The few of us who met here this forenoon had the privilege of
listening to a very interesting discourse from brother Penrose, on the
first principles of the Gospel. I say the "few" who were here, for
there were few, and there are every Sabbath in the forepart of the
day. I think if the Latter-day Saints prized their privileges as they
ought to do, there would be more attend meeting on a Sunday morning,
there would be more of us faithful to the Lord our God and to the
covenants we have made if we did but realize the rewards that, in the
future, will be awarded for the deeds done here in the flesh.
There was one principle referred to by brother Penrose this morning,
upon which I wish to make a few remarks, for the benefit of the Elders
of Israel. It is a very common saying with us, as Elders, in our
remarks concerning the gifts of the Gospel to speak of confirming the
gifts of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. There is no
difference with regard to our faith, opinions or views, as a Church,
pertaining to this principle; it is only in the manner in which we use
our language. There is a difference between the gifts of the Holy
Ghost and the Holy Ghost itself. As brother Penrose said this morning,
we repent of our sins, are baptized for the remission of them, and we
receive the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost; but the Elders, when speaking on this principle, instead
of saying so, not infrequently say "for the reception of the gifts of
the Holy Ghost." Now we have no right, power nor authority to seal the
gifts of the Holy Ghost upon anybody, they are the property of the
Holy Ghost itself. To explain this I will say, for instance, President
Young may go and preach in every ward in this city; yet it is
President Young in each ward. When in the 14th Ward he may give a man
an apple; in the 13th Ward he may give another person a loaf of bread;
in the 10th Ward he may give a man a dollar in money; in the 1st Ward
he may give a man a horse and carriage. Now they are all different
gifts, but he is one and the same man who bestows them. I merely bring
up this figure by way of illustration.
We lay hands upon the heads of those who embrace the Gospel and we say
unto them, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ receive ye the Holy
Ghost." We seal this blessing upon the heads of the children of men,
just as Jesus and his apostles and the servants of God have done in
every age when preaching the Gospel of Christ. But the gifts of the
Holy Ghost are his property to bestow as he sees fit. To one is given
the spirit of prophecy, to another a tongue, to another the
interpretation of tongues and to another the gift of healing. All
these gifts are by the same Spirit, but all are the gifts of the Holy
Ghost, to bestow as he sees fit, as the messenger of the Father and
the Son to the children of men.
The Holy Ghost, as was justly presented this morning, is different
from the common Spirit of God, which we are told lighteth every man
that cometh into the world. The Holy Ghost is only given to men
through their obedience to the Gospel of Christ; and every man who
receives that Spirit has a comforter within—a leader to dictate and
guide him. This Spirit reveals, day by day, to every man who has
faith, those things which are for his benefit. As Job said, "There is
a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it
understanding." It is this inspiration of God to His children in every
age of the world that is one of the necessary gifts to sustain man and
enable him to walk by faith, and to go forth and obey all the
dictations and commandments and revelations which God gives to His
children to guide and direct them in life.
We have a long list given to us in the New Testament Scriptures of
those who, in ancient days, lived, labored and performed their duties
by faith. Among them was Noah, who, being warned of God, went forth
and prepared an ark for the salvation of himself and family. Abraham,
also, offered up his son Isaac by faith, because he was called and
commanded of God, believing in the promises God had made unto him.
This gift and principle of faith is necessary for the Saints in every
age of the world to enable them to build up the kingdom of God and
perform the work required of them. All that the ancients did was by
faith. Jesus and his apostles often quoted the prophecies of the
ancient prophets and showed that they were fulfilling them. Even the
labors of Jesus, from the manger to the cross, through his whole life
of pain, sorrow, affliction, suffering, persecution and derision, were
all by faith. It was by the power of the Father, whose work he had
come to perform, that he was sustained. He fully believed that he
would be able to accomplish all that he had been sent to perform. It
was on this principle that he fulfilled every requirement and
obeyed every law, even that of baptism, when he was immersed in the
Jordan by John, who held the Aaronic Priesthood and the keys of
baptism for the remission of sins. Baptism was a righteous law; in
fact, it was the law of God to save the children of men, and Jesus was
the door, and he, although free from sin and guile, complied with it
as an ensample to his disciples and the rest of the children of men.
