My greatest desire to my Father and God is that I may so speak that my
remarks will be acceptable to him and beneficial to those who hear me.
I do not know that I have the first desire to please myself or any
earthly being in the remarks I may make. I do not know that I have any
other purpose in view but the salvation of the people; and I wish the
people to have only one ruling desire—namely, to do the will of their
God.
If my mind is led this morning in a channel to instruct the Saints—to
encourage them—to give them new life and vigor—to so strengthen them
in their faith as to better prepare them to pursue the journey of
life, God be thanked.
I sometimes think that perhaps I have not that fervent desire to
preach to unbelievers that I ought to have. But one thing I can say—My
garments are clear and pure from the blood of all men. I will briefly
state why this is. For nearly thirty years I have sought to know the
truth, and to properly understand the principles of the holy
Priesthood revealed from heaven through the Prophet Joseph; and I have
ceased not, when I have had an opportunity, at the proper time and in
the proper place, to present those principles to my fellow men. And if
those who have heard me had been as faithful and diligent as I have
been since I embraced the truth, in distributing the truth to their
neighbors, long before this time every family upon the face of the
earth would have heard the Gospel of the Son of God and the warning
voice of his servants, and have had the opportunity of believing or
rejecting it, solely through my preaching and its results. This frees
me from all blame on the score of preaching to the world. Blame upon
that point cannot be attached to me by any man upon the face of the
earth. If people of other nations rise up in the judgment and say, "If
you, Brigham, had been faithful in preaching to us, we also could have
been prepared for the day we now see," my answer will be—"There is
no
such sin resting upon me." That sin will fall, if anywhere, upon those
who have heard me and have witnessed that I have told them the truth,
but have not themselves been faithful in disseminating it to their
neighbors. You may call this an apology, if you please, for not feeling that anxiety to preach to unbelievers that some may
suppose I ought to feel; but I trust this matter with my God. I feel
anxious for those who are disposed to believe the truth: I feel after
the Saints. The facts I have related, touching myself, will also apply
to hundreds of the Elders of Israel—to men who are now sitting in this
stand and in this congregation. My desires daily and hourly are that
those who profess to be Saints actually be Saints in truth and verity;
and my constant prayer is for their welfare.
I remember the poor and the needy; though I can say (and the remark
may astonish many of my brethren), I never pray for the people to be
rich. I do not pray for gold and silver. I have never done so. I have
never had so much as a desire for this people to become wealthy in
gold and silver, in houses and lands, in goods and chattels. I do not
know that I ever offered a petition to a being superior to myself to
give me worldly riches and worldly honor and fame; but I have prayed,
O Lord, give me the power, the knowledge, the wisdom and the
understanding to secure to myself eternal life.
We have the promise, if we seek first the kingdom of God and its
righteousness, that all necessary things will he added to us. We
should not be distrustful, but seek first to know how to please our
Father and God—seek to know how to save ourselves from the errors that
are in the world, from darkness and unbelief, from the vain and
delusive spirits that go abroad among the children of men to deceive,
and learn how to save and preserve ourselves upon the earth, to preach
the Gospel, build up the kingdom, and establish the Zion of our God.
Then there is not the least danger, and there should not be the least
doubt but what everything necessary for the comfort, convenience,
happiness, and salvation of the people will be added to them.
True, we see many of this people that are poor. We have seen them in
their persecutions and sore privations. We have seen them flee from
city to city, from county to county, and from state to state. We have
seen them naked and barefooted on the way to these valleys. In the
companies that came here in 1847-8 and 9, probably not one in ten had
good shoes or clothes to keep them comfortable in moderate weather;
and but few had breadstuff sufficient to last them over four months.
They came here, and here they stayed and labored; and what they
brought with them had to answer until they raised enough to supply
their wants. We can still see many who are not so comfortable as they
desire to be.
Who among this people can discern the hand of God in all these
circumstances, and that it is necessary that afflictions should come
upon them to prove whether they will be Saints or not—whether they
will be the friends of God, or turn away from the holy commandments,
forsake their God and their religion, return to the beggarly elements
of the world—to the vain fashions and foolish spirits that are abroad
deceiving the children of men? My desire is that the Saints should
understand—that they should be wise, having eyes that see, ears that
hear, and hearts that understand as God understands us, that they may
not be ignorant of the providences that attend them. At present my
fervent desire is for the Saints. Doubtless, if, in the providences of
God, I am again called to preach the Gospel to the world, I shall have
as fervent a desire for them as I have ever had for the Saints. But I
now feel to strengthen and comfort the Saints, inasmuch as I have the
ability, and the Spirit bearing witness with yours that we should live
our religion and be Saints indeed, and feel that affinity one
to another that becomes the Saints of the living God.
