I arise, my brethren and sisters, being ever willing to give my
testimony in behalf of the goodness of God and the work in which we
are engaged, even the Latter-day Work, the building up of the kingdom
of God upon the earth. I know it is the desire of my heart to meet
every engagement, appointment, and duty incumbent upon me by reason of
my calling, and in undertaking to become a Latter-day Saint.
When I made my covenant by baptism, I did it with an understanding,
and with a desire to do the will of our Heavenly Father in this
generation. I did it with a determination that I would from that time
forth do the will of Him whom I then covenanted to serve, and that I
would do all those things that should be required at my hands—that I
would perform every duty according to the best understanding I had,
constantly looking to the Lord to give me better understanding,
greater light, and more extended knowledge of the things of his
kingdom. These were my feelings then; they have been my feelings ever
since, and I hope and trust that I shall ever be guided by the same
Spirit. I have ever felt that it was good to have the testimony of
Jesus in my soul. It is for me, and I consider it is for all of us, to
respond to every call that shall be made, whether temporal or
spiritual; and I desire that we may feel to respond to and do whatever
we shall be dictated to do with glad hearts, be thankful for the
opportunity, and esteem it a high privilege to have a part in this
work.
We should strive to get faith in everything that pertains to this
work, and feel that it rests upon our shoulders to perform, and that
it behooves each one of us to live in that way that will promote our
own interests therein, and give us light and knowledge, which will
enable us to cultivate that Spirit in our bosoms which has been
promised, as a well of water springing up into everlasting life, to
all the faithful Saints.
There is a consolation in our religion which goes to every heart, and
by it every man, woman, and child may receive joy and satisfaction,
while acting under the sweet influences of the Holy Spirit, having it
within us to dictate and guide us in the path of virtue and truth.
When the Spirit of the Lord influences any man, especially the true
and faithful Saint, it fills him with joy and peace, and makes him
humble in the performance of duties. The Spirit of the Lord carries
with it its own reward. A person deprived of this influence meets with
difficulties upon every hand. It is only by being obedient and
submitting to the counsel of God in all things, that we can fully
enjoy that good Spirit. By acting upon this principle in a family capacity and in managing our individual concerns (for it is in
thus acting upon the principles of obedience that families are
united), that Spirit will unite, connect, and cause the Elders to see
eye to eye, and thus promote the advancement and prosperity of the
cause we have all espoused. We cannot fulfil our engagements with the
Almighty without we have that Spirit with us. We should so live as to
acknowledge the Good Spirit continually. We cannot do this unless we
let the Spirit of God rule in temporalities as well as in spiritual
matters.
When he whom the Lord has called to stand at the head of his Church as
the mouthpiece of the Almighty speaks to us, let us find out the
spirit that leads him and follow its dictation, and then we shall be
well off and do well. How often, instead of cherishing the head and
letting that dictate the whole body—how often, I say, do we seek to
avoid it, perhaps for the purpose of having it some other way, or
passing off in some other direction. This is not right. We should let
the Spirit of the Lord rule, and the law of God abide in our hearts.
If we have the law of God dwelling in us, and if we practice
righteousness and live by correct principles, we may have it, and will
increase in light and in power with the heavens and with all good men.
We should cherish that law, let it abide in us, govern and control us
in all we do and say. Let us square our ideas, feelings, and spirits
to it, and bear in mind that this is what preserves us and connects us
together in the strait and narrow way that leads unto life eternal.
Let us nourish that kind Spirit in our bosoms, get light from the pure
fountain, and not grieve it away by our unwise and sinful conduct. We
frequently do things according to our feelings and opinions, until we
in a great degree lose the light of the Spirit which should control,
and which would, if we would let it, be a guide to our path and lead
us in all that we do and say; and certainly we need it constantly to
guide us and to enable us to render ourselves useful, and be the means
of doing great good in the kingdom of God. Offer a kind word to them
that are cast down, buoy up the drooping spirits, and do all we can to
sustain each other in the trials and difficulties through which we
have to pass in this state of existence.
