I am thankful for the privilege of standing before you, and feel
desirous to enjoy the Spirit of intelligence, that when I speak to the
Saints I may be a comfort to them, and strengthen them, and so dictate
and guide their minds that they may receive strength and consolation
in the faith of the Gospel, and in the hope of eternal life.
One reason why I have not of late addressed you oftener is because I
wish other brethren to have an equal opportunity to speak to the
people. I often regret when we call upon the Elders to speak in this
Tabernacle, to hear them say that they have been in the Church ten,
fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or more years, and have not before had
the privilege of speaking to the Saints in their large assemblies,
apparently casting a reflection upon me or upon my brethren because we
have not invited them to preach. We would be glad to have all such
persons preach. Let us know who you are, for it creates a feeling of
regret for any of the brethren to intimate that they have been
neglected.
Some who have lost the confidence and influence of the Saints, may
expect that confidence and influence to be restored to them by me and
my brethren. I have always told the brethren, in our private
conversations, that that is impossible: it is a work we cannot
accomplish. I might call upon a person who had stolen your cattle or
your horses, and taken them to the camp and sold them, or who had
stolen your fencing or other property, to address you from this stand;
but would that restore confidence? No. We might call a man into this
stand who has been in the habit of getting drunk and appearing
intoxicated in the streets; but would that cause the people to have
confidence in him? No. If I and my Counselors should strive with our
might to support and recommend him, that would not give him the
influence he wishes, but would disgrace the man of God who undertook
it.
If the Elders wish to exhibit their talents before the Saints and the
world, let them make themselves acquainted with all the principles
they desire to represent in speaking and administering to the Saints.
And if those who have lost their influence, through disreputable
proceedings, wish to regain it, instead of expecting to regain it at
once by being called into this stand, go to the private prayer meeting
and there humbly pray God to bless you and your brethren. When you
imagine that you are neglected and do not have the privilege of
exhibiting your talent—I speak of these who have been in the habit of
doing wrong, and thereby have lost confidence—pursue a course that
will convince your brethren that you have reformed. Go to your
neighbors' houses and tell them you have appointed a meeting in your
house. Call the brethren together, and pray with them and for them;
and let them see, by the power of the spirit of the holy Gospel, that
you have repented of all your evils—that you will refrain from
sinning—that you will not again be caught, as heretofore,
transgressing the law of God, the grace of God assisting you.
If you can make as good a beginning as did an old lady, you will do
well. She went to a schoolhouse, and, on her return, called at a
neighbor's, who inquired where she had been. She replied, "I have
been to meeting." "Has there been a meeting?" "Oh, yes, and a
glorious
one, too." "Dear me, we did not hear of it. Were there many there?"
"No, there were not many." "Who was there?" "Why, the
Lord was there,
and I was there, and had a blessed good meeting." If you cannot get
any person to meet with you, be sure and have the Lord meet with you,
and you will soon gain confidence in yourselves and have influence
with your brethren.
No man can gain influence in this kingdom, and maintain himself in it,
or magnify his calling, without the power of God being with him.
Persons must so live that they can enjoy the light of the Holy Spirit,
or they will have no confidence in themselves, in their religion, or
in their God, and will sooner or later turn from the faith. They are
in sorrow, and leave in search of something that will satisfy their
minds. Hundreds have been to Camp Floyd, to the States, and to their
native foreign lands, to find that comfort and consolation they have
lost. They need not go out of their own houses to accomplish this, for
the Lord is near them—the Gospel is at their doors—life and salvation
are with them, if they will only repent of their sins, return to the
Lord with all their hearts, and humble themselves until they get the
Spirit: they will then learn that they have the treasure hunted for in
California, in Carson Valley, and the world over—the riches of
eternal life.
You who feel that you are in the least slighted, begin to have your
meetings; and if there is no person to pray with you in your own
houses, pray by yourselves until the Lord meets with you and you enjoy
the light of the Holy Spirit. Then, if you wish to, call in your
neighbors and pray with them and for them. There is no law against
doing good. You have all the privilege you can ask for, to perform all
the good you have any talent to perform. When a man complains that his
talent is not appreciated by his brethren, he is lacking one important
piece of information more important to him than to any other—a
knowledge of himself. This would do him more good than all his great
talents without it. When he knows his own ability—can understand
himself, he can properly employ every talent he has. Without that, he
cannot do so.