The Apostles, in their labors, had to work on the same principle that
the Saints in both former and latter days have had to work upon—namely
the principle of faith. Joseph Smith had to work by faith. It is true
that he had a knowledge of a great many things, as the Saints in
former days had, but in many things he had to exercise faith. He
believed he was fulfilling the prophecies of the ancient prophets. He
knew that God had called him, but in the establishment of His kingdom
he had to work continually by faith. The Church was organized on the
6th of April, 1830, with six members, but Joseph had faith that the
kingdom thus commenced, like a grain of mustard seed, would become a
great Church and kingdom upon the earth; and from that day until the
day on which he sealed his testimony with his blood, his whole life
was as if wading through the deep waters of persecution and
oppression, received from the hands of his fellow men. He had all this
to endure through faith, and he was true, faithful and valiant in the
testimony of Jesus to the day of his death.
All the labors that we have performed from that day until the present
have been by faith, and we, as Latter-day Saints, should seek to
cherish and grow in this principle, that we may have faith in every
revelation and promise and in every word of the Lord, that has been
given in the Bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, for
they will surely come to pass as the Lord God lives, for the unbelief
of this generation will not make the truths of God without effect.
When the members of Zion's Camp were called, many of us had never
beheld each others' faces; we were strangers to each other and many
had never seen the prophet. We had been scattered abroad, like corn
sifted in a sieve, throughout the nation. We were young men, and were
called upon in that early day to go up and redeem Zion, and what we
had to do we had to do by faith. We assembled together from the
various States at Kirtland and went up to redeem Zion, in fulfillment
of the commandment of God unto us. God accepted our works as He did
the works of Abraham. We accomplished a great deal, though apostates
and unbelievers many times asked the question, "What have you done?"
We gained an experience that we never could have gained in any other
way. We had the privilege of beholding the face of the prophet, and we
had the privilege of traveling a thousand miles with him, and seeing
the workings of the Spirit of God with him, and the revelations of
Jesus Christ unto him and the fulfillment of those revelations. And he
gathered some two hundred Elders from throughout the nation in that
early day and sent us broadcast into the world to preach the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. Had I not gone up with Zion's Camp I should not have
been here today, and I presume that would have been the case with
many others in this Territory. By going there we were thrust into the
vineyard to preach the Gospel, and the Lord accepted our labors. And
in all our labors and persecutions, with lives often at stake, we have
had to work and live by faith.
The Twelve Apostles were called by revelation to go to Far West,
Caldwell County, to lay the foundation of the corner stone of the
Temple. When that revelation was given this Church was in peace in
Missouri. It is the only revelation that has ever been given since the
organization of the Church, that I know anything about, that had day
and date given with it. The Lord called the Twelve Apostles, while in
this state of prosperity, on the 26th day of April, 1838, to go to Far
West to lay the corner stone of the Temple; and from there to take
their departure to England to preach the Gospel. Previous to the
arrival of that period the whole Church was driven out of the State of
Missouri, and it was as much as a man's life was worth to be found in
the State if it was known that he was a Latter-day Saint; and
especially was this the case with the Twelve. When the time came for
the corner stone of the Temple to be laid, as directed in the
revelation, the Church was in Illinois, having been expelled from
Missouri by an edict from the Governor. Joseph and Hyrum Smith and
Parley P. Pratt were in chains in Missouri for the testimony of Jesus.
As the time drew nigh for the accomplishment of this work, the
question arose, "What is to be done?" Here is a revelation commanding
the Twelve to be in Far West on the 26th day of April, to lay the
corner stone of the Temple there; it had to be fulfilled. The
Missourians had sworn by all the gods of eternity that if every other
revelation given through Joseph Smith were fulfilled, that should not
be, for the day and date being given they declared that it should
fail. The general feeling in the Church, so far as I know, was that,
under the circumstances, it was impossible to accomplish the work; and
the Lord would accept the will for the deed. This was the feeling of
Father Smith, the father of the Prophet. Joseph was not with us, he
was in chains in Missouri, for his religion. When President Young
asked the question of the Twelve, "Brethren, what will you do about
this?" the reply was, "The Lord has spoken and it is for us to obey."
We felt that the Lord God had given the commandment and we had faith
to go forward and accomplish it, feeling that it was His business
whether we lived or died in its accomplishment. We started for
Missouri. There were two wagons. I had one and took brother Pratt and
President Young in mine; brother Cutler, one of the building
committee, had the other. We reached Far West and laid the corner
stone according to the revelation that had been given to us. We cut
off apostates and those who had sworn away the lives of the brethren.
We ordained Darwin Chase and Norman Shearer into the Seventies.