It is a consolation and a great assistance to a man who tries to be a
Saint to receive a word of encouragement from a friend. It prepares
the heart for the warfare of life; it makes a man feel stronger in the
Lord. He is thereby prepared to perform his duties as a member of the
kingdom of God upon the earth. We all have a great variety of duties
to perform; some are required to act in one way, and some in another.
None can say that they have no part or lot in the matters in this
kingdom.
The Gospel embraces every branch of business that is useful—every
department of literature, whether science or classics—everything that
is useful in the world. All is necessary to its accomplishment and the
bringing about of the purposes of God in the last days. All that is
good and true is necessary to the completion of this mighty work. In
this kingdom there is scope for the mind; there is room for the
exercise of all the physical powers of mankind. There is some labor
for each and every one to perform. The people may have to change from
their old customs; they may have to go from one kind of labor to
another, by reason of their being put in different circumstances and
coming from one country to another. This with the faithful Saint makes
but little difference. Let us all do the things that are before us with an eye single to the glory of God and the building up of his
kingdom. By pursuing this course we shall be able to accomplish
whatever shall be appointed unto us that will tend to the gathering of
Israel and the bringing about of the great Latter-day Work.
The world that is now transpiring is in fulfillment of prophecy, and in
this we should have joy; and if we need anything to strengthen us in
our holy religion and to buoy up our feelings, the things transpiring
around us should be sufficient to do this and to stimulate us to
further action. People are brought from every nation, kindred, tongue,
and people, by the instrumentality of this Priesthood and the power
that accompanies the testimony of the servants of God. We have as
great a testimony as any of the ancients in regard to the work in
which we are engaged, and we have increasing testimony day by day that
should convince the most skeptical. We see the hand-dealing of the
Almighty from time to time, and the Spirit is bearing witness from day
to day that this is the truth of heaven, and that we have the oracles
of divine truth in our midst. The Lord has not left himself without a
witness. If there had been nothing written, there is sufficient
manifested to prove that this is the work of God in which we are
engaged to induce us to learn our duties and perform them, and to be
ready and willing to turn our hands to this, that, and the other
purpose as shall be necessary to enable us to obtain our sustenance,
to cultivate the soil, beautify the earth, and cause the wilderness to
blossom as the rose. If we are actuated by the right spirit, we shall
go forth building up the kingdom, having our eye single to the
glory of God, instead of gathering together for our own particular
benefit and to suit our natural wants.
For my part, when I embraced this Gospel, I felt that I had no affairs
of my own for the future. I felt that I could live anywhere and
anyhow, if I had the society of the Saints. I then expected to have a
rough passage. I had not then seen "Mormonism" as we have since seen
it. For a few years previous to that time, I had seen turmoil,
trouble, and strife. I had witnessed what has now become the history
of the Saints, and I have seen and known it since we have arrived in
these valleys of the mountains. Here it has been comparatively peace
and prosperity with this people. This came the more acceptably to me
because I had looked for something different. I embraced the Gospel
with that view, and felt that I was determined to cling to the rope,
feeling satisfied that the tighter I clung to it the less it would
burn my fingers. Suffice it to say that I have ever felt as I now
feel, to hold fast to the ship Zion.
We can generally see other people's faults much quicker than we can
our own. You all remember, no doubt, the account which Patriarch John
Young gave of the Devil's looking-glass. The glass was represented as
one in which a man could see his neighbor's faults instead of his
own. Now, who is there among us but can see our neighbor's failings
sooner than our own? I will guarantee that we can all see the follies
of others, and at the same time be blind to our own; but we should be
a great deal better employed in looking into our own hearts, in
governing ourselves, controlling those pernicious feelings and notions
that rise in our bosoms, and in eradicating every such influence from
our hearts, instead of busying ourselves with looking into the affairs
of others. I know from experience that it is a very good lesson for me
to look into my bosom. There is the flatterer, and by studying
ourselves we can easily perceive how liable we are to neglect
ourselves and look into affairs with which we have nothing to do.