I have no desire, at this time, to address you upon any particular
point of doctrine, or to select a text upon which to expound or
explain. I merely wish to inquire whether the Latter-day Saints
understand the eventful day in which they live—whether they appreciate
and understand the peculiar providences of God that are cast around
them—whether they partially comprehend the nature of their own being,
and the great object of their existence and place upon the earth. If
they understand and rightly practice upon all this, every soul of them
will keep the faith. After the existence of the Deity, his supremacy,
his right to rule, his knowledge, his power, and his great plan of
salvation for the children of men have been proved beyond the power of
truthful contradiction; and after tens of thousands have bowed to the
truths of the Gospel, been baptized for the remission of sins, and
received the ordinances of the holy Priesthood, and run well for a
season, it is lamentable to see so many turn away, forsake their
covenants, and lose sight of all holiness and purity of life, becoming
like a ship upon the great waste of waters without a compass, sail,
rudder, or any means for guiding their course, and being wafted hither
and thither with every wind that blows, not seeming to have the least
idea of directing their own course. This is a matter of deep regret.
I ask intelligent men—those in whose bosoms the spirit of revelation
continually abides, whether their souls do not mourn to see the
neglect, the weakness, the blindness, and stupidity of those who have
received the words of eternal life—who have received the promises and
covenants of God, and have had the rights and privileges of receiving
the revelations of Jesus Christ to guide and direct them in the path
of truth and holiness, so that they could make sure to themselves
salvation and eternal lives in the celestial kingdom of our Father and
God. Is it not painful? Are you not astonished to see people who have
received the Holy Spirit of promise, the Holy Ghost—who have received
visions—who have been endowed with faith and with the knowledge of
God—who have had power to lay hands upon the sick, and diseases have
departed at their command, and foul spirits at their word, turn away
and forsake their covenants and their God?
If there should not be another meeting of the Latter-day Saints until
the winding-up scene, it would be astonishing that any man or woman of
good sound sense and judgment should ever forsake their faith. I do
not know that a comparison strong enough can possibly be framed to
exhibit the folly of such a proceeding. Were I to say to a son, The
whole earth is in my hands to dispose of as I will: I can make you the
sovereign of the universe—the possessor of the gold, the silver, the
mountains, the valleys, the rivers, the lakes, the seas, and all that
float upon them and that live upon the face of the whole earth; for it
is mine to give to you, my son, if you will serve me one month
faithfully. I require nothing of you that will give you the least
pain: all I require is strict obedience to my law. My son faithfully
serves me during twenty-nine days, and on the thirtieth day, for the
value of a straw, or for a mess of pottage, he sells his right and
title to all I had promised him. This comparison falls very far short
of showing the loss a Saint sustains when he turns away from his God
and his religion.
There is one virtue, attribute, or principle, which, if cherished and practiced by the Saints, would prove salvation to thousands
upon thousands. I allude to charity, or love, from which proceed
forgiveness, long-suffering, kindness, and patience. But the
shortsightedness and weakness in some are marvelous. To make this a
little plainer, I will ask, Do any of your neighbors do anything
wrong? They do. People come here from different parts of the earth to
make this their adopted country, and the old residents expect them to
at once conform to and adopt their manners, customs, and traditions,
or they think the newcomers are not worthy of their fellowship. In
other words, "If every man, woman, and child does not act, think, and
see as I do, they are sinners." It is very necessary that we have
charity that will cover a multitude of what we may suppose to be sins.
It is written in the Scriptures, "For charity shall cover the
multitude of sins." In its wording this is not literally correct, for
charity does not cover up, hide, or justify actual iniquity. It covers
up a multitude of improprieties and weaknesses that some are inclined
to suppose to be sins.
In a community, and even in a family of children that have sprung from
the same parents, you can find a great difference in the dispositions
and temperaments of individuals. You observe an endless variety in the
dispositions of mankind. I will give you an example.
Some Christian nations lately went to war with each other. What for?
Pride—to please a selfish, worldly, carnal, wicked heart. And the
priests, the majority of them being of the same faith, on both sides of
the line of battle prayed to the same God for success in slaying the
opposing army. If they can have the Spirit of the Lord thus to pray,
they can have it there and then as well as anywhere else. They could
have it as well as the English and Americans in the revolutionary war.
When they went to battle, they prayed fervently, each side praying,
"Lord, save my countrymen, preserve our armies, direct every ball that
is discharged from our guns directly to the hearts of our enemies,
until they are completely used up."
