There have been a great many very excellent things said at this
conference, and in attempting to add thereto, I desire the assistance
and aid which come through the faith and prayers of the Saints—that I
may be inspired by the Spirit of God to utter such things as may tend
to our edification and good. It will doubtless be somewhat difficult
to make all hear unless a goodly degree of order is maintained. Of
course I am aware that it is not an easy task for mothers to keep
their nursing babes quiet in a crowded house like this and upon a warm
day; but we hope to have as good order as possible under the
circumstances.
I have rejoiced very much in the testimonies which have been borne
during the meetings of this Conference, and they find in my heart a
responsive chord. I do not feel that we are living in unprofitable
times, and notwithstanding the trials, temptations and injustice with
which we are surrounded, I view the present as times in which the Lord
is teaching to His people very valuable lessons. It has often been
asserted, by our outside friends, that the union of this people was
maintained by reason of the influence which their leaders hold over
their minds. If this statement were true, and the influence exercised
is unrighteous, the leaders of the people should be removed. But if
the influence which they exercise over the minds of the people is for
good, it ought to be maintained. As an Elder in Israel, I hold
that the influence which binds together this people to be the spirit
of God, and that the Almighty, the creator of the heavens and the
earth, is not dependent upon one man or many men, and that the Lord
will demonstrate to all the Christian world, that the religion which
is called Mormonism is the religion of the heart for the masses of the
people who have espoused its cause; and if, in the experiences of the
past few months, and that which is yet in the future, the Latter-day
Saints learn to rely on God, learn to receive for themselves heavenly
communications for the guidance of their feet, though it may cost the
exile of our leaders or the imprisonment of those who have worked as
their servants, they will have received that which is of much value;
and although it cost much, it will be worth more than the cost. We can
see now that a few who have relied upon others, who have sought the
counsel of their file lenders and have depended upon that counsel when
they can no longer reach those leaders, falter and fall by the
wayside. I believe that God intends that every man and every woman in
His Church and kingdom shall exercise the faculties which He has
given them, that in the exercise of their agency He designs to exalt
them in eternal glory. So long therefore as the people rely upon their
leaders they are not manifesting that degree of faith, they are not in
a position to think and reflect for themselves as they should. I have
known the time of the Presidency of the Church and of the Apostles
taken up in frivolous matters that ought never to have gone beyond the
family circle, at least ought not to have gone beyond the confines of
the Ward organization. But times have changed. We approach not now so
easily the Presi dency of the Church. We receive not their counsels
with that facility that we have done in the past. And although we miss
their presence much—for this people love their leaders—in their
absence the channel of communication between the heavens and the earth
is open to this people as it never could have been under former
circumstances. Men and women are now learning that their prayers can
be heard, and that if they are not able to receive the counsels of
their brethren, they can in all places and under all circumstances,
receive the counsels of God, their Heavenly Father.
Men, communities of men, governments, nations, powers, and
principalities have never yet been able to build walls so strong, or
make iron doors so thick as to prevent the prayers of a righteous man
ascending unto his God, hence every man and every woman who keep the
commandments of the Lord can have a light and a lamp for their feet,
and those who have oil in their lamps will not be uncertain as to the
course they should pursue. The revelations of the Lord will inspire
them and direct them in the ways of truth and right.
