I wish to make a very few remarks on the present occasion; and I
desire that order and quietness may prevail.
We are met today on what may be termed a very sorrowful occasion. We
see before us the body of a murdered man, cut off in the bloom and
flower of his youth, with brilliant prospects before him of a useful
and glorious future. It is sorrowful to reflect that men in a land of
liberty, a land that boasts of its enlightenment, its religious liberty
and its liberal institutions, should be guilty of imbruing their hands
in the blood of an upright honorable man because he dared to worship
God according to the dictates of his own conscience and to teach his
fellow man the ways of life. It is a sorrowful reflection to feel that
liberty is only a name and that protection and even equal rights, is
only a figment, an exploded theory; and we may say, how has the glory
of this nation become sullied! How has the fine gold become dim! How
have the high and noble principles that inspired the founders of this
nation, in whose breasts burned the spirit of freedom been desecrated,
and those glorious principles for which they battled been trailed in
the dust. And what a miserable showing we have before us of the
efficacy of those sacred principles for which the founders of those
institutions battled and died. It is sorrowful to reflect upon it. And
on the other hand it is a matter of pride to Latter-day Saints to see
one of our youth firm and unshaken in the principles of our holy
religion, and ready to maintain them in the midst of fanaticism and
hate even unto death. Pride, indeed mingled with sorrow. Pride
to see the heroism of the dying martyr, and poignant grief for his
loss, and more especially have we met here to sympathize with his
parents, the family and friends, and to mingle our tears with theirs,
and to reflect that although he died, he died with the harness on, he
died battling for the principles of the everlasting Gospel; he died
maintaining those eternal truths as they have emanated from God our
heavenly father; and that having died he still lives and is numbered
with those who are beneath the altar, crying, how long, O Lord, holy,
just and true, wilt thou not avenge us of our adversaries? He has
gone. Peace be to his ashes. I would rather by ten thousand million
times be lying where he is than be in the position of those who
imbrued their hands in his blood, who, wherever they may be cannot
help seeing and feeling the horror of their fiendish act—their hellish
deed, and they will go down to the grave execrated as murderers and
men who have no friends or hope either in time or in eternity.
That young man has gone where others have gone whom I have seen leave
this earth under circumstances of a very similar nature. I was with
Joseph and Hyrum Smith when they were killed; and then, their
murderers tried to dispatch me too, and came very near doing so. They
shot at me and hit me a number of times. But I am here yet; I
suppose my time had not come. That is all right, however. They have
gone, and this our brother has followed, and that is all right too, so
far as he is concerned. His father here, I have been acquainted with
for upwards of forty years; and his son, whose remains now lie before
us, was born in this city; he is one of our boys. He received, as has
been stated, the truths of the everlasting Gospel; he believed them
with all his heart and advocated them, going forth as a messenger of
life clothed with the Spirit of the living God. But this generation
does not like the truth, and indeed the generations have been very few
that have not rejected the truth when it has been proclaimed to them.
Stephen said in his day, "Which of the prophets have not your fathers
persecuted? and they have slain them, which showed before of the
coming of the just one of whom ye have been now the betrayers and
murderers." They lauded the dead prophets, but killed the living ones.
Many of the people today are actuated by the same malignant feelings,
not knowing what spirit it is that incites them to fight against and
feel inimical to the principles of the everlasting Gospel. And were
Jesus here today, appearing as he did before, meek and lowly as the
Savior of the world, preaching the same doctrines, there would be as
loud a cry by the professed Christians throughout this land as there
was in the land of Judea by the Scribes and Pharisees: "Crucify him,
crucify him! let him be crucified," and there are many in our midst
today who would imbrue their hands in our blood, as those murderers
in Georgia did in the blood of this young martyr, if they dared do it.
God has committed to us the principles of truth, and has commanded us
to proclaim them to the ends of the earth, and regardless of
consequences and in the name of Israel's God we will do it and let all
Israel say Amen. (The vast congregation, as with one voice, responded,
"Amen." ) We are not scared of bonds, imprisonment or death. A few days
ago they were talking about putting me in prison because I
chose to decline to betray a trust committed to me by this people, and
turn over to them certain properties entrusted to my care. I said, You
may take me to prison, gentlemen; I am ready, but I am not ready to
forsake my principles, I am not ready to betray my people, I am not
going to barter away my honor nor the things that God has communicated
to me and that his people have vested in my hands. I can afford to go
to prison if you can afford to send me there; I can stand it if you
can. These are my feelings.
