Discourse by Elder John Morgan, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, January 20th, 1884.

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

“Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

I have read the first and second verses of the 6th chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews.

Having been requested to occupy a portion of the time allotted to our afternoon service, I desire an interest in your faith and prayers and confidence, that I may be enabled to say those things which will be acceptable to our common Father and God in the heavens, and will be for our good.

The Latter-day Saints who have congregated together this afternoon for religious worship, come for a particular specified object, having in view the strengthening of their spiritual natures, the receiving of light, intelligence and knowledge from on high on matters that pertain unto eternal life. To enable us to accomplish this object, it is necessary that we draw in our minds from the things by which we are surrounded, and endeavor to concentrate our faith upon the duties which devolve upon us in religious worship. And it is no meaningless phrase when an Elder of Israel asks the faith and prayers of Israel in his behalf, that he may be clothed upon by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to say those things that will be for the good of the people.

We have laid down here certain principles of the Gospel that Paul taught to the Hebrews nearly 2,000 years ago, but principles that were not new even in that day; on the contrary, principles of eternal truth which have always existed, that always will exist, which cannot be changed in their form, cannot be annihilated through the unbelief of the human family; for they are self-existent and do not depend upon the belief or unbelief of men for their sustenance or for their destruction. In this consists their greatness, that they are not dependent upon the arm of flesh for their existence; for they were just as true when rejected by the Hebrews in days of old as they were in times before that, as they are today—accepted by a few of the human family, but rejected by the great mass. The Latter-day Saints, then, feel to congratulate themselves upon this point—that they have built their faith upon a rock which cannot be destroyed, and that will exist not only through the ages of time, but throughout all the endless ages of eternity. Having existed in eternity in the past, it exists today, and will exist in the eternities to come.

These principles are plain and simple, so plain and so simple that a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein; on the contrary they are suited to the capacity of the whole human family, the unlearned as well as the learned. There was this peculiar feature about these principles when they were promulgated in the days of Jesus: as a rule it was the unlearned of the human family that were willing to yield obedience to them; it was the common people who heard him gladly. The teachers of the Jews, they who had control of the synagogues, who stood in the foremost places in the nation, rejected the lowly Nazarene and His teachings, while fishermen from the shores of the Sea of Galilee heard and received Him gladly. That peculiar feature to a greater or less extent adheres to those principles today. Gathered from the middle walks of life, from the various nations of the earth, coming from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, for the Gospel’s sake; gathered together in these valleys of the mountains, the Latter-day Saints are willing to sacrifice the good opinion of the world; willing to sacrifice all that man holds near and dear to him for the sake of the truth; willing to forsake kindred and home, the graves of our ancestors, and those associations that bind themselves round the heart—coming here for the sole purpose of being instrumental in the hands of God in establishing His Kingdom, in bringing to pass His purposes, in proclaiming the glad tidings of the Gospel—tidings that were proclaimed to the shepherds upon the plains of Bethlehem 1,800 years ago, “On earth peace, good will toward men;” bringing with us a broad charity and philanthropy for the world, desiring to better the human family, and allowing our charity to go out broader than that even—reaching behind the veil, taking hold upon the things pertaining not only to this life, but redeeming those who have preceded us into the spirit world—allowing our charity to go out so broad that we give a possible salvation to every son and daughter of Adam that ever came upon the face of the earth, or that shall come.

Paul calls those principles that I have read over, “the doctrine of Christ.” He calls one of those principles the doctrine of repentance. The Latter-day Saints who have gathered from the nations of the earth will bear me out when I say that the doctrine of repentance as believed in by them is different in many respects to the doctrine of repentance as it existed in the lands from whence they came. As the Latter-day Saints understand the doctrine of repentance, it is to turn from that which is wrong; to forsake evil and cleave unto that which is good. If a man has been a wrongdoer, let him be a wrongdoer no longer; let him conform his life to the principles of integrity and righteousness and honor; let him keep the commandments of God in their letter and in their spirit. I care not what the professions of a man may be; I care not with what air of sanctity he may be clothed; without the observance of this law in its true sense, it is not repentance.

Paul speaks of another principle which he calls faith; and in the 11th chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews, he gives some information in regard to its nature and character. He says: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight. Women received their dead raised to life again,” etc. Faith certainly is a most important principle, and without it, I ask the Latter-day Saints how long could we exist as a body? I have often heard the remark made by those unacquainted with the Gospel, those who knew not the truth, but yet who were willing to look dispassionately, yea, even kindly upon the errors and fallacies as they termed them and believed them to be that we are indulging in—the question has been asked by this class of persons: “How does it come, by what process is it that the Latter-day Saints, surrounded as they have been, surrounded as they are today, environed around about upon every side by difficulties that seem insurmountable, difficulties and obstacles that might cause, apparently, the stoutest heart to quake and the firmest knees to tremble—that in their hour of trial and tribulation they always had confidence that in the outcome, it would all be well with Israel, that no matter what might be done, it would in the end prove for the good of the Kingdom of God, until, the motto, ‘They can do nothing against, but only for us,’ has become a household word in the midst of the Saints?” Why, when the powers and influences of the world are brought to bear upon the Latter-day Saints, whether collectively or in an individual capacity, they cling to this principle of faith; they believe in the promises of the God of Israel; they believe that God will not falsify His word; they believe that God will establish His Kingdom, and bring to pass His purposes in the earth. The faith of the Latter-day Saints is a living principle. A Latter-day Saint devoid of the principle of faith, would be an anomaly—in fact such an one could not be a Latter-day Saint; for it requires faith in the God of Israel to stand the tests that they are called upon to pass through. Yet calmly and quietly, deliberately, with full confidence in Jehovah, they can go forth in the discharge of their duties as they understand them, believing that in the outcome God will be their friend and protector in the future as He has been in the past; as He has brought them through the trials and tribulations of days gone by, so will he do in the future. This principle of faith, therefore, that Paul taught to the Hebrews, was certainly a most important one, and it is one without which it would be impossible for the Latter-day Saints to have succeeded.

Paul also speaks of the doctrine of baptisms; not in the singular, but in the plural, apparently, as though there were two baptisms. “The doctrine of baptisms,” he says. We find, following after the principles of faith and repentance, the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, as John the forerunner of Jesus taught, as Paul taught, and as Jesus himself taught. It is upon record here that they taught baptism for the remission of sins, of those who would submit to the ordinance of baptism. Or, in other words, to more clearly explain what I wish to, the sins of human beings up till the age at which they are baptized are recorded against them. If they are willing to submit to the ordinance of baptism by immersion, having faith in God, repenting of their sins, by one having authority, God gives them His promise that He will remit their sins; that all that have been committed in the past shall be blotted out from the book of His remembrance, and from that day forth they are free from the sins of the past. The ordinance of baptism, then, is not an ordinance to us of mere form, or something that is submitted to simply because it is an ordinance of the Church. On the contrary, it is positively essential to the salvation of the human family. Nicodemus, in times of old, came to Jesus upon this subject, and apparently asked Him the question, If there was some other possibly better method whereby man could enter the Kingdom of God, and he was told by the Redeemer, that “no man could enter the Kingdom of God, except he had been born of the water and of the Spirit.” This is the law as it is laid down. If there is any difference of opinion upon the part of any single individual on this subject, it is not with me, but it is with the word of God, as given through His Son Jesus Christ—that except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit he can in no wise enter the Kingdom of God. The Latter-day Saints believe this, and act accordingly—that except a man be born again he could not even see the Kingdom of God, let alone enter therein. The ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins is, then, to Latter-day Saints a very important ordinance.

Paul speaks of another ordinance that he terms the “laying on of hands.” I have found in traveling in the midst of the Christian world, that very often Christian people would agree with me in relation to the principles of which I have spoken. They would say: “Yes, we believe that idea of faith is correct; we believe that idea of repentance is correct; we believe that idea of baptism even is correct; but they were not strong enough apparently to believe in this principle called the “laying on of hands,” which Paul terms one of the doctrines of Christ. We find that this principle is practiced in the midst of the Latter-day Saints as also an essential ordinance—that except a man be baptized in water and born of the Spirit, by the laying on of hands, he can in no wise enter the Kingdom of God. This is the light, we are told, that is given to every soul that comes upon the earth; not to the Latter-day Saints alone, not to the former-day Saints alone, not to those alone who were baptized, but to every soul that cometh upon the earth. The ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins being essential, so is the ordinance of the laying on of hands, that men may receive the Holy Spirit; or, in other words, the laying on of hands is the medium that God has instituted for His children to be placed in communication with Himself, that they may receive the Spirit that leads and guides and directs unto all truth, that brings things past to our remembrance, that shows us things to come, that opens up the visions of heaven and makes known unto us the mind and will of God. I remember one minister with whom I had the privilege of conversing upon this principle. He stated that it looked reasonable; that he did not know really but what it was correct, and doubtless had been neglected in times gone by. Well, he got to thinking over the matter, and he read, “He will show you things to come.” He came to me with some questions. One was, “Do you mean to say the Holy Spirit will show a man things to come?” “Yes.” “Well, of course if it shewed me things to come I could tell of it?” “Yes.” “Would not that constitute me a prophet?” “It would.” “Well,” said he, “this generation will not endure this thing; it is too strong doctrine.” I replied that no generation that I had ever read or heard of had endured it; but that in all the ages gone by when God had placed men here upon the earth with authority to confer this gift, they had invariably been rejected of men. This principle is believed in and practiced by the Latter-day Saints. We read in one instance, that is doubtless fresh in the minds of many of the Latter-day Saints—as contained in the 8th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles—where certain men had been baptized; but they had to send for the Apostles to go into the portion of country where those baptisms had occurred, and we read: “Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.” The Latter-day Saints believe that not only was that principle efficacious in that direction in that day, but that it is true today as then. The Latter-day Saints bear testimony of its truth; that having repented of their sins, having faith in God, having been baptized, having received the laying on of hands, they have received the Holy Spirit, they have received knowledge, light and intelligence from on high, that God has revealed to them certain principles of truth and righteousness. If this is the case, I ask, how can we unlearn these things? How can we unknow them at the dictation of the world. Will fines and imprisonment take this knowledge away from us? Will disfranchisement take this knowledge away from us? Will death itself take this knowledge away from us? No, verily, I say to you, it will not. It is with us here today; it will be and abide with us when we go hence. The knowledge I have in relation to this principle—of which I bear my testimony to you this day—that I received through the laying of hands, I expect to retain with me so long as I live in accordance with the laws and principles of truth and righteousness. When I turn away from these, there may be a veil of darkness drawn over my mind; but I can never free myself from the fact that I had once a knowledge of the things of God.

These four principles are termed the first principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. These principles the Latter-day Saints believe in. These were the principles that were enunciated by Joseph Smith, 50 years ago. These were the principles, and about the only principles at that time—very nearly the only principles—in the original organization of the Church—that were taught to the world.

But let us reflect in relation to the record and history of that day. Men tell us that a certain doctrine we believe in today—a doctrine that has been taught and revealed at more recent date—is the cause of our difficulty. But I ask you, were not difficulties met by the Latter-day Saints, in the early history of the Church, such as we meet today? Were they not driven and tossed to and fro? Were they not subject to persecution and death, to fines and imprisonment? Were they not cast out from the Christian world in that day before this obnoxious—as they term it—principle was revealed? Were they not cast out for the doctrine of faith in the God of Israel, for the doctrine of repentance, turning from wrongdoing, for the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, for the doctrine of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? Were the Saints persecuted formerly? So they are today; and doubtless this will continue until one or the other power is vanquished; for it is not a struggle between a few people, citizens of the United States, who live here in the Territory of Utah, and in the surrounding States and Territories, to the number of 150,000 or 200,000 people, and the people of the world. It is not a contest between these two parties, by any means, no more than it was a contest between Luther, when, at the Diet at Worms, he exclaimed: “Here I take my stand. I can do no more and no less.” It was not a contest between him individually and the priests, but it was a contest between truth and error, right and wrong. It was a contest between the advancement of the human family and their retrogression. This conflict today cannot be narrowed down to the few people who live in the Territory of Utah. But running out from here as veins and arteries from the human heart, it penetrates and permeates the whole universe, going from the rivers to the ends thereof, and to all the nations of the human family. This struggle which we are engaged in today, the struggle that Joseph Smith was engaged in 50 years ago, in the infancy of this work; the clash of opinion and the conflict of ideas that existed in the days of Nauvoo, that exists today; all this does not pertain alone to the Latter-day Saints, my friends, but, on the contrary, to the good, to the salvation and to the redemption of the whole human family—broader in its scope, mightier in its influence than it is generally acknowledged to be. Then, can this conflict cease at the command of men? Can laws be passed to stop this struggle? Is it in the power of kingdoms and principalities and governments to stay the onward march and progress of the principles of truth? No more than it was in times gone by when the march of thought in its onward progress was sought to be stayed by the hand of the mother church from Rome. No more today than it could in the days when the Puritans in England, when the Huguenots in France, asked the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own conscience; and almost as a parody on human nature, when these very same Puritans came to the land of America, they in turn could turn upon the Quakers and persecute them for religion’s sake, bore holes through the tongues of the people that did not agree with them in religious matters. But what did all this accomplish? The world looks back—the Christian world looks back with shame upon this record of their ancestors, and yet in turn they do the very same thing today, to be followed in a generation or two by people whose faces will mantle with the blush of shame, that in this free land of America, under a government established for the freedom of the human family, where the religious exile, the exile for thought and ideas, from the nations of the earth could come to for protection; that in this land dedicated to freedom and equality to all men there should have found footing the idea that men must be persecuted for religion’s sake, for belief’s sake. Let the Latter-day Saints then, understand and comprehend that this struggle which we are engaged in, broadens out and extends itself not to us alone, but to the nations of the earth, to the whole human family. I imagine I hear someone say, “But is not that a contradiction?” You asserted a few moments ago that baptism was essential to the salvation of the human family, and as there has been but a very few of the human family baptized, how is it with the rest who have not had the privilege of this ordinance? Paul very correctly wrote, and the translators very correctly translated this passage that I read, wherein he refers to the doctrine of baptisms, for there is more than one baptism. We read of the baptism of water for the remission of sin. We read of another baptism; for as I have already quoted, except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he can in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God. Then we ask ourselves the question, What shall become of the untold millions of the human family who have not heard the sound of the Gospel? What shall we do with those who have not even heard anything relative to the plan of salvation? Our Christian friends, for instance, devote many thousands of dollars and pounds sterling to the conversion of the heathen as they are pleased to call them, and to carry the Bible to those who are unacquainted with it. This is certainly very commendable; this certainly shows a most philanthropic spirit upon their part; this is an evidence of goodwill to the human family, and it is to be commended. But inasmuch as they reach but a very few, we ask ourselves the question, What shall become of the rest? To the Latter-day Saints this is a solved problem. We assert this not simply with the words of our lips; we assert this not simply in editorials and pamphlets written; but we prove our faith by our works. Almost within the sound of my voice here, there is a magnificent temple being erected at the expense of many hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the town of St. George in the south, at the expense of nearly half a million; at Manti, in Sanpete County; at Logan, in Cache; we have four temples either completed or nearly so. At Nauvoo, when the Saints were storm-tossed with persecution, surrounded about by mobs, and every influence that fiendish vindictiveness could think of, was brought to bear upon them, they built themselves a magnificent temple there. At Kirtland, in the days of their infancy, when the labors which they performed were very arduous in comparison with the labors the Latter-day Saints have to perform today in the building of these temples, they built another temple. What are these temples for? There is an object in their being built. We prove our faith in these things by our works, seeking not only to redeem ourselves, seeking not only salvation for our own household, but extending its influence beyond and reaching out to those of our progenitors who have gone before us into the spirit world and are there, becoming acquainted with the principles of eternal life; for as recorded in the 3rd Chapter of the Epistle of Peter, “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” Or as we find it still further recorded in the 4th chapter of the same epistle: “For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” We also find a question asked of our Savior, as recorded in the account of His crucifixion in the book of Saint Luke. One of the thieves who was crucified alongside of our Savior, said to Him: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Jesus could not consistently do this; for He had told Nicodemus previous to that, that except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit he could not enter into His Kingdom; and this thief, acknowledging that he was worthy of death, was, consequently, an unrepentant, unbaptized sinner. Jesus, however, turned to him and said: “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” The Christian world have made the mistake of imagining, believing and teaching that Jesus and the thief on the cross went back to the bosom of our Father and God in heaven. But we find, after the resurrection of our Savior, when He stood by the open door of the sepulchre, Mary came, and recognizing Him, put out her hands to touch Him. But Jesus said: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father in heaven: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” During the three days that the body of Jesus lay in the tomb, then, where was the spirit that formerly inhabited the body? According to the testimony of Peter, as recorded in the 3rd Chapter of the first epistle of Peter, it was preaching to the spirits in prison; and Isaiah tells us that it was for this that Jesus was to come; it was to loose the bonds of the prisoners; it was to open the prison door. Men who had lived in days gone by, who had failed to obey the commandments of God, who had passed into the spirit world, according to the accepted idea of a few years ago—Christian ideas change about these things, you know—these people were eternally lost. There was no possible chance for their redemption; but having closed their eyes in death as sinners in the sight of God, they were under condemnation to all eternity. A strange parody indeed upon the idea of God’s love and mercy for His children! God is love, we are told, and yet in the short space of one man’s life, that man’s sins and errors—nay, more than that, he might have lived honorably and honestly; he might have sought to do as best he knew how; he might have been a good citizen, a good father, a good husband; he might have filled all these duties acceptably, yet if he is outside the pale of the Church and death overtakes him in that condition, he was eternally lost according to the Christian idea of a few years ago. Leading thinkers of today, in the Christian world are changing their views very materially in relation to this matter, as within the past few years I heard the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher declare, that, if his God reigned in the next world, every man and woman who did not learn the truth here, should have the privilege there. Then we find also Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, a leading light in the religious world, and very many who are distinguished in the religious world, are today changing their ideas and theories in relation to this matter. One of the peculiar features connected with the Gospel in days gone by is often presented to my mind in this wise: Jesus taught some of His doctrines in the midst of the Pharisees and Scribes. They found that certain of His doctrines were popular; they found that certain of His doctrines were very pleasant; they found that certain of His doctrines were very agreeable. And so they did what He told them they were doing. They poured new wine into their old Pharisee bottles; they endeavored to patch their Sadducee coat with a new piece of cloth; but they were told that they would burst their bottles, and make a larger rent in their coat than there was. So it is today. When Mr. Beecher introduces to the Christian world the idea that there is a redemption beyond the grave, he shakes the pillars of so called Christianity; he gives them a mightier blow than could be given by an Elder advocating the same doctrine; and when Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, advanced that idea to his intelligent audience, it went like wild fire over the land that so distinguished a theologian as Dr. Thomas, had declared that there was a chance for redemption after the grave. This new wine, revealed from heaven in this day and age of the world, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, a man who was despised by the world, is being taken by the wise men and poured into their sectarian bottles, and in the end the result will be as it was with the Pharisees in times gone by.

But this doctrine has more of a meaning to the Latter-day Saints than simply preaching to the spirits in prison. We read here in the old Bible where God, speaking through the mouth of one of His Prophets, said certain things should transpire in the last days. “Behold,” says the Lord through His Prophet Malachi, “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” So today the Latter-day Saints testify that God having sent the Prophet Elijah to the earth to reveal this principle, or rather to give the key for the administration of this principle, the hearts of the children here upon the earth are being turned to the fathers behind the veil, and the hearts of the fathers behind the veil are being turned to their children here upon the earth, the one feeling after the other for their redemption; for without them we cannot be perfect, neither can they without us. This plan of salvation that the Latter-day Saints believe in is broad, indeed it reaches out to the whole human family, present, past and future. We read in the 15th Chapter of 1st Corinthians, an explanation of this expression of Paul’s in regard to the two baptisms. In the 29th verse of that Chapter he says: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” Or as Paul expresses it in the 19th verse of the same chapter: “If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Paul in preaching to the Corinthians said that very few of them took hold of the Gospel. The great mass rejected Paul. Paul, however, with that broad philanthropy of heart, lit up by the light that first came to him on his way to Damascus, would have been miserable indeed had he not learned of this great principle that in the spirit world these Corinthians would be preached to and taught. So the Latter-day Saints today would be of all men the most miserable if they did not recognize this principle of preaching to spirits in prison and baptism for the dead. The Latter-day Saints are fulfilling the Scripture, which says that there shall be gathered home to Zion, “one of a city and two of a family.” In many instances one person of an entire lineage is all there is in the Church and Kingdom of God. That being the case, what of the fathers and the mothers, the brothers and the sisters, the relatives near and dear, who have not had the opportunity of accepting the Gospel? How glorious, how grand a work it is that swells the hearts of Israel to know that we can enter into the temples of the living God and redeem our dead and become in truth and in deed saviors upon Mount Zion! Certainly no nobler, no grander, no mightier principle has ever been revealed to the human family than this. And though we may have doctrines that are obnoxious to the world; though we may have principles that innovate upon established ideas; though we may have ideas that conflict with those of the honest and the good, and those who love the principles of integrity and righteousness; though we may have all these, yet when we come to reflect in regard to this one principle, that of itself alone should be sufficient to recommend the Latter-day Saints to the whole civilized world; that of itself should blot out from their remembrance those other matters that seem to disagree with and are unpleasant to them. That principle that is reaching out for the salvation of the untold myriads of the human family—the very possibility of it should cause the hearts of the whole human family to rejoice, should cause them to think, to feel and to act kindly towards a people who are seeking to carry out this principle. But human nature is very strong in relation to these matters, and as it has been in the past doubtless it will be in the future—that through much tribulation shall they come up who shall be clothed in robes of white, and that it is through trial and tribulation God shall have a tried people. The Latter-day Saints do not lay to themselves the flattering unction that there shall be peace, peace, peace, to us just yet; but that on the contrary this work and this struggle will continue; the nations of the earth will be brought to the knowledge of the truth; the honest of the blood of Israel will be gathered home; the kingdom of God will be built up; temples will be erected and the Saints will enter into them and redeem their dead, and cause the hearts of our fathers and our mothers who have gone before us into the spirit world to rejoice; and we shall join hands with the Prophets and Apostles of days gone by, with those of today who have preceded us behind the veil; with the good and the true of all ages; with our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, and with God our Eternal Father in the heavens—all linked together in one mighty phalanx in this great and glorious work of the latter days.

