We have heard much in regard to the knowledge and understanding of
this people—also of the nations of the earth; and it is very true
that the best of us have only commenced to learn true principles. We
are but children in the kingdom of God. We understand, in a great
measure, the know ledge that is in the world: we have been brought up
in the wisdom the world professes, and that we understand. But the
things of God are so directly in opposition to the vain imaginations
of the inhabitants of the earth, that it is hard for people to learn
them. They remove our erro neous traditions from us. At the
same time, all the morality, and good works, and good thoughts and
words that tend to good, that are in the world, are of the Lord.
Honest hearts, the world over, desire to know the right way. They have
sought for it, and still seek it. There have been people upon the
earth all the time who sought diligently with all their hearts to know
the ways of the Lord. These individuals have produced good, inasmuch
as they had the ability. And to believe that there has been no virtue,
no truth, no good upon the earth for centuries, until the Lord
revealed the Priesthood through Joseph the Prophet, I should say is
wrong. There has been more or less virtue and righteousness upon the
earth at all times, from the days of Adam until now. That we all
believe. Men who have lived without the Priesthood will be judged
according to their works, as well as those who have had the privilege
of it. That is our doctrine. That is what the Lord has told us,
through his servants, from the beginning. No matter where they have
lived, or to what nation they have belonged, all people will be judged
according to the works or deeds done in the body.
Honest hearts produce honest actions—holy desires produce
corresponding outward works. That is what we understand and believe;
yet the traditions of the fathers are so diverse from the holy
Priesthood, that it is hard for people to learn even the smaller
things pertaining to the kingdom of God—one of the smallest items
pertaining to life. If we should have ability to sustain ourselves
here on the earth, we certainly should have to live; for if we have
not the ability to live, we certainly should pass behind the veil. In
that case, we could not be capable of doing good in our present
organization. As you have often been told, and as we believe, good men
and good women ought to live the longest on the earth and set good
examples, teach good doctrines, and produce righteousness.
Individuals or a community that have not the ability to preserve
themselves in this life have no power to perform works to be judged by;
consequently, there is no judgment passed upon them for deeds done in
this probation. The duty of a good people is to know how to preserve
themselves in this life. The first revelation given to Adam was of a
temporal nature. Most of the revelations he received pertained to his
life here. That was also the case in the revelations to Noah. We have
but very few of the instructions the Lord gave to Enoch concerning his
city; but, doubtless, most of the revelations he received pertained to
a temporal nature and condition. And certainly the revelations Noah
received, so far as in our possession, almost exclusively pertained to
this life. The same principle was carried out in the days of Moses,
and in the days of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We may say
that eight or nine-tenths of the doctrines and principles set forth in
the revelations given to those men were of a temporal nature.
As soon as Moses was called upon to go and deliver Israel, the
revelations the Lord gave to him were of a temporal nature, pertaining
to the temporal life of the children of Israel—instructing Moses how
to deliver them from bondage and lead them from the servile state in
which they then were. He taught them in the same manner while they
were traveling through the wilderness; and so it continued down to
the days of the judges, and then to Saul, whom the Lord permitted them
to make a king, and then through the teachings of the Prophets. The
greatest recorded digression from that course was when the Savior
came. He repeatedly alluded to a spiritual kingdom, in his sayings to his brethren. The people had become so corrupt that it was
all useless to then endeavor to establish a literal kingdom of God on
the earth. The children of Abraham had wandered so far from the true
doctrine, the Priesthood, the principles, and ordinances that the Lord
had revealed, that the Savior had not opportunity to more than drop a
hint, as it were, about a temporal kingdom. Yet the idea of a temporal
kingdom was so indelibly riveted upon the minds of his disciples, that
they supposed he alluded to it, and that when the Savior should make
his appearance, he would actually establish a literal kingdom on this
earth and reign over it. The institutions and traditions which had
been handed down pertained to a temporal kingdom, and they could not
see that the corruptions and wickedness of the people were so great
that he could not teach or suggest anything that they could
understand pertaining to a temporal kingdom; therefore he alluded to a
spiritual kingdom—the kingdom of God that should be set up in the
heart. And those principles taught to the people and received by them
would gather them together in the latter days, when he could prepare
and organize a literal kingdom on the earth.
