In the forenoon, brother Hooper asked—"What will not people do for
gold?" I will answer the question. They will not serve God with a pure
heart; you cannot hire them to do this. If they serve God, it will be
by their own free will and choice. Persons can be hired to preach for
money, but it does not follow that such preaching is doing God
service.
As I mentioned this morning, when the god of this world is hoisted,
the priest from the pulpit and the pious deacon and the people worship
at its shrine. All the churches and all the world run after
gold.
The arts and sciences are somewhat advanced among the Christian
nations; but as to a true knowledge of things as they are in eternity,
there never were nations more ignorant. According to my definition of
the word, a people are heathenish that do not know things as they
ought. The Christian world, so called, are heathens as to their
knowledge of the salvation of God. If those nations that we call
heathen were civilized as we are, intelligent as we are, we would not
call them heathen. The civilized world term those heathen who do not
follow their customs, who are not educated as they are, and who do not
worship according to the modern Christian form of worship. Without
doubt, much of the display and pretended knowledge and wisdom that
were presented to the Japanese visitors by the senators,
representatives, and great men of our nation, were offensive to them;
and perhaps they looked upon the inhabitants of the United States
as a poor, miserable, degraded, abominable people, not fit to live
upon the earth. Pass from Japan to China, then to India, then westerly
across Asia, and probably those people view our nation in much the
same light. And when you arrive in the Christian nations, they esteem
themselves wiser and far in advance of those they call heathen.
The women in Christendom cannot successfully compete, in spinning and
weaving, with those in the East Indies and some other heathen nations.
And arts and sciences, in the so-called heathen nations, in many
respects excel the attainments of the Christian nations. Then pass in
review the ancient heathen nations—examine their architecture and
their other productions in the mechanical departments, as to this day
exhibited in their works and ruins, and all the boasted knowledge of
Christendom in those branches fades in comparison. The civilized world
have a tolerably good understanding of the art of navigation, but
father Noah knew more about it than do all the mariners now upon the
earth. Abraham knew more about astronomy and true philosophy than does
all Christendom. The civilized nations know how to make machinery, put
up telegraph wires, &c., &c.; and in nearly all branches, they are
trying to cheat each other; and finally they will learn that they have
been cheat ing themselves for the golden god—the Mammon of this
world.
The world is drunk, but not with wine or strong drink; and our country
is the most drunken of all. They are deluding themselves; they are
drunk with party fanaticism; they are high-minded, heady, and
senseless, and are fast going to destruction. As brother Heber has
stated, the Lord Almighty will empty the earth of the wickedness that
has dwelt upon it for so many hundreds of years: it will not be
suffered to dwell upon it much longer. The wicked will go to their
place, and the Almighty will gather his Saints and raise up a people
who know their right hands from their left, which Christendom does not
know, so far as pertains to the plan of salvation.
Serve your God, but not for gold. Strive to be righteous, not for any
speculation, but because righteousness is lovely, pure, holy,
beautiful, and exalting: it is designed to make the soul happy and
full of joy, to the extent of the whole capacity of man, filling him
with light, glory, and intelligence. If you cannot love it for that,
do not undertake to be righteous. A man cannot be a Saint at the same
time that he loves sin and rolls it under his tongue as a sweet
morsel, any more than an Elder can do good on a mission while his
heart is set upon riches, planning to bring home merchandise. The
Elders cannot accomplish both these things at once; and in trying to
do so they have missed their aim, for they have neither got rich nor
magnified their calling and priesthood.
I can say amen to what brother Heber has said. Those who now go forth
upon missions will feel more of the power of God than they ever had,
and will speak as men having authority, asking no odds of the wicked.
I said, in Nauvoo, that we were going to leave our possessions. We did
so, and God has been and is our helper, and is on our right and left,
and round about us like a wall of fire to defend this people, if they
serve him with an undivided heart. Will our enemies be saved? No. They
have had the Gospel preached to them year after year, and have
rejected it. What are they? Comparatively nothing. Where are they?
Nowhere. Who are they? Nobody; and as they ripen in iniquity they will
depart to the place prepared for them, and be as though they had never
been. Can you so much as hire them to serve God? No: but go into the
East Indies and you can hire hundreds to profess to serve God, by
paying them so much a day. Christian ministers are said to build up
their churches there by hiring the natives to be sprinkled and have
their names written in the church records. There is a gentleman now in
our city who has been blamed by missionaries, both in Europe and
America, for writing the truth about their operations in Africa. They
had not made as many converts as they had lost missionaries on the
African soil.
We want the Elders of Israel to preach the Gospel without purse or
scrip, and to trust in God for their food, raiment, and lodging. If
you have not a second shirt with you, do not be fretting about it, but
trust in God for some person to give you another; for you will not
have anything without the Lord pleases, neither food nor raiment; and
what he wants you to have he will bring about. Then trust in the Lord,
going forth in his name. I will leave the matter of gathering means to
the Bishops.
"How much, brother Brigham, do you want gathered to enable the
Missionaries to reach their fields of labor and assist their families
during their absence? Will five dollars do? for we are very poor in
our Ward: we cannot give much." You are a poor Bishop. We want
your hundreds and thousands; and what is not needed now, we will save
for the Elders next spring; and when we bind burdens for you, you
shall not be able to truthfully say that we will not reach out our
little fingers to lift them. You may bring two or three of your best
men, and I will give more than they all; I will put forth my whole
hand. If any man in this kingdom will give me two-thirds of what my
property is worth, I will sell it to him and give every dime of the
money towards gathering the poor, and in ten years from now I will be
far richer than I am now. I would like to devote every dollar I am
worth to preaching the Gospel and gathering the poor, to show the
people what God is willing to do for his servants, though he be
possessed of weaknesses. Bring the man or woman, who has labored for
me, that can say in truth that I have oppressed the hireling in his
wages. No living being can in truth say that I have; but I have fed
and clothed hundreds and thousands who have not labored for me.
I shall keep the plan of assisting our Missionaries from here before
the people until we learn that it is the best policy. I do not, on
this account, wish the people abroad to omit paying their Tithing and
doing all they can; but I wish to dictate the Church means in a way
that will benefit the kingdom of God; for I will gather the poor and
build up Zion, while the course of others wastes and destroys.
Doubtless many of the Elders think that they are smarter than I am. As
brother Kimball has said, some of the knowing ones marveled when we
were called to the Apostleship. It was indeed a mystery to me; but
when I considered what consummate blockheads they were, I did not deem
it so great a wonder. When they would meet brother Kimball and myself,
their looks expressed, "What a pity!" Then I would think, You may,
perhaps, make tolerably good men after a while; but I guess that you
will tumble out by-and-by, just as they did: they could not stay in
the Gospel net, they were so big and grew so fast; they became larger
than the ship and slid overboard.
I ask no odds of the enemies of truth, neither have we from the
beginning. Let us so live that God and angels are with us, and all is
right; and if we do not, it matters not what becomes of us, nor how
quickly we are overthrown as a people. Let all hearts be fervent in
their covenants, and glorify their Father who is in heaven, with their
spirits and bodies, which are his. Let our most earnest desire be to
bring forth and build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, save the
house of Israel and all the honest among the Gentiles, and fill the
whole earth with the light, glory, power, and knowledge of God, and be
prepared to enjoy it; which may Jesus grant. Amen.