If the people can hear me as well as I can hear their noise walking,
there will not be much difficulty in my making myself understood. This
walking carelessly with heavy boots makes quite a confusion in the
hall. In addressing the Saints, whether by the word of exhortation,
admonition, correction or in doctrine, it requires good attention for
a person to retain even a small portion of that which they hear. This
is why it is so necessary for us to be talked to and preached to so
much. If we read the Bible, it soon goes from us; we gather principles
and have the pleasure of perusing the experience of others who have
lived in former days; but we soon forget them. Our own cares and
reflections, and the multitude of thoughts that pass through our minds
take away from our recollections that which we hear and read, and our
minds are upon present objects—our woes, our trials, our joys, or
whatever seems to be present with us and directly in the future, and
we forget what we have heard.
When I address the Latter-day Saints, I address a people who wish to
be Saints indeed. I look upon my brethren and sisters, and I think,
what have you come here for? What brought you here into to this
territory—this mountainous country—into these wild regions? Why, the
answer is, at once, "I came here because I was a Latter-day Saint, I
wanted to gather with this people; my heart was with those who had
embraced the Gospel, and I wished to be with the Saints." There are
none who have done so but would like to gather. What for? What
is the object of being a Saint? For the express purpose of enjoying
the blessings of the pure in heart—of those who will be prepared to
dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son. For this I have left
my all—left, perhaps, father, mother, sisters, brothers, friends,
relatives, a good home; in many instances left a wife, left a husband,
left our children for the sake of the society of the Saints. And when
we are gathered together we can look around and inquire of ourselves,
if we are really what we profess to be; do we walk in that path that
is marked out for the faithful and obedient as strictly and as
tenaciously as we should, devoting ourselves entirely to the service
of God, for the building up of his kingdom, and the sanctifying of
ourselves—striving to overcome every evil passion, every unhallowed
appetite; seeking to the Lord for strength to subdue every obnoxious
weed that seems to grow in our affections, and overcome the same to
that degree that we may be sanctified? We can examine ourselves, and
decide upon this question, without asking the counsel of bishop or
presiding elder, or Apostle or any man or woman in this church. We are
capable of deciding this for ourselves.
If any of the Latter-day Saints would like to have the path of duty
pointed out to them in plainness and simplicity, and the road that
leads to perfection marked before them so as to travel therein with
ease, they should seek unto the Lord and obtain his spirit—the Spirit
of Christ—so that they can read and understand for themselves. Do they
love God with all their hearts? Do they keep his commandments? Do we
know whether we do love the Lord? Do we know whether we keep his
commandments? Do we know whe ther we are walking in the path of
obedience or not?
There is a trait in the character of man which is frequently made
manifest in the Saints. It is simply this—to see faults in others when
we do not examine our own. When you see people, professing to be
Latter-day Saints, examining the faults of others, you may know that
they are not walking in the path of obedience as strictly as they
should. For this simple reason—it is all that you and I can do as
individuals, as members in the Church and Kingdom of God, to purify
ourselves, to sanctify our own hearts, and to sanctify the Lord God in
our hearts. It may be observed, or the question may be asked: "Are we
never to know the doings of others? Are we never to look to see how
others are walking and progressing in this Gospel? Must we forever
and forever confine our minds to thinking of ourselves, and our eyes
to looking at ourselves?" I can merely say that if persons only
understand the path of duty and walk therein, attending strictly to
whatever is required of them, they will have plenty to do to examine
themselves and to purify their own hearts; and if they look at their
neighbors and examine their conduct, they will look for good and not
for evil.
