The text taken by brother Benson, I think, is a very good one; and he
has portrayed before us what is necessary to enable us to be one in
following out those virtues and principles which are Godlike, and
which are calculated to make us one, that we also may become like God.
This is our duty and our privilege—to be Godlike, in our ways, to
imitate the virtuous, the true, and the good, and, inasmuch as it is
possible, to become ultimately as pure and holy as our Father and God.
This is the privilege of the human race in our day and generation. We
have the light of revelation to guide the souls of men aright—to make
ourselves like our Father in heaven.
We have not known these things until within the last few years, since
the revelation of the fulness of the Gospel. It is one of the greatest
privileges and blessings ever made known to man, clothed with the
light of truth and knowledge from the heavens, having a channel of
communication opened up, through which we get intelligence from the
Father of light, with whom there is no variableness nor the least
shadow of turning. This light and knowledge has been imparted to the
children of men, and by obedience to its directions they can make
themselves like Gods in the eternal worlds. What beauty, what love,
what great ness and power, and what exceeding great glory lie before
the true-hearted Saint! Let your minds open up to behold in vision the
greatness thereof for the moment that you can see what light,
greatness, and glory are strewn in, and now illuminate your pathway to
cheer you onward through the shifting and varied scenes of life, to
the haven of bliss and glory hereafter, continually enlightening your
minds, solacing you through life, and enabling you to overcome every
difficulty which you may have to encounter in life's journey.
As sorrow and distress are in the world, we expect that everyone
will, more or less, have to drink of the bitter cup. This light, these
great gifts, this promise of reward, of happiness, and exaltation, the
lovely principles that are unfolded to our view are enough to inspire
in the human heart, every day, joy that could not be conceived of by
the natural man.
As was asked by brother Benson, what more could we ask to prove to
ourselves that this is the work of the Almighty? What more could we
have to induce us to pursue the right way? Still, how little are these
blessings appreciated by the world at large—yes, and by the Saints of
the Most High, in comparison with what they should be. It seems as
though we often forget what our real bless ings are, and
thereby let darkness creep into our minds and cover up the little
light that is in us. We should remember that our religion is designed
to redeem a lost world from sin, from the bondage of iniquity, and
also from the rule and thralldom of Satan, which have enveloped it for
generations, and covered it, as it were, with a thick pall, and well
nigh desolated the earth. It is designed now to restore it to and
place it in the light, to fill it with intelligence and sanctify it
through the truth. Our religion teaches us to draw wisdom from the
fountain of wisdom, and to extend it to the minds of others; it opens
up to its adherents every privilege which the heart of a righteous man
can desire, and it leads on the faithful to glory and honor in worlds
of light.
But what is the reverse? What is the other side of the picture? It is
confusion, distress of communities, division in families, distress of
nations, a fearful looking forward into the future because of the
judgments of the Almighty, which they apprehend are near at their
doors. Have they any desire to do any better? No. But the wicked are
striving to see how they can get more advantages over their neighbor,
and thus do worse and serve the Devil better, and almost with railroad
speed, that they may see wickedness predominate throughout the length
and breadth of the land. The conduct of the wicked leads to darkness
and misery in the present as well as in the future.
How thankful, then, we should be that this Gospel and the light of
revelation have reached our minds, and caused our bosoms to vibrate
with the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. The welcome sound and
accompanying power have plucked us as brands from the burning, Then do
you not feel thankful that we have this blessed privilege, and that we
had understanding enough left with us when this Gospel reached our
ears to embrace it? It has been the privilege of the world to do the
same; our contemporaries in all nations have the opportunity of
becoming acquainted with its blessings. The light of this Gospel has
been shed forth, more or less, among all nations of the globe;
thousands and millions have heard it, but many only to reject it,
because of the pride of life and the lust of the world. Friends and
relatives who have dared to differ in opinion with their connections,
and to join themselves to an unpopular people, have found that it has
cost them their name in society, their character among their fellows,
their fortune, and all they possessed. This view having been taken of
it by many who have examined its principles, has caused them to reject
it.
It is the privilege of the people of this nation, as much so as it has
been ours, to receive the benefits of this Gospel: it is also the
privilege of our Government to do good to this people; but it is left
with them to act according to the dictates of their own consciences.
It is not only their privilege, but it is their duty to foster this
kingdom; and it was one of the main objects of the Government in
laying the whole structure thereof, that it should afford succor and
support to the kingdom of God. It was the wish of the Almighty that
the principles of liberty and of righteousness should underlie the
flag of the Union and the institutions that flow from that Government.
