If I can have your attention I will talk to you a few minutes.
Speaking as much as I have in public makes me feel most forcibly that
I have both stomach and lungs, hence I would like to have stillness in
the house. I see some sisters withdrawing in consequence of their
children not being quiet; I am very much obliged to them, and trust
that others will do likewise if they cannot keep their children still.
I am not in the habit of making many apologies nor very many
preliminaries when I speak to a congregation. Sometimes I feel to say
a few words that might be called apologetic in rising to address a
congregation, having that timidity which most men feel on such
occasions. I have seen few public speakers in my life who were capable
of rising and speaking directly upon a subject, unless it had been
studied or perhaps written beforehand. To speak extempore, on the
impulse of the moment, without reflection, requires considerable
steadiness of the nerve. This is a matter that I have reflected upon a
good deal, for in my experience I have learned that there is a modest
timidity in the feelings of almost all persons I ever saw when called
upon to speak to their fellow beings. This is frequently the case in
private circles as well as before the public. I think I understand the
reason of it; it is a matter which I have studied. I find myself here
on this earth, in the midst of intelligence. I ask myself and Wisdom,
where has this intelligence come from? Who has produced and brought
into existence, I will say, this intelligent congregation assembled
here this afternoon? We are here, but whence have we come? Where did
we belong before coming here? Have we dropped accidentally from some
of the planets on to this earth without order, law or rule? Perhaps
some, in their reflections, have come to this conclusion, and think
that is all that is known in relation to this matter. I inquire where
is this intelligence from which I see, more or less, in every being,
and before which I shrink when attempting to address a congregation? I
ask the question of my friends, my brethren and of every man that
lives: Suppose that you, through duty, are called to speak to a
private family, to a small congregation, or even to children in a
Sunday school, do you not feel this same timidity? Where is the man
who can rise to address children without feeling this same modesty? I
have seen a very few in my life who could rise before a congregation,
in a prayer meeting, or go on the stage of a theater, or anywhere
else, and speak with perfect ease and confidence. I think they have
great reason to be thankful for their self-confidence; but where they
obtained it or whether it is inherent, whether they are
destitute of real refinement or have a surplus of it, it is not for me
to say. I know that I do not possess this faculty. When I speak to a
congregation I know that I am speaking to the intelligence that is
from above. This intelligence which is within you and me is from
heaven. In gazing upon the intelligence reflected in the countenances
of my fellow beings, I gaze upon the image of Him whom I worship—the
God I serve. I see His image and a certain amount of His intelligence
there. I feel it within myself. My nature shrinks at the divinity we
see in others. This is the cause of that timidity to which I have
referred which I experience when rising to address a congregation.
I rise with pleasure this afternoon to speak to my friends, brethren
and sisters, and to the strangers who are here; and I will take the
liberty of looking at my people—my brethren and sisters, as they are,
and we will look at each other as we are. I look at others as they
are, and we will look at each other as we are. We will chat a little
together, and I will give both Saints and strangers a few of my views.
First to the Saints, I will say that you and I have professed to
believe in God who reigns in the heavens, who formed the earth and the
planets. No matter whether He rules the celestial, terrestrial or
telestial, you and I have professed to believe in that Supreme Being
who has set this machine in motion. He governs by law. He has reduced
His offspring, His legitimate offspring, to all the sin, darkness,
death and misery that we find on this earth; He has also provided
means and, in connection with the attributes He has implanted within
us, has instituted ordinances which, if we will receive and improve
upon, will enable us to return back into His presence. I say to the
Latter-day Saints, live your religion! Live so that the Spirit of the
Lord will dwell within you, that you may know for a surety and
certainty that God lives. For me to tell you that there is a God in
heaven, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world; for me to tell
you that Jesus will give his holy Spirit to them that believe on him
and obey his Gospel, would be fruitless to you unless you obey his
requirements. I know that the Latter-day Saints are looked upon by the
world as dupes—as a low, degraded, imbecile race, and that we are so
unwise and shortsighted, so vain and foolish, that through the great
amount of enthusiasm within us, we have embraced an error, and have
been duped by Joseph Smith. You who have obeyed the principles he
preached know whether you are deceived or not. I know for myself and
you know for yourselves.
