We have been voting for our officers and for those holding places in
the Church and kingdom of God in this stake of Zion. And it is well
for us sometimes to understand what we do in relation to these
matters. We hold up our right hand when voting in token before God
that we will sustain those for whom we vote; and if we cannot feel to
sustain them we ought not to hold up our hands, because to do this,
would be to act the part of hypocrites. And the question naturally
arises, how far shall we sustain them? Or in other words, how far are
we at liberty to depart from this covenant which we make before
each other and before our God? For when we lift up our hands in this
way, it is in token to God that we are sincere in what we do, and that
we will sustain the parties we vote for. This is the way I look at
these things. How far then should we sustain them, and how far should
we not? This is a matter of serious importance to us; if we agree to
do a thing and do not do it, we become covenant breakers and violators
of our obligations, which are, perhaps, as solemn and binding as
anything we can enter into.
We frequently pass by many of those important things which we have
engaged to abide by, and sometimes begin to whisper by way of
complaining or finding fault one with another after we have entered
into solemn obligations that we will not do it. What is meant by
sustaining a person? Do we understand it? It is a very simple thing to
me; I do not know how it is with you. For instance, if a man be a
teacher, and I vote that I will sustain him in his position, when he
visits me in an official capacity I will welcome him and treat him
with consideration, kindness and respect, and if I need counsel I will
ask it at his hand, and I will do everything I can to sustain him.
That would be proper and a principle of righteousness, and I would not
say anything derogatory to his character. If that is not correct I
have it yet to learn. And then if anybody in my presence were to
whisper something about him disparaging to his reputation, I would
say, Look here! are you a Saint? Yes. Did you not hold up your hand to
sustain him? Yes. Then why do you not do it? Now, I would call an
action of that kind sustaining him. If any man make an attack
upon his reputation—for all men's reputations are of importance to
them—I would defend him in some such way. When we vote for men in the
solemn way in which we do, shall we abide by our covenants? Or shall
we violate them? If we violate them we become covenant breakers. We
break our faith before God and our brethren, in regard to the acts of
men whom we have covenanted to sustain. But supposing he should do
something wrong, supposing he should be found lying or cheating, or
defrauding somebody; or stealing or anything else, or even become
impure in his habits, would you still sustain him? It would be my duty
then to talk with him as I would with anybody else, and tell him that
I had understood that things were thus and so, and that under these
circumstances I could not sustain him; and if I found that I had been
misinformed I would withdraw the charge; but if not it would then be
my duty to see that justice was administered to him, that he was
brought before the proper tribunal to answer for the things he had
done; and in the absence of that I would have no business to talk
about him.
It is well for us to get at some of these little things; they are
matters, however, of a good deal of importance. What I have said with
regard to a teacher, would apply to the priest and the deacon.
Then, again, we have bishops. We vote for them; and they hold a
portion of the priesthood which renders their duties many times very
unpleasant; that is naturally they would be unpleasant; but no duty
ought to be unpleasant to the servants of God. Now, supposing the
bishop should do something that is wrong, what would be our duty? It
would be to go to him and say, "Bishop, I have reason to believe that
things are thus and so, evidence having been presented to me, and it
is of such a character that I am inclined to think that you have been
taking a wrong course, and therefore I have come to talk to you,
yourself, about the matter." Who ought to do this? Anybody. What,
would not his position deprive us of that right of approaching him?
No. Supposing you had been injured by him, or somebody else had been
injured by him, or something had occurred that caused you to entertain
feelings against him it would be much better to probe the thing to the
bottom and have it straightened out than to foster it and allow it to
corrode and interfere with your peace and happiness, because you have
covenanted to sustain him; on the other hand, we cannot sustain
anything that is unrighteous, impure or unholy. We go to him and say,
Bishop so and so, I have come to see you on unpleasant business—you
may be polite about it or you may not—but people can always afford to
be polite; I have learned thus and so; I hope I am misinformed, can
you explain that to me? If the matter could be explained to your
satisfaction you would be glad of it; but whether it could be or not
you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you had performed your
duty. If not, however, and the matter be of such a character as to
call for an investigation, it would be proper that it be inquired into
by the proper authorities. Then you are free, and you have not
violated any covenant. If any covenants have been violated, it is he
that is guilty, and it is for him to account for his acts to the Lord
and his brethren; and if no wrong shall be found in him, there
is no good man but what would be pleased to see such a man acquitted.