The first revelations given to Joseph were of a temporal character,
pertaining to a literal kingdom on the earth. And most of the
revelations he received in the early part of his ministry pertained to
what the few around him should do in this or in that case—when and how
they should perform their duties; at the same time calling upon them
to preach the Gospel and diffuse the Spirit and principles of the
kingdom of God, that their eyes might be open to see and gather the
people together—that they might begin and organize a literal, temporal
organization on the earth. All that has been done, has been done
by the wisdom of God. The wisdom revealed through Joseph was the
wisdom of our Father in heaven—it was not of himself.
The revelations to us teach us to first cleanse our hearts—to purify
ourselves, in order to have our eyes sufficiently opened to see the
kingdom of God; for, without the spiritual birth referred to in the
New Testament, we cannot see the kingdom of God. The revelations to
Joseph were—Go forth, my servants, preach the Gospel by the power of
the Holy Ghost, and open the eyes of the people, that they may see the
kingdom of God, and not look into eternity to see the Father seated
upon his throne and the angels around him, nor seek to know what he is
doing there. The people need teaching by the power of the Holy Ghost
sent down from heaven, that their eyes may be open to see that the
Lord is commencing a literal kingdom upon the earth. When they can
discern that, then they have the opportunity to be born of water, to
enter into this kingdom. Nearly all the teachings to us pertain to
this life; and if we have not ability to preserve our lives in our
present existence, what can we do here to promote the kingdom of God
on the earth; or to prepare the earth or the people for the coming of
the Son of Man? Nothing. Consequently our labor is chiefly a temporal
labor.
Brother Taylor has enquired how we are to be clothed another year? We
have either to obtain new clothes or to wear those we have now.
Someone may say, "My clothes will not last another year." Perhaps they
will, if you will take good care of them.
When we first came here, the people were told, and many saw and
believed it as much then as they can now, that the Lord in his
providence led the people into these mountains to separate them from
the Gentile world, in order that he might establish his
kingdom—his laws, and commence his Zion in the mountains, where his
people could have but little connection with the world. They were
taught that when they first came here; and now the prospect is very
fair for separating us from the rest of the world, and most of the
people can see it. They were taught then as much as they are taught
now, that it was necessary to go to and provide for ourselves. Do any
of the brethren who came here ten years ago last July remember that
you were instructed that every facility that we could need was here in
the elements? That the gold, the silver, and the iron were in these
mountains? That the wool, the flax, the silk, the cotton, and
everything necessary to sustain man were in the elements around us?
"What, is silk here?" Yes, in as great abundance as in any part of the
earth; and the finest broadcloth is here, and everything to make life
desirable is here.
It is for the people to go to and develop the resources surrounding
us. Sugar, starch, and glue are the chief ingredients in the
sustenance of man. The saccharine matter is in everything that grows
here: it is in the vegetables and in the animals. We have as good beef
as there is in the world, furnishing gluten—a substance that acts its
part in sustaining man. We can raise as good potatoes and wheat as can
be raised in any other part of the earth; also other products
affording starch, and all the necessary variety and quality of
articles of food. We can make sugar from the beet; but we are now
cultivating the Chinese sugar cane, which produces as good a sweet as
any we have imported. We have the materials for feeding the body. And
as to clothing, we can produce as good wool here as they can in any
part of the world; but we must have the sheep to enable us to do so.
And we must sow flax and plant cotton for the manufacture of linen and
cotton cloth; but the elements are here from which they all will grow.