"Who could dare to question the rights of conscience?" was a question
often asked in revolutionary times. How has the Government of our
country performed that important duty towards this people? We only
need refer to our past history to answer this question. It ignored the
privilege that we claimed, and refused to do its duty. That neglect on
the part of our Government caused thousands to be ruined—to be
driven forth into the trackless wilds, and for want of ordinary
subsistence many weakened and died. The willful neglect of our
Government caused the best blood of this generation to be shed; it
caused hundreds to die through exposure, and in every respect it has
failed to come out and maintain the rights of conscience towards the
Saints of the Most High. It would have been far better for us if we
had had no pretensions to government at all, than for it thus to have
encouraged the hand of the plunderer and of the murderer. We should
have fared much better than we did, to say nothing of their finally
concentrating their power and their influence to wipe us out of
existence, after we had gained a foothold in these dreary deserts.
Then, so far as we are concerned, we should have been better without a
government than with such an one. It is a principle in political
economy that no government shall be bound together any longer than it
is good for its subjects. Whenever any government fails to protect and
preserve the rights and interests of its people, they can no longer be
expected to render unto it their allegiance and support; hence we see
the people occasionally shaking off the chains of tyranny that bind
them. Through all this abuse and neglect on the part of the present
Government, this people has shown the most devoted loyalty, and they
never have breathed a word or exhibited a desire to throw it off. When
administered in its legitimate channel, it is one of the best
governments upon the face of the whole earth; and if it had been used
for the purposes for which it was originally designed, it would have
been both stronger and better.
We find no fault with its institutions, neither do we particularly
object to its form of government; but it is its administration, and
the way its institutions and laws have been abused. The way it is now
and has for years past been administered has founded the cause of
complaint. It recognizes the principle of self-government, that the
people have the right to control. Of that principle we have long been
apprised, but it has never been extended to us as a people. Through
the arts and plans of politicians, they have managed to deprive
Territories of that which is given to the States. This is contrary to
the genius of the Constitution which gives the people the right to
choose their own rulers: taxation should only be exacted where
representation is allowed. These privileges have been withheld from
this, as well as from other Territories; and the pattern given for
this Territory in the organic act is not materially different from any
other. Our offense has been that we have asked for those of our own
choosing to rule us. It has been the case, it is true, that they have
chosen persons from the States to hold offices in all the Territories,
and ostensibly they have made no difference; but this should be
considered, that the appointing power has given others the opportunity
of making known their preference, and such wishes have generally been
considered, with the exception of the people of this Territory.
I am now speaking of the past. Hitherto it has been as I have now
mentioned. This Government has been partial in this and in many other
respects, and has no real claim upon our affections; but still we seek
to preserve those institutions and to keep sacred those wise
provisions which are embodied in the Constitution as it was formed by
our fathers; and perhaps we are the only people that do seek the
salvation of our country at the present time; and it will finally be
shown that we are the only people that will stand by its
principles, and make it what it was intended to be—an asylum for the
oppressed of all nations.
It is truly a strange crisis to which the country has now arrived. It
is something like a statement I saw the other day, very truly
depicted, though very humiliating to receive, to be compared with an
old rotten government like that of Austria—a government naturally
crumbling to pieces—a government notorious for its oppression of its
subjects for many generations. Another and a new one that has not yet
attained its full size presents the same picture to the enlightened
world; it also is crumbling to pieces from the same cause—corruption
from the center to the circumference. I do not think there is a more
corrupt government upon the face of the earth. It seems that when they
commenced their war upon us, they commenced to glide the downward road
to destruction.
It is patent everywhere that the Government does not look for anything
from their public servants but corruption and robbery. They settle all
their accounts with this understanding of the subject, and the whole
machinery has become corrupt in the sight of Heaven and all good men.
In departing from the principles of truth, of life and mercy, in
rejecting the message of salvation that has been sent to them, through
the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Most High God,
who was chosen to open up the work of this last dispensation, they
paved the way for their own destruction. They have rolled up against
this people in their wrath and in their hatred, and have striven to
destroy the Priesthood from the earth. We now begin to see the
results. In the days of our tribulations they said to the mobs, "Go
on." Yes, they encouraged our enemies in the perpetration of all their
abominable acts. The Prophet of the Lord spoke and told them they
should have mobs to their heart's satisfaction, but it should be among
themselves, one State against another, until the whole land should be
deluged with the blood of its inhabitants.