May God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by Apostle George Teasdale, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 13th, 1884.

I likewise can bear my testimony to the truth of this work that the world please to call Mormonism. The “Mormon problem” is very easily defined if we consider the pretensions of the people called “Mormons.” From the time that Joseph Smith first declared that he had had a vision of the Father and the Son—from that time to the present, I know that the world have never been able to prove that his testimony was false. I know that they have never been able to prove that Moroni did not give to him the plates of gold, or that the translation called the Book of Mormon is false. I know that they have never been able to prove that John the Baptist did not visit Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and confer upon them the Holy Priesthood, even the Aaronic Priesthood; neither have I ever heard that it has been proved that the Melchizedek Priesthood and Apostleship were not restored by Peter, James and John. There has been a great deal said about Mormonism; quite a number of books written upon the subject; a great deal of derision has been made of it; but the testimony of the Latter-day Saints has never been proven to be false.

We have declared to the world that God has spoken from the heavens; that angels have appeared to the children of men; and that the keys of the Priesthood and intelligence have been restored to the earth—and we know it. We have invited the people to search the Scriptures to see if these things were not predicted—to find out if it had not been declared therein that it should come to pass in the last days that the God of heaven would establish His Kingdom upon the earth. There had to be a commencement. We read in the Bible that God set in the Church firstly Apostles, then Prophets, then Evangelists, and Teachers, for the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Paul declared that the Saints were the body of Christ, members in particular, and he bore the same testimony to the Corinthians that he bore to the Ephesians, concerning the fact that God had set in the Church firstly Apostles, then Prophets, etc. Might I ask where the revelation is that at any time set in the Church firstly Popes, then Cardinals, Archbishops, and Right Reverend Fathers in God? Might I ask where the revelation is authorizing the establishment of the Episcopal Church? Might I ask where the revelation is authorizing the alteration of the order of government which God had set in the Church? We are calmly told that these things are done away with. Who says so? Men whose business it is to try and prevent people from thinking for themselves, and to do the thinking for them. But as a responsible being I am bound to do my own thinking; and when it comes to a question of my eternal welfare, I take the liberty to think for myself. I am told that holy men of old wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and that the Scriptures were not to be understood by private interpretation. I believe as a child of God, that I have a right to receive intelligence, for it was predicted ages ago that God would give to those who loved Him line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until they were perfected. The object of the Apostleship was the edification of the Saints. Now, I can understand the value of this Apostleship. Those who hold it are to be taught by the revelations of God, and have authority to call upon men everywhere to repent, to believe in the living and true God, to cease from their heresies, to cease from their wickedness and abominations, to lead perfect and pure lives, and to give them the privilege of being baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, and to have hands laid upon them, that they may receive the Holy Ghost. This, we are given to understand by the historians, was the manner in which the Kingdom of God was established in the days of the Savior, and if it had remained upon the earth there would have been a continuation of the Apostleship.

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He did not give us to understand that the whole work was finished so far as we were concerned as individuals; because the last instructions that He gave to His Apostles, as recorded by the historian Mark, and which were given after His crucifixion and resurrection were: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” And we are told that the Apostles went and preached this doctrine; called upon men everywhere to repent of their sins, called upon them to repent of their false modes and manner of worship. They preached exclusive salvation. They had the only way to be saved. This was what rendered them so unpopular. This is what renders us so unpopular today. But if we preach the same doctrine, if we have similar power, if God has spoken from the heavens and has declared to His children the necessity of their repentance, and has chosen men to hold the Priesthood, and go forth to the nations of the earth; if this is the case, where will the wicked and ungodly be? I think, myself, it should be a matter of interest to all classes of people, especially rulers, to make themselves acquainted with the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints, with the principles which they teach, so that they may act in wisdom. They have to give an account of the deeds done in the body; they will have to stand before the bar of God; their record will be there; and I say it is to the individual interest of every man, whether he is a king or a beggar, to make his record of such a character that he will dare to meet it; because as sure as we live today, we shall have to face the record we make upon earth.

Now, why should so much fault be found with the Latter-day Saints? Right here, I would ask, why should so much fault have been found with the Lord Jesus Christ? Why should so much fault have been found with the Apostles and their followers? Why did they not, when they found it was distasteful to the majority of the people, give up their belief and become one with them, as we are kindly invited to do? Why did they not, in the midst of their persecutions—when they were being torn to pieces by wild beasts, etc.—rise up and say: “Will it not be better, seeing our religion is so distasteful to mankind, to stop our mode of worship, and worship with the majority?” Why, they never dreamed of such a thing. I have never heard of a faithful man that ever lived who dreamed of such a thing as giving up that which he believed to be true for the sake of the approbation even of millions. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, stood alone and declared that God had spoken from the heavens, and when people believed his testimony, when they accepted the doctrines he taught, God bore witness to them that he was a true Prophet. They discovered that the doctrine which he taught was that which was taught anciently; they discovered by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, that in the last days the Kingdom of God was to be established upon the earth; and in their simplicity they believed that it had to be commenced with a few; and that it had to commence wherever the Great Eternal determined that it should commence. He revealed Himself that He might have a testator on the earth who knew that He lived, who knew that Jesus was the Christ. He revealed Himself to the boy Joseph Smith, who had sought Him in perfect faith. And, then, in order that the world might be left without excuse, when He sent the angel Moroni to reveal the history of the house of Jacob on this continent, He did not have the fact of his visit dependent upon the testimony of one man. Others were privileged to receive the visits of heavenly messengers, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word should be established. When did the three witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris—ever declare otherwise than that they saw an angel, and that they heard the voice of God declare that the book called the Book of Mormon, had been translated by the power of God? They were never known—though they left the Church—to have flinched from that testimony, and their testimony is as good as the testimony of anybody else. It never has been impeached. And then again: Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith both declared that John the Baptist came and laid his hands upon their heads and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood. Who had any idea that there was any necessity for John the Baptist to come? Where were there any records to that effect? And yet we are told emphatically that John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ. But the world contend that he filled his mission as the forerunner of Christ in His first coming. I will take the privilege of questioning that, if you please, and will tell you why I do so. By referring to the 40th chapter of Isaiah, we there find these words: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” It then goes on to say: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.” Now, when John the Baptist came, did he speak comforting words to Jerusalem? When the Priests and Pharisees—those professedly holy men—came to him to be baptized in Jordan, what did he say to them? “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth fruits meet for repentance, etc.” He was the forerunner of Christ. He declared so himself. The Lord Jesus bore testimony of him. He said: “This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before time.” Now, it is true that John the Baptist came as the forerunner of Jesus; it is true that he filled his mission so far; but we know very well that the people generally did not receive him, and ultimately they beheaded him. We know that they did not receive Jesus. They crucified Him. Instead of speaking comforting words to Jerusalem, He exclaimed: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Were these comforting words to Jerusalem? I think not. It is very evident that John the Baptist was not only the forerunner of His first coming, but also of His second advent. The Scriptures are plain on this matter.

But let us follow the history of the Apostles, and what do we find? Martyrdom for every one of them, John the Revelator alone excepted. What do we find concerning the Saints? Cruel persecution and death, until, in consequence of the awful crime of the shedding of innocent blood, God in His displeasure withdrew the Priesthood from the earth, and left it as it was before the coming of the Messiah, without divine authority. Was this statement of things predicted? Most assuredly it was predicted by the Prophets of old. It was foretold by Paul, who declared that after his departure grievous wolves would enter in among the flocks and destroy them. He also beseeches the Thessalonians not to be soon shaken, or troubled, in regard to the day of Christ being at hand. He told them not to be deceived by any means: “for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first.” Has there been a falling away? Why, the prediction is verified by every sect in Christendom, when they calmly tell us that the spiritual gifts of the Gospel have been done away with, and that they are no longer needed. I argue that it is just as necessary today—if God is an unchangeable God, if He is the same yesterday, today and forever—that we should enjoy the spiritual gifts of the Gospel as in former days, above all the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth by which I may comprehend the relationship that exists between me as an individual here upon the earth and my Father who is in heaven. By carefully reading the revelations of St. John, you will find the apostasy foretold. You will find the Church represented as a woman surrounded by twelve stars. You will also find the history of the bringing forth of the Priesthood, and of the woman going into the wilderness for a season. You will also find the history of the establishment of the church of Satan—which is likewise represented by a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast; she was proclaimed the Mother of Harlots—a church that was to hold dominion over all the nations of the earth. John also saw the restoration of the everlasting Gospel, as proclaimed in Revelation, 14th chapter and 6th verse: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Now, if the Gospel was upon the earth, there certainly would be no necessity of an angel bringing the Gospel; there would be no necessity for the restoration of any thing that had not been lost. But seeing that this order of government had been lost—this order of Priesthood—this authority which was given unto the ancient Apostles—it was absolutely essential that it should be restored, otherwise, how could the Gospel of the Kingdom be preached in all the world for a witness before the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ? For Christ Himself declared: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Now, is it not tidings of great joy to learn that God has spoken from the heavens; to know that there are men upon the earth who have authority to preach the Gospel; to know that we can receive a remission of our sins, that we can be made clean, and that we can be taught the ways of the Lord, that we may walk in His paths? Is not this tidings of great joy when we think of the confusion and ignorance that exists in the world today? To all reasoning men it must be a source of great consolation. I know it is a cause of great joy to me to know that the Apostleship has been restored, to know that these principles are true and faithful; that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, when faith is manifested; that the signs follow the believer according to his faith; and that all who do the will of the Father are most assuredly put in the possession of the knowledge that the principles that were taught by the Messiah and by His Apostles are true.

Since I last had the privilege of bearing my testimony from this stand, I have visited the temple of God at St. George, and spent a season there, and I want to bear my testimony to the truth of the doctrine of baptism for the dead. When Paul was arguing with the Corinthians, some of them were foolish enough to contend that there was no resurrection; they had believed, had been baptized, and they had been a certain portion of time in the Church; but their traditions and their lack of understanding caused them to believe that there was no such thing as the resurrection. Paul, in his argument, made use of the following language: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” Do you know why the ancient Saints were baptized for the dead, and do you know why Paul used this argument when they were disputing this principle of the resurrection? We do, for God has revealed it. He says: “Why stand we in jeopardy every hour? If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” Now, don’t you think it would have been wise in Paul to have taken the advice that some of our friends pretend to give us? Don’t you think it would have been wise in Paul, when he stood in jeopardy every day, to give up those principles which rendered him so unpopular among the people? The same question is propounded to us today. People say, “Give up your religion; it is unpopular; we don’t like it, and we are fifty millions strong. We want you to please do as we do, say as we say, and be as we are.” But in order to make the thing not quite so glaring—not quite so gross an injustice—they say, “Will you please give up your plural marriage and do as we do? If you must have a plurality of women, marry one and keep the others and raise illegitimate children as we do.” That is the English of it. It may be distasteful to tell so much truth in one afternoon; but that is the English of it. I have traveled in a few of the nations of the earth; I have seen some of their finest cities; and I have seen the effects of the workings of what is termed high Christian civilization.

But before referring to this allow me to go back a little with regard to the pretensions of Joseph Smith because this is the “Mormon” problem; “it lies in a nutshell.” Joseph Smith was a true Prophet sent of God, or he was not. He held the keys and powers of the Priesthood, or he did not. These he conferred upon other men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before his death. Now, those upon whom he conferred these keys have the Apostleship, or they have not; they have the authority of God, or they have not; they hold the keys of the Priesthood, or they do not; God our Eternal Father, reveals His mind and will from the heavens to His children in these valleys of the Rocky Mountains, or He does not. We testify He does.

Without quoting any more Scripture, let us reason together a little while. Who knew of the necessity of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood? Joseph Smith had a vision of the Father and the Son. Who ever conceived of the necessity of such a vision? There was an absence of the knowledge of God. The world by wisdom know not God. The being that is worshipped by so-called Christianity, is a being without a body, parts or passions. In order that He might have a testator upon the earth, God revealed Himself, so that we might understand a little concerning the personality of God; as it is written, we are created in His image. Then the Book of Mormon was brought forth. Jesus Christ declared, “other sheep I have, which are not of this fold.” Those “other sheep” had to be visited; and the Book of Mormon gives us a history of Christ’s visit to them—the aborigines of this continent, called the American Indians, but really the descendants of Jacob. We have given unto us within the lids of this book (Book of Mormon) the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. We have the principles of the Gospel laid down in their simplicity—plainer by far than in the Bible, though agreeing with that sacred record. It is in reality the stick of Judah that is contained in the Bible; the stick of Ephraim is contained in the Book of Mormon. Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming forth of this book. In fact the writings of the Prophets are pregnant with predictions concerning the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the latter days.

Joseph Smith declared that John the Baptist came and restored the Aaronic Priesthood, and also that Peter, James and John restored the Apostleship, and the keys and powers thereof. Please tell me who it was that put it into the heart of this so called impostor (Joseph Smith) regarding the coming forth of this book? Will you please tell me where he acquired the wisdom to concoct such a record? Who taught Joseph Smith the necessity of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods? Who taught Joseph Smith the perfect system of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Who taught him the necessity of three High Priests presiding over the Church of Christ like unto Peter, James and John? Who taught him the necessity of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and of their powers and duties and the presidency thereof? Who taught him the necessity of the High Priesthood in their presidings? Who taught him the necessity of the Seventies and their organization? Who taught him the necessity of the Elders’ Quorum, the Priests’ Quorum, the Teachers’ Quorum, and the Deacons’ Quorum? Who taught him the organization of the Stakes of Zion with their presidency, their High Council, their Bishops, Teachers, etc? Who taught him the necessity of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? Who taught him the necessity of holding keys of Priesthood, and that God would reveal principles through this channel that had been hidden from before the foundation of the world? Who taught him of the pre-existence of the spirit of man? Who taught him the philosophy of our probation upon the earth, and the results that would flow from a faithful observance of the principles of righteousness? He declared that Jesus Christ taught him; he declared that all these things were received through the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to him. When people say that Joseph Smith was an impostor, they make him one of the greatest men that ever lived in view of the religion he founded. Again, who taught him the necessity of marriage for eternity? Who taught him the doctrine of baptism for the dead? Who taught him the principles of the resurrection and eternal judgment, as described in this Book of Doctrine and Covenants? I answer, God the Eternal Father.

Now, will you please tell me why the world are so embittered against us as a people? I will tell you. It is upon the same principle that they were embittered against the Messiah. The Messiah came with His bowels filled with compassion and love for the human family. He taught them how to be saved to the uttermost. He taught them exclusive salvation. Joseph Smith was a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and acted under His instructions. His life and works boldly tell that he was no impostor. He was, indeed and of a truth, a true Prophet of God. He declared the principles of eternal life, and those principles have been carried to the nations of the earth. What has followed the preaching of the Gospel? Judgment, calamity and desolation have come, in many instances, upon those who have rejected it; upon those who have cast us out and spurned the message of life and salvation: for it has been decreed by the Almighty. The hour of His judgment has come. You take this large congregation. If they had the opportunity of testifying, they would declare in words of soberness that God had revealed to them the principles of the Gospel, and that it was for that reason that they left the States, the islands of the sea, the nations of Europe, and came to this country; it was because they received a knowledge that these principles were true. They had been impressed by His Spirit to gather here; it is the gathering of Israel. In doing this they were told by their friends that they were deceived; but I ask any man who has accepted these principles, who has practiced them in solid faith, if he has ever been deceived? Never, no never. God has been true to His word. He has done His part. He has placed us in the possession of a knowledge of these principles, He has brought us home to Zion from the various nations where we were scattered. He has taught us the principles of righteousness through His appointed channel, by His Holy Spirit, and woe be unto us if we harden our hearts and close our ears against the pleadings of the Holy Ghost. We should sanctify ourselves before, the Lord, and live holy and pure lives. We are living in the last days. We have no time to trifle. We are in the midst of the judgments of Almighty God. He has declared that desolation should cover the earth, and that He would waste the inhabitants away who would not listen to His voice. How can the Latter-day Saints escape if they neglect so great a salvation? We are called upon to be ministers of righteousness. We are building temples. We have no right in those temples unless we can go in as saviors upon Mount Zion. We never can be upon Mount Zion unless we save ourselves from this untoward generation. We must practice the principles of righteousness. We must give up our follies, our light speeches, our loud laughter and our inhuman feeling with regard to our children placing them in a position where they are under the dominion of Belial, and under that influence that would wean them from the principles of righteousness. We must repent of our sins. We must listen to the voice of God through His servants. We must sanctify ourselves before Him or we cannot assist Him in the establishment of His righteousness upon the earth. You know this as well as I do. What right have I to require of anybody what I will not do myself? What right have I to expect of anybody what I do not do myself? No, we must save ourselves. We must make our calling and election sure. Who is afraid to die but the sinner? Who is afraid of death but those who have sinned and who dread to meet the consequence of those sins behind the veil? But those who love the principles of righteousness and who practice them know that they have passed from death unto life. They know that they are redeemed through the precious blood of the Redeemer. When they pass into the spirit world it is not in blindness. They know that they are going into the presence of the Lamb, and the Church of the Firstborn. They know that they belong to that Church, and they also know whether they have kept their garments clean or not. Have we any occasion to fear the people? Have we any occasion to fear nations? Do we fear when we go forth in their midst, traveling one or two at a time in the midst of our enemies with threatenings on every hand? Do we fear under those circumstances? No; and if we can trust ourselves in the hands of God, under those conditions, I think we can trust Him today. And as far as I am concerned as an individual, not one principle that God has revealed from the heavens do I dare to go back on—not one principle. I believe in the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. I believe in plural marriage as a part of the Gospel, just as much as I believe in baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. The same Being who taught me baptism for the remission of sins, taught me plural marriage, and its necessity and glory. Can I afford to give up a single principle? I cannot. If I had to give up one principle I would have to give up my religion. If I gave up the first principle of the revelations of the Lord, I would prove before my brethren, before the angels, before God the Eternal Father, that I was unworthy the exaltation that He has promised me. I do not know how you feel; but I do not fear the face of man as I fear the face of God. I fear lest when I go behind the veil and have to meet my progenitors, that I should meet them as a traitor, as a man who had not the backbone to stand by the principles of righteousness for fear of my life; or for fear of some calamity that might come upon me. How would they look upon me? How we would be condemned if we dared suggest such a thing as to say that we would give up the first principle of eternal truth! I bear my solemn testimony that plural marriage is as true as any principle that has been revealed from the heavens. I bear my testimony that it is a necessity, and that the Church of Christ in its fullness never existed without it. Where you have the eternity of marriage you are bound to have plural marriage; bound to; and it is one of the marks of the Church of Jesus Christ in its sealing ordinances. “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven.” We know how sensitive the Prophet Joseph was to introduce this principle. He knew the feeling that was against it. It had been taught from the days of heathen Rome down to the present time that a man should have but one wife, which has resulted in the prostitution of many of the fair daughters of Eve as mistresses. Here we have too much love for women to see them trampled in the dust. Here we have too much respect for unborn spirits to have them come into the world branded as bastards, illegitimate, in shame, without knowing their fathers. The children we have are legitimate. They are our own. We honor them and our wives. Our children are given unto us of God, for our wives are given to us of God. We never should have thought of practicing this principle if God had not revealed it from the heavens and commanded it, and we must stand by it and by every principle that He has revealed. It is more than I dare, to go back on that principle or any other principle; and I have besought the Lord with all my heart that He would give me strength according to my day that I might never fail in my integrity, but that I might stand firm as the pillars of heaven to the truths that He has revealed for the redemption of the human family. I understand my own weaknesses; I understand my own insufficiency; but my trust is in the living and true God. And I have a testimony that for over thirty years He has sustained me through some very crooked and tight places by His Almighty power. He has stood by me, been my friend; and so far my testimony and my love for the principles of righteousness are as deep and earnest as my first love, and more so; for I have witnessed His loving kindness in the sealing powers and bonds of the everlasting covenant; I have been privileged to see the magnificent manner in which He has provided for His children, in placing them in a position that they may become like unto Him—eternal, without end of years.

That God may give us grace to stand true and faithful to our covenants, and endure to the end, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 6th, 1884.

The testimonies of the servants of God, which we hear so frequently from this stand, ought to make an impression upon the minds of those who hear them—they ought to have weight, for the reason that those who bear them declare in solemnity, in the presence of God, that they know that which they testify is true; and when a man, or any number of men, arise in the presence of their fellow men, and declare in words of truth and soberness, that certain things are true, that they know them to be true, that they are willing to bear testimony of them be– fore God and the people, and to suffer all things for their truth, even to death itself, it should make an impression upon the human mind, and inspire those who hear these testimonies with a disposition to at least investigate and withhold their condemnation. Because, unless a man knows something to the contrary, unless he has had a testimony that these things are false, he is not justified in condemning them. There is only one way in which they can be fairly condemned, and that is by proving their falsity, by obtaining knowledge that is directly in contradiction to that which is borne testimony to. In this consists the condemnation of the inhabitants of the earth at the present time, as it has consisted in every age when God has had a work to do upon the earth. Certain men have gone forward in the midst of their fellow men, and in solemnity and in truth have testified that God has spoken, that God has given revelations, that God is doing a certain work in the earth of which they are the witnesses. They know this, they say, for themselves and bear testimony of it, and exhort their fellow men to seek for knowledge in the same manner in which they have sought for it, with an assurance that if they do so they will obtain knowledge. Now, notwithstanding men have done this, the world, without pretending to have any counter demonstration or testimony, without being able to disprove by the same sort of evidence, condemn wholesale, without discrimination or hesitation those testimonies and declare them to be false, and assert that the men who bear them are either deceived themselves or are striving to deceive somebody else.

