I am thankful for the privilege of again appearing here before the
brethren and sisters. A few of us have been absent for a short time,
and, in our absence, I hope and trust you have been blessed with the
Holy Spirit of the Lord. I pray for the continuance of the light of
that Spirit to rest upon the Saints, this I crave continually for
myself and for all who profess to be Saints of the Most High.
As I have frequently thought, and said, when duty requires I am happy
in going from home, and I am happy in returning, for it is my greatest
joy and comfort to do what the Lord requires of me, and what I know to
be my duty, no matter what it is if the Lord requires it of me. This
course gives joy and peace. When this principle becomes the acting
principle of all the Saints, we shall find that Zion is here; we shall
be in the midst of it; we shall enjoy it.
As individuals, we enjoy Zion at present, but not as a community;
there is so much sin, darkness, and ignorance, and the veil of the
covering which is over the nations of the earth is measurably over the
Latter-day Saints. The same unrighteous principles, which becloud the
minds of men universally, more or less becloud the minds of the
Latter-day Saints. Though the veil is partially broken to the Saints,
though it becomes thin, as it were, and the twilight appears like the
dawning of the day, yet we may travel for many years before the
sunshine appears. It does not yet appear to this people, they are
merely in the twilight.
As one expressed it in ancient times, "We see through a glass,
darkly" —through a smoked or dim glass—through which we cannot behold
objects clearly with the natural eye.
We have not faith sufficient to have revelation, to have the visions
of eternity opened unto us so clearly that we may see things as they
are, consequently, we have to live by faith and not by sight. We have
to live by the principles of the Gospel, which is faith in the heart
and obedience to its requirements. It is our joy and salvation that we
have this privilege.
If we could understand the nature of the Priesthood—could
comprehend it fully, this people, as a community, the Elders, as
Elders of Israel, quorums, as quorums, when they present themselves
before the Lord, would possess keys to unlock the treasury of heaven,
and we could receive as one person receives from another. To us, as a
people, the keys of the rich storehouse of the Lord are committed, yet
we do not fully know how to unlock and receive. We receive a little
here and there, and the hearts of the people are comforted by the very
Priesthood we are in possession of, which has been given to this
people for the express purpose of their receiving that which God has
given them, though not yet to possess it independently, but as means
for trial.
This Priesthood is given to the people, and the keys thereof, and,
when properly understood, they may actually unlock the treasury of the
Lord, and receive to their fullest satisfaction. But through our own
weaknesses, through the frailty of human nature, we are not yet
capable of doing so.
We have to humble ourselves and become like little children in our
feelings—to become humble and childlike in spirit, in order to receive
the first illuminations of the spirit of the Gospel, then we have the
privilege of growing, of increasing in knowledge, in wisdom, and in
understanding. This is a great privilege, while the world, excepting
this people who inhabit these valleys, and those that are associated
with us in different parts of the earth, are destitute of this
principle and privilege. Still, many of us, and I may say
comparatively all of us, are upon the same ground, situated precisely
like other professors of religion, in order that we may struggle,
wrestle, and strive, until the Lord bursts the veil and suffers us to
behold His glory, or a portion of it.
If we did fully understand the prin ciples of the Gospel—the keys of
the Priesthood, it would be familiar with us, and be easy to be
understood and to act upon and perform, and be no more of a miracle to
know how to receive the things of God by revelation, than it is now a
miracle to cast seed into the ground, after it is prepared, and reap
our crops.
An individual who holds a share in the Priesthood, and continues
faithful to his calling, who delights himself continually in doing the
things God requires at his hands, and continues through life in the
performance of every duty, will secure to himself not only the
privilege of receiving, but the knowledge how to receive the things of
God, that he may know the mind of God continually; and he will be
enabled to discern between right and wrong, between the things of God
and the things that are not of God. And the Priesthood—the Spirit that
is within him, will continue to increase until it becomes like a
fountain of living water; until it is like the tree of life; until it
is one continued source of intelligence and instruction to that
individual.