Brother George A. Smith and myself were ordained into the quorum of
the Twelve on the corner stone of the Temple; we had been called
before, but not ordained. We then returned, nobody having molested or
made us afraid. We performed that work by faith, and the Lord blessed
us in doing it. The devil, however, tried to kill us, for before we
started for England everyone of the Twelve was taken sick, and it was
about as much as we could do to move or stir. I had traveled in
Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky and Arkansas for two or three years,
and that, too, during the sickly season, where they were not well
enough to take care of the sick, and I had never had the ague. But
upon this occasion I was taken with the ague, the first time in my
life. All the Twelve had something the matter with them. But we had to
travel sick; we had to travel by faith in order to fulfil the
mission to which we had been called by revelation. But the Lord
sustained us; He did not forsake us.
We went to England, and we baptized, in the year 1840, something like
seven thousand people, and established churches in almost all the
principal cities in the kingdom. Brother Pratt established a branch in
Edinburgh, Scotland. Brother Kimball, George A. and myself built up a
branch in London, and several branches in the south of England. We
baptized eighteen hundred persons in the south of England in seven
mouths; out of that number two hundred were preachers belonging to
different denominations of that land. We opened an emigration office,
published the Book of Mormon and gathered many to Zion. God was with
us, and I may say that He has been in all the labors of this Church
and kingdom.
In the pioneer journey, coming here, we had to come by faith; we knew
nothing about this country, but we intended to come to the mountains.
Joseph had organized a company to come here, before his death. He had
these things before him, and understood them perfectly. God had
revealed to him the future of this Church and kingdom, and had told
him, from time to time, that the work of which he was laying the
foundation would become an everlasting kingdom—would remain forever.
President Young led the pioneers to this country. He had faith to
believe that the Lord would sustain us. All who traveled hither at
that time had this faith. The Spirit of God was with us, the Holy
Ghost was with us, and the angels of the Lord were with us and we were
blessed. All, and more than we anticipated, in coming here, has been
realized, as far as time would permit.
When the Mormon Battalion was called for by the United States, we were
in our exile, having been driven from our homes, our country and
graves of our fathers, from lands we had bought of the United States
Government, for our religion, into the wilderness. The Government made
a demand upon us for five hundred men to go to the Mexican war. I do
not suppose that they expected we would furnish them, but we did, and
we did it by faith. Five hundred men, the strength of Israel, were
sent to fight the battles of their country, leaving their wives,
children and teams on the prairie. They had to exercise faith, and so
had we who remained, believing it would turn out for the best, and it
has proved so. Every member of that battalion who has remained
faithful has always rejoiced, from that day to this, that he was a
member thereof. It has proved a blessing to him, and it proved
salvation to Zion.
I have referred to these things to show that hitherto, in our labors
to build up the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, we have had
to labor by faith. It is still requisite. God has called upon us to
warn this generation. He has set His hand to establish Zion—the great
Zion of God—about which the prophets have said so much. No prophet has
spoken more pointedly on this subject than Isaiah. Our drivings from
Missouri, our persecutions, our travels along the Platte River, the
manner of our coming to the mountains of Israel, our return again to
the land of Zion and the building of the Temple in Jackson County have
all been spoken of by Isaiah as well as by all the prophets who have
spoken concerning the Zion of the latter days.
We have exercised faith in the carrying out of these promises and in
the fulfilling of those revelations of God unto us. We have
walked and lived by faith, precisely the same as the Apostles,
prophets and Saints have done in every dispensation and age of the
world; for there is one remarkable feature with regard to the work of
God, and that is, it has always been unpopular in every age and
generation. The Lord has never sent a message to the inhabitants of
the earth but what it has been despised, in a great measure, by most
of them. As it was in the days of Noah and Lot, so shall it be in the
days of the coming of the Son of Man. In the days of Noah there were
eight souls saved, after one hundred and twenty years' labor in
preaching and building the Ark. In the days of Lot but very few left
the city of Sodom. Lot and his family left, and we are told that his
wife was turned into a pillar of salt; and what the angels had told
Lot concerning Sodom and Gomorrah came to pass—fire and brimstone were
sent down from heaven upon them and they were destroyed.
The work of God and the Gospel of Christ have always been unpopular.