But while we seek equity and justice on the one hand, on the other we
must not interfere with the rights of anybody; no matter who it is
that indulges in iniquity, their iniquity will find them out sooner or
later. And it is better for us instead of talking to this one and the
other, if wrong exists, to go direct to the persons themselves and
have it adjusted, then bring it up according to the rules laid down
governing such matters. Then the doer of the wrong is accountable for
the wrong, not somebody else. Then when he is dealt with by the
Church, whether he be a teacher, priest, deacon, bishop or anybody
else, you are free from all responsibility afterwards of sustaining
that man. And until the proper course has been taken with such a
person, we should be very careful what course we pursue in relation to
this kind of thing, so that we do not violate our covenants.
There is an uneasy feeling existing among some people: they can see
plenty of wrong all around if they have a mind to; and some will
apostatize because somebody else has done wrong. What a foolish course
that is to pursue! If we follow God's plan we can bring the sin right
home to the man who has done the wrong; and if he did not repent of
it, he would have to be cut off. But the devil would say, "I would not
stop in a church where there were such folks." He would first
influence a number of the people to do wrong, and then he would try to
get the others to leave the Church because some of the members were
doing wrong. That however would be foolish, and contrary to the order
of God.
The Lord has placed in his Church Apostles and Prophets, High Priests,
Seventies, Elders, etc., what for? For the perfecting of the Saints.
Are we all perfect to begin with? No. These various officers are for
perfecting of the Saints. What else? For the work of the ministry;
that men might be qualified and informed and be full of intelligence,
wisdom and light, and learn to proclaim the principles of eternal
truth and to bring out from the treasury of God things new and old,
things calculated to promote the welfare of the people. Now, then,
these offices having been placed in the Church, every man ought to be
respected in his office. I know some of you think we can respect some,
and some we cannot respect; we can respect some of the prominent
authorities—I do not know who they are, do you? You remember when
Jesus was upon the earth, some of his followers were contending, as to
who was the greatest: and he took a little child and placed it in
their midst, he said, "he that can be most like this little child, is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." And I will tell you more than
that, that the teacher, or deacon that fulfills his duties is a great
deal more honorable than a president or any of the twelve that does
not. And there are duties and responsibilities devolving on all of us
pertaining to these matters; and we ought to be very careful in all
our acts that we do not transgress the laws of God.
In a few remarks yesterday I referred to the various officers of the
Church, and to some of the leading duties that devolve upon them to
attend to. There are duties devolving upon all of us which we cannot
ignore. Duties as Apostles, duties as presidents of stakes, duties as
bishops, duties as high councilors, duties pertaining to all
the various officers in the Church. Well, can any man that has
received the holy priesthood, and who comprehends the position he
occupies before God—which very few of us can do—can he afford to
neglect any of those duties? I think not. We call this organization
that we are associated with, the church and kingdom of God. Is it the
Church of God? Yes. Then it is God's church is it not? Yes. Who is at
the head of it? The Lord ought to be, and we ought to be subject to
him. Who? Why every one of us; myself, say, and all the Twelve, the
presidents of stakes, the bishops, the high priests, the elders, the
seventies, the high councilors, and all men in the Church ought to
feel that we are the church of God, in the Church of God and subject
to the law of God. We talk about a priesthood; who are the Priesthood,
and what is it? As I understand it, it is the rule and the government
of God, whether it exists in the heavens or on the earth; whether we
refer to the things of time or to the things of eternity; whether we
refer to spiritual things or to temporal things, they are, or ought to
be, under the guidance and dominion of God. How and from whom did we
receive our authority? Let us go back for a while, and who could we
find anywhere upon the earth that had authority even to proclaim the
Gospel, or to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel? Could we
find anybody? No, we could not. I could not in my younger days—and I
sought diligently for it, but I could not find anybody who possessed
it. What, not among the religious professors of the world? Nowhere
among the learned, the intelligent, the scientific? No, nowhere. Very
well, how did we come at a know ledge of this? God revealed it to his
servant Joseph Smith. And when he did so, he did not say much about it
himself. The first thing he did when he appeared to Joseph was to
introduce his Son; pointing unto him, he said: "This is My Beloved
Son, Hear Him!" And what did the Son say? We have his teachings in the
Gospel, in his communications with the Nephites and others. Then there
were others who held the priesthood with him; who held it on the earth
and who now hold it in eternity, and who held the keys of this
priesthood; and those several parties came and conferred the keys
which they held upon him, but not until the Lord had come and given
them permission to do so. Hence we got our Aaronic priesthood through
that means, and we got our Melchizedek priesthood through that means,
and any office or ordinance that any of you have received, you
received it through that medium, or you have received none at all.