Import silkworms and mulberry trees, and you will find that this is as
good a country and climate in which to raise silk as any on the face
of the earth. Do some understand this? Yes, there are persons here
from the Eastern States who have raised silkworms and manufactured
silk; and here are scores and hundreds of silk manufacturers from the
old country. Why, then, do we not have silk? Because no man takes
steps to organize certain elements into the silk. All this was told
you in the beginning, and why did not men understand?
You may take the Latter-day Saints, as a whole, and they have but very
little good, sound, worldly sense. Look over this congregation, and
then go through the Territory, and you can find thousands that, during
the first four years of our settlement here, flooded these valleys
with wagons and cattle, and every facility for raising what we
needed. We drove in the sheep, brought the flaxseed, and this, that,
and the other useful articles. But what did we see? Men, women, and
children run to California to get gold. They were then told what I can
now prove. "Go to California, if you will; we will not curse you—we
will not injure nor destroy you, but we will pity you. If you must go
for gold, and that is your god, go, and I will promise you one thing:
Every man that stays here and pays attention to his business will be
able, within ten years, to buy out four of those who leave for the
gold mines." Since then some of those persons have come cringing back,
and thinking, "O dear, I declare I wish the brethren could not know
that I had been away! I want to appear as though I had not gone to
California, and to be full of good works and faith." Poor,
ignorant, pusillanimous creatures! They come whining back and want to
be considered in full fellowship, after leaving this place to which
our God has led us, and after having used their means to feast and
build up the Gentiles.
Brother Heber and I told the company that went to San Bernardino with
Amasa Lyman, that they would never reach here again without help from
this people, and we are now sending all the teams we can raise from
the southern settlements to bring them back. Why? Because they cannot
stay there, and they are not able to remove. They were told at the
start that they would have to renounce their religion, or else come
whining back to these valleys. You may take all who have unadvisedly
gone from this Territory [and hundreds and thousands have so gone],
and I believe that I alone am able to buy the whole of them, though
when I came here I had but very little property, except what I owed
for. I also believe that brother Kimball and many others who have
listened to what is taught now own more property than the whole of
those characters. They could not believe that I knew enough to
instruct them in temporal affairs. Do they now believe that I do?
They are obliged to admit it, though some think, "Really, I do not
know whether it is so or not." What are those persons good for now?
Obedience is one of the plainest, most everyday and home principles
that you ever thought or knew anything about. In the first place,
learn that you have a father, and then learn strict obedience to that
parent. Is not that a plain, domestic, home principle? How long will
it take the men and women here to learn it? You have learned, from
year to year, scores, if not hundreds of principles of the Gospel
taught; and one of the first principles to be learned by the Saints is
to be of one heart and mind, to obey your leaders, to obey the Lord.
If you have leaders who do not teach you the words of life and
salvation—who do not give you the words of the Lord, why not have
faith sufficient to remove them out of the way and have better men? If
this people are righteous and have any leaders that are not capable of
dictating you, why not stretch your faith to the heavens for God to
remove them and give you men that are capable of leading you?
Could I make a brother in the Church believe, after passing through
the troubles in Missouri, after again being driven from our homes in
Nauvoo, Illinois, and after being led to this secret retreat and
sustained all the time by the matchless power of our God, that the
love of riches would have so blunted the minds of many as to cause
them to run to California after gold? Why not have stayed here, where
we could have improved this Territory three times as much as we have?
We could have extended our settlements still farther on the right and
on the left. But no; they must run and leave us. And many of those
that have tarried have but a little more confidence, when they have
improved upon and learned the lesson taught by those who have left.
