I would like the attention of the congregation. First, to my brethren
and sisters, How do you do? I hope you are well. My health is very
excellent. I am happy to greet you again. It gives me pleasure to see
the people, but greater pleasure to see them striving to do the will
of God.
I understand that this morning the congregation were treated to a
discourse giving the details of our travels for fifty-two days. I have
no doubt they were very satisfactory. Those who heard the remarks of
Brother George A. Smith this morning must be aware that we are
somewhat fatigued in body and want a little rest. We went from here to
rest; but traveling every day for nearly two months, and holding
sometimes two or three meetings a day, does not afford much chance for
rest. However, it was a change—a change of climate, scenery,
congregations and friends; and we have had great pleasure in visiting
the Saints. It is delightful to see those who profess to be Saints
living together in unity and peace, which I am happy to say is the
case to a great degree with the people among whom we have been
traveling.
When we talk to and instruct the people we have to chasten and correct
them sometimes, so as to lead their minds to principles more advanced
than they are in the habit of practicing. The Latter-day Saints are an
excellent good people; but when we contemplate the perfection of the
inhabitants of Zion we see that there is an opportunity for a great
deal of improvement. Of the time that is allotted to man here on the
earth there is none to lose or to run to waste. After suitable rest
and relaxation there is not a day, hour or minute that we should spend
in idleness, but every minute of every day of our lives we should
strive to improve our minds and to increase in the faith of the holy
Gospel, in charity, patience, and good works, that we may grow in the
knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. If we are not Saints
I do not think I ever saw any; but still there is a lack in the faith
and works of this people, preparatory to the inhabiting of the Zion
that is spoken and prophesied of and written about.
There are a great many texts which might be used, very comprehensive
and full of meaning, but I know of none, either in the Old or New
Testament, more so than that saying, said to have been made by the
Savior, and I have no doubt it was, "If ye love me, keep my
commandments." You recollect that, after the resurrection, when Jesus
came to Peter and others who had been fishing all night, but had
caught nothing, he said to them, "Cast your net to the right side of
the ship." They did so, and we read that they drew a multitude to
shore, and then they beheld their Savior. After broiling and
eating of their fish, Jesus, knowing their feelings, and how apt men
are to forget that which they once knew, said to Peter, "Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more them these?" pointing to the fish. They had
professed to love him; they had followed him, and had suffered
persecution for his sake; they had delighted in his words, rejoiced in
his labors, and had seen the wonderful works which he performed, and
some which, in his name, they had performed themselves; yet, after all
this, they seemed inclined to turn away and go a fishing; and when
they had caught fish and drawn them to the shore, Jesus said, "Do you
love me more than you love these?" He had previously told them: "If ye
love me, keep my commandments."
How long? For a day? Keep the commandments of the Lord for a week?
Observe and do his will for a month or a year? There is no promise to
any individual, that I have any knowledge of, that he shall receive
the reward of the just, unless he is faithful to the end. If we fully
understand and faithfully carry out in our lives the saying of Jesus,
"If ye love me, keep my commandments," we shall be prepared to go back
and dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son.
What are his commandments? Did he ever teach the people anything that
is wrong? If we read the requirements made by Jesus, by the Father, or
by any messenger sent from the Heavens to the children of men we shall
find nothing that will injure any human being or that will destroy the
soul of one of the sons or daughters of Adam and Eve. Many think that
the sayings and doings of some of the prophets and servants of God, in
ancient and modern times, said and done in obedience to the commands
of the Lord Almighty, tend to evil; but it is not so. All God's
requirements tend to good to His children. Any notion to the contrary
is the result of ignorance. The human family are enveloped in
ignorance, so far as the origin and object of their existence here is
concerned. Their ignorance, superstition, darkness and blindness are
very apparent to all who are in the least enlightened by the spirit of
truth. They seek to hide themselves in ignorance and blindness rather
than learn who they are and the object of their being here. What do
the human family know of God or Jesus, or of the words which I have
quoted, "If ye love me, keep my commandments?" "Search the
Scriptures,
for in them ye think ye have eternal life," says Jesus, "and they are
they which testify of me." They testify of the Savior, of his
doctrines and requirements, and of the ordinances of his house; the
plan of salvation is there portrayed, and any person who follows its
dictation may redeem himself from the thralldom of sin, and know, by
the Spirit, that Jesus is the Christ. All who will take this course
will know by revelation that God is our Father; they will understand
the relationship they hold to him and to their fellow beings. The
world may in vain ask the question, "Who are we?" But the Gospel tells
us that we are the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve. Some
say, "We are the children of Adam and Eve." So we are, and they are
the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all the children of Adam
and Eve, and they and we are the offspring of Him who dwells in the
heavens, the highest Intelligence that dwells anywhere that we have
any knowledge of. Here we find ourselves, and when infants, the most
helpless, and need ing the most care and attention of any
creatures that come into being on the face of the earth. Here we find
in ourselves the germ and the foundation, the embryo of exaltation,
glory, immortality and eternal lives. As we grow up we receive
strength, knowledge and wisdom, some more and some less; but only by
keeping the commands of the Lord Jesus can we have the privilege of
knowing the things pertaining to eternity and our relationship to the
heavens.