Now let me ask you, if you trust to my faith, to my word and
teachings, counsel and advice, and do not seek after the Lord to have
His Spirit to guide and direct you, can I not deceive you, can I not
lead you into error? Look at this and see to what mischief it would
lead, and what an amount of evil could be done to a people if they did
not live so that the Spirit of the Lord would dwell with them that
they might know these things for themselves. It is my request, my
prayer, exhortation, faith, wish and earnest desire that the
Latter-day Saints will live their religion, and that they will teach
their children all things pertaining to God and godliness, that they
may grow up into Christ, their living head.
I would ask of my friends or foes, no matter which—I mean those who do
not believe as I do—those who look upon us as a set of fanatics, I
would ask a few questions of the world of mankind, of the
greatest philosophers, of the greatest geniuses, and of the men of the
most profound knowledge on the face of the earth, Can you tell me
where you get your knowledge? Say some, "The schoolmaster taught me
thus and so; my mother taught me thus and so; or I have learned it
from books." Can you tell me the origin of this knowledge? Can you
direct me where I can go and get the same knowledge? Was this inherent
in you? Was it developed without any nourishment, or
instruction—without the life and intelligence which came from the
vision of the mind? Ask the mechanic—Who influenced you to bring forth
this and that improvement in mechanism? Who influenced Professor Morse
to believe that he could stretch a wire round this building or any
other, and then, by applying a battery at one end of the wire, that he
could receive an answer at the other? Who taught Robert Fulton that he
could apply steam so as to propel a vessel? Did his mother, his
schoolmaster or his preacher tell him this? No, he would have spurned
the idea.
Now, all this is in my remembrance. I lived nearby those who assisted
Mr. Fulton in building his steamboat. He could not be dissuaded, by
any means, to desist from his operations. I ask what was it that
influenced the mind of Fulton in this direction? It was that invisible
influence or intelligence that comes from our Creator, day by day, and
night by night, in dreams and visions of the mind. "I see it, I know
it," said he. I recollect him telling some of our neighbors who
assisted him in building the first steam vessel that ever was built,
"I know that I can apply steam so as to propel this vessel from here
to New York. I know it just as well as I live." I recollect a Mr.
Curtis, a carriage maker, who lived in the State of New York; said
he, "I have a little property, and I will spend all I have to assist
Mr. Fulton to put his project into successful operation; for I have
faith in it."
This is a question which I would like the scientific and philosophic
world to answer, Where do you get your knowledge from? I can answer
the question; they get it from that Supreme Being, a portion of whose
intelligence is in each and every one. They have it not independently;
it was not there until put there. They have the foundation, and they
can improve and add knowledge to knowledge, wisdom to wisdom, light to
light, and intelligence to intelligence. This power to increase in
wisdom and intelligence so that we can know things for ourselves is
within every one of us.
Now, I ask the wise, where did you get your wisdom? Was it taught you?
Yes, I say it was taught you. By your professors in college? No, it
was taught you by the influence of the spirit that is in man, and the
inspiration of the Spirit of God giveth it understanding; and every
creature can thus add intelligence to intelligence. We all know that
if we learn one page of a book today, we can learn another tomorrow,
and yet retain that which we learned previously; and so we can go on
step by step, from day to day, improving the faculties with which God
has endowed us, until we are filled with the knowledge of God.