It is true that under some circumstances we may have to look at
others. For instance, here is the High Council, they are called to act
upon cases that come before them. Of course their duty, then, is to
examine into the conduct of their brethren and sisters; and this is
required of them. And if they do it without prejudice, without
selfishness, by the power of the Holy Ghost, divested of every
improper feeling, judging righteous judgment between man and
man, the performance of this duty will purify themselves just as much
as any other labor. If a person is not called to sit in the High
Council, he may be called to be a Bishop, and if he is through his
ward, faithfully looking after the wants of the poor, examining into
the conduct of each and every family to know whether they are orderly
and respectable, and whether they conduct themselves accordingly to
the word and law of God, seeing there is no evil, backbiting, mischief
or any conduct unbecoming Christians, he is laboring faithfully in the
discharge of his duty, and is entitled to the Spirit of the Lord to
sanctify his own heart and to purify himself, just as much as if he
were on his knees praying. If an elder is called to go and preach the
Gospel, and he travels over the plains, in a train or in the coach, or
by the railroad, or goes aboard a ship and crosses the ocean, he is
attending to his duty in this just as much as though he were in the
High Council or on his knees praying all the time. If a man is called
to go and labor for the poor, if his Bishop calls upon him to go into
the canyon after a load of wood for the poor, and he goes there, with
his heart uplifted to God, and with his eye single to the building up
of the kingdom, and gets the load of wood and lays it at the door of
the Bishop for the poor, for the widow or for those who cannot help
themselves, he is just as much in the line of his duty in so doing as
though he were on his knees praying. And so we can proceed with the
whole duty of man. No matter what the person is called to do, if it is
to build up the kingdom of God on the earth, if he cheerfully perform
the duty, he is entitled to the Spirit of the Lord —the Spirit of
Truth—the Holy Ghost; and will most assuredly possess the same. There
is a time for preaching, for praying, for sacrament meetings, for
labor, and when we are attending to any or all of these, in the season
thereof, we are entitled to the purifying influence of the Spirit of
God. If a man is called to go and farm, and he goes faithfully about
it, because he is directed to do so by the authorities that are over
him, and he raises his grain, his cattle, and brings forth his crops
to sustain man and beast, and does this with an eye single to the
glory of God and for the building up of his kingdom, he is just as
much entitled to the Spirit of the Lord, following his plough, as I am
in this pulpit preaching, according to the ministry and calling, and
the duties devolving upon him. If a man is called to deal in
merchandise for the benefit of the people of God; in traveling to buy
his goods, and looking after them and their safety until they reach
their place of destination, and distributing those goods to the Saints
and taking his pay for them, let him act with an eye single to the
glory of God and the upbuilding of his kingdom on the earth, and he is
as much entitled to the Spirit of the Lord and the Holy Ghost as a man
is preaching. If a man is called to raise stock, and to procure
machinery to manufacture the clothing that is necessary for the
Saints, and he goes at that business with his eye single to the
building up of the kingdom of God on the earth, he is entitled to the
Spirit of the Holy Gospel, and he will receive and enjoy it just as
much as if he were preaching the Gospel. Will he have the spirit of
teaching and expounding the Scriptures? No, he has the spirit to know
how to raise sheep, to procure the wool, to put machinery in operation
to make the clothing for the advancement, benefit, and building
up of the people of God on the earth. And the Spirit of the Lord is
here in these labors—farming, merchandising and in all mechanical
business just as much as it is in preaching the Gospel, if men will
live for it.
Suppose we bring a few illustrations in regard to the present feelings
and knowledge of the elders of Israel. We need not go back to Nauvoo
or Kirtland, to find illustrations among our merchants, but take them
as we find them here. If they enter upon their business without God in
their thoughts, it is "How much can I get for this? And how much can I
make on that? And how much will the people give for this and for that?
And how last can I get rich? And how long will it take me to be a
millionaire?" Which thoughts should never come into the mind of a
merchant who professes to be a Latter-day Saint. But it should be,
"What can I do to benefit this people? And when they live, act, and do
business upon this principle, and think, "What can I do to benefit the
kingdom of God on the earth, to establish the laws of this kingdom, to
make this kingdom and people honorable, and bring them into note, and
give them influence among the nations, so that they can gather the pure
in heart, build up Zion, redeem the House of Israel, and perhaps
assist (though I do not thinks there will be any need of it), to
gather the Jews to Jerusalem and prepare for the coming of the Son of
Man?" And labor with all their might for their own sanctification and
the sanctification of their brethren and sisters, they will find that
the idea of, "How much can I make this year? Can I make sixty thousand
dollars? Can I make in my little trade a hundred thousand dollars?"
never would enter their minds; they never would think of it. But I am
sorry to say they do not. Our merchants may turn round and ask us if
we expect them to make anything. Yes, we are perfectly willing they
should get rich; no matter how rich they are, but what will you do
with those riches? The question will not arise with the Lord, nor with
the messengers of the Almighty, "How much wealth a man has got, but how
has he come by this wealth, and what will he do with it?"
I can reveal things to the people, if it would do any good; give them
the mind of the Lord if they could hear and then profit by it, with
regard to wealth. The Lord has no objection to his people being
wealthy; but he has a great objection to people hoarding up their
wealth, and not devoting it, expressly, for the advancement of his
cause and kingdom on the earth. He has a great objection to this.
And our mechanics, do they labor for the express purpose of building
up Zion and the kingdom of God? I am sorry to say that I think there
are but very few into whose hearts it has entered, or whose thoughts
are occupied in the least with such a principle; but it is, "How much
can I make?" If our mechanics would work upon the principle of
establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth, and building up Zion,
they would, as the prophet Joseph said, in the year 1833, never do
another day's work but with that end in view. In that year a number of
Elders came up to Kirtland; I think there were some twenty or thirty
Elders. Brother Joseph Smith gave us the word of the Lord; it was
simply this: "Never do another day's work to build up a Gentile city;
never lay out another dollar while you live, to advance the
world in its present state; it is full of wickedness and violence; no
regard is paid to the prophets, nor the prophesyings of the prophets,
nor to Jesus nor his sayings, nor the word of the Lord that was given
anciently, nor to that given in our day. They have gone astray, and
they are building up themselves, and they are promoting sin and
iniquity upon the earth; and," said he, "it is the word and
commandment of the Lord to his servants that they shall never do
another day's work, nor spend another dollar to build up a Gentile
city or nation."
