It is good to meet together as we are met on the present occasion. It
is good to speak on the goodness of God, and it is pleasant and
instructive to hear; we enjoy a privilege that is not possessed by any
of the inhabitants of the earth except ourselves; it is a privilege
which, when properly understood by the Saints, they will esteem to be
greater than any other earthly blessing that can be bestowed
upon them. We assemble together in a different capacity from that of
any other people; we meet here as the representatives of God upon the
earth. Yet occupying the high position that we do, blessed as we are
with the light of truth, with the Holy Priesthood, with the fulness of
the everlasting Gospel; in possession of light and intelligence that
is not imparted unto others, but of which they are ignorant, we stand
emphatically as God's elect, as His representatives on the earth; at
the same time, there is mixed up with us a great amount of weakness,
infirmities, and follies, and we need continually the aid, teaching,
and protection of the Almighty God to govern, guide, lead, and direct
us in the right path.
As I before stated, we stand in a different position to the Almighty
and to the world from that of any other people. To us God has revealed
his will; He has opened the heavens to us; among us He has organized
the Holy Priesthood, and revealed those principles which exist in the
eternal world; of us He has made messengers of life and salvation, to
us He has communicated his law, and from us He expects obedience and a
ready cooperation with Him in bringing to pass those great events
that must transpire in the building up and establishment of the
kingdom of God in the last days. The Lord is anxious to do us good, to
enlighten our minds, to inform our judgment, to unfold unto us His
will, and to strengthen us and prepare us for the great events that
must transpire in these last days. He is desirous to show us how to
save ourselves, how to bless ourselves, temporally and spiritually,
intellectually, morally, physically, politically, and in every
possible way that He is capable of bestowing his blessings upon fallen
humanity. He is desirous to perform a great work upon the earth, to
bring about a great revolution among men; to establish correct
principles of every kind, and to make the earth and the inhabitants
thereof fulfil the measure of their creation, and prepare all that are
capable or worthy to receive everlasting life and exaltation in the
celestial kingdom where he dwells. He is desirous of making use of us
as his instruments in the development of this great work in which He
has engaged.
We have been in the habit of reading the words of the prophets in
relation to the establishment of the kingdom of God, and what they
have said, and the Spirit, by which they were inspired. We have
reflected a good deal upon what the Lord would do in relation to
establishing correct principles upon the earth in the last days. We
have read about these things, and we have believed them in part; and
as the Spirit of God has beamed upon our minds, lately we have been
enabled to comprehend more fully some of the things that the prophets
in ancient times wrote about, but of which they understood very
little, and we can only understand them as we are taught; we can only
comprehend the designs of God as he reveals them to us; we can only
understand our duty as the Spirit of God makes it manifest, either
through the Elders of Israel or by the revelations of God to
ourselves, or both.
It is in vain for the Elders of Israel to teach the principles of
truth unless the people are prepared to receive them; and it is vain
for the Lord to communicate his will unto the people unless the people
possess a portion of his Spirit, to comprehend something of that will
and the designs of God towards them, and towards the earth upon which
they dwell. Nor can the Lord work with them unless they are
prepared to cooperate with him in the establishment of his kingdom
upon the earth.