I do not think this is fair. It never was fair. It is not a proper method of dealing with affairs of this character; because if there is a God, and one man says he has had communication with Him, and another, who believes also, or professes to believe in God, denies that the first has had any such communication, and yet does not pretend that God told him any such thing, does not pretend to have had any communication from God—the contradiction of the one is not equal to the affirmation of the other. It is the height of presumption for a man who professes to believe in God, to rise up and at his own instance and of his own will, because he chooses to take that view of God, and of God’s method of dealing with man, and declare that the testimony of the man who says he has had revelation from God is false. Why, anyone at a glance can see that it is an improper way to deal with the subject. If he does not have revelation himself from God, he should, at least, be modest in contradicting the testimony of others who declare that they have had revelation from Him. The whole religious world in Christendom profess to believe in God. They declare that God lives and are continually preaching to the people a belief in Him, a belief in Jesus, saying that Jesus is the Son of God, that He lived upon the earth in the flesh, that He has gone to the Father, and that they are His ministers, having power to do certain things in His name, and to teach His doctrines. They say to the people who do not listen to them: “You will be visited with the most terrible judgments if you do not believe what we say; you will go to hell, and you will burn there throughout the countless ages of eternity, if you do not believe what we tell you.” Now, when men go to their fellow men and make such statements as these, and assume such prerogatives and powers as these, and say that their fellow men will be condemned by wholesale to eternal hell for not listening to them, they certainly ought to have some method of communicating with the Being they represent, and whose ministers they profess to be, and they ought to know more than other men—more than common men at least—about the Being who, they say, sends them as His ministers. But what are the facts? Here is Brother Woodruff, who for the last half century has been testifying, as he has this afternoon in your hearing, with all the energy of his soul—for he has been a very zealous man all his days—he has been testifying to all people to whom he could get access, that God has spoken from the heavens and restored the plan of salvation in its ancient purity, and the Church as it was organized upon the earth in the days of Jesus, with the plenitude of its gifts and powers and graces, and that this condition of things now exists upon the earth, and that he is a living witness of it; that God has really revealed this to him, so that he has become a witness through revelation from God, of its truth. He has declared this. Hundreds have made a similar declaration, and hundreds are still testifying concerning these things to the inhabitants of the earth. But Christendom through some of its principal representatives says: “We don’t believe a word you say. We don’t believe God has spoken to you. We don’t believe God has given you any authority. We don’t believe your doctrine to be from God. We don’t believe that the church you have organized, and that you declare is the Church of Christ, is the Church of Christ; and so confident are we of this that we believe that it would be justifiable for you to be killed as a lot of impostors and dangerous men, and you ought to be broken up. If it should be necessary to do this, and it cannot be done any other way, we would be willing to have armies resort to violence and have bloodshed, rather than such a dreadful heresy and such a wicked system should be perpetuated on the earth.”

You turn to them—to these men who profess to have the fate of their fellow beings in their hands, whose efforts, as they state, will send millions to heaven and millions to hell—you ask these men who profess to have such awful powers as this—“By what authority do you make these statements? Has God given you any testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the true Church? Has God told you anything about it?”

“Oh, no,” they will say, “God has not spoken to us. We do not believe He talks to anybody. We believe he has stopped all communication with man; that no living man has heard His voice, or knows anything about His mind and will.”

Now, this is their testimony. You cannot get any of them—at least I have not, and I speak so far as my own personal knowledge goes to declare that God has revealed to them either by the spirit of prophecy or by the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that the doctrines taught by the “Mormon” people are false, or that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not of God, and yet, notwithstanding this, they take the course that I now describe. Here on one side is knowledge—at least it purports to be knowledge. Here are men who say they have actually received revelations from God; that God has poured out the Holy Ghost upon men and women; that Jesus has actually visited the earth in person, and been seen by living men; and that angels have been seen and conversed with by living men. They state this in all solemnity and in all truth, and as a test of the sincerity of their statements, they say to their fellow men: “If you will take a certain course that God has pointed out, and that we are authorized to designate; if you will take this certain course, you shall know also of the truth of our testimony. We do not make these statements expecting you to receive them simply because we make them; but we say to you, if you will take this course, if you will accept the conditions which God has prescribed and comply with them in sincerity and humility, you shall receive these blessings and this testimony for yourselves, and you then will be numbered as witnesses with us.”

What can be fairer than this? And this is the course that the servants of God have always taken with mankind, and hence, as I have said, the condemnation of the inhabitants of the earth, because they will not receive that testimony. They abuse the Church of Christ without having reason or foundation for doing so; they abuse it without having any evidence that is at all tangible or that can be relied upon; they have nothing more than their personal feelings, personal prejudice, and their personal tradition—that which they have inherited from their fathers—upon which to base their opposition.

Now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been built up in this manner. Its strength consists in this peculiarity: that those who have embraced it as a rule—there may be exceptions—have taken the course which has been taught by the servants of God, and the result is that legions of witnesses have been raised up. It is not confined to one; it is not confined to the original few; but this testimony has extended itself, until it has brought within its fold men and women of almost every race; for it is not confined, happily, to sex no more than it is to nationality, but it is extended unto men of every race, and unto women of every race, and all these rise up as an army of witnesses, unanimously bearing testimony of the same great truths, declaring that it is not from their fathers, it is not from tradition, it is not from their teachers, it is not from any human source that they have derived their knowledge; but that God Himself, by His invisible power, by His superhuman power, by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon them, has borne testimony to them, so that they are thoroughly convinced and have a knowledge as strong as the knowledge that they themselves live, that this is the work of God, that He has established it, and that He will roll it forth and cause it to accomplish all that He has said it would. It is in this peculiarity that the strength of the people consists. If it was not for this we should be as weak as a rope of sand; there would be no cohesiveness or strength about us. But with this there is a power that makes hell tremble. It makes the Devil mad. It makes every man that is afraid of the truth angry in his spirit because of that which he sees. If men were not afraid of truth there would be no fear connected with this work. What is there about it to create fear? What is there in its manifestations, in its fruits, and in its operations upon the minds of the children of men to cause any man who loves truth to have any dread concerning it? Nothing whatever. It is beneficent in its operations. It elevates men and women; it makes them better, purer, more Godlike, more orderly. It bestows blessings—this system does—upon all who espouse it, and all who come within the range of its influence. And this has been its characteristic ever since its organization until today. You know it, each of you who have espoused it. You know its effects upon you. You know it has made you better men. You know it has made you men of purer lives, of loftier desires, of more Godlike aspirations. You all know this. Every man, every woman, and every child connected with this work is a witness of the truth of this. If it has this effect upon you, will it not have the same effect upon every human being who comes within the range of its influence and who bows in submission to its requirements? Certainly it will. There is no human being, however low, that it will not elevate, if he will obey it. It is the power and lever, so to speak, by which humanity will be elevated to the presence of God our Eternal Father, for the very reason that the exaltation which God has attained to, has been through obedience to these selfsame laws that are now taught to us. That which obeyeth law is preserved and sanctified by law. The people who obey law will be exalted by law; they will be preserved by it, they will be sanctified by it; and that is the effect of the teaching of the Gospel upon the Latter-day Saints.

While Brother Woodruff was talking, I thought what an immense labor it is to endeavor to accomplish that which the Prophets have told us will be brought to pass in the last days. I look at this people so comparatively few in numbers, and at the immense work that is to be accom– plished, and it seems an herculean, an impossible labor to the natural vision. It seems as if no human beings could accomplish it. But God has spoken concerning this work. His word has gone forth, and it cannot fail. This work will be accomplished, and it will be accomplished by the operation of truth. As Brother Woodruff has said, there is a power connected with truth, that when brought to bear upon human beings, has the effect that he has described, and has the effect that the Prophets have predicted concerning the last days. There will be a power exercised in our behalf, increasing as we are prepared to receive it; for this people with all their weaknesses, and they are many, are nevertheless drawing nearer and nearer to God every day, and faith is increasing in their midst. A generation of boys and girls are growing up who will have greater faith than their predecessors, their parents, have had, and the work will continue to grow and spread. And there is this to be taken into consideration, God having predicted the ushering in of the last dispensation, knowing the odds that would have to be contended with in establishing it: God knowing this has reserved in the heavens to come forth at this time the noblest of His spirits, the men and women most capable of carrying out this work, and achieving the grand results the Prophets have predicted should be accomplished in the day and generation, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. God knowing this, in His wisdom and foreknowledge has prepared the way beforehand, and there will be men and women brought forth who will carry off this work in the way He designs. Step by step, the adversary of God, that is the adversary of all truth, will have to recede. The struggle is between Satan and God. The struggle is for the supremacy of this earth, and you may depend upon it, it will not be given up without a mighty wrestle. The adversary has wielded this power now for nearly 2,000 years—1,400 years and upwards on this continent. For this period he has held undisturbed sway, it may be said—that is, if not entirely true it is nearly true in saying it has been undisturbed. There have occasionally some persons arisen who have endeavored to stem the tide of wickedness that the devil has caused to flow over the earth; but there has been no Priesthood on the earth, no organized church, no organized power, through whom God could operate, and you may depend upon it, now that there is one, there will be a mighty struggle. It will cost the best efforts of which we are capable, to lay the foundation so successfully that it shall not be overturned, to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every kind of opposition will be brought against this work. There is nothing that you can conceive of that will be kept back, and it will come upon us as fast as we are able to bear it. It is only the power of God that restrains our enemies from overwhelming us. If it were not that God has said this shall not be, and has told us that He will establish this work never more to be thrown down, we would not be able to stand. But victory will perch upon our banners, and will do so until the end. But it will not be without a mighty warfare, the hostility against this work will be continuous. No man need calculate on anything else. Why, just think of the results that are to be wrought out. Just think of what depends upon our labors and upon this con– test? We have been gathering the people from Babylon through the power of God to build up a Zion here. But see the results that attend our labors in this city and in this Territory. It seems as though all hell is endeavoring to defeat our object, and to defeat the cause of God in gathering the people out from the nations of the earth. The adversary has said:

“You shall not have a pure people; you shall not build up Zion; I will bring all my forces to bear against this; I will destroy the work of God; I will not allow the Priesthood of God to remain on the earth; I will kill them off, or I will do everything in my power to cripple them.”

Thus he brings every kind of influence to bear against this people. We would have a pure people here; we would have a Zion such as the Bible describes, if we were allowed; we would have a city in which angels might walk in the streets all day, if we could have our way; but Satan says: “You shall not. I will bring every power and influence to bear against you. I will besmear you in every way I can, and will make you so hateful in the eyes of all people, that they will come up against and destroy you. You shall not build up Zion, if I can prevent it.”

And you see the result. Every power that is conceivable is brought to bear against us. We are maligned. We are represented as everything that is vile. Men think that in killing us they will be doing God service; not because of our wickedness, but because they believe we are wicked, because the adversary has had such power through falsehood and misrepresentation, that men believe that they will be doing God service in exterminating us from the face of the earth. And what is it that restrains the efforts of our enemies? It is the power of God only. We should be overwhelmed if it were not for this invisible agency—invisible to us. There are legions of angels around us. Their power is exerted in our behalf, and the results we can see in the deliverances which are wrought out so miraculously for our good. It is a cause of amazement how we are delivered from time to time, so few in numbers, and so hated as we are. Our friends are filled with astonishment. Every few days, every few weeks, or every few months, they think that something is going to occur, that will cause our destruction—I mean friends who have not the faith and the knowledge that we have. But this work of our God will go forth, despite all the opposition that will be brought against it. It will win, because it is true. As we have been told by Brother Woodruff, the eternal principles of truth are on the earth now in an organized form, and you cannot kill them unless you kill the people themselves. There is no way to stop this work, except by the extirpation of the “Mormons,” or Latter-day Saints, root and branch! No other method can destroy them but that, and God will not permit it. His Priesthood is on the earth, and it will remain on the earth. You may kill off a few, still the Priesthood will remain, and it will exercise power in the earth. It will unite the people, and the power of God will attend its administration in the midst of the people. The honest will receive the Holy Ghost, they will have a knowledge of this work for themselves, and they will be ready to endure all the consequences that may attend the espousal of the truth, just as their predecessors have done in times that are past and in our own age. God will bless us if we seek to do His will. Remember, my brethren and sisters, that that which obeys law is preserved and sanctified by law. If you want to escape evils, obey the law that God has revealed. Keep His commandments. There is safety in this. It is a great work we are engaged in. The desire I have for every man and woman of this Church is, that they may be true, and that their children may live to be true to God in days to come; for we are laying the foundation of a work that shall stand undisturbed for one thousand years. Then, in the purposes of God, Satan will be loosed again for a little season, but it will only be for a little while. We are engaged in laying the foundations of that work. It is the most glorious work that could be committed to man. Angels delight in it, and we have the precious privilege of taking part in it. We have difficulties to contend with, but let them come. We will meet them, and what is better still, we will overcome them through God’s help, and our children will enjoy the blessings of liberty. I trust and pray that of this people who have fought so valiantly, and whose desires for the success of God’s Kingdom are so pure, there will be found men and women of their descent, who so long as time shall last, shall stand up possessed of the Holy Priesthood in the presence of God, to magnify it. This is my desire for myself, it is my desire for my family, it is my desire for my brethren and sisters throughout the Kingdom of God; and that God may grant that we may be exalted in His presence when our work is done, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 6, 1884.

There is a proverb or saying which I have heard a good many times in my life, and which I think bears a great deal of weight, and that is, “truth is mighty and will prevail.” I think this has been manifested in every capacity in which truth has been used, whether applied temporally or spiritually; whether applied in the capacity of nations, or families, or individuals; whether applied to the world or to the kingdom of God. I think that in every age of the world, truth, whether it has been popular or unpopular, has proved itself, in the end of its labor, to prevail in all cases. When Columbus was moved upon by the Spirit of God, to cross the ocean to find a new continent, his object and desires were unpopular with those by whom he was surrounded, and it was only after a good deal of labor that he gained favor in the eyes of any of the rulers of the nations whereby to receive assistance sufficient to carry out his wishes. But in the end he prevailed. He found a new world, as it were, which today contains a population of the Anglo-Saxon race, numbering fifty millions of people. The commencement of Columbus’ project was certainly unpopular, but the result has proved it true. And so in all cases, whenever men have been inspired to receive truth, or to promulgate any principle, which would be a benefit to the human family, they have generally been unpopular. When Robert Fulton undertook to demonstrate the power of steam in a steamboat, the crowd which gathered to behold the event, did not gather to see success; they gathered there to ridicule, to see a man fail in performing a work which they considered impossible. But when the steam was applied to the vessel it moved. The invention was certainly very crude, but there was truth in it, and it has prevailed to a great extent; for steam is the great motive power of all the machinery in the world, in a great measure. And so with a Scottish Earl when he announced that there was a man going to try and light the City of Edinburgh with smoke. The man was looked upon as crazy. But there was truth in that smoke, and it lit the city, and it has given light to a good many other cities since. The principle prevailed, and is now adopted throughout the world. So with Mr. Morse, the electrician. He unsuccessfully in the first instance [in 1837-8], sought aid both from the American Congress and the English government to enable him to carry out his ideas; but, ultimately [in 1843] he gained assistance from Congress, and his invention of telegraphy was demonstrated a success, and is now made use of throughout the civilized world. And so we might go on to show that in almost every instance when men have undertaken to introduce new principles—principles of truth—principles that would benefit the human family—they have generally been very unpopular, until the truth was made manifest to the world.

The same thing may be applied to the introduction of the principles of eternal truth pertaining to the salvation of the human family in a spiritual point of view. When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, stepped forth into the world to occupy the position to which He had been ordained of God, there were but few individuals who had faith in Him, or who were looking for the coming of the Son of Man in fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus, all His life, it may be said, from the manger to the cross, was very unpopular with the mass of the human family, more particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem. His history is before the world. He died an ignominious death upon the cross, and those of His own Father’s house, the High Priests, and the leading men of Jerusalem, were all in favor of His death. Yet the Savior possessed truth. He offered truth to the world; He offered life and salvation to the world. But the principles He taught were unpopular in His day. He gathered around Him a few followers; but the acceptance of His principles cost them their lives, as it did the life of the Savior Himself. I do not know of a man—except it was John the Revelator—who escaped. They all died violent deaths. They had to seal their testimony with their blood. Some were crucified; others were sawn asunder, beheaded, or in some way put to death for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They were put to death for their religion. How is it today? What name has been more honored, or more held up as an ensample to the world than the name of Jesus Christ? The Catholic world, the Protestant world, in fact the whole Christian world are professing to honor the name of Jesus Christ. The Savior had truth, but it was not received in His day and time.

With regard to our own time my mind is often led to reflect upon it. Half a century has past and gone before the eyes of this generation, since the God of heaven commenced, as in former ages of the world, the fulfillment of prophecy and revelation contained in the Bible—this good old book that the Christian world profess to believe in so much. The Lord has set His hand to bring to pass some of these prophecies and principles which He had foreordained before the world was, and which He has left on record through the medium of holy men who wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost from generation to generation. Those prophecies are with us today. They are contained in the Bible, a book that is published by millions throughout the Christian world. The Christian world profess to honor the Bible and to honor the prophecies and sayings of Christ and the Apostles. But do they believe in the fulfillment of these things? Do they believe in the fulfillment of these principles and truths which are today being fulfilled in the eyes of heaven and earth? No. Those prophecies and those principles—which the God of heaven has set His hand to carry out—are as unpopular today throughout the Christian world as they were when Jesus of Nazareth stood in the flesh and proclaimed the same to the Jewish nation. We occupy the same position that they did in that day and generation with regard to these truths. Now, as I have said, truth is mighty. It always has prevailed in every age of the world. It will prevail in this dispensation as it has done in others. The God of Israel will no more fail today to carry out the principles which He has stretched forth His hand to establish, than he did in the days of either Adam, Enoch, Noah, or Jesus, or in the days of any other dispensation.

The principles to which I allude—the principles of the Gospel—are worthy the attention and comprehension of at least the Latter-day Saints, and it would be well for the Christian world to take them into consideration also; for if truth is going to prevail in the earth it certainly will involve the destiny of this whole generation, Jew and Gentile, high and low, rich and poor, Zion and Babylon. It will involve the destiny of the whole world—of the fourteen hundred millions of people who breathe the breath of life in it. And I bear record and testimony, as a servant of God, that the God of heaven has set His hand to carry out those great and eternal principles which He decreed before the world was made and which He has left on record through the mouths of His prophets, to be fulfilled in the last dispensation and fullness of times. Are these principles popular today? They are not. Why not? Because the world is not governed by the spirit of inspiration; because its people do not seek the Lord; because they do not honor His name; but they are governed and controlled by other principles. But the Lord will rule over His own Kingdom, notwithstanding the Devil has great dominion today as he has had in almost every age of the world. The inhabitants of the earth have their agency. They must use that agency according to the desires of their own hearts, whether they be for good, or whether they be for evil. But the day is at hand when the Lord will show the children of this generation that there is a God in Israel, as He has done in other dispensations when He has reigned. In all the history of the dealings of God with man this one principle, sooner or later, has manifested itself: that virtue exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people. You will see that this has been manifested in the history of all nations under heaven—in their rise and progress and prosperity, and in their fall and decline and in their final overthrow and destruction. You will find in every instance that sin, error, darkness, falsehood, wrongdoing, have laid the foundation of the overthrow of every nation and city under heaven from the foundation of the world until the present time. What men sow they will reap, and what measure they measure to others will be measured unto them.

Today we occupy a peculiar position as a people—as Latter-day Saints here in these mountains. Here is a people growing up in the earth who are organized into a Church, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How did the organization of that Church come about? Why, the God of heaven has proclaimed through His prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others, whose writings are contained within the lids of the Bible, that in the latter days He would set His hand to call forth His Church out of the wilderness and out of darkness and error, and establish it upon the foundation of truth, Christ Jesus being the chief corner stone. The God of heaven also proclaimed through Daniel, 4,000 years ago, that in the latter days he would set up a kingdom which should never be destroyed; and the kingdom should not be left to other people, but it should break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it should stand forever. That prophet also declared that a little stone should be cut out of the mountain without hands; that the stone should become a great mountain and fill the whole earth; and that it should break in pieces all other kingdoms. Was that Prophet inspired by the Spirit and power of God? I say in the name of Israel’s God he was, and so was Isaiah when he spoke of the gathering of the people unto the mountains of Israel to establish the Zion of God in its beauty, strength, power and glory. The God of heaven also inspired a prophet as he stood upon the Isle of Patmos—John the Revelator—and in connection with the great events of the last dispensation and fullness of times he saw, in vision, an “angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Now I want this congregation; I want the world; I want the Christian world; I want the priests of the day who cry aloud for the blood of innocence to be shed to carry out their desires—I want these priests and all who are laboring to overthrow “Mormonism,” to carefully inquire, whether those prophets were inspired of God. And if they were inspired of God, whether it is right for them to make war against the work of God in the earth? Whether it would not be better to let these things alone—to leave them in the hands of the Lord, and allow Him to govern and control as He sees fit? And if these men were inspired of the Lord and made those proclamations—with thousands of others in the Bible and in the revelations of God—the question is, whether this warfare against God and against His work is going to prevail? The wicked will have no such power; for the Lord has set His hand to fulfill these things which have been predicted by His Prophets—to establish His Church and Kingdom upon the earth. He has called Prophets, and they were inspired of God. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. He was a man raised up by the power of God. He received the testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by visions and revelation as did John the Revelator. Angels appeared unto him and taught him the ways of life. Those men who held the Priesthood—who were put to death in the flesh for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ—visited Joseph Smith. John the Baptist conferred upon him the Aaronic Priesthood; Peter, James and John, the Apostleship and Melchizedek Priesthood; and all the Prophets who held any keys and powers belonging to the Gospel these also visited Joseph Smith, and conferred upon him those keys and powers and authority to administer them on the earth. These are eternal truths, as the God of heaven lives, and they will prevail whether men believe them or not, or whether the wicked war against them or not. These truths belong to God Himself. He is the author of them. He has given forth certain decrees, and they will have their fulfillment in the earth.