Now, if anyone is disposed to ask whether Brother Brigham has ever,
since then, worked a day, or half a day, or an hour, to build up a
Gentile city or the Gentile world, he will most emphatically tell the
Latter-day Saints that he never has.
I could illustrate by circumstances, and could relate if I were
disposed to give them to you, the providences of God, and how
favorable they are to those who walk humbly before him. In the summer
of 1833, in July, Brother Joseph gave the word of the Lord to the
Elders, as I have been telling you. I returned east; and in September
Brother Kimball and I went up together with our little families. When
we arrived in Kirtland, if any man that ever did gather with the
Saints was any poorer than I was—it was because he had nothing. I had
something and I had nothing; if he had less than I had, I do not know
what it could be. I had two children to take care of—that was all. I
was a widower. "Brother Brigham, had you any shoes?" No; not a shoe to
my foot, except a pair of borrowed boots. I had no winter clothing,
except a homemade coat that I had had three or four years. "Any
panta loons?" No. "What did you do? Did you go without?" No;
I borrowed
a pair to wear till I could get another pair. I had traveled and
preached and given away every dollar of my property. I was worth a
little property when I started to preach; but I was something like
Bunyan—it was "life, life, eternal life," with me, everything else was
secondary. I had traveled and preached until I had nothing left to
gather with; but Joseph said: "come up;" and I went up the best I
could, hiring Brother Kimball to take my two little children and
myself and carry us up to Kirtland. In those days provisions and
clothing were as dear as they are now in this place; and a mechanic in
that country who got a dollar a day and boarded himself was considered
rather an extra man. A dollar a day! And my brethren when they have
three or five dollars a day, and have worked a year, will be sure to
come out four or five or six hundred dollars in debt if they can get
it. We did not live so in that country; we never used anything more
than our means. When I reached Kirtland I went to work as soon as the
word was that I could work and not preach. I knew that I could get
plenty; for I knew how; I always could gather around me and make
property.
There were some thirty or forty Elders gathered to Kirtland that fall;
but there was only one mechanic in the entire number whom I knew that
did not go to Cleveland and the neighboring towns to work during the
winter—for the simple reason, that they thought they could not get one
day's work and get their pay for it, in the place Joseph was trying to
build up—and that exception was your humble servant. I made up my mind
that I would stay in Kirtland, and work if I never got a farthing for it; and I went to work for Brother Cahoon, one of the
Trustees of the Temple, to build his new house. I worked all winter,
and when spring came, was called upon to go to Missouri—a tramp of a
thousand miles on foot—and a thousand back. Before going, the brethren
gathered in who had been to the surrounding places during the
winter—joiners, painters, masons and plasterers. I asked some of the
brethren how much they had made? I had worked there through the
winter, and at its commencement had not the least prospect of getting
twenty-five cents for my winter's work. I told Brother Cahoon I would
work whether I could get anything for it or not, "for," said I, "the
word of the Lord is for me to work, to build up Zion, and poor as I am,
I shall do it." But the Lord opened the way; and I gained Brother
Cahoon's heart to that degree that if he received anything he always
came to me, and said, "Brother Brigham, I have so and so, and I will
divide it with you." Brother William F. Cahoon and I kept to work at
the house until his father got into it. When we had finished the
house, he had paid me all that was coming to me. The Lord had opened
the way. This work finished, another job came, and then another, and
when the spring opened, I can safely say that there was not any four,
nor perhaps any six or ten of the brethren who had gone elsewhere to
work who could produce as much property, made by them through that
winter, as I had made.
You can see from this the providences of God, with one winter's work
in Kirtland, when it was one of the hardest places that ever mortal
man had to get a living in, and that too, when I had to work for
nothing and find myself, that is, seem ingly so, to all outward
appearance.
I had my pants and coats, two cows, a hired house, and a wife in the
meantime. And I was better off than any other man who came to Kirtland
the fall before, according to the property that we came with, and I
had enough to live with my family and leave them comfortable, and my
gun and sword and money enough to pay my expenses. If I had no work to
do, and there was nobody to hire me, there was plenty of timber and I
made some bedsteads or stands, and if anybody wanted such things they
would come along and say, I will give you a little oats or a little
corn, or something or other for them, and so the Lord opened the way
most astonishingly.
I tell this, because it is an experience I am acquainted with, for it
is my own. I am not so well acquainted with the providences of God in
the experience of others, as I am with my own, except by faith and the
visions of the Spirit.
