Feeling thankful for the opportunity of meeting with you, this
morning, in the capacity of our Semi-Annual Conference, I cannot but
express my gratitude to God that I am a member of that Church which is
everywhere spoken against, even the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. I am thankful to God, my Heavenly Father, that he
has revealed the everlasting Gospel in its fulness, and made me, as
well as many of you, the honored instruments to proclaim it to all
nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, wherever our lots may be
cast.
Of all people upon the face of the whole earth, none have so great
reason to be thankful as we. We are brought into the school of Christ
to be instructed in the laws, spirit, and policy of his kingdom.
Many of you will bear in mind that at our last Conference, six months
ago, many of the speakers bore powerful testimony to the truth and
certainty of the cause in which we are engaged; and you will also
recollect that I told you then that that testimony would seriously
affect all nations and people—that it would be felt throughout the
entire world—that it would be borne by an invisible hand, and its
influence, like the frosts of autumn, blight the growing and
flourishing prospects of all political and worldly schemes and
enterprises. Contemplate now, through the glass of the public
newspapers and journals, the condition of the nations of Europe, of
Asia, and of America! Our own favored land is in commotion. The
political elements are heavily charged with electricity, and the
louring storm clouds are gathering in our horizon, threatening to
avenge the blood of martyred Prophets and Apostles, and the inhumanity
and cruelty practiced upon the Saints of God. None of those things are
forgotten. They are written with imperishable characters in the memory
of this people, and their cries and their prayers have transmitted
them to the sacred records above, to be answered in their behalf by
storms, by tempests, by whirlwinds, by earthquakes, by famines, by the
sword, and also by flames of devouring fire.
The testimony of the servants of God, before alluded to, forcibly
reminds me of a certain class of men spoken of in the Revelation of
St. John, who overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony. When our testimony goes forth from this stand, we
cannot always tell exactly where it may take effect; but we know that
it will not return void. It must fall somewhere. It is like the seeds
of plants and flowers, which are often carried high in the air and
wafted on the breeze to a remote distance; yet the laws of gravity
will ultimately compel them to a resting place, where their effects
may be seen.
For me to testify to you that "Mormonism" is true—to declare its destiny and final triumph—would be like telling you that the
sun shines. It is something that you see, and consequently know; yet
it is not at all likely that the sun now shines in the eyes of all
people. Hence I volunteer my testimony. You may regard it in the light
of a ship of war taking in her shot and shells at a home port, that
are designed to batter down an enemy's walls on a foreign shore.
What is called "Mormonism" by the world is the fulness of the
everlasting Gospel—the truth of God—the only way of salvation for all
people to whom it is made known or in any way declared, and destined
to rule the world. While on this branch of my subject, allow me to
introduce a testimony given me, not long since, under other and
peculiar circumstances. Hear it, all ye people! "Mormonism will win
its way through the world, and triumph in the face of any and all
opposition. There is a God that never sleeps, an eye that never
slumbers, and an arm that never becomes feeble. This God is our God,
and through our agency he has decreed the triumph of his cause. 'Fear
not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.' There is no man on earth, no people on earth, no nation on
earth, no kindred or tongue on earth, or the whole combined, that
raises the hand or voice against the kingdom of God or its policy as
now established, but that will be rejected of God, dishonored of men,
and go to ruin with the wrath of Heaven upon them."
Having the spirit of our calling, we wax bold in our testimony. When a
few more Conferences shall have been held by this people, compare the
coming history of nations with this my testimony, and you will be
satisfied that I now tell you the truth.
The liberty of the Gospel, with your indulgence, will allow me to give
some political matters a passing and respectful notice. I am no
politician, and it cannot be expected that I shall treat such subjects
as Messrs. Douglas, Bell, Breckenridge, or Lincoln would. In such
matters they are workmen. I am but a bungler; yet in times of general
election, when political speeches are flaming all around, it is not to
be wondered at that even a novice should attempt to fire up a little
on the importance of the times.
First and foremost, I will briefly allude to some aspirants to office
and honors in the Church of which we are members. There have been
aspirants to the Presidency of this Church ever since the death of
Joseph Smith, and even before. It may be regarded as lost time to
allude to these things at all by which any portion of the day is
consumed. But, brethren, bear with me. I have read the writings of
every aspirant to the presiding Priesthood in this Church since the
days of Joseph. I have marked their cold, dry, technical, husky, and
spiritless reasonings from the Book of Mormon, from the Doctrine and
Covenants, Bible, &c., quite voluminous, resembling the bile ejected
from a disordered stomach. I have never discovered one burst of the
Spirit of God in all their claims or publications.
