In rising to address you this afternoon I feel as I always do, on like
occasions—the necessity of the influence and direction of the spirit
of the Lord. We, as a people, believe emphatically in the sustaining
hand of the Almighty, and in our speaking and in our hearing in the
assemblies of the Saints we always feel that it is a matter of the
greatest importance to us. We realize that God is near to us, that we
are acting under his guidance and direction, that we are his children
and require his aid, and that while we seek unto him for guidance and
direction we shall always have his Holy Spirit to lead us in the paths
of truth. In this respect as well as many others we differ from the
people of the generation in which we live. We came out from among them
years ago, because we believed in certain revelations that God had
made to the human family; and believing in these principles we have
assembled ourselves together as we are found, in these valleys of the
mountains, in the Territory of Utah. We have come here, ostensibly and
in reality, not to do our own will, but the will of our heavenly
Father; not to follow our own pursuits, but to try and pursue that
path which he should dictate in all things, temporal and spiritual,
pertaining to this world and the world to come; and hence we, as a
people, feel and realize our dependence upon the Almighty. We
conceive, as the old apostle did in generations past, that "in him we
live and move and from him we have our being;" and we conceive that we
derive all the enjoyments of life from him. Our religion emanated from
him, if it did not we have none, for it certainly is not founded upon
any principles that were extant in the world when it was revealed. If
he had not revealed his will and we had not believed in that
revelation we should not have been here; but believing in that, we are
assembled as we are today, here, and as we are through the valleys of
these mountains. We did not obtain our religion from anybody else, we
did not learn it in the colleges of the day nor from any system of
theology, nor any religious academy, neither in any theological
school. We are not trained, or brought up, or educated, or informed by
any intelligence that they have; the religion that we have we received
"not of man, neither by man, but by the revelations of the Lord Jesus
Christ." This is the position that we occupy today in regard to our
religious feelings, and if this is a fiction, then our religion is a
fiction altogether, for we have none. We claim no affinity, no
relationship, no association with any sect, any party, any
religionists that exist on the face of the wide earth; therefore they
cannot say, as some profess to do, that we have borrowed certain parts
of our religion from others. We have neither adopted the opinions of
Socrates, Mahommed, Paine, Luther, or the Hindoos; nor are we indebted
to Roman Catholicism, the Greek Church, Episcopalianism, or to Knox,
Calvin, Whitfield, Wesley, Campbell, Miller, or any other sects; our
religion in its entirety came from God, and we give to him, and not to
any man or any set of men, the glory.
In relation to our political position it is precisely the same. There
is an inherent principle of right planted in the human bosom, which
God has placed there, and which man never could, cannot now, nor ever
will uproot; principles of inherent right which all intelligent men,
when they have sought for the truth, with unbiased mind, and desired
sincerely to know, have invariably found. Governed by the principles
of right, and uninfluenced by party power or wealth there have always
been men inspired by an infallible divine afflatus, who have
recognized an innate, inalienable principle of justice and equity, in
every age and among all nations, and the records of the Babylonians,
the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, Romans and more modern nations bear
ample testimony to this fact. The principle of right is implanted in
the human bosom and inherent in the human family, among all
governments that have ever existed, and men of virtue, honor and truth
have always arrived at the same conclusions that we have. The founders
of our government, under the inspiration of the Almighty, and goaded
by an oppressive power, discovered the same elements, the same
principles, the same ideas that we have, and enunciated those eternal
principles and made them known to the world—"that all men are born
free and equal and have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness." The founders of the French Republic, about the same time,
made a declaration almost verbatim. It is the violation of the natural
rights of man that has deluged the earth with blood in all ages. These
principles were enunciated also by Joseph Smith, he believed in them,
so do we, in the right to think, in the right to speak, in the right
to act, in the right to do all things that are right and good and
proper, but not in the right to interfere with any other man's rights,
any other man's religion, any other man's principles. These are our
views. God has planted them in our bosom, they will remain there
eternally, for they are principles that dwell in the bosom of God. He
is not circumscribed or sectarian in his views, "he causes his sun to
shine on the evil and the good, and sends his rain on the just and
unjust." We certainly are not indebted for these principles to those
who come among us here, but God has implanted them in our bosoms, and
they will grow there and take root and spread and prevail, and the
worst wish we have to the human family is that the principles
enunciated in our Constitution may reverberate over the wide earth,
and spread from shore to shore until all mankind shall be free.