When we reflect on the growth of governments, civilization, the rights
of men and the liberties which we so much enjoy, to what source do we
look as the one from whence they came? The great government of which
we form a part—the most liberal, the broadest and the deepest in its
foundation, the greatest government which God has ever smiled
upon—except when he has administered according to His own will in the
affairs of men—to whom is due its birth and expansion. To men who were
willing to bow in obedience to the mandates of kingly governments? No! But rather to men who were inspired by God,
their heavenly Father, to reach forward to a higher and a grander
civilization and liberty. Had the Pilgrim Fathers and others who were
unwilling to bow to the mandates of European powers not fled to the
land of America, we should have had no government like this. It was
founded as a refuge in which the oppressed of every land and clime
should find a resting place. Not Republican altogether, not Democratic
wholly, not theocratic, not aristocratic, not monarchical, but a
combination of them all. For this government, in the strictest sense,
is not a republic, as I understand it. The laws of a republican
government are enacted by a central power. Were the United States such
a government, the laws which govern the citizens of all the States and
Territories would be enacted by Congress, instead of by their several
Legislatures. In the purest sense, democracy consists of a government
in which the people are governed by laws enacted with their mutual
consent and by their direct vote. We cannot consistently call the
government of the United States theocratic only in so far as the
people acknowledge the rule of God. If we pick up a coin, a $20 gold
piece, we can see impressed upon its face the words, "In God we
trust;" and insofar as this is true, and expresses the sense and
feelings of the people, this government is theocratic, but in no sense
beyond that. A Territorial government may be said to be in a large
sense monarchial, in that the governor of the Territory has conferred
upon him by act of Congress absolute veto power, and the legislators
who are chosen by the people, may labor for sixty days, unite their
profoundest thought in expressing the wishes and wants of the people,
and they may frame laws by which the people might be governed
according to their choice, but by a single stroke of the pen the
Governor of the Territory of Utah can veto every act of the
Territorial Legislature. Is not this, then, monarchial, and is it not
in a very strong sense a one-man power? It would seem to be at least
autocratic. And in the sense that the people of the Territories have
no choice in the governor or in the judges who administer the laws, or
in the marshals who enforce the process of the courts and in every
other way wherein the government takes upon itself the government of
the people, without the consent of the people, is it not an
aristocratic government—the government of the many by the few? Thus,
if my conclusions are correct, the government of the United States is
theocratic insofar as the people trust in and obey the laws of God;
it is republican in a partial sense; it is democratic in another
sense; and it is certainly, so far as the Territories are concerned,
monarchial and aristocratical. Thus we have a combination of the
elements of a variety of governments entering into this great Union.
But, as was clearly shown this morning by Brother F. D. Richards, in
the disposition of the people to have Congress enact certain
proscriptive laws, we as a people are being deprived of many of the
rights and privileges for which our forefathers contended, for which
they pledged their sacred honor, and for which many of them devoted
their lives. But, knowing the manner in which public opinion is
manufactured in this great land of ours, I have personally a degree of
charity and of sympathy, not only for Congress, but for the President,
his Cabinet, and for the supreme judiciary of our nation. It
is no unusual thing to see men manifest physical courage. You can see
it in all nature. Tread upon a worm and it will turn and sting you if
it can. Men, for the love of the things of this world, will often face
physical danger in every form. They will dig down into the bowels of
the earth, navigate the raging seas, and penetrate, as it were, to the
North Pole—they will face the cannon's mouth when it belches forth
death and desolation in all its horrid forms; they will face death and
destruction in all its horrid forms; they will face death and
desolation in every shape; but when you call upon them to manifest
moral courage, when you call upon them to stand up and maintain the
right because it is right, when that right is unpopular, you appeal to
something that gives but weak response. I have seen men that would
face danger in almost every conceivable form, shrink and cower before
one breath of scorn. They could not bear it, and hence you see them
make promises and apologies because of the influences that surround
them. Now, this is a popular government, and it would take a very
courageous President to do justice to the Latter-day Saints. Why?
Because the great majority of the nation are prejudiced against us.
Not that they are aware of any harm or wickedness having been done by
this people, but because of falsehoods that have been circulated
against the Latter-day Saints. Therefore, I say that were Mr.
Cleveland to administer, or cause to be administered all the laws in
Utah impartially, he would be manifesting a degree of hardihood, a
degree of moral courage that certainly has not been exhibited by any
recent President of the United States. This country has produced few
men like Charles Sumner, who stood up in the Senate of the United
States and fought slavery. He stood there singly and alone, but he
espoused a righteous cause, and by degrees he made adherents until
this nation was converted and the Supreme Court of the United States
that declared that a black man had no rights which a white man was
bound to respect, was overturned at the point of the bayonet and the
sword. Such men as Washington, Jefferson and Adams—such men as
Cromwell, Knox, Luther, Wycliffe, Huss and Jerome, stand along the
shores of time as beacons that have lighted the way to the higher
liberty we ought to enjoy in this glorious land today. When I say we,
I refer to the nation as a whole, and not to the Latter-day Saints as
a community. If we could enjoy our constitutional rights, we would be
of all people upon this earth the most happy; because, with all our
faults and failings, God smiles upon no people upon the earth as pure
as are the Latter-day Saints, and happiness consists in purity—the
living of a holy life before the Lord.