I stayed in Kirtland from 1833 till 1837; I preached every summer.
Here are brethren who know what I am saying. I traveled and preached,
and still went back nothing; but was willing to exchange, deal, work
and labor for the benefit of my brethren and myself, with the kingdom
and nothing else before me all the time. When I left there for
Missouri, I left property worth over five thousand dollars in gold,
that I got comparatively nothing for. I could travel along, with
regard to my experience, to this valley. I left my property in Nauvoo,
and many know that I left a number of good houses and lots and a farm,
and came here without one farthing for them, with the exception of a
span of horses, harness, and carriage, that Almon W. Babbit let me have
for my own dwelling house that my family lived in; and when I
arrived here I owed for my horses, cows, oxen, and wagons. Now, the
brethren say—"Why, Brother Brigham you are rich." I simply relate
this to show yet how I have lived and what I have been doing, and the
result, that God, and not I, has brought forth. Now, I have some four
or five grist mills, besides saw mills and farms; and let anyone ask
my clerks if they ever hear me mention them from one year's end to
another, unless somebody comes into the office and alludes to them;
but my mind is upon increasing the wealth and advancing the interests
of this people, and upon the spread of the Gospel on the continents
and the islands of the sea. Ask my clerks and my closest associates if
they ever hear me mention my individual property unless somebody
speaks about it. I own property, and I employ the best men I can find
to look after it. If God does not give it to me, I do not want it; if
he does, I will do the very best I can with it; but as for spending my
own time in doing it, or letting my own mind dwell upon the affairs of
this world, I will not do it. I have no heart to look after my own
individual advantage, I never have had; my heart is not upon the
things of this world.
Excuse me for referring to myself. But I know that there is no man on
this earth who can call around him property, be he a merchant,
tradesman, or farmer, with his mind continually occupied with: "How
shall I get this or that; how rich can I get; or, how much can I get
out of this brother or from that brother?" and dicker and work, and
take advantage here and there—no such man ever can magnify the
priesthood nor enter the celestial kingdom. Now, remember, they will
not enter that kingdom; and if they happen to go there, it will be
because somebody takes them by the hand, saying, "I want you for a
servant;" or, "Master, will you let this man pass in my service?"
"Yes, he may go into your service; but he is not fit for a lord, nor a
master, nor fit to be crowned;" and if such men get there, it will be
because somebody takes them in as servants.
I have now related a little of my own experience. My experience has
taught me, and it has become a principle with me, that it is never any
benefit to give, out and out, to man or woman, money, food, clothing,
or anything else, if they are able-bodied, and can work and earn what
they need, when there is anything on the earth for them to do. This is
my principle, and I try to act upon it. To pursue a contrary course
would ruin any community in the world and make them idlers. People
trained in this way have no interest in working; "but," say they, "we
can beg, or we can get this, that, or the other." No, my plan and
counsel would be, let every person, able to work, work and earn what
he needs; and if the poor come around me—able-bodied men and
women—take them and put them into the house. "Do you need them?" No;
but I will teach this girl to do housework, and teach that woman to
sew and do other kinds of work, that they may be profitable when they
get married or go for themselves. "Will you give them anything to
wear?" O, yes, make them comfortable, give them plenty to eat and
teach them to labor and earn what they need; for the bone and sinew of
men and women are the capital of the world.
If I could see my brethren and my sisters as willing to be taught, led,
and directed in the little trifling affairs of life, with regard to
their food, raiment, houses, and labors, and how to make
themselves useful and not waste their time and strength on that which
does them no good; if I could see this people as willing to be taught
in these things as they are in the great things—the revelations of the
prophets, and what Jesus has said, and the beauties of eternity, and
the excellency of the millennium, and what great men and women we are
going to be, that would be delightful. But what would you be good for
if you were in that condition? Nothing. What would you do? Nothing at
all. Learn to be good for something. We have these things to learn
here, or, if not here, somewhere else; and if we are not willing to
learn here, and practice what we know for the benefit of ourselves,
and improve on the grace God gives to us, how can he bestow his
blessings upon us in the next state of existence? He will not do it;
we have to learn and be willing to be taught here.