Very well, what does it lead us to? To those whom we call sons of God.
Just as it was said on former occasions, "Now are we sons of God, and
it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he
shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
Very well, we are the sons of God then, the chosen of God, the elect
of God, called by him, set apart by him, through the medium of this
holy priesthood of which I have spoken. And if we have received any
office, or calling, or authority, or any power to administer in any of
the ordinances, we have received that from the hand of God, and we can
only perform these ordinances according to the priesthood we are
permitted to possess. For instance, an elder cannot perform the labor
of an apostle; a bishop cannot perform the labor of an
apostle; and a bishop, as a bishop, outside of other things, has not
authority to lay on hands to impart the gift of the Holy Ghost;
whatever he may do in that capacity it is through the Melchizedek
priesthood which he holds, and he could not do it without. Can a
priest lay hands upon people and say "Receive ye the Holy Ghost?" No,
it does not belong to him to do it. Well, then, men are necessarily
confined to operate within the limits and authority of the various
offices of the priesthood to which they are called and ordained—an
elder to perform the office of an elder, a priest to perform the
office of a priest. In early days it was quite common for a priest to
go out and preach the Gospel and baptize people for the remission of
sins, and then call upon an elder to lay hands upon them to confirm
them members of the Church, for the priest did not have the power to
do it. And while the priest could baptize, a teacher or a deacon could
not, not having the authority to do it; if they were to do it, it
would not amount to anything. There is strict order about these things
associated with the Church and kingdom of God. Well, then, on the
other hand, if we perform our duties, each one of us in our proper
position, God gives us power to accomplish the object we have in view,
no matter what it is, or what priesthood we hold; no matter whether it
is the president of the Church, or the president of the stake, a
bishop, a high councilor, a high priest, a seventy, or an elder,
priest, teacher or deacon; no matter what, if they perform duties with
an eye single to the glory of God, he will sustain them in their
operations and administrations.
Now, I will refer to a principle which is perhaps one of the greatest
manifestations of the power and goodness of God that exists in this
Church, and at the same time one that is as little noticed; but one
wherein God does manifest himself in a most remarkable manner in the
view of all reflecting, intelligent men. For instance, the elders go
forth to preach the Gospel; they call upon people to repent and to be
baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of their sins. Did you
ever think what the name meant? If a man go in the name of another
person, he goes by the authority of that person. If an agent, say of
Z. C. M. I., or any other firm, go in the name of this firm, it is
expected that he has credentials from the firm he represents. Or, if a
governor comes here, he is first appointed by the proper
authorities—nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate of
the United States, and he comes with proper credentials to act as
governor of this Territory; he comes in the name or by the authority
of the United States; and the government of the United States feels
itself bound to back up his acts, the same as a mercantile firm would
feel obligated to acknowledge the acts of its agents.
