I wish to present to the people a saying of Solomon's—"Open rebuke is
better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the
kisses of an enemy are deceitful." I want to say a few words upon the
principle contained in this scripture. It is a matter that concerns
all people, and is one of the most delicate points in the dispositions
of the human family. The inhabitants of the earth are sensitive—their
feelings are acute. Infringe upon their judgment, interrupt their
tastes, and you disturb the equilibrium of the whole system. To
receive a rebuke, to be chastised, to be interrupted in our course, is
not pleasant to our feelings. Though we may have ten thousand wrongs
that we understand, you know perfectly well that we do not like to
have anyone tell us of them. It is one of the worst whirlpools, I may
say, for the inhabitants of the earth to get into, and leads directly
to destruction—casting down thrones and kingdoms—the very abhorrence
we have to be rebuked. No matter what the king does, we as his
subjects must say that the king does right and cannot do wrong. That
you know very well to be the feelings and teachings of the nations of
the earth. The king cannot do wrong, and of course he is not to be
rebuked. And when he sends his princes, his ministers, his messengers,
to perform duties for him, they say to the people to whom they go—"The
king can do no wrong; his agents can do no wrong." Observe, and you
will now see this trait among the nations of the earth.
Who are willing to acknowledge that they are wrong? The feeling of the
inhabitants of the earth has been and is—"I will receive no rebuke
from you: my judgment, my will, my discretion, my wishes, my passions
must reign supreme." I do not much care what Solomon did in his
day—how many individuals he rebuked; but I wish the inhabitants of the
kingdom of God to learn, when they are rebuked by a friend, to receive
that rebuke kindly, and kiss the rod, and reverence the hand that
administers it—to learn that the rebuke of a friend is for our good.
This principle is not practiced in other parts of the earth, though I
will confine this remark to the civilized nations, more than to the
barbarous. In the world the principle of rebuking is walked under
foot. No matter what the character of a king is—no matter what the
character of a President is—no matter what are the characters of
rulers, governors, and other officers—"They can do no wrong," and
they wish to have it so understood. These are the feelings and these
the teachings and belief, and not only the belief, but the practice.
It is not so in this kingdom; it must not be so; it cannot be so; it
has not been so; and I presume many a man has gone out of this
Church, because he has been rebuked in his evil course. All such will
have the supreme satisfaction, as brother George A. Smith remarked,
last Sabbath, when they lift up their eyes in hell, of reflecting upon
their former connection with this people, and saying, "We are abused."
What a comfort! What a satisfaction!
We wish the Elders of Israel to understand that when evil is
presented, that evil must be rebuked. Could we attribute all the
mistakes or evils that we see in men to total depravity, and conclude
that there is nothing good within them? Not by any means. If we see
one of our brethren out of the way in word or in deed, learn, in the
first place, whether that person designs a wrong, or whether he has a
desire to do good. Learn whether the spark of the Spirit of God is
left within him; and when there is one particle of the light of God
within him, and he wishes to do right, do not attribute that wrong
word or deed to total depravity. It is a weakness—it is a fault—it is
a want of better judgment—it is the want of revelation—it is the want
of a correct understanding of things. Attribute it to his weakness;
tell him of it kindly, fatherly, brotherly; take him by the hand and
tell him the evil he must leave.
How many I have seen, when you tell them of a few of their faults, and
say, "Why, brother, you are so and so: do you see how you have missed
it here and there? Can you perceive that you have wanted better
judgment? What a wrong you have committed in this or that!" who will
be at once cast down in their feelings, and will say, "I believe I am
good for nothing; I really think I am not worthy of a name in the
kingdom of God." You will hear wise men make this expression. Tell
them that they have reported that which is false, not designedly; tell
them that they have said thus and so to their friends, or that they
have committed this or that act that is unwise, foolish, sinful in its
nature; and you will see a wise man, perhaps, rise up and say, "If I
am guilty of this, I am not worthy of a name in the kingdom of God."
That is a most unwise expression. Do you expect you are perfect? No.