To return to the subjects of merchandising and merchants. I know, and
knew sixteen years ago as well as I do today, that from the very
first the merchants who came here were laying the foundation for the
uprooting of this people unless we had exceeding great faith; and that
every dollar that was given to them was given to ruin you and me, and
to destroy the kingdom of God on the earth. Can you believe this? "I
do not know anything about that," says one, "but I think I shall go
where I call buy my calico the cheapest, and I do not know that it is
any of your business where I buy my ribbons, hats or coats; I think
that it is my business." It is just as much my business, Latter-day
Saints, to dictate in these things as it is in regard to the sacrament
we are partaking of here today. Do the people know it? It is strange
to them. Because your priests in England, France, Germany, in the
Eastern or Southern states, and the islands of the sea, did not preach
such doctrine, you cannot receive it. Did they preach baptism for the
remission of sins? No. Then why receive it? Our fathers and priests
did not preach any such doctrine as that a man has a right to dictate
in temporal matters. Now by the same kind of reasoning, it might be
proved that you could never receive the doctrine of baptism for the
remission of sins. Why? Because the priests did not preach it; your
fathers did not tell you that it was correct doctrine, and why did you
receive it? Well, you did receive it, and the Spirit of the Lord bore
witness that it was true. The Spirit also bore witness that you should
have hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and that
the gifts of tongues, of prophecy, of faith, and the healing of the
sick were to be enjoyed by the Saints. Now ask the Father in the name
of Jesus whether I am telling you the truth about temporal things or
not, and the same Spirit that bore witness to you that baptism by
immersion is the correct way according to the Scriptures, will bear
witness that the man whom God calls to dictate affairs in the building
up of his Zion has the right to dictate about everything connected
with the building up of Zion, yes even to the ribbons the women wear;
and any person who denies it is ignorant. There is not a man or woman
in the world who rises up against this principle but what is ignorant;
all such are destitute of the spirit of revelation and enjoy not the
Spirit of Christ.
Do I want to dictate? No, I am just as far from that, naturally, as a man can be; it is not in my heart. How glad would I be to be
excused from this. Would I not rejoice to be left to mind my own
concerns, and to attend to my own business, providing for the wants of
my family and enjoying myself just as much as you? Yes. But the Spirit
prompts me to perform the labors which devolve upon me, to plead with
and urge the people to act for their own benefit. If this people would
hearken to the counsel given them, and be of one heart and one mind
in their temporal affairs, can you not see the result? These men who
have been urging trouble upon us, writing lies, and whose whole study
is to destroy the kingdom of God from the earth would not be in our
midst. Why? There would be nothing for them to do. "No;" says the
sister, "if I give you ten dollars profit on your goods, you use that
for the destruction of this kingdom that I think so much of." "No;"
says a brother, "if I give you one dollar or one thousand dollars
profit on your goods, you use that for the destruction of the kingdom
of God that I am willing to sacrifice everything for. I cannot give
it to you, it is not reasonable to think that I must give this to
you."
"But," says the merchant, "I demand it of you."
"Yes, but I have just
as good a right to go where I please to trade as you have to trade,
and I shall give my ten, hundred, or thousand dollars to the man who
would devote that means to the building up of the kingdom of God." I
do not say that all our merchants, mechanics or tradesmen are
precisely as they should be before the Lord with regard to devoting
their means. Touch their means, and in many instances you touch their
souls. Still what does that prove? It proves that they are wrong and
not right. And they should be right and their whole souls should be
centered on the building up of the kingdom of God. There are many
persons here who when they get five hundred or five thousand dollars,
want to bring a few wagon loads of goods here to speculate upon. Why
not bring machinery here? Why not raise silk? Through my own exertions
I have the mulberry tree growing here in great abundance. The
foundation is at length laid for making as much silk as we wish. But
we have to tease the women to get them to weave silk here as they did
in the old country. Have we no ladies here who can weave silk ribbons?
If not we can soon send for some. But no, the manufacture of silk is
not thought of; it is, "How shall I get money to spend with my
enemies?" "How rich can I get this year?" "How much can I make out of
this people?" I am sorry to see it; it is not very creditable; for in
so doing, we foster our enemies in our midst—they who seek with all
the power they have to uproot us. You who have been in the Church
thirty or thirty-five years know that there has always been a set of
scavengers following the people to pick up what they could; and they
are with us here to collect the filth. Are they willing to go and
build up a city for themselves? No; they are not. I am speaking of
those who deserve this; but there are many that are not of those
speculators. Are they willing to go and take up a farm? No, they would
not give a farthing for a farm unless they obtain a "Mormon's" claim
and bring about a fight in getting it. The latter they can do very
easily; they can find all the fight they want. Their designs are to
interrupt this community; they want some gambling houses, and they
will have them. The City Council is no more willing now than
ever to license gambling houses and grog shops; but it must be done,
and all hell is stirred up if I ask the people to suppress them. What
do they want them for? They want what they call "civilization" —that is
fighting, gambling, killing, whorehouses, drinking houses, and every
species of debauchery that can be imagined on the face of the earth.
That is their "civilization," and what they want introduced here.
These scavengers are here and they want to introduce their systems.