God distributes his Spirit to all, both Christian and Pagan. This to
some may appear very strange, but it is true; for there is not a
Christian or Pagan nation, family, or individual upon the whole earth,
to whom the Lord has not more or less at times dispensed his Spirit.
The Pagan is as fervent in his desires to his god for a good and holy
influence to attend him in the worship of his idols, as we are to the
God of heaven—the Father of us all—the Being who has brought all
mankind into existence and sustains them by his providence and
fatherly care. He bestows blessings upon all his children, and
enlightens them more or less by his Spirit, and guides the affairs of
all nations, states, countries, and peoples. His kind benevolence and
influence, by the power of his Spirit, are over them all. In this
Territory are people gathered from almost all nations, where they have
been differently educated, differently traditioned, and differently
ruled. How, then, can we expect them to look, to act, and to have
sentiments, faith, and customs precisely alike? I do not expect to see
any such thing, but I endeavor to look upon them as an angel would,
having compassion, long-suffering, and forbearance towards them. How
many times can I forgive a brother? I do not know, for I have never
been particularly tried upon this point; but I think I could forgive a
brother seventy times seven in one day, if I had not learned that he
had a design to commit evil. He might commit overt acts every half
minute in the day; and if he felt to sincerely repent, I could forgive
him. Everybody should do so, and especially the Saints.
How many of us charge evil upon our neighbors, or upon members of our
families, when they have desired, according to the best of their
ability, and striven, according to the best of their knowledge, and as
fervently as they could, to do right! Where, then, is our charity, our
benevolence, long-suffering, and patience? We should overcome all
unfriendly desires to overthrow each other, and strive to inculcate
these principles that pertain to eternal life. Men are greedy for the
vain things of this world. In their hearts they are covetous. It is
true that the things of this world are designed to make us
comfortable, and they make some people as happy as they can be here;
but riches can never make the Latter-day Saints happy. Riches of
themselves cannot produce permanent happiness: only the Spirit that
comes from above can do that. If we are compelled to eat our morsel
under a rock in the wilderness, or in a log cabin, we are happy, so
that we possess that Spirit. If a man drinks at the fountain of
eternal life, he is as happy under the broad canopy of heaven, without
a home, as in a palace. This I know by experience. I know that the
things of this world, from beginning to end, from the possession of
mountains of gold down to a crust of johnnycake, makes little or no
difference in the happiness of an individual. The things of this world
add to our national comfort, and are necessary to sustain mortal life.
We need these comforts to preserve our earthly existence; and many
suppose, when they have them in great abundance, that they have all
that is needed to make them happy. They are striving continually, and
with all their might, for that which does not add one particle to
their happiness, though it may add to their comfort, and perhaps to
the length of their lives, if they do not kill themselves in their
eagerness to grasp the gilded butterfly. But those things have nothing
to do with the spirit, feeling, consolation, light, glory, peace, and
joy that pertain to heaven and heavenly things, which are the food of
the ever-living spirit within us.
Hundreds and thousands of the Latter-day Saints, while passing through
persecutions, have gone to their graves for want of a little medicine,
or that kind of nourishment most proper in their condition. They could
not obtain such things, their strength gradually gave way to the
diseases that preyed upon them, and they sunk into death for want of
the comforts of life. But did they go to their graves mourning, and
bewailing their situation? I will venture to state that they felt
better than many who die on downy beds with all things around them
that earthly riches can command, or heart desire. In those times of
severe trial we laid our hands upon the sick, and tried to encourage
them all we could; but we had no earthly comforts in the shape of
food, clothing, medicine, &c., to impart, nor any physical comfort
designed to sustain life. We laid our hands upon hundreds, and saw
fathers, mothers, and children sinking and dying. Was there nothing
that could help them? Yes; if we could have made them some chicken
broth, or given them a little wine, it probably would have turned the
disease, and they might have lived; but we did not have such articles
to give. How did they die? Rejoicing that their pilgrimage was over,
saying, "I am happy within." If the question had been asked, "Do you
not think that if you had this or that, it would make you happy?"
their answer would have been, "No: I am happy without them. They might
increase my bodily health, but they have nothing to do with my happiness." Yet how overanxious the great majority of mankind are for
the vain and foolish things of this life!
