A portion of this congregation have been brought up in America, and
are more or less acquainted with the Constitution, with the
Constitutional rights of the people, with the institutions of the
country, with the State governments, laws, &c.; and if they have paid
particular attention, and have heard brother Bullock read my written
discourse, so that they could understand it, they know whether their
minds, feelings, and judgments coincide with mine, upon the views that
have just been presented.
For one, I can say they are true; they are the sentiments of this
people, so far as they are acquainted with the principles of the
government of the United States; though a part of our present
community have not been reared under the benign influences of the
institutions of our parent government. But as far as they understand,
I will venture to say that these are the sentiments of all the
Latter-day Saints.
In my conversation, I shall talk and act as I please. Still I am
always aware, when speaking in public, that there are those present
who are disposed to find fault with this people, and to try to raise a
prejudice against them; and they will pick up isolated words and
sentences, and put them together to suit themselves, and send forth a
garbled version to prejudice the world against us. Such a course I
never care anything about; for I have frequently said, spoken words
are but wind, and when they are spoken are gone; consequently I take
liberties in speaking which I do not allow when I commit my sentiments
to writing.
The discourse that has just been read, pointing out the path this
people have walked in, is merely a brief summary of our experience, of
what we have borne, and of what we believe.
Before the Book of Mormon was printed, and immediately after Joseph
Smith obtained the plates, and the revelations he received concerning
this record being the record of the Nephites, and of the Lamanites,
who are the fathers of the present aborigines of our country, and in
which the Lord told him that He was about to set to His hand the
second time to gather Israel, the war commenced against him; this was
long before the book was printed. I will now tell you all a secret,
although it has already been read to you; it is this, Christ and
Belial are not friends, they are enemies. We ask where Christ's Church
is. My conclusive answer is, if the Latter-day Saints do not
constitute the Kingdom of God on the earth, the Church of Jesus
Christ, it is no where to be found upon it. It is easily proved by the
Scriptures that no other church, professing to believe in the Old and
New Testament, bears hardly a resemblance to the ancient true
Church in the fulness of the doctrines of the Lord Jesus.
So far as morality goes, in many instances I have no complaints to
make. Thousands and millions of people live according to the best
light they have, but the Holy Priesthood is not on the earth, unless
the Latter-day Saints have it. It is the Priesthood again given to the
children of men—shall I say it out? ["Yes." ] That raises the devil,
and makes all hell angry; and the servants of the devil will run to
and fro, and publish his lies about Christ and his Church on the
earth. They are not angry with me or with you; and the professors of
Christianity, the priests, are not angry with us, but they are filled
with wrath and indignation with themselves, and with the Almighty. Why
are they angry? Because they are men, and like other men. If a man
sees his house about to fall, if he sees something or other
continually gnawing, and gnawing, and picking, and operating upon the
foundation, and discovers that by and by his house must fall, perhaps
when he is asleep, or when he is gone from home, and destroy his women
and children, he is all the time worried, and in a stew; all the time
watching with a fearful looking for the time when it will crumble to
pieces. This is the difficulty with the professing Christian world. Is
it so with the Infidel? No, he does not care anything about the
matter; but those sweet, loving, blessed Christians, the priest in the
pulpit, and the deacon under it, and the sage followers of their own
nonsense and the traditions of their fathers are the ones who are at
war with the Eternal Priesthood of God.
The Universalists say that we are all going to heaven in a heap
together, and if they believe their religion they do not trouble
themselves about "Mormonism." Though I confess that I think the most
of them are like the old man who was a strong believer in
Universalism, and, while walking among his cattle, and musing over his
doctrine, stepped up to a favorite ox, and said to himself, "I believe
the doctrine of the Universalists, but, old Bright, as well as I love
you, I would willingly give you if I knew it was true." You find a man
who does not believe in any religious doctrines, who does not believe
in a future existence, and what does he care about "Mormonism?"
Nothing at all.
Who is it that stirs up the devil all the time? Those sanctified
hypocrites, those old sectarians, who profess so much sanctity, and so
much religion. They see that their old favorite dwelling is crumbling
to the dust, never to be rebuilt again before "Mormonism" will
triumph. That is what stirs up all the mischief. It was priests who
first persecuted Joseph Smith. I will here relate a few of the
circumstances which I personally knew concerning the coming forth of
the plates, from a part of which the Book of Mormon was translated.
