You have all heard what has been said by brother Joseph W. Young, and
you know it to be true, just as well as I do. You also know that it is
necessary for us to observe and practice, in order that we may become
Saints. He has told us a great many things, and they are all very
good.
If all the people would magnify their callings and honor the
positions for which they were created, they would do a great deal
better than they do. This is considered by some to be but a small
matter; but still there is a great deal contained in the expression.
Man is an independent creature, as you were told this forenoon; but
every man is accountable for his own acts. Every debt you contract you
have got to pay. I shall never pay any of your debts, except I order
you to contract them. If you will take counsel and do as you are told,
you never will contract any debts that will affect you much. Every sin
that I commit while in this tabernacle of flesh I have got to settle;
and if any debt is not settled while I am in the flesh, I shall have
to pay it hereafter. This will apply to you as well as me, and
therefore you need not try to avoid it, for you will have to meet all
your accounts.
We are considered to be the saviors of men; we are appointed to save,
and not to destroy. We are gathered here in the mountains. Some have
gathered themselves by the help of God, others have been gathered by
the Church funds. It is not every man that has got the ability to
manage his own emigration, though he may have the means; for some men
are not capacitated for that kind of business.
Perhaps you will now refer to the Bible to prove that the time is to
come when the kings of the earth will gather the Saints together, and
when they will bring the sons and daughters of God from afar, and when
they will protect and sustain them—when the queens of the earth will
have them by their sides and become nursing mothers unto them. We
shall not send queens from here to the nations of the earth to teach
the people, but the people have got to be brought here up to the
heights of Zion; then the kings and queens will instruct them and
nurse them, when we have them gathered together.
Now, a great many suppose that this applies to the kings and queens of
the various nations; but I can tell you that the kings and queens of
the Gentiles will never gather the Saints. I want to know how many of
the Latter-day Saints were gathered to these mountains by king James
Buchanan? [President B. Young: There were a few teamsters came with
the army.] How many did Tom Benton gather? The most of us: that is to
say, he was the means of driving us from our homes to this
place, which was then a wilderness; but he never helped us. James
Buchanan never put forth his hands to aid this people. Will he ever
strive to restore this people and make right that which he has made
wrong? I don't suppose he ever will; but as the Lord God liveth, he
will have to pay the debt he has contracted with this people. [A voice
in the stand: it will take him a great while to do it.] If you wait
for him, or for any of the wicked, to take you back to Jackson County,
Missouri, you will have to wait some millions of years. And if we
should wait for the rotten-hearted kings and queens of the wicked
nations to gather us home, we shall have to wait a long time. Possibly
some of them may come and look at the place, but they will never come
to stay and assist in building up Zion. Many of them will yet drive
the Saints from their lands and homes, just as the wicked have driven
us from the United States into these mountains of Deseret.
Then who is to gather the people of God? You all say that we are to
become a kingdom of kings and priests—of queens and priestesses; and
the Bible supports this doctrine. Now, the truth is, you are the very
kings and priests that have got to gather the Saints, and your wives
have got to school them and nurse them. I might put this in different
language, but this will answer the purpose and convey to you the true
meaning of the text.
We are informed in the Bible that in the last days the sons of God
shall be brought from afar, and his daughters from the ends of the
earth; and also that the elect will be gathered from the four quarters
of the globe. Now, this will most assuredly be fulfilled, and this is
the work which you and I have got to perform. How shall we bring them
together? The Scriptures say they shall come upon swift beasts and
dromedaries; and I will add mules and oxen.
I tell you honestly that I do not believe that the corrupt kings and
queens of the earth will ever gather the Saints of God; but still I
acknowledge that they cannot do anything but what will tend to promote
the interests of the kingdom of God, any more than James Buchanan
could. Every step he took tended to promote this cause and give
influence to this people. That very Expedition has opened your eyes so
that you can see a great deal farther than you could before, and your
perception will increase with your experience. Now, brethren, if you
could see the thing just as it is, there is not one of you but what
would put forth your means, your hands, and your minds like men and
like saviors upon Mount Zion. It is as brother Joseph said—"If you
have the right spirit, you will be ready to lend your ability towards
the gathering of Israel."