This is one of the most glorious and happy principles that can be set
before any people, or any individual who will be faithful to his God
and to his religion. Upon whoever are bestowed the keys of the eternal
Priesthood, by a faithful life, will secure to themselves power to see
the things of God, and will understand them as plainly as they ever
understood anything by gazing upon it with their natural eyes, or as
clearly as they ever could distinguish one object from another by
their sensations.
It is the privilege of every person who is faithful to the priesthood,
who can overcome the enemy, thwart the design of death, or him that
hath the power of it, to live upon the earth until their appointed
time; and they may know, see, and understand, by revelation,
the things of God just as naturally as we understand natural things
that are around us.
We inquire, is this the character of the people called Latter-day
Saints? We can say it is the character of many of them, but when we
reflect, it is not the case with the whole of them. There are many who
never fail to improve upon every means of grace given them, upon every
particle of light imparted to them. They perform every duty that is
made known to them, they cease to do evil wherever an evil is
presented to them, they refrain, so far as is in their power, from
every act and from every thought and disposition which is contrary to
the holy Gospel.
Again, when we look around we see many, very many, men and women who
profess to know the things of God, to belong to His family, to the
Church of the Firstborn—the Church of Jesus Christ, who are ofttimes
wrought upon by the Holy Spirit of the Gospel which has caused them to
rejoice therein, who give thanks to their God, rejoice with joy
unspeakable, and you would think they were very near the kingdom of
heaven—near the threshold of the gate which opens into the presence of
the Father and the Son, and yet, if anything crosses them, will give
way to an evil temper; and if anything is presented to them which they
do not understand, they condemn it at once; they are ready to pass
judgment upon that which they do not understand. If they are crossed
by their friends and families they are ready to speak by the spirit of
evil, by the spirit of contention; they are ready to receive a little
malice in their hearts. They do all this, they turn round and repent
of it, they are sorry for it, and they say they will try to do better,
will try to overcome their passions, or the temptations of the evil
one in their natures. You see them again, have they kept themselves
pure? No, they have not, but they have given way to evil, to a little
dishonesty, falsifying, shading of sentiment, speeches, sayings, and
doings of their neighbors. They have given way to anger, and will
remark, "It is true I got angry, I was overcome, true I acted the
fool, but I mean to refrain from so doing in the future." And thus
they live for a spell, but how long will it be before they are again
overtaken in fault? Then if a delusive spirit, professedly a righteous
one, is cast into a neighborhood, how easy such people are decoyed by
it, led away by it.
At one time you see them as enthusiastic as mortals can be, in what
they call righteous principles, and hear them saying, "I have more
light now than I ever had before in my life, I am better now than I
ever was, I am filled with the Holy Spirit."
This is the way we often find them, they are rejoiced exceedingly and
are upon Pisgah's top—flaming Latter-day Saints, and, perhaps, when
the next day or the next week has passed over they are angry, filled
with malice and wrath. After a while they will say, "That was a
delusive spirit, it is true I felt joyful and happy, I thought it was
the best spirit and the most light I ever enjoyed in all the days of
my life, but I now find I was deceived, I find that if I had continued
in that spirit there was a trap laid to catch me, to decoy me away,
and destroy my faith in the holy Gospel." Is this the case with the
Latter-day Saints? Yes, with many of them.
Our religion is a practical and progressive one. It will not prepare a
thief, a liar, a sorcerer, a whoremonger, an adulterer, a murderer, or
a false swearer, in one day, so that he can enter into the celestial
kingdom of God. We ought to understand that when our lives have been
filled with all manner of wickedness, to turn and repent of our sins,
to be baptized for the remission of them, and have our names
written upon the Church records, does not prepare us for the presence
of our Father, and elder brother. What will? A continuation of
faithfulness to the doctrines of Christ; nothing short of this will do
it. The Latter-day Saints should understand this. Do they? Yes. Do
they live to it? A great many of them do not. All ought to live their
religion every day, and there are a great many who do. But there are a
great many who do not, who are overcome with evil, get out of the true
path of righteousness, and do those things which are wrong. They
contend with each other, quarrel, have broils and difficulties in
families, and in neighborhoods, law with each other touching property,
one saying, "This is mine," and another saying, "It is not yours, but
it is mine." One says, "You have wronged me," the other says, "I
have
not." Thus there are thousands of plans which the enemy of all
righteousness employs to decoy the hearts of the people away from
righteousness.