The "Mormons" believe all this. I ask strangers and the philosophers
of the world, Is there any harm in it? Is it any harm for you and me
to exercise faith in God? We have faith, we live by faith; we came to
these mountains by faith. We came here, I often say, though to the
ears of some the expression may sound rather rude, naked and
barefoot, and comparatively this is true. Is that a fact? It is. Shall
I explain this? I will in part, and I will commence by satisfying the
curiosity of almost everybody that comes here, or with whom our Elders
converse when away. A great many men and women have an irrepressible
curiosity to know how many wives Brigham Young has. I am now going to
gratify that curiosity by saying, ladies and gentlemen, I have sixteen
wives. If I have any more hereafter it will be my good luck and the
blessing of God. "How many children have you, President Young?" I have
forty-nine living children, and I hope to have a great many more. Now
put that down. I impart this information to gratify the curiosity of
the curious.
"President Young, did you come here naked and barefoot?" I will say,
very nearly so. "How many of your wives had shoes to their feet, after
leaving everything you had in the State of Illinois?" I do not think
that more than one or two of my wives had shoes to their feet when we
came here. We bought buckskins of the Indians and made moccasins of
them. How many of these Elders had whole pantaloons when they reached
here? I do not believe a dozen of them had. They had worked in the
dead of winter ferrying the people across the river until they had
nothing, and they came here naked and barefoot, that is,
comparatively.
We had to have faith to come here. When we met Mr. Bridger on the Big
Sandy River, said he, "Mr. Young, I would give a thousand dollars if I
knew an ear of corn could be ripened in the Great Basin." Said I,
"Wait eighteen months and I will show you many of them." Did I say
this from knowledge? No, it was my faith; but we had not the least
encouragement—from natural reasoning and all that we could learn of
this country—of its sterility, its cold and frost, to believe that we
could ever raise anything. But we traveled on, breaking the road
through the mountains and building bridges until we arrived here, and
then we did everything we could to sustain ourselves. We had faith
that we could raise grain; was there any harm in this? Not at all. If
we had not had faith, what would have become of us? We would have gone
down in unbelief, have closed up every resource for our sustenance and
should never have raised anything. I ask the whole world, is there any
harm in having faith in God? Have you faith? Ask Mr. Pullman if he had
faith that he could build a car more convenient than any the
traveling community enjoyed before, and he will say that he had faith
that he could build cars in which ladies and gentlemen might travel
through the country with all the ease and comfort they could desire;
and he showed his faith by his works, as we read of the ancient
worthies doing. You know James says, "Show me your faith without
works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Mr. Pullman and
others can show their faith by their works. We show our faith by our
works. Is there any harm in this? I ask the whole Christian world, is
there any harm in believing in God, in a supreme power and influence?
The Christian world believe in God, but they say He has no body.
Christianity does not teach any such thing. "God has no parts and He
is without passions," say the Christian world. I do not read the
Scriptures aright if this is the fact. I read that God loves, that God
hates. I read that His eyes are over the works of His hands;
that His arm is stretched out to save His people; that His footsteps
are seen among the nations of the earth. If He has no feet, He
certainly can make no impression; if He has no hands or arms he cannot
reach down to save His people. I read that the Lord's ears are open to
the petitions of His people; but if He have no ears how can He hear.
This is the way that I read the Bible, and I ask, is there any harm in
reading and understanding it thus? There are a great many infidels
now, who were formerly among our Christian friends and brethren, who
are ignoring the Bible in their public schools. I do not. Is there
anything in the Bible that should not be read by the scholars in
schools? If there be, leave out such parts, or rather replace the
language there used, with phraseology more in accordance with modern
usage, so that the principles contained in the Bible may be taught in
your catechisms or other books. I know that there is some plain talk
in the Bible, plainer than I heard this morning; but that plain talk
was the custom of the ancients. The mere phraseology there used is not
of much consequence, it is the true principle which that book teaches
which renders it so valuable. If any of you, ladies and gentlemen,
were to step on a steamboat and cross over to Liverpool, you would
hear language and see customs that you never heard or saw in Yankee
land. It is the same with regard to the Bible, the phraseology is that
which was customary centuries ago; but no matter what the language is,
that is merely custom. But I will say that the doctrines taught in the
Old and New Testaments concerning the will of God towards His children
here on the earth; the history of what He has done for their
salvation; the ordinances which He has instituted for their
redemption; the gift of His Son and his atonement—all these are true,
and we, the Latter-day Saints, believe in them.
