I arise before you, brethren, on the present occasion, with a heart
full of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for his manifold blessings
unto us, for our preservation and the light of his countenance that
has shone upon us to enable us to understand so much of truth as has
been taught unto us, or at least so much as we have been capacitated
to receive; that while the storms lour upon the earth, which the Lord
is about to sweep with the besom of destruction, we are enabled to
stand in the chambers of the mountains while the indignation of the
Almighty upon the wicked passes over. From the time that we entered
this valley to the present moment, I have never contemplated our
position without feeling to shout Hosannah for the place that the Lord
had preserved for his Saints, for the natural fortresses that he had
constructed, and for the principles that he had revealed to enable us
to develop and to bring from the earth the necessaries of life, and
more abundantly for the privilege of participating in the enjoyment of
the principles and blessings of our holy religion, uninterrupted by
those who are without.
Our toilsome journey across the Plains, the difficulties we had to
encounter in making a settlement, were such as are unparalleled in the
history of mankind, rendered so by the necessity of conveying our
provisions over a desert for upwards of a thousand miles. You may
search the history of the whole habitable globe in vain to find a
parallel. We were guided by the hand of the Lord from the beginning of
this great work. This people commenced to radiate forth from this
place, cities began to rise up, Branches were organized, new towns
sprang up into being, new valleys have been and still are being
discovered, and other advantages gained up to the present moment, with
a corresponding ratio of increase which is truly astonishing.
The winter after the pioneers arrived here, in 1847, a
committee was appointed to examine this valley and to ascertain how
much land could be irrigated. After a careful examination, they
reported eight hundred acres was all that could be cultivated, for
want of water; and the result is, as many thousands are now
cultivated. You might inquire into the condition of other valleys, and
you would be invariably told that the whole country was a barren
desert. This was the case with Spanish Fork and various other places
that are now the most fertile. The Lord has opened our eyes, that we
can see and understand the nature of the facilities that surround us,
that we can produce the finest of grain, and make ourselves happy.
In the earliest days of the Church the Elders were sent forth with a
report that those who were in the Eastern lands should flee to the
West, and we continued to flee from the Eastern lands towards the
mountains, and we have continued to do so; and at the present time we,
above all other people upon the face of the earth, have cause to
rejoice. While turmoil, discontent, and bloodshed are increasing upon
the earth, we are at peace. We present the spectacle of a people
inhabiting a country flourishing as a reward for our industry.
The principles of the everlasting Gospel being established in the
minds of the people, and the people being united, there is no power in
existence that is able to interfere with or mar the community.
It has been my privilege for the last six weeks to spend my time in
traveling and preaching in the southern settlements, in company with
Elder Joseph A. Young. Now, I remember the time when all the Saints in
Kirtland could have assembled in one of those little school houses
that I have been preaching in of late, and they would not have been
crowded either.
During our absence we have traveled eight hundred and fifty miles,
that is, going south and north, visiting all the settlements south of
Sanpete. We have attended some forty-three meetings. To accomplish
this, we had to make long days, traveling eighteen hours in a day, in
consequence of deep snow; and we have tasted of the variety of
temperature with which the Lord has blessed Utah, from the frigid to
the torrid zone.
On our return up the Rim of the Basin, from the settlements of the Rio
Virgin and Santa Clara, we appreciated the change more than we did in
going down. The brethren are in good spirits, with few exceptions.
There were a few places where we had to stay and settle some
difficulties. They expressed a willingness to do right, and they were
very glad to see us; and, although in midwinter, they would crowd
together; and, in fact, they appeared to enjoy our visit more than if
they had known we were coming.
It is generally understood that all nations are desirous of getting
under their control both a northern and a southern climate. This is
desirable in all nations. We found that the brethren in Washington
County had again raised, last year, a good quality of cotton, which
would be highly creditable in any other country. We have also soil and
climate that will produce tobacco as fine as is grown in Virginia: it
only needs to be cultivated.
Now, were we to take a man from the broad prairies of Missouri or
Illinois and show him the narrow flats of the Rio Virgin, he would be
apt to describe it as a certain member of Congress described the
Louisiana purchase made by Mr. Jefferson. He said that it was
not a belt nor a garter, but simply a mere strip—a mere string west of
the Mississippi River. That shows how little a Congressman in Mr.