Are the people mourning for anything now? And do they think this to be
a day of trial and darkness? In the spring of 1857 we moved from our
homes at a time when it was pleasant for living out of doors and lying
upon the ground; but hundreds now present have had to leave their
homes in the dead of winter, with no habitation to shelter them. The
revelations declare that this people shall be tried in all things. If
we were not tried in the things that now try us, we should not be
tried in all things. We have had the trial of burying our friends: we
have been driven from our homes, leaving our possessions, our goods,
our farms, our houses, orchards, gardens, and furniture standing in
our houses. We gathered up teams, a little food and clothing, and
left. We have been tried in losing our fathers, our mothers, our
children, our sisters, and brethren. We have been tried in having a
mob butcher our brethren before our eyes, shooting them down as
deliberately as a mountaineer would shoot a wolf.
It is necessary that we should be tried, in order to prove whether we
can be still in prayer time. You know that it is sometimes necessary
to correct our children for making a noise in prayer time. It is now
prayer time with us. Can we keep still, or shall we be found making a
disturbance in the family? Let us, as children, keep still, or our
Father may use the rod of correction. What a trial, to keep still in
prayer time! Oh, how this people are tried!! Those who turn away from
the holy commandments will meet trials that are trials indeed. They
will feel the wrath of the Almighty upon them. Those who are still and
are good children will receive the rich blessing of their Father and
God. Be still, and let your faith rest on the Lord Almighty. He is at
the helm; he is in the midst of this people, and guides the ship Zion.
Be good children until our Father has taught us our present lesson,
and be ready to answer every call, to render obedience to every
requirement, and have compassion upon each other. But if you should
happen to see John or Lucy climb up into a chair in prayer time, and
yet have no evil design in so doing, let charity cover that
impropriety. Do not tell Father that John was a naughty boy. Do not be
so full of religion as to look upon every little overt act that others
may commit as being the unpardonable sin that will place them beyond
the reach of redemption and the favors of our God.
Some come to me saying, "Oh, brother Brigham, it does seem that all
the people are going to the Devil!" I can foretell a few things. Those
who are good children, and behave themselves until prayer time is
over, will by-and-by sit down to supper and have a joyful season. Some
may say, "I fear there will be but few left to eat supper, there are
so many going astray." Be patient: there are more than seven thousand
in this city who have not bowed the knee to Baal, without numbering
those of other cities who are ready and anxious to do right, and none
of them will be lost. "But some are stealing." Can you at present
prevent it? "No. But do you not think that it ought to be stopped?"
Yes, if we had the power; but we have not now the power. If I had the
power, I would send every thief to his long home. I will promise
thieves, drunkards, and other offenders against good order, morality,
and the well-being of society, that if I can learn of their committing
such sins, I will cut them off from the Church. I will not knowingly
fellow ship thieves, liars, and drunkards, nor any abominable
character. But can I prevent men from committing those crimes? No:
neither can you. Could the Lord? Yes, if he wished to. He could lead
them to some of our large streams, cause them to think that they could
cross over dry-shod, and then drown them as he did the Egyptians; but
he does not feel to do so.
I do know that some people are wanting in understanding when they
charge others with sin, which they do not suppose to be sin. They have
been differently educated, and consequently each party feels justified
in doing that which the other party would feel condemned in; and hence
they condemn each other. You may inquire how far a person can go and
be justified, and pray and receive a portion of the Spirit of the
Lord. Can he go so far as to steal? Yes; because, through his
traditions and customs, he would not deem that he had stolen, though I
might think he had. I presume there are those who would take your axe
or mine, if they found it in a road or canyon, even though the owner's
name was upon it, and take it home and keep it. Will they pray to God,
while they do such things? Yes, as fervently as those who do not. Will
they have the Spirit of the Lord? Yes, a portion of it. Could I do so?
No. But there are those who have been thus traditionated, and the
Spirit of the Lord will find its way to their hearts as it would to
the heart of an Indian.
The very Indians who massacre men, women, and children on the plains,
have their religious ceremonies and pray to their God for success in
killing men, women, and children. The French and Austrians meet and
slay one another by hundreds and thousands; and thousands of women and
children who were not engaged in battle are also sacrificed by the
folly of those Christian wars. The instigators of those wars are just
as guilty of murder, before God, as the Indians are for killing the
men, women, and children who are passing through their country. What
is the difference in the eyes of our Father and God? It is just as
much murder to kill unjustly a million at a blow as it is to kill one,
though Dr. Young has stated that, "One murder makes a villain; millions
makes a hero." Were I to make war upon an innocent people, because I
had the power, to possess myself of their Territory, their silver,
gold, and other property, and be the cause of slaying, say fifty
thousand strong, hale, hearty men, and devolving consequent suffering
upon one hundred thousand women and children, who would suffer through
privation and want, I am very much more guilty of murder than is the
man who kills only one person to obtain his pocketbook.