Do you expect to see people that are perfect? No, not for a great
while. Do you expect that every trait of your character is perfect? I
do not. You may expect this, that if I see a wrong in you, I shall
tell you of it. I shall rebuke that wrong, and do it with all kind
feelings. What do you say, High Councilors, Bishops, High Priests,
and all the officers of the kingdom of God on the earth—will you
rebuke a wrong? Yes, most of the Elders of Israel will, and too many
will do so in the spirit of malice and personal enmity. When this
Elder, and that Elder, and another Elder sees a man do wrong, but his
wrong is with his neighbors, a little outside the Elder's immediate
path (the Elder says, "It does not directly infringe upon me, though
he is doing wrong with his neighbors"), will he rebuke him? No; he
waits until he infringes upon him, and then the Elder rises up in the
malice of his heart, and rebukes him in the spirit of anger. That will
do hurt: it is not the rebuke of a friend; it is the rebuke of one
that has become an enemy.
When you see a person out of the way, no matter whom the injury is
inflicted upon, rebuke the individual who commits the evil. Will this
do good? Yes, if you rebuke in the spirit of the Gospel—in the spirit
of meekness. Rebuke as a father should reprove his children, not as a
tyrant rules his servants or slaves. Take this course with your
brethren, and you will learn that "Open rebuke is better than secret
love," and that the wounds you make are better than the
deceitful kisses of an enemy. This is a principle I have thought much
upon. I have talked some about it, and have tried to comprehend the
principle, and I have sought to have the people comprehend it. If your
neighbor commits an evil upon another of your neighbors, you are
under obligations to see that the person who has committed the evil be
suitably chastised, as much so as though the wrong had been committed
upon you. Now this is hard to believe; but if you wish to correct
people, and lead them to life and salvation, what difference is it
where the evil is committed, or upon whom? Is it not the duty of a
minister of God to correct evil and take it from an individual or from
the people, and place them upon saving ground, whenever an opportunity
presents itself? It is the duty of every individual.
You need not wait until somebody infringes upon you—until he comes and
intrudes upon your premises. If you see your neighbor John turn his
horse into the wheatfield of your neighbor William, you pass along.
That, I may say, is the road that too many of the Elders of Israel
travel in, as well as the great majority of the world. "Oh, it is not
my wheat; it is William's: it is no matter of mine." When you know
that John has turned his horse into William's wheat, or in any way
disturbed his property, or berated his character, or done him an evil,
will you wait until he commits an evil upon you? If you do, you are as
sure to meet evil with evil as you are to breathe; you will meet wrong
in a wrong spirit. But if you will meet evil when it does not
personally concern you as an individual, but only as a member of
community, you will feel all that fatherly kindness to John that an
earthly parent does for his son, and will go to him and point out the
wrong, and show him the correct path to walk in, and give him a
suitable chastisement. But if you wait until he takes one of your
poles from your fence—till he turns a horse or an ox into your
wheat—until he picks up a stick of wood from your woodpile, and burns
it, and you then meet him, you meet him in a spirit of wrath. You are
indignant at such conduct, and you say that you will not put up with
it. Is this true? I do not wish to say much about the matter, but I
wish to have you understand that the principle of correcting the
people—taking their wrongs from them, giving them true principles,
instead of their imbibing wrong principles—errors, and practicing them
in their lives, is the way for us to be purified and set right.
I have seen Elders covenant to sustain each other at all hazards,
under all circumstances, and in all places. Now, what will this amount
to? You make the covenant to sustain each other without any
reservation whatever, and the first you know, one of the number has
done wrong. You meet him, and he says, "You covenanted to sustain me,
and that too with an uplifted hand; you promised, in the name of
Israel's God, to sustain me; and now do it. I will hold you to your
covenant." Another does wrong, and you wish to have him rebuked before
your Quorum. Says he, "No; you have made a solemn vow that you will
sustain me: now do it, or break your covenant." It amounts to just
this, and will lead from step to step in evil.
I have observed, many and many a time, a feeling among the people that
"I will not receive this rebuke from you." I have had quite a number
of the brethren tell me—"Brother Brigham, I will not bear this rebuke
from you." My reply is, What are you going to do about it? I will
chasten you until I am satisfied. I believe that I have proved
to every person that my chastisements have not been in anger, malice,
or wrath, but in the spirit of a father; and I believe that all good
men I have chastened are satisfied of this fact. I do not know but
that some have apostatized whom I have chastened, but they are very
few. Once in a while you will find a person, that must have a severe
chastisement, leave the kingdom of God; but this is very seldom.
True, there are degrees of feeling and degrees of chastisement, and
you are led to chastise one man differently to what you do another.