I was very forcibly struck, a few days ago, with the remarks made by
the Judge of the Third Judicial District. I don't think him to be a
Christian; if he is, he does not understand the Scriptures as I
understand them. In referring to remarks which had been made by an
individual who had been convicted by the jury, the judge remarked that
he did not wish to hear any more hypocritical cant, and in referring
to the wives of the Latter-day Saints on one occasion he mentioned
them as concubines; and some of our brethren have looked upon that as
being a reproach. Well, of course, you can convey contempt in the
manner in which a word is uttered. But I do not look upon the
word concubine as being a contemptuous term by any means. All
concubines, anciently, were considered wives, but all wives were not
concubines. A concubine, then, was a maid servant married to a free
man; and although her mistress still maintained some jurisdiction over
her actions, the fact that she was a wife gave her an honorable
position—made her a legal wife in the sight of God.
Again, the judge, in referring to what father Abraham did, said,
"Abraham not only lived with his wives, but also with his wife's
handmaids; in other words," said the judge, "the same as though you
were to live with your hired girls. Now, while that might do for
Abraham," said he, "it will not do for this enlightened age." Now I
desire to show by these remarks that the judge of the Third District
Court is not a Christian, and that if he has any hopes of eternal life,
he does not understand the plan and the promises of the great Jehovah;
for Abraham was a friend of God; Abraham talked with God face to face,
and although it may be thought that he lived in the dark ages, would
to God that the Christian world would walk in such darkness today!
If, then, the acts of Abraham would not do for the Chief Justice of
the Territory of Utah, neither would the city in which Abraham dwells
do for that judge; and when he passes into eternity and behold the
names of the twelve apostles written upon the twelve foundations of
the Eternal City he may admire their beauty and grandeur, but when his
attention is drawn to the twelve pearly gates, he will find engraven
thereon the names of the twelve sons of Jacob by his four wives, and
their great grandfather Abraham will be within that city. Without its
walls shall be sorcerers, adulterers, liars and whoremongers, and
those who love to make a lie. Jesus bore testimony to the virtues of
Abraham. He proclaimed himself to be a literal descendant from him,
tracing back his lineage to the loins of David, another polygamist;
and when he, Jesus, spoke of Lazarus, who picked up the crumbs that
fell from the rich man's table, and who was so poor and wretched,
whose sores the dogs licked to his ease, delight and comfort—when
Jesus spoke of this Lazarus, he spoke of him as being in the bosom of
Father Abraham. But the rich man, who perhaps had had control of him,
and who had kicked and cuffed him, and looked upon him with scorn as
he picked up the crumbs—as we pick up the crumbs of liberty grudgingly
dropped from the table which our fathers made in the day of oppression
and dread—I say, when that rich man looked upon Lazarus in his
degradation, he was then but his serf and slave; but when he looked
upon him over that wide gulf that separated them, he saw him in the
bosom of Abraham, and he pleaded that Lazarus might be sent to dip his
finger in one drop of cold water, that the thirst might be slaked in
his throat, and that his burning tongue might be relieved. The answer
was, "Lazarus had his ill things while upon the earth and thou hadst
thy good things. Now, behold Lazarus has the good things and thou hast
thine evil things." "Well, said the rich man, if he comes not to me
send him to tell my friends and my neighbors of the condition of
affairs here." The answer was made, "They have Moses and the prophets,
and if they heed not these, neither would they listen to one though he
rose from the dead." If the Judge of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Utah is a Christian, how will he feel when he comes into
the presence of Father Abraham, whom he has sought to cast reflections
upon? Will not the blush of shame be upon his cheek? And if there is
an eternal God, and if that eternal God is the creator of the heavens
and the earth and all our spirits; and is the friend of Abraham, how
can that Judge bear his presence? I would rather be the poorest
Latter-day Saint on earth and bear chains and fetters upon my limbs
until my flesh dropped from my bones than to be in the attitude of
the man who must bear, without the spirit of God, the measure of
unjust judgment which he has measured to others. For this reason, my
brethren and sisters, I say I have the most profound sympathy for all
those whom we sometimes denominate our enemies, and I am not able to
forget the fact that whatever their condition in this life may be,
they fought not on the side of Satan in the eternal worlds when Satan
rebelled against God because the Almighty was unwilling to adopt his
coercive plan of human redemption. God was determined that every man,
woman and child born into the world should be free. I say, because God
would not adopt his coercive measures he rebelled against Christ, and
one-third part of heaven followed him, and he fought against Michael
and the hosts of heaven, and was cast down to earth with the hosts
that followed him. But you can find no living man or woman that ever
breathed the breath of life that fought on his side; for the
condemnation that came upon them was a loss of opportunity to take a
body. Therefore, those people who seem to be our enemies are such only
by reason of their blindness, and because their eyes are closed
against the things of God, and if the judgments of God are to come
upon them according to the predictions of the prophets, we can well
afford to have charity and sympathy for them, and we do as a people. I
tell you that I can pray for my enemies; I can pray that God may
lead them away from darkness, that He may touch the eyes of their
understanding that they may see, and in their hearts repent.