This fact may be new to several, but I had a personal knowledge with
regard to many of those circumstances.
I well knew a man who, to get the plates, rode over sixty miles three
times the same season they were obtained by Joseph Smith. About the
time of their being delivered to Joseph by the angel, the friends of
this man sent for him, and informed him that they were going to lose
that treasure, though they did not know what it was. The man I refer
to was a fortuneteller, a necromancer, an astrologer, a soothsayer,
and possessed as much talent as any man that walked on the American
soil, and was one of the wickedest men I ever saw. The last time he
went to obtain the treasure he knew where it was, and told where it
was, but did not know its value. Allow me to tell you that a Baptist
deacon and others of Joseph's neighbors were the very men who
sent for this necromancer the last time he went for the treasure. I
never heard a man who could swear like that astrologer; he swore
scientifically, by rule, by note. To those who love swearing, it was
musical to hear him, but not so to me, for I would leave his presence.
He would call Joseph everything that was bad, and say, "I believe he
will get the treasure after all." He did get it, and the war commenced
directly.
When Joseph obtained the treasure, the priests, the deacons, and
religionists of every grade, went hand in hand with the
fortuneteller, and with every wicked person, to get it out of his
hands, and, to accomplish this, a part of them came out and persecuted
him.
Ours is professedly a Christian nation, and those who profess to be
Christians should be so in very deed; if they were, they would not
hesitate to have a good man and a Christian preside over them. As much
as is said against Christians sitting in the Presidential chair of the
government, they are the only suitable persons to rule, and should be
taught of the Lord by dreams and visions. But after all the hue and
cry about "Church and State," there has not been a President, nor a
Governor, in our day, but what has been controlled, more or less, by
priests who deny revelation, believe not in visions, and receive not
the ministration of angels. Presidents, Governors, Members of the
Cabinet and of Congress are more or less controlled either by the
priests, or by a traditionary religious influence; and at the same
time nearly all of them will turn round and curse the priests, and
curse religion to the lowest hell, while they are governed and
controlled by it. The false religion that is in the world, is what
raises this "hue and cry," misguides the people, and opposes itself
against the Kingdom of God on the earth. Now if we would only fall in
with the wicked all would be right, and then no person would wish to
persecute us.
I will mention a few sayings and doings that transpired in Missouri,
when they had Joseph and many others in prison. Old General Clark had
discretionary power, from Governor Boggs, to kill man, woman, and
child, or to spare the women and children, or distribute the whole
community of the Saints among the other inhabitants, just as he
pleased. The cause of this was laid to "Mormon disturbances," "Mormon
troubles;" though the "Mormons" had not been out of their own county,
for they owned nearly all the county where they lived, and they did
not go beyond their own boundaries except upon lawful and necessary
business. We had given up our arms, by their request, to prove our
loyalty to the government, and then many of them said, "Now, God damn
you, we will shoot you;" and some of the Saints were killed after they
had surrendered their arms, in faithful compliance with the
requisition.
The starting point of our persecutions there arose by our enemies
setting fire to their own houses, and swearing that they were burnt
out and driven by the "Mormons." This I know, for it came under my own
observation. When General Clark came into Far West with his army, he
sent George M. Hinkle, the apostate, to call out the remainder of the
brethren on to the public square, and when they were assembled he
surrounded them with his men, and said, "Gentlemen, I have
discretionary power in my hands, and I will now tell you what we
desire. We wish one to go home with this man, and another with that
man, and take your wives and children with you, and distribute
yourselves through the State. You are the best mechanics and the most
industrious people we have; and you have accomplished more
here in two years, than our old settlers have in twelve. We wish you
to live with us. Why cannot you associate with us? I want you to
scatter among our people, and give up your religion, and Prophet, for
I will tell you now, in the beginning, you will never see your
Prophet, Joseph Smith, again." (Said I to myself, 'That is a
falsehood.') "Only mingle with us, and give up your Prophet, your
Apostles, and your assembling yourselves together, and we wish you to
stay with us, for you are the best citizens in the State." I thought
that these expressions did not correspond well with many of his
remarks, and being determined not to give up my religion, I at once
concluded that he might go to hell, and I would leave the State; and
so I did, with the balance of the Latter-day Saints, as they had
previously killed many.