The great majority of men and women do not know how to take care of
themselves. Let me refer the whole of you to a circumstance in winter
quarters. We left Nauvoo in February, 1846, made our own roads through
Iowa, except some 40 or 50 miles, built bridges, cut down timber,
turned out 500 men to go to Mexico, came this side of the Missouri
River, and there wintered. How did you live there? Do you know how you
got anything to eat? Brethren came to me, saying, "We must go to
Missouri. Can we not take our families and go to Missouri and get
work?" Do you know, to this day, how you lived? I will tell
you, and then you will remember it. I had not five dollars in money to
start with; but I went to work and built a mill, which I knew we
should want only for a few months, that cost 3,600 dollars. I gave
notice that I would employ every man and pay him for his labor. If I
had a sixpence, I turned it into 25 cents; and a half-bushel of
potatoes I turned into half-a-bushel of wheat. How did I do that? By
faith. I went to brother Neff, who had just come in the place, and
asked him for and received 2,600 dollars, though he did not know where
the money was going. He kept the mill another year, and it died on his
hands. I say, God bless him forever! For it was the money he brought
from Pennsylvania that preserved thousands of men, women, and children
from starving. I handled and dictated it, and everything went off
smoothly and prosperously.
Can you sustain yourselves? Yes. How can you clothe and feed
yourselves? Keep Gentiles out of here, and not permit any more
supplies to come from them; and then you will raise sheep and take
care of them and their wool; then you will raise cotton and flax, and
dress the lint. We have women who know how to manufacture flax into
thread and the finest cloth in this house. Why do you not make linen?
"Because we can turn a calf on to the range, and after awhile sell it
for 20 or 30 dollars and buy store goods." That course is temporal
ruination to this people. It is a far greater injury than benefit for
us to purchase imported goods. Shut down the gate and make your own
hats, bonnets, and every other article of wearing apparel. We have the
furs and all necessary facilities for making every article we need. We
can also make our dyestuffs, so soon as we can get a greater variety
of seed. For ten years we have advertised the brethren to bring indigo
seed; and I have not obtained any, only a little that brother William
Willes brought from the East Indies. I have also wished them to bring
madder seed, for you can raise it where you can raise corn. Do we know
enough to raise indigo and cotton? Yes, when the gate is shut down.
I told the brethren, yesterday, that I was not afraid of men's
apostatizing when war and trouble are on hand, for then they will
stick together. It is in calm weather, when the old ship of Zion is
sailing with a gentle breeze, and when all is quiet on deck, that some
of the brethren want to go out in the whaling boats to have a scrape
and a swim; and some get drowned, others drifted away, and others
again get back to the ship. Let us stick to the old ship, and she will
carry us safely into the harbor. You need not be concerned. I want
the brethren to raise flax.
I want some man, who has got the requisite spirit and nerve, to
prepare a quarter-of-an-acre as they prepare ground for flax in
Ireland, and then sow about a bushel-and-a-half or two bushels of
seed, and let it grow as thick as a horse's mane; if necessary, brace
it up while growing; pull it at the period when the lint will be the
silkiest, and prepare it for the women to exercise their skill in
making fine thread. A bushel of flaxseed to the acre produces a
coarse lint, suitable for making ropes and coarse cloth.
Brother Taylor remarked that about 60 out of every 75 lambs had died
in this Territory. Yes, you may say that, out of every 75 lambs about
90 have died. Where were our sheep in 1848-49? I then had 100 sheep,
and I would now have 40,000 if they had been taken care of as they
ought; but instead of that, I have bought about 550 since; and now I
have 400 or 500.
Sheep are driven into the Territory, and then they decrease. What is the difficulty? It is, "Hurrah for the gold! Hurrah for the
stores! Hurrah for the merchants! Hurrah for hell! Let us have a
portion of hell here."
Elders who have been to St. Louis and had credit for a cent should not
have brought a thousand or two thousand dollars' worth of goods here
and fooled them away, having fooled them out of merchants who still
remain fools.
Shut down the gate, and stop bringing ribbons and foolery here. I wish
the ribbons and like articles were all sunk in the bottom of the sea,
rather than have them brought here. Do you know enough to clothe
yourselves? Yes, when you are driven to it. It makes me think of what
we passed through in Missouri, when Joseph was preaching the
Consecration law for surplus property. Would any man listen to that
law? No, not a man. "Will you pay Tithing?" "I cannot any way in the
world, for I have not as much property as I want."