If this people would live their religion, and continue year after year
to live their religion, it would not be many years before we would see
eye to eye; there would be no difference of opinion, no difference of
sentiment, and the veil that now hangs over our minds would become so
thin that we should actually see and discern things as they are.
True we labor under many embarrassments with regard to our progress in
Christian life, and it is right we should be situated just as we are.
We wish to save the world of mankind, and difficulties,
embarrassments, and obstacles are thrown in our way continually. If
this congregation could live twenty years without communion and
intercourse with any other people, if we did not preach any more to
the world, and no more Saints were ga thered from abroad, we might,
perhaps, train ourselves so as to see eye to eye, and that too before
we had lived as many years to come as this Church has been organized.
But no, if we are instructed now, and understand all it is our
privilege to understand, another year we must have another batch of
clay thrown in the mill, as brother Kimball calls it, and this new
supply spoils more or less of the clay that is already well tempered,
and it is right that it should be so. Though this is a good
comparison—the making of vessels out of clay, and the grinding up of
clay, still, is it in every respect correct? We might carry it out
perhaps, but I argue, and believe with all my soul, that if there were
10,000 Saints to emigrate to this point yearly from England, or any
other country, and though thousands of the wicked should gather with
them, it would not prove, for one moment, that any Saint would be
obliged to sin thereby; it would not prove, for one moment, that this
congregation before me would be obliged to do wrong.
Though we may be mingled together, and our interchanges are as they
are, still if a stranger should look upon us as a community, who have
been here many years, and see but few of the newcomers do wrong, and
then judge us off and say, we are all evil, that none of us are
righteous, that there is no good fruit here, that would be an
unrighteous judgment and decision.
It is our privilege, for you and me to live, from this day, so that
our consciences will be void of offense towards God and man; it is in
our power to do so, then why don't we? What is the matter? I will tell
you what the difficulties and troubles are, by relating brother John
Young's dream. He dreamed that he saw the devil with a looking glass
in his hand, and the devil held it to the faces of the people, and it revealed to them everybody's faults but their own.
The difficulty is, neglecting to watch over ourselves. Just as soon
as our eyes are turned away from watching ourselves, to see whether we
do right, we begin to see faults in our neighbors; this is the great
difficulty, and our minds become more and more blinded until we become
entirely darkened. So long as I do the thing the Lord requires of me,
and do not stop to inquire what I shall tell to my neighbor as his
duty, and pay very close attention to my individual person, that my
words are right, that my actions are right before God, that my
reflections are right, and that my desires are according to the holy
Gospel, I have not much time to look at the faults of my neighbors. Is
not this true?
This is our practical religion; it is our duty to stop and begin to
look at ourselves. We may have trials to pass through, and when people
come to me, and tell me that they are wonderfully tried and have a
great many difficulties to encounter—have their troubles on the right
and on the left, and what to do they are at a loss to know, I say, "I
am glad of it." I rejoice to think that they must have trials as well
as other people. And when they say, "It seems as though the devil
would overcome me," it is a pretty good evidence that an individual is
watching himself.
If people could always understand the manifestations of the Spirit
upon themselves, they would learn that they can be tempted as well as
other people, and that would make them careful to watch against
temptation and overcome it. Consequently, I rejoice for them, inasmuch
as every individual who is prepared for the celestial kingdom must go
through the same things.
I am happy, brethren, for the privilege of having temptation. A great
many people have thought that in my life I was not tempted like other
men. I tell them if I am it is none of their business; it is nothing
to them. Some say "Brother Brigham, you slide along and the devil lets
you alone." If I have battles with him, I can overcome him
single-handed quicker than to call in my neighbors to help me. If I am
tempted to speak an evil word, I will keep my lips locked together.