Brethren and sisters, our friends wish to know our feelings towards
the Government. I answer, they are first-rate, and we will prove it
too, as you will see if you only live long enough, for that we shall
live to prove it is certain; and when the Constitution of the United
States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call
for the "Mormon" Elders to save it from utter destruction; and they
will step forth and do it.
We love the Constitution of our country; it is all we could ask;
though in some few instances there might be some amendments made which
would better it. We love the Federal Government, and the laws of
Congress. There is nothing in those laws that in the least militates
against us, not even to our excluding common law from this Territory. I
can inform our lawyers who plead at the bar here, that the Congress of
the United States have passed laws giving us the privilege of
excluding common law at our pleasure, and that too with out any
violation of the Constitution, or general statutes. They have also
given us privilege to stop drunkenness, swearing, and gambling, and to
prevent horse racing, and to punish men for hurting and robbing each
other. The Constitution of the United States, and the whole Federal
Government, in their acts, have given us this privilege.
Now I will tell you one thing that I am opposed to, and that this
people are opposed to; it is to a man's coming here as an officer,
with a bit of sheep's skin in his pocket having some great man's name
to it, and beginning to set up his rules of discipline for the people,
and saying, "I am a gentleman, I am a high-minded gentleman; can you
tell me where I can find a woman to sleep with me tonight?" and
setting up gambling shops, and drinking, and carousing, and stirring
up strife, and hatching up lawsuits; hunting out disaffected spirits,
and then lecturing the people on morality, wishing them to become like
other communities, and saying to Mrs. Such-a-one or Miss Such-a-one,
"Won't you ride with me—won't you take a sleigh ride tonight with
me?
I am a high-minded gentleman." A prudent father, or husband, says,
"Come home here; this is your place; you have no business with
strangers." What is the result of this? Why, from most of the
high-minded gentlemen, you can hear, "God damn the Mormons, they are
opposed to the Federal Government, because they will not let us sleep
with their wives and daughters." I am opposed to such men, and am
after them with the barbed arrows of the Almighty. To what extent? Let
them intrude upon the chastity of my family, and, so help me God, I
will use them up. [All the congregation said, "Amen." ] Such characters
may cry, "Aliens, aliens; the Mormons are all hostile to the
government," and they may cry it until they are in hell.
As I have already stated, the President of the United States should be
a perfect pattern for all the people to walk after; so also should the
Vice-President, the members of the Cabinet, and of Congress, the
Governors of States and Territories, and in fine, all the officers in
the Government, be patterns for the people to imitate. But what do you
find among the leaders of the people? Almost everything but an upright
example.
Corrupt men cannot walk these streets with impunity, and if that is
alienism to the Government, amen to it. The Constitution of the United
States we sustain all the day long, and it will sustain and shield us,
while the men who say we are aliens, and cry out "Mormon disturbance,"
will go to hell. There have been officers here who were not fit to
live in our midst, and they ran home, and raised the cry, "Mormon
disturbances," "Mormon rebellion," "Mormon war," and,
"Treasoners;"
but their day is over.
When a man professes to be my friend, and the friend of this people,
he will take my counsel, instead of stirring up strife, and practicing
iniquity. I dislike the willfully corrupt, and by and by I will come
out thunder-like, as I have done upon others when practicing iniquity;
and as I did upon a certain individual when he made his glorious
speech, and insulted this people, from the highest to the lowest. I
chastised him, and he ran off and reported as my sayings those which I
did not say. It was told him, while he was on the plains, that
President Zachary Taylor was dead and damned, and it has gone through
the States, from side to side, that I said so. It was first given out
that the "Mormons" said so, and then that Brigham said so; well, I
backed it up, because I knew it was true. I have just as good a right
to say that Presi dent Taylor is in hell, as to say that any other
miserable sinner is there. Was he any more than flesh and blood? I
have as good a right to canvass him in a religious point of view, as I
have to canvass the peasant upon the dunghill. He has gone there, and
so have many others; and the Lord Almighty is removing the bitter
branches, as foretold in the Book of Mormon.
The newspapers are teeming with statements that I said, "President
Pierce and all hell could not remove me from office." I will tell you
what I did say, and what I now say; the Lord reigns and rules in the
armies of the heavens, and does His pleasure among the inhabitants of
the earth. He sets up a kingdom here, and pulls down another there, at
His pleasure. He walks in the midst of the people, and they know it
not. He makes Kings, Presidents, and Governors at His pleasure; hence
I conclude that I shall be Governor of Utah Territory, just as long as
He wants me to be; and for that time, neither the President of the
United States, nor any other power, can prevent it. Then, brethren and
sisters, be not worried about my being dismissed from office; for when
the President appoints another man to be Governor of Utah Territory,
you may acknowledge that the Lord has done it, for we should
acknowledge His hand in all things.