It is awful to think for a moment of the terrible condemnation that
will surely come upon men who endorse the shedding of innocent blood;
but we must, at last come to love our enemies and pray for them who
despitefully use us. And when we are prepared to do this from the
heart, we are prepared to say to this world, "I am not afraid of
anything you can do." The power of the Spirit lifts the body out of
the reach of harm, the spirit of Christ has gained the victory, and we
can say when under the influence of that spirit, "O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" I can pray for the
President of the United States, with a desire in my heart that God
will direct him aright, that he may have moral courage sufficient to
do that which is just; because, unless the rulers of this nation are
actuated by the spirit of justice, they cannot be sustained by the
Almighty. And although we may find prejudice on the right hand and on
the left, we shall never have given unto us the victory until we learn
how to govern upon principle. When men are tested, when they are
brought before the courts, cases should be tried, not men. Whenever
the Latter-day Saints shall have reached that high degree of
excellence in the administration of the laws of God as to
judge impartially between the Saint and sinner, when they shall be
willing to give Satan his rights as quickly as a Saint or a brother,
then will judgment and rule be placed within their reach, and I pray
that it will never come before that time.
Whether a man is a heathen or a Christian, when the kingdom of God is
established, he will have his rights and liberties extended to him.
There will be no bias, no prejudice, everything will be done
according to the laws of justice and equity. Have we always, as a
people, I may ask, manifested a disposition to act upon the basis of
principle? You can answer the question for yourselves. Have you been
willing, as Latter-day Saints to extend to the Gentile as readily his
rights, under your municipal, your county or your Territorial
government as you would extend them to a Latter-day Saint? If you
have, then have we administered upon the basis of principle; but if we
have not, then have we not come to an understanding of that which the
Lord has revealed; for when His kingdom bears sway there will be
thousands and millions of people who do not subscribe to our religious
views, who will be gladly governed by the laws of God's kingdom; and
the Chinese in the empire of China, the Hindoo in Hindoostan, or the
Christian in Europe, may read the laws that govern Zion, and, with
mathematical accuracy, figure out the liberties they can enjoy under
the laws of the kingdom of God. There will be no prejudice or packed
juries in the kingdom of God that will bind the innocent and set the
guilty free. God will govern His kingdom as He governs throughout His
universe, by the laws of justice and equity.
What I say to the Latter-day Saints is, let us be of good cheer. I
never have seen a better day than this. The kingdom will come off
victorious, and those who have hated us will see the day when much woe
and affliction will come upon them.
We hear talk about 55,000,000 of people being opposed to the
Latter-day Saints. I offer to you this afternoon my testimony that
this is not true. There are not 55,000,000 in this glorious government
of ours who are opposed to the Latter-day Saints; it is a great
mistake; there are thousands in the United States today, who are
anxiously waiting for the solution of the "Mormon" problem, who are
praying for the deliverance of this people. It is a great mistake to
suppose that every man, woman and child in this nation are opposed to
this people; there are scores that, while they have not courage to
come out and speak a word for them, have a warm throbbing in their
hearts for the victory of this people and their cause, and they are
not blind to their surroundings either. As an American citizen I
deplore it, but I tell the Latter-Saints this afternoon that this
great government is not strong, and the reason is, they have torn up
the foundations of the structure that was built by our fathers. They
have tipped up the moorings of the great ship. They have allowed mob
rule to get power in this land, and like a dark cloud, secret
societies are gathering around. And while it may be smiled at, yet I
tell you this nation stands as it were upon a mine. When the Knights
of Labor and the different brotherhoods can say in calm language that
within thirty minutes they can stop the motion of every car wheel
between Omaha, Nebraska, and Butte, Montana, I say to you there is
power there. More than five years ago, certain secret societies
instituted what were called the Pittsburgh riots. The State militia was
called out to quell them, and they were not able to do it. The army of
the national government was appealed to, and a United States officer
told me that when he led his soldiers to Pittsburgh he feared to give
the word of command to fire upon those insurgents, "for," said he,
"I did not know whether they would obey or turn round and fire upon their
officers." I have heard merchants of Chicago and New York declare that
they had private arms stacked away in their business houses because