When I contemplate the effects of keeping the commands of the Lord,
and look at the Christian world, I cannot help being struck with the
difference of the results which flow from serving God and Satan. I
have dwelt, for many years, in the Christian world. I have tried to
learn all that they know. But what does it amount to? Nothing. How
many chapters, pamphlets, and volumes have been written upon the Holy
Ghost, the birth of the Savior, and concerning the being of that God
whom we serve? But who knows the truth pertaining to these subjects or
to any one of them? Not one. But all who keep the commandments of
Jesus have the privilege of gaining a correct understanding of these
things. If we draw near to him, he will draw near to us; if we seek
him early, we shall find him; if we apply our minds faithfully and
diligently, day by day, to know and understand the mind and will of
God, it is as easy as, yes, I will say easier than, it is to know the
minds of each other, for to know and understand ourselves and our own
being is to know and understand God and His being. It is true there is
a great deal of speculation in the world; and it becomes more apparent
every year; and it will continue so until the people believe in the
Gospel of the Son of God, or are given over to infidelity. See the
sects and parties springing up here and springing up there, from this
and that, and embracing this and the other phantom; or following after
this and that dream or fantasy of their imagination. They are
dividing and subdividing, and drifting, as fast as time can roll, into
infidelity.
Who will know the Son of God? Who will know that Jesus is the Christ?
Who, in this our day, can say as Peter did, "Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God." How many will come to this? Very few. How
often I have contemplated the condition of the Christian world! I have
preached the Gospel to hundreds of thousands of them. Did they
believe? If they did, they did not yield obedience. They would contend
and argue against the truth, but only one here and another there, or
as it is written, "one of a city, and two of a family;" or, to reverse
it, one of a family and two of a city, would obey it, and gather with
the Saints. Many of those who have gathered, when they have been
blessed with a few of the good things of this life, have lifted their
heels against Jesus and in opposition to his commands and revelations,
and have turned away to fables. I have often asked this question, "Has
one-half of those who have obeyed the Gospel and been baptized into
the Church ever gathered with the Saints?" No, they have not; and to
many who have gathered the Gospel soon became like a dream. They have
had their minds opened and seen things correctly; they have had the
manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord and have rejoiced in the
truth; but by and by, through the lusts of the flesh, they have become
sordid, have turned again to the world, and have forgot the Gospel and
its blessings.
Is this the case with the Saints? It is the case with many who have been called Saints, and yet we say that the Latter-day Saints,
as a body, are the best people that can be found. Who would have done
as they have? Who, in the world, are willing to manifest that they are
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the prophets and Apostles, and
in Joseph Smith? One of the Apostles, writing of confessing the
Savior, says, "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus is the Christ
is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is the
Christ is not of God." I say that every spirit that confesseth Jesus
to be the Savior of the world, the Old and New Testament and the Book
of Mormon to be true, and Joseph Smith to be a prophet, is of God; but
every spirit that does not confess these things is not of God.
I can say to my brethren and sisters who profess to believe in the
Gospel of the Son of God, as it has been revealed to us in these
latter days, that we need to pay attention to our faith, and to
observe the principles of our religion inviolate, and to live by every
word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, or we shall not be
prepared to inherit that glory that we anticipate. Is this so? It is,
most assuredly. I know that many Latter-day Saints think when they
have obeyed the Gospel, made a sacrifice in forsaking their homes,
perhaps their parents, husbands, wives, children, farms, native lands,
or other things held dear, that the work is done; but it is only just
commenced. The work of purifying ourselves and preparing to build up
the Zion of God on this continent has only just begun with us when we
have got as far as that. Are we prepared now to establish the Zion
that the Lord designs to build up? I have many times asked the
questions, "Where is the man that knows how to lay the first rock for
the wall that is to surround the New Jerusalem or the Zion of God on
the earth? Where is the man who knows how to construct the first gate
of the city? Where is the man who understands how to build up the
kingdom of God in its purity and to prepare for Zion to come down to
meet it?" "Well," says one, "I thought the Lord was going to do
this."