You may, figuratively speaking, pound one Elder over the head with a
club, and he does not know but what you have handed him a straw dipped
in molasses to suck. There are others, if you speak a word to them, or
take up a straw and chasten them, whose hearts are broken; they are as
tender in their feelings as an infant, and will melt like wax before
the flame. You must not chasten them severely; you must chasten
according to the spirit that is in the person. Some you may talk to
all day long, and they do not know what you are talking about. There
is a great variety. Treat people as they are.
When you consider that you are not worthy to belong to the kingdom of
God, wait a moment. Would you like to be a Saint? "Yes; I would give
anything in the world—yea, my life, to be a true Latter-day Saint."
What, and then say you are not worthy to have a name in the kingdom of
God? That is the most unwise expression you have uttered. We are
making Saints of just such characters. I expect to be made a Saint
myself, though I have many weaknesses about me. I am going to get rid
of them as fast as I can. Have I not a desire to do right? Yes; and
the Gospel is designed to make us better and bring us to
understanding. When you are rebuked by each other—when brethren meet
you and say, "This is wrong in you," you should receive it kindly, and
express your thanks for the reproof, and acknowledge the wrong
frankly, and admit that you may frequently do wrong when you do not
know it, and say, "I wish you to enlighten my mind, to take me by the
hand, and let me go along hand in hand, and strengthen and sustain
each other." What, in your weaknesses? Yes. Do you expect to see a
perfect man? Not while you stay here.
To the capacity you are now in, as mortal beings, a certain degree of
perfection belongs. Many attain to this, and they have as good desires
to be Saints as ever the angel Gabriel had. Then, will you cast a
person off for his weaknesses? No. Rebuke him for his weaknesses, and
convince him of them, and point out the right path, and see whether he
will not walk in it. This is the way I wish the Elders to treat each
other. Do not be afraid, nor hesitate, if you can possess the Spirit
of Christ, to meet your brother, or your wife, or child, and reprove a
wrong in the spirit of meekness. Never be afraid to testify against
evil, and you will remove the wrong and do good. But when you have the
spirit of envy, and feel, "Such an individual has trampled upon my
toes—he has sought to injure my character by speaking evil of me," you
are more or less out of the way. I wish all the Elders thought as I do
about character; then they would never trouble themselves about what
others said of it. But if you rightly gain influence, preserve that.
And if you have been wrong, and that wrong is taken from you, it will
create influence for you, and give you favor before God and with the
Saints; but if you cling to the evil, it will deprive you of gaining
that influence you desire.
I do not know but that kings of the earth would give half their
kingdoms, if they could have the affections of their subjects: they
know they have them not. No President of the late United States ever
had the affections and sympathies of half his constituents. Rulers in
the nations would give worlds, if they could have the influence of the
people they preside over that I have in the midst of this people. They
have not got it. And the man that is now inaugurated President of a
part of the States of America would give half of his power, if he
could have the influence among his constituents that I have in the
midst of the kingdom of God. He cannot get it. Rebuke him, and he will
resent it in a moment. Let one of his cabinet—I would not care if it
was William H. Seward—go to the President and tell him that he is
wrong, and he will at once resent it. He would say, "I think I know as
well as you." And perhaps he does know more than Mr. Seward, upon all
points of sound intelligence. James Buchanan would resent it; and even
as good a man as Washington was would resent it. He would believe that
his dignity was infringed upon, if he had been told that he was in
fault.
If you gain a righteous influence, preserve that as you would the
apple of your eye. As for your good name before the people, if your
brother tells you of your wrongs and shows your faults, what are
you going to do about it? Your best plan will be, if you have done
wrong, to repent and refrain from that wrong, and ask forgiveness of
your brethren and of God, and do wrong no more, and you will regain
your influence. If you have done wrong, though all creation says you
have not, what does that amount to? Nothing; for they would all be
wrong on that point.
Do not throw away a man or a woman, old or young. If they commit an
evil today, and another tomorrow, but wish to be Saints and to be
forgiven, do you forgive them, not only seven times, but seventy times
seven in a day, if their hearts are fully set to do right. Let us make
it a point to pass over their weaknesses and say, "God bless you in
trying to be better in time to come," and act as wise stewards in the
kingdom of God.
I have spoken longer than I expected to, and wish brother Kimball to
address you.
God bless you! Amen.