Who has ever read Brigham Young's writings in which he has labored to
establish his right and claim to the Presidency of the Church? No one.
God pleads his own cause through Brigham, because he obeys him; but
man has to plead the cause of man who is sordid, illiberal, murmuring,
and corrupt.
In the month of February, 1848, the Twelve Apostles met at Hyde Park,
Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where a small Branch of the Church was established; and I must say that I feel not a little proud of the
circumstance, and also very thankful, on account of its happening in
my own little retired and sequestered hamlet, bearing my own name. We
were in prayer and council, communing together; and what took place on
that occasion? The voice of God came from on high, and spake to the
Council. Every latent feeling was aroused, and every heart melted.
What did it say unto us? "Let my servant Brigham step forth and
receive the full power of the presiding Priesthood in my Church and
kingdom." This was the voice of the Almighty unto us at Council
Bluffs, before I removed to what was called Kanesville. It has been
said by some that Brigham was appointed by the people, and not by the
voice of God. I do not know that this testimony has often, if ever,
been given to the masses of the people before; but I am one that was
present, and there are others here that were also present on that
occasion, and did hear and feel the voice from heaven, and we were
filled with the power of God. This is my testimony; these are my
declarations unto the Saints—unto the members of the kingdom of God in
the last days, and to all people.
We said nothing about the matter in those times, but kept it still.
[After seating myself in the stand, I was reminded of one circumstance
that occurred, which I omitted in my discourse. Men, women, and
children came running together where we were, and asked us what was
the matter. They said that their houses shook, and the ground
trembled, and they did not know but that there was an earthquake. We
told them that there was nothing the matter—not to be alarmed; the
Lord was only whispering to us a little, and that he was probably not
very far off. We felt no shaking of the earth or of the house, but
were filled with the exceeding power and goodness of God.] We knew and
realized that we had the testimony of God within us. On the 6th day of
April following, at our Annual Conference, held in the Log Tabernacle
at Kanesville, the propriety of choosing a man to preside over the
Church was investigated. In a very few minutes it was agreed to, and
Brigham Young was chosen to fill that place without a dissenting
voice, the people not knowing that there had been any revelation
touching the matter. They ignorantly seconded the voice of the Lord
from on high in his appointment. (Voice from the stand: "That is Vox
Dei, vox populi." ) Yes, the voice of God was the voice of the people.
Brigham went right ahead, silently, to do the work of the Lord, and to
feed his sheep, and take care of them like a faithful shepherd,
leaving all vain aspirants to quarrel and contend about lineal
descent, right, power, and authority.
Some persons say that Brigham does not give revelations as did Joseph
Smith. But let me tell you, that Brigham's voice has been the voice of
God from the time he was chosen to preside, and even before. Who that
has heard him speak, or that has read his testimonies, or that is
acquainted with his instructions, does not know that God is with him?
Who does not know, Jew or Gentile, that has come in contact with his
policy, that he possesses a power with which they are unable to
compete. He possesses skill, wisdom, and power that trouble wise men
and rulers. God will make him a greater terror to nations than he ever
has been.
I will now quote a few passages from the revelations of God as
contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—"My words shall all
be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice out of the heavens, or
by the voice of my servants, it is the same." Again, concerning his
servants—"Whatsoever you shall speak by my Spirit shall be
scripture—shall be the word of the Lord, the will of the Lord, the
mind of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." Again, from
the New Testament, Jesus says, "Whosoever heareth you (whom I send)
heareth me." You men of business do not empower and send an agent to
transact business for you unless you intend to honor his words and
his doings. The law will compel you to do this. The God of heaven does
not send forth his servants upon the earth but with the fixed purpose
to honor their words when they abide in the instructions given them.
I will now pave the way for my political manifest. Jesus says,
"Whosoever falleth upon this stone shall be broken." What stone does
he refer to? The Lord says to his disciples, "Whom say ye that I am?"