People do not look into their own hearts rigidly enough, and therefore
they do not see what has been the prompting or leading motive that has
caused them to judge others instead of themselves. The inward monitor,
if we will let him have full play, will teach us many things that are
applicable to ourselves. And if we inquire more fully into ourselves,
we shall find that we are not always acting, from the best of motives,
those things that we do in regard to others, for we often come across
their notions.
There are a great many persons who consider their own way the
best—yes, much superior to any other person's. If we will compare that
with an unprejudiced mind and liberal soul, we may reject our own
bantling, and learn that there are others whose ways are preferable to
our own. We will take it for granted that we are actuated by the best
of motives. Even then, some would go to work in one way, and some in
another, to build up the kingdom of God; but we should all feel
interested in taking that course that will promote our interests. If
each one is to have his own way and carry out his own notion, then
there will be no effort to concentrate; hence no union. Everyone
should seek that which is best, and be submissive to the will of God
in all things, and not strive to follow his own peculiar notions. We
live to learn, and should so conduct ourselves as to make good use of
what we experience.
I have had a great many ideas myself upon subjects as they have passed
before me; but after they are consummated, I always find that, if I
had had my way, it would not have been near so well. Those who have
more light, greater comprehension, and who are appointed to do those
things which we are required of this people, can do so with better
understanding; hence I say we should readily yield to that wisdom and
strive to see a propriety in carrying it out. In this way we can soon
learn to see what is right and best for this people. We cannot
possibly believe that the Almighty will suffer those whom he has
appointed to lead his people to go astray. We have all confidence in
this, and shall have, if we do our duty. Then let that Spirit, which we
so much desire to have in our hearts, control and govern us; permit it
to eradicate every vile principle and influence; and do not let our
notions and traditions stand in the way of our yielding a ready assent
to the rolling forth of God's kingdom in the last days. The law of God
should be our joy. The study and the knowledge of it are blessings
that have been vouchsafed unto us in this generation. The Lord has
conferred this holy Priesthood upon us; he has opened up a
communication between us and his throne, by which we ourselves can
open and find out in regard to the principles which have been taught
from this stand, as well as those taught by the Prophet Joseph.
This is a great and important era in the world's history: it is a
great privilege given in the experience of the human race. God has
shown himself no respecter of persons. The other portions of the human
race have or will have this Gospel laid before them. It has already
been presented to a great extent, and the people might have embraced
it, if they had been disposed to do so. If their minds had been
inclined, they could have seen the kingdom of God upon the earth; for
it has not been an exclusive matter. The Lord has scattered the seed
upon the whole earth. In communities from which we have come, our
neighbors and friends, by whom we have been surrounded from our infancy, have had the same opportunity that we have had. The only
difference is, we have received it, and they have rejected it; or, in
other words, they have not seen proper to receive it, although it was
sent as much for their benefit and for their salvation as it was for
ours. The Lord, I repeat, has conferred this great blessing upon the
human family in these last days, and it is for those whose hearts are
touched with the Spirit of the Living God, who can see that this is
the kingdom spoken of by the Prophets in olden times, who have
gathered together for the purpose of establishing the principles of
righteousness permanently upon the earth, and who do not forget those
things committed unto them, and who remember, when they come together
before the Lord, the world that they have come from. It behooves them
not to forget the wickedness by which they were surrounded, nor the
motives that brought them together. If you do not bear in mind these
things, why did you not stay where you were? If you wish to serve the
Devil your own way, why did not you stay in the world where you had
that liberty, which, we might say, is the least desirable upon the
footstool of God? There are many in the world, who are associated with
this Church, who think it would be the greatest privilege they could
enjoy to be freed from the wickedness that stalks abroad at noonday;
but when such come to Zion, how soon do they forget the condition of
others whom it is their duty to remember, because they are in
circumstances similar to those which surrounded them before they were
enabled to gather home.
