We meet together from time to time to speak, to sing, to pray, and,
according to an institution which has been provided, to partake of the
sacrament of the Lord's supper, and also to perform those various
duties devolving upon us as servants of the living God. It is
pleasant for the Saints to meet together to commune with each other,
to listen to the words of life, to reflect also upon their position
and relationship to God, to His Church and Kingdom, as well as to
examine into their own feelings, and, under the guidance of the Lord
and of His Holy Spirit, try to find out what relationship they sustain
to their Heavenly Father, and whether they are performing the various
duties devolving upon them, and are seeking to carry out the word, the
will, and the law of God.
We are certainly a very peculiar people gathered together in these
valleys of the mountains; we are assembled here from many nations; it
would be difficult to say at present how many; but I think on some
public occasion awhile ago, there were twenty-five nationalities
represented. In this respect, we present a very singular aspect, and
occupy a very peculiar position in the history of the day and age
wherein we live. Our religion differs very widely from that which
exists in the world. Our ideas of God, of futurity, of heaven and of
hell, and of the future destiny of the human family, not only of
ourselves, but of all nations, differ very materially from that of
others. Our social ideas, too, are very dissimilar from those
entertained by others. And, again, our political ideas are not in
accord in many respects with those of others, and thus we find
ourselves in a very anomalous position, gathered together here in
these valleys of the mountains, separated to a great extent from the
rest of mankind. We were a few years ago very decidedly separated.
Now, this portion of the continent has become almost the highway of
the nations. I frequently meet with persons from France, England,
Ireland, Scotland and Wales, from the various Principalities of
Germany; from Russia, Italy, Spain, Portugal; from Australia, and the
Islands of the sea, and from almost all the nations of the earth.
They pass by here, and hearing that we are a strange sort of a
people, they are desirous to know something about us as they pass
through.
It frequently becomes a question in the minds of many—How and in what
manner did these things originate, and what is the object of our being
thus gathered together as a separate and distinct people? By what
motives are we actuated? The world of mankind, whether in this nation,
or in any other nation, form very strange notions in regard to our
reasons for thus gathering together. Although we have been striving
for a great many years to enlighten the world in relation to this and
other matters, still they seem very much at sea in regard to the
position which we occupy, and to our moral, social, religious and
political status. So that it becomes almost impossible for people at a
distance from here, notwithstanding we profess to live in an age of
light and intelligence, in an age of railroads, telegraphs, and
telephones, in an age when rapid communication can be had, say from
all parts of the earth in one day, in an age of professed knowledge of
science, literature and art, and of everything that is calculated—or
ought to be if properly conducted—to promote the welfare of the human
family; I say that, notwithstanding all these things, if there is one
subject about which the human family today is grossly ignorant, it is
on the subject of the principles of the Latter-day Saints. A short
time ago a very distinguished European gentleman, after eulogizing the
appearance of our city, the quiet and order that prevail, etc., said
to me, "President Taylor you can scarcely conceive how impossible it
is, outside of your Territory, to obtain correct information regarding
you as a people;" and an editor of
The North American Review told me
he came here from New York, expressly for the purpose of getting me to
write an article on our present status, thus again exhibiting the
strange attitude which we occupy before this nation and the world, and
demonstrating that in consequence of such a flood of falsehood,
vituperation and abuse which is constantly circulated against us, that
it is almost impossible, as before referred to, to obtain any correct
information concerning us. Some of the literary men who come along
here, express to me the opinion that we have been maligned and
misrepresented a good deal. I tell them that in an age like this
people ought to know better; that they ought to be better informed;
that they ought to make themselves acquainted with facts within the
reach of everybody; and that there is no excuse for ignorance in
relation to these matters. Still this ignorance continues. There is an
undercurrent that men generally are not acquainted with, which
operates in the minds of men and produces these results of which I
speak at the present time. To the Latter-day Saints there is nothing
very mysterious about this. We have passed through this state of
things in embryo, years and years ago. Many of you thought, when you
heard the Gospel, and your hearts had been made glad by obedience
thereunto, that all you would have to do would be to tell your
particular friends and relatives of these things, and that it would
cause their hearts to rejoice as it did yours. You felt interested in
their welfare and had a desire to promote their happiness, that they
might rejoice with you in the blessings which you experienced through
obedience to the Gospel. But lo and behold! The moment you opened your mouth on this subject, you were set down as impostors. You were
probably before this a decent man or a decent woman; but now you
became ostracized and cut off in many instances from association even
with members of your own family. Was it because you had become
