Thirty-eight years ago the Prophet Joseph Smith, in a little upper
room in Father Whitmer's house, Fayette, Seneca County, New York
State, gathered six men together by commandment of God, and proceeded
to organize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perhaps
this was the smallest number with which a church was ever organized.
But the Savior compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed,
which, He said, is the least of all seeds, but which, when grown,
becomes greater than all herbs, so that the fowls of the air can lodge
in its branches. From this small beginning the Latter-day Saints have
become a great people. That which has brought this about, specially,
has been the fulfilling of the commandments of God, given through
Joseph and the ancient prophets, in reference to the gathering of His
people from Babylon in the latter days. One reason assigned by the
Lord for the gathering of His people is set forth in the revelations
of St. John, where He says, "Come out of her O, my people that ye be
not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
This, in a few words, explains the chief reason for the Lord requiring
His people to gather together. But the prophets Isaiah and Micah
assign another good reason—they predict that the mountain of the
Lord's house in the last days shall be established in the tops of the
mountains, and the nations shall flow unto it, saying. "Let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, for
He will teach us of His ways, that we may learn to walk in his paths."
These two scriptures show unto us that the Lord has required His
people to gather in the last days, that they might escape the sins of
the wicked, and the plagues which shall be poured out upon them, and
that they might be taught in His paths, taught to govern themselves,
to correct their foolish habits and customs, and to train themselves
and their offspring that they may be able to build up Zion according
to the law and order of Heaven.
We have already made a commendable advance in this direction. I
rejoice in moving to and fro among this people to see the spirit of
improvement manifested by them in both temporal and spiritual things,
and the increase of unity in their midst. Yet there is still room for
further improvement in all these matters. There is one principle which
fathers and mothers, and the Elders of Israel generally, should
understand and teach to their children, that is, what trials and
tribulations this people have passed through to establish themselves
in this, their mountain home; and that these things have been borne
for the Kingdom of Hea ven's sake and not for filthy lucre's
sake. Had it been gold or silver or worldly comfort we had followed
after, we should not have gathered together; but should have been
scattered through this wicked world. We left these worldly
considerations when we embraced the gospel and emigrated to this
country. Yet our common foe is on the alert to neutralize our efforts
and to draw away our young men, and many of the middle aged who have
forgotten the testimony of Jesus and have ceased to realize that this
is the work of God, and when they hear reports of the discovery of
gold or silver, or think they see a chance to make money by digging
for gold or by freighting, they launch forth and strike hands with
unbelievers, engage in their enterprises, and neglect the good work of
God. This ought not to be. Our young men are heirs to the priesthood
and of all the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant, and they
ought not to employ themselves in building up the kingdom of darkness
or spending their strength with unbelievers. But I suppose it is all
right to have these temptations spread before us, in order that the
people may be proven more effectually. It is important that our young
men, and all Israel who do not thoroughly understand these principles,
should be taught, so that the love of the gospel may be uppermost in
their hearts.
I am persuaded that the Lord is perfectly willing that His people
should possess every good thing the earth will afford, orchards,
gardens, vineyards, houses, carriages and every other good thing, to
be enjoyed with thanksgiving and used with prudence and judgment. I am
aware that the hosts of hell have sought to control the wealth of the
world, and Lucifer has ever sought to allure the righteous, as he did
the Savior when he offered Him the kingdoms and wealth of the world if
He would only fall down and worship him. It becomes the Elders of
Israel, young, middle-aged or old, to imitate the example of the
Savior, in saying, "Get thee behind me Satan." As to the riches of the
world they belong to the Lord, and He gives them to whom He will. If
we are determined to devote our lives to the kingdom of Heaven, and
not to this world, we shall in due time inherit all that is good for
us to inherit; and unless we realize the objects of our existence, and
learn to govern and control our spirits so as to devote ourselves and
our energies and all the means given to us to build up Zion, then the
good things of this life would be wasted upon us comparatively.
During the progress of this Conference there have been various means
of industry and enterprise spoken of and presented for the
consideration of the people, such as the producing of wool, flax,
hemp, cotton and silk, and the introduction of machinery for the
manufacture of the raw material into the various fabrics necessary for
the use of the people in cold and warm weather. The subject of
developing the mineral resources of our Territory is one of great
importance. Iron, copper, coal, lead, zinc, and tin abound in our
mountain home, and the development of these minerals is of far more
importance to the welfare and prosperity of a nation, than the
development of mines containing the precious metals; for the latter
are limited in their use, while the grossest metals are those that, in
their uses, enter into all the ramifications of life. The discovering
and opening of gold and silver mines tempt the cupidity of the blind
worshippers of mammon, and spread corruption among the people. The
prayers of every good man and woman should ascend to God, that
in Zion these precious metals may be covered up and concealed until it
is His good pleasure for His Saints to possess the kingdom, so that
they may be governed and controlled by the righteous instead of the
wicked.