Now, as far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned, I will say to my brethren and sisters, we ought to contemplate these principles. There is no power organized beneath the heavens that can stay the hand of Almighty God. He has set His hand to carry out His purposes. The world hate this people, because the Lord has called them forth out of the world, the same as He called His disciples of old. This is the position we occupy today, as His people. Though our numbers are small, yet “a little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation:” and the Lord will hasten it in His time. A little one has already become more than a thousand, or a hundred thousand, and in spite of all opposition this small one will become a great nation, and God will hasten it in His time, because God is our friend. Now, these are truths. They have emanated from God Himself.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the law of salvation. No man can be saved without it. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth—to Jew or Greek, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, or any other sect or party on the face of the earth.

We, as Latter-day Saints, are called upon to build up Zion. We have been gathered to be instructed by inspiration and through the medium of the Holy Priesthood, in the principles of eternal truth. This is our condition today. Fifty-three years have passed since this work commenced. Joseph Smith dwelt in the flesh some fourteen years after he organized this Church. He holds the keys of this dispensation on both sides of the veil, and will hold them forever. God ordained him to perform a certain work. He performed it. He stayed on earth until his work was finished. All the keys, powers and principles which God gave unto him he left with his brethren; although whatsoever he left with his brethren did not take from him; for as Jesus says in a revelation given in regard to the Priesthood:

“Whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

“And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

“And this is according to the oath and the covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

“But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.”—Doc. and Cov., Sec. 84.

Thus, although the Lord bestows upon His servants the same powers and blessings that He Himself holds, it does not take away these powers and blessings from the Father. The Father possesses all He had before. The Son possesses all that he hath given unto him. So do the sons of the living God. When a man bestows those gifts and blessings and powers upon others, he does not lose them himself. The Lord raised up Joseph Smith. He organized this Church. It has been organized for 54 years next April. And what has been the consequence? Have we had opposition? Yes. Have we had persecution? Yes. Is not the desire of a great many millions of people for our overthrow? Yes; and a great many wish us put to death. Some men go so far as to be willing to slay, utterly, men, women and children, because they believe what is termed “Mormonism,” but which is really the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These things are proclaimed to the world today. What is the matter? Mormonism is unpopular. Why is it unpopular? “Because,” say the priests of the day, “it interferes with our rights. We preach for hire and divine for money, and if the Mormons were to prevail in the earth, we should lose our business, and we cannot endure it.” “Why,” says the world, “you profess to believe in polygamy, and that is why you are persecuted.” No, you are mistaken about that. The worst persecution this Church ever endured was before polygamy was revealed to the Church. We have had more prosperity since we carried out that law, and endeavored to fulfill it according to the command of God, than we ever had as a people before. And here is the principle with me—I speak as an individual; I speak for myself—if this work is of God; if the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed to Joseph Smith, is true, then God will take care of it; if the patriarchal law of marriage comes from the God of Israel, He will take care of it; He will protect and defend it, and He will uphold the people that carry it out. I say this is in the name of Israel’s God, And if it is not of God, who wants it? I don’t, neither do this people. I speak of this principle because I want my brethren and sisters to understand the views I have upon it.

I know we are engaged in the work of the Lord. I know this is His Church. He has organized it with Prophets and Apostles in fulfillment of predictions made thousands of years ago. This is a work which was ordained before the world was. The Lord Almighty never created a world like this and peopled it for 6,000 years, as he has done, without having some motive in view. That motive was, that we might come here and exercise our agency. The probation we are called upon to pass through, is intended to elevate us so that we can dwell in the presence of God our Father. And that eternal variety of character which existed in the heavens among the spirits—from God upon his throne down to Lucifer the son of the morning—exists here upon the earth. That variety will remain upon the earth in the creations of God, and for what I know, throughout the endless ages of eternity. Men will occupy different glories and positions according to their lives—according to the law they keep in the flesh.

But I want the Latter-day Saints to understand their position. Our trust is in God. With regard to men, it is our duty to treat our fel– lowmen aright, to leave them in the hands of God if they persecute us. The Lord has a controversy with this generation. This Bible, the Old and New Testament, contains a vast amount of, I will say, tremendous revelations, tremendous events, which hang over the heads of the people of this dispensation. Are these events going to fall unfulfilled? No; no more than they did in the days of the fall of Babylon, of Nineveh, of Jerusalem, and of other cities in the nations of the earth. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem became ripe in iniquity; though Jerusalem was the royal city, in which was the Urim and Thummim, and in which sacrifices were made unto the Lord, yet the city was laid low, and the Jews have been trampled under the feet of the Gentiles for 1,800 years. We are living at the commencement of the Millennium, and near the close of the 6,000th year of the world’s history. Tremendous events await this generation. You can read an account of them in the revelations of St. John; the opening of the seals; the blowing of the trumpets; the pouring out of the plagues; the judgments of God which will overtake the wicked when Great Babylon comes in remembrance before God, and when the sword that is bathed in heaven shall fall on Idumea, or the world, who shall be able to abide these things? Here we are living in the midst of these tremendous events.

We are in the hands of God; our nation is, and so are the nations of the earth; and when they undertake to overthrow the Kingdom of God, which is decreed shall be established, they have somebody to fight against besides Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or John Taylor, or any other of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This warfare is between God and the devil, between light and darkness, truth and error, between the heavens and the earth; and that God who has supported His work from the creation of the world, is bound to do it unto the end. Where have you ever read that the Kingdom of God would be overthrown in the last days? You cannot find it anywhere on the pages of the records of divine truth. No; the revelations of God will be fulfilled. And we must exercise faith in that direction. As the ancients had faith; as the world was created by faith; as Noah built an ark and preached the Gospel of repentance for 120 years by faith; as Abraham went out not knowing where he was going by faith; as the ancients performed many mighty works, such as the subduing of cities and kingdoms by faith; therefore I say to the Latter-day Saints, you are required by the God of Israel, your Heavenly Father, by his Son Jesus Christ, by the holy angels, and by every principle of eternal truth, to exercise faith in the revelations of God, for they will be fulfilled as the Lord lives. God is with this people. But we are required to hearken to his voice, obey his commandments, and humble ourselves before him. And I thank the Lord that I have lived to see the time when I believe there is a great improvement among the Latter-day Saints. I believe they are exercising greater faith in God. And there is a calmness prevailing among the Mormons—so called—that is a marvel and a wonder to the world. The world wonder why we are not excited over the opposition that is brought to bear upon us by the millions of people who inhabit this continent, as well as by the people of the nations of the earth. The reason of our calmness is—God is our friend, our lawgiver, our deliverer. If the Lord cannot sustain His work, we certainly cannot. But He can. He has always done it, and will do it to the end. Therefore I say to the Saints, fear not. Trust in God. Let not your hearts be faint. Let your prayers ascend to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, day and night. Ask what you want. When you do that, the Lord will answer your prayers, if you ask what is right. There is where our our strength lies. It is in God. I have no hope in anything else. But I do look upon the Latter-day Saints as occupying a most glorious position in this day and age of the world. This is the first time since God created the world that he has ever established a dispensation to remain on the earth until the coming of the Son of Man—to remain in power and strength and glory, until the Millennium, until He reigns whose right it is to reign. Behold what lies before you! Behold the power of God! Behold the prosperity of Zion! Behold the blessings which have rested upon your houses, your lands, your flocks and herds, your children—the blessings of the earth as well as of the heavens—in this mighty barren desert! Then should we have any doubts or fears with regard to the Kingdom of God? No! As a people we should rise up in faith and power before God, and make our wants known, and leave our destiny in His hands. It is there anyhow. It will remain there. And with regard to our nation, I leave them in the hands of God; but I would to God their eyes were open to see and understand the responsibilities that rest upon them. I would to God that the rulers of our land—the President of the United States, the Congress of the United States, the Supreme Court of the United States—would learn the responsibility the God of heaven will hold them to in the administration of those glorious principles laid down in the Constitution of the government of this country. The God of heaven will hold this nation, as well as all other nations, responsible for the manner in which these principles are used. If they misuse them, it will be their loss. If they trample the Constitution under foot; if they undertake to deprive any portion of citizens of the rights the Constitution guarantees unto them, they will be held responsible, and will have to pay the bill. When innocent blood is shed, it costs something; and I would to God that our nation could understand the blessings they enjoy. There is no nation on the face of the earth that has the same liberty that is guaranteed to us by the Constitution of our country.

Have we any warfare with our Government? Have we any reproach to offer them? Not at all. I feel sorry that this nation should sow seeds which when ripe will bring destruction; for I know as God lives that if this or any other government departs from the principles of truth, becomes ripened in iniquity, forsakes the Lord, forsakes the principles of life and liberty, the God of heaven will hold it responsible. Judgments will come upon the wicked. When men depart from the principles of truth and cleave unto darkness and wickedness, they reap the whirlwind; they lay the foundation for desolation.

I pray God my heavenly Father, that his blessing may rest upon us as Latter-day Saints; that we may comprehend and understand our position, our duties and our responsibilities to God. When I look, brethren and sisters, upon this handful of men and women here in these mountains of Israel, say 150,000, out of the fourteen hundred million people that dwell on the earth; when I realize the responsibility that God has laid upon the Latter-day Saints, the responsibility of building up this great kingdom of our God, of proclaiming the principles of eternal life, light and truth to the world; when I reflect upon these things I ask myself the question, What manner of men ought we to be? Our numbers are small compared even with the inhabitants of this nation, not to speak of the inhabitants of the world; yet, as I said before I say again, the God of heaven looks to the Latter-day Saints to carry on His work.

Then let us be careful. Let us realize our condition. Let us realize we are here upon a mission. Let us realize that we will be held responsible for the manner in which we fill it. We should be willing to sacrifice everything for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God. Any man who will seek to save his life and desert the principles of the Gospel, is not worthy of eternal life. How many have laid down their lives since the creation of the world for the sake of the truth? Jesus Himself descended below all things. He descended, I believe, lower than any other man will be called to descend. Are we greater than Jesus? If we are called upon today to lay down our lives, what of it? Is it not as well to die for the Gospel’s sake as to die for anything else? A million of men, a few years ago, sacrificed their lives for the honor of this nation. No matter what we may be called to pass through, let us maintain our integrity to God. Where is the man whose mind has been lit up by the inspiration of God to comprehend the celestial kingdom, or the celestial law, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who can bear the idea of pursuing a course whereby he will be cut off from inheriting the blessings for which he has hoped in the future? No, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be deprived of these blessings. We have a long time to live when we get through here. There is all eternity before us. It will pay you, it will pay me—no matter what comes, no matter what this nation may do to oppress us—to be true and faithful to our covenants, to our wives and children, to our God and to our country; it will pay us to be faithful to the end.

I pray God that this may be our lot, that we may be true and faithful unto death, and inherit eternal life, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in Kaysville, Davis County, Sunday, December 9th, 1883.

If you will give me your attention and your faith and prayers I will endeavor to address you. It always affords me pleasure to meet with the Saints of God. In company with my brethren we have been traveling up and down lately, associating with the Saints in the different conferences, trying to speak of things in which we are all interested, things pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God, and the establishing of His Zion upon the earth.

I have been very much interested in the remarks which have been made by the various speakers who have addressed you. They have touched upon subjects which concern the whole people.

We are living in a peculiar day and age of the world, a day that is pregnant with very great events, a day that has been spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was. We are living in an age when the Gospel has been restored to the earth; and that Gospel in this day, as in other ages of the world, has brought life and immortality to light. The spirit of truth, even the gift of the Holy Ghost, has again been restored to the children of men by the opening of the heavens, by the ministering of holy angels, and by the voice of God. A message has been sent forth to the nations to gather together His elect from the four quarters of the earth. We have been gathered together, therefore, according to the word of the Lord, and notwithstanding the numerous afflictions and trials to which we have been exposed for these many years, we possess many privileges, many enjoyments. In a word, we have been greatly blessed of the Lord. Instead of wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins—we have done very little of that comparatively speaking—it may be said of us that “the lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage.”

It behooves us, therefore, at all times, as far as possible, to comprehend the position which we occupy. Especially does it rest upon the Holy Priesthood, who have the manipulation and management of the affairs of the Church of God upon the earth, to comprehend the position and relationship which they sustain to the kingdom of God, to the people of God, to the Church of God, and the Zion of God, that they may be enabled to act wisely, prudently and intelligently, and to pursue that course, and help others to pursue it, which leads to prosperity, peace and happiness, in this life, and to exaltations, thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds. We are here for that purpose. We are thus gathered that we may be instructed in regard to those principles, that we may obtain a knowledge of the way of life. Therefore, it is well for each and all of us to consider the position that we occupy.

There has been a good deal said about schools, and a variety of other things, all of which has been very well said and very correctly. If men were wise they would need no instruction of that kind. But then we are not wise, we are not educated, we are not intelligent, in regard to the things of God, and yet, comparatively speaking, we are. When we compare ourselves with the rest of mankind, we have made very great progress; for through the medium of the Everlasting Priesthood, by the revelation of the will of God to man, and through the ministration of His Holy Spirit, we have drunk of the stream whereof maketh glad the city of our God. That life and immortality which has been revealed through the Gospel, has given unto us a glimpse of things that the rest of mankind are entirely ignorant of. No matter how sincere they may be, and many of them are very sincere in their religious faith and worship, yet they are ignorant of many of the great principles pertaining to the kingdom of God, and they can only know them in the same way, and through the same channel that we received our information—that is, by obedience to the Gospel of Christ, and by the reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost. For we are positively told that no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God, and the way to obtain that Spirit is the same now as it was in former times. How did they then receive it? What was the instruction then given? “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.” And what then?” “And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” This is the way pointed out in the Scriptures. Are there any other instructions given at variance with this? Certainly not. And if a knowledge of the things of God can only be obtained through the medium of the Spirit of God, and if that Spirit can only be received through obedience to the plan or order laid down in the Gospel, then those who have not yielded obedience to that Gospel are not competent judges of those principles. Then, again, when we come to ourselves, the same reasoning and the same principles hold good. When men are humble, pure and virtuous, and seek unto the Lord for His guidance, for the light of His Holy Spirit to lead them unto the paths of life, that they may comprehend His law, His word and His will—and then obey it as it is made manifest to them—such persons, those brethren and sisters who follow this plan, are a thousand times more likely to comprehend the things of God, than those who are careless, indifferent, foolish and wayward, and who neglect the blessings and the opportunities which are offered to them. The light that is in those people becomes darkness, while the path of the others is like that of the just which shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. The whole human family, it is true, have a portion of the Spirit of God, but not in the light that we speak of it. A portion of the Spirit of God is given, we are told, to every man to profit withal; but it is the Gospel that brings life and immortality to light. It is the Gospel that places men in communion with God. It is the Gospel that puts us in possession of that principle of certainty that no one can comprehend but those who are in possession of it, and therefore in that respect there is a very material difference between them and us.

It is not strange to me to see the kind of spirit and animus that is frequently manifested against the Saints of God. This principle and spirit of antagonism to the rule of God, and to His government and laws, is as old as the creation of the world. It began in heaven. The third part of the hosts of heaven, we are told, were cast out because of their rebellion against God. We are informed in our late revelations, that Satan desired to take away the free agency of man, just as men are seeking to take away ours; just as men have sought to do in different ages. Satan rebelled against his Father, and he was cast out, and one-third of those spirits that had not received tabernacles were also cast out with him. What did he do when he was cast out? He began to persuade the sons of men to do the same thing on earth that he had done in heaven. You can read of Cain and the course he pursued, and yet Cain professed—and there are a great many who do it now—to recognize God his Heavenly Father, while at the same time he was in league with the devil. Cain was called the great Master Mahan. Still he was a religious “cuss.” Excuse the expression; but we have a great many such today. Abel was told to offer up sacrifice, and he did so. He brought the firstlings of his flock and offered them up as a sacrifice to the Lord; and the Lord accepted his offering. Cain offered up the first fruits of the earth. He was going to be, as I have said, a religious “cuss,” a religious hypocrite—as if God was not acquainted with what he was doing!—as if He could not read the contents of his heart!—as if He did not know that Cain had made a compact with Satan! He knew all about it, and understood all about the principle. Cain went to work and offered his sacrifice. But the Lord knew of his hypocrisy and deception, and of his plotting and planning against Him; for we are told that Cain loved Satan more than he loved God. The Lord would not accept his offering. Cain felt annoyed about it. He wanted to serve the devil, and at the same time receive the blessing of God, the same as many do today. They would like the blessing of God, but want to have the devil mixed up with it. Finally, the Lord spake to him. He asked him why he was wroth, and why his countenance was fallen? I presume that he tried to make out that he had not been treated right, in that the Lord accepted his brother’s offering and would not accept his. But the Lord told him: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” After a while he began to do something that men are guilty of today. What was it? He coveted his brother’s flocks and herds, as many people covet our property here. What else? In order to get him out of the way, he killed him. He apparently had nobody to recommend to do the killing—as some are recommending that we be killed—so he had to do the business himself. The Lord again interrogated Cain. “Where is Abel, thy brother?” And he said, “I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?” “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” And the Lord went on to tell him that for his crime he should be looked upon as a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth.

I need not go into further detail. I simply desired to show that this spirit of hatred against God, His laws and His people is nothing new. The history of this world is full of examples of this kind. We are told that in former times the servants of the Most High wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth; and it was said in Jesus’ day, that they killed the Prophets, and stoned those who were sent unto them; and finally, when the Son himself came, they said this is the heir, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. Jesus said, if they do these things in the green tree, what will they do in the dry? They beheaded John the Baptist; they crucified the Savior; and His Apostles were martyred for the same truths that He himself had proclaimed; and the Christians of those days under the rule of Pagan Rome, were thrown into the arena, to be devoured by wild beasts; they were imprisoned, slaughtered, and tortured in every conceivable way; and it is said of one Roman emperor, Nero, that he had the Saints covered with inflammable material, and then set on fire to light the streets of the Imperial City. When Christians were in possession of the same spirit, they did no better, as exhibited in the persecutions and destructions of the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and the Huguenots, in the application of the tortures of the thumbscrew, the rack, the faggot, and the fire, and of other species of refined cruelty by those who professed to be the followers of the meek and lowly Jesus.

Our history has been a history of the same kind of scenes. Joseph Smith, in his lifetime, was persecuted and driven from place to place. He was maligned, vilified, scourged, tarred and feathered, and finally murdered in cold blood, by a mob with blackened faces, in violation of the pledge of protection of the governor of the State of Illinois. It may be asked, why are we here today in these valleys of the mountains? Because we had to flee from Missouri to Illinois; from Illinois into these mountains, to seek for that protection among the savages of the plains which was denied us by the civilization of the age under the auspices of a boasted Christianity; and the same spirit of vilification, falsification and abuse still follows us.

At frequently recurring periods, frenzied demonstrations are made by religious fanatics and political demagogues against the Latter-day Saints; a hue and cry is set up by these pretended apostles of freedom and champions of the rights of man, and it is made to appear that “there are terrible things in the land of Ham, and wonderful things by the Red Sea.”

Some people get scared. I am not a particle scared. “Why,” they say, “Don’t you think they will swallow us?” If they did, I think they would be something like the whale that swallowed Jonah—they would throw us up again. I do not think we are quite swallowed up yet; but we should have been but for the interposition of the Almighty. There is one thing, however, that the world does not comprehend—and I think, sometimes, that the Saints do not comprehend it—and that is that the Lord reigns. There is a Scripture which says: “The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice. The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble.” If the Lord did not reign we should be in a very peculiar position; in fact, to use a somewhat vulgar expression, we should be “in a bad row of stumps.” But the Lord has decreed to accomplish certain purposes. He decreed it before the world was framed or the morning stars sang together for joy. He laid out the plan associated with humanity that He decreed should be accomplished. He understood about the fall of man. He understood about the redemption that would be required to redeem man and bring him back into his presence. He understood all about the opposition to the principles of truth, and the power of Satan, as it would be manifested in the different ages of the world, and the ruin, desolation, misery, confusion and destruction which would issue in conse– quence of Satan possessing this power and dominion, for he is called the prince and power of the air, who rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience, and leads them captive at his will. They don’t know this, but it is nevertheless true. And then the Lord understood another principle, namely, that the time would come when the power of Satan, and the power of the wicked would be overthrown; when the Zion of God would be established; when a reign of righteousness would be introduced; when there would be a communion between the Priesthood on the earth and the Priesthood in the heavens, and when correct principles would be introduced, and the rule and government of God would be established in the earth, and continue until the kingdoms of this world would become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and He would reign with universal empire over the nations of the earth. This is a thing that has been spoken of by all the Prophets, and it is the time of the restitution of all things since the world was.