corrupt? No. Was it because you had become unsocial? No. Was it
because you possessed principles that were at variance with the
principles of truth, virtue, honor, and the word of God? No. And if
you had asked them what the reason was, for their coolness and the
feeling of ostracism that they manifested, they could not tell, only
that you were a "Mormon." You have all of you experienced this. If
this is the case, then, with your most intimate friends—with your
relatives, with your fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, uncles
and aunts, with whom you had been on the most friendly terms
heretofore—how can you expect the world to look at things in any
different manner. I reflect sometimes upon the position occupied by
the ancient Christians, and upon the character, position and standing
of Jesus, the Son of God. We all profess to reverence Him. All
Christendom bows in reverence at the mention of His name; they feel
there is something hallowed about it. They look upon Him as being the
Son of God, and they look upon His Apostles as men of unblemished
reputation, of pure lives, holy, virtuous and upright. You cannot
travel anywhere in Christendom but you find churches erected to St.
Paul, St. Peter, to St. John, to St. Matthew, to St. Luke, and to all
the different saints as they are now called by the people. But how was
it with these saints when they lived here upon the earth? They were
called disturbers of the peace. It was said of them that they were
stirrers up of sedition—that they were impure, ungodly men. The idea
of their being persecuted, as we read of, for their religion, would
have been altogether preposterous in that day. They would tell you
they were prosecuted for their crimes and their iniquities. They were
brought before rulers, kings and judges, and they had to depend upon
the Lord and His Holy Spirit, to sustain them under those
circumstances. Jesus emphatically told them to expect these things.
"If the world hate you," said He, "ye know that it hated me before it
hated you. * * * If they have persecuted me, they will also
persecute you. * * * For if they do these things in a green
tree, what shall be done in the dry?" It is singular, yet it is a fact
that these things did exist. While the crowds were ready sometimes to
cover his path with olive branches and with their garments, and to
shout "Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,"
yet with the very next breath they were ready to cry, "Crucify Him!
Crucify Him! It is not fit that He should live." And when He was
hounded and hunted, persecuted and proscribed, at the very last, even
when a Roman judge said, "What evil hath he done?" and washed his
hands of the blood of this just person, they still continued to cry,
"Let him be crucified," and Barabbas, a noted thief, and a murderer,
was released in preference to Jesus. This was the kind of feeling
manifested toward the Savior. Were they an ignorant people that thus
treated Him? No. They were what were called the elite of the day, the
educated; men of position, the High Priests, the scribes, the
Pharisees, the doctors, the law yers, the leading men of the
nation; all of them engaged in this thing, and all of them partook of
the same spirit. What was the cause of this? It was because He was not
of the world. "If ye were of the world," said the Savior to His
disciples, "the world would love his own: but because ye are not of
the world, therefore the world hateth you." That is the cause. The
world loveth its own. And the world is today, was then, and always
will be, until it shall be regenerated, opposed to God, opposed to
righteousness and opposed to the principle of truth. Paul makes the
following statement: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is at
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be." There is nothing new, therefore, in any of these
matters that we hear bruited around from place to place—from the
east to the west, from the north to the south, and spreading abroad
among the nations of the earth; nothing new, nothing strange, nothing
very remarkable in any of these things. The carnal mind knows not the
things of God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither can it
be. They form all kinds of opinions, even, with regard to our
gathering. "Why don't you stop at home as other folks do?" Some say
that it is an emigration scheme gotten up to make money, and that
missionaries are sent out by us to deceive the weak and the ignorant,
and to gather them together that they may be made merchandise of. That
is one idea. You all know how far that is true, and how far it is
false. Others say that we are gathered here for licentious purposes—to
carry out polygamic ideas, to corrupt, demoralize, and trample under
foot the women who come and associate with us, and to destroy their
virtue; whereas you know there is not a place in the world where women
are better protected and their virtue more sacredly guarded than in
Utah. They compare plural marriage to their whoredom, seductions,
their social evils, and the many kinds of iniquity, corruption and
rottenness that prevail among themselves. Reasoning from their own
standpoint, they consider that we are a very wicked, corrupt and
licentious people. But according to the statistics that we have
pertaining to these matters, our immorality is twenty to forty times
less than theirs here in our midst, without going any further. The
crimes, iniquities and corruptions committed by the small minority of
outsiders in our midst very far exceed, perhaps by twenty to thirty
times, the crimes of the Latter-day Saints. This excess of crime on
the part of outsiders is what might be reasonably expected; for we
profess to be a better people, and we ought to be a better people than
those who make no pretensions to be guided by divine revelation.