There are not a great many of them perhaps at the present time; but
they will follow up, and I can tell the Latter-day Saints that we will
be followed just as long as the devil reigns on the earth. He is
untiring in his exertions, fervent in every act possible, for the
accomplishment of his work. If the people would take the counsel given
them, health, wealth, influence, and power among the nations of the
earth would surely come to them in a tenfold degree to what it ever
has; it would come in such a manner that you would not know what to do
with it, and you would wonder and be astonished. "But no," say many,
"we will mingle with, live among, and nourish and cherish the servants
of the devil, and give our money to, and associate with, and have his
coadjutors in our midst." And so we have got to continue to labor,
fight, toil, counsel, exercise faith, ask God over and over, and have
been praying to the Lord for thirty odd years for that which we might
have received and accomplished in one year.
"I do not know," says one, "how to do better than I do." The
Lord has
given you and me the privilege of gathering up from among the wicked.
"Come out of her my people," are some of the last words revealed
through his servant John in the last of the revelations given in the
New Testament. And one of the last writers we have here in this
book—John the Revelator—looking at the Church in the latter days,
says: "Come out of her, my people" —out of Babylon, out of this
confusion and wickedness, which they call "civilization."
Civilization! It is corruption and wickedness of the deepest dye. It
is no society for you, my people, come out of her. Gather out where
you can pray, where you can have meetings and sacraments; where you
can meet, associate, and mingle together; where you can beautify the
earth and gather around you the necessaries of life, and make
everything as beautiful as Zion, and begin to establish Zion on the
earth; sanctify yourselves, sanctify your houses, the lands that you
live upon; your farms, the streams of water that flow through your
cities, country places and farms; sanctify your hills and mountains
and valleys, and the land around about, and begin to build up Zion.
Now, "come out of her, my people," for this purpose, "and partake not
of her sins, lest ye receive of her plagues." After all these
revelations and commandments the people who profess to be Saints will
mingle with the wicked, and foster those who would cut their throats,
and feed and clothe, and give them everything they can gather
together.
How is it if you come down to the acts of the people? Will the women
knit their own stockings, and make their own clothing? Some of them
may try to do so; but as a general thing, no. It is: "Husband, I want
some money to go to the store to buy a bonnet; I will not be troubled
with braiding the straw; I want some shoes, frocks, and pants for my
boys, and I will not be at the trouble of spinning this dirty wool."
And the man will not be at the trouble of raising it.
That is not the way to get rich. If you wish to get rich, save what
you get. A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and
dispose of it to his own advantage. Then go to work, and save
everything, and make your own bonnets and clothing. And let our
merchants do their business for the building up of the kingdom of God.
If our merchants do not take this course, the time is not far distant
when they will be cut off from the Church. Let them go their own road.
If they think that a little money or property will pay their way into
the kingdom of God, they may try it. They will find themselves
mistaken; they will miss the gate and take another road. The same will
apply to our mechanics—if they will not labor for the building up of
this kingdom, instead of working to get rich, they will miss the gate
of the celestial kingdom, and will not get in there unless we take
them in for servants. I do not care whether a man is a merchant or a
beggar, whether he has much or little, he must live so that neither
the things of this world, nor the cares of this life will becloud his
mind, nor exclude him from the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ;
but all, whether merchants or preachers, tradesmen or farmers, and
mechanics and laborers of every kind, whether they work in the ditch,
or building post and rail fence, must live so that the revelations of
the Lord Jesus are upon them; and if they live not according to this
rule, they will miss the kingdom they are anticipating.
You may think this is pretty hard talk; but recollect the saying of
one of the Apostles, when speaking about getting into the kingdom of
heaven, that "if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear?" The best man that ever lived on
this earth only just made out to save himself through the grace of
God. The best woman that ever lived on the earth has only just made
her escape from this world to a better one, with a full assurance of
enjoying the first resurrection. It requires all the atonement of
Christ, the mercy of the Father, the pity of angels and the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ to be with us always, and then to do the very
best we possibly can, to get rid of this sin within us, so that we may
escape from this world into the celestial kingdom. This is just as
much as we can do, and there is no room for that carelessness
manifested by too many among us.
I do not wonder at this people having trouble; I do not wonder at some
of our sisters having sorrow in what is termed plural marriage; for
they do not live so as to have the Spirit and power of God upon them;
if they did, they would see its beauty and excellence, and not a word
would be said against it from this time henceforth and forever. But
they see this with a selfish eye, and say, "I want my glory and my
comfort here;" their eye is not on the resurrection and on the kingdom
we are looking for when Jesus will come and reign King of nations as
he does King of Saints.
With regard to the wealth of this people, I can say they would soon
get immensely rich if they would take the counsel that is given them.
For instance, here is one little circumstance: we have quite an outlet
for our grain; our oats, barley, and flour are very much wanted in the
neighboring Territories. Who raised this grain? The Latter-day Saints.