So He is if we will let Him. That is what we want: we want the people
to be willing for the Lord to do it. But He will do it by means. He
will not send His angels to gather up the rock to build up the New
Jerusalem. He will not send His angels from the heavens to go to the
mountains to cut the timber and make it into lumber to adorn the city
of Zion. He has called upon us to do this work; and if we will let Him
work by, through, and with us, He can accomplish it; otherwise we
shall fall short, and shall never have the honor of building up Zion
on the earth. Is this so? Certainly. Well, then, let us keep the
commandments.
What are His commandments to us? Has He commanded us to build an ark?
No. He told Noah to do that for the salvation of those who would go
into it; and after he had built it, and had preached righteousness for
a long space of time, warning the people of the coming judgments of
the Almighty, how many believed his testimony? Only eight souls, and
they were members of his own family. All the rest were swept from the
face of the earth. This is according to the account given to us in the
Old Testament which we believe. I know that there are a great many in
the world who are so wise in their own eyes that they are not disposed
to believe the account contained in the Bible of the Creation, of Adam
and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the antediluvian world and other
things, but we profess to believe, and we do or should believe
these things.
The Lord has said that He will never again destroy the world by a
flood. What will the next great catastrophe be? It will be fire: He
will cleanse the earth as by fire, and will purify and make it holy,
and prepare it for the habitation of His Saints. But in doing this,
which will be accomplished by the united labors of His Saints under
His direction, He has not told us to build an ark; He has not told us
to go out of Sodom, as He did Lot and his family; neither has He told
us to go down into Egypt or to come out of Egypt. What has He told us?
He has told us, and it is recorded in the revelations contained in the
New Testament, that in the latter days He would send His angel flying
through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach
to those who dwell on the earth. That angel has flown, the Gospel is
delivered, the kingdom is established, and Zion has to be built up.
Are the Latter-day Saints going to do this? Yes, we say so; we think
the Latter-day Saints are going to do it. But are these my brethren
and sisters now before me going to do it? Am I going to help to do it?
I know that I have labored nearly forty years to get the people to
believe and to embrace, in their faith and practice, what the Lord has
told us to do. The Lord wants to build up His Zion, and He wants to
build it up through you and me. We are the ones He has called upon.
Will we consent to do this? I firmly believe that, before we make any
very effectual progress in the accomplishment of that work, we must
become more united and more fervent in our faith and practice than we
have ever yet been at any time. We have to become more like a single
family, and be one, that we may be the Lord's;
and not every one have his own individual interest.
This is destructive, this disconnects the feelings of the people one
from another, and causes divisions and disunion. But when we make the
general cause of Zion our individual cause it brings us closer
together.
We must observe all the words of the Lord. The commandments contained
in the New Testament with regard to the ordinances of the house of God
are obligatory upon us. But we are not called upon to build an ark to
save ourselves; we are called to build up Zion. God has spoken from
the heavens, and given us revelations, and it is for you and me to
obey. The command has been given, it is recorded, and you can all read
for yourselves.
In partaking of this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper we are all agreed.
When Jesus broke the bread and poured out and blessed the wine, said
he, "Do this till I come." We do it every Sabbath in remembrance of
him, and we all agree in doing this. When the word is, "Be baptized
for the remission of sins," we also agree on this: no dissenting voice.
When we say we must have hands laid on for the reception of the Holy
Ghost, we all consent to it, all feel alike in this. When we say that
the Lord is pouring out the gifts of prophecy, revelation, tongues,
visions, faith, healings, and so forth, we all agree in these things.
They are all right, all correct, we believe in them all, and we yield
obedience to them. But when He speaks from the heavens and says, "Now,
my children, gather out from the wicked," some consent to this, and
actually go so far as to gather, and that is why we are here in these
mountains. But our labor is not done: we must still progress until we
become one. The Lord says, "Be one, except ye are one, ye are not mine, be united." But do we take a course to become so? I will
ask, have we, as a general thing, obeyed the first revelations, to
gather to Zion, and when there, to consecrate our property and devote
all our substance, time and talents for the building up the kingdom?