All people are in the hands of the Almighty, and He governs and
controls them, though they cannot perceive, neither do they
acknowledge, His handiwork. He exalts the President to be the head of
the nation, and places kings upon their thrones. There is not a man
that escapes His cognizance, and He brings forth His purposes in the
latter days. I can tell you something more, brethren and sisters, and
friends, and the United States, and all the world; the Lord Almighty
will not suffer His Priesthood to be again driven from the
earth, even should He permit the wicked to kill and destroy this
people. The Government of the United States and all the kings of the
world may go to war with us, but God will preserve a portion of the
meek and humble of this people to bear off the Kingdom to the
inhabitants of the earth, and will defend His Priesthood; for it is
the last time, the last gathering time; and He will not suffer the
Priesthood to be again driven from the earth. They may massacre men,
women, and children; but the Lord will not suffer them to destroy the
Priesthood; and I say to the Saints, that, if they will truly practice
their religion, they will live, and not be cut off.
"There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth
them understanding;" and many who do not hold the Priesthood have
ideas which are really true, yet they are not always certain whether
they are true or not. The cogitations, concerning this people, of men
upon their beds, of the President of the United States, of the members
of Congress, and of the rulers of different nations, when they
meditate upon the condition of the world, and their final exit from
this stage of action, are that there is no evil in the Latter-day
Saints. And I tell you, in the name of the God of Israel, that their
secret reflections tell them this, unless they are so far depraved by
wickedness that the Spirit of the Lord has ceased to strive with them.
But as soon as they engage in the turmoil of their daily duties, the
hue and cry that "the Mormons are about to do this and that," attracts
their attention. Formerly the rumor was that "they were agoing to
tamper with the slaves," when we had never thought of such a thing.
The seed of Ham, which is the seed of Cain descending through Ham,
will, according to the curse put upon him, serve his breth ren, and be
a "servant of servants" to his fellow creatures, until God removes the
curse; and no power can hinder it. These are my views upon slavery. I
will here say a little more upon this point. The conduct of the whites
towards the slaves will, in many cases, send both slave and master to
hell. This statement comprises much in a few words. The blacks should
be used like servants, and not like brutes, but they must serve. It is
their privilege to live so as to enjoy many of the blessings which
attend obedience to the first principles of the Gospel, though they
are not entitled to the Priesthood.
But to proceed; the principal evil is in the rulers, or those who
profess to be rulers, and in the dispensers of the law, and not the
Constitution, it is pure. Even those who have evil in their hearts,
when they contemplate the powers that be, as now exhibited before
their eyes, when they think of them upon their beds, and in their most
sober reflections, are beginning to realize that God is visiting the
earth, that the Latter-day Saints are not as bad a people as they are
represented to be by their enemies, that they are not disposed to be
hostile to the Government, and that they are a good people. Many who
occasionally reflect calmly are beginning to realize that we have
something which they know but little about, and to wish that they
understood it. When they cast off these reflections fear comes upon
them, because the cry, from one end of the Union to the other, is that
"the Mormons are agoing to do something." What was said in Nauvoo?
"Let Joe Smith and the Mormons alone, and it will be but a little time
before they control the election of this State; and the man that Joe
Smith says shall be Governor, so will he be; and the men whom he says
shall be Representatives, so shall they be; and we will not bear
it."
It was the priest in the pulpit thorning the politician, and gouging
underneath, saying, "Don't you bear it;" and this because the priest
could not bear to stand up in the pulpit and own his shame for
vindicating a false religion, for our Elders could silence every one
of them, and crimson their faces with shame. Hence their words and
determinations were and are, "We will kill the Mormons;" and the
priests were pinching the "Mormons" from behind the politicians. How
long would it have been before the whole election of Illinois would
have been controlled by the Latter-day Saints? Our enemies saw this,
and the devil knew it, and was mad, and determined to remove us. He
did so, and I thank God for it. The priests and the politicians could
discern that "Mormonism" was gathering to its banner its thousands and
tens of thousands, and that it would be but a very short time ere the
State would be governed entirely by the Latter-day Saints. The whole
election would have been controlled by them, if we had not come out,
and forbidden our people to vote. We had to do this, or control the
ballot box.
