It is hardly time to close the meeting, and I take the liberty of
making a few remarks. I expect, in a day or two, to leave home for a
few weeks, to visit the natives in the south, and shall call on the
brethren in that region. I now wish to ask a few favors for myself,
for those who may accompany me, and for all who remain.
If you should hear any reports about me during our absence, always
have enough of the spirit of truth to know whether they are false or
true; always so enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, that you can discern
between truth and error, and know the spirit of evil from the spirit
of righteousness. If you should hear that I have apostatized from the
Gospel and gone to California to get gold, you need not believe that
report; but if you hear that I am opposed to a spirit which prevails
among a good many, who profess to be Saints, you may believe it; but
if you hear that the Indians have killed me, you need not believe
that. Still, if the Lord sees fit to take me away, I am just as ready
to go while on this mission as at any other time; I never expect to be
better prepared, though I presume that I shall only be gone a few
weeks and return, and I ask all the brethren and sisters to be
faithful while I am gone.
Do not be fretting about this, that, or the other thing, for I will
warrant that we shall have harvest as well as seed time, and that we
shall reap a good harvest. I expect that some of the brethren may
think, "Now is the time for speculation," and may run and buy up all
the wheat and flour for that purpose, but there is enough and will be
enough, there will be no lack, and if we have no surplus, what does it
matter? It will all be right, and we will acknowledge the hand of the
Lord in all things.
It would be pleasing if all the Saints had strong faith and
confidence, but sometimes many seem to falter in their feelings. I do
not know how many I might find in this congregation who would have
faith enough to believe that we could live on the tops of these high
mountains, which are 6,619 feet higher than the Temple Block, in case
we were called to go up there and live, and there was no other place
for us; I do not know whether a great many in this congregation could
have faith to believe that we could live there.
At the same time, when I exhort the brethren to have faith, I really
had rather that they would have good works; I do not care half so much
about their faith as I do about their works. Faith is not so obvious a
principle, but in good works you see a manifestation, an evidence, a
proof that there is something good about the person who is in the
habit of doing them.
Now, if the people will only be full of good works, I will insure that
they will have faith in time of need. I wish the brethren to be
diligent in their affairs here, to be honest, faithful, prudent, and
upright, and try to receive the spirit of the Gospel. I am ready to
acknowledge that this people have the Gospel, that they are a good
people; they are the best we know of upon the earth. At the same time
there is a great lack with regard to the sentiments of many of them,
with regard to their understanding, their views, the proportions, the
degree and quality of the spirit they are in possession of.
All ought to seek to know the mind and will of the Lord, and when they
know it, they will be taught that the interest of this people is the
interest of the Lord, and that all we do is for His glory. This is not
all, it is likewise for our own benefit, and when we learn the
principles of the Gospel perfectly, we shall learn that our interest
is one, that we have no correct individual interest separate from this
kingdom; if we have true interest at all, it is in the kingdom of God.
If we truly possess and enjoy anything, it is in this kingdom; if we
build it up, we shall be built up; if we neglect so to do, we shall
fail to sustain ourselves.
If we draw off in our feelings and have a divided interest from the
kingdom of God, we shall fail in obtaining the object of our
Priesthood. Nothing will stand on this earth, in the final issue, but
the kingdom of God, and that which is in it; everything else will pass
away—will be destroyed. Then if we in all our works seek to identify
our feelings, our interests, our whole efforts in one to sustain and
build up the kingdom of God on the earth, we are sure to build
ourselves up.
If we can correctly see and understand the proper labor of man, and
will direct our course to build up the kingdom of God, it prepares the
people to receive those blessings which the Lord has in store for
them. But if a people are separate in their feelings, divided in their
efforts, have an individual interest each one for themselves, it tends
to destruction. Those who are well instructed in the principles of the
kingdom of God, and who receive it as it is, will discern that all
they do is in reality to benefit themselves; and when the people do
all they can, the Lord is bound to do the rest.
If we have good works and plenty of them, I have not the least doubt
but what we shall reap a bountiful harvest this year, and have a
surplus of grain after supplying all who will come here this season.
But suppose that we should have no surplus, would not good works in
abundance produce the faith that is necessary for the Lord to do the
rest, when we have done what we can? Good works will produce good
faith, and good faith will produce good works.