When the army came and took away the guns, killed our cattle, fired
our houses, took possession of our fields, and compelled the brethren,
at the point of the bayonet, to sign away their property to pay the
expenses of the war, one fellow said, "By——, see these men, how keen
and fine they look! Old Joe has been trying for years to make them
consecrate their property, but he could not persuade them to do it. We
can make them consecrate."
The brethren felt well: but suppose they had been required to sign a
deed of trust to the kingdom of God on the earth, would they have done
it? No; they would have suffered themselves to be damned before they
would have done it. Can you not see the ignorance of the people in
those things? And to this day you can see men come here penniless, and
hear them say, "We had plenty of money where we came from." Then
why
did you not gather when you had money? "We wanted to make more, to
bring a great amount into the kingdom." Thus men come here penniless,
and feel well about it. Enquire into the matter, and you will often
learn that last year they had several thousand dollars, but it has
gone into the hands of the Gentiles.
Suppose a poor Elder, while on a mission, should borrow ten dollars of
such a person, that person will come here and be ready to apostatize,
unless that money is paid; but if the devils get it, "Oh, it is all
right." Such feelings are in the hearts of some men and women now
before me. With them it is, "If my enemies get my property, all well;
but I don't want the kingdom of God to have it." Ask them whether they
want the kingdom of God to have their property, and they will reply,
"O yes; ourselves and all we have are in the kingdom of God:" but
touch a dollar of theirs, and they will squirm.
We are trying to become Saints, and by-and-by we will actually become
Saints. When men are Saints, they will bring their thousands and lay
them at the feet of the Bishops, Apostles, and Prophets, saying, "Here
is my money; it is now where it should be." But now what do you see?
If an Elder has borrowed a little money, or been helped in any manner,
he must be chased home and made to pay the uttermost farthing, or
there is dissatisfaction. Fortunately that is not the case with all. A
portion of the principle of darkness is in the hearts of the people;
but it is fast going out, and they are coming to a knowledge of the
truth.
One of the first and plainest principles to be believed and practiced
is to put ourselves and all we have into the kingdom of God, and then
be dictated by the Lord and his servants. Is there any danger? Some
are ready to say, "Yes, we are afraid to trust ourselves and
our means here and there."
Brother Taylor has just said that the religions of the day were
hatched in hell. The eggs were laid in hell, hatched on its borders,
and then kicked on to the earth. They may be called cockatrices, for
they sting wherever they go. Go to their meetings in the Christian
world, and mingle in their society, and you will hear them remark,
"Our ministers dictate our souls' salvation;" and they are perfectly
composed and resigned to trust their whole future destiny to their
priests, though they durst not trust them with one single dollar
beyond their salaries and a few presents. They can trust their eternal
welfare in the hands of their priests, but hardly dare trust them with
so much as a bushel of potatoes. Is that principle here? Yes, more or
less.
Can we feed and clothe ourselves? Yes, we can, as well as any people
on the earth. We have a goodly share of the genius, talent, and
ability of the world; it is combined in the Elders of this Church and
in their families. And if the Gentiles wish to see a few tricks, we
have "Mormons" that can perform them. We have the meanest devils on
the earth in our midst, and we intend to keep them, for we have use
for them; and if the Devil does not look sharp, we will cheat him out
of them at the last, for they will reform and go to heaven with us.
We have already showed the invading army a few tricks; and I told
Captain Van Vliet that if they persisted in making war upon us, I
should share in their supplies. The boys would ride among the enemy's
tents, and one of their captains ran into Colonel Alexander's tent one
night, saying, "Why, Colonel, I'll be damned if the Mormons won't be
riding into your tent, if you don't look out."
We have the smartest women in the world, the best cooks, the best
mothers; and they know how to dress themselves the neatest of any
others. We are the smartest people in the world. But look out,
pertaining to taking care of and sustaining ourselves, that the
children of this world are not smarter than the children of light. I
say that they shall not be; for we will beat them in every good thing,
the Lord and the brethren being our helpers. The Lord bless you! Amen.