Jefferson's time knew of the valley of the Mississippi. Such is the
feeling in relation to the limited extent of arable land in the
southern part of our Territory. The field of operation for the
production of a supply of cotton is within our reach.
Many of us choose to use tobacco, and we could save $60,000 from going
out of the Territory every year, if we would raise these articles
within ourselves.
I am well known as one who is in favor of letting this article of
tobacco alone. It is said that many suffered more from the want of it
than they did for bread in the time of famine. If we must have it, I
am in favor of laying plans to produce it within ourselves, seeing
that the Lord has given us the climate.
Now the production of cotton in Washington County is no longer a
matter of uncertainty. It can be produced; and as men enter into the
business they will gradually learn how to manage it. Experience shows
that as we plant the seed, year after year, it becomes naturalized to
the climate, and we raise a better article and more of it every year.
This may also be said of grain in this Territory, wheat and corn in
particular.
Many settlements have arisen within the last few years that are now in
a flourishing condition. I visited one, Deseret City, on the Sevier,
where they are raising an abundance of wheat and other grain. We
organized a Branch of one hundred and twelve members, and a good
feeling appears to exist there. The soil is of the best quality, and
there is a prospect of its being one of the granaries of the
mountains. There is a spirit of waking up among the people, at the
present time, to their own in terests and welfare in regard to home
productions. During the last two or three years, while there has been
such a vast influx of merchandise, the goods in market being easily
obtained, that has had a tendency to cause the people to neglect home
productions; and they have exerted their ingenuity to procure means to
buy what they needed, instead of producing it. This feeling is now
dying away to some extent, and we find the people busily at work to
produce those things which they need for their own use, and they do
not feel to depend any longer upon a foreign market.
Brethren and sisters, the work that is before us requires our
undivided exertions and our best economy and industry. And when we
undertake to do a work, we should do it with an eye single to the
glory of God and a determined zeal to do his will—to live in
accordance with his ordinances.
In taking up the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and looking at the
commandments and promises given through Joseph Smith, I am led to
rejoice. With some there has evidently been a doubt of their
fulfillment; and the idea that there was a possibility of the Saints,
ever going to live in Jackson County! Why, say some, it is full of
Missourians, many of them possessing the most hostile feelings, which
they have nourished for years past. The driving of the Saints from
their homes by the people of Missouri and the great prosperity that
has attended this people have excited a kind of apprehension that, at
some time or other, the "Mormons" would take a notion to go back to
root them out of their homes. Fear occasionally takes hold of them,
but still there is that same deadly hatred among them towards us
which they possessed; and in consequence of that, many have
considered that it would be im possible for the Saints ever to
go back to that land and inherit it, and build the temple that has
been promised and commanded to be built. Notwithstanding the
revelations that had been given to build a temple, the brethren were
prevented from fulfilling it, in consequence of the opposition of
their enemies, or foolishness, or carelessness in the breasts of many
who were called to act with the Prophet Joseph, when the Saints were
driven. When the Saints were driven from the United States, we could
not see why; but those who have any light in them can see now. If we
were in Missouri, we should be obliged to take sides in the present
lamentable strife of brother against brother. If we were there, we
should be in constant trouble. The present state of anarchy should
show us that it is impossible to settle their difficulty peaceably.