Very well, this is the work, then, which is committed unto us, and it is well for us to comprehend the position we occupy; to understand the path we walk in; as the Scriptures say: “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”

As a people we have an important work to perform. We must proclaim the Gospel to the nations of the earth. For this purpose, we are first gathered together. Then we are taught, then we are organized. We have our quorums of various kinds. We have the First Presidency; we have the Twelve; we have the Presidents of Stakes; we have High Councils; we have Bishops; we have Priests, Teachers and Deacons; we have Seventies, High Priests, etc., and all of these various organizations have their several duties to perform. It behooves every one of them to comprehend those duties, and to fulfill them. And I would say to the Presidents of Stakes; I would say to the Bishops; I would say to High Councils; I would say to all men holding authority, Priests, Teachers, etc., that they are not here to condone men’s offenses and to pass by and look over the iniquities of men, but to purge them out, to prune the tree, to purify the Church of the living God. These officers are placed in the Church for the perfecting of the Saints. Do the Saints need perfecting? Yes, or you would not find such things as Brother Joseph F. Smith referred to this morning. They would not be known among us. People would not be found shuffling their children over into the hands of the enemy to be educated—to be let down to death. If such people ever get into the celestial kingdom—and I very much doubt that they ever will—they will find the children that might have been there with them, wallowing in misery; and those children will point up to them, if they may, and say, “Father! Mother! I blame you for this; for it was you that led me to it.” I tell you such people will sup sorrow in this world and in the world to come. Therefore, be careful how you treat your children: act the part of fathers and mothers to them, and not the part of unnatural monsters, who, having been enlightened to a degree by the Spirit of the Lord, trample under foot the things of God, and cast your offspring into the arms of the corrupt, of the evil, and of those who are seeking your life, and striving to destroy you.

What, then, would you do? Would you entertain harsh feelings? No; but if I had been living in Adam’s time and had had children, I do not think I should have sent them to be educated by Cain. Would you? I think some of you would. I do not think I should. I do not think I would do it now, and I do not think any decent man would—no man or woman who has the light of the Spirit of God, could do it. Well, but what would you do? Would you persecute them? No; but I would let them severely alone. They are very plausible. They are very nice. So was the devil. Like him some of those people would like to deprive us of our free agency. They are of their father, the devil, and the works of their father they will do. There are some ministers of the Gospel, even, occupying prominent positions, who advocate the use of the cannon, the musket, and the bayonet, in order to rob, murder and plunder the Latter-day Saints. What for? Because we happen to claim the right of free agency in regard to our religious worship, and think we ought to enjoy it, and when we do we feel we are simply carrying out a constitutional principle, and are not interfering with anybody. Whose religion do we interfere with? In Salt Lake City we have Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics and others; do we interfere with them? No. Do we persecute them? No. Do we get up tirades against them? No. Do we publish falsehoods about them? No. The truth would be too bad, if told about some of them. There is no need of lying; if any of them were persecuted in any way or in any place among our people, I would be the first to step forward in their defense; because I do believe in the free agency of man, though they don’t; and while they boast of this being a land of freedom, they seek to bring us into bondage. Why is it then that we are persecuted? Who have we sinned against? What laws have we broken? Will they please tell us wherein we have violated the laws or the Constitution of the United States? Will any of the savants at Washington, or anywhere else, tell us what we have done? They make us guilty of crime only on the principle of falsehood, defamation and the violation of truth; for you know, and we all know, that ninety-nine out of every hundred of the charges that are made against us are baseless fabrications. I am not speaking of these things in anger. I feel more to sympathize with those people than anything else; but I certainly don’t want them to teach my children. As I have said, we do not interfere with them in their religious worship. Are they Baptists? They can baptize by immersion if they like. Are they sprinklers? Then they can sprinkle if they like. I do not propose to interfere with them. But because we believe in certain principles which God has revealed, they must go to work to deprive us of the privilege of putting our belief into practice. As I have said, there is nothing new in that. It don’t affect me one particle, but I wished to mention some of these particulars for your consideration, that you may comprehend your true status today. For example, they passed a law which we consider unconstitutional, and which interferes with our religious rights. If I were to ask this congregation if they believed plural marriage to be a part of our religion—and that it was revealed by God, and that we did not enter into it until He revealed it unto us—why this congregation would all say they believed in that principle. What! Believe in plural marriage? Yes. Why do you believe in it? Because it is according to your preconceived ideas? No; but because God revealed it. That is why I believe in it. That is why you believe in it. Now, all who believe as I do, hold up your right hands. [A sea of hands went up]. All of a contrary belief make it manifest by the same sign. [Not a hand was raised.] There is not one contrary vote. Now, they interfere with us, and say we shall not worship God according to the dictates of our conscience; but that we shall marry just as they do, and commit vile irregularities “out of the marriage relation” as they do. What is that? Why, it is a doctrine of the devil. As I have said, he sought to take away the free agency of man, and because of that he was cast out of heaven. They are striving to do the same thing in these United States today. They are seeking to deprive you and me and thousands of people in this Territory of religious liberty, without trial, without investigation. They have proceeded on the principle of tyranny and coercion, if not on the principle of blood, just as Cain did. Well, shall we feel very angry? I don’t, I honor men who act as men, but I cannot honor men whom I know to be hypocrites. Still, we have these things to suffer. Our Elders go out to preach the Gospel, and they meet the hireling priests, who, because they cannot withstand their arguments, get angry, and when some men get angry, as you are aware, they act on the “knockdown” principle—or use tar and feathers, the bludgeon, or some others of those refined adjuncts of civilization, and if these will not do, then they take to shooting—a practice which has been resorted to in different places not so very long ago, against our Elders. Why do they do this? Because, say they, we preach false doctrine, and they recommend that the musket and the bayonet be brought to bear upon us. What a strange argument against truth! Yet these are things that are sought to be crowded upon us because of our religious faith.

As I have already inquired, what shall we do? Do as they do? Oh, no! They talk about our corruption. Let me ask you who introduced prostitution here in our midst? Has it been done by this people—the Latter-day Saints? No; for a man or a woman guilty of anything of that kind is immediately severed from the Church. You know they are. Who, then, introduced prostitution? Our Christian civilizers. Who maintains prostitution here? Our Christian civilizers. That is a fact. And they are making some headway in this Stake, I am told in regard to billiards, etc. Let me ask, who introduced billiard halls, and gambling hells in our midst? Our Christian civilizers. Have any of our people done so? If they have, I say to you Bishops, cut them off from the Church. Who maintain these institutions here by law? Our Christian civilizers—Christian judges, associated with Christian churches—crowd them upon us and we cannot get rid of them without violating law. That is the position we are in today. Do we want much more of that civilization? I think not. Who sustain drunkenness and saloons in our midst? Our Christian civilizers. How many saloons have we in Salt Lake City? [President Joseph Smith: Forty-five.] Forty-five rum shops in Salt Lake City! Who sells this rum and keeps these establishments? Our Christian civilizers. And who patronizes these places? Sometimes some of our own people thus disgrace themselves—who ought to hide their heads in shame to be found mixed up with and taking part in these corrupting and damning influences. Can’t you Latter-day Saints let such things alone? Oh for shame! For shame! Have we any people engaged in this degrading business that we know of? [President Joseph F. Smith: In Salt Lake City two, who profess to be Latter-day Saints.] They ought to be cut off from the Church. Any man who will deal in that liquid damnation ought to be cut off from the Church. They don’t belong here. A saloon is not one of the institutions of Zion. It is one of the institutions of modern Christianity. Shall we join hand and glove with them? No, we can’t do it. Do we hate them? I don’t. If they were hungry I would feed them; if they were naked I would clothe them; if they were sick I would administer to them; that would be my feeling; but I say, my soul, enter not thou into their secrets, and mine honor with them be not thou united. That is what I say; and while I would treat them aright, and treat them kindly, yet I don’t want them to teach my children; I don’t want them in my house or to be associated with them. What, with no outsiders? Yes. There are thousands of honorable men, tens of thousands and millions of them in the United States and all over the world. It is not honorable men who engage in the things that we are talking of; but a bastard Christianity, which, in its present methods towards us is a system of hypocrisy and falsehood.

What then would you do? Why, let us attend to our own business, go on with the work that the Lord has given us to do. Let us look well to ourselves, every man and every woman. Let us train up our children in the ways of life. Let us see that they are instructed in the laws of God, and that they are kept from the snares of the adversary. Avoid corruption of every kind. Preserve our bodies pure. Preserve our spirits pure. Be honest, upright and virtuous. Sustain every principle that is good, everything that is calculated to lead to God, to truth, to virtue, and to the establishment of correct principles among men. God expects these things at our hands. It is for the President of this Stake, and for the Bishops he has around him, and for all men in authority, to set their faces against wickedness and corruption, and wherever they find any evil, to root it out and not condone it. We do not want corruption in our midst; and men or women, professing to be Saints, that cannot preserve their bodies and spirits pure, and that cannot adhere to the principles of the truth as God has revealed them, we don’t want them among us.

Again, there are some other things to which I wish to refer. I have heard some people say, “Don’t you think that we are in very great danger now?” We should be if the Lord did not rule. We should always have been in danger if the Lord did not reign. We should always have been in danger if He had not taken care of us. “But,” say some, “don’t you think that when our Legislature meet they had better go to work and pass a law doing away with polygamy?” No; no such thought ever enters my mind; and as I said in the few remarks I made this morning:

“We want no cowards in our ranks, Who will our colors fly; We call for valiant-hearted men, Who are not afraid to die.”

No yielding up of principles that God has revealed. What, turn our backs on Jehovah! And place ourselves in the hands of men who would deprive us of the last vestige of liberty, and take our lives if they had the power! What! Shall we forsake God our Heavenly Father? No, never! And all who are for God and His Kingdom say Amen. [The audience responded with a loud “Amen.“] We want no trembling in the knees, nor anything of that kind around us. Let those who hold such ideas go among the other class and advocate their views with them, but not with us. These are my feelings and my views in relation to this matter. If we can be true to ourselves, true to our God; if we can maintain our virtue, our uprightness, our integrity; if we can be honest and upright and cultivate the spirit of kindness, harmony, and union among ourselves, God will take care of Israel, for He will fight our battles. And what else? I will tell you what you will see by and by. You will see that Scripture fulfilled wherein it says, “the wicked shall slay the wicked.” And the time is not very far distant when another Scripture will be fulfilled, namely, “that every man that will not take up his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety.” In Zion there will be safety. We must therefore cleave to the truth and work righteousness, and God will take care of the balance. The kingdom of God will be built up. The will of God must be done on the earth as it is in heaven. Will such a thing as that ever take place on the earth? Yes, as sure as you and I are here today it will. Then, if the kingdom of God is to come; if the will of God is ever to be done on the earth as it is done in heaven, where can it commence except it is among the Latter-day Saints; for there is no other people under the heavens who acknowledge the authority of God. They do not really acknowledge the rule of God, or the Government of God, anywhere among all the nations of the earth; and if His will is ever done on earth as it is done in heaven, where shall it start but in the land of Zion, and among the people of Zion?

Now, I would say to your Presidents, and to your Bishops, and to your High Councilors, and you brethren holding the Priesthood in this Stake of Zion, cannot you begin to introduce these principles here; and cannot you fathers and you mothers do the same? It will not be long before the most of us who are present will pass behind the veil, and would you not like to be found on the side of the kingdom of God; that when you meet the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn in the heavens, and God the Father of all, you can say, “I have been true to God; I have been true to the principles which He has revealed; I have been true to the kingdom of God, to the Zion of God, and to the Church of God, and now I am here, O Father, in thy hands, and I am ready to do anything that thou hast for me to do.” This is the position in which we want to place ourselves. It is not what we shall eat or what we shall drink. We are doing first-rate about these things. You don’t look as if you suffered much in the flesh here about. And I will tell you another thing, and that is, as fast as you are prepared for it, God will not only deliver you from your enemies, but He will pour riches into your laps, until you will not be able to contain them, although to some, riches would be the greatest curse that could be given them. You, the people of Zion, will be the richest of all people. You will possess not only the riches of this world, but the riches of the world to come; for when the earth is redeemed we expect to come back and inherit it. We shall then have a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. We expect then to have our place here, for “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” We are working for these things, and we will go on with the work and let the world wag. Let them get up a commotion once in a while. There is nothing new in that. It is the old trick. If we are faithful God will bless us, and Zion will arise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her. But woe to them that fight against Zion, for God will fight against them. Amen.

Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, Sunday Afternoon, December 2, 1833.

I will read a portion of the 103rd Section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, commencing at the 5th paragraph:

“But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them.

“Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour.

“And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are all subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever.

“But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of this world shall prevail against them.

“For they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men;

“And inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.

“But verily I say unto you, I have decreed that your brethren which have been scattered shall return to the land of their inheritances, and build up the waste places of Zion.

“For after much tribulation, as I have said unto you in a former commandment, cometh the blessing.”

I am thankful, my brethren and sisters, for the opportunity of meeting with you today under such favorable circumstances, and partaking of that peaceable influence which prevails always in the midst of the Saints of God. It is a great blessing which God has bestowed upon us in giving unto us peace. It is a blessing that is beyond price, incomparably greater than almost any other blessing that we can enjoy; for without it the other blessings that we might have would be, to a great extent, obscured by the absence of peace.

I have been asked by a few whom I have met since my arrival yesterday morning in the city, if there is not a great deal of excitement in the east concerning us. Some of the utterances of the papers probably have given this impression. But so far as my observation has gone I have seen no greater excitement at this time than is usual, or has been usual in years past, prior to the meeting of Congress. There is doubtless a desire on the part of those who are anxious to do us an injury, to endeavor, by misrepresentation and falsehood, to arouse feelings against us, and to make it appear necessary to politicians and public men that something should be done with us to check the growth of this much feared organization of the Church of God. And it is astonishing—it would be at least astonishing if we had not seen so many instances of this character—how men resort to the most unfounded falsehoods—falsehoods which do not have even the color or foundation or the semblance of anything real and truthful—to accomplish their purposes. But presuming upon the credulity of the public respecting everything connected with our Church and our organization and movements, men abandon themselves to the most reckless assertions concerning us, without seeming to have the least fear of their being contradicted, and thinking, appar– ently, that anything they can say about us, however false, will be swallowed by the credulous public. In this very thing consists, to a great extent, the weakness of the opposition that is arrayed against the Church of God. Falsehood has no existence only so far as the mere relation or statement of it is concerned. There is no foundation to it. There is nothing tangible about it. It is a lie, and it may be said, therefore, to be nonexistent. And this opposition against us—that is, opposition of this character—can do us in the end no real injury, because truth must eventually prevail, in our case at least. That which is real, that which is true, that which is genuine, that which has an existence, must in the very nature of things prevail in the contest with falsehood and misrepresentation. In this consists, I may say, our strength. We know that these statements which are made, so many of them, concerning us are false, and we can afford to wait to see the developments which will follow, especially when we understand, as we do, that God, our Eternal Father, has made promises unto us concerning this very condition of things to which I am now alluding. It is not a new thing for us to have this to contend with. We have been warned about it from the beginning, and in fact before the Church itself was organized. The Prophet Joseph was told what he might expect, and what all who associated themselves with him in the belief and practice of the truth might expect, and the warnings that were then given, and which have been so often repeated since to us as a people, certainly have had the effect of preparing us—to some extent at least—to encounter the evils with which we have been assailed and with which we have had to cope. God, our Eternal Father, as I have said, has made promises unto us concerning this. We are not left to imagine what shall be the result. The mind of the Latter-day Saint is not left a prey to apprehensions and fears; for God, by His word, has removed these, and has given us immutable promises which the experience of 53 years has proved to us to be reliable. We have proved them to be true in the past, and we certainly can rely upon them for the future.

There is only one thing connected with this work—speaking for myself individually—concerning which I have any fear, and that is ourselves. I never had any feeling of fear while I was at Washington, and the clouds were dark and menacing, and our enemies were threatening and active in their preparations to assail us; I never had, I can truthfully say, any fear as to the result of their operations so long as the Saints at home were united and were seeking to keep the commandments of God. But when I heard, as I did upon one or two occasions, about division—for instance in election matters—and hearing of brethren not being united upon questions of policy, then, I confess that a feeling—a sickening feeling, if I may so describe it—would sometimes take possession of me.

God, in the revelation that I have read to you, has plainly given a promise unto this people, this Church.

“But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them.

“Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour.

“And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever.”

Now, here is a promise that the Lord has given, He says, by a positive decree. It is a promise given with conditions, and if the conditions should be observed we may rest assured that the promise, in its entirety will be fulfilled. There are no reservations about it, only the reservation connected with the condition upon which it is made. “They shall prevail”—that is if they keep His commandments, if they observe the counsel which He has given unto us. Now in the next paragraph he says:

“But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of this world shall prevail against them.” Our fate, therefore, as a people—that is, as individuals at least—is plainly pointed out unto us in these two or three paragraphs. The principle upon which we can be successful as a people is given unto us so that we cannot be mistaken concerning it. Also if we should be unsuccessful, if we should fail and become subject to our enemies, the causes by which subjection shall be brought to pass are plainly pointed out to us. The experience of the years that have elapsed since this revelation was given in which these promises are embodied, has proved to us most clearly the truth of the word of the Lord here spoken. There has never been an hour since the Lord gave this word unto the Church—not one hour—that they have not prevailed over His enemies, when they have hearkened unto His words and kept His commandments. Where we have been surrounded by circumstances of the most threatening character, when there seemed to be no possible way of escape, God has opened, in the most marvelous manner, the path before this people and made it plain, and that which has seemed like an impassable barrier before them has been removed, and they have been enabled to pursue the path that was right for them to walk in. We know by experience that when the Latter-day Saints have been most faithful, have been most diligent, when they have been most zealous in preaching the Gospel, in building temples, in carrying out the word of our God as He has given it unto us, then the anger of our enemies has been most fierce against us. But notwithstanding the fierceness and the heat with which it has burned, it has been powerless against this people to injure us or to interfere in any manner with our growth, and with the accomplishment of the purposes of God entrusted to us. God knows this is so, and we know it. We have proved it to our entire satisfaction—it seems to me so at least. It is no good sign for us to be beloved by the world, and to be spoken kindly of by the world, however pleasant it may be to us, and however much we may shrink from the opposite condition of affairs, and dread its manifestation, and wish that it could be otherwise—and it is natural to human nature to shrink from these trials—nevertheless it is one of the worst signs for us as a people to be spoken well of by the world, and to be free from threatenings, from opposition, and from hatred. It is not the true condition for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be in, to be petted by the world, to be fostered by the world, to be spoken well of by the world, to be welcomed by the world, to have favor showered upon it by the world, because we ought not to be of the world, God having chosen us out of the world. Our true condition is that which we occupy today. I welcome it; I thank God for it; for the manifestations that I see around me concerning us, bear ample testimony to me that the Latter-day Saints are striving to keep the commandments of God; that they are doing the will of God, or this anger, these manifestations of hatred, this intense opposition, these groundless accusations would not have an existence against us. I say this is the condition that God has designed that we should occupy, and instead of our feeling to dread it, to wish it were otherwise, to shrink from it, let us rather glory in it, thank God from the bottom of our hearts that we are connected with his work and have the privilege of taking part in such scenes as these—scenes in which our predecessors, who have gone to the rest of our God, have shared, in their day and generation. Let us thank Him that we live upon the earth and have this opportunity—this great and glorious opportunity—of showing unto Him that we are devoted to that Gospel that He has revealed, to its principles, its ordinances, its endowments and powers, and to the Church that is organized upon the earth, in the plenitude of its power, in these last days. These are opportunities for which we should be most profoundly grateful. Instead of shrinking from them, instead of being sorry for them, instead of feeling to dread them, we should have the opposite feeling, one of thankfulness and gratitude unto God that we are permitted to share in them, and to live at a time like the present. I thank God with all my heart for this myself: and so far as these manifestations are concerned, they cause only one feeling within me—have done so far—and that is a feeling of rejoicing and thanksgiving within my bosom to see the fulfillment of the predictions of the holy prophets concerning this work, and the hatred of the world against it.

Now, what have we to fear? The only cause of fear in my mind is, as I have said, concerning ourselves—divisions, differences of views, ideas concerning the course that should be pursued, that may not be in accordance with the mind and will of God. It is of the utmost importance to us as a people that we should be united. Our strength, our prosperity, our success in the past, have been due to union. It is the union of the people that has been hated, and that has brought upon us the persecution that we have had to contend with. That is all that gives us importance in the earth. Strip us of union, and what is there about 200,000 Latter-day Saints in the Rocky Mountains that is at all remarkable or worthy of note? Well, we would be like 200,000 people anywhere else, full of division and strife, who do not amount to anything or have any particular importance. But unite 150,000 or 200,000 people together, of one heart and of one mind, a people who are increasing, and there is a power manifest that impresses men. They feel that there is an unusual power and influence there which they cannot comprehend, it is so different from the systems with which they are familiar. The fact that these people are united creates a dread in the breasts of those who dislike them. It is this, my brethren and sisters, that has given us influence, that has given us importance, that has made us what we are, that causes us to occupy the position that we do. Take this away from us, and we are indeed, as this revelation has said, like salt that has lost its savor, good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot of men. Take away from us as a people the principle of union, and you take away from us the salt that makes us the savor that we are today. And it is of the utmost importance for us as a people, that we should keep this constantly in view. It is against this and against that authority which makes us a united people, that the whole of the attack against us is directed. It is the revelations of Jesus Christ, through that Priesthood coming unto us, giving testimony unto us by the Holy Ghost, that has brought us unto this union, unto this oneness that is so characteristic of this Church. It is against the authority that has produced these results, that the whole strength of the adversaries of this kingdom is directed.