they could not trust the municipal, the county, the State, or the
national means of protection; will you tell me that a nation is strong
thus situated? It is not. The iron heel of the monopolist has long
been upon the neck of labor, and the great question which is looming
up in this nation today is that of labor and capital. Would to God we
had statesmen with eyes clear enough to see! Would to God that they
would pull out of their eyes the "Mormon" mote and behold the beam
that threatens the nation. The occurrence at Rock Springs, and the
mutterings we hear from the Atlantic to the Pacific ought to be a
warning that the day is not far distant, unless the Democratic and
Republican parties open their eyes to the situation, when desolation
and war will be in this government. When men who live in San
Francisco, Chicago and New York, have said to me, "Mr. Thatcher, why
don't you renounce this objectionable feature of your religion, the
nation is opposed to it, the civilization of the age does not want to
permit it—why don't you renounce it and live in peace?" I have said to
them, "I thank you for your kind sentiments; I thank you for the
kindly feelings that you entertain," and as an evidence that I feel
it, I will say when this nation, having sown to the wind, reaps the
whirlwind; when brother takes up sword against brother; when father
contends against son, and son against father; when he who will not
take up his sword against his neighbor must needs flee to Zion for
safety—then I would say to my friends come to Utah; for the judgments
of God, commencing at the house of the Lord, will have passed away,
and Utah, undisturbed, will be the most delightful place in all the
Union. When war and desolation and bloodshed, and the ripping up of
society come upon the nation, I have said to such, "Come to Utah and
we will divide our morsel of food with you, we will divide our
clothing with you, and we will offer you protection." I will tell you,
my brethren and sisters, the day will come, and it is not far distant,
when he who will not take up his sword against his neighbor, will have
to flee to Zion for safety; and it is presupposed in this prediction
that Zion will have power to give them protection. We are not going to
do it outside of the government, either; we are going to do it inside
the government. There is no power in this land to turn this people
against the government of the United States. They will maintain the
Constitution of this country inviolate, and although it may have been
torn to shreds they will tie it together again, and maintain every
principle of it, holding it up to the downtrodden of every nation,
kindred, tongue and people, and they will do it, too, under the Stars
and Stripes. They will stand with their feet firmly upon the backbone
of the American continent and maintain the principles which
cost their fathers so much, and those principles cannot be taken away
by men who violate their oath of office, and betray their trust.
I tell you that there are boys growing up in these mountains who have
the principles of human liberty grounded deep in their hearts, and
they will maintain them, not only for themselves, but for others. God
speed the day I say—if the nation pursues its downward course and
tears up these fundamental principles of government which have made
them strong—when the Constitution may be rescued and all men and women
shall be free again. I pray that Grover Cleveland may stand up as the
chief executive of the greatest nation that there is on God's
footstool today and say to the waves of public opinion and public
pressure that the nation must be ruled upon the principles of
righteousness and justice. If he would do that, he would make himself
a name that would be embalmed forever upon the pages of history. But
if he will not do it—if he is not morally strong enough to do it, and
if Congress will not come forward and help him do it, we will say, "O,
God, we put our dependence in Thee," and where Thou leadest we will
follow, and we will seek to maintain our rights, until the Almighty
grants them unto us. May the spirit of the testimony of the Lord Jesus
Christ be in your hearts, for above all things it is the most
precious; and when you come before the judges take no heed of what you
shall say or the answers you shall give, but trust in God, and if you
go before the judges silent as did your Lord and master, if they
choose to nail you upon the cross or stretch you upon the wheel or the
rack, or if they thrust you into dungeons or prisons, it is nothing
more than was done to your Master before you. Let us trust in God. I
tell you nothing of importance has ever been attained in this world
without a hard struggle against the opinions and prejudices of men.
God grant that we may soon regain and forever maintain our liberty.
But may it not come as long as we have an adulterer, a fornicator, or
whoremaster who professes to be a Latter-day Saint. As long as such as
these partake of the Holy Sacrament with this people, let bondage
continue. But let us purge out these things, let us be pure and holy
before God, cherishing the principles of justice in our hearts, and
the day of liberty will surely come, which may God grant, is my
prayer. Amen.