Now, then, the Lord has commenced his Church here upon the earth. He
has conferred upon men his holy Melchizedek priesthood; he has told
them to go forth and preach and call upon the people to repent and be
baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins, and they
should receive the Holy Ghost. You all know about these things, it is
not necessary to talk much about them.
Very well; now, then, this elder goes forth in the name of God, does
he not? That is the way I understand it—by the authority of the Lord,
and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he preaches this
doctrine to the people. "Now," says he, "Repent, and be baptized, every
one of you in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins, and
you shall receive the Holy Ghost." A priest could not say, You shall
receive the Holy Ghost; a teacher or a deacon could not say it,
neither could a bishop say it by virtue of his bishopric, but he could
by virtue of the high priesthood he holds. Now, then, let any of these
men go to work and lay hands on anybody for the gift of the Holy
Ghost; and they might as well do anything else, it would not amount to
anything. But an elder, or anyone holding the proper authority, comes
along, and takes the candidate for baptism and, after baptizing him,
he lays his hands upon his head and says: "In the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and by virtue of the holy priesthood conferred upon me,
I lay my hands upon your head and confirm you a member of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and I say unto you, receive ye
the Holy Ghost." Did you ever think of that? It is quite a significant
thing, is it not? And you do it in the name of Jesus Christ and by
authority which God has given you. You lay your hands upon the
individual who has been baptized for the remission of sins, and say,
"Receive ye the Holy Ghost," and he receives it. If that is not so,
tell me, will you, you that have had hands laid upon your heads by the
elders of this Church. You know what I say is true. Now, I propose to
show a certain principle, namely, that God is true to the covenants
which he makes with us, and that there is no violation of the law or
promises on his part. God will bless a teacher of this Church when he
goes forth in the performance of his duties among the people; he will
bless a bishop in his administration, and others in the discharge of
their several duties, no matter what their priesthood may be. But here
is an important item: there are some of these things which I have
referred to that some cannot do—they cannot lay hands upon them to
impart unto them the Holy Ghost. If an elder can, he does it by and
through the authority of Jesus Christ, through the medium of the holy
priesthood conferred upon him by those holding authority. And when he
performs this act, the recipients having complied with the
requirements—faith, repentance and baptism—when he lays his hands upon
their heads, God sanctions his action by imparting the Holy Ghost.
Thus proving that God is true to his agreement; and through that means
we become the sons of God and belong to the household of faith, and to
us properly belong the covenants and blessings associated therewith.
These are the initiatory steps. And we have a witness within
ourselves, each one of us, in regard to those great principles that
God has revealed to the human family. Now, then, are we the sons of
God? Is he our Father? Yes. Have we received his Spirit, whereby we
are enabled to cry, "Abba, Father," or "my Father?" Yes. What
have we done since we received it? We do not like to look at some of our acts
when we think of these things; we would rather we could blot them out
from our memories, but we cannot; they are there. And when we reflect
upon our follies, our imperfections and our iniquities of various
kinds, how do we feel? We do not feel pleasant about it. God has
conferred upon us the greatest treasure and the greatest boon he could
bestow upon the human family, but we have received the treasure in earthen vessels. We often do things we ought not to do,
and leave undone things we ought to do; and how often have we grieved
the Spirit of God within us! He has done more for us than this. He has
placed us here in his Church and kingdom; he has gathered us together;
he has organized us according to the laws and order of the holy
priesthood. He has united us to our wives, and our wives to their
husbands, with an everlasting covenant that cannot be broken. But
we break it sometimes, don't we? He has shown us how and in what way
our wives may be united with us in the eternities to come, and how we
may have our children sealed to us and be one with us in time and in
eternity, and has poured blessings upon many of our heads that will
exist while time shall last and eternity endure. It was said of Jesus,
that to his government and dominion there should be no end. And the
same has been said of a great many more; and yet we will allow little
things to separate us from our God, and from our brethren, and from
our wives and then our wives from their husbands, and break up, and
rant and rear and destroy, until we hardly know whether it is us or
somebody else. Sometimes we hardly know whether we are in the Church
and kingdom of God or not, until in many instances the light within us
becomes darkness, and then, oh, how great is that darkness! It is
necessary that we should study well and watch well the path of our
feet. We are here laying the foundation for eternity, and for no other
purpose. We are here that we may receive bodies, that in our bodies
and spirits, and through them and through the powers of the priesthood
and the everlasting Gospel, we may gain a position by and by, among
the Gods in the eternal worlds, and with them possess a glory and
dominion and authority, power and exaltation that has hardly entered
into our hearts to conceive of. And yet, we will fritter away our
privileges, treat lightly the things of God, disregard the counsels of
God and the priesthood of God, and wander in by and forbidden paths,
and lose sight of these great and glorious principles that God has
revealed for the salvation of the human family.