Those who seek for wisdom, for knowledge, and eternal life, understand
the exhortation just delivered by brother George Halliday. So far as I
heard, it was very sweet—very good. Without the light of the Spirit of
Christ, no person can truly enjoy life. I thought brother Halliday
very correctly portrayed the feelings of some, when alluding to
certain wives becoming as skillful and noted, and a little more so in
their own estimation, than were their husbands. I am not in the least
fearful that anyone will gain too much knowledge of God, and through
that knowledge undertake to dictate me. If you know the Spirit of God,
have the power of revelation, and know the mind of the Lord from day
to day, I am not afraid of your disagreeing with me. Do not have any
fears of knowing too much, lest you should feel to rise up and dictate
me, as wives, in many cases, do their husbands.
You may examine from the beginning to this day, and continue to watch
in the future, and where you find a man who wishes to steady the ark
of God, without being called to do so, you will find a dark spot in
him. The man full of light and intelligence discerns that God steadies
his own ark, dictates his own affairs, guides his people, controls his
kingdom, governs nations, and holds the hearts of all living in his
hands, and turns them hither and thither at his pleasure, not
infringing upon their agency. There is not the least danger of
disagreeing with persons enjoying the Holy Spirit.
With regard to those who leave us, brother Kimball's comparing it to
removing disease from the body is true. Every individual, every
family, and every portion of the community that desire to leave this
kingdom, the quicker they go the better for us. The sooner such
branches are severed, the healthier will be the tree; its roots and
stock will become more powerful, and it will spread its branches to
the nethermost parts of the earth. Dead branches tend to make the tree
sickly, if they are permitted to remain. Let them be cut off, that the
healthy branches may drink more strength and vigor from the roots of
the tree, and the foliage of the whole tree be beautiful.
Do not have the least fears in regard to this Church and kingdom. Some
Elders, and perhaps some presiding Elders, entertain a fearful looking
for the time when they shall be driven again. Brother Kimball has told
you that we shall not be. We shall not, unless we are disposed to. The
Lord has led this people from the beginning. From the day that Joseph
obtained the plates, and previous to that time, the Lord dictated him.
He directed him day by day and hour by hour. He led this people in
different parts of the United States, and the finger of scorn has been
pointed at them. Officers of the Government of the United States have
lifted their heel against them, and this people have been driven from
town to town, from county to county, and from State to State. The Lord
has his design in this. You may ask what his design is. You all know
that the Saints must be made pure, to enter into the celestial
kingdom. It is recorded that Jesus was made perfect through suffering.
If he was made perfect through suffering, why should we imagine for
one moment that we can be prepared to enter into the kingdom of rest
with him and the Father, without passing through similar ordeals?
The iniquity of the evildoer must be made manifest, and those who
hate the kingdom of God on the earth must have the privilege of
filling up the cup of their iniquity. The Lord has led the people
through scenes of sorrow and affliction; but what have we
passed through here during the two last years? Nothing, comparatively
speaking. I can say that I do not consider that I have ever suffered
anything for this kingdom—nothing in the least. I have never
sacrificed anything, without it be the evil propensities that are sown
in our nature, springing from the seed that was sown at the fall. May
that be termed a sacrifice? I will not call it so. What do we possess
on this earth? Do we even own our bodies? Had we the power to produce
them? Is the intelligence in these bodies our own? Did we organize and
implant it? No human being has had power to organize his own
existence. Then there is a greater than we. Are we our own in our
bodies? Are we our own in our spirits? We are not our own. We belong
to our progenitors—to our Father and our God.