Examine the records of our city jail, of the Penitentiary, of the
county prisons, which have been published and are being published, and
you will find a full statement in relation to these matters and the
percent of crime that exists between one and the other. Mr. Barclay,
a member of the British Parliament, who lately visited us, writes in
"The Nineteenth Century," a monthly review published in London:
"In
the winter of 1881, a census was taken of the prisons in Utah, with
the following results—In the City Prison were twenty-nine convicts,
and in the county prison six convicts, all non-Mormons. In the
Penitentiary, out of fifty-one prisoners only five were Mormons, two of whom were there for polygamy. * * Of the population of
Salt Lake City, about 75 percent is Mormon, and 25 percent
non-Mormon." He further says: "These figures conclusively prove that
the Mormons are a sober, law-abiding people, and singularly free from
the grosser forms of vice; whatever may be alleged by ignorant or
prejudiced enemies. Of the two hundred saloons, billiard, bowling
alley, and pool table keepers, not a dozen even profess Mormonism."
And since these figures were published, others in relation to 1882
have been made public. One gentleman, who has spent a considerable
length of time investigating these matters, writes: "The statistics at
hand for 1882 * * * cover a wide field, taking in all the populous
districts of the Territory. The total number of all arrests for crimes
and misdemeanors in these localities during 1882, was 2,198—of which
the 78 percent of the Mormon population furnished 300, and the 22
percent of the non-Mormons 1,898, * * So that the Mormons comprising 78
percent of the population of the Territory contributed one-eighth of
the arrests made during 1882 and the non-Mormons, having only 22
percent contributed seven-eighths. The number of brothels throughout the
Territory was 12, all kept by non-Mormons."
Regarding Salt Lake City, where he resided for some time, he states:
"The criminal record of Salt Lake City, for 1882, shows that in a
population of about 25,000, divided between Mormons and non-Mormons as
19 to 6, the total number of arrests was 1,561, of which 188 were
Mormons and 1,373 non-Mormons. Of the 66 houses, where beer and liquor
were retailed by the glass, 60 were kept by non-Mormons, and the
remaining 6, nominally Mormons, were not entitled to participate in
the sacraments of the Church by reason of their calling. The 15
billiard rooms and bowling alleys, and the 7 gambling houses were all
kept by non-Mormons. The 6 brothels had non-Mormon proprietors, and
they were filled by 31 non-Mormon inmates." There is nothing in this
to be proud of; for it would be a pity if we could not live better
than they do. We have gathered here, not for speculative purposes, as
is sometimes charged, but to worship God, to keep His commandments,
and to be instructed in the laws of life. There is no cause for
boasting on our part in regard to these things; but I refer to them to
show how fallacious their ideas are in regard to these matters.
Then, is it strange that we should be placed in the position that we
are? Yes, it is very strange, but it is nevertheless true, and the
same condition of things has existed in the different ages.
We profess to be the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; we profess to
be in possession of the everlasting Gospel; we profess to have
gathered here to observe the laws and keep the commandments of God,
and that we might assist in building up the Church of God, the Kingdom
of God, and the Zion of God. These are really the facts of the case.
