the people of this
Ward, to take out a portion of the waters of Weber, to irrigate the
thousands of acres of excellent land, that is now lying waste around
them. Counting the cost was a practice among the Jews, for, says
Jesus, "which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down
first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to
finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man
began to build, and was not able to finish." But, counting the cost
may possibly be done in such a way, that a man would not allow himself
to perform the least duty of a public character, without first
stopping to enquire whether it will pay, or how much it will cost him;
and if he fails to see an immediate return of an immense interest for
present outlays, he clutches his money or his property, and covets
that which belongs to the Lord, and over which he is only a steward.
It seldom happens, however, that the very excellent practice of
counting the cost—excellent when employed at the proper time and on
proper occasions—is called into requisition when human pride has to be
pampered and satisfied, and thousands, in consequence of not
foreseeing the result of present unwise expenditures, have found
themselves in a state of insolvency, and while in this state they are
robbed of their peace, and have bitterness and gall in the stead
thereof. I would not have the Saints count the cost in the way the
wicked, avaricious world do; for true Saints always have a fund of
faith, to join with their labor and means, which should be taken into
account, and no true Saint will be contented to be curtailed, within
the limited bounda ries which dollars and cents give. "Without faith it
is impossible to please God." It is also written, that, "By faith Noah,
prepared an ark to the saving of his house." That, "through faith,"
the ancients, "subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed
valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens," etc.
Should the brethren say that they cannot bring out the waters of
Weber, I cannot believe them, until they have applied their faith,
their means, and their labor, and then fail in the accomplishment of
the work. I might inquire how much it will cost me and my company to
make the present visit to Kaysville and Ogden City. Nobody will think
of this expenditure; I shall not think of it; my brethren, who
accompany me, will not think of it; it never comes into our minds what
it costs us, but how much good we can do our brethren and sisters, in
encouraging them to faithfully perform every duty of a public and
private character; so, when the Saints are required to embark in any
public enterprise, the word should not be, "can I do it," or "am I
able to do it? What will it cost, and will it pay, etc.?" but, "it is a
work for the public good, and we can do it, by going at it with a will
and determination, that will make every obstacle, imaginary and real,
vanish away."
When we say we cannot do a work, which is embraced within the limits
of possibility, it will generally be found that we cannot do it,
because we are unwilling to do it. If you bring out the Weber, at a
cost of two hundred thousand dollars (I think however, that the work
will not cost that), and you do not cultivate one acre more
than is now under cultivation, and have all the water you need, you
will probably get back the amount of your outlay in two years, and it
may be in the first year. I have not made estimates on this; however,
I am safe in saying that the increase of wealth to this ward will be
immense. You can open a ditch large enough to supply your present
wants, and afterwards you can enlarge it to carry sufficient water, to
give water privileges to new land, on the route of the canal, that
will more than pay for it three times over. We have the choice of two
things: either to supply our farms and city lots with more water, by
bringing out the large streams, or to contract our cultivated land. I
say to the people of this neighborhood, and every other neighborhood
in the Territory, that we cannot keep the grass on our ranges; it is
eaten off; and the roots are died out, and weeds spring up in stead;
let us bring out the waters of our large streams, and fence in our
meadows and ranges, and produce abundance of rich and nutritious
grasses, by watering the land, and judiciously grazing it, and keep
our cattle within our own fields; and in this way people will gain
wealth faster, than by having their cattle running wild, in the
valleys and on the hills; we will also become richer in grain, fruit
and vegetables, and we can better handle that which we have got; but,
at present much of our wealth is out of our reach. I have hundreds of
head of cattle, which I have raised in my barn yard, and cannot use
this means to benefit myself, because it is out of my reach; then we
have between twelve and fifteen hundred head of horses, worth over a
hundred thousand dollars, and yet that property is in such a
condition, that we could not realize one thousand dollars of available
means from that whole band, and we are continually losing animals.
The Lord puts wealth into our hands, and we suffer it to waste,
instead of laying it out to usury, and I have often said to the
Latter-day Saints: let us see to it, how we use the mercies of the
Lord, lest he should give us cursings, instead of blessings. God bless
you Amen.