Our traditions have been such that we are not apt to look upon war
between two nations as murder; but suppose that one family should rise
up against another and begin to slay them, would they not be taken up
and tried for murder? Then why not nations that rise up and slay each
other in a scientific way be equally guilty of murder? "But observe
the martial array, how splendid! See the furious warhorses, with
their glittering trappings! Then the honor and glory and pride of the
reigning king must be sustained, and the strength and power and wealth
of the nation must be displayed in some way; and what better way than
to make war upon neighboring nations, under some slight pretext?"
Does it justify the slaying of men, women, and children that otherwise
would have remained at home in peace, because a great army is doing
the work? No: the guilty will be damned for it.
Let this people called Latter-day Saints examine themselves and be
sure that they are right before God, and do as they should in all
things, and hurt not the oil and the wine. Never pray for riches; do
not entertain such a foolish thought. In my deep poverty, when I knew
not where I could procure the next morsel of food for myself and
family, I have prayed God to open the way that I might get something
to keep myself and family from dying. Those who do more than this are
off more or less from the track that leads to life eternal. When you
obtain eternal riches, and the true and living faith within you, and
the visions of your mind are opened to understand and see things as
they are, you will then be made aware that the riches of this world
are disposed of by a Supreme Power, and that all that is necessary
will be added to you. If it is to die while you are hunting out an
asylum for the poor persecuted Saints, die. If, while a missionary to
the nations of the earth, you should be shipwrecked on a desolate
island and starve to death, die like a man.
Let the providence of God take its course. Ask for that which will
make you happy and prepare you for life or death. What is that? Food
for the mind, to feed the intelligent part of the creature. The Lord
has planted within us a divinity; and that divine, immortal spirit
requires to be fed. Will earthly food answer for that purpose? No; it
will only keep this body alive as long as the spirit stays with it,
which gives us an opportunity of doing good. That divinity within us
needs food from the Fountain from which it emanated. It is not of the
earth, earthy, but is from heaven. Principles of eternal life, of God
and godliness, will alone feed the immortal capacity of man and give
true satisfaction. But it is very lamentable to observe how so many
grovel in darkness, seeming not to understand anything beyond what
they can feel with their hands, see with their eyes, and hear with
their ears. They seem to feel, "Let me eat and drink today, for
tomorrow I am not." Where are you tomorrow? "Gone into
nonentity—passed
away like a vapor, for aught I know. My life, existence,
intelligence, my organism, the whole man has passed into the great
chaos of nature, never to be again reorganized to reflect, see, think,
understand, enjoy, or endure: it is all gone forever." Like brutes
they live, and like brutes they die. Like the unconscious bullock that
is led to the slaughterhouse, they know nothing until the knife
drinks the lifeblood and they sink into death.
My feelings are—O that men would understand the purpose of their
existence! Our organism makes us capable of exquisite enjoyment. Do I
not love my wife, my son, my daughter, my brother, my sister, my
father, and my mother? And do I not love to associate with my friends?
I do, and love to reflect and talk on eternal principles. Our
salvation consists in knowing them, and they are designed in their
nature to cheer and comfort us. Is that eternal existence in me that
feeds upon eternal truth organized to be destroyed? Is that organism
ever to come to an end, so long as it lives upon eternal truth? No.
Let me eternally enjoy the society of those I love. Let our
associations in time and in eternity never be destroyed.
In this life we are full of pain, disappointment, and worldly trouble.
This gives us a chance to prove to God that we are his friends. Seek
unto the Lord for his Spirit, without any cessation in your efforts,
until his Spirit dwells within you like eternal burnings. Let the
candle of the Lord be lighted up within you, and all is right. Until
prayer time is over, be still, keep quiet, and all is right. For the present, let the world go, for they have been repeatedly
preached to. It is necessary that all have the privilege of receiving
or rejecting eternal truth, that they may be prepared to be saved, or
be prepared to be damned.
I pray that what I have said this morning may do you good, and do no
person any harm, and that your hearts may be comforted and made
steadfast in the truth. If you wish to know what you shall do, to do
right, I answer—Do all that you know to be good. Pray to the Father to
guide you in righteousness, and never permit yourselves to do that
which you know is evil. And if you do evil ignorantly and in good
faith, I promise you it shall result in good.
By-and-by, when prayer time is over, many of those whom you think are
nearly gone to the Devil will feel and express their sorrow for their
foolishness, and promise henceforth to be good children. But you may
as well try to stop with sand the gushing streams that flow down our
canyon gorges as to stop a man from committing sin who is determined
to sin. We can cut such persons off from our fellowship, which I am
determined to do. We will not fellowship the old, dead, dry limbs.
May the Lord bless you, brethren! Amen.