We hear about plural marriage, or polygamy as it is termed. That is merely a war cry. It is merely used because it is a popular catchword, and they who use it know full well that they only use it in that form and for that purpose; but that is not the real thing at issue. There is something more than that, deeper than that, higher than that, broader than that; but it is not necessary to let it be known that they are aiming at that. Polygamy, therefore, answers the purpose. It appeals to the ignorant; it excites the clergy; it stirs up the passions of the impure, and it inflames the hatred that is necessary to intensify this conflict. But if such a thing were possible that polygamy could be wiped out today, without wiping out our faith and making us apostates, and every man who has a plural wife was to put her away, it would not lessen the hatred of those who oppose this work—not one particle. Of course, if we became apostates we would be like the world, and we would be of the world. But I repeat, it is not polygamy; we know that. We know that the fiercest persecution we have passed through in our experience was anterior to the practice of polygamy, was when polygamy was not a doctrine of this Church, when it was not a practice of any member of this Church. Therefore, the hatred that is entertained today against this work is not traceable to that doctrine nor to that practice. It is the organization of the Church of God upon the earth. It is the restoration of the Holy Priesthood. It is the authority by which man is bound to man, by the effective bond of union that has been so wonderfully manifest in the history of this people from the commencement until the present time. It is that which is hated. It is the gathering of the people together. As General Clark said, who led the militia at Far West, when the brethren were prisoners, said he: “I would advise you to scatter abroad, and never again organize yourselves with Bishops, Presidents, etc., lest you excite the jealousies of the people, and subject yourselves to the same calamities that have now come upon you * * * my advice is that you become as other citizens lest by a recurrence of these events you bring upon yourselves irretrievable ruin.”

Unwittingly he told a great truth pregnant with meaning. That is really the great cause of hatred against this people. If you were to divide up and cease to listen to your Bishops, to your presiding author– ities, to the Presidents of your Stakes, to the Apostles, to the Presidency of the Church, what is there about you that would excite opposition? What is there about you that would make you worthy of newspaper notice? As I have said, you would be like any other number of citizens who are not banded together by the ties of the everlasting covenant and of the Gospel. Having had the truth, and having had the savor of righteousness, you would be like salt that had lost its savor, it would be good for nothing, fit for no other purpose but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. This figure of the Savior’s in this revelation—and as He used it to His disciples—is a most forcible and comprehensive figure. There is no article in the world that is so utterly worthless as salt after it has lost its savor. You cannot use it for any purpose, and it is good for nothing except to be trodden under the feet of men. And how truthfully it is exemplified in the history of this people. When a man has lost the Spirit of God, become an apostate to the work of God, of what further use is he? He is good for nothing. He don’t make even a good sectarian. And it would be so with us as a people if we were to lose the salt of the Spirit of God; we would be good for nothing.

Now, there is only one way in which the commandments of God can be revealed unto us. God has not left this in doubt. He has not left us to grope in the dark respecting His methods of revealing His mind and will unto His children. In the very beginning of the work of God in these last days, to remove all doubt upon this subject, God gave revelations unto this Church in exceeding great plainness, and there was one principle that was emphatically dwelt upon and enforced, namely, that there was but one channel, one channel alone, through which the word of God and the commandments of God should come to this people. The word of God was not to come from the people up. It was not vox populi, vox dei, but it was to be vox dei, vox populi—that is, the voice of God and then the voice of the people—from God downward through the channel that He should appoint; by the means that He should institute, that word should come to the people, and when obeyed by the people would bring the union and the love and the strength consequent upon union and love. And this has been the peculiarity and the excellence of this work of God thus far in the earth. Its excellence has consisted in this. Its power, its glory, the glory that we have as a people, the glory that belongs to the Church of God consists in this peculiar feature, that the word of God to us comes from God and not from the people. It is received by the people, accepted by the people, submitted to by the people, and this has produced the union and the love, as I have said, that have characterized the work thus far in its progress in the earth. Take away from it this feature and it becomes weak as water that is unconfined. There is no strength to it. There is nothing to be feared about it. There is nothing to excite animosity or hatred. But give it this feature and it becomes a power in the earth. Even if there were only six men it would be a power. Let there be twelve and it is twice the power, and you go on doubling it, and it increases in a proportionate ratio, and it will do so, as long as that principle is maintained and lived up to. God revealed that prin– ciple in the beginning. Oliver Cowdery—a representation of whose ordination is given to us on this ceiling—received at the same time that the Prophet Joseph did the Aaronic Priesthood. John the Baptist, who last held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood in the flesh upon the earth, laid his hands upon Joseph, the Prophet, and him at the same time. He afterwards received, in common with Joseph, the administration of those who had held the keys of the Apostleship in the flesh on the earth—that is, Peter, James and John. They administered unto him at the same time that they administered unto Joseph, upon the same occasion, and he became an Apostle with Joseph, being the second Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now, it might be thought that a man thus favored, favored to receive the Aaronic Priesthood, favored to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and Apostleship at the same time with the Prophet, favored with the privilege of baptizing the Prophet of God, and of sealing upon him the gift of the Holy Ghost; it might be thought, I say, that a man thus favored would have stood alongside of the Prophet and been of equal authority in giving the word of God in writing unto the people. But no. God drew a distinction and plainly told Oliver Cowdery that that which he wrote to this Church should not be by way of commandment to the Church, but by wisdom. The Lord said to him, “If thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it. But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom.” It was only one man’s privilege, one man’s authority to stand pre-eminent in the earth at one time holding the keys and giving the commandments of God—or rather the Lord giving His commandments through him in writing to the Church.

In the early days there was a man that was a witness to the Book of Mormon, who had been selected by the Lord to handle the plates, to heft them, and then to write his testimony concerning that which he had seen and felt. He obtained possession of a seer stone—or as it is called sometimes, a peep-stone. Through this peep-stone he professed to obtain revelations, which he wrote. And the Lord gave a commandment upon the subject, and Oliver Cowdery was commanded to take Hiram Page by himself and talk to him upon the subject. He was instructed to tell him that that which he had received through that stone was not of God, and that Satan deceived him. He was told that this power was not given to him, and “neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.” That is, there was only one man upon the earth who had a right to give to the Church commandments concerning the word of God, and the conduct of the word of God, and that was the man whom He had selected. Thus plainly in the very beginning of this work, the very threshold of it, there was no doubt left upon the minds of those who received the revelations of God concerning the policy of the Lord in the building up of this work upon the earth. You can see, readily, if you will reflect for a few moments upon the subject how necessary it is that this should be the case. Invest two men with that power, and what is the result? Why, there is an opportunity for division. Invest twelve men with it, and you have the same result to an increased extent. Invest the whole body of the people with it, and what would be the result? You can understand this by a very little reflection. It is not God’s way of doing. It is not God’s manner of building up His kingdom. It is not the way that He has founded His Church, neither in this day nor in any other day when He had a church upon the earth. It is through this source that commandments must come to the people of God. It is through this source that the word of God has come to this people during the 53 years that have now elapsed. The prosperity of this people, their success, and the triumphs that have attended this work are due to this, that God has chosen one man, and through him has given His word unto His people, and by listening to His counsel, by obeying the manifestations of God through him, they have been led in this career of prosperity upon which we have entered, and in which we are now traveling. I wish to impress this with all the power of which I am capable upon the minds of my brethren and sisters who are here today, and upon this entire Church. I wish them to understand it. I bear testimony, as a servant of God, that this is the way, God having revealed it unto me to my perfect knowledge, to my perfect satisfaction and understanding. There can be no two channels; there is but one; God having chosen but one. Now, as long as we keep this in mind we are in no danger as a people—that is if we keep it in mind and obey it. I am willing to stake my reputation—I never claim to be much of a prophet; I do not talk much about prophecy—but as a servant of God I am willing to stake my reputation in making this statement, that if you will listen to the voice of God as manifested through His servant who stands at our head, you never will, from this time forward until eternity dawns upon you—you never will be overcome by your enemies or by the enemies of God’s kingdom. I know this as well as I can know anything that has not been accomplished. There is danger among us of becoming divided. We are menaced now by our enemies. They would like to divide us. Already they have made a discrimination which they hoped would be attended with some great results. They have by their laws deprived the fathers of this people, the leaders of this people, the men who have borne the heat and the burden of the day—they have deprived them of those rights which belong to us as much at least as they belong to them. They have sought to humble us in the dust. The elite of this people, the foremost men, the men who have been the foremost in enterprise and in every good work—and this is not saying anything disparaging concerning those who are not of this class—have been singled out just as you would single out of a conquered tribe of Indians the chiefs. The chiefs have been marked, the ruling men have been deposed, and another class have been told that they now can come to the front. Why, it has reminded me of the tyranny which has been so obnoxious in times past—the tyranny of Great Britain in her treatment of the people of India. The ruling men all deprived of their power. The king deposed. But this has never been done except as a result of war. The king deposed; ruling chiefs, men of influence, authority and power among the people, have been stripped of all, and another king and other chiefs set to rule, by the authority of the conqueror. But this has never been done unless as a consequence of war. But here in a time of profound peace, in a Territory unexampled for its prosperity, the wonder and admiration of every candid and reflecting mind; a Territory of this kind, because our religion is not popular, and because of our union that is so dreaded, the ruling men, without any trial or conviction, without proof of any guilt, have been removed, so to speak—that is, everything has been done that has been possible to take away from them that authority and that influence which rightfully belongs to them, which they have earned by long years of faithful labor in the midst of the people, earned them legitimately and properly, having no influence that they have received from ancestry or from wealth—having no influence but the influence that God has given them, and that they have earned by their own good deeds. These men, in the attempt to break up this people; to divide them asunder—these men have been told, “You step aside. We will strip you of your power and of your influence. We will humble you in the midst of the people. We will take away from you all the influence that we can, and we will see if we cannot divide you by this process.” That is the object. It is, as I have said, to divide us, to arouse ambitions in the minds of others, to endeavor to stir them up to pay no heed and to disregard entirely the counsels and the examples of the men who have been faithful, and who are thus thrust aside. What will be its effect? Ask yourselves this question yourselves. You Latter-day Saints, with you remains the answer. It is for you to say whether the devices of the wicked are going to have the effect of causing you not to heed the man of God, the man who holds the keys of the Eternal Priesthood of God, the man chosen by eternity, by the Lord himself; it is for you to say whether you by these devices, will no longer pay heed and attention to his counsels. It is for you to answer this momentous question. I am in no fear as to the result. I have no doubts myself as to the result. There may be unwise persons among us. There may be some who may not have faith. There may be some who may be prompted by some improper ambition; but I am glad that in the providence of God there is an opportunity given to all such to show their true characters, if there be such among us. I accept all these things as wise in the providence of our God, He having this work in charge; I accept it as one of His divine providences in regard to this work, to test this people, to prove us, to put us upon trial, to have us learn ourselves; and not only this, but to show the world—the great world of mankind, who are looking now with intense expectation, watching the results of these experiments in Utah—that we may show unto them that God is still with us, and that notwithstanding all the efforts of the wicked, we are still a united people, willing to listen to the voice of God, through his divinely appointed servant—the medium that He has chosen. The world must know that the men through whose administrations we have received these precious gifts of the Gospel, are still the men who have authority with God, and who have a claim upon His blessings and His sustaining care. These results I expect to see wrought out by this that is now being done.

It is a most extraordinary thing that this Edmunds law—a law which is so unconstitutional in every aspect—should now be looked upon almost as a meritorious law, and that because we have not split into pieces under its operation, and it has not produced the results designed by its author, and those who urged its passage—it should now, as I have said, be talked about as though it were a benign law, and designed for our good; and because we do not accept it as such it should be considered as a sufficient reason that there should be additional legislation! It is a most extraordinary position to assume. Yet this is the position that is taken by many.

Now, my brethren and sisters, I used a figure many years ago, when we used to meet in the old bowery, before the new tabernacle was built, to which I will refer today. It was at a time when there was considerable talk about our moving away from here. Astrologers were predicting this, and there were some who seemed inclined to put credence in their sayings. In remarks upon one occasion I said, that it had been my habit when I crossed the ocean—and I had been on both the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans many times—when a storm came up, or we appeared to be in danger from ice or any other cause—to watch the captain of the ship. I noted his demeanor, and I thought that by it I could form a correct idea of our danger. He knew the ship. He knew her capabilities. He knew, probably better than anyone else about our position and our danger, and therefore, as I have said, I took pleasure in watching his demeanor. And so it is in regard to the work of God. It is my privilege as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to have the revelations of Jesus. It is my privilege to live so as to have the gift of prophecy, and to have wisdom and knowledge from God. It is my privilege to have all these gifts and blessings resting down upon me by virtue of my calling. If I am faithful thereto they will rest upon me. But it is not my privilege to guide this ship. It is not my privilege to write revelations or commandments to this Church. Much as I may rejoice in the knowledge of God, much as I may be possessed of the revelations of Jesus, that is not a privilege which has been accorded unto me, nor has it been accorded unto any other Apostle, or officer, or member of this Church, but one, and that is the man whom God has chosen to hold the keys. Therefore, in times of danger, whatever my own feelings may be—and as those who are acquainted with me know, I have pronounced opinions generally upon every subject that is brought up—notwithstanding this characteristic, I look always, and always have looked to the man whom God has placed to preside over His people. I watch his demeanor. I know that it is for him to give the signal. It is for him to direct the movements of the crew of the Ship Zion. It is for him to direct how she shall be steered, so far as human power is necessary for this purpose, and when there are no tremors in him, when there are no indications of fear on his part, when he feels serene and confident, I know that I can do so with the utmost safety, and that this entire people can trust in that God who has placed a prophet, a seer, and a revelator to preside over His people upon the earth. We need not be afraid. We need not tremble. We need not give way to anxiety. That which we ought to do is to seek for the mind and will of God. I wish that the men of Zion would do this more than they do. I am jealous for my God. I am jealous for the authority of the Holy Priesthood that He has bestowed upon men. I dislike to see my brethren yield to the influence of those who are outside of us, and who assail this work and say, “you are governed too much by your leaders.” When I see men doing that I fear and tremble for them. They yield to an influence that is not of God, the influence of the world, the influence that is fighting Zion. I like to see a man loyal to this work, loyal to the cause of God, loyal to the Holy Priesthood, determined to stand by it. It is all that has saved us thus far; it is all that has given us power thus far in the earth, and when we desert that, God will desert us and leave us to ourselves. I am jealous, therefore, for my God. I am jealous for the Holy Priesthood. I am jealous for the honor, the dignity of the man who presides over Zion, and I always have been. Through my entire life I have had this feeling. It is not a new feeling. It is one that was born in me, and it continues with me, and I pray that it always may be my feeling as long as I live upon the earth. I want to die having that feeling; I know that it is the right feeling, and that we are always in the right path when we are seeking the counsel of God through His appointed servant.

God help you, my brethren and sisters; God help every man in Zion; God help me and all who stand in leading positions in this Church to bear this in mind, and to be humble, meek and lowly, obedient to the counsel of God’s servant, that in the end God may crown us in His celestial kingdom, which I ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Remarks by Apostle F. D. Richards, delivered at the Quarterly Conference, Logan, Sunday Morning, November 4th, 1883.

The present favorable opportunity affords us a proper occasion for gratitude, and to think of and listen to those principles which pertain to our salvation, to our improvement, and our advancement in the knowledge of the truth as it has been revealed to us in this last dispensation.

The earnest and cordial exhortation which we have just listened to is one that appears to me very appropriate and highly important for all faithful Saints to consider. All matters which affect the interest and well-being of the rising generation are to us of the deepest importance. As we hope for the rising glory and the triumph of the Kingdom of God in the earth, so should we labor to educate our children correctly in the fear of God, and in the principles of the everlasting Gospel. For it is righteousness that exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people. The Lord our God will make His deliverance manifest, and the exercise of His power, less or more to His people in proportion as His people incline less or more to draw near to Him, and to learn His holy will.

If the Saints would make it their first and leading purpose in all the labors and duties of their lives to draw near to God, to sanctify themselves, sanctify their inheritance, their families, their habitations, their houses and lands, their flocks and herds; if every man in Israel who is the head of a family, and the possessor of property, made it his business to sanctify himself, and all that he has influence over unto the service of God and the building up of His Kingdom, making that the leading matter of his life, we should find ourselves progressing much more rapidly in the way of righteousness and power of truth before the Lord.

We are making advancement by the directions of the Priesthood in building Temples; we are making advancement continually as God gives us increase by the multiplication of our numbers in the land, all legislation concerning us to the contrary notwithstanding. The Lord is not only multiplying and increasing us numerically in the earth, but He has put us in possession of principles of life, power and increase, which the world know nothing of, and which they despise, which they waste and destroy to the ruin of their souls. He is giving to us these blessings right along with the revolving seasons, with the revolutions of the earth. Every day, every night, every week, every month and every year witnesses increased advancement in some direction; and if we can but make the improvement that we ought to do in our own generation; if our fathers and our mothers can make the improvement which they ought to do, and which they have in their power to do in their generation, this people can become not only a great and mighty people in number, but a vastly greater and more mighty people than the same numbers in any other part of the earth, and the favor of God—which we see and know already is turned toward us—will increase upon us, and His blessings multiply upon us with a greater fruition than ever before.

We are approaching the completion of a Temple. When I think of Logan and Cache County, I realize that you are blessed almost beyond your brethren and sisters in other Stakes of the Territory. You have a tabernacle here, second to none as a place of worship for the Saints of this Stake. You are supplied with other public buildings that place you in a good, comfortable position, such as a splendid courthouse, and a good, substantial college building, and you are in a position, as a people, by means of that college, to enjoy all the general benefits of a liberal and classical education and of knowledge that may be imparted unto you, not only in the laws and ordinances of the Church and the Kingdom of God particularly, especially and pre-eminently, but also in the arts as well as the sciences. You certainly occupy a very excellent position. But this is no reason why you should slacken your efforts. On the contrary, this prosperity should induce you to increase your diligence in all good things. For you know very well—you see and have the experience right among you—you have the contending elements striving to bring in drunkenness and iniquity in your midst. This of course we have to put up with when we take it as from the world and the ungodly, on the common ground of our warfare to contend against those powers in high places; but when it comes from those who profess to be brethren, when they undertake to insist and push and crowd these things to the destruction of the souls of their brethren, this seems sometimes to us more than we should be required to bear, unless it be required of us from God. When brethren will undertake to thus sow affliction, destruction and death among their brethren, I do not know how long we shall have to put up with it, and be silent. Our enemies we can bear. Like as one said of old: “It was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hateth me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” Well, it seems a good deal the same way, when we see men who are Elders in Israel, partakers of the holy, High Priesthood, striving to urge the sale of liquors, and to promote drunkenness in our midst. It seems intolerable. How long shall we continue to bestow the fellowship and patronage of the brotherhood in promotion of these evils? I would exhort the brethren to be reminded, however, that there is one remedy, one way that we can ward off this mischief from being extended and promulgated among us; it is to let it alone and stay from those places. Although there may be grog shops, and billiard saloons in your midst, contrary to your wishes and contrary to your feelings, and which you would prefer might never exist among you—they have the liberty, they have not the right—still we have the reserved right to let them alone; we need not patronize them, nor partake of their poisonous draughts, nor gamble in any of their saloons. We are not obliged to get down into their low-lived habits. Although we may have to put up with these things in the sight of our eyes and the hearing of our ears, and have the peace of our streets perhaps disturbed by the cries of the drunken, and by the noise of the lewd, yet we are not obliged to partake of them. And this is one of the reasons why the exhortation of Elder Teasdale is so appropriate and timely; you want your children educated in that way, that when they are grown up they will abhor these places, and touch not, taste not, nor handle the unclean thing. And we ourselves want to work against the appetites which are inbred in many of us. I am not asleep to, nor unaware of the fact that many of us coming from the world have brought with us a deep craving for spirituous liquors, and for other things which are not good for us, but which we may have dabbled in to gratify a wicked appetite. Parents afflicted with these propensities ought to take warning not to breed them into the natures of their children, and if possibly they have done so, to use diligence to preserve them from being thrown in the way of temptation until they come to years of understanding, judgment and firmness of purpose, which will enable them to practice self-denial, and live as men of God. These are matters that need to be looked after. They are features in the society of the Saints which ought to be considered, and no less but more because you are here, as it were, under the very shadow of the Temple; and are the people who have so abundantly contributed to the construction of this house; they want now to preserve themselves in purity before God, that they may be counted worthy to enter within its walls, and there receive all the blessings which are to be bestowed upon the just. We need this. It is a sentiment that should pervade all the authorities of the Church from the First Presidency down to the President of your Stake, the High Councilors and the Bishops of your Wards, and all the lesser priesthood—all should be inbred with this feeling.

We have had a time of peace, a time of great prosperity, a time when the Lord has so far preserved to us our local government and our rights here in the land. He having thus manifested His kindness to us, in this way, we ought to draw nearer to Him, and seek to establish the righteousness of God on the earth. I would, therefore, this morning, remind every Elder, Priest, Teacher, and Seventy, that they are called to be preachers of righteousness. Brethren, every one of you are called to be preachers of righteousness as much as I am, as much as President Taylor, or any other man in Israel. Everyone who has partaken of the Priesthood has covenanted to be a preacher of righteousness, preachers by practice as well as by precept—in your own families among your children, among your neighbors, among your friends, and all around—and if everyone is thus magnifying his calling, behold! Here is the people of God, and the fear of God is upon that people, and the blessings of God cannot be stayed from them, and they will know the right way, and walk in it.