There are a great many things of which we speak that seem to be very
simple, and very unnecessary, in the estimation of some, for us to
talk about. We have heard in this Conference reports from different
parts of the Territory about their crops, about the way the land is
cultivated, about the kind of improvements the people are making,
about the prospects that lie before them for sustaining themselves
with all the common necessaries of life, etc. And some people think
that we might, when we convene together, talk about something
else—about something which they would designate as being more
spiritual. We meet together as men of intelligence, as men possessing
natural wants, who have natural bodies, which bodies have to be
clothed, to be fed and provided for; we meet together as rational
individuals and as heads of families, who have children growing up
that need, in the first place, to be instructed in the common laws of
life, and in those things that are necessary to promote our common
well-being. The first thing that devolves upon all human beings, so
far as I can comprehend it, is to provide a way for their own
sustenance. One of the very first commandments that God gave to Adam
was, when He placed him in the garden, He told him to dress or till
it, so that he might be able to provide for his necessities. The fiat
of the Almighty, at the time when Adam was expelled from the Garden of
Eden was to him, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread;" that
we cannot avoid. By this inscrutable law we are compelled to attend to
some of the first necessary affairs of life, or to go without bread
and necessarily die. Consequently, when we talk about land and
posses sions, an inheritance, etc., we talk about things that are some
of the first necessaries pertaining to human existence. We live by
breathing the air that God gives us, by drinking the water that He
causes to flow for our sustenance, and by cultivating the earth in
order that we may partake of the products of the earth. This is one of
the first duties pertaining to man, and hence when we meet together to
form new settlements as part of the body politic—as part of the
kingdom of God, it devolves upon all of us always to ascertain how we
can sustain ourselves in the position in which we are placed. Hence,
when we hear of any difficulties, such as we have heard of in the
south at various times, and from other sources, pertaining to the
existence of man, it causes a thrill of feeling to go through the
whole of the people that form part of the kingdom of God; for if one
member of the body suffers, they all suffer with it; and if one member
of the body rejoices, the rest rejoice with it. When we hear from the
south, as at the present time, that they are raising their bread, and
that there is every reasonable prospect of them being enabled to
sustain themselves, we feel comforted by the report. When we hear from
the north of the destruction made by the early frosts, and yet,
notwithstanding this disaster, of the prospects that lie before them,
and the encouragement that they hold out to us of the prosperity of
their settlements there, and that they will be able to provide for
themselves, we feel comforted thereby, and feel thankful to the God of
Israel that He is providing for and taking care of his Saints.
We believe that the kingdom of God is a temporal kingdom as well as a
spiritual and eternal kingdom, to use this expression according to our
comprehension; and when men are deprived of the common
necessaries of life, and have not wherewith to sustain themselves,
they have but very little time to attend to religious matters, and
they cannot be of much benefit to their brethren in helping to
establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. But when, on the other
hand, we see that the Saints are blessed in the north, in the south,
in the east and in the west; when we see them industrious,
persevering, diligent, and using all lawful measures to provide for
themselves, and their families, and those that depend upon them; and
when we see them cultivating the Spirit of God in them and living
their religion, cleaving close to the Almighty and drawing blessings
from his hand, then we acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and
feel to bless the name of the God of Israel. Every one of these things
is of great importance to the Saints of God, and we feel interested in
all these matters. Are they prospering in the south? We acknowledge
the hand of God in it. Is the climate tempered in the north? We
acknowledge the hand of God in it. Do the rains descend upon our
parched land and cause it to bring forth luxuriantly? We acknowledge
the hand of God in it; and so we do in everything that we see, and in
everything that we have to do with; for we read "that the wrath of the
Almighty is kindled against none but those who do not acknowledge his
hand in all things."
We are gathered together here as a peculiar people; we differ, as I
stated before, in almost every respect from the world of mankind with
which we are surrounded. The Lord gives to them seedtime and harvest,
summer and winter, and pours the rich blessings of heaven into their
laps; He gives them mechanical talent and ingenuity; He inspires them
with a knowledge of the arts and sciences; He has been pouring upon
them the rich blessings of intelligence and of plenty for ages, but
they do not acknowledge his hand. Men boast of their own intelligence,
of their own wisdom, of their own power, might, and understanding—this
is a general rule, with but few exceptions. They feel a good deal like
the king of Babylon did when in his pride he rose up and said, "Is not
this great Babylon, that I have built? Have I not done these things by
my wisdom, by my intelligence, by my power and might?" With us it is
different. We are indebted to God for the first rays of light and
intelligence that ever beamed upon us. Who among us knew the first
principles of the Gospel of Christ until we heard them from the Elders
of Israel? There is not a man among us that did; there is not a man in
existence today that knows them, only as they have been communicated
to him from God. Who told us that it was right to be baptized in the
name of Jesus for the remission of sins? Who taught us it was right to
receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? Who taught us that
it was right that there should be an authority given by God to man to
enable him to officiate legally in His name, and that everything in
the shape of religion upon the earth was spurious and not of Him? It
was communicated to Joseph Smith by the opening of the heavens, by the
ministering of Holy Angels, and by the voice of God. Until that voice
was heard, until these communications were made known, the inhabitants
of the world were wrapped in ignorance; they knew nothing about God
nor the principles of eternity, nor the way to save themselves nor
anybody else.