We should remember that we have been collected from the nations,
through the same motives which now inspire our brethren and sisters in
other lands, to establish righteous ness upon the earth, to put down
iniquity, and to hate the report thereof. You will see this manifest
in the correspondence of our brethren who are still among the nations.
It was formerly manifest in ours, and each of us was accustomed to
exclaim, "Oh that I could be delivered from Babylon!" We were finally
enabled to come up here, and to get deliverance from that great
wickedness which was an eyesore to us every day. Then how do we act?
Do we hanker for the wickedness of the world? Our traditions are still
thick upon us; and if we do not remember our covenants and strive to
see things by the light of the Holy Spirit, we shall soon be led to
find fault with things which we see around us.
Perhaps those who thus become disaffected may not say anything about
it for a time; but they will say in their hearts and souls that they
do not like this, they disapprove of that, and they despise the other.
They do not at first speak of these things, but the next thing they do
in the path to ruin is to neglect their prayers, to neglect their
every duty, and finally they are led captive by the Devil. They ask if
that spirit that has actuated them in their early experience, and that
has been the motive-spring in times gone by, sanctions what they see
around them. Darkness gradually gets into their minds, and the first
thing they know they are led back to love the wickedness of the world.
This is because they forget that upon themselves rests the
responsibility of making that Zion about which they talked, prayed,
and preached. It is because they forget that it is their business to
labor for the establishment of righteous principles, and to walk
wickedness under their feet.
This is the duty, and this should be the labor of all that come up
here. They should let the law of of the Lord be the delight of
their souls day by day. They should let the principles of our holy
religion absorb every other feeling. If this comes in contact with
their previously received opinions, let it be eradicated from their
souls by the Spirit of the Living God; and the quicker they can do
this the better it will be for them.
The work in which you have thus far been engaged, brethren and
sisters, is worth everything you possess; and if actuated by righteous
motives, you will seek by industry and economy to establish good
principles, to promote righteousness, and to do that for which you
have been called into the fold of Christ; you will endeavor to do
that which is necessary to amalgamate your sentiments and efforts for
your own comfort and the comfort of those around you; you will
endeavor to build up; you will work diligently in that sphere in
which you are called to labor, and the kingdom of God and its
righteousness will be the first thing in your minds. Whatever you may
have to mourn about, you will have a joy in laboring for the kingdom
of God.
It should be the delight of every man and woman to strive to
accomplish the greatest amount of good in whatever sphere they are or
may be called to act.
We are exhorted in the Scriptures not to be covetous; therefore, we
should not let covetousness get into our hearts, for that will drown
the best affections of our nature; it will ruin any man or woman that
encourages it. It is idolatry to worship the creature instead of the
Creator; hence, covetousness becomes idolatry. I could wish there was
not any of it with us.
This, you must remember, is no argument in favor of wastefulness,
neither does it authorize us to neglect the cultivation of the ground,
or to be careless with the things which the Lord puts into our hands.
We should strive to make the soil produce for the benefit of ourselves
and the advancement of the interests of the kingdom of God. The
mechanic also should be as diligent as he can; and whatever the labor
appointed shall be, all should be diligent therein, and not say that
because they are not to be covetous, they will therefore go and waste
away that which the Lord has given them. [President Brigham Young:
They will be cursed if they do it.] It is displeasing in the sight of
God, for it is doing a discredit to him who has created these bounties
of nature for the use of man and for the benefit of all his creatures.
Let us have no other object in view than the building up of the
kingdom of God. I have heard persons say that we should not give our
means away, but we should go and do this or that; and in fact I have
frequently thought such persons seem to be extravagant and wasteful on
purpose to squander their means, and thus prevent those who are
appointed to take charge of the kingdom of God on the earth from
controlling it. Whoever does this scattering, destroying, and wasting
away is actuated by the spirit of the Devil.