Some, in their curiosity, will say, "But you Mormons have another
Bible! Do you believe in the Old and New Testaments?" I answer we do
believe in the Old and New Testaments, and we have also another book,
called the Book of Mormon. What are the doctrines of the Book of
Mormon? The same as those of the Bible. "What is the utility of this
book—the Book of Mormon? Has it been of any use whatever to the people
anywhere?" O, yes. "Where and when?" I will refer to one of the
sayings of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. Just before his
crucifixion he said to his disciples, "Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." After his
crucifixion he came to this continent, chose Twelve Apostles from
among the people and sent them forth to preach his Gospel. He also did
many mighty miracles. He was seen to come from heaven down into the
midst of the people. He organized his Church amongst them, healed the
sick, and left his Church and Gospel in their midst. I am sorry to say
that we see the descendants of this very people now in a very low and
degraded state. I refer to the aborigines or native Indians of this
continent. But this is in consequence of their apostasy and turning
from God. The aborigines of this country are the descendants of this
very people whom Jesus visited, to whom he delivered his Gospel, and
among whom he organized his Church. They were obedient for over three
hundred years, and served God with an undivided heart, after which
they began to apostatize. For three hundred years the people
on the continent of North and South America were benefited by the
work of the Savior in organizing his Church and revealing every
principle and ordinance calculated to assist them back into the
presence of God. Is not that good?
"What good does it do you, Latter-day Saints?" It proves that the
Bible is true. What do the infidel world say about the Bible? They say
that the Bible is nothing better than last year's almanac; it is
nothing but a fable and priestcraft, and it is good for nothing. The
Book of Mormon, however, declares that the Bible is true, and it
proves it; and the two prove each other true. The Old and New
Testaments are the stick of Judah. You recollect that the tribe of
Judah tarried in Jerusalem and the Lord blessed Judah, and the result
was the writings of the Old and New Testaments. But where is the stick
of Joseph? Can yon tell where it is? Yes. It was the children of
Joseph who came across the waters to this continent, and this land was
filled with people, and the Book of Mormon or the stick of Joseph
contains their writings, and they are in the hands of Ephraim. Where
are the Ephraimites? They are mixed through all the nations of the
earth. God is calling upon them to gather out, and He is uniting them,
and they are giving the Gospel to the whole world. Is there any harm
or any false doctrine in that? A great many say there is. If there is,
it is all in the Bible.
When I first commenced to preach to the people, nearly forty years
ago, to believe the Bible was the great requisite. I have heard some
make the broad assertion that every word within the lids of the Bible
was the word of God. I have said to them, "You have never read the
Bible, have you?" "O, yes, and I believe every word in it is the word
of God." Well, I believe that the Bible contains the word of God, and
the words of good men and the words of bad men; the words of good
angels and the words of bad angels and words of the devil; and also
the words uttered by the ass when he rebuked the prophet in his
madness. I believe the words of the Bible are just what they are; but
aside from that I believe the doctrines concerning salvation contained
in that book are true, and that their observance will elevate any
people, nation or family that dwells on the face of the earth. The
doctrines contained in the Bible will lift to a superior condition all
who observe them; they will impart to them knowledge, wisdom, charity,
fill them with compassion and cause them to feel after the wants of
those who are in distress, or in painful or degraded circumstances.