We have nothing to boast of in this particular. I do not speak of
these things by way of boasting, but I speak of them to acknowledge
the hand and mercy of God towards us as a people. What would a
man give in exchange for his soul? We are told that a man will give
all he hath for his life; what will he give, then, in exchange for his
soul, or has he anything to barter for it? What is it that hath loosed
us from the shackles of ignorance, error, superstition, and folly with
which we were bound? It is the light of heaven, the revelations of
God, the ministration of the Holy Priesthood that has imparted to us
intelligence in relation to these things; without this it is
impossible that we could follow anything in relation to them. Who is
there in the world that understands anything of God, or his will? They
cannot be found; they know nothing of Him. It would be needless to
talk about the folly of many of their priests, and their ideas and
notions in relation to these matters. What do they know of God? They
tell us he is a spirit. What else? That He is without "body, parts,
and passions." Some tell us that He sits on the top of a topless
throne, etc. It is not necessary to enter into these matters; we know
them, and we do not wish, at the present time, to reflect upon them. I
am simply reflecting upon my own ignorance as one of them. When I
was among them I was a teacher, and what did I know? Simply nothing. I
knew nothing of God, of the principles of eternal truth and life, and
I could not find anybody anywhere that knew any more than I did. I am
indebted to "Mormonism," to the light of truth, to the revelations of
God, to the administrations of the Holy Priesthood, for all the
knowledge, and light, and intelligence that I may possess in relation
to these matters; and this is the case with all of us; we were all
unacquainted with God, with the Holy Priesthood, and with the way to
obtain eternal life; and the same ignorance that becloud ed our minds,
previous to the opening of the heavens to Joseph Smith, and the coming
forth of the fulness of the Gospel through him, beclouds the rest of
the world at the present time. They know not where they are going to,
nor where they came from. I used to ask myself sometimes questions
like the following—Who am I? Where did I come from? What am I doing
here? What is the object of my existence? Who organized the world, and
for what purpose was it organized? Could I answer them? No; and nobody
else could answer them for me; for they know nothing about these
things—neither priest, nor philosopher, nor statesman, nor any man
that I could associate with, could unravel these questions; they could
not tell the whys and the wherefores in relation to some of these
simple things that have been given to us.
The Gospel, we are told in one place, is "the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus," and "it hath made us free from the law of sin
and death." We are told in another place that it is "good news and
glad tidings;" but, if we comprehend it correctly, the Gospel holds
the keys, through the Priesthood, of the mysteries of God; the Gospel
"brings life and immortality to light;" and wherever it exists, in
whatsoever bosom it dwells, whoever has engaged in the propagation of
the Gospel, has a knowledge of life and immortality; it is that which
unveils the heavens, and without it men are ignorant in relation to
the future, and of that salvation of which they talk so much. The
Gospel places men in communication with the Lord, so that they can
understand something of God, and something of His law, and without the
Gospel they cannot understand anything about Him; and hence some will
think one thing about Him and some another. Whoever has possessed the Gospel, whether in former or in latter times, it has
brought life and immortality to light, to them; it shows men who they
are and what they are; it shows them something about God; and it was
said in former times that, this is life eternal to know God, and Jesus
Christ whom he hath sent. Without the Gospel it would be impossible
for men to have any knowledge of God, or of Jesus Christ whom he hath
sent. Hence, when Jesus asked the question of his disciples, "Whom do
men say that I the Son of man am?" they answered him, "Some say thou
art Elias, and some say thou art Moses, and some that thou art one of
the prophets risen from the dead." "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter
answered, "Thou art the Son of the living God." Jesus said unto him,
"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven; and thou
art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it."