The same feeling exists in our midst that laid that young man low. Men
may clamor for our property; they may clamor for our blood just as
much as men have at any other time: but in the name of Israel's God
Zion will go on and prosper; the principles of truth will prevail; the
things that God has committed to us we will bear off triumphantly, God
being our helper, and there is no power in this land, nor in any other
land, nor on this side of hell nor in hell itself that can prevent it.
If we will cleave to God and do our duty and purge ourselves from
unrighteousness and live our religion and keep His commandments, Zion
will arise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her. And
when this nation and other nations shall crumble to pieces, Zion and
the glory thereof will extend from nation to nation, and it will
continue to spread and grow until the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and every creature in
heaven and on the earth will be heard to say, Blessing and glory and
honor and praise and power, and might and majesty and dominion be
ascribed to Him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb forever. In
God is our trust. He will sustain his Israel. Our course is onward;
and purity, virtue, truth, integrity, the laws of God and equality to
all men is our motto, and protection to every honest man under all
circumstances. We are friends of God and the friends of humanity. Like
Brother Cannon, I do not mourn over the departed dead. He has gone to
associate among an honorable band who dared during their lifetime to
do their duty, and who battled valiantly for the cause of truth. Here
is Brother Rudger Clawson, who was with Brother Standing when he was
shot. The mob threatened his life and leveled their guns to take it.
He calmly folded his arms and looking his adversaries in the face told
them to shoot. But they did not do it. God preserved him, that's all.
Here is Brother John Morgan, who has labored and traveled extensively
in that region of country. He and Brother Standing as one of his
co-laborers had preached the Gospel and succeeded in baptizing a
number of people. This had aroused the feeling of opposition in the
hearts of some, and the reason they were opposed to these things was
because people believed the Gospel, and they did not want them to.
That's all. Did they hurt anybody? No. Are they honorable men? Yes.
Did either of them interfere with the rights or privileges of anyone?
No. For what then was this young man killed? Because he dared to
believe in God, and dared to proclaim that God had revealed himself in
these latter days as he did in former days. Because he dared to tell
the people to repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission
of them, promising all that would do so that they should receive the
Holy Ghost. What a great crime for him to die for! That is what I am
sorry for. I am sorry to see that vindictive and revengeful
spirit existing among mankind. We have very different feelings from
this, as our history from the beginning abundantly proves. David, you
know, on a certain occasion, feeling angry with the people by whom he
was surrounded because of their wickedness, prayed that God would send
them to hell quickly. Jesus, while suffering the agonies of death,
exclaimed, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." How
much better the latter is than the former. Let us cultivate that
spirit. But while we do that, do not let your enemies think you are
asleep; but woe to those men who fight against Israel. In the name of
Israel's God, they shall be wasted away, and you may write it down and
see whether it comes to pass or not. And let all Israel say Amen.
(Again the congregation responded, "Amen." ) But Zion will arise and
shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her.
Brother Standing (the speaker turned and addressed himself to the
father of the deceased, who was seated on the stand) it is right you
should mourn; it is right that you and your family and friends should
be sorrowful and possess those feelings of sympathy; but your son has
gone to prepare a place for you that where he is you may be also.
What do you propose to do? To do good to all men as far as they will
let us; but to prevent them from robbing us and interfering with us,
as God gives us power; and maintain our rights, the rights of freemen,
the rights that God has committed to us, and honor our priesthood and
calling and still go to the ends of the earth and proclaim the
unsearchable things of the kingdom; gather together the honest in
heart from among all nations, build temples and administer in them,
honor the Lord our God and keep his commandments; and by and by, when
the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and come forth, that
young man, with Joseph and Hyrum Smith, whom I saw butchered by a mob,
while under the protection of the law—under the protection of the
Governor of the State, who pledged his honor and the faith of the
State to me and to Dr. Bernhisel, that if we would go there without
any arms, that we should be protected; and soon after we had complied
with his request, these men were murdered in cold blood. These are
things I am personally conversant with. Well, what of them? They are
gone to mingle with the Gods, so has Brother Joseph Standing. Brother
Standing, (addressing the father of the deceased) do not be troubled,
your son is all right. I am glad to see the care that has been
manifested by Brothers Clawson and Morgan in regard to getting the
body of their fellow laborer here that we might have an opportunity of
paying the last tribute of respect to this our departed brother, who
was faithful to the end, and who will receive a crown of light and
glory among the Gods in the eternal worlds.
Brethren, let us be faithful to God, let us live our religion, keep
his commandments, treat everybody well even all men who do right;
treat them well and be kind and just to them whether of your faith or
not; but do not allow those miserable miscreants that exist in our
midst to have dominion over you. We must maintain our rights—rights
that are guaranteed unto us by the constitution of our country and
which God has given to us; and if we do this he will stand by us.
Amen.