The Temple has proceeded very nicely. It is very gratifying to me, as a member of the Temple Committee, to observe how the work has advanced, and to hear Superintendent Card say that in about three or four months, with the ability to use certain necessary means, the building will be completed. What a joyful time we have arrived at! Yet here is a little matter of means that needs to be attended to, to complete the Temple and to pay some liabilities that have been incurred, necessarily, in its erection. The Superintendent has endeavored to progress with this work and keep out of debt; but one thing and another has come along so much faster than means have come into his hands, that he has got a little behind. That, however, is a very small matter. If the Presidents of Quorums would arise and say to the Elders, “Let us wake up and pay a dollar a head for the finishing off of the Temple,” in three months not only will the Temple be finished, but every dollar of debt will be paid; and the Temple could be ready to be dedicated next quarterly conference, if the First Presidency were so minded. It is but a trifling matter, yet it is a matter of sufficient importance to delay the dedication of the Temple until it is entirely paid for, so that we can offer an acceptable offering unto the Lord. We trust and pray that God may be pleased to make manifest a gracious acceptance of this offering, and that the blessings of heaven may rest down upon His people.

I rejoice greatly in the glorious latter-day work that has been commenced, and that is being extended on every hand. The Gospel is being spread among the nations of the earth, among the islands of the sea, and among the Lamanites, the remnants of the house of Ephraim, here upon this land. Ephraim and Mannasseh, a multitude of nations in the midst of the earth, are reaching out after the house of the Lord, and are seeking counsel at the lips of the servants of God. The glad tidings have not only gone to the Sandwich Islands, but also to New Zealand. The aborigines of that country have taken hold, and we learn that something over one hundred of that fraction of their race have engaged in the work of the Lord. And not only so, but the inhabitants of the eastern countries are being wrought upon by the hand of God, and Judah is being turned toward Jerusalem. The reports are that many thousands of Jews have been gathered to the land of Judea, and regions round about, within the last twelve months. Well, the Lord is at work in all these matters, and we ought to realize that we are but an item, as it were, in the great work that is being carried on.

There is a great deal that I sometimes feel I would like to say, but at this time I do not feel to occupy your time any longer.

I pray that an earnest spirit of improvement and purification among parents, among children, among households, among members of Wards and Stakes, may take possession of the presiding authorities of the laboring Priesthood, and that they may put away iniquity, and all manner of unrighteousness, and become more and more acceptable in the sight of the Lord. Then we shall be more and more ready to do anything that the Lord would have us do in the interests of His Kingdom. We must remember that the strength of the Lord’s people does not consist in their numbers; for times have been, and may be again, when they that are with us may be too many. It will be found—if you search carefully among us as a people—that you are carrying a great many people and their sins, and if you don’t shake them off they will lead you down, you will be partakers of their sins, and you will have to answer for them. It is necessary that the Bishops—more especially those who have not had experience—learn cor– rect principles of government—how to build up their Wards in righteousness and in the power of God. And this feeling and influence should be carried into every habitation of the Saints; because where there is righteousness and faith there is the favor and blessing of God; and when the sick are among you and you have this faith, you can call down the blessings of God upon them, and if you don’t, and remain careless, then you will find that you have not the power to take hold of and receive those blessings. We want so to live day by day, that whatever affliction may overtake us, we may be prepared for the worst as well as for the best.

May the Lord help us to draw near unto Him, nearer than we have ever done before; that we may be able to go into His presence and realize the association of angels, and that we may realize all those blessings which He has in His hands ready to bestow upon us as fast as we will put ourselves in a position to receive them; this is my prayer and desire and labor in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Remarks by Apostle George Teasdale, delivered at the Quarterly Conference, Logan, Sunday Morning, November 4th, 1883.

As I understand it, the object we have in meeting together is to be taught of God through the channel that He has appointed to be His mouthpiece. It is highly essential that we should be properly educated, and the Latter-day Saints believe in being taught of God. That was the promise that was given—that in the last days God would teach His people; that He would reveal His secrets unto His servants the prophets—reveal precious things that had been hidden from the foundation of the world. I presume that if we had a testimony or fellowship meeting, there would be quite a number that would occupy the time in bearing testimony that they knew that this was the work of God; that they knew that He had established His Church upon the earth, and that the gifts and blessing enjoyed by the ancient church were enjoyed by this latter-day Church. Now, in order that we may be properly educated in this Church, we have been instructed to be very particular to preserve the fellowship of the Holy Ghost; because no man knoweth the things of God save by the Spirit of God, and if we want to understand His ways, if we want to walk in His paths, we must become converted. The Savior established this principle—that unless we were converted and became as little children, we could in no wise inherit the Kingdom of God. Now, I believe in this principle; I believe that it is essential, simply because we are to be educated, we are to receive line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until we shall become perfect in Christ Jesus. This to me is a glorious philosophy, that we can advance from one degree of perfection to another, until we shall obtain a fulness of truth. And in connection with this education it is highly essential that we should lead righteous lives, for we are being educated in a high school. We are being prepared to associate with the spirits of the just made perfect. The Lord is declared to be a man of Holiness. The doctrine that the Savior taught was, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Now, if there was no possibility of attaining to this, He never would have taught the principle; but it seems, if we want to place ourselves in a position to receive this high education, it is most essential that we should lead righteous lives, and have the fellowship of the Holy Ghost.

One of the fundamental principles in the Gospel of Christ is faith. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” What do we understand by this belief on the Lord Jesus Christ? As I understand it, believe in His doctrine, and if we believe in His doctrine, then we practice the principles or doctrines that He taught. And the very fact of a man being converted to the doctrine of Christ, and of seeing the necessity of rendering an obedience to this principle that He taught, proves that he has faith in God, and that he has faith in the principle. You go into the world. There are millions of professing Christians that say they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But they do not believe in His doctrine. They do not understand anything about His doctrine. The calamity that was to come upon the people in the last days, was not because they did not believe. It is said that Jesus Christ would be revealed from heaven in flaming fire to take vengeance on those who knew not God, and who obeyed not the Gospel. Well, now, what is the Gospel? The Gospel is the doctrine of Jesus Christ. The doctrine that Jesus Christ taught, puts us in possession of the Gospel, if we only obey the principles taught, and it certainly is glad tidings of great joy to the believer. Paul said he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, “For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.” To whom was this revealed? To the believer who obeyed the Gospel. You ask the world if they believe in the spirit of revelation, and they tell you no; but yet they profess to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is the object of our being Latter-day Saints? Is it not that we may be fitted and prepared for the association of the Father and the Son; and has not our Heavenly Father declared to us that He cannot look upon unrighteousness with any degree of allowance, showing that we cannot be saved in our sins. We are called upon to repent of our sins, to cease from wrongdoing, and the Lord has declared that herein it might be known who had repented, for they would cease from their evil ways.

There are a great many ideas and meditations that might be brought forth in regard to this being converted and becoming as little children. And in this connection I will bring up a very simple proposition this morning. Parents profess to love their children. I will presume this, because it is natural to believe that parents do love their children. You will find this manifested among all sects and parties. For instance, Catholics never send their children to foreign schools—that is, schools outside of the Catholic faith. Why? Because they love their children, they love their religion; they believe in sustaining it, and they are jealous lest their children should go (to them) in inconsistent ways. Now, would you think that it were possible that a people called Latter-day Saints, professing to have the highest light and intelligence, would allow their children to be educated by an enemy? Those who would allow such a thing might tell me they loved their children, but I could not believe them. I would sooner my children should go without any scholastic education than that they should be educated by an enemy. There is no common sense in such a course. I cannot see that there would be any common sense in taking our children from the family altar and placing them under the dominion of Baal. I would advise all Latter-day Saints who undertake this suicidal policy, for God’s sake, to become converted. Listen to the voice of warning. Have your children trained in the principles of righteousness, for your sake—for your future happiness, and for the future happiness of your children; for as you lay the foundation so you may expect to build upon it. I would like our children when they go from the family altar to go into a school where they would hear the same God addressed, the same blessings sought, the hand of the Eternal acknowledged in their education, as well as to ask that His blessing might be upon them when they surround the family altar. You never can make me believe that a man and a woman have the sense of affection that they should have, who do not place their children in this position, for we have most excellent schools. We believe that our children are our glory, do we not? They say the children are the glory of the woman? Sisters, if you value your glory be jealous that when your children leave your firesides, that when they leave your influence, that they go to a man of God, who will teach them the principles of righteousness, who will instill into their hearts the same principles that you profess to love and look forward to as the means of bringing you happiness and eternal glory in the world to come. I would appeal to my sisters, for I know they love their children more than we do if it is possible. I would grant you that, because I can appreciate your suffering, I know how you have risked your lives that your children might be born. I understand and appreciate it; hence, I say, watch over your children with a jealous care. And when your husbands are away, gather them around the family altar, plead before the Almighty with all your faith and power that they may enjoy the fellowship of His Spirit, that the Holy Ghost may be their constant companion; and make sure that that Spirit is your constant companion, for you may be entrusted with the care of choice spirits, destined to hold the Holy Priesthood, which is the greatest of all, destined to perform a mighty work upon this earth, that will be to your honor, for you will be reflected in your children.

I feel interested in the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and in my meditations I can see that we must pay the greatest attention to our children. You cannot teach them the principles of righteousness from books alone. No man can understand the things of God, save by the Spirit of God. This Bible has been in the world for ages, and so far as understanding the things of God is concerned, there is nothing but confusion. You can only find a unity of the faith where you have the fellowship of the Holy Ghost; for the spirit of truth always speaks the same. Let me entreat you to have your children instructed in the principles of truth. Put them under the best influence that you can find. If I had my will I would have in every school the best and the purest men that we could find, whose influence would be the influence of love and affection. I can point with pride to my beloved friend, Karl G. Maeser, in Provo. I have known him for years. I know that he is a man of God. I know that his aspirations are all the time to live a life of usefulness; a man that believes in the Priesthood, and the study of the same, that he may be enabled to comprehend its powers; a man who endeavors to live an exemplary life, and whose object is, in the hands of Almighty God, to be a blessing to our rising generation. I say he is an example to all men who are entrusted with the care of children. He devotes his time and his talents to this end, that he may have an influence in the midst of the heritage of God, entrusted in his hands. Our children are the lambs of God, and they should be taken the greatest care of. They are dependent upon you for their education, and if you want to train them in righteousness place them under the influence of the everlasting Priesthood, men of holiness, men who have been converted, and who have become like little children, like clay in the hands of the potter, able to be molded and fashioned into vessels of honor. I think it should be the ambition of every man entrusted with the care of children to lead a life of holiness, to honor the important charge placed in his hands, that he may have an influence over the minds of the young, and be the means of making them bright and glorious in the midst of Israel, by watching over them with a jealous care. You can see the value of this. Mothers, you know how you feel when your sons come home from missions, having filled honorable missions, filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and a clear record; you know how your hearts are filled with delight when they stand up and bear their testimony, and give you a description of their labors as messengers of salvation to a dark and benighted world.

May God give us wisdom that we may be enabled to act wisely our part in our day and generation; that we enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, that we may see aright, hear aright, and do aright, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by Counselor D. H. Wells, delivered in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, Sunday Afternoon, October 28th, 1883.

The principles of the Holy Gospel are calculated in their nature to unite the hearts of the people one with another, and to promote faith, union and love towards our fellows.

We are an independent set of beings. The human family possessed of intelligence, are agents unto themselves to receive or reject that which is good or that which is evil. Indeed it was one of the objects, I suppose, of our coming upon this earth, to learn to know the good from the evil, the right from the wrong, the light from the darkness, the bitter from the sweet, the joy from the sorrow, that we might the better appreciate the blessings of joy and peace, of light, of intelligence, of truth, and of every virtue. Now, as it is written, man having partaken of the forbidden fruit became as one of the Gods, knowing the good from the evil. Therefore he must be cut off; he must not be permitted to live forever in his sins; a flaming sword must be placed to guard the tree of life. Hence mortality, the wages of sin.

Herein lies the great evidence of our lineage, of our having descended from the Gods, reasoning, intelligent beings possessing the capabilities of the Gods—that is, the power to rise to their capabilities, being of that nature and of that kind of which are the Gods. And I might say that a person who is not capable of being a peculiar agent of the devil need never aspire to become a son of God, for, according to the Scriptures, we are “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” If it would have been as well for us to have remained in our pre-existent state; if we could have learned and gained all of this experience, learned to know the good from the evil, the light from the darkness, do you suppose that our Father in heaven would have sent us forth into the world, subjected us to all these tests and trials and temptations of sin, of sorrow, of misery, sickness, pain and death? I don’t.

To me this is a grand old world, and fulfills its destiny and purpose, the destiny and purpose of God our Heavenly Father, in bringing it forth and preparing it for the habitation of man, and bringing forth his children upon it. This world is not here by mere accident, it is not here because it merely happened so; but it was made with a destiny and purpose which it is answering most superbly in my estimation. It gives the people an opportunity of obtaining tabernacles for their spirits to dwell in. This in and of itself is a great thing and a blessing, although some may act in such a manner that it would have been better for them, perhaps, never to have been born. Still it is a blessing to undergo tests, to pass through ordeals, to subject ourselves to the principles of truth and righteousness, rejecting the evil and receiving the good. Why, on natural principles a course of that kind is just as sure to exalt us in the scale of human existence and in the scale of future and eternal existence, as it is that we have an existence at all; whereas a course the reverse to purity, the ordinary course of sin and iniquity and transgression against the laws of God, is sure to debase, degrade, and to lead down to misery, sorrow and death. It is as natural as anything else—as natural as that we exist. These things bring their own rewards and their own punishments naturally. Can a person avoid punishment? Yes. How? By receiving and obeying the principles of the Gospel and getting forgiveness of his sins, follies, weaknesses, imperfections, and wrongdoings, we can repent and turn away from the evil and do that which is good from henceforth, and the Lord will forgive us. We know better than anybody else if we are forgiven. We will know whether we have turned away from our evils or not. If we have this testimony we may know that the Lord has forgiven us. It is so written in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that if a person wants to know whether the Lord has forgiven him, let him examine himself, and see that he has repented with a repentance that needs not to be repeated over and over and over again. The evidence is the turning away from sin; that whereas we did that which was wrong, forsake it and do that which is right, and that we may know that the Lord has forgiven us. In passing through the ordeals we are subject to in life, we must keep ourselves pure and unspotted from the contaminations of the wicked and ungodly, and walk in the path of life, the path the Lord marks out for us to walk in. Our being here gives Him an opportunity of proving us, whether we will walk in His ways and do His works, or whether we will go our own way. After He has gotten unto Himself a people who will do His work, a people whom He has proved to be faithful and true and full of integrity, why, with such a people He can fulfill His words spoken through His servants centuries ago, that the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. Until He does obtain a people of this kind, He cannot consistently bestow this Kingdom.

Now, this work in which we are engaged, is calculated to produce just this class of people—the Saints of the Most High God. And I rejoice day by day, in having lived long enough to see this Kingdom arise in influence, in power—not to its greatness, still to a considerable extent to its greatness—and to see it put on, to a certain extent, its beautiful garments. I rejoice in my heart that I have been permitted to witness this Kingdom, since I became acquainted with it, become considerable of a power in the earth. And I believe also, nay, more, I feel sure that it will continue so to progress. Many fall away from time to time. It has been so in the history of the past, and probably it will be so in the future. But will that impede the progress of this work? No. It has never seen the day nor the hour from the time of its first incipiency upon the earth, but what it has been greater than it was the day or the hour previous. It never will. It is bound to increase and grow, no matter what difficulties it may have to encounter; it is bound to progress and to spread abroad, and to become great in the earth, and no power can hinder it. What! Not if the Saints do wrong? The Saints are not going to do wrong. It is not the Saints that do wrong; it is those that apostatize from the Church and become anything else but Saints, and if those people do not remain Saints and keep themselves faithful who are here today, others will come up who will do it. For the Lord will get unto Himself a people who will be faithful, and who will keep His commandments and do His work on the earth even as it is done in heaven. Whether we do this individually, or not, makes no difference to the work of God. All the difference it makes is to us as individuals. Now, we may have part and lot in this matter if we will. The Lord is willing to work with us, if we will only walk obediently before Him. He will accept of our services, and be glad to get them. He has not any too many people of this kind on the earth; but He has some; He has enough to carry on His work, and He will get more as He needs them, from time to time, because it is the day and age and dispensation in which those spirits that will obey the Gospel and keep His commandments, will come forth upon the earth, and bear off this kingdom victoriously. It is an important era for those that live in this day and age of the world. There are great responsibilities resting upon the children of men in this day. Great light has been made manifest, far greater than in any other age of the world—that is, it has been made manifest to a greater extent. I do not know but what there was greater light in the days of Jesus and the Apostles; but it is and will be made more manifest to the children of men in this day than it was in that day, because it is a greater work. It is the work of the fullness of times, incorporating all other dispensations, and it is to prepare the way for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to rule upon the earth in power and great glory. This is a preparatory work for those great events that have been set out to transpire. Great events, such as never have transpired on the earth, are to take place in this dispensation of the fullness of times. Hence it is an important era, and great responsibilities rest upon the children of men.

God from heaven has spoken to the children of men in the day and age in which we live. He has sent forth His angels who have commu– nicated and restored unto man the authority of the Holy Priesthood from heaven, and through which channel a communication has been opened up between the heavens and the earth, through which we may learn the mind and will of our Heavenly Father concerning us, His children. All people may learn to know his mind and will concerning them, through this channel of the Priesthood that has been opened up again in this the dispensation of the fullness of times between the heavens and the earth. That is a great event to say nothing of anything else. Now, God having revealed His mind and will concerning the children of men, having sent forth His angels and a testimony concerning Himself, and the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation to all those who obey it, it becomes binding upon the children of men. Great light has come into the world. As the Savior said, “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” This light reproves the world of sin and unrighteousness, and tells of judgments to come. It is in force upon the whole human family. It were better for those who lived before this great light came into the world and passed away without a knowledge of the Gospel, than for those who, having been in the world when these events have transpired, and having had an opportunity of receiving the Gospel, reject it; a great deal better. There is not so much responsibility resting upon them. They can be officiated for by their friends in the Temples of the Most High God, which will be built and which are built for the express purpose of going into them and performing the ordi– nances for the living and for the dead. These things have been restored in this the dispensation of the fullness of times. A knowledge of God has been restored. We know how to repent of our sins. We know how to get them remitted. We have the privilege of knowing concerning the power of God as it is made manifest upon the earth in the hearts of the children of men, which others have not had the privilege of knowing for a great many hundreds of years. We have the privilege of having part and lot in this matter. As I observed before, we can be workers and co-workers for our Father in heaven, if we will only let Him work with us. He is the Master Workman; He is the Great Architect, He is the One who is directing our labors; and if we will seek to obey His laws, if we will walk in the path He marks out for us to walk in, if we will work according to His plan in the building up of His Kingdom on the earth, so as to bring timber to timber, and block to block, and everything in its proper position and proper place, according to the plan that He devises, we may be instrumental in His hands of accomplishing this great work, giving God the glory whose Kingdom it is. There is glory enough for us to be the honored instruments in His hands of accomplishing His purposes and establishing His cause here upon the earth, even the cause of truth and righteousness, and bearing it off victoriously against every obstacle or foe that lies in our pathway. There is honor enough, I say, in being humble instruments in His hands, and in having a lot and part in this matter. I have always felt, ever since I became acquainted with these principles, to make it my life’s business, allowing no other business to intervene—to work for God and His Kingdom. I esteem it a privilege and an honor to do so. “Well,” says one, “Don’t it bring you into difficulties? Have you not a great many things to encounter that you otherwise would not have to encounter? Is it not a hard road to travel?” I do not know that it is. I believe the Latter-day Saints enjoy themselves better on an average in the things of this world than any other people with whom I am acquainted. If nobody but Latter-day Saints had difficulties to encounter in this life, then people might talk.

I don’t often say anything in regard to plural marriage; but there has been a great deal said about the misery of women in that order. Well, if in monogamy women do not have any trouble, if it were all serene in that order of marriage—no cause of difference of feeling or of jealousy—then there might be some cause for this hue and cry. People imagine, you know, that in a man’s family where there are several wives, they must be very jealous of one another—that they must tear each other’s hair and all that kind of thing. Well, as I have said, if there was never any jealousy, or any feelings of unhappiness in monogamic families, then they might say something. I have had a little experience both ways, and though not a woman, yet I am bold to bear my testimony that there is more happiness in the number of families living in plural marriage, than there is in an equal number of families in the other condition. And I speak from my own experience in regard to these matters. I think I lived as happily in monogamy as anybody, and I think, too, that I live as happily in plural marriage as anybody else.