If our faith is correct, we will apply our labor in that way which
will promote our own interest, thereby promoting the interest of the
kingdom of God on the earth; but if we have even one interest separate
and apart from that kingdom, we do not fully promote our own
individual welfare.
If the people will be patient and faithful, industrious and humble, so
as to know truth from error, and not worry themselves in the least, no
person need be afraid of all earthly powers and influences, nor of the
powers and influences of hell, not in the least.
Brother George Q. Cannon has just stated, If he had not believed
"Mormonism" until he went to the Sandwich Islands, what he saw there
would have proved it to be true. We might ask whether there is an
individual here who has seen enough of the handiwork of the
Lord, to prove "Mormonism" to be true. Are this people convinced by
the course that the Lord has taken with them, and by what He has done
for them, that "Mormonism" is true? If there was no other proof, that
might be satisfactory, but after we have had that proof, we need the
testimony within us, and that testimony we must have.
In all the labor of the Saints, when faith springs up in the heart,
good works will follow, and good works will increase that pure faith
within them. That is the case with brother Cannon, and that is the
case with every Saint.
What the Lord has done for this people would convince any man in the
world, upon rational principles, that it is not the wisdom of man, nor
his power or might, nor the power or might of this people unitedly,
that has accomplished what has been done, but that it has been brought
to pass by an invisible power. Still a person, unless he has the light
of the Spirit within him, will attribute the work of the Lord to the
wisdom of man, or necromancy, or the power of the devil. Again, a
person may see the power of the devil displayed, and mistake it for
the power of God, for without the light of the Spirit one cannot tell
the difference between the power of the Lord and the power of the
devil.
We must have the testimony of the Lord Jesus to enable us to discern
between truth and error, light and darkness, him who is of God, and
him who is not of God, and to know how to place everything where it
belongs. That is the only way to be a scientific Christian; there is
no other method or process which will actually school a person so that
he can become a Saint of God, and prepare him for a celestial glory;
he must have within him the testimony of the spirit of the Gospel.
Persons may see miracles perform ed; may see the sick healed, the eyes
of the blind opened, the lame made to leap, and even the dead raised,
and may acknowledge that it is all done by the power of God, but will
all this enable them to discern whether it is the power of God or not?
No, it will not. They must have the spirit by which the dead are
raised, by which the sick are healed, and the eyes of the blind
opened, or they cannot tell whether it is done by the power of God or
the power of the devil, or whether there is a mist over their own
eyes.
I make these remarks that you may understand that my faith is not
placed upon the Lord's working upon the islands of the sea, upon His
bringing the people here, upon His causing a drouth in the eastern
lands, and wars, bloodshed, and destruction among the people; nor upon
the favors He bestows upon this people, or upon that people, neither
upon whether we are blessed or not blessed, but my faith is placed
upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and my knowledge I have received from him.
That must be the case with every person who expects to receive a
celestial glory, to be crowned in a celestial kingdom of our God. We
might have a drouth here, and still, by some invisible power or hand,
this whole people be sustained, even though not a mouthful of bread
was raised in this whole Territory. Would that prove that our God is
the God we should serve? To a person who knows anything about the
Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is no proof at all.
If we read right, in the last days we expect the power of the enemy to
have a great influence among the people, and to succeed in deceiving
very many. Do you expect the eyes of the blind opened by the power of
the devil? I do, and I expect to see the lame made to leap, and the
ears of the deaf unstopped by that power.
Have any of this congregation ever seen, witnessed, or had any
knowledge of such a thing? Yes. Have the sick been healed? Yes, both
by the power of God and by the power of the devil. We say that we can
witness that the power of God has healed the sick. Are there
individuals here who have seen the sick healed when they did not know
by what power they were healed? Yes, a great many. Mesmerism has
healed many persons in the world. Do you know whether that works by
the power of God, or by the power of the devil? You do not, unless you
have the light of revelation. You may believe the testimony of others,
but unless you get a revelation for yourselves, you do not know whether
it is by the power of God or by the power of the devil. Have we
witnessed persons apostatizing from this people, from the kingdom of
God, to go into the world and become wicked, and give way to swearing,
drinking, gambling, and horse racing, and become as they formerly had
been, only more wicked than they were previous to coming into this
Church, and that, too, through the principle of Mesmerism?