There is much neglect in some of the distant settlements on the part
of our foreign brethren, with regard to taking out their
naturalization papers. The word "white" is stricken from the
Constitution of Deseret, and when the citizens of African descent are
admitted to the polls, the adopted sons of America who have come here
to obtain homes for themselves and their posterity, should not be
indifferent respecting the rights of citizenship and neglect to take
the steps necessary to secure to themselves the full privileges
pertaining thereto.
The emigration of the poor has commended itself to the hearts and
feelings of the people, and I am sure that their liberal response to
the calls made upon them last October will do much to commend them to
the favor of Heaven, and to secure the blessing of the Lord upon the
labor of their hands. Let us continue in this great work, and let
every bishop and elder exert himself in his sphere, to encourage the
people to send in their available means of every kind, that our
President and those whom he calls to assist him may be able to carry
out the glorious program that he has adopted for the gathering of
the poor. Let the people in every ward be awake and alive to this
subject, that neither provisions nor teams for the outfit may be
lacking when the time comes to send for the poor. If the people find
that their plans for freighting and other business are thwarted to
some extent in doing this, they will in the end find themselves
richer, for the Lord has given us abundant evidence in times past that
He controls the avenues of wealth and prosperity to this people. And
who need fear the locusts and grasshoppers? Have we not been tried in
these things before? And if it is essential that we should be again,
all right. I can say with David of old, "I have not seen the righteous
forsaken nor his seed begging bread." The Lord has said, "it is my
business to provide for my Saints," and if He does not do it we
certainly cannot. We may plow, sow, and irrigate, but we cannot give
the increase. And if the blade grows, it may wither or the locusts
devour it; and if they do God directs them, for there is not a sparrow
which is not fed by our Father in Heaven, neither does a hair of our
heads fall to the ground without being numbered; neither is there a
locust that is not cared for by Him who rules all things, and He can
dispose of them as seems to Him good. He can move them east, west,
north or south, and can destroy or multiply them at pleasure. And He
can preserve our crops; but He certainly will not do it unless we
adopt the measures He has ordained. We must plow and sow and plan and
leave the event with Him. He will not forsake His people, and He will
provide for the multitude that we may gather up.
We may exert ourselves to the utmost to gather the poor and send forth
our teams to bring them to our homes and He will provide abundance for
us to feed them and ourselves and the locusts that He sends among us.
And when the locusts have eaten enough, He will bid them leave,
providing we are not overanxious to transport our substance to feed
the wicked and build up hell in our midst. If the Lord thinks that the
locusts will be less offensive and do less harm than herders of the
ungodly in our borders, I am contented to feed them, provided
our people will cease feeding their enemies. I do not mean that we
shall cease feeding the hungry, no matter whether he is Saint or
sinner; but cease to feed and build up the wicked who will not labor
with us to develop the resources of the country and help to build up
Zion. God has called us to turn away from the folly of sustaining and
building up Babylon—the worshippers of mammon—those who have no
interest in common with us in establishing Zion and building up the
Kingdom of our God upon the earth.
With regard to the aborigines of this continent, there are several
prophecies in the Book of Mormon to the effect that they will one day
become a pure people; but that will not take place until the fulness
of the Gentiles has come. Then, according to the promise, the Spirit
of the Lord will be poured out upon them and they will inherit the
blessings promised. Until that time we expect they will be a scourge
upon the people of Zion, as the Lamanites were a scourge to the
Nephites of old. That which the Lord is pleased to use as a scourge
today, He may use in days to come as a means of support and of
strength. It becomes the Latter-day Saints as a people to cherish the
principles of love and good will to all men, and especially the
household of faith; and also to the natives, who are blind and
ignorant pertaining to the principles of the gospel, and not to thirst
for their blood, nor be very revengeful for every wrong that they, in
their blindness, may commit; but to exercise generous forbearance. God
will enable us to inflict such summary chastisement upon them as
circumstances may require, when it is His good pleasure that they
should be chastened. Or else He will take it in hand Himself, for He
can easily destroy, by various diseases, those who are shedding the
blood of the Saints. And this will be far more acceptable to Him than
if it were done by us.
It certainly ought not to be specially gratifying to anyone to shed
the blood of his fellows, whether red, black or white. I have seen
that the Lord has taken care of the Lamanites as well as of the
Latter-day Saints, and He requires that we should exercise our
reasoning powers, and not throw ourselves heedlessly into positions
where we are exposed to the wrath of the savages. Inexperienced men
who are unacquainted with Indian habits and customs, and their mode of
warfare, should never be trusted beyond the confines of our
settlements with their wives and families, to commence operation on
their own account. They thereby tempt the cupidity of the savages. Men
of experience, energy, watchfulness—men with kind hearts and generous
impulses, who can forgive an injury—are the men who should be selected
on all occasions to lead out in the formation of new settlements on
our frontiers; and they should be sustained by obedient and
experienced men, who will help to control and take care of the people
and keep them out of danger.
I have thought many a time that the Lord has suffered the natives in
various places to drive in our outpost; just as a wise vine dresser
will clip off the end of his vines that they may produce more fruit
and make less wood. We are sometimes in the habit of scattering too
far. Being over anxious to spread, we lay on more warp than we have
filling for.