Peter answers—"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus
indicated to Peter that he had spoken truly by saying unto him,
"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: flesh and blood hath not revealed
this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee,
That thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." This stone or rock
was the word of God revealed unto Peter. Present revelation from God,
then, is the stone or rock which our Savior spoke of. Any church or
any people built upon this foundation cannot be prevailed against by
any power, for one obvious reason: whenever a people are built upon
this foundation and they get into trouble and difficulty, they will
ask the Lord to show them the way out; and being built upon present
revelation and in communion with God, he will tell them what to do.
His wisdom is greater than the cunning of the Devil, and consequently
the gates of hell cannot prevail against them. Any people built upon
this foundation are hard to head, though their numbers may be small.
The ancient church was never overcome until they lost this principle
of present revelation. Then they were prevailed against and fell away,
because they ceased to build upon this foundation—the stone or rock of
present revelation. Solomon says—"Where no vision is, the people
perish."
Many churches are built up in the world, professedly, unto the name of
Christ. But have they present revelation? No, they have not. They
despise the idea of present revelation, and kill the Prophets that
give them, and persecute the people that believe them. Will the gates
of hell prevail against such? To whom will our Savior say—"Depart
from me, ye workers of iniquity; I know you not?" Will it not be to
those who are not built upon this rock? Now for politics.
To send the army to Utah was the measure and policy of a Democratic
administration of the United States Government. This Democratic
administration was the only legitimate power that could send it here.
It was the official channel through which the flood was poured in upon
us. Merchants, gamblers, whoremasters, thieves, murderers, false
writers, drunkards, and, to cap the climax, a drunken, debauched
judiciary, with plenty of bayonets to enforce their decrees. Some
decent men came, most likely; yet I know not one with whom I could
safely trust the virtue of any female in their power. They came to
gratify their basest passions; and they will leave, if they leave at
all, with the wrath of God upon them, candidates for damnation. They
have burned strange fire upon the altar of God, and with
strange fire such will be consumed. The Democracy of the country fell
upon this stone by the military arm of their power. Are they now
broken? Let us see.
On the 25th day of December, 1832, the Lord spoke to Joseph Smith, and
said—"Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will
shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina,
which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls;
The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations,
beginning at that place." The Democratic party found it necessary to
call a convention of delegates to nominate a successor to President
Buchanan. No place but Charleston, South Carolina, could be agreed
upon as the place for that body to assemble in. A most unlikely place,
indeed!—entirely out of the political center—a small town of about
twenty or twenty-five thousand white inhabitants, accommodations very
limited for such a body of men, and at a half-dozen prices. But to
South Carolina they must go; for the prophecy, twenty-seven years
before, said that the serious troubles of the land should begin at
that place. The Democratic party or administration fell upon that
stone of present revelation, and, according to our Savior's words,
they must be broken. They had to go to Charleston to break. They did
go there, and there they did break into several pieces—split asunder.
It was said by the ancient Prophet—"Out of Egypt have I called my
son." Joseph and Mary took the young child by night and fled into
Egypt to elude the cruelty of Herod, and God called his son out of
Egypt. It was necessary, equally, that the Democratic party go to
South Carolina, being urged there by a silent prophetic influence; and
though they had hearts to understand, they understood it not. They had
eyes to see, but they saw it not. There they broke—there the trouble
began, "which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of
many souls." They sent their army to fall upon this stone—to fall upon
God and upon his people and upon their policy. They sent their
corrupting influence—their demoralizing principles and practices—among
us; and God will make the nation heirs to the penalty for all these
offenses. "It must needs be that offenses come," but God grant us
grace that we may endure manfully to the end.
This is my political speech to the Saints of God. Will the Democracy
continue in power? The sequel will show. They are trying to "fuse,"
but the iron and miry clay will never permanently unite. But they are
in the hands of God, and they know it not; they are under his
influence, but they acknowledge not his hand.
What was the immediate outside pressure that caused the army to come
to Utah? Was it not the multitude that wanted to speculate out of the
army—out of the citizens of the territory, traders, freighters,
merchants, and sutlers, doctors, lawyers, and devils? Anybody may
answer these questions. How many have got rich at it? How many have
realized the object of their hopes and wishes in anything? God
blesseth not unrighteous designs. Is the whole train of speculators
broken? They fell upon this stone, or were ready to back those that
did. Are they broken? If they are not, they are almost. Their
creditors in the East will find this out in due time. Our gold, our
virtue, and our blood is what most of them came to traffic in, and
their reward is sure. This outside pressure cannot be confined, in
truth, to the class of men alluded to. What was the voice of the
nation through their public journals, priests, and people? What the
popular clamor? Crucify him! Crucify him! Away with him! The
"Mormons" are not fit to live! Let the race be exterminated! With the
exception of now and then a Joseph of Arimathea, this was the popular
cry. Will the nation be broken? It has fallen upon this stone to all
intents and purposes. The signs in the heavens and upon the earth, the
political feuds or factions, the seditious tendency of the people,
were never more portentous over Jerusalem, previous to its
destruction, than they are now over the United States of America. Who
so blind as not to see it?