I know of many whom Mesmerism has led out of this Church; they would
see the sick healed, and attribute it to the power of God; would fall
under its influence, embrace and practice it, and thus give the devil
power over them to lead them out of the kingdom of God. They could not
tell whether it was the power of God or the power of the devil. What
is the reason? They had not the light of revelation within them; they
had not the knowledge of God. Are you not aware how easily we may be
deceived? A neighbor comes along and tells you a story, and you are
ready to believe him, for, you say, "That man is a man of truth, I
must believe his statement. That sister is a woman of truth, I cannot
but believe her statement."
Have any of you ever experienced a circumstance like this? For
instance, a person, say a sister in the Church, has a dream, that such
and such things are going to take place; she tells it to another in
the morning; that one tells it to a second person by noon, who tells
it to a third ere night, and so on. How long has that story to go the
rounds before it is told as a revelation—as a vision, and perhaps as
coming from a man of God, from a proper source, that the Lord is going
to do thus and so, for there is a revelation upon it? I have known
people to be thus deceived here in this city, and I have also known
them to be greatly deceived upon a true principle, if they had only
understood it, but they did not understand it.
Mesmerism is an inverted truth; it originated in holy, good, and
righteous principles, which have been inverted by the power of the
devil.
Again, many people in this city do not know whether astrology is true
or not, whether it is of God or of the devil; hence they are liable to
be deceived, as is every person unless they have the power of
revelation within themselves. If there are any brethren here who have
been studying astrology, and they were called upon to speak, would
they not say that they believed it to be a true science? They would;
they testify that they know it to be true. But what does it do for
them? It leads them into thousands of errors. Does God ever lead you
into error? Is He mistaken when He reveals? No; when He sets you to
make calculations and figures, I will insure you that every sum will
prove and come out precisely right. The Lord does not deceive people,
but astrology and Mesmerism do lead them astray. How many deceptions
are there in the world? Millions, for a great many spirits have gone
forth into the world to deceive the people. Spirit rappings
are of the same class. Are they calculated to deceive the people? They
are.
There are many Elders in this house who, if I had the power to
Mesmerize that vase and make it dance on that table, would say that it
was done by the power of God; and I expect that some of them would
begin to shout, and that some of the sisters would shout, "Glory be to
God, hallelujah." Who could tell whether it was done by the power of
God or the power of the devil? No person, unless he had the
revelations of Jesus Christ within him. I suppose you are ready to ask
brother Brigham if he thinks the power of the devil could make the
vase dance. Yes, and could take it up and carry it outdoors, just as
easy as to turn up a table and move it here and there, or to cause a
rap, rap, rap, or to bake and pass around pancakes, or to get hold of
a person's hand, and make him write in every style you can think of,
imitating George Washington's, Benjamin Franklin's, Joseph Smith's,
and others' autographs. Can you tell whether that is by the power of
God or by the power of the devil? No, unless you have the revelations
of Jesus Christ.
Now do not let the power of the devil deceive you. You may ask, "How
shall we know, brother Brigham, whether you are telling us the truth
or not?" Get the spirit of revelation, then you will know, and not
without. Will you take my counsel? (though you may do as you please
with regard to that) if you will, I can tell you what to do, and what
all the Latter-day Saints—whom I have preached to from the first of my
preaching, from the first of my testimony that Joseph Smith was a
Prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is true—would have done if
they had followed my counsel, and that is, to seek unto the Lord your
God until He opens the visions of your minds, and lets the rays of
eternity shine within you.
I never would have been a "Mormon" had it not been for that; no,
never. Not that I am proof against false spirits and delusions, but I
had seen so much nonsense on the earth, that I had not the least
particle of confidence in any "ism" that was agoing, and I never did
have until I sought unto the Lord my God with all my heart.
If you would take my counsel you never would cease to plead with the
Lord, until He opened the eyes of your understanding and revealed
eternity to you, that you might know for yourselves how things are,
and when you know and keep in that spirit, you will never be deceived,
but the spirit of truth will always be with you, and if you cleave to
that, it will lead you into all truth and holiness. Without it, you
are constantly liable to be deceived, to receive evil, false reports,
and false testimony, through the evil power and arts which have been
upon the earth from the days of Adam until now.