Suppose they were perfectly united, do you not think they could get a suitable price for it? They could. We required Brother Hunter
to counsel the Bishops to take measures to bring about union in this
direction, and we saved for the Territory two or three hundred
thousand dollars a year for two or three years. Then business
slackened; but I was satisfied; we had shown the people what could be
done; they have became comparatively well off, and if they have a mind
to pursue a proper policy, they have matters in their own hands. Many
will not, however, do this. One says, "I want to sell my oats; how much
are they selling at?" "They are selling at one dollar and a quarter
today; but there is nobody buying." "How much will you give?"
"Well,
I'll give you a dollar;" and so they are sold; we are so anxious for
the money. There is a story, which I have told before, but it will do
to tell again. Four years ago a certain sister took down a hundred
pounds of flour to the square, hearing that flour was being sold
there; but owing to the number of sellers, reduction in price had been
continually going on. Our sister, however, determined to sell at any
price, said "you can have my flour for one dollar," and she actually
sold her hundred pounds of flour and the sack for one dollar. One of
the brethren, who had recently arrived here, went on to the square,
and saw a load of wheat for sale. He inquired of the owner how much he
asked for his wheat. The owner of the wheat told him, and a bargain
was made for it. Before they reached the house of the purchaser, the
seller suspected he had sold to a "Mormon;" and, upon inquiry, finding
it was so, "ah" said he, "had I known that you belonged to the Church
I should have made you pay for it." Such little things as these are
like straws—they tell which way the wind blows. If the people would
only take the counsel given them, instead of there being people in our
midst, in want, or that could be called poor, there would not have
been a family in the whole community, but would have been so far above
want that it might have been safely said, hard times would come again
no more. Every man and woman wishes to work for his or her own
interest, but they do not know how, they do not know what is for their
best interest and greatest good.
Now, we are here to build up the kingdom of God, and for nothing else;
but here are our enemies determined that the kingdom of God shall not
be built up. I have often thought that I ought not to blame them so
much. They have had possession of this earth some six thousand years;
the devil has reigned triumphant, and without a rival has held
possession; the wicked rule all over the earth, and they have had
possession of this little farm, called earth, so long that they think
they are the rightful heirs, and inherit it from the Father. But the
Lord has said that the Saints should possess it. And when Joseph
translated the Book of Mormon, and revealed the Gospel as it was among
God's children on this continent anciently, that was the starting
point. The Lord said, "I am going to establish my kingdom; my open foe
has had possession of this earth long enough, and I am going to show
all the inhabitants of the earth, saint and sinner, good and bad, that
it is time for Jesus, according to his promise, sufferings, and death
to commence to redeem the earth and those who will hearken to his
counsel, and bring them forth to enjoy his presence."
The enemy has had possession of the earth a great while, and they
really feel as though it is their right, and that they are the legal
heirs.
If this Gospel goes to the uttermost parts of the earth and fulfills
its destiny as predicted by the Prophets, by Jesus, and by the
Apostles, it will eventually swallow up all the good there is on the
earth; it will take every honest, truthful, and virtuous man and woman
and every good person and gather them into the fold of this kingdom,
and this society will enlarge, spread abroad, and multiply, and will
increase in knowledge until the members composing it know enough to
lengthen out their days and man's longevity returns, and they begin to
live as men did anciently.
This people are spreading and increasing, and religiously—so far as
the ordinances of the house of God are concerned—they are of one heart
and one mind.
How is it politically? Do they vote the Democratic ticket or do they
take the Republican side of the question? I rather think that so far
as voting is concerned they are of one heart and one mind; then they
are one religiously and politically. "Oh," say our enemies, "what will
be the result if this people are let alone? The idea of such a thing
is rather fearful." Another man says: "I wish they could be let alone
for a hundred years, just to see what they would amount to." "But,"
says another, "I should not; I tell you if those people prosper as
they seem to do, I am not going to hold my place in a national
capacity." The Priests in their pulpits, from the holy Catholic down,
say, "If this religion is right, ours is wrong, and it is terrible to
us to see the prosperity that prevails in their midst, and to know
that they are of one heart and of one mind."
Now, then, here comes this party, and say to us, "You do not own a
farm on this earth; we have had power on the earth so long, and shall
still reign, and every foot of it shall be divided among us and our
adherents." "It is true," say they, "that in the days of Moses the
Lord did once send a messenger to preach the Gospel to the children of
Israel, but our master had such power in their midst that they would
not receive the kingdom." In the days of Abraham, also, long before
the days of Moses, the Lord revealed the principles of the kingdom,
but they would not have them. And even before that the Lord delivered
the principles of the kingdom to Noah, but they were not received by
his posterity. Enoch and his band received sufficient of those
principles to lead them on step by step till they were so far
perfected that the Lord took them from this earth; and down from Enoch
to Noah, Abraham and Moses and the children of Israel in the
wilderness; these latter, however, would not have the Gospel.