They may strive to divide and make an amicable division, but it will
end in the most awful bloodshed. It is impossible to avoid it. Their
determined will and their hatred to each other are such that they
cannot be reconciled. The hatred with which they hated us has turned
upon each other, and it will continue upon them in such a manner that
they cannot avoid it. And by-and-by it will be like it was with the
Jaredites and the Nephites. When they became divided, they were
determined to exterminate each other: they resolved on the
extermination of one party or the other, and it ended in the
extermination of both. You look in the Book of Ether, in the Book of
Mormon, and you will find it. After they had slain two millions of
people, the king of one of the contending parties tried his very best
to procure peace and cease the shedding of blood. Coriantumr offered
Shiz, if he would give peace to the people, he would give his kingdom
to him; but Shiz would not consent to peace, unless Coriantumr would
come and be slain by the hand and sword of Shiz. Then the people were
again stirred up to battle, and fought until all were slain, except
him whom the Prophet of God had said should not die by the sword. From
the spirit that is now manifest, it is not impossible for like scenes
to be again enacted upon this continent. It is just as easy, I
contend, for the Lord to cause the Saints to return and build the
Temple in Jackson County as it was for the Lord to bring us into this
wilderness, or to frustrate the powers of our enemies, here in this
Territory, as most of you have seen. When this people shall have learned
to do the will of our Heavenly Father, and to be united in all things,
then will be brought about the prediction that the wicked shall slay
the wicked. The time is not far distant when the distressed of all
nations will come from the east and from the west, from the north and
from the south, and claim protection from the Saints of the Most High
God.
It is high time for the Saints to be awake and on hand to perform
their duties, and live up to their calling as Saints of God, doing all
things required at their hands, that the light of truth may constantly
shine in our minds. The only thing that we have to fear is that the
Saints do not realize the importance of their position, and that they
will not be awake to the duties that devolve upon them.
The time is nigh at hand when thousands and tens of thousands of our
enemies and their children will come to crave protection of this
people. There are many persons who have read the revelations of Joseph
Smith that have had misgivings in relation to them, and they have
feared that they were true; but they did not feel quite willing to
believe that they would be literally fulfilled; or, if they
did, they dared not confess it. Any persons that have looked at the
accounts published in our papers can see how rapidly and how easily
the Lord can accomplish his work. He does not wish us to go and slay
our enemies, but he wants us to be upon the watchtower. He wants us to
build towers, temples, houses, and everything that will make us
comfortable; also to plant vineyards and oliveyards, and to watch over
them. But when it comes to the wicked slaying the wicked, he has thus
far caused the wicked to slay the wicked. The Saints have been and
doubtless always will be spared this trouble, but they will have to
face dangers—in many instances to lay down their lives for the
Gospel's sake; and to such the Lord will give crowns of glory and
endless life, even to all those that live according to the principles
of eternal life. But we need not expect crowns of glory in this life.
The blessings of light and life that are in the midst of the Saints
are only to be had by living for them—by living our religion. There
are hundreds and thousands that are willing to fight for their
religion. The things that are required are for us to live our
religion, walk in accordance with the principles of honesty and
justice, that the light of the Holy Spirit may continually shine upon
us, and that our religion shall be the uppermost thing in our minds
all the day long.
We frequently suffer ourselves to be bound by earthly considerations,
so that we neglect our duties and attend to some small matters, and we
thereby become careless and indifferent. But of this we should be very
careful.
When I first settled at Parowan, in the county of Iron, the nearest
settlement to it was Payson; and I believe there were only some three
or four families in Payson. There were also a few in Sanpete. The fall
after, the location was made at Cedar City. From that day to the
present there has been a continual increase and extension of our
settlements in that direction; and although it appears to be a great
distance from here, settlements are rising up so fast that a man can
stop at a settlement every night.
In 1858, I was told at Toquerville that it was impossible to make a
road to the valleys up the Rio Virgin, and they were calculating that
they would have to carry their seed grain and ploughs over the
mountains upon pack animals. I told them that in a few years I would
ride over in a carriage. Brother Joseph A. Young and myself visited
the two settlements there, and passed over the ground I am speaking
of, with four animals to our carriage, and brother Joseph remarked
that this road, which is very steep and crooked, was so crooked that
it was difficult to see the lead animals. The pass has the name of
Johnson's Twist.
The people are raising cotton and grain; they are cultivating the
earth and are enjoying excellent health, and the water is of good
quality. These two places (Pocketville and Grafton) are certainly in a
flourishing condition.
We also visited the settlement at Minersville, Beaver county. It is
composed of some twenty families. They are engaged in digging for
lead, and they are trying to bring it into use. Evidence exists that a
supply may be had from that quarter.