Sunday, Nov. 13, 1864.
This people, the Latter-day Saints, are of one heart and mind
respecting the spiritual things of the Kingdom of God; in temporal
things they have not yet become so well united. Brother George Q.
Cannon this morning referred to affairs that took place in Kirtland.
Some of the leading men in Kirtland were much opposed to Joseph the
Prophet meddling with temporal affairs; they did not believe that he
was capable of dictating to the people upon temporal matters,
thinking that his duty embraced spiritual things alone, and that the
people should be left to attend to their temporal affairs, without any
interference whatever from Prophets or Apostles. Men in authority
there would contend with Joseph on this point; not openly, but in
their little Councils. After a while the matter culminated into a
public question; it became so public that it was in the mouth of
almost every one. In a public meeting of the Saints, I said, "Ye Elders
of Israel, Father Smith is present, the Prophet is present, and here
are his counselors, here are also High Priests and Elders of Israel,
now, will some of you draw the line of demarcation, between the
spiritual and the temporal in the Kingdom of God, so that I may
understand it?" Not one of them could do it. When I saw a man stand in
the path before the Prophet to dictate him, I felt like hurling him
out of the way, and branding him as a fool. I finally requested them either to draw the line of demarcation between
spiritual and temporal things, or forever afterwards hold their peace
on that subject.
I do not believe it is my prerogative to preach a doctrine I do not
practice myself; neither is it the privilege of any other Elder of
this Church; still we do it. I have frequently requested Legislators,
Councilors, and other public men, never to oppose a principle or
measure, they cannot improve. This is a general rule; but there may be
exceptions.
I defy any man on earth to point out the path a Prophet of God should
walk in, or point out his duty, and just how far he must go, in
dictating temporal or spiritual things. Temporal and spiritual things
are inseparably connected, and ever will be. The first act that Joseph
Smith was called to do by the angel of God, was, to get the plates
from the hill Cumorah, and then translate them, and he got Martin
Harris and Oliver Cowdery to write for him. He would read the plates,
by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, and they would write. They had to
either raise their bread from the ground, or buy it, and they had to
eat and drink, and sleep, and toil, and rest, while they were engaged
in bringing forth the great Work of the last days. All these were
temporal acts, directed by the spirit of revelation.
With regard to Joseph the Prophet being a financier, I will say this
for his credit: if the Saints had gone forth with their whole heart,
mind, and strength, as individuals and as a community, to perform the
labor and the duties Joseph dictated, God would have blessed such to
the people, they having done the best they could. I believe that, as
much as I know that the sun shines. Joseph Smith never tolerated in
the least, indolence, idleness, slothfulness, drunkenness, or anything
of the kind wherein exists sin. There are brethren here who were
personally acquainted with Joseph, and who have known him probably as
long as I have. If ever Joseph got wrong, it was before the public, in
the face and eyes of the people; but he never did a wrong in private
that I ever knew of. In his private instructions to the Saints, the
Angel Gabriel could not have given better instructions than he gave,
and which he continued to do until his death. He gave as good counsel
as the Savior did according to his knowledge; but as to his being as
exemplary as Jesus was, I cannot say, for we know but little of the
life of the Savior. When he entered on the ministry, he was thirty
years of age, and he labored three years. We have only a few items of
the life of the Savior, and of the Apostles; and we have but very
little of the doings and sayings which transpired in the lives of the
ancient Prophets. As to the character of the Savior, I have nothing to
say, only that he is the Savior of the world, and was the best man
that ever lived on this earth, and my firm conviction is, that Joseph
Smith was as good a man, as any Prophet or Apostle that ever lived
upon this earth, the Savior excepted. I wanted to say so much for
brother Joseph.
I care not who plants and who waters, who trades here, or goes to that
city, to trade and do business, who buys goods in the States, or sells
them in these valleys, it is the Lord who gives to every man, that
which he possesses on the earth; it is the free gift of God, whether
we be Saints or sinners. "I returned, and saw under the sun that the
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,
neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding,
nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them
all." "Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth
much good." Men are successful when the Lord blesses them, and strews
their path with success to make them wealthy, this cometh to pass, not
by the wisdom of man, but through the providences of the Almighty.