I would like to have people realize that there is more happiness in doing right and in keeping the commandments of God than is afforded by the allurements offered in the world or by the world that are of an opposite character. It is very true a great many things that are counted sins are not sins. I do not believe that it is worth our while to make sin of that which is no sin. There are a great many things counted sins in the Christian world that are not sins at all. Why, there was a great big devil in a very small fiddle, in the estimation of many people where I was born and brought up. I was taught to believe that a man would surely go to hell that would attend a ball or theater. It was thought sinful to do that. Well, I do not know but it is a sin to those who make it so—to those who indulge in sin. And so with a great many other things that are counted sins, that are not sins in and of themselves, only as they are made so by the hallucinations and foolish notions of men. Pastime is right and proper. There is no sin in it, only as we make it so. But we should have our pastimes without sin. We should have enjoyment, and there is nothing that is worth having that is precluded by the articles of our faith as Latter-day Saints. I do not know of a single enjoyment; I do not know of a single thing that is a blessing in reality, or that will afford any real or true enjoyment to the human mind, but what comes within the purview of the Gospel. I believe that all enjoyments and blessings come from God. The adversary, it is true, sometimes perverts these things, and people think that they can have a little enjoyment in some of their excesses. It may bring a little enjoyment for the time being, but it soon passes away, and leaves a feeling that it has not been real and true enjoyment after all. Therefore, everything that is worth having, and that affords real enjoyment, comes within the purview of my holy religion. Latter-day Saints can pass their time pleasantly in enjoyment of every kind, so long as they will do without sin, never forgetting God. Never do anything—it is a pretty good rule to go by—but what you can ask the blessing of God upon it to begin with. Then it will bring peace, comfort and joy. So that I concluded on the whole that there is just as much happiness and pleasure in leading a religious life—the life of a Latter-day Saint—as there is in any other position in life that a person may find himself in, I do not care whether it is religious or irreligious.

Notwithstanding all the contumely, and all the outpourings of wrath, and all the difficulties with which the Latter-day Saints have to contend, we can lift up our hearts and rejoice, trusting in God that all is right, feeling pretty comfortable as we pass along in the present, and very comfortable with regard to the rewards that lie at the end of the race.

Let me assure you there is no other religion that is worth living for, other than the one we have espoused. All the ordinances that they profess in the sectarian world to perform are without the authority of God, and mankind, the world over, are just as well off without them as they are with them. I design to be sweeping in this—to include everything of that nature. Not but what the teaching of morality, of belief in God, of belief in Jesus Christ, and all of these things are good so far as they go; I do not mean that; but I mean the ordinan– ces that they perform; mankind is just as well off and better off without them than with them. Now, it may require a little explanation as to how mankind are better off without these ordinances. Man is naturally a religious being. He has something to satisfy. His heart craves for something of a religious nature. He feels there is some being to worship, or some reverence due somewhere. Now, any system that proposes to satisfy this craving, which is not of God, and which is not right, only deludes the individual into a false theory and a false belief, and at the same time partially satisfies this craving for light, truth, and knowledge, and for a reverence for some divine being. In this way, I say, the human family are often deluded. It makes them so satisfied, that they cease to seek for the true light, and they are thus led astray. Therefore it does injury. Man is better without it than with it. If the principles of the holy Gospel, if the Spirit of the Lord had a clean sheet to write upon and to make its impressions, it could make its impressions quicker than it could do if the slate had to be washed so as to wipe out the marks already imprinted thereon. Therefore it would be better for mankind not to receive of this great superstructure that has been reared in the midst of the earth, under the name of religious forms, ceremonies and ordinances. The world would be better off today, without it, than they are with it.

The whole system of Christianity is a failure so far as stemming the tide of wickedness and corruption is concerned, or turning men from their evil ways to living lives of righteousness before God our Heavenly Father. I would rather preach the Gospel to a people who have not got any religion than I would to a people who have got a great deal of religion. You take the Catholic world. What impression can the truths of the Gospel make upon them as a people? Scarcely any impression at all. Why? Because they are satisfied with what they have got, which we know is an error, and which is not calculated to stem the tide of wickedness and corruption which floods the world. It never will convert the world to God or His Kingdom, or convey knowledge of God unto the children of men, and it is life eternal to know Him, the living and true God. The Christianity of the period will never make the people acquainted with God in the world. It will never bring them to eternal life as spoken of in the Scriptures. It is an utter impossibility. In the first place they do not know anything about God, and in the second place, they apparently don’t want to know anything about Him. They have reared a superstructure in the earth which is false. It is and has been a tremendous imposition to the children of men. Some have come out of it, to a certain extent, seeing its incongruity, and yet they have floundered in the dark, not knowing what was right; not having that knowledge of God which is necessary to obtain eternal life, they have been tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, without being able to find the truth. Many who have thus been foundering are honest people; but the so-called system of Christianity is not only an error and a snare, but is a monstrous iniquity fastened upon the children of men throughout the earth. No wonder that people become infidel. The inconsistent and incongruous nature of the system is enough to make any being who reasons infidel. It was time the truth should be revealed; it was time for the Lord to restore the everlasting Gospel, for men were blind. Darkness covered the earth, even gross darkness the minds of the people in regard to religious subjects. Perhaps a darker time was never known since the earth began its revolutions around the sun. From what I have read and from what experience I have had in life, and the intelligence I possess, I make bold to give my testimony that the darkest period the world ever saw was when this work first commenced, when it was made known from heaven to Joseph Smith. It was no darker here, perhaps, than in any other part of the world; but it was just as dark in Christian countries as in any Pagan country, so far as true religion and the light of heaven were concerned.

Well, now, this light has broken forth, and it is extending its rays further and further, and will continue to do so. I have seen it between 35 and 40 years myself, constantly extending, and I rejoice in it. I rejoice in this work. It is just as sweet to me today as it ever was. From the time I first heard the principles of the Holy Gospel drop from the lips of Joseph Smith, the inspired Prophet of God, the great Prophet of the last days—I say it is just as sweet to me today as it was then. I can see a great growth. I am a better man—I will speak of myself—through the influence of “Mormonism,” than I was before I received it. You, too, are better men and better women today, as a general thing, than you were before you received it. Take this people as a whole, I am happy in believing that the great majority are for God and His Kingdom, and are desirous to walk in the ways of truth and of righteousness according to the light that they have and about as well as they are able to. Some don’t, perhaps none of us do as well as we know how. I have said before, and I guess it is pretty true, that I don’t do as well as I know how. Perhaps I can’t. There may be circumstances surrounding me of that nature that I am not able to do as well as I know how. I may say I do as well as I can under the circumstances. Perhaps that is the case with all. Perhaps we might do a little better than what we do, notwithstanding the circumstances. Still I am happy in believing that the great majority of the people are for God and His Kingdom; and those who do not walk up to their privileges in regard to these matters and observe the principles of the Holy Gospel, they only injure themselves, they cannot injure the work of God. It is proof against the aspersions of the wicked, the ungodly and the apostate. Me disgrace my Maker! No. What can I do to disgrace my Maker and my Creator? Nothing. I can disgrace myself, but not Him, nor His cause, nor His Kingdom. The higher a man gets the further he may have to fall; but the tree from which he falls would not be apt to be hurt by his falling off it.

I pray God to bless us all; to help us to do right; to help us to make our calling and election sure; to bring us to the full enjoyment of our righteous desires; that we may succeed in obtaining an exaltation in His presence, an inheritance in His Kingdom, an habitation that has been prepared for the righteous, from before the foundations of the world; this is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, (Semi-Annual Conference) October 7th, 1833.

President Cannon commenced by reading a portion of the 84th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants:

“Which Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah; And from Noah till Enoch, through the lineage of their fathers; And from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his brother, who received the priesthood by the commandments of God, by the hand of his father Adam, who was the first man—Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years. And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God. And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.

“Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in his wrath, for His anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into His rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also; And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel; Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath, caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb.”

After which he said:

In arising to address this vast congregation this morning, I trust I may have the assistance of the Spirit of God, that I may be able to speak in plainness and with a distinct voice, so that all can hear those things that are appropriate to us on the present occasion. Naturally one shrinks from the task of addressing so large an audience. It requires a great physical effort to do so; besides it is a serious labor to attempt to teach and to instruct the people in the things of God. I would not attempt it if I did not hope to have His aid. But the people have come together this morning to be fed, to have the bread of life administered to them. This is our privilege. We believe in this, and I rejoice that I am identified with a people who have this faith.

When I think of the great change that has been wrought in the earth within the last half century in regard to faith in God and in the manifestations of God’s power, I feel exceedingly thankful, and more especially because I and my family are identified with the people who have this faith.

Fifty-three years ago the religious world stood aghast at the ideas advanced by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and those associated with him.

Eighteen centuries had elapsed from the days of the Savior and His Apostles, and during the greater portion of this time no voice from the heavenly worlds had been heard by man—at least this was the statement made by the religious people of that time. A deep silence prevailed. There had been no voice of God. There had been no manifestations from the Son of God. There had been no angelic visitation. The silence was deep, profound and uninterrupted, as much so as though every possible means of communication between God, Jesus, the angelic hosts and man on the earth had been entirely cut off.

Joseph Smith, inspired of God, came forth and declared that God lived. Ages had passed and no one had beheld Him. The fact that he existed was like a dim tradition in the minds of the people. The fact that Jesus lived was only supposed to be the case because eighteen hundred years before men had seen him. The fact that angels had an existence was based upon the knowledge that men had recorded it eighteen hundred years previously. The character of God—whether He was a personal being, whether His center was nowhere, and His circumference everywhere, were matters of speculation. No one had seen him. No one had seen anyone who had seen Him. No one had seen an angel. No one had seen anyone who had seen an angel, and all that was known concerning angels was that which had come down in this book [the Bible]. Is it a wonder that men were confused? That there was such a variety of opinions respecting the character and being of God? Angels were painted with wings—half fowl and half man, illustrating most perfectly the absurd notions that had generated in the minds of men concerning these beings. How could it be expected to be otherwise? But Joseph Smith, as I said, startled the world. It stood aghast at the statement which he made, and the testimony which he bore. He declared that he had seen God. He declared that he had seen Jesus Christ. He declared that he had seen angels, that he had heard their voices, that they had communicated to him divine truths. It was something entirely unheard of; and because he made these statements, he was deemed worthy of death? It is a most wonderful thing when you contemplate it, that there should have been one man found who, after eighteen centuries of unbelief and incredulity, had faith sufficient to feel after God, and obtain revelation from Him—that one man should have been found who had strength sufficient and power from God sufficient to make so great a departure as to believe that it would be possible for God to reveal Himself to man. All the persecutions that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endured in the early days were due to the fact that they bore testimony to this great and important truth, that God lived, that God was a God of revelation, and that God had communicated His mind and will to His children once more.

After that revelation faith began to grow up in men’s minds and hearts. Speculation concerning the being of God, ceased among those who received the testimony of Joseph Smith. He testified that God was a being of body, that He had a body, that He had parts, that man was in his likeness, that Jesus was the exact counterpart of the Father, and that the Father and Jesus were two distinct personages, as distinct as an earthly father and an earthly son. He bore testimony also that angels did not have wings, that they were men who had kept their covenants with their Father and their God, and had been exalted, through obedience to the commandments of God to that condition that they could dwell in His presence and become His ministers. By degrees this faith has grown until there are thousands upon thousands who have received it, and who believe it, who know for themselves concerning God, concerning Jesus Christ, concerning His Gospel and the plan of salvation; and the faith that formerly existed has been restored to the earth, and has begun to grow and to increase in the hearts of the children of men.

Not only has faith in spiritual manifestations grown in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, but something of a similar character has grown up in the midst of the world. The pendulum which had swung in one direction, in the direction of extreme unbelief, of extreme incredulity, concerning everything of a spiritual character, after the organization of this Church, after the restoration of the everlasting Gospel in its ancient purity and power, the pendulum, I say, that had swung to such an extreme in one direction, began to swing in the other direction, in the direction of credulity, and willingness to have something that might be traced, or that could be attributed to a spiritual origin. Some fifteen or sixteen years after this Church was organized, spiritualism began to make its appearance, and thousands upon thousands of people were ready to receive anything that any charlatan chose to bring before them as the result of spiritual manifestations, until the whole nation of the United States, as well as some nations in Europe, were humbugged by the most extraordinary statements and ideas set forth by those charlatans. Men are ready enough now in some places to believe anything that makes its appearance in the form of spiritualism. All sorts of stories have been told. All kinds of powers have been manifested. Tables have been tipped. I cannot attempt to describe the many kinds of manifestations that have been had among men. But the same willingness to receive the truth, the same unwillingness to receive the Gospel and the blessings and gifts of God, has continued to be manifested, and this belief or credulity concerning spiritualism has not had any favorable effect upon the people in causing them to receive the truth as it is.

Now, there is one power, and one power alone—as I have read to you in this extract from this revelation—through which godliness and the power of God and the gifts of God can be made manifest with any degree of safety—that is, through the Priesthood of the Son of God. Take that authority away from the midst of men, and they would be left precisely in the same condition that the world was in at the time of this revelation to Joseph Smith.

Though Joseph Smith, as I have said, was permitted in his boyhood, to behold the Father and the Son, was ministered unto by holy angels, he did not—and it is a very remarkable and noteworthy fact—he did not because of these things, those glorious visions that he had, attempt to exercise any authority as a servant of God in the administration of the ordinances of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. His conduct in this respect stands out in remarkable contrast with the conduct of men, hundreds of whom, because they receive an impression at some time, that they ought to preach the Gospel, take upon themselves that holy calling, without any further authority than a mere impression upon their minds. He refrained from doing anything of this character. He waited the good pleasure of God. And how consistent it was! How much in accordance—now, we look at it in the light of experience and knowledge—with the will and plan of God, that he should thus wait, and that a holy messenger should be sent with the authority from on high to lay his hands upon him and to restore to the earth through him the everlasting Priesthood, by the administration of which the gifts and blessings and power of God had been manifested in ancient days.

Joseph Smith waited patiently for years, until the due time of the Lord, when He should send a heavenly messenger, and He did send John the Baptist. John held the authority in ancient days to baptize for the remission of sins, and held the keys—having inherited them from his great ancestor Aaron, of the Aaronic Priesthood, which Aaron held, and which authority his descendents exercised among the children of Israel, until the days of John, who was called the Baptist. This John, Jesus said, was a prophet than whom none greater had ever been born of woman. He was a mighty man, and was distinguished above all men upon the face of the earth in this, that God chose him to be the instrument to baptize His Son Jesus Christ in the waters of Jordan. He was a unique character in this respect. John was beheaded, as we know, to satisfy the priests and the murderous disposition of a wicked woman. When he died he held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood—that Priesthood, as I have said, which he derived from his great ancestor Aaron, the brother of Moses. He carried with him that authority, and there having been no bestowal of it from his day until the day of Joseph Smith, it became his legitimate right, when the authority was once more to be restored to the earth, to come and confer it. He did so. He laid his hands upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordained them to the authority which he himself held. He bestowed upon them the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, that he had exercised while in the flesh. When these men were thus ordained, they then had the right, which they exercised by the command of God, to baptize each other, and to baptize others, who might be willing to repent of their sins, for the remission of sins.

But this was not all. Something more was needed. This higher Priesthood of which I have read—this greater Priesthood, which holds the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the keys of the knowledge of God—this greater Priesthood was still reserved. John did not possess it. “I indeed,” says he, “baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” John did not have that authority. But Jesus held it. And Jesus had bestowed it upon His Apostles, three of whom were prominent among the Apostles—one as President, and the other two Counselors associated with him—Peter, James and John. These three held the keys of this greater Priesthood, which they had received from the Son of God Himself. They came, as Joseph Smith testified, and laid their hands upon his head, and bestowed upon him the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the higher Priesthood, the Priesthood which is after the order of the Son of God. This authority was bestowed once more upon men by the administration of these heavenly beings who had been sent from God, the Eternal Father, to restore it once more to the earth.

Hence this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands alone. It stands disconnected entirely with every other organization on the face of the earth. It draws its power from no existing organization. It derives its authority, it derives its Priesthood from nothing that exists among men; but claiming that the Church had fallen, that the authority of the Holy Priesthood had been taken from the earth and withdrawn to God in heaven, because of the wickedness of men in slaying those who held this Priesthood, it was eminently proper and consistent that when it was once more restored to the earth it should be restored from heaven by the administration of holy angels.

Time will not permit me to dwell at any length upon the results of what has occurred since then. But I may say this, that a new order of things commenced on the earth from the day that Joseph Smith was ordained, and the day this Church was organized. Once more the Church was organized, having within it all the old authority—the Apostleship, the Priesthood, the gifts, the graces, the blessings that characterized the Church of Christ in the day when it was upon the earth. Nothing was wanting. The same power, the same blessings, the same gifts, the same union, the same love, the same testimony on the part of those who had received these ordinances, until today we have in these mountain valleys a people the exact counterpart in every particular of that primitive Church which Christ and His Apostles organized upon the earth. Every distinctive nature, every characteristic, every power, every ordinance, that that Church possessed is claimed and possessed by this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the same fruits, the same characteristics, the same blessings, the same union, the same power, attends the administration of its ordinances, and follows its believers in all their lives and in all their operations. Go with its missionaries to the remotest land, you will find them the exact followers of the disciples of Jesus, who were with Him in the flesh. Did they travel without purse or scrip? So do the Elders of the Church in these last days. Did they exercise faith before God, to have their way opened up before them? So do the Elders in these last days. Did they baptize repentant believers for the remission of their sins? So do the Elders in these last days. Did they promise unto repentant believers who were baptized that they should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost? So do the Elders who go forth in these last days. The same promise, the same gift, the same power, that was promised anciently is again promised, and, what is better still, is again bestowed and enjoyed by those who qualify themselves to receive this precious gift. Did they lay hands upon the sick for the restora– tion of their health? So do the Elders in these last days; and the sick are healed; and the power of God is manifested among men as it has not been manifested for these many centuries past. Did they, when they had organized a Church, find a people full of union and love, loving one another and willing to do deeds of kindness to one another, and thinking more of their brethren than they did of themselves? So do the Elders in these last days in organizing branches of the Church, and the same spirit attends their labors and follows as a result of their administrations in every land—not in Christian lands alone, but in heathen lands, and among the natives of our forests and of our mountains. Wherever these Elders go they go accompanied by the power of God. This rests down upon the people who receive their words, and they are filled with the Holy Ghost, and their hearts are blended together in union and in love, which cannot be found elsewhere upon the face of the earth—God in this wonderful manner bearing testimony to the labors of His servants and to their word, and fulfilling their promises in bestowing those gifts upon all races, upon all men who bow in submission to the Gospel which they preach. There is not a single characteristic that the ancient Church possessed, that is not manifested in these our days in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The same persecution of the Church, the same hatred, the same inclination to shed the blood of inoffensive, innocent men and women, to drive them from their homes and to treat them with the utmost cruelty upon baseless charges and misrepresentation—that characteristic is not wanting either. It follows the Church. It follows the Elders of the Church go where they will. They may be as pure as angels—so far as it is possible for earthly beings to be—nevertheless they are followed by this floodtide of falsehood, of slander, of misrepresentation, and also by the same disposition to kill them, to shed their blood; and Prophets have been slain in our day, the blood of apostles has been shed in our day, the blood of disciples and Saints has stained the earth in our day for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God. There is not a single characteristic lacking; and today this Church stands as a living testimony in the eyes of all nations, that God has indeed restored the everlasting Gospel, that God has indeed once more spoken from the heavens, that He has indeed restored the everlasting Priesthood, through the administration of which all these blessings have come in so remarkable a manner to men.

Considering what an age of unbelief we have had, considering the traditions that we have inherited, it is wonderful the faith that has been manifested by this people called Latter-day Saints. When I look at it from a certain standpoint, I am amazed at what I witness. The fathers of this people had not faith in anything of this kind. Imbued with the traditions that were prevalent throughout Christendom, they believed that the heavens were sealed, that all communications had ceased between God and man, and that all we had to depend upon was this book [the Bible] for the knowledge of God. This was the tradition instilled into the minds of our ancestors, until it has become a crystallized belief. One of the most difficult things to make men believe, when this Church was first organized in these last days, was that it would be possible for God to speak, that it would be possible for angels to come to the earth, that it would be possible for that power to be manifested once more. All these things were associated with imposture in the minds of men. A man who made any such statement was immediately accused of being an impostor, and of trying to deceive somebody.

This Church has made its onward progress, despite this crystallized unbelief, which has been like a wall of adamant in front of us, hedging our way, barring our progress in the midst of the human family. Men would listen and then turn away with a sneer when they heard a statement of the truth. Yet notwithstanding that, it has a foothold in the earth. And what is the result? A generation is growing up in these mountains filled with the old faith to a certain extent free from the traditions of their fathers. My children I hope will have more faith than I, as I had more faith than my father. I was trained in this faith. My children, I trust, will have more faith than I, and the children of the present generation will have more faith than their fathers for this reason, that we are endeavoring to instill into their minds this faith; endeavoring to promote it; endeavoring to make them believe that God is a God of revelation, that God is not afar off, that He is not remote, but that He is near at hand; endeavoring to make them believe that God will answer prayer, and you can tell what the result will be. Every young man who goes out—as in the case of our young men who are constantly going—goes without purse or scrip. What is the result? They have to feel after God. If they want a pair of pantaloons they have to ask God to obtain them. If they want a meal of victuals, they have to exercise faith on this account. In sending out my sons to preach the Gospel, or having them go, I would not give them one dollar to go with; and while I am on this subject I will say, the father who gives his sons money to go to preach the Gospel, does them the greatest injury he can do. I would not do it if I had millions at my disposal. I would not give them a dollar. Let them go out and feel after God, and obtain a knowledge of God, through faith and through mighty prayer. When a man is hungry; when a man is without friends; when a man has no place to sleep, he will, if he believes in God, and His gifts, be certain to go to Him and ask Him to furnish that which he needs, and when his prayers are answered he has greater faith next time. When he lays hands on the sick and the sick are healed, he has greater faith next time to go and administer to the sick, and in this way faith is growing and increasing in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, and the power of godliness is being made more and more manifest. But we are far from being what we should be.

I have not time to dwell further on these things. I would like to talk on kindred subjects; but time is passing and I am now trespassing.

I pray God to bless you, to fill you with the Holy Ghost, and to help you to seek after God with a greater faith; I pray that He may help you to put away your sins, and to keep His commandments perfectly, so that you may receive the blessings that He has in store for all the faithful, which I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.