How did Peter know that He was the Christ? He knew it by revelation;
he had the Gospel, and the Gospel brings life and immortality to
light, and reveals unto the human family the existence of a God and
their relationship to him. We are indebted to God for light, for the
intelligence we enjoy, for the knowledge of the Gospel that is placed
within our reach.
Now let us proceed a little further in relation to these matters. God
is desirous of benefiting us, and for this reason he has revealed unto
us his will; for this reason he has opened the heavens and
communicated with us. God is desirous of establishing his law, his
authority, his kingdom, his dominion among men. He is desirous to be
obeyed by the human family, and to have them submit to his teachings,
to his guidance, and to his direction. He is desirous of establishing
correct principles among mankind that will do them good, that will
bless them, that will exalt them, that will prepare them to fulfil
their destiny upon the earth, and the first step that he has taken is
to impart unto them, through obedience to the principles of the Gospel
of Christ, the Holy Ghost, and only through that can they comprehend
God or his laws. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God; and except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God." We sometimes feel a little indignant
at the actions of men around us; we think that they act strangely, and
so they do. We think that they are very full of prejudice, and so they
are; we think that they are very wicked and show a very malignant
spirit toward us, and are desirous to injure us, and we have often
been astonished at this when we have been abroad in the world; we have
seen very honorable, high-minded men and women that fear God and work
righteousness, and yet there is an array of prejudice and persecution
against them that would almost astonish us. What is the matter? They
do not see things as we see them; there is a thick veil over them;
they are something like the people that Jesus spoke about in his day,
when he prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they
do." They know not the light and intelligence of the Holy Ghost, and,
consequently, they do not understand our position, and they are led by
other influences they know nothing about. They do not see the kingdom
of God, nor can they. I do not care what their wisdom is, nor their
intelligence; I do not care what school they were taught in, or who
was their teacher; I care nothing about the extent of their capacity,
reading, or intelligence acquired or possessed; unless they
have possessed the Spirit of the living God, they cannot comprehend
the affairs pertaining to the kingdom of God. Well, but are there not
many very honorable and high-minded men in the world that are not
Latter-day Saints? Yes; but they do not see the kingdom of God any
more than Nicodemus did when he came to Jesus by night. We stand upon
a different platform from what they do, and we have to make many
allowances for their conduct and actions towards us. They do not
understand our designs, nor what we are after. Why are we gathered
together? Because God has called us and we are willing to obey him;
because God sent a message to the nations of the earth, and we
possessed a portion of the Spirit of God; and when the Elders of
Israel came forth to teach us the words of life, as Jesus says, "My
sheep hear my voice, and they know me," etc., the word of life was sown
broadcast among thousands, and millions of the human family arose and
believed it at first, as much as you and I did; but the cares of the
world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the influences with which
they were surrounded, choked the precious seed, and it could not bring
forth fruit. These influences, more or less to the present time, prey
upon our minds and darken and benumb our feelings, and interpose
between us and our Heavenly Father.
What is it that we are aiming at, and who are we seeking to injure in
the world? Who have been injured by us? There is no man living who can
speak the truth and say he has been injured by this people. He does
not exist; and whenever they make statements of that kind, you may
brand them as liars. Who have we interfered with? What people have we
deprived of their rights? Among whom have we sown the seeds of
sedition or injury of any kind? Have we gone to the North or South and
interfered with any of the Territories or States surrounding us? No
man that tells the truth can say so, for we have never done it; we
have no need to do it; it is not in our hearts to do it; we cannot do
it while we live our religion. The Lord is trying to teach us, if he
can, and we are trying to teach each other, if we can; so that we may
be elevated and exalted in the scale of intelligence, morality,
virtue, honesty, and truth; and with regard to anything and everything
that tends to exalt and ennoble the human mind. This is what we are
after, and what the Lord is desirous to make of us.