Take the life of the Savior himself. There is a fair example. Trace
him from the day he was born until his death, and who were his
friends? A few illiterate fishermen. Jesus Christ came to the house of
Judah and they rejected him; and Jerusalem, Judea, and the inhabitants
of all the region round about rose up against him with the exception
of a few poor men and women. Still he was the Savior of the world, the
great Shiloh of Israel, the great King of the Jews. That is a fair
ensample of the way in which the work of God has been received in
every age and dispensation. All that Jesus said concerning the Jews
has come to pass to the very letter; not one jot or tittle has fallen
unfulfilled. Their history for the last eighteen hundred years, until
the present day, has been a remarkable ensign to the nations of the
earth of the truth of the Bible and of the truth of the testimony of
Jesus Christ, and of him being the Savior of the world. All that he
said concerning them and all that Moses predicted concerning their
dispersion and about their being driven, as corn is sifted through a
sieve, among the nations; about the manner in which their women did
evil to the children of their own bosoms when Jerusalem was surrounded
by the Roman army, when it was taken and over two millions of its
inhabitants were destroyed by sword, pestilence and famine, has been
fulfilled. All these things have been in strict fulfillment of the
sayings of Moses and Jesus concerning them. When the Savior was
sentenced to death they cried, "Let his blood be upon us and upon our
children;" and they have been trampled under foot by the whole Gentile
world for the last eighteen hundred years. In their affliction and
persecutions they have had to suffer almost beyond the endurance of
man, and until the last few years have scarcely had the right of
citizenship in any nation under heaven—except in the United States.
All that has been spoken concerning them has had its fulfillment as
fast as time would admit.
It is so with regard to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days.
If they called the master of the house Beelzebub, will they not say
the same of his household? They said that he cast out devils by
Beelzebub, the prince of devils, they said he was a pestilent fellow
and a stirrer-up of sedition and strife, still he was the Savior of
the world.
This principle of unbelief has existed in every age; it exists today.
The Elders of Israel have had to contend with this power of
darkness, with persecution, oppression, ridicule and opposition
from those who should have received their message—a message which was
for the good and salvation of those who rejected it. The Jews should
have received the testimony of Christ, but as a nation they rejected
it. Our experience has been very similar to that of Jesus and his
Apostles. We have had to labor by faith. We have had to exercise faith
in the revelations that have been given to us in the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants and Book of Mormon, as well as in the Bible. These
revelations portray what lies before us as a people. The fate of this
nation and the nations of the earth has been portrayed by the ancient
prophets in the Book of Mormon and Bible. Isaiah has told us what will
come to pass in the latter days concerning those who fight against
Mount Zion and against the children of Zion. Every weapon will be
broken, every nation that will not serve Zion shall be utterly wasted
away, saith the Lord; for the Lord will fight in defense of the land
of Zion. He will establish the kingdom that Daniel saw, in fact that
kingdom has been established; the Zion of God has been set up, the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been established by
revelation from Jesus Christ in our day and generation; and we are
called to build it up, we are called to perform its work. As I have
often remarked, the Gods, the angels, the whole heavens, all the good
men, all the spirits of the just that dwell in the eternal world are
watching with vast interest the labors of this people.
They are not perfect without us, we are not perfect without them.
There is no period in the whole history of the world, no dispensation
of God to man, that is fraught with such interest as the dispensation
in which we live; there never has been. No prophets, no apostles or
inspired men in any age of the world ever had the privilege of laying
the foundation of the Zion of God to remain on the earth to be thrown
down no more forever. In every other dispensation of the world the
people have risen up against God and His Christ, against the kingdom
and against the Priesthood, and have overthrown the messengers of
heaven, and put to death every man who has borne the kingdom of God,
and the kingdom has been taken from the earth. This is true of every
age, except that of Enoch. He built up a kingdom and gathered together
the people after laboring and preaching three hundred and sixty-five
years. He perfected a city, which was called the city of the Zion of
God. But behold and lo, the nations of the earth awoke and found that
Zion had fled! The Lord took it to Himself; took it away from the
earth. The people were righteous; they had become sanctified and the
Lord took them away out of the power of the wicked. Zion could not
remain on the earth; there was not power sufficient to withstand the
assaults of the wicked; or if there was, the time had not come when
the Lord would make use of the children of men; or there were not
enough of the children of men willing to take hold and manifest those
principles in their lives so that they could remain on the earth. But
in the latter days he will do so. He has sworn it by Himself, because
there is none greater to swear by. He has declared it through the
mouth of every prophet that has ever lived on the earth, whose
writings we possess, both in the Bible and Book of Mormon, as well as
in those glorious revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants
given through the mouth of Joseph Smith the prophet. These sayings are
true. We as a people should exercise faith in them, no matter
what may be transpiring in the outside world. We have had the powers
of wicked men and devils to contend with. We may say that the devil is
mad; he is stirred up against Zion; he knows that his reign will last
but a little season longer.
This arch enemy of God and man, called the devil, the "Son of the
Morning," who dwells here on the earth, is a personage of great power;
he has great influence and knowledge. He understands that if this
kingdom, which he rebelled against in heaven, prevails on the earth,
there will be no dominion here for him. He has great influence over
the children of men; he labors continually to destroy them. He labored
to destroy them in heaven; he labored to destroy the works of God in
heaven, and he had to be cast out. He is here, mighty among the
children of men. There is a vast number of fallen spirits, cast out
with him, here on the earth. They do not die and disappear; they have
not bodies only as they enter the tabernacles of men. They have not
organized bodies, and are not to be seen with the sight of the eye.