Have we obeyed the commandments and requirements of Heaven in yielding
up everything to the will of God, and being dictated, as we should be,
by the spirit of revelation? No, we have not. Herein we come short of
that that we might do and perform for our own benefit, and for the
salvation of others, for it is not only for the glory of God, but for
our own benefit that we each of us labor. The Lord is perfectly
independent: He has received His glory, He reigns supreme and
omnipotent. He is not dependent upon you and me. If every one of us
should apostatize and go down to hell, it would neither add to nor
diminish from His glory. He would mourn at our folly in turning away
from the holy commandments and suffering the wrath of the Almighty to
come upon us; the Heavens would weep over us, but still the Lord has
His glory, and you and I are not laboring for His benefit. For whose
benefit are we laboring? For our own. All my preaching, laboring, and
toils in this kingdom have been for myself, to get into the Celestial
Kingdom of God. I have been laboring for that and nothing else.
The Latter-day Saints require considerable preaching to; they ought to
pray a little more; they are doing pretty well, but if we try to draw
them a little closer together, how quickly we see the selfishness of
the children of men in our own midst. If we ask them to devote their
time, talents and powers more completely to the building up of the
Kingdom of God, one says, "This is mine, I am not going to have
anybody control me;" another one says, "I am not going to submit to
this." Why, bless me! What have they? Nothing but what the Lord gave
them, even to their own lives. Everything they have is what the Lord
has given, and He can take it away at His pleasure. He can bestow
millions upon them if He pleases, or take away at His pleasure. Yet,
while men will acknowledge this, one will say, "I am not going to be
controlled;" and another, "I am going to draw out of this." You have
heard and seen through this city a great deal of talking, writing, and
sophistry on this subject. No matter how many pretty words are strung
together into sentences and made to appear beautiful on paper, it
amounts to nothing. It is the truth; it is the love and the power of
the Lord Almighty, and it is the Gospel of the Son of God that you and
I have embraced. Should we be controlled by that? Yes, in everything.
Well, get the people united together and they will be controlled by
it; but as it is now, the purchasing of a little merchandise sends a
parcel of them to the devil. It is folly in the extreme! By and by
such characters will go to their own place. There will be no carriages
there; no horses, fine houses, silks and satins there. Oh, the
foolishness of the children of men!
Who are we, I ask again? We are the children of the Almighty, of Him
who framed this earth and brought it into existence and placed His
children upon it, to see what they would do. He gave them their agency
and said, "Now, act for yourselves;" and every one does act for
himself, for good or evil, for blessings or curses. We all act for
ourselves. I am laboring expressly to get back again into the presence
of my Father and of my elder brother. What are you laboring
for? Gold? Just see how some are running to the gold mines! "Oh," says
one, "there is silver found yonder." Says another, "There is gold or
there is copper found yonder." See the greediness of the hearts of the
children of men, and that too right in the midst of this people. We
can praise the people, generally a great deal; we give them credit for
considerable good they have done; but we cannot give our brethren and
sisters credit for any particular good while following the foolish
fashions of the world. The Lord cannot credit them for running after
gold and silver and the riches of this world. If they do good, they
shall receive credit; if they give alms to the poor, they shall
receive credit for it. If they are disposed to do anything for the
benefit of the kingdom of God on the earth, they will be blessed and
credited for it. But when their hearts are turned from the holy
commandments of the Lord Jesus, and to seeking after the things of
this life, which perish, they will find that they will perish as well
as the things they are using. What a pity! How lamentable it is.
Now I ask the Latter-day Saints, have you anything to fear? Yes, you
have. Have I anything to fear? Yes. What is it? I fear lest I may
slacken in my faith and obedience in living as the Spirit of the Lord
Almighty has required me to live, and is urging this people to live,
so that we may be worthy to build up Zion. Have you or I anything else
to be afraid of? No; not at all. I have no fear of heavenly beings,
for they are my friends. I want to go to their society and to be
associated with them. I like some of God's messengers, who travel
about, to visit me. I am fond of their society. I like the spirits
that dwell there. I want to go home; I want to go back again and live
there forever. Why, the thought that the intelligence that is brought
into existence here, may be annihilated, is enough to make one
shudder! There are some who go so far in their unbelief that they deny
the resurrection of the body; and even to say that the soul sleeps
eternally. What is the use of your intelligence, what is it good for
if this be true? There is no such thing as destroying element! There
is no such philosophy as annihilation. If the spirit should return to
native element the element would not be destroyed; the particles of
matter will remain forever. There are some now getting so lofty in
their imaginations, and so wise and intelligent in their own
estimation that they pretend to explain all the mysteries of the past,
present and future. They are like some called Latter-day Saints; they
can talk very glibly about the principles of what they term the
Gospel; but the practical workings of the religion of the Savior they
know or care little about. You come to the Latter-day Saints, and you
may find plenty who talk their religion a great deal; you may find a
hundred willing even to die for it to one who is willing to live it.