The Lord Almighty is willing to bless the Saints, we are informed, if
they are willing to take care of and use that which he puts into
their hands in that way that will best promote the interests of his
kingdom upon the earth. As we were told here this morning, the earth
is full of good things, and whom will they belong to? We are here now;
but everything we have is borrowed—our lives, the breath that is in
our nostrils, and all that we now seem to possess. This is not our
abiding place. In this our present capacity we are in a state of
probation or mortality, and we have borrowed everything that
we possess. Nothing belongs to us that we now enjoy; it is merely
loaned to us. If we are faithful to those things given unto us, and
make a wise use of them, the promise is that we shall be made rulers
over many things. We are nothing here; we are as it were lent to
ourselves for a season, and it is expected of us that we will make
ourselves worthy to receive everlasting habitations, which have been
prepared for us from before the foundation of the world. The Father
has many mansions, as Jesus said—"I go to prepare a place for you,
that where I am, ye may be also."
We have a great deal to do to destroy wickedness and establish
righteousness upon the earth, and to prepare ourselves for the
establishment of Zion, that she may become the head upon the earth.
Will we bear correction and proper tutorage? Will we bear chastisement
and throw aside our own faults and frivolous actions? Will we live our
religion, or will we give way to every foolish thing that comes in our
path, and thus let our minds be drawn from the pure steam into byways,
and thus bring about our ruin? Will we seek to hide the light from our
brethren and sisters who feel an ardent desire to gather with the
Saints, that they may possess the same blessings that we this day
enjoy? Do we feel that we will do right and hold ourselves and all
that we possess upon the altar of the kingdom of God? Do we feel that
we should be diligent and economical, that we should seek unto the
elements that we are surrounded with, and take that course that will
make us the most independent people upon the earth? If we should bless
the earth and ask God to bless it, that it may bring forth for our
support and sustenance, and that we may have power to draw forth and
combine the ele ments, and thus make us independent of every nation,
kindred, tongue, and people.
It is my faith that this is the ruling kingdom upon the earth. I feel
satisfied that it will ere long be so. In it are bound up my hopes of
salvation and of success in this world and that which is to come.
Besides this, I know that every other nation and kingdom will be
broken to pieces, and this will become the head of the nations. If
ever righteousness is established, it will be upon this footing; and
so far from dreading it, the people should rejoice that it will be so,
for their own governments and kingdoms are rotting to pieces and
tumbling down. When this kingdom is fully established, there will be
no oppression, but people will be put in possession of a full
enjoyment of their own principles, and be left to act according to the
dictates of their own consciences, and none will be deprived of this
privilege. Our Father and God will never force a man's conscience, but
every man will have this power and privilege of receiving or
rejecting. But there is one thing they will not be permitted to do,
and that is to infringe upon each other's rights.
Man is an independent being in his agency, to do right or wrong, and
has the liberty of doing as he pleases; but I qualify this by saying
that he has not the right to do wrong or to infringe upon the rights
of another individual. This is the law of society, and it is also the
law of heaven. We live together, we have been brought forth upon this
earth, and we dwell together in communities. Men must respect the
rights of each other, and it will be so in all nations upon the earth
under the government of God. I feel as though I want to see this
kingdom triumph, and I feel that the whole world will see it.
Wickedness and corruption will be controlled, and eventually
be eradicated and extinguished from the earth. Many will yet cling to
righteousness, and it will finally triumph.
If we have been enabled to form a nucleus here, we ought never to
forget the inestimable privilege. We ought to let those little foolish
things that have transpired with us pass from our minds, and cling to
the principles of salvation.
This is the way I feel, and I pray God to enable us to hold on, to be
humble and faithful all the days of our lives—to be faithful in this
great work; for it is not only a lifetime for us, but for our children
and our chil dren's children forever, so far as we can control and
instruct them, so that when we are gone down into our graves, they may
have a foundation to build upon. I pray God to help us to train up our
children that they may command their children after them, that this
work may be perpetuated by them. I have no fears with regard to its
being accomplished; but I have a desire that we should have a part in
it, and our children also, that we may meet again, and, after having
been faithful over a few things, that we may be made rulers over many;
which I pray the Lord may grant, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- Daniel H. Wells