But there are many evil spirits amongst us, and they labor to
overthrow the Church and kingdom of God. There never was a prophet in
any age of the world but what the devil was continually at his elbow.
This was the case with Jesus himself. The devil followed him
continually trying to draw him from his purposes and to prevent him
carrying out the great work of God. You see this manifested when he
took Jesus on to the loftiest pinnacle of the temple and showed him
all the glory of the world, telling him that he would give him all
this if he would fall down and worship him. The poor devil did not own
a foot of land nor anything else! The earth was made by and belonged
to the Lord and was His footstool. Yet the devil offered that to Jesus
which was not his own. Jesus said unto him, "Get thee behind me,
Satan."
This same character was with the disciples as well as with their
master. He is with the Latter-day Saints; and he or his emissaries are
with all men trying to lead them astray. He rules in the hearts of the
inhabitants of the earth. They are governed and guided by him far more
than by the power of God. This is strange, still it is true. See the
wickedness in the world. See the abominations with which the earth is
deluged, causing it to groan under the burden. Where does this evil
come from? From the works of the devil. Everything that leads to good
is from God, while everything that leads to evil is from the devil.
Here are the two powers. How many on the earth are honoring God,
acknowledging His hand in all things and keeping His commandments?
Very few. Just the same today as in the days of Noah. We read that
one of a family and two of a city will be gathered to Zion in the last
days. Out of twelve hundred millions, that dwell on the face of the
earth, we, after forty years' labor, have succeeded in gathering a few
thousands together to the valleys of the mountains. The numbers are
very few; but this few should be faithful.
Last Sabbath, those who were here listened to a discourse from brother
George Q. Cannon, in which he delivered his testimony concerning
Joseph Smith and President Young. I thought to myself, it seemed a
kind of a queer idea that, at this late date, one of the Apostles
should be called upon to stand up in the sacred desk and defend the
characters of these men as prophets and Apostles. Yet so it
was, and these things are necessary.
Joseph Smith was what he professed to be, a prophet of God, a seer and
revelator. He laid the foundation of this Church and kingdom, and
lived long enough to deliver the keys of the kingdom to the Elders of
Israel, unto the Twelve Apostles. He spent the last winter of his
life, some three or four months, with the Quorum of the Twelve,
teaching them. It was not merely a few hours ministering to them the
ordinances of the Gospel; but he spent day after day, week after week
and month after month, teaching them and a few others the things of
the kingdom of God. Said he, during that period, "I now rejoice. I
have lived until I have seen this burden, which has rested on my
shoulders, rolled on to the shoulders of other men; now the keys of
the kingdom are planted on the earth to be taken away no more
forever." But until he had done this, they remained with him; and had he
been taken away they would have had to be restored by messengers out
of heaven. But he lived until every key, power and principle of the
holy Priesthood was sealed on the Twelve and on President Young, as
their President. He told us that he was going away to leave us, going
away to rest. Said he, "You have to round up your shoulders to bear up
the kingdom. No matter what becomes of me. I have desired to see that
Temple built, but I shall not live to see it. You will; you are called
upon to bear off this kingdom." This language was plain enough, but we
did not understand it any more than the disciples of Jesus when he
told them he was going away, and that if he went not the Comforter
would not come. It was just so with Joseph. He said this time after
time to the Twelve and to the Female Relief Societies and in his
public discourses; but none of us seemed to understand that he was
going to seal his testimony with his blood, but so it was. What he
said to us and the Church we have had to perform. Joseph Smith was a
good man, a prophet of God. His works are before the world; they are
before the eyes of the nation; they are before the heavens and the
earth. The foundation that he laid we have built upon until the
present day; and that foundation no power on earth or in hell will
ever be able to remove. That Church and kingdom of God that is planted
here in these valleys of the mountains will remain on the earth until
the little stone Daniel saw will become a mountain and fill the
earth—until the reign of Jesus is supreme and universal.
It startles men when they hear the Elders of Israel tell about the
kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdom of our God and His Christ.
They say it is treason for men to teach that the kingdom Daniel saw is
going to be set up, and bear rule over the whole earth. Is it treason
for God Almighty to govern the earth? Who made it? God, did He not?