We organized a few families that live on Corn Creek into a Branch of
the Church. We also found a small company of men on Cove Creek, who
are commencing to make a settlement there. Those two settlements
obviate the necessity of camping out at nights between Fillmore and
Beaver, and the settlements in Round Valley and at Chicken
Creek prevent the necessity of camping out between the cities of Nephi
and Fillmore. This will be a great convenience to travelers.
Our country is a very extraordinary one, indeed; and if the Lord
should see fit to send rain to prevent or do away with the necessity
of irrigation, it is capable of sustaining a dense population; but as
it is, the people are obliged to live in cities located above the
fields, in order to secure to themselves pure water, and then go out
and farm a patch of land with much labor and toil in the shape of
ploughing, digging, irrigating, and weeding; and must so continue
until the springs are made to rise up in the deserts, or the vapors
descend from the clouds to aid in the better cultivation of the soil.
When I was at Washington, in the year 1856, I was asked by Senator
Douglas if I did not think that, if skillful farmers were out in Utah,
the land might not be made to produce abundantly without irrigation.
That showed me how ignorant Congressmen were at Washington in regard
to this country. When the Lord sees proper to break down the barriers
that exist and cause the rain to descend upon the land, he can do it;
but until then, he has very wisely provided that we shall take the
streams in the mountains to irrigate the soil. If the mountains were
covered with beautiful timber, and plenty of grain could be raised
without irrigation, there is no doubt but our enemies would overrun
us, or at least make us a great deal of trouble; but as it is, we
inherit the chambers of the mountains: the rocks are our protection,
and the oases of the desert our homes. Here we learn the arts of
cultivation and of building; we learn to irrigate the land; we also,
in many respects, prepare ourselves for a day when we shall go to the
place that has been appointed for the building up of the city of Zion
and for the building of the house which shall be a great and glorious
temple, on which the glory of the Lord shall rest—a temple that will
excel all others in magnificence that have ever been built upon the
earth. Who is there that is prepared for this movement back to the
Center Stake of Zion, and where are the architects amongst us that are
qualified to erect this temple and the city that will surround it? We
have to learn a great many things, in my opinion, before we are
prepared to return to that holy land; we have to learn to practice the
principles that we have been taught; we have to study to fill up every
hour of our time in industrial pursuits and the acquisition of
knowledge, and by economy and patience prepare ourselves as good and
skillful workmen, as builders in the great building which our Father
has prepared. And let me remind you that it is predicted that this
generation shall not pass away till a temple shall be built, and the
glory of the Lord rest upon it, according to the promises.
There is nothing in this country that is very prepossessing or
encouraging to strangers, and especially to those who come with a bad
spirit. When a man loses the spirit of his religion, he wants to leave
the country. In a moment he sees it is a hard country—a miserable,
barren, Godforsaken country. I have known many men come in here poor,
and even destitute of the necessaries of life, in a situation to need
help in order to enable them not merely to stay here, but to get food
sufficient to sustain life. In three or four years, these individuals
would, by industry and good luck, become measurably wealthy; they
would become dissatisfied, all at once discover that "Mormonism" was a
hoax, and re solve to leave the country in disgust. Still they
were perfectly independent of any assistance, and they were only
leaving the country, they said, because they were so oppressed.
Notwithstanding they had risen from poverty and degradation to
comparative affluence, wealth, and independence, so that they could
leave the country, into which they were brought by the Poor Fund, with
plenty of mules, horses, wagons, carriages, cows, and many of them
with money, yet they say that such oppression they could not endure!
I heard a missionary who came into this Territory by way of California
say that on his way he met some seven families. They were apostates,
of course, and each one went to work to tell him what they had
apostatized for. They gave details of the causes and the reasons they
had for apostatizing from the Church. Finally, the brother turned to
one of the company who had not been talking at all, and said to him,
What did you leave for? He replied very candidly—"I have been trying
to think, and I have come to the conclusion that I was treated too
well. When I first entered the Valley, I saw Elder Kimball, and he
gave me a house to live in, rent free. He supplied me wood to burn. He
said he would employ me. When I wanted to work, he told me to make
myself comfortable until I had rested, and then he would employ me. I
went to work, but was discontented. I went to work; but, not being
satisfied, I considered the matter over and concluded that I was
treated far too well." Now, I consider that man a pretty honest
apostate, and I rather think that he will come back again to the
Church.