This picture is held up as a mirror to reflect the condition and fate
of any and every other nation or people that slays the Lord's
anointed—that persecutes his people—that sends its armies to corrupt,
annoy, or lay waste the heritage of God. I have no apologies to make.
I tell you that God Almighty sits upon the throne of his kingdom. He
has decreed its onward march, and it will march onward; and the power
to stay it exists not on the earth. We were driven out into this
wilderness, and here we are. Our friends will find us here, and our
foes also. They made us cross the Mississippi pretty lively. They
pressed us and pricked us with their bayonets. Was there any mercy
shown to the sick, aged, or infirm—to women and children? No. The
fever of frenzy and rage had dried up the fountain of compassion in
their hearts. We had to fly, and to what place Heaven only knew. The
timid wife, the tender daughter, the widowed mother and her children
were forced into the flatboat like so many cattle or swine. By
casting an eye back to their once pleasant and peaceful habitations,
they could mark the lurid flame and smoke curling up to heaven from
the crumbling walls of their desolated homes. One widowed lady, while
seeking her little boy among the mob on the margin of the river, was
cursed and damned because she was not sooner aboard of the boat. When
she found her child, she went aboard, and, turning round and looking
them full in the face, said to her persecutors—"You shall yet dearly
pay for all this." I dined with that same lady not ten days since, and
she told me that she should live to see her prediction fulfilled. I
said, God grant it. Jesus says—"With the same measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again." God will not speak to them much more by
Prophets, for they have persecuted and slain them. But he will speak
unto them yet more. It will be, however, by the voice of thunder, by
the voice of lightnings, by the voice of whirlwinds, tempests, and
tornadoes—by the voice of hail, fire, flood, and famine—by the voice
of hostile forces in deadly combat—by the wailings of widows and
orphans—by pestilence and decrease of both man and beast. The horrors
of the scenes will be lighted up by the incendiary's torch. In this
way will God make requisition for the blood of his anointed, and for
the cruelty practiced upon his people. With these arguments will God
plead his cause at the nation's bar until the builders seek the stone
which they have rejected, even present revelation, and place it at the
head of the corner. This will be the Lord's doings, and it will be
marvelous in our eyes. The Supreme Creator of all, the Almighty
Sovereign of the universe will assert his rights and maintain them,
and reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints. The power
that attempts to check his designs will be ground to powder.
The present aspirants to presidential honors in the nation appear to
be in good heart and firm in faith that they shall triumph. They seem
to spare no labor or effort; they lack no zeal, and are full of hope,
full of expectation, strong in spirit, strong in will, and
strong in assurance. But the days are near at hand when all such will
be weak as water. Their voices will be feeble, their arms palsied,
their knees tremble, and they will no sooner aspire to that station
than they would to the berth of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the
fiery furnace. They will no sooner aspire to that summit of fame than
would the Israelites approach the crest of Mount Sinai when the
thunders of heaven rolled in awful majesty, and the lightnings flashed
in forked lines as arrows from the bow of the Almighty. At the
appointed time in Heavens's will, the capstone, long rejected, will be
brought forth with shouting, crying Grace, grace unto it! Remember the
words of the Lord where he says—"All my words shall be fulfilled,
whether by mine own voice out of the heavens or by the voice of my
servants, it is the same." And again—"He that heareth whomsoever I
send heareth me." Forget not these things.
I covet no man's silver, gold, or apparel; neither his goods, wares,
or merchandise. I covet not the honors of this world, neither the
good opinion of ungodly men; but I do covet the Spirit of the living
God. I covet grace equal to my day, and earnestly pray God, my
heavenly Father, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, that I may have
power to honor my priesthood and calling, to bear a faithful
testimony to the truth, and by no act spot or stain the testimony
which I bear.
God bless the people and his servants, and roll on his mighty work, in
the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.