They succeeded in killing Joseph Smith and Hyrum his brother, and in
driving us to these Valleys. Now, we are here, and what are they
afraid of? I will tell you; they are afraid that we shall become
independent of them.
The relation between us and the Government may be likened to a man
having twelve sons, and all the elder sons pitch upon the younger one,
as Joseph's brethren of old did upon him. They persecuted him, and
lied to their father about him, and tried to alienate the feelings of
the old man from him, and succeeded in a measure in estranging the
feelings of the father from the young child. So it is with the General
Government and us. We have pleaded time and time again, and will plead,
saying, "Spare us, love us; we mean to be one of the best boys you
have got; be kind to us, and if you chasten us, it may be said that we
have kissed the rod and reverenced the hand that gave it, and tried
again: but be merciful to us, for do you not see that we are a dutiful
child?" But no, Tom, Bill, Dick, Harry, and the rest of the boys are
eternally running to the old man with lies in their mouths, and he
will chastise little Joseph. And though the old fellow has not come
out in open war upon him, and arrayed the force and arms of the
Government to kill the boy, yet he sleeps in his chair, and dreams it
over, and talks in his sleep, saying, "Go it, boys; go it, boys; we
will not say anything here." And Tom, Bill, Dick, &c., commence
pounding on to little Joseph; and the old man is dozing in his chair
saying, "Go it, boys." What will become of this little Joseph? I will
tell you. We are a child of the Government, one of the youngest
children, and we cling to our parent, and desire to be reckoned in the
family, and to hail our brethren as brethren, and be numbered among
them either in a Territorial or State capacity. What next? The cry is
raised by the older boys that "it never will do to admit this younger
child into the Union, he is an alien, and we must exclude him." I will
tell you what this will amount to, they will pound and abuse little
Joseph until his affections are entirely weaned from his parent, and
from his brethren, and he becomes an independent boy. Who will cause
this, the "Mormons?" No, the elder brethren will do it. They will urge
on their hostility against little Joseph until he is driven into Egypt
for succor. Well, if this is not Egypt enough, where will you find it?
"What is agoing to be done with these turbulent Mormons, these
outrageous Mormons?" I will tell you what might be done, and what
ought to be done. The Government of the United States, and the
Presidents of the United States ought to treat the religion of the
Latter-day Saints as they do Methodism, Presbyterianism, Quakerism,
Shakerism, and many other isms, and say, "Here, I wish you to hold
your tongues about the Mormons, for they have just as good a right to
their religion as you have to yours." And when the people petition for
this or that (as the right of petition should never be denied), it is
the duty of those who are addressed to hearken to the petitions of the
people, and to let them have officers of their own choice, for the
appointing power is elected by the voice of the people, and the mass
of the people hold the reins of government in their hands. Then let
the people carry out those principles they have adopted and profess to
abide by, and when we wish for a Governor, or a Judge, or any other
appointed officer, let us have the men we prefer, and not those who
will run away and report falsehoods about us.
Many of the Battalion boys are here today, who walked over the plains
and deserts; they know what they have endured. They left their
fathers, mothers, and children on the prairie, and some of them they
have never since seen, and will not in this time, for they sleep in
the silent grave. They suffered all this in fighting for the country
that had cast them out!
Do I love murderers and mobocrats as I do good men? No. Do I pray for
them? Yes, that the Lord would judge them out of their own mouths, and
that speedily.
We plead all the time to be let alone, and to be permitted to live in
peace, and not to be whipped and abused without cause, for we are
"flesh of your flesh, and bone of your bone;" then why not let us
enjoy our piece of cake, as we let you enjoy yours? For this we plead,
and plead, and plead continually, but "No," say they, "we will
chastise you because we have the power to do it; we will whip you
because we are stronger than you."
I will take the Government of the United States, and the laws of
Missouri and Illinois, from the year 1833 to 1845, and if they had
been carried out according to their letter and spirit, they would have
strung up the murderers and mobocrats who illegally and unrighteously
killed, plundered, harassed, and expelled us. I will tell you how much
I love those characters. If they had any respect to their own welfare,
they would come forth and say, whether Joseph Smith was a Prophet or
not, "We shed his blood, and now let us atone for it;" and they would
be willing to have their heads chopped off, that their blood might run
upon the ground, and the smoke of it rise before the Lord as an
incense for their sins. I love them that much. But if the Lord wishes
them to live and foam out their sins before all men and women, it is
all right, I care not where they go, or what they do.