These are the things that we are struggling for, these are the things
for which we stand condemned at the present day, by the would-be
republicans and democracy of this corrupt generation with which we are
associated. Nevertheless, we have clung to them and shall cling to
them. Do any men come among us with religions that we consider false?
All right, let them worship as they please. Let them rant and roar and pray and halloo to their God, who seems to be deaf and can't
hear them, and let them take what course they please but let us alone.
We will let them alone. They may halloo until they crack their
throats, it will make no difference to us. We care nothing about their
opinions and dogmas, we have left their follies and nonsense and cant
and hypocrisy years ago, we want nothing to do with it. If they want
it they can take it, they can hug it to themselves as a sweet morsel,
and take their own course, but let us alone. We are indebted to God
for the blessings we enjoy, and this nation, whether they know it or
not, are indebted to the same source for all those pure, patriotic,
liberal, exalted notions that the wise, enlightened and honest
statesmen, inducted into our government years ago, and which those who
are not disfranchised among us, experience today. But God has nothing
to do with the corruption, fraud, hypocrisy and cant that exist,
whether among religionists or politicians. He is not the author of it,
it proceeds from beneath, from the father of lies. No good man will
seek to oppress the good, the pure, the virtuous, nor lend himself as
a tool for that purpose. We are seeking for those things that tend to
exalt, ennoble and purify the human family. We say to others, get out
of our way; let us alone. Hug your creeds! Hug your tyranny! Hug your
corruptions and lies to your bosoms, but let us alone. That is all we
ask and mean to have it, for the right and the might, and virtue and
truth will prevail; and iniquity, error, tyranny and oppression will
by and by be laid low, and Zion will rise and triumph, while the
wicked and corrupt are writhing and weltering in the results of their
own acts.
They would sympathize with us! We don't ask their sympathy; reserve it
for yourselves. They would purify us! What by? By their whoredoms here
right in our midst! By their drunkenness, by their gambling, by their
hells of infamy which they have introduced, and which are sustained by
legal authority here. That is the course they are taking. "My soul,
enter not thou into their secret; my honor, with them be not thou
united!" Talk about our ladies here associating with such wretches as
they! No never! No never!! No never!!! They will not mingle with
harlots, they have come of another stock, they are inspired by other
feelings, motives and views; they can't bow to it. Let them take their
rottenness to their own dens and wallow in it, we want nothing to do
with it! They can take their pity and everything else they have got
and stuff themselves with it, and I hope that our sisters here, both
young and aged, have enough respect for themselves to keep out of the
company and society of such corrupt wretches. I don't think it is
necessary to say so, but these are my feelings and I tell them.
The Lord has given us a work to do, and by his help we shall do it. He
has placed the Gospel of life and salvation in our hands, and we have
carried it from the rivers to the end of the earth without begging all
over the world for a little help and charity. We can go trusting in
God. The elders of this church, whom I see around me, have wandered
over this wide world, trusting in the Almighty for their support, and
he has been with them, and they don't need to cringe and bow, and
lie, and misrepresent to get somebody to give them a little money to
help them on with their religion.
We believe in the great truths which God has revealed for the
salvation of the human family; we are engaged in building up and
establish ing the Kingdom of God on the earth. The great
Eloheim is our father, friend and benefactor; we lean upon his arm,
and we know that he will guide and direct, influence and control the
affairs of his people, therefore we rely upon him. We have engaged in
nothing but what we have been directed by the Almighty in, except some
of us who have got aside into transgression. We are married to our
wives and don't want any other associations. We respect and honor
them, we cleave unto them, and we will do so in time and throughout
all eternity (Congregation said "amen." ). Some of our miserable
apostates may shake and tremble in their boots when somebody at the
East tells them what is going to come. They may break their covenants
with God and their wives, and forsake them. We are not afraid of these
things, we have learned a lesson, not in their school. We can't
forsake those whom God has given to us, but we will cleave to them
forever and forever, worlds without end. That is our view; that is mine.
I have no covenants to violate, nobody to forsake. This people's God
is my God, their religion is my religion, where they go I hope to be
found, where they live I wish to live, where they die I want to be
buried. I want to be associated with them in time and in eternity. I
don't believe in the God of the religions of this world, nor in their
heaven, nor in anything pertaining to it. I don't want to go to a
heaven "beyond the bounds of time and space." I don't want to worship
a God "without body, parts or passions." I have no reverence for him.
I don't want anything to do with him. They can worship him and go to
their own heaven, and let us alone.