Says one, "I do not know about that, that would be smothering up bad
feelings, I am wonderfully tried about my neighbor, he has done wrong,
he has abused me and I feel dreadful bad about it. Had I not better
let it out than to keep it rankling within me?" No. I will keep bad
feelings under and actually smother them to death, then they are gone.
But as sure as I let them out they will live and afflict me. If I
smother them in myself, if I actually choke them to death, destroy the
life, the power, and vigor thereof, they will pass off and leave me
clear of fault, and pure, so far as that is concerned; and no man or
woman on earth knows that I have ever been tempted to indulge in
wicked feelings. Keep them to yourselves.
If you feel evil, keep it to yourselves until you overcome that evil
principle. This is what I call resisting the devil, and he flees from
me. I strive to not speak evil, to not feel evil, and if I do, to keep
it to myself until it is gone from me, and not let it pass my lips.
You should succeed in bringing your tongues into subjection, so as to
never let them speak evil, so that they will perfectly obey your
judgment and the discretion God has given you, and are perfectly
obedient to the will of the holy Gospel. How long have we to live for
that? I do not know, but I am strongly of the opinion that it is
possible for a person to overcome their dispositions to evil, to such
a de gree that they will have no evil in the heart to slip out
over the tongue; and if there is none in the heart, there is less
danger of the tongue being used to the disadvantage of that
individual, or to that of anybody else. If there is nothing in the
heart which governs us, and controls to an evil effect, the tongue of
itself will never produce evil.
Quite a number of us have returned from our southern mission, and as I
have given you a few of my views with regard to some of the particular
parts of our religion, I say for myself, and for the rest of my
brethren who have been absent with me, we are happy to see you. I am,
and I am sure that the rest are glad of the privilege of standing
before you again in this house. I have nothing particular upon my
mind, only to urge all the Latter-day Saints to live their religion.
I might say something with regard to the hard times. You know that I
have told you that if anyone was afraid of starving to death, let him
leave, and go where there is plenty. I do not apprehend the least
danger of starving, for until we eat up the last mule, from the tip of
the ear to the end of the fly whipper, I am not afraid of starving to
death. There are many people who cannot now get employment, but the
spring is going to open upon us soon, and we are not going to suffer
any more than what is for our good. I am thankful for the hand of the
Lord which is visible; I am as thankful for this providence of His as
for any that I ever received. I have told you, years ago, my feelings
with regard to their sympathies, their faith, gratitude, and
thankfulness, and their acknowledgment of the hand of the Lord and of
the dispensations of His providence. My soul has been grieved to
bleeding, to see the waste, and the prodigal feeling of this people in
the use of their bountiful blessings. Many have walked them underfoot,
and have been ready to curse God who bestowed them. They wanted gold
and silver, instead of wheat and corn, and fine flour, and the best
vegetables that ever grew upon the earth. They walked them underfoot,
and set at nought the choice blessings of the Lord their God. If I
were to see those individuals, obliged to gnaw the ground in order
to get out the thistle roots, and have no fingers to dig them with, it
would not be a disagreeable sight to me, until they learn to know who
it is that feeds them.
We never ought to be without three or five years provisions on hand.
But when you see men run to hell to sell a bushel of wheat for sixty
cents, instead of laying it up in their granaries for a day of
scarcity, you are forced to conclude that they would trade with the
very devil, to get his coat and shoes in exchange for their wheat. I
hope they will learn wisdom in the future, and lay up wheat to feed
the brethren when they come here from distant countries. If they will
learn wisdom now, I will promise them, in the name of Israel's God,
that the earth will yield its abundance, as it has heretofore. Men in
these valleys have reaped crop after crop which grew spontaneously,
without putting a drag or a plow in the land, and yet they are ready
to curse God for His blessings. How do you suppose the Lord feels? If
He were no better than I am, He would chastise us far more severely
than we have been. I will give way to others.