I have but one fear concerning this people in the Valleys of the
Mountains, I have but one trembling sensation in the nerves of my
spirit, and that is, lest we do not live the religion we profess. If
we will only practice what we profess, I tell you we are at the
defiance of all hell. But if we transgress the law God has given us,
and trample His mercies, blessings, and ordinances under our feet, and
treat them with the indifference which I have thought that some
occasionally do, not fully realizing the obligations that they are
under to their God, I have feared that in consequence they would be
overcome, and that the Lord would let them be scattered and smitten.
But only let them live their religion, and I have no more fears with
regard to their being driven, and with regard to their enemies having
power over them, than I have with regard to these mountains
being blown over upon this city. I am willing to fight, or to go; to
run, or to stay; or to do anything else that the Lord Almighty
requires of me for His Kingdom's sake, and then to lay down my life
for His cause. But I swear by the Gods of eternity that I will not
suffer men in our streets, and in our houses, to corrupt this people
and overthrow them, the Lord and good men being my helpers.
To whom do I allude, but to those who wish to destroy this people? Not
one, I am not opposed to any man or set of men who are here, there,
yonder, or anywhere else, but I am opposed to wickedness and vice,
wherever they may be found in the whole earth; I am opposed to
unrighteousness, and I always intend to be.
I prefer to remark upon subjects as they present themselves to my
mind; though I might prepare a course of lectures, and confine myself
to given subjects, as I have often done; but when I am in this stand I
hoist the gate and let the flood run, not caring which way it goes, or
how.
What happened when I chastised a runaway officer? I did not say one
rash word to him, nor chastise him half as much as he deserved; but I
told him what he was, and how he looked to me; what he was sent here
for, and what he should be, if he magnified his office. Before the
meeting was out the word was, "O! we are agoing to be driven; here is
a mob coming." Said I, "Get out of my way, or I will kick you out;
what are you afraid of?" "O! of the Government of the United States?"
I replied, "Let me die and go to my Father in heaven, before I stoop
to that abominable wickedness; I never will stoop to it, so help me
God." What was the result of the course I then took? He was chastened,
and our Chief Justice who is now here told him in Washington, that he
was chastened for his own iniquity, and said to him, "I expect they
did not chastise you half enough." Do you suppose that I am agoing to
crouch down, and suffer this people to bow down continually to the rod
of corruption? No. Come on with your knives, your swords, and your
faggots of fire, and destroy the whole of us, rather than we will
forsake our religion. Whether it is true or false is none of your
business; whether the doctrine of plurality of wives is true or false
is none of your business. We have as good a right to adopt tenets in
our religion as the Church of England, or the Methodists, or Baptists,
or any other denomination have to in theirs. Our doctrine is a Bible
doctrine, a patriarchal doctrine, and is the doctrine of the Gods of
eternity, and of the heavens, and was revealed to our fathers on the
earth, and will save the world at last, and bring us into Abraham's
bosom, if we ever get there. Are the officers of the Government the
judges of our religion? It is none of their business whether it is
true or false. I know whether it is true or not, and that is enough
for me; you know, brethren and sisters, and that is enough for you. If
they do not believe it, we do not trouble them with it. We say that we
will meet you as friends, and as neighbors, as "flesh of our flesh,
and bone of our bone," but not, as the world meet you, upon the
platform of corruption and iniquity. We are not there, neither will we
meet you there; but we will hail you as friends, and as brethren,
pertaining to the citizenship of the Government; so we hail the
officers who are now with us. And if the gallant gentleman who is now
in our midst had received the commission of Governor of this
Territory, as was reported, and had accepted it, I would have taken
off my hat and honored the appointment; and this people would have
been just as passive and submissive to him as ever they could
be to me. That I will warrant and vouch for. If they wish to send a
Governor here, and he is a gentleman, like the one I have referred to,
every heart would say, "Thank God, we have a man to stand at our head
in a gubernatorial capacity; a man who has got a good heart, and is
willing that we should enjoy the federal rights of the Constitution as
well as himself." I am with all such men, heart and hand. But for a
man to come here and infringe upon my individual rights and
privileges, and upon those of my brethren, will never meet my
sanction, and I will scourge such a one until he leaves; I am after
him. But I will say, to the praise of the gallant gentleman referred
to, if there was going to be a gentleman called upon to be our
Governor, there is not a man, out of the Kingdom of God, that I would
listen to sooner, and feel more confidence and cordiality towards,
than to him. I wish this meed of praise could be awarded to every
officer in the Government, but it cannot. We have some of the most
corrupt, damnable, mean curses here that ever disgraced the earth;
some who even wish to carry the holy sanctuary in one hand, and a jug
full of whiskey in the other, and follow a whore and have a saint trail
behind them to hold up their garments to prevent their drabbling. They
are like the pilot fish to the shark, serving to lead him to his
victim. I despise them; and so does every good man. Show your colors,
gentlemen, and let us know what and who you are, as I do, that all the
earth may see and hear.