Referring to the principle of union, we ought to be one. We have
things come up quite frequently, say, in a legislative capacity and
otherwise, and our legislators and others enter into certain measures,
but the people will not be sufficiently united to carry them out. And
there seems to be a spirit, more or less among the people like this:
some will brusquely and thoughtlessly say, "I will be damned if I
don't have my own way." All right. I will tell you another thing: you
will be damned if you do, unless your way is the way that God will
sanction.
Let me speak of some other things associated with this. If we had
perfect union, what is there we could not accomplish? And yet God has
done a great deal for us. We have for instance, one man in Congress to
represent our interests; only one man, and he has not a vote at that.
And in a great many instances the combined powers of the United States
have been plotting against us, and it is today seeking our overthrow.
And why? Because we dare believe in God, and because we dare keep his
commandments, miserably as we do it, and the little we do of it. We do
not do much, but the little we do, produces this kind of feeling;
because this world is opposed to God and to his laws and to his church and kingdom. And what have they done hitherto? You could
not get a man anywhere in the United States that knows anything of the
workings of government or affairs brought in operation against us, but
what believed that we would have been destroyed and swept off the
earth long ago. But we are still here. Why? Not because you and I had
fulfilled all our covenants and observed the laws of God; but it is
because God knows and remembers that we are but flesh, but weak,
fallen humanity; he remembers we are but dust; it is because he feels
kindly and graciously toward us, and has said that it is his business
to take care of his Saints, and to fight our battles for us. It is not
because of what we have done, for we have not done much. And if God
had not sustained us and turned away and restrained the wrath of man,
we would not have been here today. Now, this is a fact. Well, God is
kind to us; do not let us treat him so thoughtlessly; do not let us
treat his ordinances lightly; but rather let us reverence and esteem
those men upon whom God has placed his holy priesthood, and let us try
by our faith and prayers and by our acts, to sustain them in all
particulars as we agreed to do when we held up our hands. And then I
ask no odds of the combined powers of the whole world, for God is on
our side, and as long as we maintain our position before him, I will
risk the balance. He holds the nations in his hands, and he will say
to them, as he did to the waves of the mighty ocean—"Hitherto shalt
thou go and no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." And
they cannot help themselves. We are in the hands of God, and they are.
And I am afraid sometimes, when I see the follies of my brethren; I
tremble for the result; but God is gracious and kind. Do not let us be
ungrateful, but let us try to remember the blessing with which we are
surrounded, the benefits he confers upon us—the light of the holy
Gospel, our present and eternal associations; and remember that we are
placed here as representatives of God upon the earth, to operate with
prophets and apostles and men of God who lived and died and are now
behind the veil, to operate with them in the accomplishment of the
purposes of God, pertaining to the earth whereon we stand. We are
living in an eventful time, in the dispensation of the fullness of
times, the period in which God has said he would gather together all
things in one, whether they be things in heaven or things on the
earth; and therefore, he has organized us as we are.
