We have been in the habit of looking contemptuously on the sectarian
world, so far as their habits appear to us to be indications of
hypocrisy. Among them men take great pains to seem to be religious.
They will put on a long face, a sad countenance, and on the Sabbath
day they will endeavor to seem to be very holy. But as soon as the
Sabbath has gone by, a great many men will not scruple to commit the
most outrageous acts of dishonesty and corruption, thinking, perhaps,
by being so very good on the Sabbath day, that the wickedness and
corruption of the remaining six days will be sanctified and justified.
Well, we have looked contemptuously upon a spirit of this kind, and in
so doing some of us may have failed to appreciate, as we ought, the
importance of observing the Sabbath day. We may have felt that it was
a tradition that we and our fathers had inherited from the sectarian
world. There are many instances of our brethren failing to observe the
Sabbath day. Some going to the canyon on a Saturday for wood or
lumber, knowing that they could not return with their loads until
Sunday; or going out to hunt cattle when they knew they could not
accomplish what they desired without breaking the Sabbath. I feel a
desire to call the attention of the Conference to the consideration of
this subject, because it not only involves a commandment given in the
law of Moses, and endorsed by the New Testament, but it has been also
enjoined upon us by revelation, through Joseph Smith in the present
generation; and if we neglect it we have no right to expect the
blessings of God to that extent that its observance would ensure. We
find on the 149th page of the Doctrine and Covenants something
on this subject, to which I wish to call the attention of the brethren
and sisters. It reads as follows:
"Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and
strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither
commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it. Thou shalt
thank the Lord thy God in all things. Thou shalt offer a sacrifice
unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart
and a contrite spirit. And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself
unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and
offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day
appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions
unto the Most High; Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in
righteousness on all days, and at all times; But remember that on this,
the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments
unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before
the Lord.
"And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be
prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect,
or, in other words, that thy joy may be full. Verily, this is fasting
and prayer, or, in other words, rejoicing and prayer."
I read this simply to call your attention to the law as it has been
given to us through Joseph Smith, our Prophet, and to impress upon the
minds of the Elders the necessity of observing it.
We find it also enjoined upon us in a portion of section 4, of a
revelation on page 160, of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, which
reads as follows:
"And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to
keep it holy."
I have felt that it was necessary to call the attention of the
Saints—the brethren especially, to this subject, because I believe it
affects us in various ways. We should come together on the Sabbath day
and partake of the Sacrament, and we should do no work, but what is
necessary to prepare food for ourselves, or to feed our animals. We
should observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, and if we do it
faithfully we shall live longer; for my impression is, saying nothing
about the commandment of the Lord, that nature requires one-seventh of
our time for rest, and that when a man has worked fifty-two Sundays in
a year, he is at least fifty-two days older than he needs to be, and
has not done as much work during the year as if he had worked only six
days a week and had rested the seventh. I hope our brethren will
hereafter make their calculations to observe the Sabbath and thus act
in accordance with the law of God. The evidence is plain on the face
of the Book of Mormon, that when men commence to live in accordance
with the laws of the gospel, as the people of Nephi did for about two
hundred years after the Savior visited the land Bountiful, they shall
begin to be stronger and to live longer. Amos, the son of Nephi, kept
the records on the plates of Nephi eighty-four years, and his son Amos
kept them one hundred and eleven years: Book of Mormon, pages 494-6,
sections 8 and 11. Previous to this period the Book of Mormon shows
that the Nephites were a short-lived race. The observance of the
Sabbath, as well as the observance of every other commandment of God,
has a tendency to prolong human life. There is nothing to
prevent us commencing, by observing the Word of Wisdom, to lengthen
our days, in accordance with the words of the prophecies of Isaiah,
which says, "for as the days of a tree are the days of my people."
There are several subjects I wish to refer to in addressing my
brethren in Conference. One of them is the emigration of the poor from
Europe, which was agitated last Fall Conference. Some of the brethren
have contributed liberally, and sufficient means has been collected to
aid a considerable number; but nothing like what was desired. Yet with
what has been raised here, with that which may be possessed by some
who are partly able to help themselves, we expect to bring five
thousand adults to the railway terminus. We also expect to raise the
wagons, mules and oxen necessary to fit up teams, and the necessary
provisions and teamsters, guards and arms, to go from here to the
terminus of the railroad, and bring home the brethren and sisters and
their children who may gather to that point. We also want to make
plans and calculations, and every man and woman throughout the
Territory should feel that it is a part of their duty to contribute
his or her share to accomplish this; and then to lay a foundation for
setting all these people to work at something that will enable them to
live and acquire a competence as well as return the means expended in
bringing them here. Those indebted to the Perpetual Emigration Fund
should feel the importance of paying their indebtedness; and those who
are not indebted should feel alive and awake to the accomplishment of
this object. It is a great and glorious work which we have undertaken,
and it will never do for us to be discouraged and leave it half done.