I will tell you what we have to do as Latter-day Saints—live our
re ligion, keep the commandments of God and be virtuous. Do not mingle
with these abominations that have been imported into your midst, keep
away from them and let them alone, and let the wicked and corrupt
wallow in their wickedness and corruption. Have nothing to do with it.
Don't go to their balls, assemblies or associations, keep apart from
them and let them alone, they are not worthy of your association. We
live in a purer atmosphere, we breathe a purer air, we worship another
God, we have another religion, one that is very willing and liberal
enough to extend to all the rights that all men want, but we will not
associate with them in their corruption and infamy. They may wallow on
"Whiskey" St. and have their whore houses if they like, and be
sustained if they so choose by judicial authority, but God deliver us
from them! We want nothing to do with them. I am ashamed of such
things, and did think once there was some decency among men, but I am
changing my opinion. Let us cleave to our religion and humble
ourselves before God, pray to him, keep his commandments, and be
virtuous and pure and holy! Remember your prayers; be true and
faithful to each other and to your covenants, keep the commandments of
the Almighty, and the blessings of Israel's God will rest upon you,
and no power this side of hell or the other side either shall harm
you. It is our duty to serve God; it is God's duty to take care of his
Saints, and he will say to all powers that may be arrayed against you,
as he did to the mighty swelling flood, "Hitherto shall thou go and no
further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed."
We are in the hands of God, and our enemies are in the hands of God,
we are all in the hands of the Almighty, and he will sustain
the right, and Israel shall be victorious, therefore you need not
trouble about what this man or the other man, or this combination or
the other combination can do, they can do nothing but what God will
let them; for the God we serve is not dead, he lives yet, and he hears
the prayers of his servants, and he will stand by and save and deliver
them, and Israel shall rejoice and truth shall prevail, and the
kingdom of God will roll onward, and the purposes of God will be
accomplished. The potsherds of the earth may strive with the potsherds
of the earth; but in interfering with righteousness and virtue they
may run against the fierce bosses of Jehovah's buckler, and he will
tell them by and by to: "Stand back, touch not mine anointed, and do
my prophets no harm!" He will deliver Israel and his Saints shall be
joyful in him.
Brethren, God bless Israel! I thought I would like to say a few words
to you. Be not timid, any of you, for God is on the side of right, and
he will protect his people; and let their enemies look out! Don't
fight! You need not think anything about that. Fear God and keep your
powder dry, but don't shoot anybody. Be ready always. Watch everybody
in all their operations. Be quick, lively and energetic, but you need
not fear. We want no vigilant societies here, nor bloodtubs, nor
"Pluguglies," nor Ku-Klux, nor John Brown raids, nor Jayhawkers, as
they frequently have down east and west and south. We don't want any
secret organizations of any kind, nor any infractions of law.
Let others be breakers of the law, and us the keepers of it, let
others trample under foot human rights, and us maintain them. If we
were in Russia we would take all the liberty they would give to us,
and we will take all we can get here, and the remainder we will
contend for, and we will keep contending for it until honor and
honesty and truth can hold up their heads unabashed before the world,
and until all that love honor, truth, integrity, pure and correct
principles and equal rights shall be exalted and the wicked be put
down.
These are the things we are contending for, and we will keep
contending for them as long as we live, and we will instruct our
children after us to contend for them. If others want to play the part
of tyrants let them do so and they will find the tyrant's end. It is
for us to keep the commandments of God, and in doing that we need not
break the laws of the land. Why, bless your souls, we can live
anything that anybody else can! We profess to be governed by a higher
law, let us move in a higher atmosphere; and let these miserable dogs
take their course, pursue their own path and do as they please. We can
submit to anything that they can. Don't be troubled, you need not be
hurt. We do not propose to leave here; they are not able to rob us of
all. They may do a little stealing. They have laid out great plans,
but they will accomplish very little. We can stand it if they can. I
would rather be the man that was robbed than the robber; I would
rather be stolen from than be the thief; I would rather be the
oppressed than the oppressor; I would rather suffer wrong than do
wrong. And if they can stand these things we can, and let us do it
manfully and womanfully.
I am glad there is a little spirit among our sisters, and that they
dare say their souls are their own. I don't like to see people
sneaking about with their heads down, and fretting about every little
wind that blows. It will be all right with us, never fear. We will live so far above them that they can't touch us; and their
infamies will be so plain that they will be proclaimed on the
housetops, and everybody will be ashamed of them as we are today. May
God help us to do right and to be faithful in keeping his
commandments, in the name of Jesus, Amen.