True, we do not do as well as we might. We are not as pure as we might
be, nor as good, nor as virtuous, nor as upright, nor do we possess
the amount of integrity that we ought; but, then, we don't propose to
place ourselves on a level with the outside world; we have not dropped
to their standard by a very long way: and many of us are striving to
live our religion, to observe the laws of God, and to keep His
commandments.
In regard to the spirit and genius of the age in which we live,
there is nothing, as I have said, strange about that. The powers of
darkness have always been in antagonism to the light, truth and
intelligence that proceeds from God, and till Satan is bound, and his
power is curtailed by a superior power, that state of things will
continue, and instead of getting better and better, we are told in the
Scriptures, that the wicked shall grow worse and worse, deceiving and
being deceived. Do you imagine that they will grow better? I do not.
Do not let us be mistaken in relation to all these things—that is as
the world are mistaken. We complain sometimes about the injustice of
men. I expect to find unjust men, many of them. We refer to certain
laws that are being enacted by our Congress as unconstitutional, etc.
Why, we expect they will yet pass many laws of that kind. We don't
expect them to be our friends or the friends of God. They don't
profess it. We have a right to expect, of course, that they would
abide by the Constitution, because that is an instrument gotten up by
themselves, and that they profess to be governed by, and that men in
authority swear to uphold. We have a right to expect that. But, then,
does not all Christendom profess to believe in the Bible? Yes. And do
the ministers of the various denominations? Yes. Do they practice its
teachings? Do they follow its doctrines? Or are there any two of their
doctrines alike? They have all kinds of theories, notions and ideas;
yet still they tell you that the Bible contains the word of God. But
are they governed by it? No. God placed in the Church Apostles,
Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists, and He gave unto His
servants the Holy Ghost, and the light of revelation, and made them
acquainted with the same sacred principles. They were all baptized
unto one baptism, and all partook of the same spirit. How is it now?
Many Lords, many faiths, many baptisms.
Speaking of the doctrine of the plurality of wives, I remember talking
with one of our Presidents—I mean one of the Presidents of the United
States—on this subject in Washington, a number of years ago, as I have
with others since on the same subject; but I remember some of the
remarks made on that occasion. "Well," said he, after talking some
little on politics, and one thing and another, "what about your
polygamy?" "Mr. Pierce," said I—I can mention his name now
as it is a
thing of the past—"it may be possible that some of us may have wrong
ideas in regard to these things. We read about such a man as Abraham,
who is described as 'the friend of God;' we read about such a man as
David, who is described as 'a man after God's own heart:' we read
about Jacob, who had twelve sons, whose names are to be written upon
the twelve gates of the holy city. Who was Jacob? He was a man who had
several wives, by whom he had these twelve sons. Then we read of
Moses—a man of God, a leader of Israel, and a lawgiver. He told the people
how they should treat their children whether by the first wife or by
the second, and how all these matters were to be arranged." "Mr.
Pierce," said I, "It is possible that we of the nineteenth century,
have not been able to instruct the Lord very much in regard to these
matters. Probably He knew just as much about them then as we do now,
and that in regard to our marital laws, we may have made some
mistakes." "Well," said Mr. Pierce, "I cannot say." Of course he
could
not.
Now, then, men assume to judge the acts of others, but they don't
judge their own acts, and they strive to falsify us, and to make evils
of those things that God has ordained according to His economy, and
that men of old, who were considered men of God, and the friends of
God, practiced under His direction. It is not uncommon for men to talk
about Abraham. They would like to get into Abraham's bosom—that is
most of the Christians of the present day would like to have a place
in Abraham's bosom. Would you? Would you really? Are there any of that
class here that would like to go unto Abraham's bosom? Why, should you
have your wish, when you woke up you would find you were in the bosom
of a polygamist, and would not that be very horrible? But that would
be the fact. Jesus Himself, was a descendant of that class of people
who had practiced the things that we today believe in. But they
didn't persecute Him because He was a polygamist. They persecuted Him
because He was a friend of publicans and sinners. They accused Him of
being a blasphemer, of casting out devils through the power of
Beelzebub, the prince of devils. If He did any good act at all, they
were ready to cry out, "Give God the praise: we know that this man is
a sinner."