Mesmerism is a true principle inverted, just like every other evil or
error. Show me one principle that has originated by the power of the
devil. You cannot do it. I call evil inverted good, or a correct
principle made an evil use of. Has Mesmerism a resemblance to any true
principle? It has. In one feature it resembles the principle taught in
the 14th and part of the 15th verses of the 5th chapter of the general
epistle of the Apostle James, "If any are sick, &c." But why not say
to the sick, be made well; just as well as to put your hands upon
them? Because in the latter case, they come in connection with the
same fluid and power which are in the operator, and if I, as the
operator, have any good power, it tends to thwart the evil influence
that is afflicting the sick, and to cause it to depart;
through this connection the power of God administers to the sick, and
that, too, upon rational principles.
The first Elders can recollect, when we commenced preaching
"Mormonism," that present revelation and a Prophet of God on the earth
were the great stumbling blocks to the people, were what we had to
contend against, and were, seemingly, the most potent obstacles in our
way to the introduction of the Gospel. The people would meet us with,
"There is no such thing now as prophets sent of God; they all died
long ago, and the revelations have long since been closed up." The
first Elders had to argue with the people, and show them from the
Scriptures that if they were complied with according to the letter and
spirit, there would be Prophets and revelations on the earth.
The Elders of Israel were prepared to meet the priests on this
ground, and they prevailed over the devil, for those who believed the
Bible saw that they had to believe in new revelation, and the devil
had to give up that point.
What next? When the world would believe in new revelation, the devil
commenced to give them his revelations by spirit rapping, and by every
kind of necromancy that he could induce the people to believe. He had
to resort to a new method for deceiving mankind, for the old plan did
not entirely succeed against the revelation of the truth, the sending
of angels, and the causing the hearts of the people to be filled with
the light of eternity.
I recollect meeting some priests; and taking them on their own
grounds. They believed that the Bible had a literal meaning, and that
if it was literally carried out in the lives of the people, the same
gifts and blessings would be produced as anciently. They cited
revelation after revelation given in ancient days, and quoted miracle
after miracle. I said, "Suppose now that I am an infidel, how do your
miracles look to me? Do not your own creed and your own views teach
you all the time that a poor miserable witch, called the witch of
Endor, had power to raise the Prophet Samuel from the dead? Was that
done by the power of your God that you are speaking about?" "O, no."
"What proof have you that she was not as good a woman as ever lived,
and had as much power as any in her day? Your own Bible teaches you
that Samuel was a Prophet of God, and that she had power to raise him
from the dead; then, why don't you worship her as a great saint?" They
left the question and turned to Moses, who had access to all the
learning of Egypt; "and when Pharaoh had called in his wise men, his
astrologers and soothsayers," said I, "Moses was a little smarter than
the rest of those Egyptians, and all you can say about it is, that he
had few keys which led him a little ahead of the astrologers of
Egypt; but they were on the course of miracle working, and you have no
evidence to prove to the contrary. You say that Moses was a Prophet of
God, and that he led a people out of the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh's
soothsayers could turn the water to blood, &c., and when they threw
their canes on the floor they became serpents; now, because Moses'
cane or serpent swallowed up theirs, you naturally give him the
preference. True, this indicates that he was a little the smartest
man, and that he had a few more keys than those had who were around
Pharaoh. Have you any argument to prove more than that? Take your
Bible and produce one if you can." They were compelled to abandon that
point.
Had a man who did not know Moses, nor Pharaoh's wise men—one destitute
of revelation and of a knowledge of heavenly things—one who knew
nothing about God, devils, angels, nor their power; nothing
about good or bad principles—stepped in and seen those miracles
wrought, do you not perceive that he could not have told which was
from a good or which was from an evil source? He could not have judged
the matter upon any worldly principle. Moses says to Pharaoh, "Let the
children of Israel go." He would not do it. "Then," says Moses,
"I
will cause frogs to come upon the whole land." Pharaoh replies, "I
don't believe it." But up they came. He calls for his soothsayers,
astrologers and wise men, and tells them what Moses had done, and
asks them what they can do. "We can do just what he has." And sure
enough up came the frogs.