They who observe the precepts contained in the Scriptures will be just
and true, and virtuous and peaceable at home and abroad. Follow out
the doctrines of the Bible and men will make splendid husbands, women
excellent wives, and children will be obedient; they will make
families happy and the nations wealthy and happy and lifted up above
the things of this life. Can any see any harm in all this? "Oh, but
you Mormons are such a strange people. It is true that we have found
things in Utah different from what we expected, but still you people
are so strange!" Why, what did you expect? Did you expect to see men
and women with fins like fishes? We are right from your country—from
England, France, Germany, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, New York, from the South, from every State in the Union; what
did you expect to see? We lived with you, went to school and
to meeting with you; but still the saying is, "Oh, the Mormons are a
strange people." It is true that we are; but in what does our
peculiarity consist? We do not believe in litigation, quarreling, or
in having contention with each other. We take the low and degraded and
lift them up. If it would be any satisfaction to any man in the world
to know what advantages President Young has had, I will say that I
used to have the privilege of cutting down the hemlock, beech and
maple trees with my father and my brothers: and then rolling them
together, burning the logs, splitting the rails, and fencing the
little fields. I wonder if any of you ever did this? You who came from
England, or from the rich prairies of Illinois or Missouri never did.
Well, this was my education. "Did you not go to school?" Yes; I went
eleven days, that was the extent of my schooling.
Now, if we can take the low and degraded and elevate them in their
feelings, language and manners; if we can impart to them the sciences
that are in the world, teach them all that books contain, and in
addition to all this, teach them principles that are eternal, and
calculated to make them a beautiful community, lovely in their
appearance, intelligent in every sense of the word, would you not say
that our system is praiseworthy and possesses great merit? Well, this
is all in that book called the Bible, and the faithful observance of
the principles taught in that book will do this for any family or
nation on the earth.
We are not anxious to obtain gold; if we can obtain it by raising
potatoes and wheat, all right. "Can't you make yourselves rich by
speculating?" We do not wish to. "Can't you make yourselves rich by
going to the gold mines?" We are right in the midst of them. "Why
don't you dig the gold from the earth?" Because it demoralizes any
community or nation on the earth to give them gold and silver to their
hearts' content; it will ruin any nation. But give them iron and coal,
good hard work, plenty to eat, good schools and good doctrine, and it
will make them a healthy, wealthy and happy people.
This is the great mystery with regard to the Latter-day Saints. We
have got a code of laws that the Lord Almighty has left on record in
the book called the Old and New Testaments. This same code is
contained in the Book of Mormon, also in another book we have, called
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. These doctrines are taught in all
these books, and taught alike.
Now then, does the voice of the Lord, as heard from the heavens, ever
teach men and women to do wrong? Never. You see a man or woman, in any
community, no matter where they are or who they are, that is inclined
to do a wrong act to themselves or anybody else, and they profess to
do that under a religious influence, and you may know that their ideas
of religion are false. Ladies and gentlemen, write that down. His
religion is false who does not have love to God and to his
fellow creatures; who does not cherish holiness of heart, purity of
life, and sanctification, that he may be prepared to enter again into
the presence of the Father and the Son.
The question was asked a great many times of Joseph Smith, by
gentlemen who came to see him and his people, "How is it that you can
control your people so easily? It appears that they do nothing but
what you say; how is it that you can govern them so easily?" Said he,
"I do not govern them at all. The Lord has revealed certain prin ciples from the heavens by which we are to live in these latter days.
The time is drawing near when the Lord is going to gather out His
people from the wicked, and He is going to cut short His work in
righteousness, and the principles which He has revealed I have taught
to the people and they are trying to live according to them, and they
control themselves."
Gentlemen, this is the great secret now in controlling this people. It
is thought that I control them, but it is not so. It is as much as I
can do to control myself and to keep myself straight and teach the
people the principles by which they should live. Do all do it? No, and
the consequence is we see wickedness in the land. Men do very wrong.
Who is guilty? The Lord? No. The religion we have embraced? No. The
counsel we have given? No. I have had the question asked me, in the
days of Joseph, "Mr. Young, I suppose that you would obey Joseph
Smith, let him tell you to do what he might?" "Well, I think I would."