These things are facts that we cannot ignore. They stand out before us
in living characters, and to use a very trite saying, "history repeats
itself" in regard to these things. The same causes in one age
generally produce the same results in another age.
I will now tell you about some of my feelings when I first came into
this Church. It is a long while ago. When I first heard the Gospel I
was compelled to admit there was something reasonable about it. I
almost hoped it was not true. "If it is true," said I, "as an honest
man I shall be obliged to obey it, or else I cannot have any
confidence in myself." When I had investigated the subject, and become
convinced that it was true, I said, "I am in for it; I must embrace
it; I cannot reject the principles of eternal truth;" and I will say,
moreover, I don't know of a time in my life when if anybody presented
a truth that could not be controverted, but I was ready to obey it;
and I am today. If any person in the religious world, or the political
world, or the scientific world, will present to me a principle that is
true, I am prepared to receive it, no matter where it comes from.
Well, says one, you believe the Bible? Yes. You believe in the Book of
Mormon? Yes. You believe the Book of Doctrine and Covenants? Yes. I
believe all that God has ever written or spoken, everything that we
have on record, and I am prepared to believe everything that He will
communicate to the human family. We profess to believe in all truth,
and to be governed by all truth.
Then, in regard to our position—referring to that again—we are
gathered here from the different nations of the earth, from England
and elsewhere. I remember the time very well when the Gospel was not
preached in England. I remember when Brothers Heber C. Kimball, Orson
Hyde, Wilford Woodruff, myself and others took our first mission to
England. Many of you that are here, whose heads are white like mine,
will remember the circumstances. We took our departure after laying the cornerstone of the Temple in Far West, Caldwell County,
Missouri. The people were much excited about the Mormons at that time,
just as they are now, and every once in awhile. They had gotten up a
furor against us; and Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Bishop McRae, and
others, were seized by a mob and imprisoned; and many of you may have
read the remarks made by a certain General Clark—the famous, or rather
infamous General Clark. He told the people—the same as they tell us
now—that it was wrong to gather as they were then doing, and as we are
now doing, and place ourselves under Bishops, etc. And said he—I
heard him—"Oh, that I could invoke the spirit of the unknown God to
rest upon you, that you may be delivered from the delusions with which
you are encompassed." But his "unknown God" didn't hear him,
and the
"delusions" have still gone on. We had been driven out of Missouri.
They were so good a people and so virtuous, and we were so bad. But we
were not polygamists then; we had not entered into the awful crime of
polygamy; but we dared to worship God according to the dictates of our
own conscience. They drove us out, took possession of our property,
and robbed and pillaged everyone they could. After doing this they did
not like that their action should go out to the world; so the
legislature actually made an appropriation for us—that is, for the
poor "Mormons" —of $2,000, if my memory serves me aright. They had
killed and destroyed any amount of our cattle and hogs, and anything
and everything of that kind that they came across. Still they
pretended to be very sorry for us, and solicitous for our welfare. In
order that we might not suffer, they went into an adjoining county
where our people lived, stole a lot of hogs from them, and then turned
in those hogs to make up the appropriation made by the legislature of
Missouri! They were so liberal in their operations! They stole the
hogs from one portion of our people, and then gave them to another. I
saw the hogs come in, and they were butchered and divided among the
Mormons.
These are some of the things that I am acquainted with. Was I
surprised when I saw such operations? No. I expected when I came into
this Church, that I should be persecuted and proscribed. I expected
that the people would be persecuted. But I believed that God had
spoken, that the eternal principles of truth had been revealed, and
that God had a work to accomplish which was in opposition to the
ideas, views and notions of men, and I did not know but it would cost
me my life before I got through. It came pretty near it at one time;
yes, at many times. I have had to "stand the racket" in a way that
many of you folks don't know much about. More than once I have had to
face large crowds of people in the shape of armies, expecting to come
into contact every moment—no farther off, perhaps, than the length of
this hall. That is not a very pleasant position to be in. But I was in
a worse scrape in Carthage jail, when Joseph and Hyrum were
killed—penned up in a room and attacked by a blackened mob. I had to
stand at the door and ward off the guns while they were trying to
shoot us, and we without arms, and under the protection of the
Governor of the State. Dr. Bernhisel and myself were sent by Joseph
Smith to wait upon the Governor, and lay before him the facts of the
case. We told him we were competent to take care of ourselves,
and did not require any of his aid, for we had an organized body of
militia that were quite competent to protect us from their mobs, and
asked his advice. He thereupon stated it would be better for us not to
bring an armed force, and pledged his faith and the faith of the
State, as Governor, for our protection. We consented. This he said to
Dr. Bernhisel and myself; and that pledge was violated by the murder
of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage jail, and I myself received five
balls in my person; but then I am here yet.