When Jesus was here he felt the importance of the things I am now
speaking of; and when he was about to leave his disciples he knew what
the powers of darkness were, for he battled with them; and, indeed he
was able to do so, having been anointed with the oil of gladness above
his fellows. But notwithstanding this and the fact of his being the
Only Begotten of the Father, yet, when he came to wrestle with the
difficulties he had to cope with, he sweat great drops of blood, and
said, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; I shrink
to encounter the things I have to cope with, but nevertheless, not my
will but thine be done." Now, we have to pass through a variety of
things; many of us are tried and tempted, and we get harsh and hard
feelings against one another. And it reminds me of your teams when
going down hill with a heavy load. When the load begins to
crowd on to the horses, you will frequently see one snap at his mate,
and the other will prick up his ears and snap back again. And why? A
little while before, perhaps, and they were playing with each other.
Because the load crowds on them. Well, when the load begins to crowd,
do not snap at your brethren, but let them feel that you are their
friends, and pull together. Says Jesus, with reference to his
disciples, "Father, I pray that these may be one, I in them and thou
in me; that that spirit, O God that dwells in thee and that thou hast
imparted unto me, might also dwell in them, and that their hearts may
be united together by the bonds of eternal life and fellowship and
priesthood; that they may feel after one another's welfare and seek to
promote one another's happiness, we having drunk of that river, the
streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God;" that it may
arise and flow and bubble in our hearts, and that its vivifying
streams may be felt wherever we go, and that the influence and light
and power and spirit and intelligence of God may be with us, that we
may be one, according to the prayer of our Lord, "as I Father, am in
thee, and thou in me, that the world may know that thou hast sent me,"
These principles are as eternal as the heavens. Do they exist in
heaven? Yes. You read the first chapter of Genesis pertaining to these
matters; and how is it?
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth
was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
He had nobody around him to rise up and say, had you not better put it
off for a little while, or otherwise change things, or to intimate
that they were not prepared for what was done. No, they knew better. I
suppose it would be more correct to render it, "And the Gods said, Let
there be light, etc." But to us you know there is only one God; and he
said, let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light
that it was good. It was made according to eternal principles,
according to the strictest principles of intelligence and philosophy;
and when it was made, it was declared good.
In the councils of the Gods in the eternal worlds there was no
confusion—I rather think there were no politicians there, no one to
get up any feelings of animosity. Things were agreed upon, and when
this was done they were carried out. When agreed upon God would say,
let so and so be done, and it was done. Now, we see that there was
perfect unanimity; but there was not always unanimity in heaven even.
What, not in heaven? No, not until one-third part was cast out; and I
do not think that it was for doing any good. Sometimes I think we will
have to cast out quite a number too, in order to get things in the
right shape. Satan was cast out, and those that adhered to him who
rebelled against God in the eternal worlds. Well, everything has not
been altogether pure in heaven; but they straightened them out as well
as they could, as we do here sometimes, and as we do not do here very
often.
And when we talk about the heavens, there will be a new heaven as well
as a new earth. You know, we read that there will be a new heaven and
a new earth, wherein righteous ness will dwell.
Well, we are here struggling and trying to introduce correct
principles, and to advance not only the interests of the Church of
God, but the kingdom of God, for God will have a kingdom. I hope you
will not tell it to anybody if I tell you something—God will have a
kingdom, and he will have rule and dominion, for this earth belongs to
him and he will possess it, and his Saints will inherit it at last. We
did not use to be afraid of talking about these things. In former
times they told us that the Saints of the Most High should finally
take the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom, which should be
given to the Saints of the Most High God. Do you believe it? I happen
to be one who believes it. And I prophesy that it will be fulfilled.
But we are a sorry lot of people to do a thing of that kind, are we
not? We have not made much progress yet in the race; we are only
preparing for it, many of us cannot do what Brother Joseph F. Smith
was talking about yesterday, that is making a sacrifice and feel that
we are for God and his kingdom. But we can hardly get out of it. I
tell you how some of us feel—"God bless me and my wife, my son John
and his wife, us four and no more, Amen." That feeling is a long way
from the other. God feels interested in the welfare of the whole human
family. What, of the Saints? Yes, and the others too. But the others
do not have the priesthood. The others, if they ever obtain a
celestial glory, will have to obtain it through the Latter-day Saints.