Who made you? God, if you have any eternal Father. Well, whose right
is it to rule and reign over you and the earth? It does not belong to
the devil, nor to men. It has never been given to men yet; it has
never been given to the nations. It belongs solely to God and He is
coming to rule and reign over it. When will that be? It may not be
perfected until Christ comes in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory to reward every man according to the deeds done in the
body. That kingdom, the germ of which is planted here, will continue
to grow and will never be overthrown. As I said before, no
matter what takes place outside of this Territory—we as Latter-day
Saints should exercise faith in God, for just as sure as God was true
to Daniel, Moses, Noah, Enoch and to the prophets and Apostles, so
will He be true to us; so will He be true to His word, in these latter
days and will fulfill all He has said.
This is the work we have to perform. It is a good work, a great work,
a glorious work, and one in which the Latter-day Saints should
rejoice, for it confers upon them the privilege of being instruments
in the hands of God of helping to build up His kingdom on the earth.
This should give us joy, and the promises made to us in connection
with this work ought to sustain us and give us hope, joy and
consolation.
I have been happy since I formed the acquaintance of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ: I was never satisfied until I found the Latter-day
Saints. In my boyhood I could read in the Bible and New Testament of a
people who had power with God, who had the gifts and graces, who could
command the elements and they obeyed them; who had power to heal the
sick, and had the gifts of the Holy Ghost imparted unto them by God
himself. That was the kind of religion I always desired to live to
see. I desired to live to see a prophet and an Apostle, or some man
who was inspired of God who could teach me the way to be saved. I have
lived to see that day. I rejoice in it for I know it is true. I know
this work is true. I know it is the kingdom of God, as you do, and as
all men do who have received the testimony of the Holy Spirit and have
been faithful for themselves.
As to President Young his labors have been with us. It has been
remarked sometimes, by certain indi viduals, that President Young has
said in public that he was not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. I
have traveled with him since 1833 or the spring of 1834; I have
traveled a good many thousand miles with him and have heard him
preach a great many thousand sermons; but I have never heard him make
that remark in my life. He is a prophet, I am a prophet, you are, and
anybody is a prophet who has the testimony of Jesus Christ, for that
is the spirit of prophecy. The Elders of Israel are prophets. A
prophet is not so great as an Apostle. Christ has set, in his Church,
first, Apostles; they hold the keys of the kingdom of God. Any man who
has traveled with President Young knows he is a prophet of God. He
has foretold a great many things that have come to pass. All the
Saints who are well acquainted with him know that he is governed and
controlled by the power of God and the revelations of Jesus Christ.
His works are before the world; they are before the heavens; before
the earth; before the wicked as well as the righteous; and it is the
influence of President Young that the world is opposed to. This
Priesthood, these keys of the kingdom of God that have been sealed
upon him, the world is at war against; let them say what they may,
these things are what they are at enmity with. Their present objection
to the Latter-day Saints, they say, is plurality of wives. It is this
principle they are trying to raise a persecution against now. But how
was it in Missouri, Kirtland, Jackson County, Far West, Caldwell
County, in all our drivings and afflictions, before this principle was
revealed to the Church? Certainly it was not polygamy then. No, it was
prophets, it was revelation, it was the organization of an institution
founded by revelation from God. They did not believe in that,
and that was the objection in those days. If we were to do away with
polygamy, it would only be one feather in the bird, one ordinance in
the Church and kingdom. Do away with that, then we must do away with
prophets and Apostles, with revelation and the gifts and graces of the
Gospel, and finally give up our religion altogether and turn
sectarians and do as the world does, then all would be right. We just
can't do that, for God has commanded us to build up His kingdom and to
bear our testimony to the nations of the earth, and we are going to do
it, come life or come death. He has told us to do thus, and we shall
obey Him in days to come as we have in days past.
Brethren and sisters, let us exercise faith; the ancient prophets
lived by faith; it is as necessary for us as for them. I believe what
God has said will be fulfilled. I believe the Book of Mormon and the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants will be fulfilled, and all the promises
and prophecies made by the faithful servants of God. When any man
speaks as he is moved upon by the Holy Ghost, that is the word of God
to the people; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, not
one jot or tittle of the word of God will fall unfulfilled. I care not
whether it be by His own voice out of the heavens; by the ministration
of angels; by the voice of a prophet, or by the inspiration of the
Holy Ghost through His servants, it is the word of God to the people,
it is truth and it will have its effect and fulfillment. Everything
that has been communicated to us by revelation I believe to be true;
many of them I know. I have faith and knowledge, both in a degree. I
want more; I wish for more, and all I ask is that the Lord will enable
me to be faith ful. I wish eternal life. I want salvation. This is the
object of my life; for this I embraced "Mormonism." This is the
principle that has sustained me from the time I entered this Church
and kingdom. This hope sustained me when I shouldered my knapsack and
went forth to travel and preach without purse or scrip, thousands of
miles through the United States. This principle of inspiration has
sustained the Elders of Israel in every age of the world. It is that
which sustained Joseph Smith from the day he commenced his career as a
servant of God until the time that he sealed his testimony with his
blood. Somebody has got to pay the bill for the shedding of that
innocent blood. Shedding innocent blood has cost the Jews eighteen
hundred years of suffering, mourning, woe and destruction; it has cost
this nation already four years of war, with two millions of men laid
in the dust, and four thousand million dollars in money; and woe be to
that nation, tongue or people that sheds the blood of the Saints of
God, or undertakes to oppose the work of God in this or any other
generation. They will have to reap what they sow; for what you sow you
will reap, and the reward you mete will be rewarded to you again,
whether you are Saints or sinners, in all nations, kindreds, tongues
and people under the whole heavens.