We emanated from Him; we are His children, and not only His children
temporally and spiritually, but we are united to Him by covenant to
serve Him; we have covenanted to serve Him in baptism; we have
covenanted to serve Him in our endowments, to keep His commandments,
and walk according to the laws of life.
The Lord is desirous to root out error from among us—from me, and from
you, and from all of us; to tear away error, and superstition, and
vice, and vanity, and folly, and pride, and evil of every kind; to
show us the beauty of holiness, the excellency of truth; to show us
every principle that is calculated to build us up, and bless us with
life and health, and our posterity after us, worlds without end.
And what does the Gospel show us? It shows us who our Father is; it
shows us our relationship to Him, and to our earthly father; it shows
us our duty towards our children, our duty towards our wives, and
wives their duty towards their husbands; it enters into all the
ramifications of human existence.
As God is our Father, and the organizer of these bodies, and of this earth on which we live, He wants to teach us all, principles
that will be calculated to exalt us and exalt the earth on which we
live. If anybody has any fault to find with us in any part of the
world, it is that we seek to fear God and work the works of
righteousness; and if we cannot be swayed from the principles of truth
by any power under heaven, our society is ignored.
How often has it been told us, "Gentlemen, if you would only lay aside
your religion and become like us, and live as we do, then we will all
be good neighbors together." How often have we had to listen to such
stuff and nonsense; like them, serve the devil, commit iniquity, go
down to darkness and the shades of death, and live and die without God
and without hope in the world, as they would have us to do, and die
and be damned. God forbid, we will not do it. (Amen.) Our desire is to
serve God; we know the ways of life, for God has taught them to us. We
know in whom we have believed, for God has revealed it to us. We know
the Gospel is true, because the Gospel has made manifest itself to us,
and we feel satisfied with regard to the course we are taking, and God
being our helper, we will pursue it to the end. God is our friend, and
we are the friends of God.
It was said this morning that we might all be Abrahams. Abraham was
the friend of God; we are the friends of God, and if we are not his
friends, he cannot find them on the earth; if we are not his friends,
he cannot find friends who dare do as we do—who dare cleave to the
truth in the midst of shame, obloquy, persecution, and reproach. But
we still live, and the truth still lives, and the kingdom of God still
exists; and when the kingdoms of the world crumble to pieces and
"become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and no place
found for them," we shall still live; for we have within us the seeds
of eternal life, and no man can take them from us.
We have begun to live forever, and feel to rejoice and be glad under
all circumstances, and to sing "Hallelujah, for the Lord God
omnipotent reigned, and will reign, until he hath put all enemies under
his feet." We are striving to help God to do that which he desires to
do; and what is that? It is to benefit mankind.
How often have we heard President Young, President Kimball, and others
say to the people, "Why not go to work and plant orchards, it is a
very little thing to talk about; why will you not make good fences,
and make good gardens, and build good, comfortable houses, and try to
make yourselves happy and comfortable." We now see the fruits of these
things, and we begin to eat the fruits of our obedience to those
instructions and to realize the benefit of them: our fields teem with
plenty, our peach trees, and apple trees, and plum trees are laden
down with fruit, and we possess the good things of this earth in
abundance. Is there any harm in all this? We are taught, also, to love
one another; there is nothing bad about that. Husbands are taught to
love their wives, and wives are taught to love their husbands, and
children to obey their parents; these are good principles, and they
have been taught to us all the day long. We have been taught to pay
our tithing, that we might acknowledge to God that we are his people,
and that if he gave us all we ask, we might give one-tenth back to
him, and by that act acknowledge his hand. Does the Lord care about
these things? No. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. No. He does not care about them,
so far as they benefit Him, but He does, so far as they develop
perfection in the Saints of God, and show that they acknowledge his hand as the author and the giver of every blessing they enjoy.
One of the prophets says, "The gold and the silver are His, and the
cattle upon a thousand hills." If you want gold, you will have to go a
little further away from here. People think it is strange that the
"Mormons" do not develop the gold in these mountains; but those who
understand the mind of God, understand that he has a protecting care
over his people, and that we are in his hands, and that he will
sustain us.