If you turn over this Bible you may read that when the children of
Israel would not receive the Gospel, the Lord gave to them what is
called the law of carnal commandments. In that he tells them whom a
man shall not marry; you can read it for yourselves—he shall not marry
his wife's mother, nor her sister, nor his wife's aunt, &c. Previous
to this the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, through
Abraham, Isaac, and through Jacob and the twelve patriarchs never to
marry out of their own families. But they would run over yonder to a
strange nation and worship other gods, and bring back a wife, or two,
or three into a family; and then go into another nation and
worship idols, and bring their corruption into the midst of Israel,
till at length they became so alienated and estranged from the
principles of righteousness and the Holy Gospel, that when Moses
delivered to them the principles of life and salvation they utterly
rejected them, and this is the reason the Lord gave to them the law of
carnal commandments.
We are raising up a little party by ourselves; we are actually getting
a people here not of the world. We are gathering out of the world, and
assembling together, and we have the right to purchase a farm, build a
a city or inhabit a Territory or State. But it is grievous for the
other party to bear. Yet we "Render unto Caesar the things that are
Caesar's;" we pay our taxes and keep the laws of the land. I do not
know that I blame them for exercising all their ability to prevent
Jesus from coming to reign King of nations as he does King of Saints.
They have so long held the reins of government with undisputed sway.
They have swept over the earth and have controlled all its inhabitants
so long that I do not know that I can blame them for feeling, "We do
not like these Latter-day Saints to increase. It is dangerous, very
dangerous. If they are going to trade with themselves—have merchants
of their own, and not going to trade with us, it is a terrible thing.
If they are going to be permitted to buy land and occupy it, the
nation ought to take it in hand. If they are going to cease licensing
gambling houses, the nation ought to take it in hand." I cannot blame
them so much for feeling so—they see the danger.
They are for themselves and their master, and if they let the Saints
alone it will be, as it was said in the days of Jesus, "If we let him
thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and
take away both our place and nation." So it will be with the
Latter-day Saints; if they are let alone, their doctrine will spread
and prosper till it gathers up all the truth in the world; it will
gather every good person in the world and will save and preserve them
from the ravages of the enemy.
As I said here, once, with regard to preaching the Gospel, a very
simple person can tell the truth, but it takes a very smart person to
tell a lie and make it appear like the truth. Go into the sectarian
world with their systems called religion now before the people; it
requires a very learned and talented man to make it appear anyways
commendable to the hearts of the honest, so far as doctrine is
concerned. When we come to the doctrines that Jesus taught, they are
what can save the people, and the only ones on the face of the earth
that can. In conversation not long since with a visitor who was about
returning to the Eastern States, said he, "You, as a people, consider
that you are perfect?" "Oh, no;" said I, "not by any means. Let
me
define to you. The doctrine that we have embraced is perfect; but when
we come to the people, we have just as many imperfections as you can
ask for. We are not perfect; but the Gospel that we preach is
calculated to perfect the people so that they can obtain a glorious
resurrection and enter into the presence of the Father and the Son."
Our doctrine embraces all the good. It descends to the capacities of
the weakest of the weak; it will teach the girl how to knit, and to be
a good housekeeper, and the man how to plant corn. It will teach men
and women every vocation in life; how they should eat; how
much to eat; how to feed, clothe, and take care of themselves and
their children; how to preserve themselves in life and health. But you
will ask, how? By close application, and learning from others, and
obtaining all the knowledge possible from our surroundings, and by the
assistance of the Spirit, as all who have introduced art and science
into the world by the aid of revelation. The Gospel will teach us all
that variety that we see before us in nature—the greatest variety
imaginable. One sister would get up a certain fashioned bonnet, and
another one another fashion; one would trim it in a certain way, and
another in another way. When the brethren build their houses, the
styles would be different; and in walking through the city one would
see a vast variety in the gardens, in the orchards, in the walks and
in the houses. The same variety would exist in the internal
arrangements of the houses. We should see this variety with regard to
families—here is one's taste, and another's taste, and this constant
variety would give beauty to the whole. Thus a variety of talent would
be brought forth and exhibited of which nothing would be known, if
houses and dresses and other things were all alike. But let the people
bring out their talents, and have the variety within them brought
forth and made manifest so that we can behold it, like the variety in
the works of nature. See the variety God has created—no two trees alike,
no two leaves, no two spears of grass alike. The same variety that we
see in all the works of God, that we see in the features, visages, and
forms, exists in the spirits of men. Now let us develop the variety
within us, and show to the world that we have talent and taste, and
prove to the heavens that our minds are set on beauty and true
excellence, so that we can become worthy to enjoy the society of
angels, and raise ourselves above the level of the wicked world and
begin to increase in faith, and the power that God has given us, and
so show to the world an example worthy of imitation.
May the Lord bless you. Amen.