Was there anything surprising in all this? No. If they killed Jesus in
former times, would not the same feeling and influence bring about the
same results in these times? I had counted the cost when I first
started out, and stood prepared to meet it.
We afterwards came to these valleys of the mountains. We people have
been gathered here and are gathering; but we have had to encounter
very little of such things as I have referred to. It is true, we had
what was called the Buchanan war, when we paraded up and down, and
when we went to Echo, etc. But there was not much harm done. It cost
the government some forty million dollars, from what I learn; but
there was no one killed. Two newspaper reporters who had been sent out
here to report the war, got to fighting between themselves, and I
remember being called upon by one of them to assist him in his trouble
in Provo. That is all that occurred. We had to go out and meet the
army. We marched and countermarched—the same as we do in our dances,
you know; one of those grand marches, marching in and marching out;
and finally the President sent us a pardon for that which we had never
done. We did not appreciate it very much. With the exception of that
little episode, we have not had much trouble. I have heard people
complain of our judges and our governors, and this, that and the
other. Why, bless your soul, how can they send better men than they
have? We need not expect good men, virtuous men, honorable men; they
can only send such as they have, consequently, we need not look for
any better.
Well, what are we to do? They are talking all kinds of loud things
about us now. They keep on talking. Sometimes they do a little;
sometimes they don't do much; sometimes they are very angry with us,
and get up quite a furor. A Presidential election is coming on, you
know, and they are preparing things for that, and the "Mormon
question" is as good a thing as they can have on both sides of the
House—on the republican side, and on the democratic, too. "Well," the
question is asked, "What are they going to do with you?" It don't make
much difference. They hardly know themselves. They think they are
going to do a great deal. They will do just what the Lord will let
them, and no more. But we understand their ideas, I presume, as well
as they do. Here are two political parties. The republicans long ago
put into their platform that there were two twin relics that had to be
moved out of the way—the one was slavery, and the other polygamy. They
have removed slavery out of the way, but polygamy seems to be rather a
hard nut for them to crack. It seems to bother them. They are in a
good deal of trouble about it, and the religious people are very much
exercised over it. Their pure souls are very much agonized about
things of that sort, and about impurities which exist among the
Mormons. They cannot see or say anything about the licentiousness, the
corruption, the feticide, the infanticide, the rottenness, hypocrisy,
lying, fraud and deception that exists among themselves; but they
think we are a very bad people, and in order to purge the nation of so
foul a blot, they must all unite to put us down. They will just do
what the Lord will let them, and no more.
Now, neither of these political parties are our friends. Neither of
them are the friends of God. They think that we are democratic. We are
to a certain extent, and then we are republicans to a certain extent.
But the republicans are afraid that the democrats are going to make
use of us in some way or other, and they are determined to crowd the
Mormons down their throats, and the democrats gulp at it; they don't
like to swallow it. It is worse than the apple that stuck in Adam's
throat. They don't want to shoulder the responsibility, and so the
democrats will join with the republicans on a question of this kind,
just the same as the Scribes and Pharisees, the Herodians and
Sadducees, did when Jesus was to be crucified. Pilate and Herod could
then be made friends, and they were hail fellows, well met. So it is
now, and as the Church of England chant says: "As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, worlds without end, amen," it
may continue—at least for a certain length of time.
What are we to do under those circumstances? Shall we be very angry?
No. I feel just as easy about it as the boy did about his father. Says
Tommy, to his companion: "Do you know my daddy?" "No, I
don't." "Why,"
said Tommy, "I know him just as e-a-s-y." I feel just as easy as the
boy did about knowing his daddy.