The Scriptures say that with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you again. Then let us all sow good seeds. Let us strive to do
good, learn to be one, and to be firmly connected to the Church and
kingdom of God—every member partaking of his attributes, and of the
spirit of those men who lead us. By pursuing this course we shall be
prospered and blest in all things.
You need not wait for any of the kings to gather Israel; you need not
wait for anybody else to perform the duties that devolve upon you. We
have got to gather the people, and our wives and sisters will become
the nursing mothers, for they are the queens spoken of in Scripture.
If we will all take this course, we shall be blest of the Almighty;
his Spirit will be with us to impart joy and consolation
continually.
There is one thing that brother Joseph omitted to tell you. It was
presented to his mind, but he did not like to say it; but I will say
it. Have your rifles and muskets ready. Keep your powder dry, and have
your balls and duckshots ready; for you know not what a day may bring
forth. It is our duty to be ready for every change and for every
attack of the enemy; for the Lord's people were always subject to
opposition and persecution from their enemies, and they will continue
to be so until the kingdom of God triumphs.
Brother Joseph W. Young is going to the Missouri River to fetch the
people who are gathering from Europe and various parts of the United
States. I intend to do everything I can for the accomplishment of this
laudable enterprise. If I could raise oxen sufficient, I would send
ten teams and wagons; but if I cannot do this, I will at least send
three or four. It is far better to do this than let the Indians steal
your cattle, and then you waste your time and property in hunting for
them.
When I say anything of myself, there are some people who think it is
egotism; but I have always been accustomed, since I came into this
Church, to do all I could for its advancement. I am always willing to
give anything that is required of me for this kingdom. I have lived in
this Church almost thirty years, and I have never been in any
situation, however difficult, but the way has been opened for me. I
never failed to accomplish anything I set about, and I never shall, if
I continue to pursue this course.
I am speaking this by way of encouragement, and brother Brigham knows
that I am telling the truth; for when we have been poor, the Almighty
has placed means in our hands, and oftentimes so mysteriously that we
did not know where it came from. For instance, in Nauvoo we were
commanded to build the Temple; and in order to accomplish that, we had
to build a great many big houses. Brother Brigham told me to go and
build a good house. I had scarcely anything to begin with; but when I
got through building I had a span of horses, a wagon, and a yoke of
oxen. I could prove this, if it were necessary; for many others did
similar things; and the more we built, the more means we had to build
the Temple with. In the following February we left. My house was sold
for seventeen hundred dollars, intended to be used to help to gather
the Saints; but Almon W. Babbitt put it in his pocket, I suppose. I
have still got some buildings in Kirtland and in some other places;
and if I don't have them again, those who drove me from them will have
to pay a high price for them.
Brethren, I shall go to Jackson County with thousands of this people
who will be faithful to their integrity; but we cannot go back until
we have built some good houses. Let us honor the plan of salvation,
that we may become one. My constant prayer is that the Spirit of
oneness may descend upon this people; first upon the Presidency of
this Church, and then upon every Quorum and authority thereof.
How is it with a tree? Does it not all partake of the same
nourishment, and that sap go to every limb, branch, fiber, and leaf?
It does; and it should be so with every man and woman in the Church
and kingdom of God.
Let us gather up the Saints, then. Let us also build some good houses.
We want to build the Seventies' Hall, and several other large
buildings the present season. We also want to devote a portion of our
means to the building of the Temple, that thereby we may have an
increase to the blessings of the heavens and of the earth.
I feel very cheerful and happy today. I do not feel any of that
contractedness of mind that makes men selfish, penurious,
cold-hearted, and of a sad countenance. I find that the more that I
have of the Spirit of God, the more cheerful I am; and it is so with
all men of God. I know that those Prophets who have lived in my day
loved to tell stories and be cheerful: they delighted in a glad heart
and a cheerful countenance. Father Smith was one of the most cheerful
men I ever saw, and he was harmless as a child. Amen.
- Heber C. Kimball