Have I any feelings against the man who has a true heart for
constitutional rights? I have nothing but love and good feelings for
all such. What have I for the sinner, the hypocrite, the unbeliever,
the ungodly, the liar, the sorcerer, the whoremonger, and the
adulterer? I have nothing but chastisement for them, until they repent
of their wicked ways, and turn to God and find mercy. This is
according to my priestly office. I informed you, in my discourse that
has just been read, that my religion is first and foremost with me,
and I will send it to all the earth, to President Pierce, whether he
retains me as Governor of Utah Territory or not; and, whether I should
be President of the United States, or King of Great Britain, or
Monarch of all the world, my religion and my God are first and
foremost with me. My kingship, my presidentship, and all shall bow to
that eternal Priesthood which God has bestowed upon me. I have been
Governor of this Territory ever since it has had one, and in all my
official transactions I have acted in accordance with the Priesthood.
I never will infringe upon it with anything I may operate in in any
office; let them all go by the board, before I will be brought into a
situation that will cause me to infringe upon my Priesthood. In all my
doings as an Elder of Israel, as holding the keys of the Priesthood to
this generation, if I continue to be the Governor of this Territory, I
shall magnify my office by my Priesthood. No matter what my Priesthood
and calling are, all must bow to my God, and to His commandments. Have
I been obliged to violate any law? No. The Priesthood assists me to
honor, to preserve, to see, and understand the welfare of the
Government I am acting for, and enables me so to do a thousand times
more effectually than I could if I had not this Priesthood; and if
anyone can produce documents to prove that any Governor has magnified his
office better than I have, let him bring them forth.
In the free and independent government of the United States, who in
the eyes of the Almighty ought to have the privilege of sitting in the
Presidential chair, to be countenanced, adored, loved, and
reverenced in his capacity, and be justified therein by the heavenly
hosts? It is that man who is sanctified before God, and who loves the
Lord Jesus with all his heart, or in other words, who is endowed with
wisdom from on high, and has revelations, visions, and dreams, giving
him understanding to provide for the welfare of every portion of the
nation, and a willingness to preserve to everyone their fair and just
religious rights, as well as political, for the good and benefit of
all. In the eyes of eternal justice, only such a man has a right to
that office. They are afraid to put a man there who is a professor of
religion, lest he favors his own party. A man is a fool that would do
that, when he has laws to preserve and keep inviolate towards the
Methodists, and all religious denominations.
The kingdom that Daniel saw will push forth its law, and that law will
protect the Methodists, Quakers, Pagans, Jews, and every other creed
there ever was or ever will be, in their religious rights. At the same
time the Priesthood will bear rule, and hold the government of the
Kingdom under control in all things, so that every knee will bow, and
every tongue confess, to the glory of God the Father, that Jesus is
the Christ. Everyone must bow to the Savior, and acknowledge and
confess him with their mouths. Can they still be Methodists? Yes.
Presbyterians? Yes. And I some expect that many will be brought into
close places, as the Jew was by the Catholic priest. The Jew fell
through the ice, and was about to drown, and implored the Catholic
priest to pull him out. "I cannot," said the priest, "except you
repent, and become a Christian." Said the Jew, "Pull me out this
once." "Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Catholic
Church?" asked the priest. The Jew answered, "No, I do not."
"Then you
must stay there," and the priest held him under the water awhile. "Do
you believe in Jesus Christ now?" "O yes, take me out."
"Well,"
remarked the priest, "thank God that another sinner has repented; you
are safe now, and while you are safe I will send you right to heaven's
gate," and he gave the Jew a push under the ice.