We are engaged in a work of importance. We are immortal beings. We are
dual beings associated with time and eternity; I might say associated
with the past, the present, and the future. We have a work to perform
here upon the earth, and with the help of Israel's God we expect to do
that work.
I do not wish to defame anybody. But the things I have talked of are
true. It is a pity they are true, but then they are. What are we going
to do? Do right. We are called of God to be an upright people, a
virtuous people, an honorable people. We are called upon to maintain
correct principles, and to introduce them among the peoples of the
earth, and especially among the people of this nation. Jesus told His
disciples to pray in His day, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven." Did He understand what He was saying. I
think He did.
The Lord has gathered us together in these valleys of the mountains,
that He might have a people who would be prepared to receive the
eternal truths of heaven, and be governed by them. Instead of your
being deceived to get you to come here, you had the pure principles of
the Gospel of the Son of God preached unto you, in the various nations
from which you have come. You were called upon to repent of your sins,
and to be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins,
and to have hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost.
And when you received that Holy Ghost, it took of the things of God,
and showed them unto you. Among other things it showed you that it was
proper for you to gather to the land of Zion, and you came
here. It was under this influence you came. You came to learn more
fully the law of God, and to be instructed in the principles of
eternal life. The Lord has said through the Prophet Jeremiah: "I will
take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to
Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which
shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." This is what we are
gathered here for—to build up the Zion of our God, to establish the
Kingdom of God, and to purify and exalt the Church of the living God;
that His people may be presented without spot or wrinkle, as spoken of
in the Scriptures; that they may be prepared to have an inheritance
among those that are sanctified; and that the principles of eternal
truth may go forth from the land of Zion, and extend to the ends of
the earth, that the honest in heart may be gathered together to help
establish the principles of truth upon this land of Zion.
Shall we accomplish this? I think we shall. But people are opposed to
you. What difference does that make to you or to me? We are here, as
Jesus was, to do the will of God. "I seek not mine own will," said the
Savior, "but the will of the Father which hath sent me." We are
here today to do the same thing.
Now, do you feel angry at our enemies? No. They don't know any better,
and if they did many of them would not like to act differently. If
they are not capable of comprehending and receiving the truths of God,
we cannot help it. But shall we be their enemies because of this? No.
Shall we return evil for evil? No. What shall we return? Good for evil,
blessing for cursing. "Pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven." What was the blessing pronounced upon Abraham? "In thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;" not cursed. Did they
carry this out? Yes. Witness the preaching of the Apostles in former
times in the land of Asia, and the disciples on this continent. Who
were they? Descendants of Abraham. Whom did they preach to? A good
people, a virtuous people, a holy people? No, if they had been good,
virtuous and holy, there would have been no need of a message of that
kind being taken to them. But God felt merciful towards all the human
family; for they are all His children, and His design was to benefit
and bless them, so far as they would let Him, and sometimes He has had
to deal with them very severely. On one occasion He had to cut them
off by a flood, because they had corrupted themselves. Every
imagination of their hearts was evil, and that continually. They were
raising up a corrupt progeny, and it was an injustice to the spirits
that dwelt in the heavens that wished and desired and had a right to
have tabernacles here upon the earth. Those corrupt men and women were
not fit to be the producers of those tabernacles, and they had to be
cut off. But God knew how to manipulate these matters. He prepared a
prison house for them, and when Jesus came He went and preached to the
spirits in prison that sometime were disobedient in the days of Noah.
God has always felt interested in the welfare of the human family; but
there are certain eternal laws associated with His economy that have
to be carried out, whether in His Church or out of His Church. From
the members of His Church He expects a higher state of
morality than He does from those that are outside. All men will be
judged according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good
or evil. The Gospel has been sent to them from time to time. The old
disciples were told to go to every nation, kindred, tongue and people,
and proclaim its glad things, and the people on this continent had the
same testimony delivered among them. In the last days there was
another angel to fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting
Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth. What Gospel? The
same Gospel that Adam had, the same Gospel that Enoch had, the same
Gospel that Seth and Mahalaleel and Noah had, the same Gospel that
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had, and that Moses and the Prophets had, the
same Gospel that Jesus had, the same Gospel that was taught on the
Asiatic continent and on the American continent, and proclaimed to the
various peoples of the earth.