I have heard men say that the reason why they apostatized was because
they were not well treated. Now, I have often thought, when I have
been reflecting that this was the work of the Lord—the only means of
exaltation, that the loss of such individuals would be felt vastly
more by themselves than by anybody else. What a gratification it would
be for such persons, when they lift up their eyes in hell, being in
torment, to think that they might have been in a better place, if they
had only been well treated! What a comfort, what a consolation, what a
balm, especially to one who is lost forever! To overcome such
temptations was not an impossibility. But so far as we are concerned,
whether our brethren treat us well or not, if we keep the commandments
of God, keep ourselves in the path of rectitude, and our feet do not
slip, if we pursue a straightforward course, if our raiment is clean,
though we encounter many difficulties in getting along while in this
life, yet we may trust in the Lord our God, who will exalt the
faithful. If we set out in the work of the Lord for time and all
eternity, we set out for everlasting increase, for a salvation among
the blessed, and for an eternal exaltation. If the principles of life
are worth anything, they are worth everything that man can possibly
sacrifice or suffer to attain to the reward that is promised. I
remember, when in Kirtland, having heard Jared Carter say that he had
sacrificed everything that ever would be required of him. He said, I
have sacrificed all my property once, but I will never do it again.
Where is that man? He is numbered in the long catalogue of apostates.
If a man should sacrifice all that he has, and then say "I will do no
more," it is equal to saying I will stop serving the Lord. A man who
intends to attain to eternal glory must be constantly awake to the
discharge of his duty. He must not suffer his lust for gold, his
thirst for wealth, or his desire for gain to fill his heart
with covetousness, which is idolatry. We can pass over the pages of
Church history and see the incidents that have transpired during the
days of Joseph, and see the fate of every Elder who suffered lust or
love of filthy lucre to tempt him from the path of virtue. Their fate
should be a warning to all good men. We can see the career of many,
and behold their conduct and its results. Men took him by the hand,
saluted him with a kiss, called him brother, and then betrayed him;
yet I can see their career of hypocrisy, their apostasy, and their
consummate villainy. I can mark out their path. They were men who did
not live their religion; they were not honest with God and their
brethren; they were hypocrites; they corrupted themselves and became
traitors to that man whom God had inspired to guide Israel. Some of
them we regarded as very smart men that had great talents. They
labored a little while in the cause, but they were not true to
themselves; they were not true in their integrity; they were dishonest
and corrupt; and in consequence of this, they fell into darkness, and
lifted their hands for the destruction of the Saints of God, and fell
from that exaltation which they had aspired to attain to.
The blessings of Providence have been over us from the commencement of
this Church; the protecting hand of the Almighty has been visible over
us all the day long: every step has been guided in wisdom. To take a
people from amongst the nations of the earth and locate them in the
midst of these mountains was one of the greatest achievements over
natural obstacles ever accomplished upon earth. To organize a State in
the midst of a vast desert—one that could sustain itself and bear up
against the powers that endeavored to destroy it, was a feat
unequaled by any thing recorded in the annals of history.
When I was in Washington and in the library of the Capitol, I was
asked if the "Mormons" would fight. I replied that the people that
would have the energy to form a powerful State in the midst of a
desert would have energy to defend it. To take persons, of various
habits, possessing education of different kinds and degrees, men and
women speaking different languages, coming from almost every part of
the earth—to bring them here and organize them into a peaceful and
united people, loyal to the Government and laws of our country, was
certainly no small task. Then take the Saints that were assembled at
Nauvoo, that had been driven from their possessions, hurried away from
their homes, and robbed of all they possessed, driven away with a
design on the part of their enemies that they should perish in the
wilderness—to take this remnant that was left and bring them with the
rest to this land, that was pronounced uninhabitable—to make it
produce the rich provisions of the earth, and to organize a powerful
State in the midst of this desert country, shows the power and wisdom
of the Almighty, manifested through the man that leads, guides, and
instructs the people. It is of such a character that the leading of
Israel through the wilderness by Moses bears no comparison. You go to
the Book of Exodus and you find the children of Israel made the most
crooked paths, whereas we find that we came straightforward through
the mountains right into the land of promise. We have straightened the
mountain passes; we have made the rough places plain and smooth:
the mountains, as it were, are melting away at our presence. The
Prophet of the Lord showed all this beforehand by the power of God
that was in him.