Moses next made the dust into lice. Pharaoh calls for his wise men,
saying, "What can you do, my friends?" "O, we can do the
same." How
could a man, woman, nation or people, destitute of the spirit of
revelation discern and determine which were right, Moses or the wise
men of Egypt? They could not.
Hence, you comprehend that every principle set forth in our holy
religion—every part of the religious experience which we have obtained
on the earth, proves the necessity there is for all Saints to live
their religion, that the Lord may reveal unto them, from time to time,
His will concerning them. Then you would not be troubled about
crickets, nor about grasshoppers, rain, drouth, nor anything else; but
you would inquire what the Lord requires of you, and how He wishes you
to do His will on the earth. Pay attention to what the Lord requires
of you and let the balance go. He will take care of that if you will
acknowledge His hand in all things. Then you will rejoice that your
names are written in heaven—that you have the privilege of being able
to discern between the right and wrong, to recognize the goings forth
of the Lord, and that you can perceive His handiwork among the people
and His footsteps among the nations; how He pulls down one kingdom
here and raises another there, and turns and overturns in the earth
according to His good pleasure and men cannot help it, and the people
know it not—they understand not.
The Lord causes the people to bring forth His purposes that His Saints
may rejoice, and that wickedness may eventually be destroyed from the
earth; He will bring it all about, therefore let us pay attention to
our duties. Attend to your crops, and let the gardens be attended to;
and if your corn is eaten off today plant again tomorrow; if your
wheat is cut down by the grasshoppers, sow a little more and drag it
in. Last season when the grasshoppers came on my crops, I said,
"Nibble away, I may as well feed you as to have my neighbors do it; I
have sown plenty, and you have not raised any yourselves." And when
harvest came you would not have known that there had been a
grasshopper there; the yield was as good as I expected at the planting
and sowing.
Do your duty and cleave to the truth, and let us attend to adorning
this block and to building the temple, and let the brethren come and
pay their labor tithing. We have completed what some call the
endowment house, though what I call the House of the Lord. In it you
will get your endowments, but do not fret about it, for you will
receive them in your times.
Let us build the temple, and when we have finished that building we
will call it the Temple of our God. Be diligent and upright in all
things, and acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things; rejoice
evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks, even if
you have nothing but buttermilk and potatoes.
Do those things that are necessary to be done and let those alone that
are not necessary, and we shall accomplish more than we do now.
In the United States, where I lived in my youth, I have known immigrant
families who would rise early, have their breakfast ready and eaten in
about forty minutes, and all turn out to work on their farm until
half-past eleven, then go to the house, eat dinner and not devote
more than an hour for rest. What was the result of this steady labor?
People who had crossed the ocean with no money and with very little
clothing, who knew little or nothing about farming, and in a new
country, would soon have a good farm cleared and paid for. In a few
years more they would have their carriages and horses, and every
comfort and luxury to be derived from fine gardens and orchards. After
a while they could purchase more land and add it to their well
cultivated farms, and, perhaps, in fifteen or twenty years, become
wealthy, though they had nothing but health and industry to begin
with.
If we wish to be rich the Lord has wealth in store for us, but let us
take a course to gather it together, and then to prepare it for
usefulness when it is gathered. I am not for hoarding up gold and
other property to lie useless, I wish to put everything to a good use.
I never keep a dollar lying idly by me, for I wish all the means to be
put into active operation. If I now had in my possession one hundred
million dollars in cash, I could buy the favor of the publishers of
newspapers and control their presses; with that amount I could make
this people popular, though I expect that popularity would send us to
hell. True with such a sum we could gather up the poor scattered
Israelites and redeem Zion, but I feel to say, "No, Lord, when riches
before their time are agoing to destroy the people."
Let the people have righteousness, be taught of the Lord, live in the
revelations of Jesus Christ, and then they can handle the gold and
silver of the whole earth without having a desire for it, only as a
means with which to gather Israel, redeem Zion, subdue and beautify
the earth, and bring all things in readiness to live with God in
heaven.
May the Lord help us to do this great work. Amen.