"Suppose that he should tell you to kill your neighbor or to steal, or
to do this, that or the other, that is wrong, would you do it?" I
would reply, "Wait till I am told. I have never yet been told from
heaven, by Joseph Smith, the Old or New Testament, the Book of Mormon
or the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, to do a wrong thing; and I will
wait until I am, before I say what I would do; that is time enough."
"Well, have you not committed wrong?" I may have committed a great
many wrongs for want of judgment or wisdom—a little here and a little
there. "But have you not done great wrongs?" I have not. I know what
is in the hearts of almost every person who comes to this city. It is
hurled throughout the length and breadth of our country like lightning
that Brigham Young and the "Mormons" are guilty of doing this, that
and the other, I need not reiterate; and it is often asked, "Have not
you Mormons been guilty of this or that crime or evil?" I answer, no,
ladies and gentlemen, we have not. It is the wicked who do these
crimes; it is men who will go to hell; and then they try to palm them
off on the just and righteous. You can imagine what you please of the
stories you have read about the people of Utah from the pens of every
lying scribbler who has been here. Imagine what you please, but write
this down, publish it in your little paper (the Trans-Continental),
that a Saint will never do wrong if he knows it. If a man will do a
wrong thing willfully, he is not a Saint. When you hear of Brigham
Young, and of his brethren who are in the faith of the holy Gospel,
doing this wrong and that wrong, wait until you find out the truth
before you publish it to the world.
We have been asked a good many times, "Why do you not publish the
truth in regard to these lies which are circulated about you?" We
might do this if we owned all the papers published in Christendom. Who
will publish a letter from me or my brethren? Who will publish the
truth from us? If it gets into one paper, it is slipped under the
counter or somewhere else; but it never gets into a second. They will
send forth lies concerning us very readily. The old adage is that a
lie will creep through the keyhole and go a thousand miles while truth
is getting out of doors; and our experience has proved this. We have
not the influence and power necessary to refute the falsehoods
circulated about us. We depend on God, who sits in the heavens. Our
trust is in Him who created the heavens, who formed the earth, and who has brought forth His children on the earth, and who has given
the intelligence which they possess. He has given them the privilege
of choosing for themselves, whether it be good or evil; but the result
of our choice is still in His hand. All His children have the right of
making a path for themselves, of walking to the right or to the left,
of telling the truth or that which is not true. This right God has
given to all people who dwell on the earth, and they can legislate and
act as they please; but God holds them in His hands, and He will bring
forth the results to His glory, and for the benefit of those who love
and serve Him, and He will make the wrath of men to praise Him. All of
us are in the hands of that God. We are all His children. We are His
sons and daughters naturally, and by the principles of eternal life.
We are brethren and sisters. What is it that makes the distinctions we
see in the classes of the children of men? We see the low and the
degraded, like the aborigines of our country; what is the cause of
their being in their present condition? It is because of the rejection
by their fathers of the Gospel of the Son of God. The Gospel brings
intelligence, happiness, and glory to all who obey it and live
according to its precepts. It will give them intelligence that comes
from God. Their minds will be open so as to understand things as they
are; they will rejoice in being blessed themselves and in blessing
their fellow beings, and in being prepared to reenter the presence of
the Father and the Son. This will be their delight. Is this so? It is.
I was very much gratified a day or two ago with a little circumstance
that transpired while a company of ladies and gentlemen were visiting
me. We were talking over some circumstances relating to our coming to
the valleys, and our hardships after we got here. I said it was faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ that enabled us to endure. A lady present
said, "That is right, I believe in exercising faith in him. Have faith
in God, for God will bless all who have faith in Him, no matter who
they are nor by whom called; if you have faith in God, and live
according to the light you have, God will lead you to glory."
I delight to hear a person give an intimation of their having faith in
God; to hear it said, "I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in his
crucifixion and atonement, and in his ordinances." These ordinances we
are trying to live, that we may glorify God, and prepare ourselves to
build up His Zion on the earth, that the world may be filled with
peace, knowledge and joy.
God help us to do so!