After a few years in these moun tains, we hear members of
Congress waking up, as did Mr. John Thompson, of New York, in 1858,
being from the same State as the Prophet Joseph, and was probably in
that State when the Church was organized. This astonished Congressman,
having opened his eyes, said—"Mormonism is a stern, ugly fact, and it
is halfway between us and the Pacific Ocean, and it stands there with
ten thousand bayonets daring you to the contest." He had suddenly
awaked out of his slumber probably by the remarks of Mr. William W.
Boyce, of South Carolina, who said—"There are two ways of settling the
Mormon imbroglio; one is peace, and the other war: the first is the
most humane, the cheapest, and consequently the best. If we choose the
second, we make a hell of the passes in the mountains between the
Pacific and the Atlantic for the next thousand years."
They were just opening their eye to behold what they had done by
driving the Saints from the United States, and refusing to allow them
to lodge upon the banks of the Missouri. They drove them into the
wilderness, and hoped never to hear of them again.
The day has passed for us to submit to be mobbed and driven about from
pillar to post by our enemies: they have now got something else to do.
The sword is now passing back and forth amongst them. I recollect,
when I was a schoolboy once, the master gave two of us a stick and
set us to whip each other: the master was compelled to stop us on
account of our severity. Our enemies would not take the advice of the
Prophet; this nation refused to listen to his counsels; they would not
hearken to the word of the Lord which he proclaimed unto them; they
killed us and drove us away from our possessions; and now the Lord
will suffer them to punish each other for their sins, even as the
schoolmaster did the boys, until he gets ready to stop them.
I am very much pleased with the privilege of addressing you. I feel
that I am awake to the truth, and I try to live my religion, to bear
my testimony to the work of God, and sustain the influence of my
brethren in rolling on this great and glorious work. My testimony is
as it has always been. It is the work of the Almighty, and his hand
has guided it, and will continue so to do henceforth and forever, and
no power can stay its progress, and he will guide it until it will
overcome all opposing forces. It is the little stone cut out of the
mountains without human hands, and it will roll forth and grow until
it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth.
When the Prophet Joseph Smith was before the court of Judge Austin A.
King at Richmond, Missouri, they wanted to prove the charge of treason
against him. It was stated in evidence that he had preached from the
prophecy of Daniel, where it speaks of the great image and the little
stone, and had stated that the stone would strike the image upon the
toes and feet and break it to pieces—that then it would become a
great mountain and fill the whole each. Judge King inquired of the
witness if Mr. Smith did not say that the little stone spoken of was
the Mormon Church. The witness answered in the affirmative. Judge
King, turning to the clerk, said, "Write that down; that is treason."
According to this decision, the doctrines taught in the Bible were
actually treason. General Doniphan replied, "By G—d, Judge, you had
better make the Bible treason, and done with it." They of course
believed that the kingdom spoken of is a figurative kingdom; but we
know that God has organized that kingdom, and it will roll forth with power and might until it overcomes all obstacles, and fills the
whole earth. Then it will grant shelter and protection to all who are
honest and upright, and protect them in their religious sentiments,
whatever they may be. This will bring about a reign of peace and
happiness that the world has long looked for.
Men may speculate and write their squibs; they may undertake to write
this way or that; yet the Lord has commenced his work, and it will
spread itself abroad until the laws of Zion are sent forth among all
nations; for this work and this people will eventually have the
dominion, and no arm can hinder it. Every man that is fool enough to
be blinded by Satan will miss the honor, the glory, and the
exaltation that await those who shall be sanctified and be prepared to
enter in through the gates into the city, while those who adhere
faithfully to the servants of God that are always on hand to build up
Zion, seeking first to build up the kingdom of God and to learn his
righteousness, will rise in majesty, glory, exaltation, and dominion.
May this be our case, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- George A. Smith