As Latter-day Saints we believe this Gospel has been restored, and
further, we know that we are in possession of it. I do for one, and so
do you; and through obedience to its principles, and the reception of
the Holy Ghost, you Latter-day Saints do know that this is the work of
God, and if you don't know it, it is because you are not living your
religion, and keeping the commandments of God; "for if any man will do
His will," says Christ, "he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be
of God, or whether I speak of myself." And the Spirit taketh of the
things of God, and shows them unto us, and if we will follow its
teaching, it searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. If we
do not know these things, we ought to know them, and we shall know
them if we only humble ourselves, and ask according to the light of
the Spirit of the living God, even the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Now, what are we doing? We are sending the Gospel to the nations of
the earth. Why? Because God has commanded it. What are the Seventies
for? For this purpose. What are the Twelve for? For this purpose. What
are the Elders for? When there is a deficiency among the Seventies
they are chosen for this purpose, and the High Priests have to assist
in the same way. What to do? To teach, to instruct, to enlighten, to
bless, and to lead the people of the world in the ways of life. This
may be considered criminal by some, but we consider we have a duty to
perform, God has laid that duty upon us and, in the name of Israel's
God, we will try and do it.
We are building temples. What for? To carry out other purposes that
have been spoken of. Shall we carry them out? If the Lord permits we
will. We will go on laboring and working in the interest of humanity.
"Well," says one, "don't you feel angry sometimes?" Well,
sometimes I
feel almost as Jesus did when he went into the Temple and found a lot
of money changers, and took a whip of small cords and chased them out,
saying unto them, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of
prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." We are not all of us
what we ought to be, we ought to be more humble and more faithful,
more diligent and more self-denying. We ought to assist in building up
the Kingdom of God, and in doing the will of God, and seek to promote
those principles, which He has introduced for the salvation and
exaltation of the human family. And what about this nation? We
will do them all the good we can, and I will say, gentlemen, pursue
your course, persecute, proscribe, so far as God will let you. We can
stand these things if you can, but woe to those who fight against
Zion; I say that in the name of Israel's God. If they can stand these
things we can. We are here to do the will of God. Shall we persecute
in return? No. We will do good for evil, and pray for those who
despitefully use us, and evil entreat us that we may be the children
of our Heavenly Father. This is the spirit of the Gospel of the Son of
God, and it is for us to carry it out. What shall we do, then? Do
right; be honest with ourselves; be honest with our neighbors; honest
with the good; honest with the bad; honest, I was going to say, with
the devil; honest with everybody. We can afford to do right, whether
others can or not. We can afford to maintain the Constitution and
institutions of the United States, and all laws, as it is said in the
Doctrine and Covenants, that are constitutional. It is the will of God
that we should obey them, and sometimes we obey laws that we think are
not constitutional. I expect, like the Catholics in this respect, we
shall have to do some works of supererogation. However, let us do
right. Let us maintain the Constitution of this government. It was
ordained of God, and if wicked and corrupt men do wrong, and
administer improperly and unrighteously, God will deal with them. We
need not rail and rant and get up a commotion about them. We do not
cherish any ill-will or ill-feelings, but they would not like it to be
said that they are doing the works of their father, the devil: but
that is what Jesus said about people of the same kind in His day. We
need not be angry with them. Jesus, at the very last, even when
hanging on the cross and expiring, said, as it were with His last
breath, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Neither do they in this day. But we are the children of the light.
Let us walk in the light, and be governed by the principles of truth
and righteousness, virtue and honor, and seek to cleave to God in our
bodies and in our spirits, which are His. If the Latter-day Saints
throughout the land of Zion, would only fear God and work
righteousness, there is not a power on this side of hell, or the other
side either, that could harm them; for God will carry out His work and
His purposes, and if He suffers us, at any time to be chastened, it
will be for our good; but Zion will triumph, and the Kingdom of God
will roll forth, and no man shall stop its progress from this time,
henceforth and forever, in the name of Jesus. Amen.