What manner of people ought we to be? A little different from what we
are. We think it troublesome sometimes to pay our tithing; we think it
troublesome sometimes to pray in our families; we think it troublesome
sometimes to feed the poor and take care of the destitute. Well,
suppose we were to change places a little while with them, how would
you feel then? You would feel that it was much better to give than to
receive. We want our feelings and sympathies drawn out. And God has
placed us where we are, in order that we may be preserved to receive
instructions from his hands. We have in our school operations what we
call our normal schools, to prepare teachers to teach others. Now, the
Lord has a normal school in Utah. He is preparing us in a variety of
ways—sometimes we have not enough snow in the winter season, and
consequently a scarcity of water in the summer; sometimes too much
rain, and at other times not enough; we have some wise and some
unwise, and we have some rich and some poor. Yes, we have some who are
poor among us, and why? We would not know what it was to see persons
in those circumstances if we did not have some among us, and then, the
opportunity is afforded us to show our kindness, and to develop within
us that fellow feeling we sometimes talk about. But we do not want to
call them poor, for some of them are just as good as we are, and some
perhaps a little better than many of us. If good people are suffering
for the common necessaries of life, the scriptures say, "If a man
having this world's goods see his brother in need, and shutteth up his
bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" And in
regard to those matters, we ought to look to the wants of everybody;
that, however, more particularly devolves upon the bishops and the
brethren of the Aaronic priesthood. Do not let us make paupers of
them; but let us treat them as brethren and sisters, as good,
honorable men and women; let us see that they are provided for. I have
seen some people who would get down upon their knees and pray most
heartily for God to feed the poor and clothe the naked. Now, I would
never ask the Lord to do a thing that I would not do. If we have them
among us, suppose we go at it and relieve them. I do not think we have
much of that to do here; but, enough, perhaps, to draw forth your good
feelings and sympathies. And if people sustain misfortune of any kind,
look after them and bestow upon them those things necessary for their
welfare and happiness. And God will bless us in so doing. I would a
great deal rather that you would take, say a sack of flour, some beef,
a hundred of sugar, some butter and cheese, and clothing and fuel, and
such comforts and conveniences of life, and thus try to make people
feel happy than all the prayers you could offer up to the Lord about
it; and he would rather see it too; that is the proper way to do
things. In receiving blessings ourselves, try to distribute them, and
God will bless and guide us in the ways of peace.
Perhaps I am occupying too much time. I do not care much about making
a big discourse; I am talking in a plain, easy way, and I think you
understand it. And if there is a widow, or an orphan, or any destitute
persons, or anyone who has to struggle hard, look after them, and do
not try to make paupers of them; but what you do for them, do it in a
kind, good feeling, making them to feel and realize that you are their
friends. And then, let us try to do away with all our little
difficulties—husbands with their wives. Why will you complain about
your wives? Because they will get cross. Are you not cross? "Yes; but
my wife is not as kind as she used to be." Well, try to get along with
her, and treat her kindly; and be kind to one another. If you live in
this way while here in the flesh, you will be glad to meet one another
in the eternal worlds. Cultivate every good principle, and live in his
fear day by day, and he will take care of us, and he will bless and
multiply our flocks and herds, our lands and everything we have.
I will tell you a secret. If we could only prepare ourselves to do the
will of God and keep his commandments and live our religion so that
God could trust us with more means than we have, he would so order
things, and that too by natural ways, that our desires in that
direction would be fully gratified. But we are not prepared for it; it
would only destroy us, and lead us to the devil; and the Lord knows
it. At the same time we cannot complain in this regard; the Lord has
treated us very well. I do not know of a people anywhere that are
better off as a whole than we are. It is true we do not have the
amount of wealth among us that may be found in older countries; but
then we do not have the poverty, the suffering and distress that may
be found elsewhere. It is for us to introduce principles that will
obviate all these difficulties, and that will prepare us to receive
blessings from God, and to administer the same wisely.