There is another subject under consideration, which weighs very
heavily upon the minds of the Saints. The Word of Wisdom recommends us
to use the flesh of animals sparingly. The law of Moses prohibited to
Israel the use of swine's flesh; but in the Gentile world at the
present day it is considered superior, as food, to almost every other
kind of flesh. And even among us, with the education and training that
we have received, there is a great deal of it used. It seems to be a
pretty general idea among the people that swine's flesh can be more
easily raised than any other; but there is no doubt that, with proper
care and attention, other kinds of meat might be produced with equal
facility. For some reason God, by special law, prohibited its use to
the children of Israel; and it certainly seems desirable that we
should also discontinue its use, as within the past few years in some
countries where a great amount of pork has been consumed the people
have been afflicted with a kind of pestilence—a disease which is
considered incurable. It is therefore wise and prudent for us to adopt
plans to procure supplies from other sources. In some countries the
culture of fish has recently been introduced. It was commenced, in the
first place, by sportsmen for the purpose of increasing the amusement
of anglers; but the French government, under the reign of the present
Emperor, have commenced to stock the rivers of France with fish for
the purpose of increasing the supply of healthful food to the people.
This is being done successfully in New England, where rivers were
formerly well stocked with salmon and other varieties of fish, though
for many years they have become extinct. Laws have been passed in New
Hampshire, Maine and other Eastern States, requiring the
owners of mills to construct fishways over their dams, so that fish
can pass freely up and down the streams, the dams having heretofore
effectually prevented this.
Persons have also been employed to restock the rivers, and in this
way many choice varieties of fish have been again successfully
introduced. The real fact is, they are as easily raised as hogs, if
the proper attention is paid to them. Our beautiful lakes—such as Utah
Lake and Bear Lake—our rivers, and even our springs can, with a very
little trouble and expense, be made to yield an immense quantity of
this healthful food. I wish to call the attention of the Bishops and
Elders, at home and abroad, to the propriety of studying this
question; and if they lack information on the subject just let them
drop a note to the Hon. W. H. Hooper, our Delegate at Washington, and
ask him to furnish information on the culture of fish. He has it in
his reach through the Bureau of Agriculture, and can send it under his
own frank, and that will put you in possession of the information you
require. You can feed fish as well as hogs, and they will eat a great
many things you are little aware of, and with a little trouble you can
procure that which will furnish an agreeable and healthy change in our
diet.
I also wish to advise our brethren—the Bishops especially, to
consider the propriety of taking proper measures for the production of
poultry. Their flesh is agreeable and much more healthful as food than
using great quantities of pork, as we are compelled to do in many
instances.
I will also call the attention of the congregation to the subject of
raising silk. We are anxious to dress in broadcloth, and to wear fine
clothing; but there is a difficulty in the way of our sending abroad
for them, for we have scarcely anything that we can send to purchase
the necessary material; hence the necessity of taking measures to
raise it here. The revelation given to the Church years ago to let the
beauty of our garments be the workmanship of our own hands, although
it has not remained a dead letter, has never been fully complied with;
and it is time that we, as a people, should be thinking of some new
industry by which the kinds of clothing we desire may be produced, and
also have a production or staple of some kind that we can send abroad
that will bring us wealth in return, instead of sending away all our
money, and bringing nothing back.
It has been proven by a few years' experience that the mulberry tree
grows in this country; the climate agrees with it, and it grows
rapidly and thrives well. It has also been proven that the silkworm is
healthy in this climate, and experiments have proven the fact that
silk of a fine quality can be produced here in abundance. Now, silk
has commanded gold in all ages. It once would pay for transportation
overland on the backs of animals from the frontiers of China to the
west of Europe; and silk garments have been considered so delightful
that they were worth their weight in gold. And in consequence of the
high esteem in which it has ever been and is yet held, the trade in
silk is still very remunerative. We would like to see our wives and
daughters clad in the most delightful silk, but we cannot get it; and
yet it can be cultivated and produced by their own nimble fingers, in
this climate, just as easily as flax or wool, and at very little more
expense. Several years ago in the States there was quite an excitement
on this subject; but it proved a failure. The reason was that in many
of the States where the experiment was tried the climate was
too severe for the culture of the proper varieties of the mulberry;
they would kill with the winter frosts, and then the summers were too
damp or rainy for the healthy production of the worm. Our climate is
peculiarly fitted in these respects. Our dry summers and mild winters
are both suitable, and there is not a doubt but as fine silk may be
produced here as anywhere in the world. President Young has taken
pains to introduce the mulberry. He sent to Europe and obtained the
proper kind of seed. It can be grown from the seed and multiplied to
any extent from the cuttings. Our brethren in every ward should take
this matter in hand and plant out these cuttings, and send for the
silkworms, and set in operation a new branch of industry, which will
employ us some six weeks or two months in the summer time in feeding
and taking care of the worms; the residue of the labor—winding and
manufacturing the raw material into silk can be conducted through the
year. Millions of dollars worth of silk might thus be annually
pro duced in this Territory, from labor that now counts very little.
The feeble, the aged, the lame, and almost any person, no matter how
weakly, might be employed at this business; and silk always fetches
such a price that it would pay us for sending it abroad, in addition
to the amount we might use.
It is just as easy for us to clothe ourselves with silk, the
workmanship of our own hands, as to go ragged. Then, I feel it,
conscientiously, to be a duty we owe to ourselves as a people, and the
obedience we owe to the revelations of the Lord that we should add
this industry to the branches we have already commenced.
We should also take care of our sheep, and continue to erect woolen
manufactories, and never relax our efforts in the cultivation of flax,
hemp and cotton, for all these articles in their time and season are
indispensable; and with the whole of them put together—the silk, wool,
flax, hemp and cotton, we need ask no odds of mankind for clothes to
wear, however beautiful we may choose to make them.
- George A. Smith