When our people applied to the Government to compel the State of
Missouri to restore us to our lands, they pretended they could not
interfere with a sovereign State; and, as a reward for their conduct,
they have now got State's sovereignty to their heart's content; and
this will continue to be poured back upon them: they will have to walk
in the road which they laid out for us, and that which they would have
put upon us is now fast coming upon their own heads. What more
striking illustration could be brought to bear upon the minds of this
people? What course could the Lord pursue that would seem to satisfy
mankind more that these are his people, and that this is his work,
than that which is being daily acted before all the world? It is as
was said of old—this work is as a light set upon a hill. This cause
and kingdom are a living, perpetual, and final testimony to the
nations that God is with us, though we are despised by the world.
The wicked reject this Gospel and this message from the Almighty,
which is given in much mercy for their salvation. The fault must rest
upon their own heads; they have certainly been warned time and again.
They live in the time of final warning, and they begin to feel the
reaction which is coming upon them. They have sent forth their
thunderbolts against the Lord's anointed ones, and the rebound is
beginning to take effect upon their own heads. It does seem to me
that, if they were honest, they would acknowledge this. But we
do not expect them to do it at the present time: they are too far
steeped in the follies and wickedness of the world to confess that God
has thwarted their designs. Many, perhaps, do see it; but the pride of
life and their own wicked desires may prevent them from acknowledging
the hand of God in the midst of this people.
We have been sent forth into the world to preach the Gospel, and the
Almighty has been with us to take care of us. We need not fear when
nations are crumbling to pieces; we need only press on in the way of
our duty, and there will always be sufficient light given in this
kingdom to lead every Saint of God in the path of duty and of right.
It is, then, for every soul to cleave to God, walk in the way of
righteousness, to be united in doing good, to be one in heart and in
mind—one in purpose and in faith, to live our holy religion, and let
outside things take their course; and let us be true to the cause we
have espoused, and be ready at a moment's notice to do anything that
may be required of us. Let our hearts and minds swell with
thanksgiving to God, strive to obtain his Spirit, and we shall see the
propriety of his working among the children of men.
Did any of you ever do anything contrary to your own feelings because
you were set to do it? I have one request to make, which is, that when
he whom we have all known to be the chosen of God to lead this people
requires anything at our hands, let us not only do it, but strive to
see a propriety and a consistency in all his plans, that we may
thereby increase in our faith to work with his for the redemption of
Israel; and we shall soon see the benefit and beauty of doing things
with our whole heart. It is very easy to find fault with an
enterprise—much more so than to introduce one that would be better. It
is much easier to object than to originate. There is evil growing out
of this: it breeds division, encourages contention; and hence the
necessity of striving to get a right conception of all things.
Let us seek for light from on high, that our actions may be more
productive of union. Do you not know that when the earth is redeemed
from sin and iniquity, and from the degradation that desolates the
whole face thereof, that this people have the promise of inheriting it
forever, and that they have now the privilege of establishing the
principles of truth upon a firm foundation, never again to be thrown
down? Do you not know that it is the privilege of the Saints to take
the kingdom and possess it as an everlasting inheritance? And how is
this to be done? Is it to be by going forth in martial array, and
taking it by force of arms? No. Not so fast: wait a little. It is to
be done by snatching from the Devil every inch of ground that we can,
and then keeping it. It is to be brought about by observing the
principles of salvation which have been revealed from the heavens for
the exaltation of the people; it is to be by uniting together that we
may become a mighty phalanx against which the surges of iniquity may
strike in vain.
I always feel happy by going into a settlement and seeing a few
faithful Saints. They are more precious to me than would be the crowns
of nations. All this fearful and dark influence that is being gathered
together among the wicked, for the purpose of destroying God's
kingdom, is going to be rolled back upon the wicked nations that dwell
upon the earth's surface; and they will be swept off, and the light of
truth and the knowledge of God will increase among the faithful
inhabitants that remain, until the whole earth will be illuminated by the righteousness of the Saints, and the elect of God will
enjoy all the benefits of redemption, unmolested for a thousand years.
This, then, is a great and a glorious work—one that will cheer the
heart of man; and there is nothing that a man can be engaged in that
will at all compare with it.
Let us be faithful before the Lord our God; let us live our holy
religion, and be cheered with these heavenly ideas, and with this
influence that emanates from our Father and God. Let us go on our way
rejoicing; let us be faithful and true, virtuous and holy; and let us,
above all things that we do upon the earth, strive with all our power
and might to advance the interests of the kingdom of our God. That
this may be our purpose, and that in the end of our probation we may
be found worthy of the society of the sanctified and redeemed of all
ages and nations, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- Daniel H. Wells