We say that we have lost an ox, a cow, or a horse; or, "I left my
farm, my house, and have sacrificed a great deal for this work." This
is a mistake. You had nothing to lose. Not one particle of all that
comprises this vast creation of God is our own. Everything we have has
been bestowed upon us for our action, to see what we would do with
it—whether we would use it for eternal life and exaltation or for
eternal death and degradation, until we cease operating in this
existence. We have nothing to sacrifice: then let us not talk about
sacrificing.
The Lord has led the people carefully along, and dictated according to
his pleasure. Brother Heber says we have been going from place to
place, until, finally, we have come into these valleys in the
mountains. Why? Because we were obliged to. The Lord has had his eye
on this spot from the beginning—upon this part of the land of Joseph.
Read the history contained in the Book of Mormon, and ask yourselves
whether God has ever suffered a king to reign on this land. Will he
ever? No. This is the land that was given to Joseph—the son so well
beloved by his father Jacob; and no king will ever reign upon it but
the King, the Lord. Could that book have been brought forth and
published to the world under any other government but the Government
of the United States? No. He has governed and controlled the settling
of this continent. He led our fathers from Europe to this land, and
prepared the way to break the yoke that bound them, and inspired the
guaranteed freedom in our Government, though that guarantee is too
often disregarded. He could bring forth his work, and has prepared a
people to receive and commence his kingdom. Could this be done
anywhere else? No. He has known, from the beginning of creation, that
this is the land whereon to build this Zion. He knows how to commence
his work and how to finish it, and he will finish it where he
commenced it.
How our faith would stretch out and grasp the heavenly land where our
father Adam dwelt in his paradisiacal state! That land is on this
continent. Here is where Adam lived. Do you not think the Lord has had
his eye upon it? Yes. He is the King of all the earth, and has reigned
supreme according to his own goodwill and pleasure, and makes the
wrath of man praise him. He has had his eye upon his work, and has led
this people from place to place, until he has led them into the
chambers of the mountains—into the holy hill of God; and they will
reign upon Mount Zion.
Many have looked upon our trip south as a great stumblingblock,
because we left our houses and possessions. I am willing to see my
houses in ashes, and be stripped of every description of property, if
it is necessary to the advancement of the kingdom of God. That
move was made for an express purpose: it had and will have the desired
effect, and will accomplish all the Lord designed. We have prayed that
the wicked may be confused, broken, and scattered. Are they not broken
and scattered? And are we not here? We are, and we will stay until we
go away. And should the Lord require it, we will make this region as
clean and desolate as it was when we found it. Do not murmur or
complain about this, that, or the other.
I now wish to ask the strong-minded men—the talented men (we say
nothing about strong-minded women), How many of you have had wisdom
enough to procure and lay up for yourselves produce enough to last
until harvest? You may call this a small matter. How many of you have
wheat or flour to last you a year? If you are without bread, how much
wisdom can you boast, and of what real utility are your talents, if
you cannot procure for yourselves and save against a day of scarcity
those substances designed to sustain your natural lives? You wish to
come here and preach to the people, when you have not knowledge to
sustain yourselves temporally, to say nothing of a spiritual
salvation. You cannot save yourselves, a wife, and a child from
starvation, unless someone takes you by the hand and leads you; and
yet you want to make us believe that you are almighty big men. I
exhort the brethren to seek unto the Lord for wisdom. If you cannot
provide for your natural lives, how can you expect to have wisdom to
obtain eternal lives? God has given you your existence—your body and
spirit, and has blest you with ability, and thereby laid the
foundation of all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, and all glory
and eternal lives. If you have not attained ability to provide for
your natural wants, and for a wife and a few children, what have you
to do with heavenly things?
You know how to raise wheat and corn, how to build a house or a barn,
how to raise a horse, a cow, or a sheep, and how to manufacture wool,
because you have had practice in those labors from your youth up; but
you do not all know how to preserve such things to yourselves and make
yourselves comfortable. Instead of trying to find out how God is made,
or how angels are made, I wish you would try to learn how to sustain
yourselves in your present existence, and at the same time learn the
things of God—the things that await you, that you may begin to prepare
to dwell to all eternity—not merely to dwell today, tomorrow, this
week, next week, and next year, but how to secure salvation in your
present organization. If you cannot do this, you must be perfectly
submissive in the hands of the Lord, and learn wisdom. This is the
first thing for you to learn.