This is the position that we occupy. This warfare is not between man
and man but between God and the world. If the Lord does not defend the
Latter-day Saints we cannot defend ourselves. We can do what is
required of us, but God Himself has to defend us. He has done it and
He will continue to do it until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,
or until his kingdom triumphs on the earth. This is my faith; and I
would rather, to day, lay down my life, honoring the faith once
delivered to the Saints, than turn round and fear men, who have power
only to kill the body, instead of fearing Him who has power to cast
both soul and body into hell. Salvation is of more consequence to me
and to this people, and to all the inhabitants of the earth, than
anything else. What is the world with its honors, gold, silver,
thrones, principalities and powers compared with salvation? They all
end at death, they are of no force after, and are of no moment when
compared with eternal salvation. Oh, what glorious principles have
been revealed to the Latter-day Saints! Where did you get them? How
did you obtain them? Through the voice of Joseph Smith and Brigham
Young by revelation from God. That is the way we obtained them. The
principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ have power and efficacy after
death; they will bring together men and their wives and children in
the family organization and will reunite them worlds without end. The
power of those who sit upon thrones in this life will end at their
death; they will have no extra power in the world to come because they
have occupied thrones in this. The Czar of Russia, the Emperor of
France, the Queen of England, or any other sovereign, will not have
any additional power in the world to come because of their present
glory. It will all end with their death. These are the kingdoms of
men, they are not ordained of God. True, they will be held accountable
for the exercise of their power here; God will hold them responsible
for that, but so far as salvation and glory hereafter are concerned,
their exalted positions here will not avail them anything. There is
not a man who has lived since the Church went into the wilderness and
the kingdom of God was taken from the earth; until Moroni rent the
veil and gave to Joseph Smith the records of the Book of Mormon, and
until Peter, James and John sealed upon him the keys of the holy
Priesthood, who can claim a wife in the resurrection. Not one of them
has been married for eternity, but only until death. But unto the
Latter-day Saints the sealing ordinances have been revealed, and they
will have effect after death, and, as I have said, will reunite men
and women eternally in the family organization. Herein is why these
principles are a part of our religion, and by them husbands and wives,
parents and children will be reunited until the links in the chain
are reunited back to Father Adam. We could not obtain a fullness of
celestial glory without this sealing ordinance or the institution
called the patriarchal order of marriage, which is one of the most
glorious principles of our religion. I would just as lief the United
States Government would pass a law against my being baptized for the
remission of my sins, or against my receiving the Holy Ghost, as
against my practicing the patriarchal order of marriage. I would just
as lief they would take away any other principle of the Gospel as
this. The opinion of men generally, in relation to this subject, is
that the Latter-day Saints practice it for the gratification of their
carnal desires; but such ideas are wholly untrue. The world seek after
this; but the Saints of God practice this principle that they may
partake of eternal lives, that they may have wives and posterity in
the world to come and throughout the endless ages of eternity.
God promised to Abraham that his seed should be as numerous as the
stars in the heaven or as the sands on the seashore. We all
know, from reading the history of Abraham, that this promise
has not been fulfilled, for you may take one square yard of sand on
the seashore, and the grains it would contain would be more numerous
than all the inhabitants that ever lived on the earth; hence this
promise of the Lord could not be fulfilled if, as the Christian world
imagine, the marriage relation ceases with the termination of this
life, and that after the resurrection there is no increase. But in the
resurrection there will be no end to the increase of Abraham, it will
continue through all eternity.
These are some of the principles of the Gospel God has revealed to us.
Are they not worth living for and having faith in? They are. Then do
not fear because of the wicked. We have everything to encourage us.
The Latter-day Saints should be faithful. We should live our religion
and be true and faithful to our covenants. We should magnify our
callings as Apostles, Elders and Saints, before God, angels and men.