I most assuredly expect that the time will come when every tongue
shall confess, and every knee shall bow, to the Savior, though the
people may believe what they will with regard to religion. The kingdom
that Daniel saw will actually make laws to protect every man in his
rights, as our government does now, whether the religions of the
people are true or false. We believe this as sincerely as we believe
anything else; and I think that the course of this people has proved
it, as far as the acts of the children of men are concerned. All
creation could ask for no more witnesses than they have, that the New
Testament is true, that Jesus is the Christ, that the holy Prophets
are true, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was a
Prophet and Revelator. But the Lord has so ordained that no man shall
receive the benefits of the everlasting Priesthood without humbling
himself before Him, and giving Him the glory for teaching him, that he
may be able to witness to every man of the truth, and not depend upon
the words of any individual on the earth, but know for himself, live
"by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," love the Lord
Jesus Christ and the institutions of His kingdom, and finally enter
into His glory. Every man and woman may be a Revelator, and have the
testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy, and foresee the
mind and will of God concerning them, eschew evil, and choose that
which is good.
There are thousands of things I would like to name with regard
to ourselves and our Government. Our whole interest is in it; we cling
to it as a sucking child to its mother's breast, and we will hang to
it until they beat us off, until we can hang no longer, and this will
never happen, unless they drive us from it under the pretext of what
"Mormonism" is agoing to do. What is the Kingdom of God agoing to
accomplish on the earth? It will revolutionize not only the United
States, but the whole world, and will go forth from the morning to the
evening, from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, so
shall be the ushering forth of the Gospel until the whole earth is
deluged with it, and the righteous are gathered.
The sinner will slay the sinner, the wicked will fall upon the wicked,
until there is an utter overthrow and consumption upon the face of the
whole earth, until God reigns, whose right it is. As it was said in
the days of the Savior, if we let this man alone you may depend on
it that through his influence he will take away our place and
nation. If you let "Mormonism" alone, I will promise that every honest
man and woman in the United States will be in the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, and be governed by the law of God.
Let them take the counsel of the late Captain Gunnison, who was
massacred by the Indians; he was convinced that it would not do to
persecute the "Mormons;" for every time we were driven, we have
succeeded beyond our most sanguine anticipations. It has happened to
us as it did to the old man's stone wall, which was five feet high and
six feet thick. The boys could not get his apples, and said among
themselves, "We will turn over the old wall;" they turned it over, and
it was higher than before. So with us; every time the "Mormons" have
been driven they have enlarged their borders. Look out, drive us again
and we will take the kingdom before you are aware of it.
We certainly shall gather out all the good as fast as we can, for the
people who love truth will hear sound argument, which is our rule of
battle, and it is a scientific one. Now come on to war, whenever you
think best, and we will gather out the honest until the last seed of
Israel is gathered, and there is hardly enough left to elect a
President, even among the Know-Nothings.
Only persecute us and we will grow the faster. Say they, "What shall
we do; do tell us which way we shall go, for we do not know what to
do, nor what to say; if we persecute them they will grow the faster,
and take away our place and nation, and will get all the good people
to follow them, and what shall we do?" It is a hard case I know.
When strangers come among us they often feel diffident, for we keep to
ourselves here in these distant parts, and do not always immediately
know whether we are about to receive friends or enemies into our
community. We have been persecuted and driven, and been a scoff and a
by-word, and when strangers come among us they feel a delicacy in
making our acquaintance. I say, brethren and sisters, be frank with
strangers, and when you talk with them, or are in their presence, live
your religion, and do not vary one particle from the truth.
You say, "I love my God and my religion." Then manifest to them what
your religion is, and if they are honest ere long they will fall in
with it, if not they will take up their line of march and leave us;
and my prayer is that we may be delivered from every inbred
corruption.
So far as the time and your patience would permit, I have endeavored
to candidly and truly portray our real feelings and views with regard
to the General Government, the members of the various
Christian denominations, the upright everywhere, and the corrupt and
abominable wherever they are to be found; and also to briefly sketch a
few of the scenes and incidents of our past and present history.
Let us live our religion, and show the world that we love the Lord
Jesus Christ better than anything else. Though the world persecute
you, yet cling to the Lord and the Holy Gospel, even if you lay down
your lives for the truth's sake. May God bless you. Amen.