Another thing. We are building temples. Are we doing pretty well? Yes.
Do you find fault? No. I have nothing to say about it; I think the
people are doing very well especially in some districts in the north
and south, indeed, I think more than they are able to do. But they
could not do what they have already done and what they are doing without the assistance and blessing of the Almighty. They are
building two beautiful edifices. What for? Is it a matter of
speculation? Yes, one of the greatest speculations ever conceived of.
It is for the salvation of the human family; it is for the redemption
of the living and salvation of the dead. It is for the accomplishment
of the purposes of God pertaining to the inhabitants of the earth, our
forefathers, and then, all we can attain to after that. In those
things we are doing very, very well; and I feel to bless the people
because of their liberality in relation to those matters, especially
those of the districts I have referred to.
Well, now, I do not know that I should detain you much longer. What
shall we do? Keep our covenants, sustain Brother Smith; and let
Brother Smith act in a way that will be worthy of being sustained. And
then sustain your bishops, and let them also so act as to be worthy of
your esteem. And sustain their counselors, and hearken to their
counsels and advice. They are seeking to do you good; and to build up
your interests. And then sustain your teachers, and your deacons and
your priests, and do all you can to lift them up that they may be
enabled to do a good work in their day and generation, and benefit you
and your generations after you. And then there are others. You have
your Relief Societies, and I am glad always to speak a word in behalf
of them. Our sisters are one with us; and we are operating together in
trying to build up the kingdom of God. I would say to the sisters I
would watch after the youth and after the interests of the sisters,
and try to introduce everything good and praiseworthy, and try to do
all you can to promote the welfare of your sons and daughters; and God
will bless you as he has done, and more abundantly. I was pleased to
hear a compliment that was made to our Young people's Mutual
Improvement Associations. It is gratifying to parents and to all who
have the interests of Zion at heart, to hear of, and to see our young
men and women grow up in the fear of God. Some, as is the case
everywhere, are inclined to be a little rude and thoughtless. It is
our privilege, and the privilege of the youth, to improve, and to
cultivate our morals and manners so that if it should ever be our
pleasure to mingle with the angels, we should find the most happy and
enjoyable society. Let us learn to treat one another with kindness and
courtesy, and let the young cultivate the fear of God. I tell you what
I used to do when quite a young boy. I made it a practice to go and
call upon the Lord; it was before there was any "Mormonism." And many
scores of times have I gone into fields behind the bushes, and also into
hay lofts to call upon God to guide me and keep me from evil and to
lead me in the paths of righteousness. Did I feel happy? Yes, for I
had a portion of the Spirit of God with me. How much better in this
respect it is for our youth. I had parents who feared God, but they,
any more than anyone else, did not know anything at all about the
true plan of salvation, for it had not been revealed. I used to go to
the Church of England; and many of you present used to go too; and we
used to say that we were all "miserable sinners." We also confessed
every Sunday that we had "done the things we ought not to have done,
and left undone the things which we ought to have done." This was all
very true. The teach ers themselves did not know any better,
neither did we. But I used to take pleasure in calling upon the Lord
to lead me in the right way. I did not have the helps that you have.
You have the benefit of your Mutual Improvement Societies. Attend
them, and seek to cultivate intelligence of every kind; and above all,
reverence and respect your parents, they who have watched over you and
taken care of you, they who have educated you and fed and clothed you
and felt an interest in your welfare.
And in regard to all of our opera tions, brethren and sisters, let us
ever try to do right, and let us try to invent something whereby we
can be self sustaining; let us purchase from our own people, and above
all let us try to make our own goods and supply our own wants and
necessities. Let us try and carry these principles out, for they are
true and correct. And if there is anything good and praiseworthy, let
us seek after it; and shun everything that tends to misery,
degradation and death.
God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life. Amen.