That we do not develop the gold in these mountains is not strange to
the Saints of God. He has wisely planned for our sakes in a thousand
ways. We can remember the time when we could not raise peaches to eat,
and it was a doubt whether an apple tree would grow or not. Now go and
look at your orchards; there is not a better peach growing country in
the world than this. How is this? God has blessed the elements for our
sakes, and also the earth; but let the Saints leave this place, and it
would return again to its wilderness condition; the wicked could not
live here; they could not live here before we came, and they could not
if we went away; consequently, if any of them think that they could by
any means or stratagem drive us away to possess themselves of our
property, it would not do them one particle of good if they got it,
for God blessed it for our sakes. He blesses the land for our sakes.
It is hard sometimes to realize this. What does the Lord say to
ancient Israel in one place? "Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye
hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy
God shall keep with thee the covenant and the mercy which He sware
unto thy fathers: And He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply
thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy
land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine,
and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware to thy fathers
to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not
be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle." "The Lord
shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten
before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee
before thee seven ways." Then the curses are enumerated that should
come upon them if they forsook the Lord their God and observed not his
statues. While the children of Israel obeyed the Lord their God the
land abounded in wine, corn, and oil, and they vanquished their
enemies. When they departed from God and disobeyed his laws, those
calamities which were promised them through disobedience fell upon
them to the very letter even to this day. Their temple was destroyed,
and not one stone left upon another, as the Savior told, and the
ground upon which it stood was plowed up by the Romans in search for
gold which they expected to find there.
It is sometimes hard for us to realize that we are in the hands of
God, and that he controls, and manages, and guides our affairs. This
is the thing we wish to understand, and wish the people to understand
that our confidence is in Him. People talk sometimes about what they
are going to do with the "Mormons," and the rumor flies that we are
going to be rooted out, destroyed, and overthrown. We shall, when God
says so, and not before. The Lord knew in former times how to put a
hook into the jaws of the enemies of Israel, and he knows just as well
where to place it today. The nation in which we live and all nations
are in the hands of God; and so are we, and our enemies cannot help
themselves nor avert the destiny that awaits them. He will
accomplish his purposes towards them, and they cannot help it, and
towards us, and they cannot help it. Then we are all in the hands of
God, like clay in the hands of the potter, to be molded, and trained,
and fashioned according to the designs of God and according to his
will.
As it regards any of those outside influences, we need not fear in
relation to them; we need not fear anything they can say and do, for
they can do nothing but what God permits. He will let them wander
about on Ham's Fork, and live on mule flesh for a while; and they were
a little independent about things and would not take a little salt
when we sent it to them; did they harm us? Did they destroy us? No.
Why? Because God would not let them. He controlled them, and He now
controls and governs kings, and rulers, and magistrates, and generals,
and officers, and authorities, though they may not know it; but He
says unto them, as He said to the waves of Jordan, "Hitherto shalt
thou go, and no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed."
We are in the hands of God, and we are trying to do the things God
requires of us to do, and that is, to establish his kingdom and his
laws—his government. Where do we get the laws of God from? We get them
by revelation through the medium He has appointed; and if we keep
these laws, the blessing of God will be with us, His Spirit will
attend us, He will bless us in all our endeavors, and we shall bring
to pass the great designs of the Almighty that have been spoken of by
the Holy Prophets. It is for us to keep the commandments of God,
whether they refer to temporal or to spiritual things; whether they
relate to this world or to the world to come. We should seek to know
God and cleave unto him, carry out all his purposes, and he will lead
us in the paths of life.
I am glad that the Spirit of the Lord rests upon the President and
people at this Conference. We are here to talk about these things, to
preach, and sing, and pray, and commune with one another and with the
Lord, and to try to get full of the Spirit of light, that we may go
from this Conference and communicate it to others.
May God help us to do his will and keep his commandments, in the name
of Jesus. Amen.