If all were willing to live it we would risk the dying; we care
nothing about that. We shall all go sooner or later. We shall not stay
in this world in our present condition forever. Something or other
will divide this intelligence or spirit from the body which it
inhabits; and the tabernacle will go down to dust. Our spirits will
not sleep an eternal sleep, but our bodies will be resurrected, and
our spirits and our bodies will be reunited; and all who believe to
the contrary are in a state of darkness, wretchedness and unbelief.
Brethren and sisters, be faithful to your religion. There is
not the least reason for fear from any other source in the world. Keep
as calm as a summer's evening; no harm can come to him who serves God
with all his heart and trusts in Him for future results. "But" some
say, "cannot they kill us?" Yes, they can kill you and me, if the Lord
permits; but if He does not, I reckon they cannot. And suppose they do
kill us! Do we want to stay in this world in our present condition for
ever? O, no. If Joseph and Hyrum Smith had not been killed in Carthage
jail, do you think they would have lived forever? No, they could not;
the fiat has gone forth that our bodies must all return to mother
earth.
There is no danger for the Latter-day Saints. The Lord reigns. He has
said that he would fight our battles. Has He done so? Look back, ye
Saints, for forty years, from the sixth of this month, when this
Church was organized. Brother George A. Smith and a few of us were
away on the anniversary of the day; but you, here, had a little
Conference and adjourned over. Did you realize that forty years had
elapsed since this Church was organized? Yes, and there is no question
that you talked of it. Look back, members of this Church, for
thirty-nine years! Has the Lord fought our battles? He has. Has He
protected and fed and clothed us? Certainly He has. When we came here
no man knew that we could raise an ear of corn, and a great many
believed that we could not. How many contended against our setting out
fruit trees? Said they, "You never can raise an apple, plum, or pear,
and you certainly can never raise a peach or an apricot. We told them
we should set out trees and trust in the Lord; and although when we
came here everything was freezing to death, yet now, through the Lord
blessing the elements and tempering the soil, water and atmosphere,
the Saints in every settlement are raising beautiful grains and
fruits; and the people are increasing and multiplying. Wherever we
have been on our recent journey they flocked out by hundreds to
welcome us; and there were swarms of healthy, bright intelligent
children everywhere.
Talk about polygamy! There is no true philosopher on the face of the
earth but what will admit that such a system, properly carried out
according to the order of heaven, is far superior to monogamy for the
raising of healthy, robust children! A person possessing a moderate
knowledge of physiology, or who has paid attention to his own nature
and the nature of the gentler sex, can readily understand this.
"But," says one, "are we not all to be killed for our belief in this
principle?" I reckon not. "Are we not going to be driven from our
homes?" I don't know. This is a good place; I would like to stay here;
I would rather not go; I have considerable to leave if we should go
from here. I do not know how to do without the liberty that my father
fought for. He went into the Revolutionary army when he was fourteen
years old, and stayed until the close of the war; and I do not know
how to do without that liberty anyway in the world. I guess I can
think as I please, and I guess I can live happy, I shall try to, at
any rate, until I finish my work, and I rather think you will,
brethren and sisters, if you love Jesus, and prove it by keeping his
commandments. If you do this, there is no danger in the world. But
when I look round and see the foolish habits of the people, it is a
little mortifying, and I wish it were otherwise. Still we put up with
it, and do the best we can; and talk and preach and set you
examples, and teach you how to be Saints in very deed, so that by and
by you may be prepared to go and build up the Center Stake of Zion. If
I have to go from here, if I live to do so, I want to go to Jackson
County. May I? (Yes, from the congregation.) That is the place I want
to go to. It is not healthy like this; but the Lord will make it so,
and He will bless the soil, the water, and the atmosphere, and they
will become healthy if the Saints will live their religion. Let us do
the will of God and there is no fear from any quarter. I never felt
calmer since I have been in this Church, and I have been in the wars.
I have left my home five times, and a good handsome property each
time; but I do not feel a bit like it now, and I cannot get the spirit
of it.
To the Latter-day Saints I say, live your religion, sanctify the Lord
God in your hearts, live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
God, and we shall be prospered.
God bless you. Amen.