We are to build up and establish Zion, gather the house of Israel, and
redeem the nations of the earth. This people have this work to do,
whether we live to see it or not. This is all in our hands. I hope to
live to see Zion redeemed and built up. I desire to see the time when
Jerusalem shall be established, and the Jews gathered—when the law
shall go forth from Zion to govern the people, that all may rejoice in
the truth—that the poor may rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. If we
do not know how to preserve ourselves in our present organization and
existence, how can we prepare for an eternity? We must learn this
first: it is an everyday experience. Ye men of Israel, go to with all
your might, and seek to know how to sustain yourselves, that you may
live long on the earth, to glorify our Father in heaven, and
build up his kingdom on the earth.
We are legal heirs to all the kingdoms there are in the heavens for
the faithful, if we but prove ourselves faithful. We are all the
elect, if we will only keep the commandments of God and work
righteousness. If we turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord,
we shall be accounted as reprobates. What of Joseph Smith's family?
What of his boys? I have prayed from the beginning for sister Emma and
for the whole family. There is not a man in this Church that has
entertained better feelings towards them. Joseph said to me, "God will
take care of my children when I am taken." They are in the hands of
God, and when they make their appearance before this people, full of
his power, there are none but what will say—"Amen! We are ready to
receive you."
The brethren testify that brother Brigham is brother Joseph's legal
successor. You never heard me say so. I say that I am a good hand to
keep the dogs and wolves out of the flock. I do not care a groat who
rises up. I do not think anything about being Joseph's successor. That
is nothing that concerns me. I never asked yet, or had a feeling as to
what kind of a great man, O Lord, are you going to make me? But,
Father, what do you require of me, and what can I do to promote your
kingdom on the earth, and save myself and brethren? I do not trouble
myself as to whose successor I am. I do not know but that I am one of
those great men that brother Parley preached about in Nauvoo, after
Sidney Rigdon preached his great sermon in which he strove to make it
appear that he was one of those great men of whom the Prophet wrote.
Parley rose up and said, "I am one of those great men the Apostles
never wrote about." I may be one of those men the Prophets never knew
or wrote about—one that is hardly worthy the notice of the Lord. He
has placed intelligence within us, and it is for us to know what we
can do to promote righteousness and peace on the earth, and establish
his kingdom. If I can have the privilege to gain faith and grace, and
secure to myself an eternal existence in the kingdom of God, I am not
concerned but that I shall be as great as I ought to be, and have all
I ought to have.
All is right. God can carry on his own work. This kingdom will stand
forever. You have heard brother Kimball testify that this kingdom
will stand forever. It will begin to roll on to and mash the toes of
the great image, and then the feet, the legs, and the body; and
by-and-by it will fill the whole earth, and no power of earth or hell
can hinder it. The Lord Almighty will reign until he puts all enemies
under his feet. That is the promise—that is the decree of the Father,
that Jesus shall begin to reign on this earth in the latter days; and
his kingdom will increase upon the right and upon the left, until,
by-and-by, it becomes a great kingdom and fills the whole earth, when
he will begin to reign King of nations, as he now reigns King of
Saints. It is and has been a warfare with Satan, and the war will
continue until Jesus puts all enemies under his feet, disposing of
death and him who has the power of it, who is the Devil. I hope and
pray to be always ready to do anything the Lord wishes to be done. We
are the men who will strive to live by every word that proceeds from
his mouth.
I feel perfectly satisfied. I am rejoiced. My soul magnifies the name
of God that there is a people on the earth as good as we are, and yet
there is room for us to be better. This people are improving; they are
grow ing in grace. If it had not been for the mighty power of
faith here, and the many righteous ones, you would not have had the
privilege of living here. The faith of the Saints bound the enemy and
sustained our feet on this ground; and my prayer is for the Lord to
make fast our feet in the mountains, until we go forth to redeem the
Center Stake of Zion. What do you say? ["Amen! Amen!" ]
God bless you! Amen.