I would say a word in relation to the missionaries who went South last
fall to the Muddy. Brother Joseph W. Young and myself left here on the
second of March and visited the settlements between this place
and St. Thomas on the Muddy. The bad condition of the roads and the
limited amount of time at our command, having to return here to
Conference, prevented us devoting that amount of time to the
settlements that we wished to. But we found them generally in a
prosperous condition; though in some places we were reminded of what
we saw last winter in Salt Lake City, and of Israel of old when Moses
went up into the mountain and they got Aaron to make them a calf.
Still as a general thing we found the people prosperous.
I will say for the benefit of those who have sons and daughters and
friends there, who have been reared in and about Salt Lake City and
the older settlements, that it must not be expected that everything
will run smooth with them, or that they will realize all their
expectations. There are many here who assisted in establishing
settlements in Salt Lake Valley, and who know the difficulties we had
to encounter for the first two or three years; and there are others
who have gone out and buffeted the difficulties of establishing
settlements upon our borders north and south. The country on the Muddy
affords facilities for extensive and prosperous settlements, but there
is a lack of timber. They have done very well for fuel, as within
about thirty miles of St. Thomas there are large groves of cedar and
pinion pine, which will supply them with fuel for many years, and a
good natural road to it, and springs of water in the grove. There is
also considerable sawing timber in the mountains twenty miles east of
St. Thomas; and a much larger body of excellent saw timber in the
mountains west of St. Thomas about fifty or sixty miles. But in both
these places portable steam mills are necessary, as there are springs
of water in the timber, but no creeks sufficient for water mills. And
until they are able to get mills to saw their lumber, they cannot make
very much advance towards building. As to fencing, the only fences in
that region of country are two stone corrals, one in each settlement
for corralling the stock at night which is herded in the day. And I am
fully satisfied that it is very much cheaper; and that they will make
far greater progress in developing the country by adopting this system
of herding their stock, than they would by attempting to fence their
land. And I will say that in my visit to that country I have not, to
the best of my recollection, seen one single animal preying on the
crops in that section of country. I wish I could say as much for the
best fenced sections of country in the other portions of our
Territory.
Those who went down to St. Thomas last Fall seem comfortable, pleasant
and happy. Everything around them exhibits an air of thrift and
comfort. I cannot say quite as much for those located at St. Joseph.
For many of those who went to that settlements heard of a country
higher up stream, and they felt anxious to visit it; and instead of
settling down at once and beginning to improve and make themselves a
home, they waited in hope of finding a better country. By and by in
the course of the Winter a man, who was responsible and ought to have
taken a different course, led them out to the Upper Muddy, and when
they were called back again to St. Joseph, they came feeling
disappointed. The result was, their feelings were unsettled, and six
weeks or two months of their labor may be said to have been thrown
away; and yet not thrown away, for I trust the experience they have
received, and the instruction which followed, have sealed
lessons on their minds that they will not forget, and that will prove
more valuable to them than any amount of means they would have earned
by that two month's labor. And I trust God will overrule it for their
good.
They were much pleased and rejoiced to see us among them, and to hear
our word; and were ready and willing to be told what to do, and to go
with their might and do it; and I believe that since our visit among
them they have settled down in their feelings and have gone to work in
good earnest to make themselves homes. They have not Salt Lake market
to go to, and they cannot procure all the little luxuries of life; and
their food and manner of living will necessarily be somewhat crude and
primitive, but wholesome and healthy. I scarcely know of a single
instance of sickness among them. There were a few who, when they were
migrating south last year during the months of November and December,
and were exposed to severe storms, took cold and fever, but since
their arrival in that country they have been healthy.
It is very natural for them, like children, to feel after home and
father and mother, and the scenes of their youth. And it is very
natural, too, for the sympathies of parents to be with their children.
But let not this mistaken sympathy lead parents to give wrong counsel
to their children to their hurt. It requires stout hearts to develop a
new country like that; but perseverance, time and patience will
accomplish it. There is plenty of bread—the staff of life—in the
country, and no necessity for actual want among any of them. It is not
now as it has been in St. George and on the Muddy, where there was no
bread in the country and we had to come to Sanpete or to Salt Lake
City to fetch it.
I would say to all who have been called and have not gone—for judging
from the best information I have, not above half of those called are
in the southern country—for the sake of your own future welfare and
prosperity, respond to the calls that have been made upon you and
strive to fill that mission with confidence, boldness and energy. Or
if there are good and sufficient reasons why you should not do so, go
to the President and make known your circumstances, that you may be
released, that your consciences may not condemn you and that your God
may not condemn you, and that your future usefulness may not be
curtailed. Let no one flatter himself that he can pass along in
obscurity, unnoticed, and neither magnify his calling, nor yet be
discharged from it. It will linger around you, it will haunt you and
will be like a canker worm gnawing at the root of your felicity. Take
steps to be exonerated one way or the other, and God will bless you: Amen.