We have but little time to work, and we should work while it is called
today; by and by night comes when no man can work. When the vision of
my mind is opened and I gaze abroad upon this generation, I many times
feel to mourn in my spirit to see the darkness and unbelief and the
carelessness of man with regard to his future and eternal state.
Instead of seeking with all their powers to secure to themselves
eternal life they seem to be doing their utmost to turn the last key
to seal their condemnation and to make themselves the sons of
perdition. They will labor to shed innocent blood and to destroy the
Church and kingdom of God on the earth. This is one of the promptings
of the evil one.
There are two things which have always followed apostates in every age
of the world, and especially in our day. In the early days of the
Church, in Kirtland, as soon as men apostatized from the Church and
kingdom of God, they immediately began to fear their fellow men, and
to fancy their lives were in danger. Another peculiarity common to
apostates was that they desired to kill those who had been their
benefactors. This was the case with the Higbees, Laws and others with
regard to the Prophet Joseph, when they turned against him, they
sought with all their powers to take away his life. Not only were they
afraid of their own lives, but they sought to take his, and they
eventually succeeded, and woe is their doom. What would they not give
in exchange for their souls? But no matter, they cannot redeem them.
This spirit always accompanies the apostates. What are they afraid of?
There is something they do not understand or comprehend; they walk in
the dark, and by and by they will unite with the wicked and try to
overthrow the very work they have been trying to build up.
This spirit has always been with the enemies of righteousness. The
devil seeks to overthrow the kingdom of God and the Saints, and he
always will do it as long as he has any power on the earth; therefore
we should be united. We should be faithful and labor hard to do what
we have to do, and not put off anything for the building up of the
kingdom of God. We should obey all the ordinances we can for
ourselves and our children; for the living and the dead. We should
attend to these things as we go along, and when we get through with
our work and into the spirit world, we may look back and be satisfied
with our labors. There is a great deal for the Latter-day Saints to
do. We have done a good deal, but the work is only just
commenced. Zion is not what she must be; Zion is growing. She has
grown since we came to the valleys of the mountains. We have done
something for the living; we have warned the nations; the garments of
many of us are clear of the blood of this generation. It cannot rise
in judgment against Joseph Smith, Brigham Young or the Twelve
Apostles, nor against thousands of the Elders of this Church and
kingdom. We have lifted up our voices day and night; we have preached
to millions of our fellow men and have traveled hundreds of thousands
of miles to offer this Gospel to the nations of the earth. Still they
have turned against us, and a great many of them have sought our
overthrow. They will receive their reward and we shall receive ours.
What joy, consolation and satisfaction it will be to the Apostles,
Elders and Saints of God, of this day, who remain true and faithful to
the end, having become members of the Church of the Firstborn, and
been valiant in the testimony of Jesus, when they meet Father Adam,
Enoch, Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus and the Apostles, how great
their joy will be! They labored in their day for the work of God, and
their toils are over; we are having our day and our labor. By and by
we shall meet and mingle in the eternal world. How fast we pass away!
Where is brother Heber, whom we used to see so often in our midst here
and in the Endowment House? In the spirit world. Brother Willard,
Joseph, Hyrum, David Patten, Jedediah, Parley Pratt, and brother
Benson among the rest, have gone. We shall all go pretty soon, we
shall not remain a great while. Our labors in this life are short, and
we shall soon pass to the other side of the veil. Our children, the
rising generation, will possess the kingdom; on them the labor of
rolling on the work of God will rest, until the kingdom and the
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will be given to the
Saints of the Most High and they will possess it forever and ever,
and the meek will inherit the earth. Let us be diligent, let us be
faithful; let us labor while it is called today, that we may be
counted worthy to receive a reward that will satisfy us in the end.
I pray that God will bless us, that He will pour out His Spirit upon
us and give us the testimony of Jesus Christ; that we may guard our
welfare and watch ourselves that our feet may not slip. It is an awful
thing for a man, in any generation, to receive this Gospel, to taste
the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, and then
turn away and lose the testimony of Jesus and turn against God; such a
man's condition is worse than his who never heard the Gospel of
Christ. He will lament and mourn, and that, too, without ever
receiving redemption. Such individuals cannot be redeemed and restored
to that which they have forfeited. It is far better to receive the
Gospel and be faithful in the midst of all opposition. If we continue
so, when we meet with the fathers we can rejoice with them and partake
of the same kingdom and the same glory, quickened by the same spirit,
having kept the same law and been preserved thereby.
May God bless us all and help us to overcome the world, the flesh and
the devil, for Jesus sake. Amen.